Early History
My Monette family roots can be documented all the way back to Jean Monet, born in 1647 in Dampierre-sur-Boutonne, Poitou, France. He was the son of Michel Monet and Marie Bretel. Jean married Thérèse Glory dit Labrière on 31 Oct 1678 in Ste. Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End Church, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montréal. Thérèse was the daughter of Laurent Glory and Jacqueline La Grange who came to New France from Niort. Their daughter, Thérèse, was born in Montréal on 17 Sep 1885. Jean & Thérèse had four children, Nicolas, Jean, Catherine and a child who died at birth.
Children of Jean Monet & Thérèse Glory dit Labrière
Nicolas was born 4 Mar 1683 in Rivière-des-Prairies. He married Jean Viau dit Lespérence on 13 Aug 1708 in Longueuil. They had eleven children. Jean was born 24 Mar 1685 in Pte-aux-Trembles. He married Madeleine Drapeau on 14 Nov 1709 at Rivière-des-Prairies. They had thirteen children. Catherine was born on 11 Oct 1687 at Rivière-des-Prairies. She married Maurice Bériau on 28 Apr 1711 in Québec on 28 Ap 1711. They had nine children. A fourth child was born in January 1690 and died 25 Jul 1690.
Monette dit Boismenu: Dit Names
In France and New France, nicknames or dit names were often added to a surname to distinguish between individuals and families living in the same area. Jean Monet's wife was Thérèse Glory dit Labrière. The most common dit names used by my Monet ancestors are Boismenu, Bienvenu & Boisvenu.
This is in addition to the fact that there were many variations of the Monette family name itself including Moinet, Moynet, Monette, Monnet, Monnette. A person might be known as Monette dit Boismenu. Others used the family name alone. In some cases, individuals switched completely and used only the dit name which became their family name. As you can imagine, this made tracing French-Canadian ancestors with dit names that much more complicated. In the Monette links on the right, I have attached s few sites which explain the concept & complications of dit names in much greater detail.
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Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End Church in Montréal
The Monette Family Today
The Monette family lived mainly around Montréal. My great-grandfather, Onésime Monette, moved first from Montréal to Manitoba and then, eventually, to Ottawa with his family. Most of the children were born in Montréal but married and lived in Ottawa. My grandmaother, Antoinette Monette, married Nelson Landry. They lived and raised their family in Ottawa, ON.
Monette Links
The Family of Onésime Monette & Hectorine Bourguoin: This is my grandmother, Antoinette Monette's family, which came to Ottawa in the early 1900s and made their lives here.
Edouard Monette: An Ottawa building icon. Edouard Monette, my grandmother Antoinette's brother, was the contractor responsible for building some of Ottawa's major landmarks including St. François of Assise Church on Wellington Street as well as the Plant Bath on the corner of Preston and Somerset Streets.
Onésime Monette my great-grandfather.
Map of Dampierre-sur-Boutonne the region from which the Jean Monet emigrated.
La Rochelle, the major port near St. Pierre-sur-Boutonne, from which many French departed for a life in New France.
Dit names in French-Canadian genealogy. The attached links provide further insight into this unique phenomenon. The first: Dit Names in French Canada in The French Canadian Genalogist. The second: Oh Those Dit Names! in Legacy Magazine:
