Auclair dit Leclerc
The ancestor of all American Auclairs is a woman, Suzanne Aubineau. Born at Angoulins, near La Rochelle, she married Pierre Auclair and they settled in Sainte-Vivien, a neighbouring village. She gave birth to three children, of which two survived. Becoming a widow in 1663, she took advantage of the "Filles de Roi" (The King's Daughters) program to find a new husband in New France. With her two sons, Pierre and André, she arrived in Quebec in 1666.
On April 25, 1667, she married Mathias Campagna, also originally from Angoulins,swiss replica watches as she was. They settled on Île d'Orléans, where they had three daughters and one son baptised. Only the son survived. Today, on their property on Île d'Orléans, a monument is dedicated to Suzanne Aubineau and Mathias Campagna. It is along side of the road about 2.4 kilometres from the Saint-François parish church.
Born on April 23, 1662, André Auclair was four years of age when he crossed the ocean. He lived with his mother on Île d'Orléans until the age of seventeen when he purchased a property on the Saint-Bernard Road at Charlesbourg, where his brother, Pierre, had moved previously. However, it was not Pierre that drew him there, but rather a young widow who he fancied and who lived closer to Quebec. On February 17, 1681, he married Marie Bedard, the widow of Nicholas Huppé. The young couple had eight children. André Auclair died very young, just 37 years of age. His descendants, very few in number, only represent about 20% of the American Auclairs. Two families adopted the Leclerc surname; one in the 6th generation in the Montreal area, and the other, in the 8 th generation in Ontario. We greet Michel (#048) who is a descendant of André Auclair.
Pierre Auclair, born February 7, 1655, was eleven years of age when he arrived in Quebec. He tried various ventures in the area, but finally settled on a property west of Charlesbourg where the nuns of the Hôtel Dieu Hospital, owners of the Saint Ignace seigneury, had built an ordinary mill. ’Ä®On March 6, 1679, at 24 years of age, he married Marie-Madeleine Sédilot, only 14 years of age. The couple begat seventeen children. Two of the sons became priests and five of the daughters became nuns.
Today 80% of American Auclairs descend from Pierre Auclair. About 10% of these adopted the Leclerc surname. This happened with the 6th generation in the Beauce area, and with the 8th generation in the state of New Hampshire. An interesting fact: the house that Pierre Auclair built still exists today, and you may visit it, if you wish. It is located at 1695 Boulevard Saint-Joseph in Charlesbourg West. It is presently the property of the L'Heureux family.
We salute the following members: Réal (#139), Agathe (#081), Gilles (#213), Louis-Georges (#222), André (#253), Alphonse (#259), Michel (#260), Adrienne (#263), Françoise (#299) et Gérard (#310). We also greet Raymond L'Heureux (#185), equally a member, who was born in the ancestral Auclair homestead. He is Secretary of l'Association des Auclairs d'Amerique. You can review their site at: Auclair d’Amérique.
Nancy Auclair (#245) will be responsible for this line. She is a reknown genealogist in New England, who has published an Auclair dictionary. She can be contacted at Nancy Auclair.
Writer Gilles P. Leclaire