The English quit using the De and La prefix, most whithin a century after the survey where lands were meted out to the nobility that fought at the Battle of Hastings. Laroche is almost certainly a French name. Almost as soon as the French got off the ship in the New World, they cohabitated with the Indians as we call them. They would take Indian Maidens into their homes to train them in the French customs. A little latter they were sent to be trained in France or by Nuns in a Convent. The product of these unions of French and Indian were called Metis (halfbreed in our terms) There is a genealogy section online just for this group. Remember, before the Rev War the French controlled the Major Water Routes on this Continent. It was not until after the War of 1812 that the French were pushed North of the Great Lakes and we got our current Northern boundry. The Louisiana Purchase moved our boundry West to the Mississippi River. So you see the area we are talking about is huge and there are 400 yrs of possible people. If you could narrow it down to say a decade or even a century and a possible area, our ability to assist you increases accordingly. This is not intended as a lecture but to help you understand the overwelming volume of data that has to be sifted. Please, help us help you.
