Gagnier (Gagne) History Web Site by Rev. John F. Gagnier

Section Six: The Gagne-Bellavance Family Association and

A Note from Father Gagnier

After reading this section, click on the blue link below for

Section Seven: Your place in the Family

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THE ASSOCIATION OF

GAGNE-BELLAVANCE FAMILIES IN AMERICA

The Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America was founded on September 17, 1950.

It sponsored a reunion of over 5,000 cousins in 1953 to celebrate the tri-centennial of the arrival of Pierre Gasnier (1610-1656) in 1653.

Photos of the 1953 reunion may be seen on the French language web site of the Association. A link to that site is on the home page of this site.

Mr. Robert Gagne, a genealogist from Brossard, Quebec has served as archivist and has indexed on computer, thousands of birth, baptismal, marriage and death records of the descendants of Louis and Pierre Gasnier, our first immigrants from France.
The present archivist of the Association is Jean-Yves Bellavance.

As a matter of uniformity, the two brothers and their wives are considered the first generation. Each member upon joining may request a genealogy outline tracing back to the first generation. Some lines of the family have reached the 14th generation.

Another reunion of over four hundred cousins was held in 1994 at Sainte Anne de Beaupre to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the arrival in 1644 of Louis and Marie Gasnier and their daughter, Louise.

The Association holds its annual meetings in September. You are encouraged to join the Association and thus support continuing research and preservation of our history.

The Association has sponsored trips to the ancestral territories in France and the historical sites shown on this page.

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PRESENTATION BY MR. AIME GAGNE

Mr. Aime Gagne of Montreal gave a presentation on the history of the Association in 1997. I am grateful to him for providing an English translation.
Here is a summary of that presentation:

"The Association has known two different periods, the first from 1950 to 1970 and the present one since 1991. At the start the Association was set up only to celebrate the tercentennial of the arrival of the first Gagne family in New France, namely Louis and his wife Marie (Michel) Gasnier and their daughter, Louise.

For many years, it was thought that they arrived in 1643. In 1988, the Perches-Canada Association published the fact that Louis, a miller by trade, was the first citizen of the town of Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais to leave for New France in 1644.

Nine years later in 1653, his elder brother, Pierre, a baker by trade, also came to New France. They came with three sons, but had buried infant twin sons in France. Sadly, Pierre himself died in 1656.

In 1949, David Valmore Gagnier of Rochester, New York conceived the idea of celebrating in 1953 the tri-centennial of Pierre's arrival in 1653.
Mr. Eugene Gagne, a forestry engineer from Quebec City, became interested.
He was able to interest Father Adrien Gagne of the Quebec Seminary and Doctor Daniel Gagne of Quebec City. These three are considered the founders and were called by many the "three musketeers."

[Note: Mr. David V. Gagnier (July 5, 1894-May 9, 1966) died unmarried in Rochester, New York and was buried in an unmarked grave at Mount Hope Cemetery. The Association is interested in any information about him.]

A committee was formed to put together the gathering. Two bishops of the Quebec province, Most Rev. Napoleon Labrie and Most Rev. Charles-Omer Garant,
were named as patrons as they were Gagne descendants on their maternal side.
Judge J-Arthur Gagne of the Quebec Appeal Court was named honorary president.

The first meeting was held on September 17, 1950 and the organization was later formally incorporated. There were three types of members, Founders, who paid $5 and Active members, who paid $3 and others who paid $1 annually.

A quarterly newsletter was started with Father Adrian Gagne as editor with the assistance of Brothers Magloire and Antonin. Brother Magloire ( born Ernest Gagne in the USA) compiled thousands of birth and death records which were published in installments in the journal. This research still serves our members as the source of our proven connection with the two ancestors.

The membership reached 2,000 by the time of the Mass Family Rally in 1953. Many regional meetings led up to this first rally of New France Pioneers. The Quebec Historic Monuments Commission donated a plaque that was placed on the Souvenir Chapel at Saint Anne de Beaupre and unveiled at the rally in September 1953.
Other family associations have placed plaques there at their own expense.

The rally drew nearly 5,000 participants, many of whom visited the 17th century house built on the original foundations of Louis Gasnier (1612-1661.) There was a memorial Mass in the Basilica at Saint Anne.

While there was much initial enthusiasm and Labor Day pilgrimages in subsequent years, the membership dropped to 171 in only three years.

On October 9, 1961, a fire at the Quebec Commercial School destroyed most of the archives but Brother Magloire was able to reconstruct most of them. Father Adrien died April 15, 1963 and Brother Magloire single-handedly continued the journal until its 45th and final issue in 1971. Brother Magloire died on Christmas Day, 1971.

Some twenty years later, in 1991, Mr. Jean-A. Gagne of Quebec City and Mr. Aime Gagne of Montreal got together to reactivate the "Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America." At that first reunion, 18 people came who now hold the first 18 membership cards. Today the Association has over 550 members."

(end of presentation by Mr. Aime Gagne)

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This web site was announced at the 1996 annual meeting of the Association in Rimouski, Quebec and in the March, 1997 Journal of the Association as the official English language web site of the Gagne-Bellavance Family Association.

HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR FAMILY TREE:

You may send your request for a family tree to:
Mr. Jean-Yves Bellavance
Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America
C. P. 6700
Quebec, P.Q. G17 2W2
CANADA

His e-mail address is: jybell@videotron.ca

In response to many inquiries, Jean-Yves Bellavance, genealogist of the Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America has provided the following description of the family tree that he provides to those requesting it:

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"The family tree provided is legal size, dimensions of 8 1/2 x 14 inches.

The sheet of your ascendance contains the names of your Gagne ancestors in direct line ( yourself, your father, grandfather, etc.)

For each one except yourself, I have provided the name of the spouse, date, parish, and county of the marriage.

On a white sheet, (letter size) you will find the same information, including the name of the in-laws.

I will require one month preparation. If, however, I cannot provide the information
within the aforementioned time period, a refund will be issued."

Jean-Yves Bellavance

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A personal note from Father Gagnier

Thank you for visiting this web site.

I have created it so that English speaking descendants may benefit from years of research done by the Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America.

The input, comments and suggestions of readers are welcome and have already helped to improve this website. If you have comments or suggestions:
You may use the "Mail" link found at the bottom of this page or the home page.
You may put a public or private note on my guest page with the link found on the home page. You may e-mail me directly at gagnier@dor.org

PLEASE NOTE: I am not a professional genealogist!

Therefore, I cannot answer specific questions about your ancestry, nor can I trace your ancestry for you. The information below will help you to do that.
On this site you have everything I know about our common heritage.

Where do you fit in? There is one sure way to find out. JOIN THE ASSOCIATION!

HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR FAMILY TREE:
As noted on the membership form available on this site, for an additional fee of $20.00 Canadian over and above dues, each member receives a family tree which gives you the names of your ancestors back to one of the two original brothers, Louis and Pierre, described in this site, who emigrated from France to Quebec in 1644 and 1653.

NOTE: If you are an American, the Association requires that you pay for the family tree with twenty American dollars as they are charged a fee for cashing your American check.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MEMBER TO OBTAIN A FAMILY TREE,
BUT WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN!

You should check with a local genealogical society in your area about how to provide as much information as you can on your application to the Association.
If you are an American, you can help in this regard. If you are requesting a genealogy,
it would be helpful if you could trace your own ancestry back to the ancestor who left Quebec for the United States.
Otherwise, there is only about 50% probability that the genealogist can make the connection for you.
My ancestry below will give you a good example of how this can be done.
The genealogist will be happy to add your information so as to make his database that much more complete.

The Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America would love to welcome you as a new member and thus to welcome your support of ongoing research. Also, please share news of this site with others in your family.

In my travels to France and Quebec, I took pictures of our historical sites for this site. Others were provided by Daniel Gagne of Quebec, member of the Board of Administration of the Gagne-Bellavance Association.

The Internet is a way of letting others know about the Association of Gagne-Bellavance Families in America and its work, and our exciting family history as well.

It was my privilege to celebrate Mass at the site of Louis Gasnier's baptism, the Church of St. Martin in Ige, France, when I observed my fifth anniversary in 1983 and again on September 26, 1997.
I was also privileged to celebrate Mass in the church of the 1638 marriage of Louis Gasnier and Marie Michel at St. Martin-du-vieux-Belleme on October 11, 1999.

You will find below a chart of my family's origins in Rochester, New York. I am an eleventh generation descendant of Louis Gasnier (1612-1661)
After the chart is information about another Gagnier family in the Rochester, New York area.

My great-grandfather, an eighth generation descendant of Louis, came to Rochester from Montreal in 1865. After establishing himself as a shoemaker, he returned to Montreal to bring his wife and six children to their new home in Rochester. They had ten more children for a total of sixteen. My grandfather was the fourteenth.

Great-Grandparents: Pierre and Virginia (Guyette) Gagnier, 1907

My great-grandparents were married on August 18, 1857 at the Church of Notre Dame in Montreal, Quebec:
Pierre Gagnier (March 11, 1836 - March 24, 1913) Virginia Guyette (October 9, 1838 - October 12, 1913)

The photo above shows Pierre and Virginia Gagnier from a postcard dated September 19, 1907 at the ages of 70 and 68. The picture was perhaps taken on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage on August 18 of that year, or perhaps at the wedding of my grandparents (shown below) John William Gagnier and Jennie (Schuller) on August 16, 1907. They are buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, NY as are many of their children.

The chart below outlines their sixteen children and what little I know about them. Only one changed the spelling of the name. That was Napoleon Gagner who lived to be 92, the last male survivor of the ninth generation of our family line. There are many descendants of Pierre and Virginia. I do not know many of them, but I hope they will contact me to help fill in the missing information on the chart.

Grandparents: John William and Jennie (Schuller) Gagnier, 1907

My grandparents were married at Our Lady of Victory Church
(also known as "The Little French Church") on August 16, 1907 in Rochester, New York:
John William Gagnier (October 15, 1876 - January 21, 1910)
Jennie Schuller Gagnier Englert (May 13, 1888 - December 5, 1949)

16 Children: Pierre and Virginia (Guyette) Gagnier of Montreal, Quebec and later, Rochester, N.Y.
#	Name	Birth 18--	Death 19--	Name of Spouse	Place of Marriage	Date of Marriage
1.	Joseph C. Pierre	06/10/58
2.	J. A. Oliver	11/08/59
3.	Mary Louise	07/29/61	08/06/43	John Arnold
4.	Napoleon Gagner	11/17/62	11/24/54	Louise Hook	Saint Peter & Paul	05/05/1892
5.	Derick	03/31/64
6.	Augustine	05/02/65	06/11/12	Emma Sellnow		08/04/1888
7.	Emma	07/14/66	01/06/60	Albert Francis	Our Lady of Victory	02/02/1889
8.	Josephine	08/05/68		Adolph Guyette	Our Lady of Victory	02/17/1887
9.	Marie Desilda	07/24/69
10.	Louis	07/16/70	04/01/14	Jennie Stuvenhauer
11.	William	01/10/72
12.	Edward	04/09/73	07/25/53
13.	Nellie	02/02/75	06/25/15	Edward Springer	Our Lady of Victory	02/06/1893
14.	John William	10/15/76	01/21/10	Jennie Schuller	Our Lady of Victory	08/16/1907
15.	George Oliver	12/14/79	08/29/50	Barbara Reisinger	Our Lady of Victory	03/30/1902
16.	Marie Virginia	04/29/82

Church of Marriage of Pierre & Virginia (Guyette) Gagnier, married on August 18, 1857

Another Gagnier Family in the Rochester area was established by the late Dr. Gerard and Mrs. Yvette Gagnier. Dr. Gagnier, an eighth generation descendant, came from Churubusco, New York, near the Canadian border.
On the home page of this web site you will find a link to Gagnier Web Site which provides information about Dr. Gagnier's father, Edgar George Stanislaus Gagnier, descendant of Ignace Gagnier, son of Louis who came to New York's "North Country" just across the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec.

Please let others in your extended family know about this site and our Association.
Few people know as much about their origins as you now know from this site.

Click here for the Form Letter about this site for you to copy to your family.

In the seventh and final section below entitled
"Your place in the family,"
are instructions on how you can calculate
your relationship to me or any other family member.
On the home page is a link to membership information and a membership form.
The home page has other genealogical links.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
My guest book is available at the link below.
You may contact me by e-mail at gagnier@dor.org
or use the mail link below.

Thank you for your visit and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Father Gagnier

Personal Arms of Father John F. Gagnier (c) 1996

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OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH:

In April 1998, I celebrated my twentieth anniversary in Rome.
A week later, I was invited to celebrate Mass with Pope John Paul II in his chapel.

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Gagnier (Gagne) History Web Site
by Rev. John F. Gagnier

Last modified on Friday October 2, 2013