The Thibault Association of America was founded in October 1989, following a suggestion by Jean-Paul Thibault of L'Islet. Over 1,000 people gathered at Cap-Saint-Ignace to celebrate their common heritage. The interest and enthusiasm expressed on this occasion convinced a small group to take the first step and obtain a charter. On October 6, 1989, nine Thibaults signed the charter document as required by the Inspector General in charge of incorporations. A charter was duly granted on October 12, 1989.

Members met in Montreal in June 1992 as part of the 350th anniversary of that city. Seven Thibeaux from Louisiana and Texas attended this gathering to celebrate with us. Homage was paid to the ancestors Pierre Thibault dit L'Eveille and Joseph-Jerome Thibault dit Bellerose, since they both married in Montreal and settled in that area.

A gathering of the Thibault Association took place June 26, 1993 in Gaspesia at Ste-Angele-de-Merici.  On this occasion, the parish was celebrating its 125th anniversary. In this area, one finds a strong concentration of descendants of Francois Thibault, the most prolific of the fifteen ancestors who came to Canada.

A fourth reunion took place in Aylmer in May 1994. The people of this area originally came from throughout the province of Quebec. Therefore, descendants of most of the fifteen Thibaults can be found there.

The following year, in May 1995, the fifth gathering was held in Quebec. Homage was paid to Ancestor Guillaume Thibault. Members visited Chateau-Richer, a Quebec suburb, and viewed the site where Guillaume lived with his wife and eight children.

Two years later, in October 1997, our group met in Sherbrooke. Many descendants of Francois Thibault can be found in this area.

The next gathering was held in September 1998 in Becancour. It was the occasion to pay tribute to the ancestor Louis Thibault whose family had been divided at the time of the Acadian deportation. Among Louis Thibault's twelve children six of them established themselves in Becancour after the exile.

Ten years after the Association was founded, in June 1999, a second great reunion was held at Cap-Saint-Ignace. This is where Ancestor Francois and his wife lived and raised twelve children. He and his wife were buried here.

The spirit of our ancestors was present among the Thibaults gathered in the Salaberry Amory as our reunion coincided with the 200th anniversary of the city of Hull, in 2000.

The descendants of François and Guillaume greeted us with a song in Gaspe, June 2001. Floating on the waves of remembrance the Association gathered on the tide-swept Bay of Gaspe.

It was Baie-Comeau's turn, June 2002, to reunite the Thibaults. Going back in the history of this beautiful region, we discovered one of Phipps' wrecked ships.

Cordiality reigned over the Lachine reunion, June 2003. A tree honoring our ancestors was planted in the arboretum, thus reviving their memory as well as bearing witness to our presence there.

In the context of the 15th anniversary of our Association, Trois-Rivieres welcomed us in June 2004. Bulletin number 31, entirely devoted to the fifteen years of our Association, was proudly unveiled during this reunion.

The sun was shining on the Thibaults in June 2005 on the Island of Orleans. Descendants of many ancestors were reunited in this great family. It was a beautiful, wonderful and cordial atmosphere.

Mesdames Elizabeth-Agnès Lefebvre, Catherine Beaudry and Marie-Madeleine François had the honor of welcoming the proud descendents of François Thibault, Pierre Thibault dit Léveillé and Guillaume Thibault to the beautiful city of Laval in 2006. After briefly narrating the history of their families' arrival in New France, these good wives of the above three ancestors led the participants in games enabling all to quickly get to know each other.

The Thibauls were in Manchester, New Hampshire, in June 2007. Our visit unveiled a bit of our Quebecois' and of a few Thibaults' past. We can imagine that they found new roots in this landscape in accordance with the perception they had of themselves and of their environment. The foothold of the French-Canadians in the city had two results: it implanted an expatriate culture in the area and revealed a distinct heritage, the result of settlement and encounter.

At the reunion in Sherbrooke in 2008, Saturday's dinner was attended by 111 people and 97 sang together at Sunday's brunch. The air resounded with words full of joy and light-hearted banter during the reunion. People were renewing their acquaintances and meeting new friends, an excellent occasion for conviviality.

On a sunny Saturday, June 13, 2009, at the Cafe du Havre of the Marina at Berthier-sur-Mer, 104 people gathered to board Captain Lachance's boat to sail to Grosse-Ile. They walked the trails that four million immigrants trod between 1832 and 1937. The history of the "Quarantine Island" and the Irish Memorial touched them deeply. The merry mini-cruise, the accordion music, the reinactors, the songs, the anecdotes, the cocktail and wonderful dinner amounted to an unrivalled occasion! No wonder that day was so successful, the Thibaults were celebrating the Association 20th anniversary.

The gathering in 2010 gave us the opporunity to discover the city of Saguenay. We learned a little more about` the fjord and the residents. A visit to the fjord museum revealed some of its most beautiful secrets. During this weekend, the Thibaults saw, listened and conversed. Life was bursting around them! They gave free rein again to their capacity for marvel.

In June 2011, the Thibaults gathered once more for a magnificent weekend together in Drummondville. The tour of the Old Quebec Village was most interesting. Eventhough there were a little less people attending, the atmosphere was particularly friendly and joyful.

VOYAGES

After much planning, a trip to France, the country of our ancestors, took place from June 8 to 23, 1993. About fifty Association members visited the northern and mid-western parts of France.  Among other things, they took part in the medieval festivals at Provins in Champagne, the place where Thibault IV, poet and ballad writer, was baptized.

They also visited the church of Ste-Catherine in the village of La Flotte, Re Island, where Ancestor Francois was born and baptized. The Thibaults were officially received at the town hall. At this time they presented a song which they composed for the occasion.

Many members took part in a second voyage to Europe in June 1996. This trip began on the Riviera, included a cruise on the Rhine, a visit to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and finally France. They visited Lille where they were officially received at the town hall. Recognition was paid to Ancestor Joseph-Jerome Thibault dit Bellerose, who was born in that city. Copies of the marriage certificates of his parents and grandparents as well as baptismal certificates of Joseph-Jerome and his brother and sister were given to Robert Thibault, representative of the Association from Moncton, New Brunswick.

To see the photographs of our voyages, click here.
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Since the beginning of time the human being has always been searching for his origins.

Even though it is impossible to know what he was before his birth, he cannot know either what is awaiting him in the next world. One thing is certain, however; he is not only interested in his own family and in those having the same family name; but he fervidly searches the past to better understand the present. That explains the reason for genealogy.

As for us, we have an opportunity not only to get to know our ancestors and their land, but we hope to learn how they lived in their native land, France.

To see the places from which our ancestors left to look for a better life, to visit Normandy and Brittany, and to discover sites such as La Rochelle, the Isle of Ré and Provins are in fact deeply moving pilgrimages to our origins.

Please let us know if a trip to France is among your plans in the future. If requested by enough people a similar trip would be organized.

NEW FRANCE CELEBRATION DAYS

This festival was celebrated for the first time in Quebec in August 1997. Since then, the event has been repeated each year at the same time.  For seven years volunteers from the Thibault Association of America made it a point to represent the Association by manning a booth where Thibaults as well as those related to the Thibaults through their mother, grandmother, in-laws or in any way were warmly and enthusiastically welcomed. During the course of all these years, our booth was manned by Pierrette Thibault (4) accompanied by other volunteers, depending on yearly circumstances, Claudette (62), Monique (495), Therese (75), Nanette (129), Raynald (434).

To see the photographs of this festival, click here.
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FOUNDING FAMILIES FAIR

These fairs afford an opportunity to help individuals in search of their origins. Genealogy and the history of families are available to all here on the public square. Our Association has a booth each winter at the fair in Place Laurier, Quebec. We are also present at annual traveling fairs, sponsored by local organizations. In 2003, the fair was in Montreal, in 2004, in Rimouski, in 2005, in Gatineau, and in 2006, October 13 to 15 at the Carrefour Laval, in Laval.