Working on the Neveu and Audet dit Lapointe families accidentally led me to the correct Grégoire family. I had been thinking that I should look at the DeBlois dit Grégoire families but I was incorrect. This Grégoire family traces back to Nicolas Grégoire who came to Canada prior to 20 Jul 1772 when he married Marie Catherine Guerin at Notre Dame de la Prairie de la Madeleine, La Prairie. His parents are listed as being of the Paroisse de St-Laurent, Torel, Lorraine, France. Perhaps he arrived during the French and Indian Wars or earlier for the defense of New France. I think that I will need to consult records in Montreal to determine that if possible.
Marie Catherine Guerin was baptized at Notre Dame de la Prairie de la Madeleine, La Prairie 19 Apr 1743 and she was the daughter of Jean Baptiste Guerin (born 16 Oct 1699 at La Prairie) and Catherine Boudreau (born 1 Dec 1703 at La Prairie). Although I have searched the registers at La Prairie the marriage of 29 Jan 1725 can not be found - there is a gap in the register it would appear. However, the marriage registration for their daughter Marie Catherine Guerin gives these names as the names of the parents of Marie Catherine. The proposed fathers of both of these parents have also come directly from France from the offered genealogy on World Connect and at nosorigines.qc.ca which is an extremely helpful site. I have now joined and will add information as I prove the lines with original parish register documents.
Nicolas Grégoire does not live a long life as he died 10 Oct 1784 at Chateauguay and is buried 11 Oct 1784 at St Joachim, Chateauguay. His son Nicolas was baptized 30 Jul 1773 at Notre Dame de la Prairie, La Prairie. Death date for him not yet found. Nicolas (b 1773) married Geneviève Patenaude 12 Jan 1807 at St Constant. The parents of Geneviève are listed on the marriage lines as Michel Patenaude and Charlotte Gervais. I will continue to search out the records for this couple but they married 23 Oct 1786 at Longueuil, Chambly.
Nicolas and Geneviève had a son Nicolas Joseph who was born and baptized 15 Jun 1809 at St Constant. He married Marie Marguerite Hémard 6 Feb 1837 at St Constant. Marguerite was baptized 2 May 1809 at St Constant and she was the daughter of Jean Pierre Hémard and Catherine Payant dite St Onge. I have been successful in tracing her families back in this area into the 1600s. I shall write them up at a later time.
I hadn't looked closely enough at the Census for the Grégoire family at Embrun. When I did do so I realized that Joseph Grégoire's wife Marguerite Emard was actually a clue for me that I had missed. She was born at St Constant (he was born at Chateauguay) according to the census but the marriage of their son Antoine had stated that his parents were Nicolas Joseph Grégoire and Marie Potvin. When I finally decided to check the marriage of Joseph Grégoire and Marguerite Emard (as they are listed on the census) I discovered that their marriage lines revealed the answer to my quandry. The lines read "Nicolas Grégoire, journalier, files majeur de feu Nicolas Grégoire, et de Geneviève Patenaude, de Saint Remi d'une part et Marguerite Hémas, fille majeure de feu Pierre Hémas et de Catherine Payant de cette paroisse (St Constant) d'autre part." Then pulling up the marriage of Pierre Hémas and Catherine Payant (14 Oct 1782 at Notre Dame de la Prairie de la Madeleine, La Prairie) revealed further that "Pierre Hémard fils d'Antoine Hémard et de Marie Bourget. Ses pere et mere de cette Paroisse (St Constant) d'une part, et Catherine St Onge fille de Jean Baptiste Payant dit St Onge et de Catherine Lérigée. Ses pere et mere de cette paroisse d'autre part." I then found the marriages of these sets of parents.
The marriage of Antoine Hémard and Marie Bourget stated "Antoine Hémard fils de Pierre Hémard et de Marguerite Blois ..... d'une part et Marie Bourget fille de feu Deny Bourget et de Marie Lebeau ....d'autre part." Still I hadn't found my answer to the Potvin name that appeared on the marriage lines that listed Marie Potvin and not Marguerite Emard which was the name on the census. I continued working my way back on the Hémard line.
I then found the marriage of Pierre Hémard and Margueriet Belois as it was listed in the register for Longueuil, Chambly on 6 Feb 1702. The register reads " Pierre Aymard agé de trente quatre au environs fils de deffunts Pierre Aymar et de Marie Bido ..... d'une part et Jeanne Marguerite Belois veuve de deffunt André St Aubin agé de trente trois ans ... d'autre part. Still no answer to the Potvin mystery.
I decided to find siblings for Marguerite. Then I noted a Pierre Hémard married to Marguerite Denaut 11 Aug 1806 (this Marguerite was a godmother to Marguerite Hémard). This Pierre was baptized 29 Sep 1784 and the son of Pierre Hémard and Catherine Payant dite St Onge. His marriage lines of 11 Aug 1806 solved the mystery and the need to remember to look at siblings if the trail goes cold. His marriage lines read: Pierre Hémard dit Potvin majeur labourer fils de Pierre Hémard dit Potvin et de Catherine Payant ....."
Solution to the parents of Antoine Grégoire and why on his marriage lines in 1869 at Ottawa he listed his parents as Nicolas Joseph Grégoire and Marie Potvin. Solving this mystery led back to the correct Grégoire line and the realization that this was not the Deblois dit Grégoire line found much earlier in New France but rather a later arrival in the 1750s period of the history of New France.
I shall return now to proving the 3x great grandparents after this diversion. Each diversion leads me down more paths solving this family tree. It is a work in progress though as I have now accumulated 117 separate surname files of images. I decided to publish the tree to an *.pdf file and was quite amazed to discover that I had a 407 page file. My own file on which I have been working for seven years now (hard to believe!) runs around 325 pages!. My husband's file though for his families runs much higher. I must ask him the current size. He publishes it as his mother's and his father's lines independently. Mine is still small enough that I can continue for quite a while I suspect to publish it as one file. I am slowly separating out the lines on which I am collecting extra family data so my file may never get to be that large. I haven't actually worked on it for a while. I have been busy with this French Canadian research. The priests of the Church have done a marvelous job of recording the genealogical history of the Quebec families in their registers.
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