Roy Ancestry – France to Canada

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The first generation of the Roy ancestry begins with my father, Ernest Emile Roy. In this case, however, much is known about the family lineage because extensive church records were maintained over the centuries. To date, the family roots have been traced back more than 700 years to France. There, our ancestors were part of the French Nobility. For example, Seigneur (Lord) Gauthier de St Florent LeRoy (1285-1365) lived with his wife Lady Marguerite de France LeRoy (1285 to 1319) in Florent, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. 

Clearly, the ancestors of the Roy family have many stories to tell. For now, let’s start with Louis LeRoy who was born in 1610 at Dieppe, Normandy, France. He married Anne Lemaitre on April 27, 1638 at Saint-Remi de Dieppe, France. Louis was 28 years old and Anne was aged 20. They had three children during their marriage. Louis died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1661, at Chalons, Saone-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France at the age of 51. He never came to Canada. 

Nicolas LeRoy, son of Louis and Anne, was baptized at Saint-Remi de Dieppe on May 25, 1639. He married Jeanne Lelievre on November 26, 1658, while still very young. Nicolas was an early settler to Canada which was then known as New France. In May 1662, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the sailing ship The Garden of Holland. There were five of them in all: Nicolas, his wife Jeanne, his mother, Anne Lemaitre, and their sons Louis and Nicolas (Junior). Nicolas and Jeanne had eight more children born in New France to go with the two boys born in France. Together they struggled to carve out a homestead in the wilderness. By 1667, Nicolas owned four animals and seven acres of workable land. 

Nicolas (Junior) married Marie-Madeleine Leblond on November 18, 1686 at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans in Quebec. They had ten children, five boys and five girls. With the birth of their son Etienne (Stephen), the family name LeRoy was shortened to Roy, at the turn of the 18^th century. Etienne Roy began a long line of Roys in Canada: Pierre, Francois, Ferreol, Isidore, Gaudias, Alcide and Emile, my father. Learn more about Nicolas LeRoy and Jeanne Lelievre at Ancestry Quebec online.