The 2001-2002 year finishes with our annual meeting for all members. It is time for all of us to examine our conscience and take a look at the year in retrospect. The Association of Plante Families, like every other association, can function only if the members take its survival to heart not only by increasing its membership but offering their services voluntarily when needed.

This year the Association was able to make progress in spite of uncontrollable circumstances such as illness. In actual fact, the Plante Dictionary has become an invaluable source of information for our Plante and Laplante ancestors. I must mention Paul A Plante’s work in this area.

Our Newsletter has become a much appreciated source of information for all our members because of Jean-Marie’s work. However, its future success cannot be taken for granted. It needs the collaboration of all those who can supply articles to help him in his task of turning out an interesting document. The word is out for next year: participate in the Newsletter by sending to Jean-Marie any article that might be of interest to our members.

The Association took a huge step forward this year in consolidating and translating the website. This allowed us to expand our readership well outside the province. We have a new member from Alberta and are in contact with many persons from Ontario and the States. Julie from Montreal and Louise from Ontario work diligently in translating our website into English.

The Quebec-Levis members continue to meet on a monthly basis. A good attendance proves that these meetings are successful and everyone appreciates the exchange of ideas arising from them. They also give us the opportunity to know each other better.

Last May, Armand (Dorion) and I attended the annual meeting for the Federation of Founding Families. This convention provided us with ideas which will certainly be useful in developing and advancing our Association. I have provided the minutes on the next page.

The glorious days of summer are upon us. Enjoy them and come back in September with renewed energy so that we will again have the pleasure of renewed acquaintances within our large Plante family.

Marcel 3-101, président

The Plante on the Internet are making great strides in extending their readership. This site, now totally translated into English, contains the colour version of the Newsletter and attracts many visitors, the majority English speaking and American. Don’t forget to visit it and complete the Visitor’s Registry.

The Quebec Founding Families convention was held in Sherbrooke on May, 2002. These meetings allow us to exchange and socialize with the membership of other families.

The general Assembly makes us aware of the work accomplished by the administration and the financial situation. The workshops were very productive and therefore worthwhile. This year they focused on the members within the association of families. There were three workshops on topics taken from a research study that had been requested by the Federation, aimed at better targeting the clientele and the expectations of the members of diverse associations.

The first workshop dealt with socio-demographic facts. It was pointed out that men and women were of equal numbers and that the average age was between 56 and 75. Most were retired and had been members for five years. The questions asked were:

1. What recommendations would you make to the association of families?
2. How does this profile of the membership influence your choice of activities?
3. How are you going to meet the members’ expectations better?

Answers:

• target the 50-55 age group
• work on the Internet
• visit different regions
• meet with non-members

The second workshop dealt with the topic-why become a member and remain a member? The main reasons were the desire to know more about one’s roots, the pride arising from knowing one’s ancestors, a love for family history, the sharing of records and meeting other family members. The reasons given for not remaining a member were health problems and rising annual fees. Word of mouth was the most used method to find out about associations. The questions asked were:

1. What slogans,messages or themes should a publicity campaign have?
2. What are the best ways to get new membership?
3. What means should be used to keep our membership?

Answers :

• social activities attract people
• special interchanges of ideas (conferences)
• celebrations of the 200^th , 300^th etc.
• try to recruit the before 40 group

The third workshop was about attendance at association’s activities. A study revealed that more than half of the respondents had attended activities rarely or not at all. The reasons for attending were: the region where the activity was held, the type of activity and the pleasure of seeing certain members again. The main reason for not attending was that the activity was too far away. The questions asked were:

1. What should be considered when planning an activity?
2. Should one aim for a large attendance or accept that only a certain percent will attend?
3. How can one improve the attendance?

Answers

• take advantage of special events and be imaginative
• separate budgets for subregions
• work on the Internet
• take part in the Festival of New France

A survey did not reveal clear answers to all these questions. Many spoke of the fact that there were few young members in their associations and wanted to know how to attract them. Two suggestions caught my attention. First of all, bring History closer to them—for example, where did their grandparents live, how did they live? Find and publish in our newsletters the names of young people who accomplished something special in sports, in academics or in other areas.

Another effective and economical way of advertising our associations would be to send a condolence letter each time there is a Plante death in a region, whether or not he is a member. Other suggestions were: an honorary president at our annual meetings, - a tribute, - increasing the administration councils with the purpose of preparing those who will replace the present administration.

To conclude, many of the ideas discussed are worth looking into. They will interest our present members and help recruit new members. Only active participation along with the annual fees will make an association survive.

On behalf of the Association of Plante Families, I invite the cooperation of the membership in recruiting and taking up the tasks needed to continue the work initiated by the past and present administration

Marcel 3-101, pres.

At the convention, Raymonde and Armand won a fabulous prize—a trip to Europe. Congratulations to the lucky winners!

We had an enigma on our hands for many years. According to church records, the parents of Louis Hus Cournoyer were Emmanuel Hus and Marie Plante. We could not find the marriage of this couple in any parish register.

Had there been a marriage contract? Paul A. listed the notaries practicing at that time and finally found the contract in the Montreal Archives. Here, the real names of Louis’ parents were written. Instead of Emmanuel, we should have been reading Jean-Baptiste Hus Cournoyer and instead of Marie Plante, Marie-Therese Badaillac called

Laplante

• In the 5^th edition of his dictionary, we find the different roots of Laplante and their descendents. All these soldiers added a nickname to their first name which was often forgotten later. They are:

Badaillac called Laplante

• The ancestor was a soldier in the Froment corps in the Carignan Regiment. Originally from the diocese of Perigueux, he arrived in Canada in 1667. Louis Badaillac married in Sorel around 1672 Catherine de Lalore or Lawlor , a "fille du roi" born in London, England. They had 8 children.

Bonnier called Laplante

• Jacques Bonnier called Laplante and also called Laframboise was born in Britany around 1658. He was a soldier in the St-Jean corps. According to the marriage contract drawn up by the notary Rageot, he married Genevieve Migneron in the Quebec area. Genevieve gave birth to 9 children. Many became Plantes.

Champagne called Laplante

• The origin of this branch is in the community of Ste-Marie on L’Ile de Re. Jean-Baptiste Champagne carried the nickname of Saint-Martin. A sergeant in the army, he married Angelique Brisval, then Marguerite Legardeur. They lived mainly in the region of Nicolet.

Labourliere or de Labordeliere called Laplante

• The ancestor Jean-Baptiste, a soldier in the Saint-Jean corps, was baptized in the parish of St-Andre de Niort in Poitou. On Feb 11,1697, he married Catherine Martin in St-Pierre, Ile d’Orleans. Their 6 children were born in Riviere-Ouelle.

Leriger called Laplante

• Originally from Gourville in Angoumois, Clement Leriger climbed up the ladder in the army. Starting as a cadet in 1685, he became a junior ensign in 1688, an ensign in 1692: he was discharged in 1702 and reinstated in 1703. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1720. He married Marie Roy in Saint-Lambert on Sept 8, 1700. Their 12 children were born in Laprairie.

Sauve called Laplante

• Pierre Sauve called Laplante, a soldier, came from Libourne in Guyana. He married Marie Michel or Michaud in Lachine on Feb 27, 1696. Their 12 children were born in west Montreal.

Tessier called Laplante

• Many Tessiers or Texiers emigrated to Canada. Mathieu, also called Eringue, was one of them. This soldier in the Bouraillon corps came from Cognac-le-Froid, a suburb of Rochecouart in Limousin. He married Marguerite Carreau, a widow of Louis Prevost. Louis Prevost already had 5 children from a previous marriage. He had 4 more with Marguerite. Louis Prevost drowned in Beauport in 1686, leaving 9 children. Mathieu Tessier and Marguerite Carreau added 9 children to their household.

Of these Laplante, some changed their name to Plante.

Ref: Dictionnaire des Familles Plante (Paul A. Plante)

Dictionnaire genealogique des familles du Quebec (Rene Jette)

For those who have some free time, Canadian coin collecting can become an interesting and educational hobby at all ages. There are many ways of collecting Canadian coins. Here are a few.

1- Collecting according to the date.

Find a .01, .05, .10 etc. coin for the years 1950, 51, 52, etc.

2- Collecting according to the imprint:

ex.-- the .05 coins with different monarchs—George V, Edward VII, Victoria

3- Collecting the coins of a single monarch but of different countries

ex. -- the coins of Edward VII during the British Empire.

4- Collecting according to the image:

Collect an ensemble of imprints of a monarch on different coins or different imprints of many monarchs, ex. Queen Elizabeth on Canadian coins and on coins of other Commonwealth countries.

5- Ensemble of types:

A coin of each denomination for each one of the monarchs, ex a .05 of George IV to Elizabeth II.

I hope that all this has peaked your curiosity and maybe given you the desire to collect old Canadian coins.

Sometimes as you do research on one of your ancestors, leafing through a History book, an old manuscript, coming across a legal contract, will or inventory, you are facing a sum of money and you have no idea of the value.—livre, ecus, sols, etc..

To clarify this problem a bit, here is a list of a few popular coins of the time—le denier, le sous or sol, la livre or franc, l’ecu, monnaie d’argent, le louis, monnaie d’or

The equivalency of these coins to each other are:

12 derniers equals 1 sou or sol,
1 livre (franc is worth 20 sous (sol),
1 ecu is worth 3 livres,
1 louis is worth 20 livres,
1 pistole is worth 10 livres.

The first colonists were very poor. They had brought very little money with them and this was quickly exhausted. In 1663, there was no longer a money system in the country. To compensate this lack, the inhabitants started using CASTOR (beaver pelts) as a money exchange. The pelt was sold for 4 francs a pound. This system was accepted in all the stores of the (Hudson’s Bay) Company.

Money reappeared with the arrival of the soldiers in 1665. It didn’t solve the problem for long because the coins did not stay in circulation. Negotiating with beaver pelts continued. In 1669, they started using wheat worth 4 livres a minot and then in 1674, moose pelts were also used valued at 3 livres approximately.

De Meulles established the system of card money in 1685. The king had ordered that all transactions be done with money in 1674 and by 1684, he sent soldiers to make it happen but he forgot to pay them. Therefore De Meulles came up with the card money system—one used ordinary playing cards, each one bore the seal of the Intendant, his signature and that of the treasurer. A whole card was worth 4 livres, a half card was worth 2 livres and a quarter card was 15 sous. One could exchange it for money as soon as one could obtain it and then you destroyed the voided card. This system was popular until 1717.

Everyone had his salary according to his job. In 1653,

a surgeon earned 150-200 livres annually;
a cabinet maker 100 livres;
a carpenter 75 to 100 livres;
a gunsmith/labourer 100 livres;
a locksmith/gunsmith 80 livres;
a locksmith 75 livres;
a gunsmith/landclearer 75 livres;
a mason 80 livres;
a shoemaker 60 livres;
a tailor 60 livres

What could one buy with this money? In 1709, a horse was sold for 40 livres and a good animal went for as much as 100 livres. In 1709, a cow was worth 50 livres, a sheep 5 livres, a medium sized pig from 150 to 200 livres.

Pelts and furs were essential for the sustenance of the colonists. In 1715, the pelt of an elk was worth 10 livres, that of a bear, otter, or raccoon was 5 livres, the pelt of a cub 2-1/2 livres, that of a wolf was 2 livres, of a martin-45 sols, of a fox-35 sols.

At the beginning of the XVIIIth century (around 1710) commodities were sold for the following prices: salted butter---10 sol, fresh butter—15 sols, watermelon—3-6 sols, large melons---15-20 sols, cheese from Ile d’Orleans, small, thin, round and 4 pieces to a pound –30 sous a dozen. To cook all these ingredients, a stove cost 100 livres.

References:

- Gérard Filteau, LA NAISSANCE D'UNE NATION, éditions de l'Aurore, 1973 1651, rue St-Denis, Montréal: (1) p. 191 (2) p. 192 (3) p. 245 (5) p. 246 (6) p. 205 (7) p. 277
- Russel Bouchard, LES ARMURIERS DE LA NOUVELLE-FRANCE, Ministère des affaires culturelles, Québec, 1978, Série Art et Métiers. (8) p. 24
- Gilles Lapierre Tiré de L'Entraide généalogique, Vol 1, no 1, 1978-1979, page 60

Source : Société de généalogie des Cantons de l'Est (http://www.genealogie.org/club/sgce/)
 

Recently, I was humming the song of Felix Leclerc; " My shoes and I have really traveled" and I wondered how my ancestors had used their shoes: traveling or working the land. Starting with my paternal family line, I pointed to the spot on a highway map where each one had married. It was my way of following the road they had traveled and the jobs they had had to support their family.

The first ancestor, Jean Plante, established himself on land in Chateau-Richer after his arrival in New France around 1845. His wife, Francoise Boucher, gave him 13 children. He had 8 sons, 5 of them moved on to Ile d’Orleans.

His son, Jean of my line, cultivated the fertile land in Saint-Jean on the south side of the island. His second wife, Suzanne Lefebvre, gave him 6 children, one of them being Louis.

Louis went south across the St. Laurence to acquire land in Saint-Michel de Bellechasse, near the Boyer River. He got married in this parish. He must certainly have had the time to cultivate the land in spite of many other transactions he was involved in. He died and was buried in 1756 at Fort St. Frederick in New York State since he was in the militia.

The trip continues with Francois who married for the second time in Saint-Charles de Bellechasse. He was a farmer in this parish and was buried there in 1837.

Pierre was born in Saint-Charles and got married in Saint-Pierre de Montmagny. He became a widower and got remarried in Saint-Charles and died in Saint-Agathe de Lotbiniere. He was a horseman and captain of the militia.

My great grandfather, Pierre-Octave, was born in Sainte-Claire de Dorchester, got married there and died in Saint-Anselme de Dorchester. Therefore, his father Pierre must have also lived in Sainte-Claire. Pierre-Octave was a farmer and miller.

My grandfather, Anselme, was born in Saint-Claire, got married in Saint-Anselme and died there.

To feed his family, he was both a farmer and a traveling salesman,

My father, Valere, and his brothers from the first marriage of Anselme and Marie-Emma Gagne, were born in Sainte-Agathe de Lotbiniere. Therefore, my grandfather, Anselme, also lived in this town for a few years before returning to Saint-Anselme. My father was an accountant for many years at Paquet & Sons, a coal and heating oil merchant in Levis.

This is the road taken by the members of my paternal line. They lived in the counties of Montmorency, Bellechasse, maybe Montmagny, then Dorchester, Lotbiniere and Levis. Canoes and horse carts were their way of getting around except for my father who had a car. Recently, my paternal line was in the newsletter article entitled "La genealogie au cimitiere.

Personally, I have covered almost 500 kilometers to photograph churches in these parishes. A great excuse to make me discover unknown places and beautiful country settings simply to satisfy my curiosity. I have published a document for my family entitled "Les paroisses de mes ancetres Plantes".

On May 19, 2002, in the church of St-Athanase, Marie Plante (3-160), a nun of the Charity of St-Louis celebrated her golden jubilee. Her parochial community, heads of the religious community and her family rendered her great homage.

Her whole career was devoted to teaching. She taught in many places, Quebec City, St-Honore de Shenly, St-Come, Black Lake, Shawinigan, Charny, N.D. du Rosaire, Rome, St-Pierre de Montmagny, St-Athanase. She was also one of the directors of her congregation.

She has been a member of our Association for many years. The members from her family are Laurette (3-114), Marie-Paule (3-107), Marcel (3-101), Odina (3-158), Michel (3-171), Lucien (3-178), Maurice (1-155), Louise (3-157)

Our best wishes are with you.

Marie-Paule, 3-107

More than 60 attended the annual meeting of the large Plante Family at Berthier-sur-Mer on June 8. After the general assembly, we were treated to a delicious meal. We then left for the boat trip on the majestic Saint-Laurence anxious to discover the historical site of Grosse-Ile ( or Ile de la Quarantaine).

A guided visit of this site where quarantine for our immigrants is part of our history made us understand and appreciate the difficulties they faced, especially the Irish who suffered through the infamous cholera epidemic.

Everyone seemed to truly appreciate this special day.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!