A Portrait of the Family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure of France and the 1649 Will of Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay

Portrait of Charles de Menou, Sieur d'Aulnay et de Charnisay. 19th century. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_d%27Aulnay.jpg

A Portrait of the Family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure of France
and the 1649 Will of Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay
by Deadra Doucet Bourke and Marie Rundquist
October 2023

Recently, Deadra Doucet Bourke and I had the occasion to review a number of documents which had been sent to the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry Project by a long-time member.  One in particular, originally written in 2019, in draft form, and later updated, concerned the Will of Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay.

Named in d’Aulnay’s Will, which was recorded in 1649, was his close friend, Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure of France, b. 1595, the military commander of the French fort at Port Royal during Acadia’s earliest days. In his Will, Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay expressed his greatest admiration and generosity towards his true and loyal friend, Germain Doucet of France.

By also portraying his family members and their relationships as he did in his Will, d’Aulnay, in a way, framed a “portrait” of the family of Germain Doucet as known to him at the time.

Who might d’Aulnay have included when he framed his portrait of the family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure of France in his Will?  But more importantly, who was left out?

Referencing the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project’s original 2008 finding of a Native American Y DNA haplogroup (C-P39) for a man who traced his patrilineal line to Germain Doucet b. 1641, and the test results of other Doucet men who shared the same ancestor, who were found to belong to the same Native American Y DNA haplogroup, we may exclude Germain Doucet b. 1641 from being the biological son of Germain Doucet of France, or, for that matter, the biological brother of Pierre Doucet b. 1621.   

• The Y DNA test results of numerous male, patrilineal descendants of Germain Doucet b. 1641, as we have in the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project database, have helped us conclude that this Germain was of Native American, paternal-line ancestry, and his father, therefore, would have been a Native American (Rundquist, 2012) and not a European man.
  
• Likewise, Germain Doucet b. 1641, whose male patrilineal descendants belong to a Native American Y DNA haplogroup, could not have been the biological brother of Pierre Doucet b. 1621 whose male patrilineal descendants belong to a European Y DNA subclade.  Their DNA does not match.

While the DNA results we have in the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project help us identify and categorize the different Native American and European Doucet surname lineages represented, as stewards of our heritage, we want to find out more about the “how” and “why” behind these DNA findings and their implications for the family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure of France.

And so, to add to the body of DNA evidence we have about the family of Germain Doucet of France, we share the following information a project member sent to us, in 2019, about the Will of Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure’s close friend, Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay,  where the author states (quoting directly from his letter):

“… To further complicate the situation, there has been no documentation found to date that even suggests that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure”  had children of his own.

“Documentation to suggest this was the case can be found in the Will (recorded January 20, 1649 and February 20, 1649) of “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure’s” close friend, “Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay.” A transcription of this will, properly entitled, “Copie du Testament Pour l’Acadie du Sieur Charles de Menou” was published on page 483 to 494 of the 1924 anthology entitled, “Revue de l’Histoire des Colonies Françaises: Douzième Année: Tome XVII,” which was published by the “Société de l’Histoire des Colonies Françaises.” There are a few extremely relevant excerpts from this Will, the first being found on page 485 of this transcription and is as follows:

“… Je la suplye d’Avoir soin de La Verdure2 et de sa femme…”

This loosely translates to:

“… I beg her to care for La Verdure2 and his wife…”

The second excerpt accords with this first excerpt. The second excerpt can be found on page 486 and is as follows:

“… c’est ce que je le conjure de tour mon cœur, le tout à l’acquitte de ma conscience. Il luy dira aussy quelques debtes de peu de consequence, et de beaucoup pourtant pour mon âme, ausquelles je le suplye de la voulloir satisfaire et de vouloir ordonner à Germain Doucet, dit La Verdure, de la paroisse de Couperans en Brie1, cinquante escus de rente pendant sa vye et celle de sa femme, en recongnoissance de l’amour qu’il m’a tousjours tesmoigné...”

This loosely translates to:

“… that is what I conjure for it from all of my heart, all to the acquittal of my conscience. He will also say a few debts of little consequence, and many yet for my soul, to which I beg him to want to satisfy and wanting to order that Germain Doucet, dit La Verdure, of the parish of Couperans en Brie1, fifty escus of annuity during his lifetime and that of his wife, I recognition of the love that he has always shown me…”

"These two excerpts are very important for a number of reasons, the first being that they inform us that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure” had at least one wife.
"The second reason is that the second excerpt informs us that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure” was originally from the parish of “Couperans en Brie” in France. This is important because when combined with the fact that most of the “Lejeunes” discussed throughout this report carried the “dit name” (alias) of “Briart”/“Briard,” suggests that both the progenitor of the “Lejeune dit Briard” family was also from Brie, France and may provide additional commonality between the two families. However, as previously-stated, there is no evidence to support the idea that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure” even had children of his own.

"That being said, an excerpt found on pages 490 and 491 of this transcription of “Copie du Testament Pour l’Acadie du Sieur Charles de Menou” strongly suggests that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure” did not have children of his own and that the original “Doucets” of early Acadia were likely his nieces and nephews that he took in or quite possibly, in the case of “Germain Doucet (1641),” adopted children. This excerpt is as follows:

“… Il me reste encore à donner quelque cognoissance pour le repos de mon âme, que je supplye ma femme de vouloir considérer et ceux qui me succéderont; c’est que je croy que La Verdure mérite d’estre continue dans sa charge pour l’amour puissant que Dieu luy à donné pour les sujets cy-dessus et pour la fidellité et tendresse qu’il a tousjours tesmoigné dans ce qui m’a tousché depuis longues années. On luy donnera, je ne luy donne que deux cent livres, mais le secours que je rend à ses nepveux et niepces et tous ceux qui luy touchent va bien à cent livres. Enfin ne prend garde de si près; il les mérite bien cent escus par an d’apointement et sa nourriture et celle de sa femme; on se doit reposer sur luy…”

This loosely translates to:

“… I still have to give some acknowledgement for the rest of my soul, that I beg my wife to want to consider and those who will succeed me; it is that I believe that La Verdure deserves to be continuous in his charge for the strong love that God gave him for the subjects above and for the fidelity and tenderness that he has always shown in what has touched me for many years. We will give him, I only give him two hundred livres, but the help I give to his nephews and nieces and all those who touch him go well to a hundred livres. Finally beware of so near; he deserves a hundred escus per year of his appointment and his food and that of his wife; we must rest on him…

"This excerpt is especially important because, as previously-mentioned, it strongly suggests that “Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure” did not have any biological children. I make this assertion because in my opinion, it would be more plausible for “Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay” to have left money to his good friend, Germain’s children if Germain did in fact have any children of his own rather than leaving money to Germain’s “nepveux et niepces” (“nieces and nephews”).

"Unfortunately, we may never know the names of these“nepveux et niepces” (“nieces and nephews”) however, it is my firm belief that “Pierre Doucet” and “Marguerite Doucet” were “more-than-likely” Germain Doucet, Sieur de Laverdure’s nephew and niece, respectively rather than his biological children."

So, in summary, where we find Germain, his wife, a niece, and a nephew clearly identified by d’Aulnay in his Will, which he signed in 1649, we do not find a "son," “Germain Doucet” b. 1641 or, for that matter, another "son," “Pierre Doucet” b. 1621.   There were no references to either Doucet in d’Aulney’s Will!
 
Were they to have been Germain’s "sons," as they were clearly in the picture at the time d'Aulnay drafted his Will, surely d’Aulnay, who expressed his great affection for Germain and his concern for the well-being of his wife, his niece, and nephew in his Will, would have made provisions for them. 

He did not.

The DNA evidence we have gathered to-date bears out why: Germain Doucet b. 1641 could never have been the biological son of Germain Doucet of France, and likewise, Germain Doucet b. 1641 could never have been the biological brother of Pierre, born 1621.  As we found when we referenced project data, The Y chromosome DNA of their patrilineal, male descendants does not match up!
 
For now, if not at the Louvre Museum in Paris, Sieur Charles de Menou d’Aulnay’s metaphorical portrait of “The Family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure” which he "painted" so eloquently in the text of his Will in 1649, that includes his friend, Germain Doucet of France, Germain’s wife, and Germain’s niece and nephew, hangs prominently on the wall of the Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project.
 
We plan to revisit d'Aulnay's portrait of “The Family of Germain Doucet Sieur de Laverdure” from time to time, along with the genealogies, records, and DNA results of our project members, whenever new questions about old ancestors arise.

References:

• Société de l’Histoire des Colonies Françaises. (1924). Revue de l’Histoire des Colonies Françaises: Douzième Année: Tome XVII (17), 483-494. Retrieved from: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1062505/f489.item
  

• The Acadian Amerindian Ancestry DNA Project.
  

• Rundquist, M., Doucet, K. (2008). "Confirmed C3b Y DNA Test Results Test the Heritage of Cajun Cousin Keith Doucet." Family Heritage Research Community. https://www.familyheritageresearchcommunity.org/doucet_dna
  

• Rundquist, M. (2012, August). "C3b Y Chromosome DNA Test Results Point to Native American Deep Ancestry, Relatedness, among United States and Canadian Study Participants." Family Heritage Research Community.
  

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