FRANCE 2020 TRIP

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first great

migration to colonize Louisiana

April 17-26, 2020

Old port of La Rochelle

Three-hundred-years ago, between 1718 and 1721, individuals and families from across

France and surrounding countries were among the first immigrants to board dozens of sailing

ships to cross the Atlantic Ocean in order to bring them to the fledlging colony of La

Louisiane. Now considered by many to be the ‘pilgrims’ of Louisiana, many contracted with

the Compagnie des Indies (Company of the Indies) to work and establish farms in Louisiana

while others from France were forced to Louisiana by the King. Those who survived the harsh

months at sea and the primitive conditions of undeveloped Louisiana became the ancestors

of hundreds of thousands of descendants today.

In order to celebrate the 300th anniversary of this mass migration, Avoyelles newspaper

owner/editor, Randy Décuir, and genealogist Cathy (Lemoine) Sturgell have teamed with a

wonderful New Orleans-based historical tour company, Stephen Ambrose Tours, to put

together a special genealogy-based tour of France. Our Tour Director, David Campbell, grew

up in Belguim and is now living in New Orleans but he also has special ties to Avoyelles

Parish: his mother is a Moncla so he shares many of the same ancestors that we do! David is

fully aware that we want to see France from the perspective of our ancestors and he’s

committed to ensure that we accomplish this. In addition, we’re going to spend one day

visiting the D-Day beaches of Normandy where many of our fathers and grandfathers fought

during WWII. Therefore, we’d love for you to join us on this incredible trip to discover YOUR

history.

THE TOUR PATH

The tour will start in Paris and end in Paris.

An interactive copy of the map can be found at: https://goo.gl/maps/s6XKiw6yM5fRsZvf7

THE ITINERARY

Below is a high-level itinerary for our trip. It’s important to note that we’ll be making many

short side-trips to towns/communes along the basic travel route that are the places of origin

of our ancestors. The majority of these places are not listed on the itinerary yet because

those stops will be dictated by the lineages of the tour participants. In addition, David

Campbell has assured us that he will work with anyone who desires to make a side trip to a

location which doesn’t appear on the final itinerary.

In addition, historical and genealogical persepective will be provided as we tour the French

countryside.

We will be leaving for France on Friday, April 17th, 2020 and will arrive in Paris on the morning

of April 18th. After an afternoon of sight-seeing, we’ll join together for a Welcome Dinner and

will spend the night in Paris.

On Sunday, April 19th, we’ll continue our tour of Paris. You’ll have the option to sightsee in a

group via a walking tour, bus or other mode of transportation. We want to ensure that you

visit the places and landmarks that are important to you. At the end of the day, we’ll spend

our second night in Paris.

Église Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, Paris

On Monday, April 20th after enjoying breakfast in Paris, we’ll travel to Maintenay – the home

of Louisiana ancestors, Pierre Mayeux and Marie Cellier. We’ll then travel to areas along the

Normandy coast such as Dieppe, Fécamp, and Le Havre – areas that were home to the

ancestors of the current Berza, Bordelon, Couvillion, Lemoine, Marcotte, and Moreau familes

(just to name a few!). Le Havre was also the port from which the ship, La Mutine, sailed in

December 1719 loaded with women who were sent to Louisiana by order of the King. As we

continue toward our night’s destination, we’ll travel through Caen before arriving at the 1st

century town of Bayeux – the home of the famous 11th century Bayeux Tapestry and the first

major town secured by the Allies in WWII during Operation Overlord - where we’ll spend the

night.

Bayeux

On Tuesday, April 21th, we’ll spend the day visiting the WWII historical sites along the area of

the Normandy D-Day beaches – a tour/subject that is the specialty of Stephen Ambrose

Tours. If not interested in the WWII sites or if you’ve already seen them, you’ll have the

opportunity to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and/or the Bayeux Cathedral or, in special

arrangements made with David, you can visit another site in the area that would be of

interest. At the end of this day, we will, once again, spend the night in Bayeux.

On the morning of Wednesday, April 22th, we will begin our trek toward Lorient. Our first

stop upon leaving Bayeux, will likely be St-Jean-des-Champs, the hometown of Louisiana

ancestor, Nicolas de la Cour. We will travel through Avranches, near Fougères (the 1000-

year-old town which was the home of Jean Pierre Laurent, ancestor of the Gauthier family),

and Rennes before arriving at Port Louis/Lorient. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the port of

Lorient and the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes. This will be the second significant port on

our tour and is where many of the original Louisiana ‘pilgrims’ set sail. We will spend the

night in the Lorient/Port Louis area.

On Thursday, April 23st, we’ll begin traveling toward the history-rich, 10th century commune

of La Rochelle on the western coast of France– the third significant port on our trip. Before

arriving, we’ll travel through Nantes – home of the Gaignard/Gagnard family – likely stopping

at Lavau-sur-Loire – home of the Bouchard dit Lavallée family. We will then pass through the

Department of Vendée where there are several potential family stops before we arrive at La

Rochelle. This port was perhaps the most significant to populating Louisiana. In addition to

visiting the Old Port at La Rochelle, there are many potential family-related stops here also.

We will spend the night in the La Rochelle area.

Église St-Martin at Lavau-sur-Loire – Home of Bouchard dit Lavallée

On Friday, April 24nd, we will begin our trek toward the general area of the Department of

Sarthe. We will visit the 11th century royal fortress in Chinon - Château de Chinon. We

anticipate numerous family stops on this day. We’ll spend the night in the Sarthe area.

On Saturday, April 25th, we will begin a slow trip toward Paris. Since Paris is only a 2.5 hour

drive from the Sarthe area, there will also be time for multiple family stops as well as a visit

to the infamous Chartres Cathedral (constructed between 1194 and 1220). Little has changed

on the Cathedral since it was originally built. We will spend the night in Paris near the

Charles de Gaulle Airport.

On Sunday, April 26th, we will fly home to the United States – likely tired but happy!

THE COST

Included in the cost will be:

3-4 star hotels (single or double rooms)

All breakfasts

(Some dinners may be included depending on location)

Transportation in and around France including motorcoach

Entrance fees to all museums and attractions on the itinerary are included

Guides/Historians

Airfare is not included in the price.

We are making every effort to provide the trip at an affordable price. However, we cannot

determine price until we have an approximate count of the number of people who would like

to make the trip. Once we have an estimate of the number of potential travelers, we will

provide the cost and you will have the opportunity to decide whether or not you will make

the trip. THEREFORE, IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU LET US KNOW NOW IF YOU ARE SERIOUSLY

CONSIDERING TRAVELING WITH US. If so, please send me an email at

cathysturgell@yahoo.com as soon as possible. Please provide the number of people in your

party. We need to get an accurate count as soon as possible.

If you have always wanted to go to France but do not have anyone to travel with, this is the

trip for you. You will be amongst family and friends and we will work to ensure that everyone

is included in all activities. If you want to share a room with someone, we'll also try our best

to accommodate your request. In addition, David has pointed out that his company is very

capable of handling individuals who have mobility-affecting impairments.

You can also continue to follow the trip plans on Facebook by joining the Louisiana-

France2020_Trip FB page. Simply joining the FB page will not automatically put you on the

‘INTERESTED’ list. You must contact Cathy (Lemoine) Sturgell to get put on the list.

THE LOUISIANA RELATED SURNAMES

Below is a list of SOME of the Louisiana-related surnames who were from the areas that we

will be visiting. Although our trip is a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the French

migration to colonize Louisiana, many of the areas we will pass through are also the areas of

origin of many of our ancestors who came to Louisiana via Canada. This is important to

remember because we will also make every effort to point out these ancestors as we travel

through the French countryside! Keep in mind, too, that many of the surnames below that

are unrecognizable to you are possibly one of your maternal ancestors!

Normandy Region

Angomarre, Barbay, Bielkewica, Bordelon, Bossier, Broutin, Cayer, Couvillion/Quevillon,

DeMont, Desportes, Duboc, Feret, Firmin, Fuqua, Gauthier dit Lafleur, Gobert, Hardy, Ingouf,

Langlois, LeBaron, Lacour, Lemoine/LeMoyne, Marcotte, Moreau, Normand,

Ozenne/Ozanne/Doza/Dauzat, Pelloin, Potier, Rousseau, Roy, Tassin, Trudel, Vinconnau,

Brittany Region

Allain, Allaire/Aller, Aresment, Aucoin, Badeaux, Begnaud, Benoit, Bienvenu, Blanchard, Borel,

Bourg, Breaux, Broussard, Calaghan, Charrier, Cosse, Crochet, Damouret/D’Amourette, David,

De la Chaise, Doucet, Dugas, Fortier, Fryoux, Gargare, Guenard, Gaublet, Gautrot, Gueho,

Hébert, Hutche(t), Joignard, Landry, Laurent, LeBlanc, Laurent, LeJeune, LeCompte, Lirette,

Livaudais, Naquin, Oselet, Picou, Pierre, Pitre, Porche, Rivet, Robichaux, Roquancourt dit

Stephan, Roussel, Trahan, Valio

Paris and surrounding areas

Aubé, Barbin, Bélanger, Benoist/Benoît, Bouchard, Bourgeois, Brazeau, Brevelle, Charland,

Châtlin/Chàtelain, Chatou, De Gruy, Dèstrahan, Du Pitié/Pilois, Duvivier, Fanay, Hébert dit

Jolicoeur, LeFleau, Monette, Poiré, Rachal, Roland, Saucier, Sédillot dit Montreuil

Picardy Region

Babin de LaSource, Baliff, Bailly, Bellard, Bourdon, Boutte, Broutin, Calais, Cantrelle, Duchesne,

Garien, de Flandre, Helluin, Lanclos Le Roy, Mayeux/Mahieu, Prévot/Prévost,

Pays-de-la-Loire Region

Arrivé, Bouchard dit Lavallée, Drapeau, Dupré/Lecompte/Leconte, Gaignard/Gagnard,

Grémillion, Joffrion/Geoffrion, L’Homme, Trahan

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region

Aco/Accault, Ardoin, Arnu, Aucoin, Billaud, Biré, Biret/Birette, Bonhomme, Bouet/Bouhet,

Bourselot, Boursequin, Bret, Brodeur, Cartier, Chassy/Chassé, Chénier, Cloutier, De Brie/De

Brye, Dergny, Faucon, Fontenot, Gabaret, Goudeau/Godeau, Grassiot, Jouineau/Juneau,

Maillou, Mercier, Moreau, Olivo/Oliveau, Prou/Preau, Rabalais, Rabouin, Roy, Valade,

Vallo/Valleau

Centre Region

Boissel, Bonneau, Chrétien, Corbineau, Courault, Courtin, Éripel/Héripel, De Vousy/Voisy,

Falgoust, Gaiou, Gardony, Goulet, Guillory, Joly, Martin, Milleray, Nivard/Nivert, Pelletier,

Thomas,Vignault

A FINAL WORD

We all know that our French heritage and culture is so important to us. We

think this trip is a wonderful opportunity to visit the place where we got so

many of our traditions and where our ancestors lived for hundreds of years

before the early 18th century migration. Personally, I need to see where they

came from and I’m sure that many of you feel the same way.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Please join us!