no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Catherine Lejeune (1633)

Catherine Lejeune
Born in Francemap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and
Sister of
Wife of — married about 1651 in Acadie, Nouvelle-Francemap
Descendants descendants
Died [date unknown] [location unknown]
Profile last modified | Created 14 Apr 2010
This page has been accessed 28,461 times.
The Acadian flag.
Catherine Lejeune is an Acadian.
Join: Acadians Project
Discuss: ACADIA

Contents

Biography

NOTICE: This profile is protected by the Acadian Project because of frequent duplication, variant name spelling, attempts to add unsourced parents, or is an historically important person, and is in the Top 100 highly viewed Acadian profiles. Please contact the Acadian Project before making any substantive changes. Thanks for helping make WikiTree the best site for accurate information.

Flag of France
Catherine Lejeune migrated from France to Acadia.
Flag of Acadia
Catherine's Life
Catherine Lejeune is the Ancestral Matriarch of the Acadian Savoie family.

Catherine was born around 1633.[1] Stephen White's Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes does not give a location for her birth.[1] She was the sister of Edmée Lejeune.[1]

François Savoie and Catherine Lejeune were married approximately in 1651 in Acadia but the exact place is not known.[2] Their first child was born in 1653. The estimated year of marriage is based on that. Between 1652 and 1670, they had 9 children: Françoise, Germain, Marie, Jeanne, Catherine, François, Barnabé, Andrée and Marie France.[1][3]

In the Port-Royal census of 1671, François, 50 years of age, was listed as a plowman and Catherine was 38. There were 9 children between the ages of 2 and 18 in the household. The family homestead had 6 arpents under cultivation and they had 4 cattle. [4] It is not clear where the farm was located. By 1707, their son Germain had a farm up river at the Belisle Marshes, east of the fort on the north bank of the Dauphin (Annapolis River).

The date and location of Catherine's death is not known.

Timeline

  • 1632 Treaty Saint-Germain-en-Laye cedes Acadia to France; Razilly brings ~300 elite men.[5]
  • c1633 birth, in France.
  • 1636 Arrival of the first French families to settle permanently.[6]
  • c1651 marriage to François Savoie, in Acadia.
  • c1652 birth, daughter Françoise.
  • 1654 British capture Port-Royal; French settlement ceases.[7]
  • c1654 birth, son Germain.
  • c1657 birth, daughter Marie.
  • c1658 birth, daughter Jeanne.
  • c1659 birth, daughter Catherine.
  • c1663 birth, son François.
  • c1665 birth, son Barnabé.
  • c1667 birth, daughter Andrée.
  • 1667-70 Treaty of Breda cedes Acadia to the French; settlement resumes.[8]
  • c1670 birth, daughter Marie-France.
  • 1671 residence, Port Royal.
  • c1??? death.

Research Notes

Family of Origin

It is often written that Pierre Lejeune was Catherine and Edmée's father, and that they had a sibling with that same name, but this is not proven.[9]There is too much controversy with this family to state anything as a fact that cannot be proven by a reliable source.

The assumption that Edmée, Catherine, and Pierre II were siblings probably comes from their same last name, closeness of birth dates, and that they all were at Port Royal together. There are no church records sourced that show they were siblings. The maternal DNA tests show that Edmée and Catherine were probably sisters. The unique mtdna signature of Edmée and Catherine does not confirm this absolutely, since they could have a common grandmother. We don't know their mother's name, but we know they had a European mother.

Location of Birth : Theories and Conjecture
Regarding the Lejeune siblings' specific location of birth, there are no birth records. Massignon [10] has demonstrated that a number of familial alliances existed among the first settlers of Acadia PRIOR to their arrival in Acadia, which points to a common French origin. She believes they lived in the Acadian Governor d'Aulnay's seigneury in France near Loudun (comprising of the villages of Angliers, Aulnay, Martaizé and La Chausée). Regarding the Lejeune sisters, Massignon claims that they were allied with the Savoie through Catherine's marriage and the Gauterot through Edmée's marriage. It is not clear that the sisters married prior to their arrival in Acadia. Edmee's marriage around 1644 to Gauterot may have taken place in Acadia as he was among the first settlers. [2] and was definitely in Acadia prior to 1650[1] (some claim 1636.[citation needed])

An author states "the Lejeune family is one of the oldest in Acadia" He also states the Lejeune family arrived in Acadia about 1636, which reaffirms d'Entremont, and that the family included Pierre Lejeune from the region of Poitou, France, his unnamed wife, and three children: Edmée, born in Poitou in 1622, Pierre II and "le bebe Catherine" Lejeune.[11]

Further, Father A. Godbout suggested that Pierre Lejeune dit Briard was Edmée & Catherine Lejeune's brother. [12]

Refutation
S. A. White points out that the absence of a dispensation for kindred in the marriage of a granddaughter of Pierre & a grandson of Catherine Lejeune (St-Servan Register 8 Jan 1760) leads to the conclusion that neither Catherine nor Edmée was Pierre's sister."[13][14]
Family Adopted by Indian Mother Conjecture
It was possible that a Pierre Lejeune married an Amerindienne after arriving from France and this wife could have adopted the two daughters. We do not know the first or last name of Catherine and Edmée's mother. The mother was not Amerindienne. We do not know the first name of their father, only the last name of Lejeune. Many researchers have assumed his first name was Pierre (b. 1595), because a possible sibling has been given the first name of Pierre (b.1628). (This sibling has been disproven through DNA - see Refutation by SAW). This possible sibling's first name is also not known, but he had a child named Pierre (b. 1656). Many assumptions to this theory as Pierre was a common French name.

DNA Research

On WikiTree there are three mtDNA tests of descendants reporting Hg=U6a or Hg=U6a7a. There are many more kits reporting the same results, and a few reporting Hg=U6a7a1a at the Mothers of Acadia project.[15]

Due to the lack of a registered Full Sequence mtDNA test on WikiTree, we cannot attach the mtDNA Full Sequence Haplogroup EKA to this profile at this time. We also observe the absence of a category for the U6a family of haplogroups.

DNA Research and Ethnic Origins

The Mothers of Acadia maternal DNA project posts its ongoing Maternal DNA results here. To date, the haplogroup of both sisters is consistently reported as U6a7a, indicating European origins. Another group known as Ancestry Out of Acadia DNA PROJECT, posts its results here. They too report that Catherine and Edmée have European haplogroups, in particular, basic testing has revealed U6a and more complete testing U6a7a. Thus, there is a growing body of consistent and concordant results indicating European origins and nothing to the contrary.

A 2014 study by the National Institutes of Health provides the even more definitive location of France for this U6a71a subgroup, saying that, whether or not the Lejuenes are included in the analysis, the cluster is rooted in France around 3,000 years ago in the late European Bronze Age.[16]

The page of the Michael Marcotte website's link entitled (Now outdated) Lejeune reasoning provides a detailed inter-linked discussion about the Lejeune family that ends with a note signed 'MM'. [17]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Karen Theriot Reader's Geneanet tree entry, a tertiary source, for Catherine Lejeune cites Stephen A. White's Dictionnaire généalogique des familles acadiennes (Première Partie 1636-1714, Moncton, New Brunswick: Centre d'Études Acadiennes, 1999 - pp. 1048 & 1456} in the following terms:
    No place given for birth. - Catherine LEJEUNE, born around 1633, sister of Edmée LEJEUNE. She married around 1651 to Francois SAVOIE. Note of P. GALLANT: Dispensations (cited) make certain that Edme'e LEJEUNE (wife of Francois GAUTROT) & Catherine were sisters.
  2. 2.0 2.1 White, Stephen A. (1994). 'La généalogie des trente-sept familles hôtesses des "Retrouvailles 94" ', Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 25, nos 2 et 3.
  3. Blanchard, Raymonde (déc. 2009). "Complexe Savoie: un court historique des Savoie de Néguac." Les Cahiers de la Société historique acadienne, vol. 40 no.4, p. 147-148. accessed on 9 September 2019.
  4. Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1671 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie. 1671 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Census microfilm C-2572 of the National Archives of Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752” Images 3-14.
    Francois SAVOYE, 50, wife, Catherine LeJEUNE 38; children: Francoise 18, Germain 17, Marie 14, Jeanne 13, Catherine 9, Françoise 8, Barabe 6, Andree 4, Marie 2; cattle 4, 6 arpents. Note: there is an error in this English translation; baby Marie is 11/2 years in the French Census.
  5. MacBeath, George (1966, rev. 1979), "RAZILLY, ISAAC DE", in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 20, 2013.
  6. Massignon, Geneviève (1962). "Les parlers français d'Acadie, enquête linguistique", Librairie Klincksieck, Paris, 2 tomes. p. 32 (first French families in Acadia) p. 37 (Lejeune sisters' origins)
  7. Roberts, William I. 3rd (1966, rev. 1979), “SEDGWICK, ROBERT”, in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 20, 2013
  8. In collaboration (1966, rev. 1979),"MORILLON DU BOURG", in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 20, 2013
  9. There is not enough information provided to substantiate the claim of the associated sentence to the effect that Karen Theriot Reader cites Stephen A. White's, Dictionnaire Généalogique des familles Acadienne (English Supplement / vol. 3, Moncton, NB: Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes, 2000; p. 225) in the following terms:
    Father A. Godbout suggested (in Dictionnaire des Acadiens, p. 477) that Pierre LEJEUNE dit Briard was Edmée & Catherine LEJEUNE's brother. But S. A. White points out that the absence of a dispensation for kindred in the marriage of a granddaughter of Pierre & a grandson of Catherine LEJEUNE (St-Servan Register 8 Jan 1760) leads to the conclusion that neither Catherine nor Edmée was Pierre's sister.
  10. Massignon, Geneviève (1962). Les parlers français d'Acadie, enquête linguistique, Librairie Klincksieck, Paris, 2 tomes. p. 32 (First French families in Acadia); p. 36 (Savoie is found in the Seigneury of d'Aulnay in France); p. 49 (Savoie family).
  11. Le Canada-Francais; Documents Sur L'Acadie Page: Vol 1, No. 2, p. 55 unable to locate at all (~~~~ )
  12. Godbout, Archange (avant 1860). Dictionnaire généalogique des Acadiens, manuscrit non publié, Montréal. (À la Société généalogique canadienne-française : Fonds Godbout - P.9 - Dictionnaire des Acadiens – Boîte 83 de 84. Trois tomes.) p. 477
  13. There is not enough information provided to substantiate the claim of the associated sentence to the effect that Karen Theriot Reader's geneanet.org tree entry, a tertiary source, for Edmée Lejeune cites Stephen A. White's, Dictionnaire Généalogique des familles Acadienne, English Supplement / vol. 3, Moncton, NB: Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes, 2000; p. 225.
  14. acadian-home.org, A Closer look at some of the records by Stephen A. White.
  15. Savard, Denis, Administrator, Mothers of Acadia mtDNA Project reports mtDNA Test Results (Accessed 30 Nov 2023) EKA: Catherine Lejeune. FTDNA Kit: Multiple. Haplogroup(s): U6a, U6a7a, U6a7a1a.
  16. Secher, B., Fregel, R., Larruga, J.M. et al. (2014) "The history of the North African mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U6 gene flow into the African, Eurasian and American continents". BMC Evol Biol 14, 109.
    Using 230 complete sequences we have refined the U6 phylogeny, and improved the phylogeographic information by the analysis of 761 partial sequences. This approach provides chronological limits for its arrival to Africa, followed by its spreads there according to climatic fluctuations, and its secondary prehistoric and historic migrations out of Africa colonizing Europe, the Canary Islands and the American Continent.

    and
    a) The U6a7a1a Acadian cluster from Canada: Male French colonists arrived in the Canadian region of Acadia at the beginning of the 17th Century. However, the core group of maternal lineages that gave rise to the French Acadian population did not settle in the area until the middle of that century (http://www.acadian-home.org/). At least one of those maternal lineages belongs to the sub-haplogroup U6a7a1a, defined by mutations 2672 and 11929. Putative descendants of that lineage are represented by 11 complete extant French-Canadian sequences in our U6 tree (see Additional file 2). Applying the recently proposed overall mtDNA mutation rate [23], we obtain a mean phylogenetic age of 467 years for this cluster, in close agreement with its history. Another closely related sequence, which lacks the Acadian basal substitution 2672 (see Additional file 2), roots the cluster’s ancestor in France around 3,000 ya in the late European Bronze age."
  17. Michel Marcotte "(Now outdated) Lejeune reasoning"

See also:

  • Leroux, Darryl (2019}. Distorted Descent : White Claims to Indigenous Identity, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 325 p. ISBN 978-0-87755-846-7 (Paper)
  • Young, John Austin (1991). The Lejeunes of Acadia and the Youngs of Southwest Louisiana: A genealogical study of the Lejeunes of Acadia and the descendants of Joseph Lejeune/Young and Patsy Perrine Hay. J.A. Young, 1034 p.




Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Catherine by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA test-takers in the direct maternal line: It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Catherine:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 32

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
I very much appreciate the depth and clarity of this presentation about Catherine Lejeune. She is my grandmother, just like a few million other lucky souls. I have read some of Stephen White and as many other sources I could find. All points to exactly how it is explained here. Once I listed links to the Mothers of Acadia site on my ancestry dot com tree, but I think I need to update. Seems to me that Catherine's mtDNA had some characteristic that was unique to Acadia. European of course, but very unique. Does this make sense?
posted by Fletcher Trice
edited by Fletcher Trice
The haplogroup U6a7a1 is present from Morocco through Spain and into France and other parts of Europe.

Due to founder effects, three subgroups are associated with more specific populations. Namely: U6a7a1a: 500 years ago (France and Canada) U6a7a1b: 1,500 years ago (Sephardic cluster from Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland and Ukraine) U6a7a1c: 3,500 years ago (Italy and Germany)

Catherine and Edmee Lejeune were U6a7a1a, which is specifically found in France and because of the Lejeune sisters, in Canada as well in their descendants. So far, it is diagnostic of Lejeune descendance among familles de souche...until another Mother of French-Canada can be determined to have that haplogroup, if ever.

See: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/u-6mtdna/about/results

posted by Paul Shenton
Catherine's sister Edmee was probably Catherine's guardian.

Catherine Lejeune is one of my Great .... Great grandmothers. The DNA results I posted on Wikitree.com that show our mtDNA comes from Europe, were the first results posted for Catherine Lejeune.

posted by [Living Riley]
edited by [Living Riley]
John,

There is a very full set of information and discussion regarding Catherine's parentage here above. The idea that Catherine was an orphan is unsupported conjecture. And the idea that orphans were given the surname Lejeune is directly contradicted by many other known orphans who arrived in the new world.

posted by Paul Shenton
[Comment Deleted]
posted by [Living Riley]
deleted by [Living Riley]
John,

Although there are no documents, there is some evidence, both historical and DNA. This evidence is discussed in full in this entry. To the extent that this information informs us, it directly contradicts your hypothesis.

Even if there was no evidence, then the correct answer to the question of the Lejeune origins would be "we do not know". It would not be "therefore the sisters were orphanned [sic] when arriving in Acadia".

Paul.

posted by Paul Shenton
[Comment Deleted]
posted by [Living Riley]
deleted by [Living Riley]
John,

There is no clear evidence of the parents being in Acadia. However, there is a possibility that they were. Part of the discussion deals with that.

Nobody raised the definition of being orphanned [sic]. That being said, the dictionary definition of an orphan would be a child / minor whose parents are dead. What makes you think that the Lejeune parents died while their children were still minors? We have no information whatsoever with respect to the death of the parents, neither in France nor in Acadia.

Paul.

posted by Paul Shenton
[Comment Deleted]
posted by [Living Riley]
deleted by [Living Riley]
hello John,

Interested party here, since she is among my ancestors. You deleted 2 prior comments so I can't tell what your arguments were. But being very familiar with practices of the time, the only people who got a name arbitrarily given them were children born out of wedlock whose parentage was totally unknown. Since she was old enough to marry around 1651, she was born at the latest in 1639 (girls could marry starting at age 12 then). Not very likely that they would not have known her name, the immigrants in this time period are coming in groups. Meanwhile, please remember DWTWA.

Danielle

posted by Danielle Liard
Danielle,

He deleted his comments and edited his original post because he stated that Catherine was an orphan and that she was given the surname Lejeune because she was orphaned as well as other completely unsupportable claims.

The thing is that we have all agreed to the Code of Conduct here, as well as read the directions regarding proper genealogical practices, and by participating in the site, we are bound by them. But, it is still left to us as a community to self-regulate. Thank you for your assitance.

Paul.

posted by Paul Shenton
Carol Cummings,

Jeanne Lejeune dit Briart (as per the link you posted) is not Catherine Lejeune (this profile) nor related to her in any way. This must necessarily be so as they have different mtDNA haplogroups. This fact is even posted on this page. The link you posted is not just irrelevant, but misleading. Please delete.

posted by Paul Shenton
The SW94 Gautrot template issue has been fixed.
posted by Roland Arsenault
Hey Steve,

I looked at this template and it has the Savoie family in it and it mentions her why should anyone take Catherine off? She is the mother of Germain...

posted by [Living Dati]
Can you please review and remove the SW94_Gautrot template added to this profile?
posted by Steven Harris
The assumption that Edmée, Catherine, and Pierre II were siblings probably comes from their same last name, closeness of birth dates, and that they all were at Port Royal together. There are no church records sourced that show they were siblings. The maternal DNA tests show that Edmée and Catherine were probably sisters. The unique mtdna signature of Edmée and Catherine does not confirm this absolutely, since they could have a common grandmother.
posted by [Living Riley]
Now that I am reading down on other posts here, I found more misinformation that you posted.

It is the unique mtDNA signature AND the common surname that very strongly supports the position that they were sisters. It is exceedingly unlikely that they had a common grandmother because whereas inheritance of mtDNA is through the female line only, inheritance of surnames is historically definitely not.

posted by Paul Shenton
Catherine and myself share the same Haplogroup: U6a7.

Jeannette

Catherine Lejeune is my 9th maternal Great Grandmother! I may have more information on another tree; if so, will gladly share it here.

Sincerely,

Jeannette

Briard LeJeune-1 and Lejeune-11 appear to represent the same person because: same spouse and child.

Lejeune-11 is project protected so do not modify other than the merge.

posted by Richard Van Wasshnova
Lejeune-252 and Lejeune-11 appear to represent the same person because: Same info
posted by Roland Arsenault
Yes, Nina you should join The Mothers of Acadia project. It looks like your mtDna results fit right in with the group. My mtDna is Scottish but if I could join the group I would.
posted by [Living Dati]