Second episode
The Normand families of North America:
three branches, one association

he Normand descendants in North America come from three different branches:

From Jean Le Normand and Anne Le Laboureur

The first, oldest and most numerous branch is that founded by Jean Le Normand and Anne Le Laboureur. Jean Le Normand arrived in Quebec in 1647 and married Anne Le Laboureur in Quebec in 1656. The couple settled on the Seigneurie Notre-Dame-des-Anges. Twelve children were born out of this union, of whom three boys and four girls assured the survival of their line. The Normands from this branch are spread throughout Quebec, in the other Canadian provinces, in several New England states and in the southern US, particularly Louisiana and Texas. Germaine Normand relates the history of the first century of this branch in North America in her book,?Fonder foyer en Nouvelle-France, Les Normand du Perche?.

From Pierre Normand dit Jolicoeur

Pierre Normand dit Jolicoeur, born near Bordeaux, married Marguerite Lahaus in Montreal in 1719. Later widowed, he married Marie-Josephte Gay in Saint-Sulpice. The couple settled with their children, seven daughters and three sons, at the mission at Lac-Des-Deux-Montagnes, Oka, and became integrated into the Iroquois community. The history of this branch is yet to be written, although it is known that some of its members can be found in eastern Ontario, in the area between Rockland and Chute-à-Blondeau.

From Pierre-Jacques Poupeville dit Normand

Pierre-Jacques Poupeville dit Normand, who came from Cherbourg in Normandy, married Catherine Cauchon at Château-Richer in 1743. After being widowed, he married Geneviève Lefebvre in 1766 in the Beauce. There, the descendants of both marriages can still be found today. One of the sons, Jacques, married Charlotte Dupuis and moved with his family to the lower town of Quebec. Their two sons, Jacques and Édouard, were married there, where they were known as bridge and wharf builders. In this period - the middle of the 19^th century - variations in their patronym occurred and it was standardized as Normand dit Poupeville. From Saint-Roch, the family of Édouard and Marie-Louise Martin moved to Trois-Rivières where most of the members of this branch are concentrated today

The Association des Normand d’Amérique, founded in 1994, includes representatives of the three branches. The Association organizes gatherings and publishes a newsletter, Le Normand, three times a year. For more information about the Association or membership in it, consult the Web site:

www.genealogie.org/famille/normand/

To be continued on May 6, 2003, with the Association des familles Fréchette.