Ses signatures-page 1/L'Association des Familles Kirouac / Centre de généalogie francophone d'Amérique

These are all the known signatures of our Ancestor, Alexandre de K/voach, as found up to now in what was then New France and more precisely the territory of the actual Province of Quebec. They cover the period between 1727 and 1736. As can be seen in these eighteen signatures, our Ancestor varied his signatures whenever he was called upon to sign a document. However, there is one constant factor, he distinctly chose to use the surname (particule) de K/voach as his official surname and he normally identified himself as such.

The surname de K/voach appears fifteen times in the eighteen signatures found so far. Sometimes it is attached to the family name Le Bihan, sometimes to the family name Le Bris, but in most instances, it is used alone, on its own. Therefore, the normal use, by our Ancestor, of this surname de K/voach as a family name gradually and finally replaced the family names of Le Bihan or Le Bris as, indeed, he used each of those names only three times.

In spite of the various signatures used, there is no doubt whatsoever that in New France, our Ancestor was known by all and sundry under the name Alexandre de K/voach dit (known as) Le Breton. And if we wish to better understand the personage, it is essential to look beyond the variations which were a common fact at that time; otherwise one could be tempted to speculate into them and come to unfounded conclusions. It is also absolutely essential to keep in mind the context in which the signatures were written and consider what had just happened before and after each of the various events. In doing so we see that although our Ancestor varied his signature, he always introduced himself as Alexandre de K/voach, and that does explain why this ‘surname’ our family name still showing slightly different spellings.

This is perfectly clear on the deed he signed on 25 January 1727. Our ancestor signed Le Bihan on the deed, but in the text it says that one Alexandre Carunoac was present at the ceremony; this proves that he introduced himself as Alexandre de K/voach, but in the Church record the parish priest wrote the name as it sounded to him without bothering about the spelling… and the signature in the same parish record is clearly Le Bihan.

The same thing happened at his marriage, on 25 October 1732. On that occasion, he used another name in front of the surname de K/voach. Nevertheless, it is difficult to think that his in-laws would have known him as anything else but Alexandre de K/voach, dit le Breton even if, ironically, he used a new name that day, and it can even be added that it was rather clever given that Breton is pronounced Bris (Breiz) in Gaelic.

The day he married Louise Bernier, our Ancestor officially acknowledged a son born out of wedlock in February 1732, which is eight months earlier. However, on the birth certificate, in the parish records, the parish priest, who could have written the common form used at the time: “born of unknown father”, instead wrote: “son of one called Alexandre voyageur” (traveling fur trader). Thus, eight months before his wedding, he was already known as Alexandre and it is not by chance either that the son was baptised Alexandre in the absence of the father. Therefore, it is obvious that in February 1732, his future in-laws knew him as Alexandre and, as on 25 January 1727 in Quebec City, he would have most probably introduced himself as Alexandre de K/voach, and then, a few months later, at his wedding, he signed the parish records in Cap St-Ignace as Maurice Louis Le Bris de K/voach.

In addition, there is another interesting fact: to be taken into account. Three of Louise Bernier’s sisters married three Côté brothers between 1720 and 1722. Louise Bernier was our ancestor’s wife. Her three sisters’ husbands were the sons of the Seigneur de la Rivière-Verte and our Ancestor already knew that family in 1730, which is two years before getting married to Louise Bernier. The Seigneur Côté, who could neither read nor write, obviously fully trusted our Ancestor because he asked him to prepare a simple contract (contrat sous seing privé) for the sale of a piece of land. The contract is signed by Alexandre de K/voach dit le Breton, therefore his future wife’s sisters already knew him as Alexandre le Breton, the nickname under which he was obviously known by one and all at the time, according to the documents discovered so far.

Undeniably, there was no doubt in the people’s mind at the time that our Ancestor was from Brittany, so much so that they had nicknamed him Alexandre le Breton. On 30 November 1733, our ancestor wrote a letter to the Governor of New France, the Marquis de Beauharnois. Now the follow up to that letter is most interesting as an indication of our Ancestor’s well-known identity. He signed his letter Alexandre de K/voach. However, the Intendant Hocquart, the administrative authority in New France at the time, further to our ancestor’s letter, a few days later published an ordinanceinviting the population to help Alexandre le Breton. The letter was signed de K/voach but the ordinance mentions le Breton without even mentioning de K/voach. The content of these two documents clearly shows that our ancestor, Alexandre de K/voach, who was known by the population in general by the surname/nickname of Le Breton, was also known as such by the administrative and judicial authorities of New France. For everybody he was Alexandre de Kervoach dit le Breton, no matter how he signed documents and deeds. The use of the surname/nickname le Breton was indeed so popular among his contemporaries that long after his death, his own sons, grandsons, and even some of his great-grandsons were still known by that surname. With time it has been transformed into Berton, Borton, and even Burton in the United States.

It is easy to conclude that our Ancestor’s regular use of the surname de Kervoach, in every day life and when signing documents and deeds, shows us clearly why this surname, that was originally the name of what was then a site or an estate in Brittany, became the family name of the descendants of Alexandre de K/voach. If this surname has been passed on from generation to generation in North America it is obviously because our Ancestor, as a rule, used it to introduce himself to one and all. It is also this unique surname that enabled the researchers to associate Alexandre de K/voach to the Le Bihan family from Huelgoat whose ancestors were from Lanmeur in Brittany.

François Kirouac

Researchers (in alphabetical order) who contributed to the discovery of the above mentioned documents: Patricia Dagier, Clément Kirouac, François Kirouac and Abbé Gérard Lévesque, priest.