The Origins of François Savoie
Royalty?
Most genealogists dream of being able to connect one of their lines to royalty. Unfortunately for those with royal aspirations, it is most unlikely that the François Savoie who married Catherine Lejeune was a nobleman. The only known evidence of who François Savoie of Acadia was or where he came from is his entry on the 1671 Acadian census. This is what it reads:
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Laboureur - FRANCOIS SCAVOIS aagé de 50 ans, sa femme Catherine Le Jeune aagée de 38 ans. Leurs enfans neuf, une fille de mariée, Françoise aagée de 18 ans, Les non mariez, Germain aagé de 17 ans, Marie aagée de 14 ans, Jeanne aagée de 13 ans, Catherine aagée de neuf ans, François 8, Barnabé aagé de six ans, Andrée agée de 4 ans, Marie aagée d'un an et demy, bestiaux a cornes 4 piéces, terres Labourables six arpans.
French Farmer?
Those of us actively researching this issue feel that it is most likely that Francois was from a farming village near the place where he was recruited about 1651. This 1620 map clearly depicts the villages of Grand Savoie and Petit Savoie. The geography and purposes of the French government of the period match perfectly. We know that the most obvious archives in France have not yet been searched and this is one of the projects for which we are fundraising We have receive special permission from the owner of the archives to research them and have been offered assistance by Mme. Michele Touret of the Musee d'Acadie in France to access the other four archive locations we have determined as possibly containing information about Francois and all of the other original Acadian settlers.
