Turgeon Family History

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Our Turgeon Family History

The origin of this name is French and the name first appears in Normandy.  In Quebec Turgeon is pronounced ‘turjo’. In French the name means ‘sturgeon’ and is taken from the French word ‘esturgeon’.  Some variations of the name include Turgis, Tourgis, Turgot and Turgon.  Another variation is Hebert. There were 560 people who emigrated from France to Canada between 1600 and 1900 bearing this surname or one of its variants.  Most came during the nineteenth century, but a few immigrated earlier, such as Charles Turgeon, who married in 1648 in Mortagne, France.  The Smith family from South Dakota is directly related to this early, New France colonist.

In the early years, France did not send many immigrants to its Canadian colony.  In fact, just 15,000 French men and women sailed for Canada in the seventeenth century, and two-thirds of them stayed in the colony for a short period.  Either they returned to France or died in Canada without getting married.  This was a very low number since England, with a population just over one-third of France’s sent almost 380,000 immigrants to the New World during the same time period.

New France was a feudal state. Words we use to describe feudalism are ‘despotic’, ‘oppressive’ or ‘mediaeval’.  Feudalism was a system of social relations based upon land. France’s king created lordships to rule over various sections of its American holdings.  The heyday of Canadian feudalism was the period from 1663 to about 1750. During this interval nearly three hundred fiefs were granted. The Turgeons were one of the more prominent families in New France.  You will see that the Turgeon family played an important role in this society, particularly for the Seigneurie of Beauport where they lived.  This feudal or seigneurial state lasted through 1854 long after the English acquired New France.  New France (Quebec) was added to the British realm in 1760.

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PERCHE, FRANCE

The Perche region, which is 100 miles West of Paris, France, is the origin of a large number of 17th Century settlers in Quebec, including the Turgeons.  The parishes of St. Jean in Mortagne and St. Aubin in nearby Tourouvre accounted for a disproportionately large number of emigrants to Quebec. Fifty-three came from Mortagne and 45 came from Tourouvre.  Our direct ancestors, Charles and Pasquiere Turgeon, came from Mortagne.

Perche is mainly farmland.  Unlike other parts of France, Perche also has some beautiful forests, rivers and streams.

Why did our ancestor immigrate to the new world?  The King of France offered his French subjects incentives to settle in New France.  One incentive was the establishment of a group called “La Compagnie des Cent Associes” (The Company of One Hundred Associates) who were to create seigneuries in Quebec that could be subdivided and conceded to qualified immigrants. Residents of Perch were not poor and could sustain themselves.  The reason many chose to immigrate was the desire to try the unknown or make a new start in the New World.  Charles and Pasquiere Turgeon’s names are found on this list, ‘Company of One Hundred Associates’.

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OUR SOUTH DAKOTA CONNECTION

The following pages show the genealogical link between our grandmother, Mary J. (Turgeon) Smith and Charles Turgeon. In addition, you will see the link from our generation to Charles’ father and mother in France, Jean and Sebastien Turgeon.  Depending on which source you read, Jean and Sebastien Turgeon were born anywhere between the late sixteenth century to 1607.  Several references indicate they may have been born in 1590.  There are nine generations between our Grandmother, Mary J. Smith, to Jean Turgeon. To put this in perspective, eleven generations span from Jean Turgeon to the twins, Terry or Tim Smith.

To make it easier for you the following table shows our ancestry listed by the appropriate generation.  Mary J. Turgeon occupies the first generation and Jean Turgeon, the earliest Turgeon on record, occupies the ninth generation.  The Canadian Turgeons were ‘cultivateurs’ or farmers; however, as you will see they were more than mere farmers.  They were an important and somewhat powerful family in New France and Quebec.

Turgeon Family Generations

This document is split into various parts.  The first section describes the family line from Mary J. Turgeon to her French ancestors.  The last sections show famous Turgeons and Turgeon family members who served in the military.

Ninth Generation – Jean Turgeon

Jean Turgeon and Sebastienne Leger (or Liger) are the earliest Turgeons known who are directly related to us.  Their birth and death years are unknown; however, it is thought that they could have been born anytime after 1589 but no later than 1607.  Although no official record exists, it is thought they married each other around 1620.  Jean and Sebastienne lived in the City of Mortagne, which today is the head town in the Department of Orne, France

Jean and Sebastienne Turgeon had the following children, all born in France:

1.  Charles, born September 3, 1627

2.  Charles (this was another Charles born to this family)

3.  Gilles

4.  Charlotte

5.  Jeanne

6.  Anne

The earliest ancestor I could find was born in 1589 France, and he was a direct ancestor to one of the Turgeon spouses.  Charles was our direct ancestor.

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History of New France

1655 Iroquois sign a temporary peace treaty with Montreal's colonists.

1659 Two hundred French subjects leave La Rochelle for New France.  This is the largest number of people to leave their homeland for New France.  A good third of them die at sea and the ship left the sick in Quebec City.  This causes small pox to be introduced into the colony.

1665 First census: 3,215 habitants. The French government sends the "filles du roi", meaning the king's daughters (orphans raised at the expense of the king) and the bachelors are obliged to choose a wife among them.  At least 900 “filles du roi” arrive between 1665 and 1673, and all find husbands upon arrival. Some complained that the king was sending over prostitutes.

1673 Lieutenant Tracy and the Carignan-Salières Regiment arrived in New France to repress the Iroquois. Jean Talon, right-hand man of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, general controller of the king, is named the first Intendant of the colony.

 1676 Because of the war in Holland and the Parisian hatters who use rabbit hair, the request for fur is much less strong in Europe and there is an overproduction in the colony. Therefore, it was prohibited to hunt for fur until 1679. For fear of fire, all residents in Quebec were forbidden to smoke in the street or carry tobacco on them.

1688 Population of New-France is now of 10,303 habitants. The town of Quebec counts 1,400 of them. The Monsignor of Saint-Vallier becomes the second bishop of Quebec.  He set up various programs to provide help to the beggars and the unemployed with the objective of eliminating public begging.

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Eighth Generation – Charles Turgeon

Charles Turgeon was one of the earliest colonists in Quebec and is recognized as a member of The Company of One Hundred Associates.  Charles married Pasquiere (Perrine) Lefebvre in 1649 or 1648.  The following biography for Charles Turgeon and his family was taken from “our French-Canadian Ancestors” by Thomas J. Laforest; Volume 28 – Chapter 21 – page 205.

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Charles Turgeon Biography 

In the spring, of the year 1662, Robert Boulay, before his departure for Canada, borrowed 20 livres from Charles Turgeon, to buy a few necessary articles of life and to pay for his journey to La Rochelle. On June 23, of the same year, the debtor and creditor met at the port of La Rochelle. At that time, Charles required a paper signed, in the presence of the notary, Moreau, as guaranty of his loan to Boulay, verbally consented to, a few weeks earlier.  (For us 20 livres do not sound like a lot of money, but this was a considerable sum for the times.  At the time 20 livres would have been considered an astronomical sum to most Frenchmen.  What this suggests is Charles had money even before moving to New France.)

Who was this Charles Turgeon? A Percheron like Boulay, Charles Turgeon, the son of Jean and Sebastienne Liger, had been baptized, on Saturday, September 3, 1627, at the church of Notre-Dame, in the city of Mortagne, today, it is the head town in the Department of the Orne, in the former Province of Perch. Historian Archange Godbout informs us that, Charles had as brothers Charles, buried October 20, 1626 and Gilles, who was baptized, on October 22, 1635; as sisters, Charlotte , Jeanne and Anne. 

FRENCH HOME

Charles Turgeon was married, about 1649, to Pasquiere Lefebvre, probably at Mortagne. The marriage record has not been found and because of this, the parents of the future Canadian Ancestress are not known.

Charles and Pasquiere began to raise their family at Mortagne. The eldest, Jeanne, was baptized, on July 18, 1650, in the parish of Saint-Jean and she was buried two days later. Also baptized, in the same place were Marie-Claire, on September 29, 1651; Jacques, on September 29, 1653; Francoise, on November 18, 1656 and buried, in April 1657; Anne, on August 28, 1658; Michel, on September 3, 1661; Michel, who presumably died in France. Of the six children born at Saint-Jean de Mortagne, three survived and came to New France; Marie-Claire, Jacques and Anne.

In June 1662, 100 soldiers and 100 workmen were at the harbor, of Chefdebaye. His Majesty had chartered two ships, the 300 ton L'AIGLE D'OR, commanded by Captain Gargot and the 150 ton SAINT-JEAN BAPTISTE. About 300 passengers, including Charles Turgeon and his family, were aboard these ships to come to Canada. However, no document allows us to verify the date of the departure or the list of passengers of each ship. Other ships making the passage, from La Rochelle to Quebec, that year were L'AIGLE BLANC and LA FLUTE ROYALE DE BROUAGE. What we do know is that, the Turgeons arrived, at the capital, of New France, in the summer of 1662.

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