Canadian Ancestry Road Trip

Day by Day

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Campgrounds and ancestor sites together. Tap a pin for details.

Campground

Church / Cemetery

Historic Site

Town / Region

Saturday morning — highest density of the trip

St. Joseph — Erie, MI M-Su variable, call ahead
Baptisms: Janvier David Casavant (1836), Zoe Ellen Martin (1838), John Martin (1838), Victoria Casaver (1860), Anthony Casaver (1861), Paul Casaver (1862), Marie Adelina Chauvin (1855), Harriet Chauvin (1858)

Marriages: Janvier David and Zoe Martin (1859), Pierre Chauvin and Zoe Martin (1854), Jacob Martin and Marie Louise Gaillard (1830)

Cemetery: Marie Louise Gaillard (d. 1856), Pierre Chauvin (bef. 1859), possibly Jacob Martin
St. Antoine — River Raisin Old Burial Ground National Battlefield Park open 10-5 daily
Memorial marker for Charles Chauvin (d. 1821-22), Marie Louise Boyer (d. 1825), Louis Jean Gaillard (d. 1822), Marie Louise Jodoin (d. 1820)
St. Alphonsus Cemetery — Petersburg, MI
David and Elizabeth Hebbert/Abair Cooley (3x great grandparents)

Saturday afternoon crossing

Our Lady of the Assumption — Sandwich (Windsor), ON Closed weekdays — Sunday services only
Baptisms: Louis Jean Gaillard (1782), Pierre Francis Louis (1778), Elisabeth, Vital (1785), Joseph Marie (1786), Marie Louise (1788)

Cemetery: Louis Gaillard (d. 1804), possibly Pierre Casavant dit Ladebauche (1814), Archange Martin (1827)

Call 519-253-2493 to ask about Saturday tour access. Otherwise exterior + cemetery only.
Ste Anne — Detroit, MI Limited access — mass or pre-approved tours
Baptisms: Archange Chauvin (1803), Charles Chauvin (1770, 1737), Marie Josette Dube (1771), Marie Louise Boyer (1745), James Jacob Martin (1807), Marie Anne Casse dit St. Aubin (1710), Marie Josephte Seguin (1754)

Marriages: Charles Chauvin and Marie Josette Dube (1794), Charles Chauvin and Marie Louise Boyer (1761), Charles Chauvin and Marie Anne Casse dit St. Aubin (1726)
Mount Elliott Cemetery — Detroit, MI M-Sa 9-4:30
Mass grave of original Ste Anne burials moved here: Marie Anne Casse dit St. Aubin Chauvin (1710-1789), Charles Chauvin (1702-1772, born Quebec), Noel and Jeanne Meloche Chauvin, Joseph and Therese Tromblay Seguin

Monday — Old Montreal and Saint-Hyacinthe

Notre-Dame Basilica — Montreal M-F 9-4:30, Sa 9-4, Su 12:30-4
Baptism: Marie Louise Gaillard (1810). Marriage: Louis Gaillard and Louise Jodoin (1782)

Hochelaga (Marie Louise Jodoin) is the historical name for this area
Casavant Frères — Saint-Hyacinthe M-F 8:30-5, closed weekends
The family-name organ company. Tangible connection to the Casavant line. ~45 min east of Old Montreal.
Parc national des Îles-de-Boucherville
Joseph Seguin was born here in 1717. The island itself is the ancestor connection.

Tuesday — stops along the south shore

Verchères, QC
Antoine Casavant (?). Riverside village stop.
St. Ours, QC
Antoine Casavant (b. 1799), James Casavan
Contrecoeur, QC
Connection uncertain (?)
Trois-Rivières, QC
Old waterfront, midpoint lunch stop
La Rochelle (QC), between Montreal and Trois-Rivières
Marie Louise Gauthier m. Jean Casse dit St. Aubin (1707)

Wednesday — the deepest roots

Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica Open Mon-Wed only, 9-3
Marriage: Madeleine Miville m. Jean Cochon (29 Nov 1652) — the deepest documented Canadian family event

Marriage: Jacques Chauvin m. Marie Cochon. Baptism: Charles Chauvin (1702)
Place Royale — Quebec City Open 24 hours
Pierre Miville (dit Le Suisse) and Charlotte Maugis — the founding generation. Original settlement footprint. 5 min walk from the Basilica.
Church of the Visitation — Château-Richer M-Sa 8-4, closed Sunday
James Chauvin and Marie Cauchon. Cemetery worth searching for family headstones.
Montmorency Falls 9-6 daily
Marie Madeline Miville — the place name carries the family connection.
Lauzon
Pierre Miville, Charlotte Maugis

For reference — not on this trip

Original list, organized by region. Numbered badges show priority ranking.

David Cooley in Ennismore (Peterborough) — confirmed? Affects whether Sunday gets a detour off the 401.
James Casavan / Casavant Frères connection — direct line, or coincidence of name?
Antoine Casavant in Verchères — confirmed location?
Pierre Chauvin 1833 baptism — at St. Antoine River Raisin?
Antoine Casavant + Archange Chauvin marriage (1826) — where?
La Rochelle, Canada — which one? QC town between Montreal and Trois-Rivières, or France entry duplicated?
Jacob Martin burial — St. Joseph Erie before 1840?
Pierre Casavant dit Ladebauche — Sandwich burial 1814?
Archange Martin — Sandwich burial 1827?

Our Lady of the Assumption (Sandwich) — Saturday access? Call 519-253-2493.
Notre-Dame de Québec — only open Mon-Wed. Wednesday is the hard constraint.
Casavant Frères — weekday tour or just exterior visit?
Boucherville park — late check-in OK with SEPAQ?
Adirondack night — keep, or trade for a third Quebec night and one long Friday push?
Border crossings — passports current? NEXUS lanes at Detroit-Windsor and Thousand Islands?
Toledo day-trip — separate outing for the Cooley / Casaver / Mominee Toledo addresses (NOT part of this trip)?