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A History of the Godin Family
(In Memory of my Mother, Pétronille Godin Sisk)


Margaret

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Originating from the southwest part of Europe, the name “GODIN” is one of a number of variations from the German descendants named “GODRI, GODFREI, GODEFROY” in Alsace-Lorraine, France. After several different spellings such as “GODAIN” and “GHAUDIN”, it became “GODIN”, in France. In Acadia, some GODINS took names like CHATILLON, BEAUSÉJOUR, BELLEFONTAINE, BOISJOLI, BELLEFEUILLE, LINCOUR, PREVILLE and VALCOUR to reflect their place of origin.

In the northern part of Belgium, in a territory called “Les Pays-Bas” (the Low Lands), the GODINs lived in Brayant, Liège, Utrecht and Bavière. They were a noble family who were Protestants.

In the south, Godins who were Roman Catholic lived in Namur, an important coal mining centre. It is from this province of Namur that the Godin emblem originated. The emblem, in French is “Hermine, 3 Pales, Azur”. ERMINE – a white field with black specks – signifies justice; SWORD – readiness to defend the state; AZURE – a sky blue field – signifies faith, fidelity and loyalty.

Three descendants of these southern Godins founded Maisonnette, a tiny village in the northeastern section of our New Brunswick. They were Michel, David and Jean-Baptiste Godin, brothers to my 8th generation great-grandfather, Moïse Godin.

The Godin family story began twelve generations ago in Namur with the birth of Maurice Godin, a knight. Maurice married Huguette Pampelune of Sedan, in Champagne. (Champagne became part of France in 1361 and still is a famous wine making region).

A son, Vorle Godin, dyer, was born at Chatillon-sue-Seine, parish of St-Vorle, province of Bourgogne, as were his son Claude Godin and grandson Pierre Godin. The church at St-Vorle still stands and has become a national monument. Chatillon-sur-Seine is today part of Côte d’Or, which in turn was formed from parts of Champagne and Bourgogne, two former provinces of France. Côte d’Or is covered with vineyards of reputable wines.

Pierre became the first generation of Godins in Canada when at the age of twenty-three, on March 23, 1653, he signed a contract with Maisonneuve, Governor of Montreal, to come and work in the new colony of “New France” for five years. The contract stated a salary equivalent to two hundred per year paid in advance for the first year. In addition, he would receive a sword, pistols and tools needed for his carpentry work.

When Pierre decided to settle permanently in Montreal, Monsieur Maisonneuve granted him thirty acres of land on February 2, 1654. On October 13, 1654, he married Jeanne Roussellière. She originated from Rochelle and had come to New France at the same time as Pierre. They brought a parcel of land and a house in what is now “Old Montreal”. The Jacques Cartier monument was later to be erected on that land.

In 1676, Pierre and Jeanne sold their properties in Montreal and settled in Port Royal, which is now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. They had a family of nine children. Pierre, who had taken on the surname CHATILLON, after his birthplace, died circa 1685.

Gabriel Godin was born in 1661 while the family lived in Montreal. He came with his parents to Port Royal in 1676, but returned to Québec and married Andrée-Angélique Jeanne in 1690. He took on the surname of BELLEFONTAINE, and in 1693 Gabriel settled his family in a new colony, Sainte-Anne which is Fredericton today.

The first generation born in what would become New Brunswick, Jean-René Godin, a cultivator, was born at Sainte-Anne around 1710. Here he married François Bergeron in 1734 and François Dugas in 1740.

A son, Jean-Baptiste Godin, a farmer and fisherman, was born at Sainte-Anne, around 1736. When the French were driven out from the St. John river area, Jean-Baptiste took refuge in Québec where he married Angélique Bergeron, also from the St. John river area. In 1770, he was a member of the Saint-Laurent Fusiliers. In 1779, he returned to the banks of the river St. John, some eight kilometres north of Fredericton, in what is probably Douglas today. On February 1, 1786, he received sixty acres of land, a document signed by Jonathan Odell, the Governor in Council. Three months later he sold his parcel of land. In 1787, he arrived in Bertrand with his wife and nine children, where he bought one hundred and fifty nine acres of land. His body was put to rest in the cemetery at Saint-Anne du Bocage in Caraquet, where pilgrimages still take place each year, on the Feast of Sainte-Anne, July 26th.

Three of Jean-Baptiste’s sons were the founders of Maisonnette, New Brunswick: Michel, David and Jean-Baptiste Godin. My ancestor was a fourth son, Moïse Godin.

Great Great Grandfather, Louis-Adolphe Godin, settled in Maisonnette with his wife Judith and nine children shortly before he died. Judith, originally a Godin from Caraquet, remained in Maisonnette raising their large family. There my great-grandfather Euchère Godin; grandfather, Stanislas Godin; and my mother, Pétronille Godin, were born.

Pétronille Godin married John M. Sisk at Grande-Anse on August 10, 1941. They had a family of five: Clara, Montreal, Québec; myself, Margaret, Fredericton; William, Pokeshaw, New Brunswick; Rita, Ile Bizard, Québec; and Dorothy, Burlington, Ontario.

Some of the Godins in my family still live in Maisonnette today.

Reprinted with permission, from Our Stories: Heritage ’94, (A project of the Multiculturalism and Immigration Office, Department of Advanced Education and Labour, Province of New Brunswick.)


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