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GAUDET, JEAN

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[E_Cole5H17.GED]

[Cole5H17.GED]

DC0119
Notes on this page, unless otherwise noted, are by Leonard William
Gaudet
A.K.A. Jean/Jehan Gaudet/Godet - Ronald Joseph Arthur Gaudet
Jean (Jehan) Gaudet is considered to be the patriarch of the Gaudet
family because he was the oldest & first Gaudet known to have come to
Acadia. - Ronald Joseph Arthur Gaudet
According to Massignon, in 1671 Jean Gaudet had 22 grand-children and
10 great-grandchildren thus become the ancestor of one-tenth of the
Acadian population. - Thom McCabe
The Gaudet Family Coat of Arms
In the 15th century, only royalty and some in the bourgeois class had
coats of arms. None of the Acadian pioneers had coats of arms. Today,
anyone can apply to the Canadian Heraldic Authority in Ottawa for a
coat of arms. It was agreed upon at one of the 1993 general meetings
of the Gaudet Association in New Brunswick, that Monsieur Robert
Pichette, Fellow de la Société héraldique du Canada, be approached and
asked if he would design a coat of arms that would represent the
Acadian Jean Gaudet from Martaizé, France and all of his descendants.
The coat of arms created for the 1994 reunion of the Gaudet families
of Acadia at St-Joseph, New Brunswick, consists of the symbols which
refer to the etymology of the name and the origins of our first
ancestor Jean (Jehan) Gaudet, who settled in Acadia about 1636.
According to Albert Dauzat from his Etymology Dictionary of Family
names of France, Gaudet is known to derive from Gaudon, ancient German
baptismal name of Waldo, from Waldon, governor. The spelling "Godet,"
means "a manufacturer of godets" (pots, bowls or glass). Two
dictionaries describe the godet as a small drinking bowl with no stem
or handle, of which the brim is lobed (rounded divisions). In botany,
a godet refers to the shell or cap that holds the acorn from an oak
tree. To show the etymology of the Gaudet name, a "godet" is
surmounted under the acorn in the shield. The color green, called
sinople in heraldic language, reminds us that Jean Gaudet and his son,
Denis, originating from Martaizé, near Loudun, Department of Vienne,
France, had first settled as farmers on the north bank of the Port
Royal river, opposite PrTe Ronde. The acorn is a symbol of strength
and firmly rooted deep in the soil of Acadia. The acorn represents the
Acadian roots of the Gaudet family and their loyalty to the land they
had farmed. Acadia is symbolized by the star; this symbol was adopted
at Miscouche, P.E.I. in 1884 with the French tri-color for the Acadian
national flag. The Port Royal river is represented by the wavy bands,
which is the method used in heraldry for water; and the division of
the shield symbolizes a port. The fleur de lis is an ancient emblem of
France. The motto "On parle de toi," translated into French from the
Latin phrase "fabula narratur," expresses very well, the spirit and
continuity of the Gaudet family in the history of Acadia. The
blazonment of the Gaudet family coat of arms is as follows:
ChapT-ployT au 1 fascT-ondT d'argent et d'azur au godet d'or en pointe
surmontT d'un gland de chOne aussi d'or, 2 de sinople a Ttoile a cinq
rais d'or a dextre et a une fleur de lis du mOme a senestre. Sur un
listel sous l'Tcu, la devise: "On parle de toi."
Jean Gaudet (Godet) was listed as a censitaire on the fief at
Martaizé in 1634. Martaizé was part of the seigneury of Aulnay, the
property of Nicole de Jousserand, who was the mother of Charles
d'Aulnay, governor of Acadia from 1636 to 1650. The village of
Martaizé and it's environs was called the "fief de Beaulieu" or
sometimes "Rallette." The church of Saint-Maurice de Martaizé still
exists to this day. The inventory document of Nicole de Jousserand's
fief de Beaulieu in the parish of Martaizé, (Archives Départementales
de l'Indre et Loire, Série C, Liasse 601, signed before the notaries
Messieurs Aubri and Pasquier, at Loudun on the 21st October 1634)
states the following: "Je em en la fresche des Godets desclares douze
boisseaus froment mesure de Loudun et trois derniers de cens a rente
feodalle deue par Jean Gendre, Jean Godet, RenT Godet le jeune,
Francois Godet, la veufve Vincent Besard, Pierre Giroire et RenTe
Besard sa femme Jean Besard, Simon Joubert les heritiers Pierre Bourg
de sauseau et les
heritiers Francois Godet par raison d'une piece du terre et signer
estant en terre et signer estant en terre est du Rondonay le tout
contenant ensemble et tenant deux septiers six boisseaus..." (A
"fresche" is an old French word for rent due to the seigneur from his
or her fief)
Jean Gaudet and his son Denis, came together from France about the
year 1636. They settled first on the north bank of the Port-Royal
river, opposite la Prée Ronde (Round Hill), about ten miles upriver
from the fort, on property that still belonged to the Gaudet family in
1710.
Extract from the census of Port Royal, Acadia, dated November 1671:
Laboureur- Jehan Gaudet aagT de quatre vingt et seize ans, sa femme
Nicolle Colleson aagTe de soixante et quatre ans. Leurs enfant Jehan
Gaudet aagT de 28 ans, Leurs terre en Labour trois arpens en deux
places, Leurs bestes a cornes six piFces, Leurs brebis trois piFces.
Jean Gaudet had two brothers, Aubin and Frantois. They were born
between 1552 and 1596 and they died between 1566 and 1674; presumedly
in France. - Ronald Joseph Arthur Gaudet
Not sure if the rest of Jehan`s children came with him to Acadia when
he came with his son, Dennis. - Ronald Joseph Arthur Gaudet
On November 12, 1999, Susan (DuBois) Pacheco posted a message on the
Gaudet Family Genealogy Forum that the first wife of Jean may have
been a woman named Marguerite Martin. Susan's E-mail address is
spacheco@@middlesexbank.com - Ronald Joseph Arthur Gaudet.
/DC0119

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