“You know, I am French Canadian too», Confessed Madonna, during the tour Who’s That Girl, at the Montreal Forum in 1987.
This “too» inclusive had thrown the crowd present to the ground and forced the genealogists to search the archives to find who was this girl who came to claim her Quebec roots…
It has been two big years of work for the fine sleuths of family secrets, Michigan not having marriage directories like Quebec.
Twice Fortin d’Amérique
Louise Veronica Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. She is the daughter of Sylvio-Anthony Ciccone and Madonna-Louise Fortin (1932-1963).
The latter was the daughter of Willard Fortin (1904-1959) and Elsie Fortin (1911-2011), which made the Madonna say, on French TV, that her great determination came from her “Fortintude” – his fortitude, in short – inherited from his two Fortin d’Amérique roots.
Orphaned very early by her mother at 5 years old, the queen of pop was close to her grandmother Elsie, who had grown up in a French-speaking household and spoke the language of her ancestors.
His father, Henri Fortin (1867-1939), was the son of Henri Nazaire Fortin (1843-1900), born on Île d’Orléans. His mother, Marie-Louise Demers (1875-1929), came from Chatham, Ontario.
Marie-Louise’s great-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Masse (1769-1841), was a Patriot. A successful blacksmith and merchant, he would have participated in the Battle of Saint-Denis on November 23, 1837. Madonna also descends from Marie-Rosalie Cherrier, Papineau’s cousin, no less.
The Queen of Pop may not know it, but she’s a true Patriot.
Elsie Fortin (left) and Madonna, in 1985, during the “Like a Virgin” tour.
Screenshot X /@Rhino Records
Saginaw
Willard Fortin was the son of Narcisse-Nelson (1860-1903), originally from Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski, and Rose Lajoie (1869-1921), from Belleville, Ontario.
The couple married in Bay City in 1891, a small Michigan town on Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay, 110 miles north of Detroit. Major woodcutting center in the 19e and 20e centuries, many French Canadians worked there on construction sites in winter and in sawmills in summer.
Both Willard’s family and that of Elsie descend from Charles Fortin (1656?-1735), from Château-Richer, who was the son of Julien Fortin, known as Bellefontaine (1621-1689?), originally from Perche. Charles had married Xaintes Cloutier (1661-1725), daughter of Jean Cloutier and Marie Martin, and granddaughter of Abraham Martin.
During her show on the Plains in 2012, did the Madonna even know that she was singing on the very land of her famous ancestor?
The marriage of Narcisse Fortin and Félicité Rioux, February 9, 1847, in Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski. Born in L’Islet, Narcisse died in Bay City in 1896. The couple were Madonna’s great-great grandparents.
Jacques Noel
Fortin paternal lineage of Madonna Louise Ciccone
I. CICCONE, Sylvio-Anthony
FORTIN, Madonna-Louise (1933-1963)
married July 2, 1955, Bay City, Michigan
II. FORTIN, Willard-William (1904-1959)
FORTIN, Élise-Elsie (1911-2011)
mr. November 29, 1929, Bay City, Michigan
III. FORTIN, Narcisse-Nelson (1860-1903)
LAJOIE, Rose (1869-1921)
mr. January 7, 1891, Bay City, Michigan
IV. FORTIN, Narcisse (1815-1896)
RIOUX, Félicité (1819-1874)
mr. February 9, 1847 Saint-Simon, Rimouski
V. FORTIN, Augustin (1790-?)
GAUDREAU, Marie-Euprosine (1788-?)
mr. July 29, 1806, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
VI. FORTIN, Auguste-Magloire (1739-1800)
THIBAULT, Judith (1755-1810)
mr. November 17, 1783, L’Islet
VII. FORTIN, Louis (1690-1749)
LANGELIER, Madeleine (1707-1774)
mr. November 21, 1735, Cap-Saint-Ignace
VIII. FORTIN, Charles (1656?-1735)
CLOUTIER, Xaintes (1661-1725)
mr. November 11, 1681, Château-Richer
IX. FORTIN, Julien (1621-1689?)
GAMACHE, Geneviève (1636-1709)
mr. November 11, 1652, ND of Quebec