Help on Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre descendants

Question

I currently do not have any descendants for the profile that I manage.  I will do further research, but welcome help from anyone able to offer assistance.  FamilySearch page is here:  https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GSJ2-YJ4

On 29 Apr 2023 Christopher Wekelo wrote on Lefebvre-2030:

Hello, In the course of my genealogical investigations, during the previous few years, I discovered that Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre (aka John Bean) is a Great Uncle (I cannot recall, how many times) to me. I am not a professional genealogist, and being an amateur, I would greatly appreciate the help, of anyone who might read this post. My questions are, as follows: Is Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre/John Bean, truly the documented Son of Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre and Rosalie Bourgouin, and the Brother of Rosalie Lefebvre? Secondly, does documentation exist, that shows (and validates) Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre/John Bean is truly the Son of Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre and Rosalie Bourgouin? Thirdly, does documentation exist, to validate that the John Bean in South Hero, Vermont was actually Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre, the Son of Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre and Rosalie Bourgouin? Fourthly, does documentation exist, that demonstrates the precise year, during which Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre emigrated from Canada to the State of Vermont? Lastly, did Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre/John Bean and his wife Rosalie Tourville, have a Son named George Bean, was George born in South Hero, Vermont in the year 1840, and most importantly, did George Bean serve in the U.S. Civil War as an infantryman in the Fifth Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment? Thank you very much, for your time and patience, and I look forward, to reading your answers. Best Regards, Christopher-Jude Wekelo

Comments

hmm, you have some children there for him already, but just as an aside, his being renamed John Bean is a bit funny from my side of things.  Lefebvre normally translates as Smith (a ''febvre'' being a smith).  Someone appears to have dropped some letters to turn it into ''fève'' which translates as ''bean''.

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Danielle,

This isn't the only Lefebvre line that changed their name to Bean. My great aunt Mary Bean Larocque was a Lefebvre but her ancestry doesn't intersect with his common Lefebvre line as he is of a different immigrant ancestor. Evidently this must mean that Bean was the understood anglicized version of Lefebvre in the community!

My great aunt:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bean-5891

Darrell

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Hey Darrell!

Yes they were actually contemporary John Beans in Clinton County New York and in multiple places in Vermont who were originally LeFebvres.

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It's funny because there is another Bean line for my cousins in my family, which is from Scotland through New Hampshire, so we have a crazy "Beanstalk" in northeastern Vermont! 

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Yes! A common phenomenon along the northern border - anglicized Kebeckers and English living in the same towns. My Blanchet/Blanchards settled in Ticonderoga with an equally large extended English Blanchard family, and there are about an even number of Barton cousins who were Bertrands in Addison County as there are English Bartons!

Answer 1

John Bean / Jean-Baptiste LeFebvre is my 3rd cousin through his mother. Many in my family had similar journeys from Quebec to the Champlain Valley, from the mid 17th century through the early 20th.

The evidence you seek is in the vital documents - look to the witnesses and godparents and you will find LeFebvre relatives. Fortunately, this work has been done by the inimitable Virginia DeMarce in her 1988 family reconstitution project for the Champlain Islands. "Notebook, French-Canadian Settlement in the Champlain Islands, Grand Isle County, Vermont Before the Year 1880"

By Virginia Easley DeMarce, Allen L. Stratton · 1988

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~vtgrandi/demarce/intro.htm

The parish repertoires for Vermont have been compiled by the Vermont French Canadian Genealogical Society and are available at the Vermont Genealogy Library. https://www.VTGenLib.org

Edited to add: as far as date of immigration, the couple was married in 1836 at St Luc's in St Jean sur Richelieu,  and their first child was born in Vermont in 1837. Subsequently, the rest of their children were born in Vermont. As there was much traveling back and forth by families in those days, this isn't necessarily proof of immigration in 1836, but it is an indication. Just keep in mind that it was not uncommon for children to be christened by a missionary in Vermont, brought home to Quebec, or both. There usually only ended up being one repertoire entry, but sometimes it did happen that there were two for the same child. The same thing happened with marriages, so it's possible they were already living in Vermont and went back to get officially married (having been married by a missionary or in another denomination besides Catholic).

Comments

Thank you.  I will look into it.