Bertrand/Kelly Family - Bertrand

It was rumoured that there was Indian (Indigenous) blood coursing through our veins from my father’s side of the family.  He definitely had a darker skin tone and somewhat high cheek bones, lending credence to the story.  None of the family tree research supported the rumour going back to when the first Bertrand arrived from La Rochelle, France.  This summer I had a DNA test performed by Ancestry.com and found that the ethnicity composition of my ancestry was as follows:

Irish – 81%

Europe West – 17%

Great Britain – 2%

Now, we know we inherit some portion of each parent’s DNA.  We never know what amount we actually get from each contributor so, if there was indigenous DNA available, we know with certainty that I didn’t get any of it.  With the combination of no DNA evidence and no documentation I am inclined to believe the rumour was definitely false.

The oldest direct ancestor I could find a link to was Markwart Merklin, (18^th great grandfather) born in Heilbronn, Germany around 1325.  His line leads to the first person of fame (in my tree) by the name of Abraham Martin (1589-1664).  Abraham had been the owner of the “Plains of Abraham” upon which the decisive battle between the French and British forces was fought and won by General James Wolfe over the Marquis de Montcalm.  Abraham Martin is also famous for being the father of the first European descent child born (1621) in what would become Canada and maybe even in all of North America.  It should be mentioned that Abraham was something of a scoundrel in that he was incarcerated for “improper conduct” with regard to a young girl in 1649.

The next ancestor of note was Jacques Archambault (1604-1688).  It is said that only one person of that name ever emigrated from France so if that is true, we (Bertrands) are related to anyone with the name Archambault.  Jacques and family arrived in New France at Québec around 1645.  In February of 1654, Jacques committed himself to live at Ville Marie (Montréal) and by the winter of 1655 contracted for health insurance with surgeon Étienne Bouchard. This is considered to be the first ever health insurance plan in North America.  In 1658, Jacques dug the first well on the island of Montréal. In 1653, the year before Jacques arrived, the population of Ville Marie was barely 50 people and by 1685 it had grown to 600 colonists.  One last item here – Marie (1644-1685), the youngest daughter of Jacques was married to Gilles Lauzon (1630-1687) when she was only 12! They had 13 children together.

Jean-Baptiste Paul Bertrand (1687 – 1752) was the first of my direct paternal line to emigrate from France.  He arrived in Québec in 1716 and moved on to Montréal shortly after.  He and his wife Marie-Anne Aumier had 11 children.  One of them, Antoine, emigrated to the Louisiana territory and is believed to be the father of all Bertrands living in Louisiana and East Texas.

Edouard Thomas Bertrand (1838-1880) married Mary Ann Brown (1846 - ?).  Edouard was a butcher by trade and he and Mary together had 7 children.  Edouard died in 1880 at the early age of 42 and a mystery began. Mary Ann and her children were listed in the 1881 census but by 1890, Mary Ann was nowhere to be found and the children were shown to be with Mary Margaret Murphy.  Mary Margaret was noted as “mother” on the surviving Bertrand children’s marriage certificates and was a god mother to one of my grandfather’s children.  She shows up in the 1891 census as a widow and mother of the surviving Bertrand children.

Mary Ann Brown’s father, Patrick married a woman by the name of Henrietta Mountain in 1860 after his first wife Bridget O’Malley died. By 1890 Patrick, Henrietta and their children show up in the USA census and were located in Philadelphia, PA.  Is it possible that Mary Ann joined her dad after Edouard died?  Cousin, Maureen Bertrand has vague memories of her dad talking about Maggie Murphy with his sister.

My grandfather Wilbrod (aka Wilbert) Bertrand (1875-1949) married Julia McCarthy. Julia had contracted skin cancer and I don’t know if that is what eventually killed her but I remember my dad saying that he was in Halifax harbor on a Canadian Navy vessel getting ready to ship out when he was excused to return to Montréal to spend time with his dying mother.  As it happened, the ship he was supposed to be on was sunk on the way to Europe and his replacement died as a result.

  

I take pride in the knowledge that there are at least 4 plaques commemorating our ancestors in the Province of Québec as follows:

Jacques Archambault – (1604-1688)

Pointe-a-Callier Museum – 350 Place Royale, Montréal, QC  

Commemorating his digging of the first well (1658) on the Island of Montreal. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Puits_Montreal.jpg

Urbain Tessier - (1625-1689)              

105 St Jacques St / Place D’Armes, Montréal, QC

Noting that the building is located on part of the land granted to Mr. Tessier.  His was only the 8^th land grant at the time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=urbain+tessier&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS600US600&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=638&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi63c-Dsu_PAhXGFT4KHRHsDcIQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=Yu7o6s7n9xKy8M%3A

Gilles Lauzon - (1630-1687)

Montréal, QC

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=120403&type=bien#.WAuiR-ArLIU

Jean Grou - (1644-1691)

Parc Coulee Grou, Montréal, QC

Noting his capture and execution (following torture) by the Iroquois.

https://www.google.com/search?q=urbain+tessier&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS600US600&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=638&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi63c-Dsu_PAhXGFT4KHRHsDcIQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=Yu7o6s7n9xKy8M%3A

Filles a Marier and Filles du Roi:

In the 1600’s there was a constant shortage of women to marry the eligible men and create the next generations of population in New France.  To satisfy the need, two programs were initiated to help solve the problem.  The first was “Filles a Marier”, approximately 260 young women who arrived in New France between 1634 and 1663.  The second was “Filles du Roi”, almost 800 single young women who arrived from 1663 to 1673.  Bertrand descendants have a number of connections to these adventurous ladies who were definitely not the rumoured common whores removed from the streets of Paris.

Filles a Marier:

Ozanne Achon (1633-1707) - Arrived 1657

Jeanne Godard (1638-1686) – Arrived 1658

Suzanne Jaroussel (1641-1694) – Arrived 1653

Jacquette Tourault (1612-1670) – Arrived 1653

Filles du Roi:

Marguerite Ardion (1643-1678) – Arrived 1663

Francoise Desportes (1641-1736) – Arrived 1669

Marguerite Evin (Hevain) (1651-1718) – Arrived 1670

Perrine Coirier (1634-1714) – Arrived 1665  -- Disputed that she indeed was a Fille du Roi since she was married in France and came to New France with her husband

Madeleine Guerin (1646-1740) – Arrived 1665

Louise Hubinet (1650-1702) – Arrived 1671

Marguerite Jourdain (1648-1720) – Arrived 1667

Marie Monminy (Mont Mezny) (1645-1702) – Arrived 1666

Marie Morin (1646 - 1729) – Arrived 1665

Ursule Turbar (Turbal) (1647-1739) – Arrived 1667

Other famous connections:

1     My 7^th great grandparents, Pierre Pigeon and Jeanne Godard had, as a witness to their marriage, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve.  He was the governor of New France.

2     My 9^th great grandparents, Abraham Martin and Marguerite Langlois had a child Hélène, born in 1627.  Her godfather at the Christening was the discoverer, Samuel de Champlain.  

Bertrand/Kelly Family - Kelly

We’ll start off with the Kellys as they emigrated from Ireland to Canada starting in the early 1800’s. 

Between 1815 and 1850, the greatest immigration to Canada was from Scotland and Ireland.  It is during this period that James Kelly and wife Sarah Gormley arrived and settled in the Québec City area.  They moved to Charlesbourg and then further on to Ste. Brigitte de Laval.  Around the same period, John Murray arrived from Ireland and settled in Ste. Brigitte de Laval, marrying his first wife, Mary McGee around 1831-1832.  Mary died in 1834, probably due to birth complications when she had her daughter Catherine.  In 1857, Catherine married Edward D. Kelly (who was a twin brother of John Kelly). 

In 1876, Edward F Kelly was born and he subsequently moved from Ste. Brigitte de Laval to Montréal where he met and married Mary Christina Prescott.  Christopher Prescott and wife, Ellen Bulman (Parents of Mary Christina) may have been a part of the great Famine Migration of the Irish to North America.  They were both born around 1840 in Ireland and came to Canada sometime afterwards.  A little mystery about Christopher and Ellen may have been solved with DNA information. 

Christopher and Ellen were married in a Montréal Methodist Church in 1866 implying they were of the Protestant faith.  By 1867, their first son, Joseph was born and subsequently baptized in a Catholic Church.  All further children and funerals for Christopher and Ellen were performed in Catholic churches suggesting that they had indeed converted.  The DNA reference made earlier put me in touch with a Ron Price in Belfast, Ireland who also descends from a Prescott.  While we are very distant cousins and there is no reliable evidence that we are talking about the same Prescotts, Ron did convey that the Prescott name is not one that would have come from the southern Ireland (Catholic) area.  People from the North would have been members of the Church of Ireland or Church of England and would have easily been married in a Methodist Church.  Christopher and Ellen were identified in the 1871 Canada census as Church of England then in the 1881 census they were declared to be Roman Catholic. 

Their daughter Mary Christina married Edward F Kelly and gave birth to my mother Helena Frances Kelly.

A couple of interesting things about the Irish immigration in Canada.  In 1831, approximately 34,000 Irish arrived in Montréal, more than doubling the city population at the time.  Try to imagine the culture shock for the existing population of French Canadians!  During the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852 approximately 25% of the population of Ireland was eliminated through starvation and emigration (to avoid the starvation).  In 1851 the population of Ireland was over 8 million and in 2015 the population of the island of Ireland was a little over 6 million.  This may be the only country that has not recovered from the famine and migration of the 19^th century.

Families

My original plan was simple – create a family tree documenting the ancestral origins of my parents, Fred Bertrand and Helen Kelly.  In a short time, it expanded in order to make this the tree of reference for all immediate family members of Bertrand / Kelly heritage as well as their offspring.  Thus it expanded to include families of my brothers in law and aunts / uncles.  As with everything else, it is very difficult to avoid project creep so the final expansion included documenting the ancestral origins of my daughters in law.  At time of writing this paragraph, the tree includes slightly over 2,300 people. Root families include:

Bertrand / Kelly – my parent’s families

Bertrand / Bellisle – my wife’s family

Bertrand / Pikksalu – sibling’s family

Bertrand / Collins – sibling’s family

Bertrand / Greenfield – sibling’s family

Bertrand / Fedesco – child’s family

Bertrand / Swick – child’s family

Kelly / Rusk – Uncle Bud’s family

Kelly / Brennan – Uncle Les’ family

Bertrand / Lemessurier – Uncle Frank’s family

Clearly we are families of immigrants!  The only difference between the families is in how long they have been in North America.  Most got here from Western Europe but a couple came from Eastern Europe and Russia, generating a mix of DNA that has strengthened the group rather than weakened it.  The pool is diverse (in terms of national origin) and descends from a combination of royalty and pauper.  Just a couple of generations ago many of the ancestors were illiterate.  It is amazing what a common belief of making things better for children can do to the benefit of the next generation!  It is also inspiring to see the number of people who have given up all that they are familiar with on the gamble that a better life awaits them and their children in a new location.  We are truly fortunate to have had such adventurous parentage.

A little bit of mathematics as it relates to levels of parents / grandparent: 

It becomes clear very quickly that the number of people to be counted as ancestors expands exponentially as we move up the tree.  Look at the table below to see how many people are to be accounted for at each level of the tree.

Person	Math Symbol	Number of People
Me	20	1
Parents	21	2
Grandparents	22	4
Great grandparents	23	8
2nd great grandparents	24	16
3rd great grandparents	25	32

So, as a general rule of thumb, the number of people at a particular level is 2 to the power of (Level of great grandparent + 2).  For instance, a 4^th great grandparent level would be 2⁽⁴⁺²⁾ or 2⁶ providing 64 people at that level.  Going back further to the earliest immigrant from France I find him to be a 9^th great grandfather.  Using the formula above, we calculate 2⁽⁹⁺²⁾ or 2¹¹, yielding 2,048 ancestors at that level!  

Introduction

While on vacation in March of 2011 I happened to be watching a TV show and saw a commercial for Ancestry.com.  The ad promoted signing up for a two week free trial to get a family tree started. Upon returning home I contacted my older sister Elizabeth whom I knew had been playing with building a family tree on paper and obtained all the information she had.  Her tree amounted to approximately 25 people, going back to our great grandparent level.  Equipped with this basic data, it was easy to get my tree started with Ancestry and expand it to a more formal one.

At first the exercise was meant to satisfy my curiosity about our immediate parentage with an equal emphasis on maternal and paternal lines.  In the early going, my motivation was to search our ancestors until finding one of notoriety.  A part of me was hoping to find a scoundrel or two and if lucky, a real criminal who was jailed or perhaps hanged for his willful indiscretions.  In hindsight that seems to have been a strange way to get started but after a few years of searching there have been no criminals found but there may be a number of low level scoundrels in our tree of the type who did not draw a lot of publicity and thus generated no notoriety.

On a more positive note there are a number of ancestors of historical significance and each of them will be mentioned in a separate blog post within this category.  Some are significant because of the group of which they are a part while others are significant of their own doing. 

The practice of family tree building can be quite time consuming but the real problem is that it is so addictive.  Early on, it was not unusual for me to look at the time and discover I was still working on this at 3:00AM!  Discussions with others over the years revealed that my quest was relatively easy since ancestors through 9 plus generations hailed from the province of Québec.  Our forefathers were very proactive about generating proper birth, marriage, and death documentation surrounding individual life events.  Additionally, we had the good fortune of the creation of the Drouin Genealogical Institute whose aim was to capture all vital records from 1620 through the 1940’s.  In 2007, Ancestry.ca secured the right to host an indexed version of the records online.  For more information on the Drouin collection go to http://www.ancestryinsider.org/2009/09/whence-drouin-collection.html.

Also, the people of Québec are beneficiaries of the Tanguay Collection, a document of several volumes that allows virtually all Québecois to trace their heritage back to their original immigrants from France.  To learn more about the Tanguay Collection go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprien_Tanguay.  To be included in the collection ancestors must have been in Québec prior to the middle of the 19^th century.