T H E C R 0 T E A U' S

The New World history of the Croteau family begins with one, Vincent Croteau, son of Andre Croteau and Marguerite Metayer of St. Martin de Veules, Archdiocese of Rouen, Province of Normandie, France. They were married about 1630 in the above parish. Vincent was born in Rouen in 1647. He became a boot maker or cobbler and apparently immigrated to Canada in 1665 or 1666 as he married Jeanne Godequin in Quebec on Sept. 22, 1669 (she was probably a Kings Girl in as much as the marriage is shown as a marriage "Contrat Bequet"). She was the daughter of Jacques Godequin and Jeanne Dupuis and was born in l6~9. She was baptized in the Cathedral de Notre Dame de Amiens in the Province of Picardy.

Vincent and Jeanne carved a home out of the wilderness at Syllery, a village on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River just west of the Citadel at Quebec. They had seven sons and three daughters. Their first son (the second child) was named Louis. He is the ancestor of our branch of the family. Jeanne died Nov. 4, 1726 at the age of 78. Vincent died in 1730 at the age of 83. Both are buried at St. Anthony de Tilley, which is on the St. Lawrence River just west of Syllery.

The name Louis (apparently honoring the Kings of France) appears to have been popular with our ancestors in as much as four of our direct ancestors were so named. In order to help keep them separate I have numbered them Louis I, Louis II, Louis II and Louis IV in the order of their descent to our time.

Louis Croteau I, son of Vincent Croteau was born in Quebec City on Nov. 30,1672. He became a farmer and on Nov. 22, 1695 at Pointe aux Trembles (a suburb of Montreal) he married M. Louise Bordeleau. She was the daughter of Antoine Bordeleau, who was the son of Jean Bordeleau and Marie Villain of Domspiere-sur-Boutonne, Diocese of La Rochelle, France, born about 1617, died Sept. 18, 1717. Antoine Bordeleau married Perette Hollier in Quebec on Oct. 15, 1669 (see date of Vincent’s marriage above). She was born in 1651 in Esgly, Diocese of Paris, the daughter of Jean Hollier and Barbe Marignan. Louis and Louise had five boys and four girls. Their first child, a son, our direct ancestor was named Louis and I have designated him Louis II. M. Louise (Bordeleau) Croteau died at St. Anthony de Tilley on July 2, 1720. Her husband Louis I died also at St. Anthony de Tilley on June 20, l747.

Louis Croteau II was a master butcher and farmer. He was born at Pointe aux Trembles on Nov. 2, 1696, son of Louis Croteau I and M. Louise Bordeleau. On Aug. 4, 1728 at St. Nicholas he married M. Catherine Baron, daughter of Jacques Baron and Catherine Mesny. She was also the granddaughter of Nicolas Baron one of the first settlers of Montreal and Marie-Marthe Chauvin who were married at Montreal Nov. 16, 1676.

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Louis Croteau II and M. Catherine Baron had three sons and three daughters. Their second child, a son, was named Louis and I have designated him as Louis III (he was our ancestor).

Louis Croteau III was born at St. Anthony de Tilley on April 14, 1733. On Jan. 9, 1769 he married Madeleine Demers at St. Nicholas. She was the daughter of Charles Demers and M. Frese Huard. Records are missing as to her birth and death dates and place of burial as are the records of Louis III. Records do show that they had three sons and three daughters. Their fourth child, a son, was named Louis like his father and grandfather and I have designated him as Louis IV (he was our ancestor).

Louis Croteau IV was married at St. Nicholas on Feb. 10, 1801 to Rose Pousse, daughter of Jean Pousse and M. Catherine Bergeron. They had eight sons and one daughter. Their third child was a son named Joseph, who is our direct ancestor. No records exist as to dates of birth or death or place of burial of any of this generation. The only information available is the date, place and names of the ones married.

Joseph Croteau, son of Louis IV (date of birth, place of birth and place of death and date of death are unknown), married Emilie' Carrier (dates of her birth and death as well as location are also unknown) at St. Nicholas on Aug. 8, 1826. She was the daughter of Joseph Carrier and Genevieve Flamans Ladriere. They had seven sons and three daughters. Their sixth child, Modeste was our ancestor.

Modeste Joseph Croteau was born about 1834 (place unknown). On June 3, 1870 at St. Sylvester, he married Sara (Sophia) Pomerleau, daughter of Joseph Pomerleau and Sara Veillieux. She was born about 1849. They had one child, a son, Antoine Edward Joseph Croteau who was born at St. Sylvester on March 7, 1871. In 1872 the family moved to Skowhegan, Maine, USA. Modeste was known as Joseph Crotto because the English people who controlled the area could not pronounce or spell his name. He was a woodsman, a stonemason and laborer. On Nov. 12, 1899 his wife Sara (known as Sophia) died and was buried at Skowhegan. On April 14, 1900 he married a widow by the name of Margaret Smith, they had no children. Modeste was killed on Dec. 10, 1908 while opening the water gates on the North Channel Dam across the Kennebec River at Skowhegan. A retailing pin slipped and a flying capstan bar knocked him off the dam to some ledges forty or fifty feet below. He broke his neck in the fall hut lived for more than three hours and lies in buried in the South Side Cemetery in Skowhegan not far from the monument to Governor Coburn.

Antoine Edward Joseph Croteau, my grandfather, was born at St. Sylvester Canada on March 7, 1871. He came to Skowhegan in 1872 at the age of one year. He had very little formal education as he went only as far a the third grade in school, then (as most of the children of that era) he went to work to help support the family.

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He was a woodsman, a river log driver, and in his later years was a weave room foreman in a woolen mill. He retired in 1933 but continued to be active around his home in Skowhegan and his summer home on Lake Wesserrunsett.

On Feb. 6, 1893, at Skowhegan, Maine he married Elizabeth Boulette (Bouley). daughter of Augustus Boulette (Bouley), a baker and Mary Demo (Dumond, Dumais). The only knowledge we have of her people at this time is that her grandfather was Michael Demo who came to Skowhegan from Canada in 1834. He married Sara Gilblair (Gilbert) the daughter of Abraham Gilblair who was the first permanent French-Canadian settler in Skowhegan. This was the year of 1932.Elizabeth Boulette Croteau was one of a family of five boys and four girls. She was born in Skowhegan on May 23, 1874. Edward and Elizabeth had three sons and one daughter. (The daughter died at a very early age and there is no record of her)

Their sons were: Willard Joseph, born Dec. 10,1893 in Skowhegan. He married Catherine Dionne, daughter of Raymond Dionne and Olive Sirois in Skowhegan on Sept. 1, 1913, at the age of 19. He died

Feb. 9, 1981. There were no children by this marriage. Francis Edward was born in Skowhegan on May 3, 1898 and attended Skowhegan schools. He married Phildora Lily Cote, daughter of Fred Cote and Elizabeth Bernard in Skowhegan on Oct. 2, 1918. Upon leaving high school he accepted a position with Texas Company of New York and for some four years was manager of its Marine Insurance office at Bath, Maine. Returning to Skowhegan in 1921, he became advertising manager of the Independent Reporter, subsequently serving the newspaper as editor and manager. He was elected Town Treasurer in 1934 and when that office was combined with that of Town Clerk in 19(5, occupied both positions until his retirement in 1966. He was active in the operation of the family owned Abnaki Camping Center until his death on Oct. 24, 1976.

There were three children from the marriage of Francis E. and Phildora Cote. Francis Edward, Jr. was born Oct. 12, 1919 at Bath, Maine. He graduated from the Skowhegan School system and attended Burdett Business College in Boston for one year. He then worked for a short time in the W.J. Croteau Insurance agency and then for 9 years as a clerk in Raymond's Clothing Store in Skowhegan. Following this he opened a grocery store in East Madison in 1945. This was sold in 1950 and after spending approximately four years in the Los Angeles area of California working for North American Aviation, he returned to Skowhegan with his family in 1954. He worked for the Central Maine Power Company in various departments until his retirement in Sept. 1981. Between 1962 and 1979, he along with family members, built and operated Abnaki Camping Center on Lake Wesserrunsett, in East Madison.

From his marriage to Mary Rita Lavallee, daughter of Felix Lavallee' and Anna Lapierre', on Oct. 4, 1941, there were three children. David Armand born Feb. 12, 1943, Judith Francis born March 7, 1945 and Paul Willard born March 30, 1947.

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The second child of Francis E. and Phildora L. was Vincent Norval, born Oct. 30,1920. He was a career service man with the U.S. Navy and also operated Croteau Frames in Kittery, Maine. He married Virginia Martin in Hutchinson, Kansas on Jan. 4, 1946, and there were four children from this union. Constance Theresa, born Aug. 31, 1946 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Edward Jay born May 19, 1948 in Skowhegan, and died July 19, 1950 by drowning. Priscilla Louise, born Nov. 19, 1952 in Skowhegan and Patricia Colleen born Aug. 22, 1956 in Bangor, Maine

The third child of Francis E. and Phildora L. was Constance Elizabeth, born Dec. 4, 1921. She married Clyde Greene and later was divorced. The children of that union were Nancy Ann born July 5, 1940 and Kathryn Frances born Nov. 6, 1946.

This information compiled by Francis E. Croteau, Jr.

March 17, 1990

The first child of Francis E. Croteau Jr. was David Armand born Feb 12, 1943 at the Skowhegan Memorial Hospital in Skowhegan Maine. He graduated from Madison High School in 1961 then attended Lowry Technical Training Center in Denver Colorado for 1 year of electronics training as a member of the Maine Air National Guard. After electronics training, David had jobs with the following companies: Mitchonics (Glendale, Ca 2 Yrs.) Lyons Music (Skowhegan, Me. 1Yr.) Bath Ironwork (Bath, Me. 2Yrs.) Xerox Corp (New England 4 Yrs) Gilford Instruments (NY, Boston, Maryland 14 yrs.) National Semiconductor (Boston, NJ, California 11 Yrs.) MAI Systems (Irvine Ca. 4 Yrs) Service Management International (Irvine, Ca. 1998 to October, 2000) Toshiba America Medical Systems (October, 2000 to Present). David married Patricia Ann Storti, RN, May 16, 1969, daughter of Augustus Storti and Geraldine Sayers of Montpelier Vermont. They have 2 children: Karen Christie Croteau born March 17, 1971 and David Armand Croteau II born January 10, 1975.

Karen Christie Croteau Graduated from Foothill High School (Pleasanton, Ca.) 1989 then Graduated with a Bachelors degree in Psychology from California State University in Sacramento in 1993 and then graduated with a Masters degree in Psychology from California State University in San Francisco in 1997. She married Gary Allen Ellis, son of Patricia Ellen Semichy and John Cecil Ellis of San Jose, CA. They were married in Makena, Hawaii on November 14, 2001.

David Armand Croteau II Graduated from Foothill High School (Pleasanton, Ca.) 1993 then Graduated with a Bachelor's in Counseling from California State University in Fresno in Dec. of 1996 and then graduated with a Master of Divinity from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (Mill Valley, CA) in May 2000. David Married Ann Balleza daughter of Thelma Castillo Falsis and Isaac Causing Balleza of Los Angeles California. December 31, 1998. Their daughter, Danielle Balleza Croteau, was born in Raleigh North Carolina September 19, 2000. On December 19, 2002 at 12:27 PM their son David Balleza Croteau was born, weighing 6 pounds even and was 18.5 inches long. He was born at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Updated by David A. Croteau Sr. 1/06/2003

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THE FRANCIS EDWARD CROTEAU LINE OF THE CROTEAU FAMILY TREE

Andre Croteau Son of: Unknown

b-birth date unknown Married: St. Martine Veules

Les Roses, Province

of Normandy, France about 1630

Vincent Croteau Son of: Andre Croteau

b-St. Martin, Rouen, France

1647

Louis Croteau I Son of: Vincent Croteau

b-Quebec City

Nov. 30, 1672

Louis Croteau II Son of: Louis Croteau I

b-Pointe Aux Trembles

Nov. 2, 1696

Louis Croteau III Son of: Louis Croteau II

b-St. Anthony de Tilley, P.Q.

April 14, 1733

Louis Croteau IV Son of: Louis Croteau III

b-birth date unknown Married: Feb. 10, 1801

Joseph Croteau Son of: Louis Croteau IV

b-birth date unknown Married: Aug. 8, 1826

Modeste Joseph Croteau Son of: Joseph Croteau

b-birth date unknown Married: June 3, 1870

Antonine Edward Joseph Croteau Son of: Modeste Joseph Croteau

b-St. Sylvester, P.Q. Married: Feb. 6, 1893

March 7, 1871

Francis Edward Croteau Son of: Antonine Edward Croteau

b-Skowhegan, Me. Married: Oct. 2, 1918

May 3, 1898

Francis Edward Croteau, Jr. Son of: Francis Edward Croteau

b-Bath, Me. Married: Oct. 4, 1941

David Armand Croteau Son of: Francis Edward Croteau, Jr.

b-Skowhegan, Me. Married: May 16, 1969

Feb. 12, 1943

Paul Willard Croteau Son of: Francis Edward Croteau, Jr.

b-Skowhegan, Me. Married: Sept. 9, 1967

March 30, 1947

David Armand Croteau II Son of: David Armand Croteau Sr.

b-Lowell, Mass Married: Dec. 31, 1998

January 10, 1975

David Balleza Croteau Son of: David Armand Croteau II

b- Raleigh, North Carolina

December 19, 2002

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There are no kings or queens or world-renowned warriors in the following branches of the Croteau family tree, which goes back some 350 years as of this date (Feb. 11, 1978).

There are however a few hero’s and heroines; they must have been just to have come to the unknown New World with only the clothes on their backs, a few tools and a great belief and reliance in their God.

The following material comes from the Archives Nationales, the office of the Ministere Des Affaires Culturelles, le Gouvernment Du Quebec, Section De Genealogie, 1180 Rue Berthelot, Quebec, Que.-GIR 3G3 and:

"Know Your French Ancestors" by Reginald Olivier, 35 North St Sanford, Maine USA (a copy of which is in the public library at Skowhegan, Maine ) and:

"The White and the Gold" by Thomas Costain. This is a history of the settling of French Canada and the exploration of some three quarters of the North American continent by the early French (a copy of this book is also in the public library at Skowhegan)

It must be remembered that the settling and exploration of New France was under the direct control of the Kings of France who made all the laws and rules by which life was carried on in the colonies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As for example in the seventeenth century all male immigrants had to serve the government for 36 months before they were allowed to settle for them selves. Therefore on those of our ancestors who were married after arrival in the New World, unless we have a positive date of arrival, we must deduct at least three years from the marriage date for a date of arrival.

In order to secure women who would immigrate to the New World the King's Ministers would recruit girls and young women in France to go to New France as settlers. These women were given bonuses to go and it was agreed that they were to select husbands from the men already there, that they were to marry and raise large families so as to build a large "native" population in the Colonies. One of the enticements was that if they had ten children the state would pay them an annual pension of three hundred livres (or pounds) in money. These girls were "mostly” peasant girls from the Provinces of Normandy Brittany and Picardy and were known as the "King's Girls" ("The peasant girls were much preferred by the men in New France because they had the stamina and training to make good homes in the unknown wilderness-the girls from the cities may have been prettier but they were not as self sufficient"). “Each couple of these marriages was given an ox, a cow, two pigs, a pair of chickens, two barrels of salted meat and eleven crowns in money" to start them off in their new lives.

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The entire French population of Canada (or New France as it was called) in 1663 was 2500; in 1666 3215. According to available records the following figures are given for immigration:

1665 - 429

1666 - 35

1667 - 187

1668 - 244

1669 - 364

1670 - 200

Population did not increase steadily in as much as the Indians would suddenly go on the warpath and kill and capture many of the settlers. For example, on Aug. 4, 1689 a war party of 1500 Iriquois went up from what is now upper New York State and raided the village of Lachine, which was the most populated outpost of the City of Montreal (about six miles west of the center of the city). "The City of Montreal had a population of about 2000 at that time. About 125 men, women and children were made prisoners and were carried across the St. Lawrence River to the south shore opposite the City where they were tortured to death. All the rest of the men, women and children were murdered and the village of Lachine was totally destroyed".

Disease also raised havoc with the early settlers - in 1699 smallpox killed over 300 people.

Also quite a few of the men ignored the laws and became fur traders without licenses and coureurs de bois (runners of the woods or wilderness men). Some of these disappeared in the vast unknown wilderness around the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi River waterways (see Laurent Croteau son of Vincent Croteau, born at Syllery on Nov. 27, 1674 and of whom the records indicate "destin inconnu" destiny unknown)

The Kings of France had passed laws in the sixteenth century that the Churches had to keep written records of all births, marriages and deaths of the people and it is from these records that the Canadian Government has filled its archives. Please note that some of the names of towns or dates are missing on the attached copies of the records. This may be that the original records were lost by fire, being misplaced, destroyed by Indian Raids etc. or just by the disappearance of the person as in the case of Laurent.

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