no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Edmée Lejeune (abt. 1624 - aft. 1693)

Edmée "Aimée, Emee" Lejeune
Born about in Loudun, Poitou, Francemap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and
Wife of — married 1644 in Port-Royale, Acadie, Nouvelle-Francemap
Descendants descendants
Died after after about age 69 in Port-Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-Francemap
Profile last modified | Created 8 Mar 2011
This page has been accessed 23,593 times.
The Acadian flag.
Edmée 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.

Edmée and Catherine Lejeune's parents are NOT KNOWN. If you find solid evidence of their parents, please post on this profile in the comments. It is often written that Pierre Lejeune was their father, but this is not proven.

Flag of France
Edmée Lejeune migrated from France to Acadia.
Flag of Acadia

Edmée Lejeune is one of the ancestral matriarchs of the Acadian Gautrot family. Edmée Lejeune has been called "the ancestral matriarch of the Acadian Gautrot family", as should Marie Gautrot, daughter of François and his first wife (Unknown). Looking at Acadians born roughly before 1763 (5 generations), Edmée has about 3100 people born in Acadia on Wikitree. The first wife of François, Marie Unknown (who may or may not have come to Acadie), has 649 descendants in 5 generations).

She was born in France around 1624.[1]The 1671 Port Royal Census lists Edmee's age as 47, which puts her birth date at around 1624. She was the sister of Catherine Lejeune.

Edmée and her sibling made their way to Acadia from Europe.

Edmée (19) married François Gautrot (30), widower, (born about 1613 in Martaizé, Poitou, France) in 1644 in Port-Royale, Acadie, Nouvelle-France.[1] Their known children were:

  1. Marie Gautrot (abt. 1645–1732) .
  2. Jean Gautrot (1648– ) .
  3. Renée Jeanne Gautrot (abt. 1652–1737) .
  4. Marguerite Gautrot (abt. 1654–1727) .
  5. François Gautrot (abt. 1657–bef. 1683) .
  6. Claude Gautrot (abt. 1659–1733) .
  7. Charles Gautrot (abt. 1661–abt. 1724) .
  8. Jeanne Gautrot (abt. 1665–1749) .
  9. Germain Gautrot (1668–bef. 1679)

In 1654, the family would have witnessed Port-Royal's capture by Robert Sedgwick, who led 300 British soldiers and volunteers.[2] The soldiers and employees working at the fort were offered transportation back to France and given enough pelts to cover their wages."[3] Most Acadians, including the Gautrot family, remained in Acadia. They were permitted to retain their land and belongings, and they were guaranteed religious freedom.[3] Dunn describes life in Acadia during the 16 years of nominal British rule:

During the years of British rule, most of the Port-Royal population moved upriver away from the town. Using the agricultural practices initiated under D'Aulnay, the Acadians dyked and cultivated extensive salt marshes along the river and raised livestock. Through necessity, residents had reached an accommodation with New England traders who had become their sole source for the goods that they could not produce themselves.... New England traders exchanged their goods for Acadian produce and furs.... There were seventy to eighty families in the Port Royal area in 1665.[3]

In 1671, the family homestead had six arpents under cultivation, and they had 16 cattle and 6 sheep.[4] In 1678 the family was still in Port Royal, owning 6 arpents of land.[5]

Nine years later, all the children had fledged, and François and Edmée lived together in Port Royal.

In 1686, at Port Royal, Emee [sic] LEJEUNE, aged 61, was living with her husband, Francois GOTRO [sic], aged 71. They owned 3 guns and were living on 4 arpents of cultivable land with 8 cattle, 5 sheep and 8 hogs.[6]

By 1693, Edmée was a widow (the Census used her nickname, Aimée).[7]

Edmée appears to have died between the 1693 and 1698 census. She is thought to be buried in the Garrison Graveyard at Annapolis Royal, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada, though graves at that time were marked with wooden crosses which have long disintegrated.[8]

François had owned a lot adjoining the side of the old Fort (which was expropriated in 1705[1] to extend the Fort in Port-Royal). It is not clear how long the family lived there. As François Gautrot had died more than twelve years before, it must be supposed that his heirs were the owners of this land in 1705.

Timeline

c1624 birth, in France
c1644 marriage to widower François Gautrot
c1645 birth, daughter Marie
c1648 birth, son Jean
c1652 birth, son Renee
c1654 birth, daughter Marguerite
1654 British capture Port-Royal; French settlement ceases[2]
c1657 birth, son François
c1659 birth, son Claude
c1661 birth, son Charles
c1665 birth, daughter Jeanne
1667-70 Treaty of Breda cedes Acadia to the French; settlement resumes[9]
c1668 birth, son Germain
1671 residence Port Royal
1678 residence Port Royal
1686 residence Port Royal
1687 War of the League of Augsburg (King William’s War) starts between England and France[10]
1690 Phipps captures and sacks Port-Royal, coerces inhabitants' oaths of allegiance to English Crown, sets up local Peacekeeping Council and leaves within 12 days.[11][12][13]
b1693 François died
1693 residence, Port Royal
a1693 death

Research Notes

DNA

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 U6a7a subgroup, saying that, whether or not the Lejeunes are included in the analysis, the cluster is rooted in France around 3,000 years ago in the late European Bronze Age.[14]

Birthplace.

Regarding the Lejeune siblings' specific location of birth in France, there are no birth records. Massignon[15] argues 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 the villages of Angliers, Aulnay, Martaizé and La Chausée), which was in Poitou (today Vienne), France. Regarding the Lejeune sisters, Massignon claims that they were allied with the Savoie through Catherine's marriage and the Gautrot through Edmée's marriage. It is not clear that the sisters married prior to their arrival in Acadia. Stephen White claims that Catherine married Savoie in Acadia.[1] Edmée's marriage around 1644 to Gautrot may have taken place in Acadia as he was among the first settlers and was already a widower at the time of his marriage to Edmée and was definitely in Acadia prior to 1650;[1] some claim 1636.[citation needed]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stephen A. White, Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes; 2 vols., Moncton, New Brunswick: Centre d'Études Acadiennes, 1999. p. 1048, 691-2
  2. 2.0 2.1 William I. Roberts, 3rd, “ROBERT SEDGWICK, ” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, (University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–), accessed November 20, 2013
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brenda Dunn, A History of Port Royal / Annapolis Royal, 1605-1800, (Nimbus Publishing) pp. 23-24 (1654 Capture of Port-Royal) and pp. 25-27, 29 (the English period, 1654-1670).
  4. 1671 Censes
    Port Royal: Francois GAUTEROT, 58, wife Edmee LeJEUNE 47; Children (married): Marie 35, Charles 34, Marie 24, Rene 19, Marguerite 16; (not married): Jean 23, Francois 19, Claude 12, Charles 10, Jeanne 7, Germain 3; cattle 16, sheep 6.
  5. 1678 Census
    Francois Gautreau & Aymee LeJeune, 6 acres, 8 cattle 2 boys: age 20- born 1658 Claude, 18 1660 Charles
  6. Tim Hebert; Transcription of the 1686 Acadian Census, at Port-Royal, Acadie 1686 Census Transcribed. The original census can be found at Acadian Census microfilm C-2572 of the Library and Archives Canada “Acadie Recensements 1671 – 1752,” Images 15-60;
    at Port Royal: Francois GOTRO 71, Emee LEJEUNE 61; 3 guns, 4 arpents, 8 cattle, 5 sheep, 8 hogs. In the 1686 census at Port Royal, Gautrot was listed as Gotro and Edmée Lejeune was listed as Emee La Jeune and transcribed as Emee LEJEUNE.
  7. 1693 Census
    Aimee LEJEUNE (widow of Francois GOTROT) 71
  8. Find A Grave: Memorial #139703075 Created by: AW Added: 7 Dec 2014
  9. In collaboration, “MORILLON DU BOURG,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 20, 2013
  10. Griffiths, Naomi E.S., From migrant to Acadian : a North-American border people, 1604-1755, Montreal (Québec), McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005, p147-151 (King William’s War); p 267-268 (oaths of allegiance)
  11. C.P.Stacey, “PHIPS, SIR WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003, accessed November 20, 2013
  12. Biography of William Phipps
  13. C.Bruce Fergusson,“LA TOURASSE, CHARLES,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003, accessed November 20, 2013
  14. "The history of the North African mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U6 gene flow into the African, Eurasian and American continents" by Secher, at al, 2014, published by the National Institutes of Health DNA study.
    Using 230 complete sequences we have refined the U6 phylogeny, and improved the phylogeographic information by the analysis of 761 partial sequences. This approach provideshttps://www.wikitree.com/skins/common/images/button_extlink.png 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."
  15. Massignon, Geneviève. "Les parlers français d'Acadie, enquête linguistique", Librairie Klincksieck, Paris, 1962, 2 tomes, p32 (first French families in Acadia) p37 (Lejeune sisters' origins).

See also:

  • John Austin Young, The Lejeunes of Acadia and the Youngs of Southwest Louisiana, (J.A. Young, 1991).




Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Edmée 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 Edmée:

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



Comments: 27

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL21646358M/Familles_Acadiennes

It's an open library. you need to register

Diane

posted by Diane Lepage
I was able to view the book and find the passage you quoted but no sources were included. Can you look it up and post the details of the source here, please? Thank you, Cindy
posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
https://www.ancestry.ca/mediaui-viewer/tree/167117485/person/152198304295/media/233cecca-5310-42d8-b335-c65dfc64ec3b?usePUBJs=true

If you check this page It will show that Edmee was born in Port Royal and in 1623 she is MicMac Metis.

Please check out my tree I have the 2 volumes of Leopold Lanctot

posted by Diane Lepage
Diane, I still am not able to see ancestry records. Please post the image of the documents here on this page so everyone can see and evaluate them. Also the DNA that shows she was metis. Thank you,

Cindy

posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Hi, Diane, thank you for taking time to provide information about Edmee. As you can see from the discussion in her profile, she has been studied extensively by numerous researchers. In FamilyTree DNA 35 people have been tested between the two sisters. All have European descent and none have indigenous DNA. If you have actual DNA results that are publicly available, please post them here. I don't have a subscription to Ancestry and cannot see what your links say.

If you have proof that Pierre is her father, could you post the documents here? Family trees are not sufficient documentation per WikiTree standards for this time period, we would hope to see baptism, marriage, immigration, census or other original records that would link them. It would be a tremendous contribution if you can provide those.

Regarding the Lanctot book, can you provide the page numbers, please? I have limited viewing and would like to go right there. I'm sure you are aware of the work of Stephen A White, the noted professional Acadian genealogist. He is very familiar with Lanctot's work and could provide insight regarding any new information if we can review the exact sections you've found helpful.

Thank you, Cindy Bourque Cooper, co-leader, Acadians Project

posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
edited by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
Hi Cindy, I looked at Diane's Ancestry images and they are pages from the book "Le Canada-français, Documents inédits sur le Canada et l'Amérique, Vol. 3". The pages are available at BanQ.

Here are the pages she referenced:

  1. - https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2675970?docpos=17 (p. 151, bottom of the page, Gautherot)
  2. - https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2675970?docpos=18 (p. 152, continuation of #1)
  3. - https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2675970?docpos=20 (p. 154, Edmee Lejeune)

The Ancestry image in the second comment is of pages 266 & 267 in the Lanctot book (Gautherot, Francois et Edmee Le Jeune).

Translation from DeepL for part of p. 154: "the Gautherot sons maintained frequent relations with the family of their mother Edmée-Lejeune; they were in ordinary communication with the young Métis of La Hève and with the Micmacs".

Earlier in the Documents inédits book, on p. 144 (image 10), the author suggests that Edmee and Catherine Lejeune could be the aunts of Pierre Lejeune dit Briard (born about 1657), that they could be the sisters of Pierre's father Pierre Lejeune (~1625 - ~1661) (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lejeune-360).

Pierre Lejeune is known to have married an Indigenous woman (a daughter of Germain Doucet). However, we now know that Edmee & Catherine Lejeune were actually not the sisters of Pierre Lejeune. As pointed out in Catherine's WikiTree profile: Stephen White noted that there was no dispensation for kindred in the marriage between a grandson of Catherine Lejeune (Nicolas Préjean) and a granddaughter of Pierre Lejeune (Euphrosine Labauve), which took place at St-Servan in France in 1760. This shows that neither Catherine nor Edmee was Pierre's sister. And we also have multiple mtDNA test results that show Edmee and Catherine were sisters but did not have an Indigenous mtDNA haplogroup.

posted by Valerie (Fremmerlid) Penner
edited by Valerie (Fremmerlid) Penner
Edmee (aimee) is my 13th Maternal grandmother, and what a wonderful find.
posted by Cathe Boudreau
The mysterious Lejeune sisters are from the mutated mtDNA haplogroup U6a7a1a (Acadian cluster from Canada). This mtDNA mutation occurred about 500 years ago and is found only in the mtDNA descendants of sisters Edmee (Aimee) and Catherine Lejeune. There is much conjecture about the two sisters. Are they metis or not ? One interesting hypothesis I have read concerning the two sisters is DNA tainting. Ex: An unknown woman with mtDNA haplogroup U6 arrived in Acadia about 500 years ago. Perhaps with the Basque in some capacity. She somehow became part of a native community and married a native man. They had at least 2 children possibly more. The daughters would not carry the new world Y DNA marker of their indigenous father, but only the mtDNA of their mother, which was old world. However, the DNA mix of the parents caused a mutation to occur in the U6 mtDNA of the sisters. Food for thought...
posted by Donna Fournier
Why is Edmée called "the ancestral matriarch of the Acadian Gautrot family"? Isn't Marie Gautrot, daughter of Francois and his first wife (Unknown) also an ancestral matriarch of the Acadian Gautrot family? She left a lot of descendants (one of whom is me!)
posted by Jacqueline Girouard
Would someone from the Acadians Project review this profile for missing <ref> tag? Error 861.
posted by Cindy (Bourque) Cooper
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]
John, here is what Karen Theriot Readers has posted in her research notes: Pierre LEJEUNE Clarence-Joseph d'Entremont, HISTOIRE DU CAP-SABLE DE L'AN MIL AU TRAITÉ DE PARIS; 1000-1763; 5 vols., Eunice, LA, Hebert Publications, 1981; vol. 3, p. 1121; Salt Lake LDS Family History Library, US/CAN 971.6 H2e; continuously paged. Pierre LE JEUNE, born after Aimée LE JEUNE (around 1622) but before Catherine LE JEUNE (around 1633). He was married to an American Indian [sic], lived in the region of La Heve, where he had three children. [Was he the son of Pierre LE JEUNE? sister of Aimée (Edmee)?] Also note the parents for Pierre. Karen does not link him to the two sisters.
posted by Jacqueline Girouard
Can somebody point me to the source(s) for the claim that Edmée & Catherine Lejeune were the sisters of Pierre Lejeune? I have been through a considerable amount of material on this lineage, including Stephen White's work on the complexities of early Lejeune kin linkages. I have NOT seen the evidence for such a claim.
posted by John DeRoche
Thanks, John. I deleted my question right away when I realized I'd been down this road before. Normally we don't name a father if the father is unknown, but on his profile, it states that he is a place holder for the daughters.
posted by Jacqueline Girouard
Edmee and myself share the same Haplogroup: U6a7.

Jeannette

Edmee Lejeune is my ninth maternal Great Grandmother. Hopefully, I may have more information about her and her family in another tree project. When time permits, I will gladly share any citations here.

Sincerely,

Jeannette

Lejeune-473 and Lejeune-21 appear to represent the same person because: Same relatives
posted by Roland Arsenault
I know a lot of folks are discrediting Edmee's metis background, but it's still is worth investigating further... http://www.geni.com/people/Edm%C3%A9e-dite-Aim%C3%A9e-Lejeune/6000000000337130997
posted by Milton Girouard Jr.