Maxime and Elise (Bouchard) Roy Family around 1917

In researching my Roy ancestors, I encountered various spellings of the family name, including Roy, Roi, Rois, LeRoy and King. My particular Roy lineage was also frequently referred to as Desjardins, Lauzier, Lauzon, and Voisine. With just a cursory look, one would not necessarily associate these last surnames with the Roy family. However, backtracking through the various historical records, I have come across all these surnames as referring to the same family.

My Roy Family migrated from Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada in the mid 1820s. My 3rd Great Grandfather, Jean Raphael Roy, appears to have been the first Roy to migrate to the Saint John River Valley around 1826.

Jean Raphael Roy, son of Jean Marie Roy and Marie Anne Michaud, married Marie Louis Caron, daughter of Simon Caron and Ursule Belanger on 26 November 1810 at St Louis, Kamouraska, Kamouraska County, Province of Quebec. Their children were also born and baptized at St Louis, Kamouraska, except for Henriette who baptism was registered at St Basile, Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada in 1826.

My Roy Family is descendant from Antoine Roy dit Desjardins who came to Quebec with the Carrignan-Saliere Regiment in 1665. See the following page for Antoine's relatives in France. This is my English translation of Monsieur Pierre LeClercq's research as published on la Société généalogique de l'Yonne and is published here with permission from the author. See also the villages along the St. Lawrence where Antoine and his son Pierre have lived.

My wife's Desjardins Family are descendants of Jean Baptiste Desjardins and Marie Louise Dionne. He is the son of Jean Baptiste Roy and Geneviève Côté and thus part of the Antoine Roy dit Desjardins Family tree.

Their grandson, Honoré Roy dit Desjardins married Henriette Marquis on 5 Feb 1839 at St André de Kamouraska, Québec, Canada. Joseph Desjardins, son of Honoré Roy and Henriette Marquis, was the first to marry in the St. John Valley. Joseph married Démerise Gagné on 25 Apr 1871 at Ste Luce in Frenchville, Maine.

  Henry and Marie (Lizotte) Boucher before 1910

Various spellings of the Boucher family name were encountered while doing this research, including Bouche, Bushey and Boucher.

My wife's Boucher Family migrated from Beauceville, Quebec to Augusta, Maine sometimes after 1836 and before 1839. The 1840 U.S. Census lists Leon as residing in Augusta. He later moved to Waterville, Maine.

Henry Bushey (Boucher), son of Zépherin Boucher and Marie Boucher, married Marie Lizotte, daughter of Pierre 'Pitroche' Lizotte and Marie Gorneau in Waterville. Albert Boucher was born in Waterville, Maine on 4 November 1904. The Maine Vital Statistics for Waterville shows his name as Herbert Raphael Bushey on his Birth Certificate.

After his mother, Marie Lizotte Boucher, died in 1910, Albert and his sister were raised by his maternal grandparents, Pierre Lizotte and Marie Gorneau in St. Francois de Madawaska, New Brunswick.

My wife's Boucher Family are descendants of Jean Boucher who was baptized at St-Étienne of Chaix in Poitou, France, which today is the Department de Vendée. Jean was at St Anne de Beaupré according to the 1681 census.

The following link provides a French biographical notes on Jean Boucher and his wife Madeleine Paré. Jean was born around 1650, the son of Quatrin Boucher and Jeanne Denis.

My wife's 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Boucher, comes from a different Boucher Family line which descends from François Boucher. He is the son of Marin Boucher, who came from St-Langis near Mortagne,in the ancient province of Perche, France, which today is Mortagne-en-Perche in the Department de Orne in the Basse-Normandie region of France. Marin Boucher and his family came over aboard the ship, St. Jehan under the command of Captain Pierre Nesle, which arrived in Quebec on June 4, 1634. François married Florence Garement on 3 Sep 1641 in Québec.

Our special thanks to Carroll Deschaines for providing the documentation on the François Boucher line.