Nicolas Godé Story Part 1: Colonists

The Nicolas Godé Story
Un Engagé, Pionnier, & Premier Colon de la Montréal
Part 1: Les Premiers Montréalistes

Present Day

A Story of Us!

Our Antecedent

Nicolas Godé possesses a storied lineage with over 2 million descendants world-wide. Some well-known; some not. A few in the public eye; most long forgotten. There’s Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, Madonna, Duchess of Cornwall, Ryan Gosling, Jack Kerouac.

And then, there’s us!

CHRONOLOGY

1535

Exploration of Nouvelle-France

French Arrival in Canada

A century before 1641 and the arrival of the first colonists to Nouvelle-France, France was one of many European countries to expand overseas to chart territories, beginning with Jacques Cartier and his surveying of Eastern Canada in 1535. These early explorers were quickly followed by fur trappers, pioneers, and settlers, all with more permanent intentions. Then, France was eager to expand its territorial reach, and it was just a matter of time before the era of colonization would begin in earnest.

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SOURCE: Canadian Museum of History; Musée de Canadien de L'Histoire

View Interactive Map -Virtual Museum of New France

English & French

1583

Nicolas Godé-First Colonist

Birth in Ige, Perche, France

What's more remarkable is how a man of humble beginnings became enmeshed in the larger historical landscape of French colonization of North America, a central figure in the wars between the French and the Iroquois, and a founding colonist of Montreal or Ville-Marie as it was named in its early days. Indeed, Nicolas Godé, master carpenter and emigrée from Ige in the Perche area of Basse-Normandie, France in 1641, has a rather captivating story to tell.

1641

Nicolas Godé & Family

Les Premiers Montréalistes

Born in 1583, Nicolas arrived in Quebec, Canada in 1641 with his wife Francoise and children, sons Francois (1621) and Nicolas (1629) and daughters Francoise (1626) and Mathurine (1637). They were among the first group of pioneering colonists to arrive from the Perche, Normandy area of France. Canadian historical archives indicate that two major influences governed the founders' decision to remain in Quebec during that first arrival year: harsh Canadian winters and fierce Native populations. Soon enough, they 'd experience the fury of both.

We descend from Nicolas’ daughter Francoise and her husband Jean Desroches in a long lineage that flows through our Niquette bloodline, 11 generations of descendants from Nicolas Godé to us.

SOURCE: Pointe-à-Calliére Museum of Canada

Read more on the origins of Montreal and the history and genealogy of the First Colonists

French Only

Our Lineage to Nicolas Godé

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These first colonists to Nouvelle-France departed from two ports: La Rochelle or Dieppe in Normandy, France. To ensure the colony's growth, men and women from all stations and occupations were recruited, according to Canadian archives. For France's empire dreams, tradesmen, laborers, carpenters, and masons along with domestic servants were essential to the building of the colony and the survival of Montreal. In fact, colonists like Nicolas Godé and his family embodied the spirit and the tenacity of Canadian colonialism. But that would come at a steep price.

Les Engagés, as these first colonists were called, signed a contract of engagement in which they agreed to stay in Nouvelle-France for 3 years. After they completed their years of service, they had a choice of remaining in Canada or returning to France. The colonization of Nouvelle-France was in its infancy but its impact was immediate and evident. And thus was born the French plantation of North America.

Port of Departure - La Rochelle, France

Port of Departure - Dieppe, France

"When the fur trade and colonial settlements began to develop, La Rochelle became the favourite embarkation point for emigration and commerce with the colonies."(bac-lac.gc.ca)