8x GGF Urbain Baudreau b. 1633 d.

This section will contain a tremendous amount of information, which will be added periodically, probably over many years. To say that the life of my 8 x great grandfather Urbain Baudreau was well documented is an understatement. There once existed an organization in Massachusetts in his honor - the Urbain Baudreau dit Graveline Genealogical Society - who not only wrote an encyclopedia-sized book containing the names of thousands of descendants, they also released newsletters which talked about his life and times in what is now Montreal, Quebec. In a nutshell, Urbain set sail from Gravelines, France in the great migration of 1653, where he agreed to help the French fight the Iroquois in the French and Indian War. After the war, he returned to France for a short time, then moved back to Canada, where he was appointed land Trustee. He raised his family there, including a son by the name of Jean Baptiste Baudreau. Urbain, having sailed from the port town of Gravelines, was nicknamed Graveline ("dit Graveline" is how this is written in French...like an "aka" so to speak). His son Jean Baptiste would adopt the same nickname, and Graveline is the name Jean Baptiste went by until the day he died. He would be my 7 x great grandfather.

This is only a quick summary. There are so many details to share, I hardly know where to begin. I look forward to spending many hours researching the Baudreaus over the next several years in order to help me build this blog.

Stay tuned.

Kelli