Bourgeois Family
Courtesy of Barbara Ann Fisette
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME BOURGEOIS
With the arrival of the first Bourgeois ancestor, Jacques, in Acadia, Canada in 1642, the name Bourgeois became a common surname. In time it would become a well-known surname throughout Canada and even in some parts of the United States.
For centuries the name Bourgeois had been used as a surname in France. Its origin can be dated to approximately 1000 A.D. With the revival of trade in the later Middle Ages, towns sprang up everywhere in Europe. A fortified town in France was called a bourg, and so originally, le bourgeois meant a person from the town, or townsmen. Because many people living in towns were engaged in trade, le bourgeois eventually came to mean a tradesman or merchant. As time went on, these people became influential and developed into a class of their own. Since this class, which was called the bourgeoisie in France, neither belonged to the upper class of the feudal lords nor to the lower class of the serfs, it came to be known as the middle class. As a result of these changes the meaning of the name BOURGEOIS evolved from townsmen or tradesmen, to middle class men - each with a slight variation in meaning.
The bourgeoisie became a powerful class. They employed people to work for them: artisans, farmers, sailors, soldiers and so on. They bought the privilege of self-government within their town. Money became the main medium of exchange. The bourgeoisie became proud, rich, energetic, and contemptuous of the feudal world about them.
Judging from the position held by our first ancestor in Canada, Jacques, it would seem that he was not only a Bourgeois in name, but in class as well.
Jeanine Bourgeois-Tenove
THE BOURGEOIS FAMILY TREE
1. Jacques Bourgeois m.Unknown
(These parents may not have come to Canada)
2. Jacques Bourgeois IIm.1643 Jeanne Trahan
Port Royal, Acadie, Canada
3. Germain Bourgeois m.1682 Madeleine Dugas
Port Royal, Acadie, Canada
4. Joseph Bourgeois m. 1/10/1719 Anne LeBlanc
Port Royal, Acadie, Canada
5. Joseph-Gregoire Bourgeois m. 2/10/1749 Catherine Comeau
Port Royal, Acadie, Canada
6. Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois m.12/8/1779 Marie-Josephe Lamoureaux
St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Vercheres, PQ, Canada
7. Louis Bourgeois m. 8/1818 Julie Loiseau
St.-Denis, Vercheres, PQ, Canada
8. Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois m. 1/1860 Rose Rouillard
St. Anne's Church, Hamel, Minnesota
9. Joseph Alphonse Bourgeois m. 6/26/1894 Adele (Ida) Hamel
St. Anne's Church, Hamel, Minnesota
Courtesy of Barbara Ann Fisette