On the trail of a surname | No Quebec in Quebec?

We knew the city of Quebec. We knew the province of Quebec. We knew Quebec Love and Quebec inc. But we didn’t know Quebec, the family name. And yet, hundreds of people wear it on the planet! Saint-Jean obliges, we did some research to find out more about this local family name. Our quest has taken us to the other side of the world. But, oddly, not in Quebec where, unless I’m mistaken, there is no Quebec…

Jean-Christophe Laurence

The Press

This funny journey begins with the brother-in-law, a great jazz lover. While rummaging through his record collection one evening, what was our surprise to come across the album of a certain Ike Quebec (without acute accent).

This African-American saxophonist recorded a handful of albums on the Blue Note label in the early 1960s. But in his case, it was the surname – not the music – that piqued our curiosity. Pseudonym? After a short search, it will turn out not.

We know from our high school history lessons that “Quebec” comes from the Algonquin term “kebek” meaning “narrow passage” and that it was given to the city of the same name because it is there “where the narrows”, namely the St. Lawrence River.

But how the hell did this native word become a surname? And if there really are people called Quebec, how many are there? Where do they live ?

In Quebec ?

In the USA ?

After much reflection, it seemed to us that the subject deserved investigation…

” I am the last… “

Let’s simply start our search on the Canada 411 site.

The white pages automatically exclude cell phone owners. The information will inevitably be incomplete. But this digital directory can still provide us with minimal information about the existence of Quebec.

First observation, reassuring: there are many people in Canada answering to this name. But they are only a dozen and all live in the western provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia.

In Quebec ? None, according to Canada 411.

Second finding: Quebecers are much more numerous south of the border. According to the Whitepages.com site, 77 people still bear this name in the United States, mainly in California and New England.

This may be the right vein to explore.

Randomly, we target a dozen individuals living in Vermont and Massachusetts. There is indeed a Quebec, somewhere, who will be able to enlighten us on his family tree.

We try to join, one by one, the names appearing on our list. Peter Quebec, Rudolph Quebec, Katherine Quebec, Barbara Quebec… Bad luck: most of the numbers are no longer in service. If we rely on the ages listed on the site, we guess that the main interested parties are themselves no longer in service…

It wasn’t until our eighth call that Eva Quebec, from Swanton, Vermont, picked up the handset. Bingo? Not quite.

The elderly lady has no idea where the name came from – which was also that of her late husband.

What she can say, however, is that the Quebec have already been much more numerous in her hometown. “We were six families on the street,” she said. I am the last… ”

A little annoyed, we decide to contact the French-Canadian genealogical society of Vermont, where a specialist may be able to guide us.

Thanks to John Fisher’s friendly research, we learn that the first mention of a Quebec in the state dates back to 1840, in the person of Jos Quebec, or “Quabec”, we are not certain. Why this name? “No idea, answers the expert. Maybe he wanted to remember where he came from…”

Dissatisfied, we fall back on the FamilySearch.com site and its gigantic genealogical database.

This time, we discover that a certain “Marie-Louise Moreau Lévesque-dit-Quebec” lived in St. Louis, Missouri, at the end of the 18th century.^e century. Then a Pierre Quebec did his military service in the United States between 1812 and 1815. These dates correspond precisely to the war of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. We can assume that Pierre Quebec came from Lower Canada (former name of the province of Quebec) and that he had enlisted in the American army to fight the English.

Was it a nickname? Very likely.

But maybe we should come back to Quebec to find out more…

When Lavallée becomes Quebec

This time, we are trying our luck with the French-Canadian Genealogical Society and the Quebec Genealogical Society. But the collection is limited.

Never mind. If the experts can’t help us, let’s go back to the good old method of random phone calls. Based on our list found on Canada 411, we call Gerald Wayne Quebec, Graham Quebec, Pamela Quebec and Dennis Quebec…

Again, no response.

We’re about to give up when Dorothy Quebec of Swift Current, Saskatchewan picks up the phone. This time it’s solid. The lady is a certified genealogist and has already done research on her husband’s origins.

“The trail led me to Francis Lavallée, a resident of Dunham,” she says. On the 1851 census, he is called Francis Lavallée. On that of 1861, he renamed himself Francis Quebec. There was also Maurice Quebec, who is suspected to be his brother. What I think is that they adopted the name Quebec because nobody agreed on how to spell Lavallée…”

The hypothesis seems far-fetched to us. But what is certain is that the surname “Quebec” really begins to spread from this moment.

Francis and Maurice each had five sons, some of whom emigrated to Ontario, then to Alberta. A branch of Lavallée-become-Quebec also appeared in Vermont at the same time. There must be a connection, but the evidence eludes us.

It should be noted, moreover, that Frank and Maurice are not the first Quebecers of Quebec. The Canadian census reveals the existence of two Quebecs (Henry and Moyse) in 1851, and one Joseph Quebec, a farmer in Farnham, from 1842.

Could this Joseph Quebec be the Jos Quebec recorded in Vermont in the same years? Did he adopt this name because he came from Quebec? We are still speculating when Dorothy Quebec contacts us again.

“I forgot to tell you: have you explored the track of the Philippines? You will find it interesting. There are a lot of Quebec there too. »

The Philippine Trail

The Philippines ? A moment. Are we still in the same article? Short answer: yes. Despite its surreal side, this information will turn out to be entirely true.

Not only are there Quebecers in the Philippines, but it is the country with the most on the planet, about 2,400 individuals!

How is it possible ? To find out, you have to go back to the famous “Claveria decree on surnames” dated 1849.

At that time, the Philippines was still under Spanish control. But the majority of the population – indigenous – does not have a surname.

With a view to civil control, the colonial authorities then decided to submit to the residents a list of 60,288 surnames, from which they could choose their new identity.

However, on page 106 of the list, the name QUEBEC clearly appears.

“Amazing, but not that much,” observes Todd Lucero Sales, president of the Filipino Genealogy Project, an expert on the Claveria decree. There are many Spanish names in this catalog, but also everyday words from the vegetable and mineral worlds, arts or geography. »

We want well. But the question remains: how and why did this Algonquin term, originating in New France, end up in a Spanish colonial catalog in the Philippines in 1849? We get lost in guesswork. We are looking for points of intersection.

Could the Catholic religion, common to both countries, be the missing link?

“It is possible, because the Claveria decree was compiled by priests,” agrees Mr. Sales.

Verification made, the Spanish missionaries sent to the Philippines essentially belonged to the order of the Jesuits, just like many French missionaries in New France. We conclude – without prejudice – that the company of Jesus would have imported this indigenous word in Southeast Asia, where it will, ironically, be adopted by other indigenous people…

In any case, the presence of many Quebecers in California, most of whom with Hispanic first names, can now be explained: they are Filipino immigrants. Nothing to do with the Canadian and American branch.

Dylan in Quebec

So there are Quebecers in Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Philippines, and even a handful in Iran and Benin, if we trust the Surnam.es site.

But in Quebec? Apparently none.

This downward trend can also be seen in the censuses of the time. In 1861, there were 30 Quebec in Quebec. In 1881, there were only 17. In 1901, this figure fell to 10. In 1921, there were only three left… The 1931 census, available from 1^er June, does not give us the opportunity to go further. But the movement is clear.

As for Ike Quebec, note that he died in 1964 of lung cancer. And that he had a brother, Danny Quebec West, also a saxophonist, who accompanied Thelonious Monk for a time.

Did these two musicians have a connection with the soul singer Madlyn Quebec, who made a few 45s in the late 1960s? Hard to say. Information about him is quite scarce.

We only know that Madlyn Quebec was the mother of singer Carolyn Dennis, a member of the Queens of Rhythm, who had a child with Bob Dylan in the 1980s.

Dylan, whose real name was Zimmerman. But that’s another story.