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CENT PERSONNES AVEC L'HÉRITAGE FRANÇAIS - AVEC QUELQUES SURPRISES
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Check off the ones you know as you go - 50 or more say you know your French roots
Louis
H
é
be
rt
1575 - 1627
The first permanent settler
in Canada
His Hébert name died out with his
great grandson - Clinton County
Heberts are descended from the
Acadian Héberts
Born in Canada, this naturalized
US citizen invented the
parafoil and the paraglider
Domina
Jalbert
1904 - 1991
Lt. General
John A.
Lejeune
1867 - 1942
13th Commandant
of the Marine Corps after whom
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina
is named
~
Semper Fi
~
Actress, model and
United Nations High Commission
for Refugees Ambassador
Mother, Marcheline Bertrand,
was French-Canadian and
Iroquois
Angelina
Jolie
1975
Dr. Anne
LaBastille
Internationally known
Adirondack woodswoman,
writer and ecologist
Novelist on the American West
and author of over 100 books
Louis
L'Amour
1908 - 1988
Alexander
Hamilton
1755 - 1804
Founding Father
Practised law in New York where
he died after a duel
Mother was a Huguenot - Faucette
Francophile, francophone and
wife of a president
Lived and worked in New York
Jacqueline
Bouvier
Kennedy
Onassis
1929 - 1994
Claire L.
Chennault
1893 - 1958
Major General in command
of the
Flying Tigers in WWII
Voice of Rugrats Phil and Lil DeVille,
Kanga in the Winnie the Pooh series
and dozens of other cartoon
characters
Kath
Soucie
1967 -
He
nry
Delord
1764 - 1825
French merchant who bankrupted
himself by extending credit to
American officers during the Battle of
Plattsburgh
Born in rural Ontario -
the first quintuplets
known to have survived infancy
Dionne
Quintuplets
1934
Steven
Crowder
1987 -
Actor and stand-up comic
Started in Yoplait commercials
and was the voice of "The Brain" in the
"Arthur" series
Mother was born a Lacaille
Baseball Hall of Famer
from
Massachusetts
Leo
Durocher
1905 - 1991
Joan
Benoit
Samuelson
1957 -
Won the first ever
women's Olympic Marathon
on August 5, 1984
Plattsburgh author of Robidoux
genealogies and other genealogical
books for Clinton County, NY
Clyde M.
Rabideau
1936 -
Madonna
1958 -
The Material Girl
All French-Canadian on mother's side -
family name Fortin
Doonesbury Cartoonist and
gr-grandson of
Dr. Edward Trudeau
,
founder of the tuberculosis hospital in
Saranac Lake
Garry
Trudeau
1948 -
Brother
André
1845 - 1937
Brother André Bessette from
Iberville, Quebec
Miracle worker of Mount Royal and
founder of St Joseph's Oratory
Sacajawea's
husband-travelled with
Louis and Clarke
Born Boucherville, Quebec
Toussaint
Charbonneau
1767 - 1843
Louis
Riel
1844 - 1855
Metis Canadian
Revolutionary, lived in
Keeseville, NY for a time
in the 1870s
Born Jean Louis/Jack Kerouac
Beat poet and author
Claimed
Breton French ancestors
His father was born in St. Hubert, PQ
Jack
Kerouac
1922 - 1969
Dr. William
Beaumont
1785 - 1853
Doctor in the
Battle of Plattsburgh,
experimenter on
Alexis Bidagan dit
St.Martinand son-in-law of
Israel Green who had a
tavern in Plattsburgh
Pop or Punk singer?
Doesn't speak French
and pronounces her name in the
English way "Av-ril" rather than
"A-vril" the French way
Avril
Lavigne
1984 -
Joe
Ladue
1855 - 1900
Founder of Dawson City in the Yukon
at the beginning of the Klondike gold
rush - born in Schuyler Falls, NY
Inventor of the snowmobile
Joseph
Armand
Bombardier
1907 - 1964
Marie-Anne
Gaboury
1780 - 1875
First woman of European descent to
travel to and settle in western Canada
Cajun singer, songwriter and poet
who works in both
French and English
Performs his song "
Réveille
!"
all over North America
Zachary
Richard
1950 -
Paul
Revere
1734 - 1818
American revolutionary, silversmith
and son of Huguenot, Apollos Rivoire
American impressionist painter
and francophile
As a child she lived in France
with her family
Mary
Cassatt
1844 - 1926
Henry
David
Thoreau
1817 - 1862
American recluse, writer and
transcendentalist
Carolina Hurricanes Coach
and the coach of
Team USA for the 2006 Olympics
Peter
Laviolette
1964 -
Celine
Dion
1968 -
Singer and
Las Vegas headliner
Civil War French Creole general
for the
Confederacy
Nicknamed "The Little Creole"
by his military peers
Pierre
Gustave
Toutant
Beauregard
1818 - 1893
Robert
de
LaSalle
1643 - 1687
First explorer to sail
down the Mississippi
Named Louisiana
in honor the King Louis XIV
The
"Ragin' Cajun"
Political consultant and
media commentator
James
Carville
1944 -
John
Willis
Menard
1838 - 1893
First person of color to be elected
to the US Congress
Creole woodsman and painter
of wildlife
John
James
Audubon
1785 - 1851
Suzanne
Malveaux
c. 1967 -
White House correspondent
for CNN
Won an Academy Award at age ll for
"The Piano"
Now stars in X-men movies
Anna
Paquin
1982 -
Paul
Michel
Levesque
1969 -
5-time WWE Champion and a 5-time
World Heavyweight Champion
Writer of "Peyton Place"
Grace
DeRepentigny
Metalious
1924 - 1964
Patrick
Carpentier
1971 -
NASCAR driver
BAM!
Master chef and
entrepreneur
Emeril
Legasse
1959 -
Radisson
and
Des
Groseillers
mid 1600s
Based upon their explorations
the Hudson Bay Company
was founded
Soldier, scout, Wild West Show
owner
Buffalo
Bill
Cody
1845 - 1917
Dr. Sylvie
Beaudreau
Associate Professor of History
Plattsburgh State University
"There is a lot of history right here"
Folkloric lumberjack
of
French-Canadian origin
Paul
Bunyan
Evangeline
Bellefontaine
c. 1740
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s
Acadian heroine was separated
from Gabriel on their wedding day
when the Acadians were exiled
from Nova Scotia
Chief Astronaut
of the Canadian Space Agency,
engineer, pilot, singer, pianist,
triathlon athlete - not to mention she
speaks six languages
Julie
Payette
1963 -
General
Alexander
Macomb
1782 -1841
One of the heroes of the
Battle of Plattsburgh
All his maternal ancestors were
French
French-Canadian
Strong Man
~ L'Homme le plus fort du mond ~
Cyr also known as Sears
Louis
Cyr
1863 - 1912
Joseph
Juneau
1836 - 1899
Prospector and gold miner
in Alaska
Capital named after him
Willow Bunch Giant
Performer in freak shows
and
the Barnum and Bailey Circus
Edouard
Beaupré
1881 - 1904
Alphonse
Biardot
c. 1840
Founder of the
Franco-American
Food Company and inventor
of
SpaghettiOs - RavioliOs
Co-founder of
Wells Fargo and Company
and express company
between New York
and San Francisco
William
George
Fargo
1818 - 1881
Will
Durant
1885 - 1981
Philosopher, historian, writer
"Education is the progressive
discovery of our own
ignorance."
Governor of Louisiana
during
Hurricane Katrina
Kathleen
Babineaux
Blanco
1942 -
Alex
Trebek
1940 -
Game show host and journalist
Mother French-canadian - Legace
Father Ukrainian
Hall of Fame Jockey
Two-time winner of the
Bellmont Stakes in New York
Eric
Guerin
1924 - 1993
Éleuthère
Irénée
du Pont
de Nemours
1771 - 1834
Founder of the Dupont
Chemical Company
Jeff Gordon's primary sponsor
since 1992
Civil Rights Activist
writer, sociologist, historian
poet
At age 15 became a correspondent
for the "New York Globe"
W.E.B.
Dubois
1868 - 1963
John C.
Garand
1888 - 1974
Inventor of the M-1 Rifle
"John C. Garand Matches"
are held in many states,
including New York,
for M-1 shooters
The "I Don't Care" Girl
of the last days of
Vaudeville
She made her debut in 1904 in New York
Listen to her song
Eva
Tanguay
1879 - 1947
Bryant
Gumbel
1948 -
Television personality, news and
sportscaster
Anchored the "Today Show"
in New York City for 15 years
Mother - LeCesne
Lived in Acadia and Quebec
Never had children
When he died, his wife
entered a convent
Landed on the shore of what would
become New York State in 1609
Samuel
de
Champlain
1567 - 1635
Thomas
Hopkins
Gallaudet
1787 - 1851
Founder of
Gallaudet University
National Deaf Education Center
His son founded a school
for deaf mutes in New York City
Tri-lingual singer and songwriter
French - English - Cree
She has performed in
New York
Crystal
Plamondon
Jean
Baptiste
Point
du Sable
1715 - 1818
First non-white settler
in the Chicago area
His daughter was the first birth
recorded in Chicago
Star of low-budget
westerns
Showed Harrison Ford how
to use the bullwhip
in his "Indiana Jones" movies
Lash
Larue
1917 - 1996
Pierre
Salinger
1925 - 2004
White House Press Secretary
for Presidents Kennedy
and Johnson
Fantasy Illustrator
Has a degree in illustration
from the Pratt Institute
in New York City
Rebecca
Guay
Louis
Joliet
1645 - 1700
First to explore the Mississippi
Travelled with
FatherJacques Marquette
Leader of the
Strategic Air Command
which included the
380th Bomber Wing
at
Plattsburgh Air Force Base
General
Curtis
LeMay
1906 - 1990
Shia
LaBeouf
1986 -
Actor and comedian
Ghostbuster and one of the original
Blues Brothers
Mother is Franco-Ontarienne
by the name of Gougeon
Dan
Akroyd
1952 -
Mind
i
Abair
1969 -
Saxophonist who has played with
the Backstreet Boys, Mandy
Moore, Jonathan Butler, Adam
Sandler and Bobby Lyle
Iowa's first settler
The city he founded is
named after him
Julian
Dubuque
1762 - 1810
Tom
Delay
1947 -
Former member of the United States
House of Representatives and House
Majority Leader
from Sugar Land, Texas
Author of
"Brokeback Mountain"
and
"The Shipping News"
E. Annie
Proulx
1935 -
Irene
Bedard
1967 -
Among other acting
assignments, she's the
speaking voice for
Pocahontas
in the Disney movie
Born in France this early settler of
Plattsburgh, NY was a merchant and
politician
Sailly Avenue is named after him
Peter
Sailly
1754 - 1826
LTJG
Fay
Begor
1916 - 1943
Born in Moriah, NY
this doctor was mortally wounded
in 1943 in New Guinea
In 1944 the USS Begor was
commissioned in his honor
Born Joseph Jacques Ahearn -
he took his french-canadian mother's
family name when
he became a dancer with the
New York City Ballet
Jacques
D'Amboise
1934 -
Mary
Grand
P
ré
Illustrator of the US version
of the Harry Potter books
She also has drawn for the
"New Yorker" and the
"Wall Street Journal"
Is descended from
French Huguenots
whose original name was
Crocketagne
Davy
Crockett
1786 - 1836
Beyoncé
Knowles
1981 -
R&B singer who was named
in honor of her grandparents who
were
French-speaking Creoles
in Louisiana
Born in New York State
he was the
Commander of the Destroyer Force
on
D-Day
Rear
Admiral
Morton
Deyo
1887 - 1973
Wayne
Lapierre
1948 -
Executive Vice President
of the
National Rifle Association
since 1991
Majored in French
at the University of Kentucky
She's fluent in French
Ashley
Judd
1968 -
Larry
Gooley
~ North Country author ~
"History of the Altona Flat Rock"
"Out of the Darkness"
"Lyon Mountain - The Tragedy of a
Mining Town"
Gooley is the anglicized form of Goulet
Hired as an interpreter and hunter
for the Lewis and Clark
Corps of Discovery
Read the letter to his sister
George
Drouillard
1775 - 1810
Roger
Boisjoly
1938 -
Forensic engineer who warned
NASA about the defective O-rings
before the Challenger disaster
Model and actor since
graduating high school
in 1985
Lived with "Friends" in
New York for 10 seasons
Matt
Leblanc
1967 -
Katherine
Dunham
1909 -
Dancer and anthropologist who was
given a Kennedy Center Honors Award
for her accomplishments
She shares a french-canadian heritage
through her mother
In 1938 he invented the first
television set for general sale
and founded the first television
network in 1946
Dr. Allen B.
DuMont
1901 - 1965
Winona
Laduke
1959 -
Native American writer and activist
who ran as the Vice Presidential
candidate under
Ralph Nader
Will speak in Canton Sept. 2006
