MARENTETTE FAMILY
The French Catholic Church, which after Champlain’s death was the most dominant force in New France, wanted to establish a utopian Christian community in the colony. In 1642, they sponsored a group of settlers, led by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and our Marentette ancestors Nicolas Gode and Francoise Gadois, who founded Ville-Marie, precursor to present-day Montreal, farther up the St. Lawrence. Throughout the 1640s, Jesuit missionaries penetrated the Great Lakes region and converted many of the Huron natives. The missionaries came into conflict with the Iroquois, who frequently attacked Montreal. By 1649, both the Jesuit mission and the Huron society were almost completely destroyed by Iroquois invasions.
The transport infrastructure in New France was all but nonexistent, with few roads and canals.The canals would be up to 3 miles long at times and boats were thin and simple. Thus people used the waterways, especially the St. Lawrence River, as the main form of transportation, bycanoes. In the winter, when the lakes froze, both the poor and the rich travelled by sleds pulled by dogs or horses. A land transportation system was not developed in the region until the 1830s, when stretches of road were built along the river, and the Rideau Canal project was not completed until 1840.
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The Godes were the first family of Ville-Marie
In a park located just beside the Château Ramsay, across the street from the Montréal City Hall and in the shadow of Nelson's monument at the head of Jacques-Cartier square in Old Montréal, an iron plaque recalls the founders of the City of Montréal, Jérome Le Royer de la Dauversière, Jeanne Mance and Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve.
It also commemorates the names of the first European family of Ville-Marie, the ancestors of the Marentettes: the family of Nicolas Godé and Françoise Gadois
along with their children François, Nicolas, Françoise and Mathurine.
The plaque above says "Ville de Montreal. Parmi eux, la premiere famille de Ville-Marie originaire du Perche. And then it lists the Gode Family Nicolas 52, Francoise Gadois 47, Francois 21, Nicolas Jr 13, Francoise 11m and Mathurine 5." I dont know a french very well but I know this said the first family of Ville Marie, originally from Perche.
Nicolas Godé and Françoise Gadois at the founding of Ville-Marie
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In the heart of Old Montréal, just beside the archaeology and history museum of Pointe-à-Callière, the citizens of Montréal erected a monument to commemorate the founding of their city. Here are three of the main bronze text panels located at the base of the granite obelisk.
Our ancestors Nicolas Godé and Françoise Gadois, along with their three children occupy a prominent place.
Panel One
May XVIII, MDCXLII
Near this obelisk
between
The river and the stream which runs under the rue des Commissaires
at
The place called Place Royale by Champlain, on May XVIII, MDCXLII
Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Laid the foundations of the City of Montréal
He erected
The first homes, the fort, the chapel, the cemetery
That he enclosed within a wooden palissade.
February XXIII, MDCXLII
Montréal was dedicated to the Virgin Mary
under the name of Ville-Marie
February XIII, MDCXLIV
Louis XIV granted the town its first civic charter
March XXVI, MDCXLIV
Chomedey de Maisonneuve
was
Named the town's first Governor
Panel Two
Provides the names of the settlers who arrived during the summer of 1642
Panel Three
Finally, a third panel relates some of the words that were spoken on that historic occasion:
May XVIII, MDCCCXCIII
This monument was erected
by
The Société historique de Montréal
to the memory
Of the generous founders of this city
and
The first settlers who arrived here
in
MDCXLII
What you see here, Gentlemen, is but a tiny seed,
but, I have no doubts at all that this small
seed will produce a great tree, that it will one day result in wonderful progresses, that it will multiply itself and spread everywhere.
[Words spoken to the settlers by the
Rev. Father Vimont, May XVIII, MDCXLII]
This project of Montréal could be, in some time to come, a great glory to God, the honour of the Church, and of great use to this Kingdom.
[Words of Monsieur Olier
"Les Véritables Motifs," etc.]
'The story of the Marentette family is a truly Canadian tale. It starts at the beginnings of the French colony of Ville-Marie in 1641 and winds its way through many of the social, political, economic and cultural twists that have marked the history of France's colonial ambitions along the shores of the Saint-Lawrence River and elsewhere in this vast country. It has even spilled over into the United States. At the same time, the Marentettes are a truly made-in-Ontario family. It is in the Windsor area that "Marentette" became a distinct family name; it was found no where else. All Marentettes can trace their families back to la pointe de Montréal and the small New France settlement of French-Canadians which would one day become the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
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A great many of the elements of that story were never recorded. Most disappeared with the passing of the older generations and the shunning of such stories of the past by younger ones. But luckily small pieces of that big puzzle have survived and are within reach. Still, there is one important step required before beginning to write a preliminary history of the Marentettes: the collation of that information, bringing it together in one easily accessible location.
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…The Marentette family history is not only its own, it's a bit of Canada's history because there have been Marentettes or Godet dit Marentettes or Godés or their relatives through marriage who have been involved in so many of the different aspects of building this country.” (Jean-Luc Pilon, The Marentette Family)
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Most of the information on this site is not of my own. The information was found online which was at sometime written or compiled by other Marentette relatives. Most of the names and dates are that of Terry Patrick Marentette, and some of the information is that of Jean-Luc Pilon another Marentette ancestor. I do not represent the information on this site as my own, even when not properly cited. This site allows me to find information and compile it in a way that I can easily understand it. It was made so that the information can be easily accessible by myself, for other Marentettes, and my future generations. Some pictures are also that of Jean-Luc-Pilon.