Sunday, May 07, 2006

DUCHARME Families in North America

VARIOUS DUCHARME FAMILLIES

As far as I know, all Ducharme families now living in North America have their origins in Québec. It would be easy to link them to their ancestor, if there was only one source.

This is not the case. At least 5 completely different sources are known. In this text, we will talk briefly about each of these, and give some (limited) clues as where to look for them.

These informations are based on respected books, such as René Jetté's "Dictionnaire des familles du Québec", and also on my own experience as a searcher for those famillies.

1)Fiacre Ducharme's family

He came to Nouvelle France [New France] in 1653 and settled in Montréal. He brought with him the original name, « Ducharme », and was the only one to do so.

His sons were fur traders and voyageurs, so you can find his descendants very early after 1700 around the Great Lakes and alongside the Mississippi. For instance, Dominique Ducharme, the first person to receive a land in Wisconsin around 1795, was one of his descendant.

Although this family is not by far the most numerous, if your ancestors have been in these areas for a very long time, there is a good chance that Fiacre is your ancestor.

2) Louis Tétreau's family

Louis came from France around 1662, and settled in Trois-Rivières. One of his son Joseph, took the nickname Ducharme around 1700, for reasons not known. Descendants are numerous along the Richelieu river, and there are important groups in Louisiana and New England.

3) Pierre Charron's family.

Pierre got in Montréal in 1662. He never wore the name Ducharme, but one of his son, François, took the nickname in 1701 and all his descendants use it. 40 to 50% of all Ducharme are from this origin.

You will find them in Québec in a area called Lanaudière (around Berthier, Joliette, etc.). An important group went to Manitoba around 1780, others to Wisconsin and New England from 1840 on. You can find them all over North America now.

More details on Pierre Charron’s family on the « Association des Charron & Ducharme » website.

4) Sébastien Provencher's family.

Sébastien came in Québec around 1672. He never wore the name Ducharme but one of his son, Jean-François, took that nickname also around 1701, and all descendants of Jean-François use it today. They live in Québec around Bécancour and Trois-Rivières, and many went to New-England after 1840.

5) Francois Repoche's family

Francois came in around 1669, and settled in Québec City. He used the nickname Ducharme, and many of his descendants did the same. I don't know much about them, except for the fact that many went to Maine after 1840.

Of course, much more could be said: this is only a brief notice on Ducharme famillies. As president of the "Association des Charron & Ducharme", I will gladly try to help people looking for their own Ducharme ancestors.

Pierre Ducharme, président
Association des Charron & Ducharme inc.

[TEXTE PUBLIÉ À L’ORIGINE LE 2000/06/10 DANS « DUCHARME FAMILY GENEALOGY FORUM ». Message No 151]

Click on the ORANGE title above to go to the CHARRON-DUCHARME Association.

The Franco-American Connection

Jacques L'HEUREUX's
Franco-American Connection
is well worth taking the time to read. He has a pertinent genetic information article as well as more concerning our Franco-American heritage. Just click on the ORANGE title to get to his site.