Brassard, Antoine

Notes:

Antoine Brassard was born in 1609 and became a Mason. He married Francoise Mery
who was born in 1613. Antoine died on 11 July 1671 and lived in a place that
had been known as Grande Alle, this is now known as St Louis Street in Quebec.
They were married at Quebec on 14 Jan 1637.
Antoine is the ancestor of the Brassard and Descenaux families.
The following is an article on the Brassard name written by Ted Brassard for
The Genealogist 1982.

"To the best of my knowledge, at the present time, with one exception all
families bearing the surname Brassard in the United States and Canada are
descended from Antoine Brassard. The single exception is my own family line in
which the male ascendancy leads to the Pilote family due to a name change. The
female ascendancy of this line leads back to Antoine Brassard.
It is believed by some genealogists that he migrated from Normandy, but at
the time of his marriage his place of origin was not stated. It is doubtful we
will ever know where he came from in France. We do know that Antoine was a
Mason or a stone worker and was born about 1609.
At Quebec he married a woman name Francoise Mery and together they raised a
family. Francoise gave birth to ten children and eight are known to have
survived.
Francoise was born in 1621 and died 11 July 1671. Little is known about her
before she married Antoine, but it is said she lived in her house in a place
called Grand Alle, Quebec. This place today is St. Louis Street, Quebec.
Antoine is the ancestor of the Brassard and Deschenaux families. Many
genealogists, authors and others have been confused between the names Brassard,
Brossard and Broussard. It is easy to do because of the close similarities in
spelling, pronunciation. Tnaguay, for example, lists as Brassard those Acadians
whose surnames is Brousard. Edward Richer, in his two volume series, Acadia,
uses Brassard for Broussard and Bona Arsenault uses both Brossard and
Broussard.
Research on the Brossard family discloses it can be traced to two principle
sources. The first originated from Isaac Urbain Brossard who married Urbaine
Hodiau in 1660 at Montreal. He was born in France in 1634 and was the son of
Mathurin and Maichelle Bidault. The second was established in Little France,
Oswego County, New York by John Baptiste Vital Brossard who migrated from
Switzerland with his family in early 1834. He was born 19 Nov 1787 in
Switzerland near the French border.
As I have stated previously, the family of Broussard is listed in various
sources with all three spelling variations. However, the family name can be
traced back to Jean Francois Broussard of Acadia who married Catherine Richard
about 1681 at Port Royal.
Catherine was the daughter of Michel and Madeleine Blanchard. Jean Francois
Broussard was born in 1654. His descendents, using his surname, can be founf
throughout the Southern States.
One other name should be mentioned which I have been informed about recently.
This is the name Brassor. It is not another family line but a name change from
Brassard. If you speak French, the reason for the name change is obvious. In
the French language the final consonant of Brassard is not pronounced, thus,
the new name is spelled like the sound of the original. This name has been
traced back to Brassard families in Northern New England, but I'm sure it will
eventually trace to Antoine."

Antoine married Mery, Francoise on 14 Jan 1637. Francoise was born in 1621; died on 11 Jul 1671. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Brassard, Antoine was born in 1639; died on 12 Apr 1642.
2. Brassard, Jeanne was born in 1641; died on 21 Dec 1709.
3. Brassard, Marie Madeliene was born on 1 Jun 1642; died on 22 Sep 1712.
4. Brassard, Alexandre was born in 1644; died on 14 Jan 1688.
5. Brassard, Marguerite was born on 23 Jan 1645.
6. Brassard, Guillaume was born on 15 Dec 1647.
7. Brassard, Antoine was born on 14 Oct 1649.
8. Brassard, Jean Baptiste was born on 28 Sep 1651; died on 22 Feb 1715.
9. Brassard, Louis was born on 3 Aug 1653.
10. Brassard, Dorothee was born on 30 Jul 1656 in Quebec, Canada; died on 7 Nov 1738 in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Les Chenaux, Quebec, Canada.