(1) Montmirel, France

The origin of the name "Dumont" has been in existence since Aug. 22, 1634. It has been carried down by numerous Canadian and American families today.  The day establishing the origin of our name was when Jean Guerey married Francoise de Meherence duMontmirel.  The name Gueret is found in the archives of France, spelled in various forms such as Guere, Guerry, Gueray or Gueret.

Francoise was the daughter of "Seigneur" Jean de Meherence du Montmirel.  Jean was familiarly referred to as "Seigneur du Mont."  It is known that Francoise had retained her noble name by passing it on to her children as surnames. Another possibility is that people of that area referred to the children of Jean Guerey and Francoise du Montmirel as Jean Dumont's children due to their descendents from their "Seignurie", Lord du Montmirel.

Jacques Gueret dit Dumont

Jacques Gueret was the son of Rene and Madeleine Le Vigoureux. He was born and baptized on
March 8, 1665, in the parish of Canchy, District of D"Isigny of Bayeux, department of Calvados
(pays du bon vin), Normandie, France. Jacques was the great-grandson of Jean Guerey and
Francoise du Montmirel. Jacques’ parents died when he was at the age of 25.  After his parents’
death, he decided to cross the Atlantic and come the new France.  To begin this journey, Jacques travelled over 350 kilometers from  La Cambe, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France to
La Rochelle, France.

(2) La Rochelle, France

(3) Beauport, QC #1

On arriving in Beauport, Quebec, Jacques went directly to Jacques Tardif, "seigneur" of Beauport
Bourg du Fargy. There he inquired for an available place to start accomplishing his contract.

Jacques Tardif, also a region veteran, origin of Rouen, was the son of Pierre and Barbe Bourguignon. He married Barbe d’Orange, daughter of King Pantaleon and Jeanne Neveu (S. Saturnin, Chatre), on
Oct. 6, 1669, in N.D. Quebec. Jacques Tardif owned a concession of land since Dec. 8, 1668 (Vachon). In 1681, he owned 17 acres of tillable land situated between Robert Gallien and Pierre Toupin's properties.  Jacques was in a good position to hire an immigrant to help on the farm.  By this time, Jacques Tardif had a family of nine children. (click here to view the Tardif property)

(4) Jacques Gueret Family Life

Jacques completed his three years of service and now was in line to be on his own. Jacques and fallen in love with Jacques Tardif’s daughter, Marie-Anne,
and they were married on April 18, 1694, in the church of Beauport in the presence of Etienne Bouilard, pastor of the parish.

(5) Mont-Louis, QC

In 1711, Jacques had three sons, ages 16, 14 and 12 years old. Jacques heard about some good land opening up in Mont-Louis, Gaspe, which gave him much hope for expansion. In the spring of 1711, after much thoughts were given to the new prospect, along with determination, he left his homestead
and friends in Beauport with his pregnant wife and six children. He brought just the bare necessities
and began his voyage in the hope of finding the ideal place to establish his family, especially his sons. When he arrived in Mont-Louis, tenting out was their only shelter. On May 19, 1711, another son was born, Jean-Baptiste. Jacques and his sons worked hard to settle the family and clear the land but after
two years of hardship (no priest, no stores, no market for the wood and fish), even the weather did not comply with the time having short stormy summers.  It surely was not like Beauport.

What was Jacques to do? After giving all the effort possible, they had no choice but to leave.
 

(6) Beauport, QC #2

In 1713, the Gueret-Dumont family abandoned the land in Mont-Louis to return to their former homestead. On arrival, Jean-Baptiste was baptized on June 24, 1713. On July 20, 1713, another daughter was born and baptized, Marguerite.

All in all, it had been quite an adventure but did that discourage them?  No, they constantly kept in search of expansion.  Jacques, still being young and courageous and after spending another year in Beauport decided to give it another try.  This time it was a complete move from Beauport and Jacques
later decided to sell the farm to his son, Jean-Baptiste.

(7) Riviere-du-Loup, QC

The Jacques Gueret-Dumont family moved to Riviere-du-Loup. There, he signed a lease for five years.
It looked like things were looking up and was going quite well. We find in the national archives that on Aug. 3, 1716, an ordinance by Joseph Blondeau dit Lafranchise having trouble with Jacques Gueray
dit Dumont over harvesting the hay of the land. "Seigneurie" de Riviere-du-Loup affirms this on June 3, 1714 (APO Inventory of ordination 184). We see that the judge went in favor of Jacques Gueret
under the stipulation that Jacques had to move at the end of his lease.
 

(8) L’Isle Verte, QC

After the expiration of his lease in Riviere-du-Loup and possibly later, Jacques Gueret dit Dumont left the region for the "Seigneurie" of L’Isle Verte formerly owned by Baptiste Cote.  In May, 1722, Jacques officially acquired a farm of six acres frontage by 40 feet long.  It was situated 20 acres northwest of the "Seigneurie" of R. Michaud, L’Isle Verte, 134 feet wide.

It is also known that Jacques’ son, Jacques, and his wife, Genevive LeVasseur, also had acquired a concession in 1730 situated southwest of the Little River. Jacques, the son, did not have any children.
It is sad to say that Jacques, the son, drowned in Riviere-du-Loup at the end of June, 1738.

Jacques and Marie-Anne had retired in 1736 and passed the farm he had to his son, Jacques, and his daughter-in-law, Genevive LeVasseur.

(9) Kamouraska, QC

Jacques and Marie-Anne moved to Kamouraska to spend their final days with their other children.

The Dumont couple had given birth to 13 children, 11 boys and 2 girls.

Nine children baptized in Beauport.

                                                                            Children of Jacques and Marie-Anne

              #1) Jean married (1)Marie-Anne de Labouriere dit Laplante in 1720;   (2)Marie-Therese Autin in 1729; 
                              #2) Jacques married Genevieve Levasseur in 1733; no children
                              #3) Alexandre did not marry; no children
                              #4) Antoine married Marie Vaillancourt in 1751; no children
                              #5) Pierre did not marry; no children
                              #6) Marie Catherine; info unknown
             #7) Michel married Marie-Rose Levasseur in 1735;
             #8) Joseph-Simon married Marie-Claire Boucher in 1733;
                              #9) Charles did not marry; no children
           #10) Frs-Jean-Baptiste married Mare-Madeleine de Labourliere Laplante in 1733;
                            #11) Marguerite; info unknown
           #12) Pierre married (1)Marie-Josephte Aubert in 1738; (2)Madeleine Mrel de la Durantaye in 1765;
           #13) Prisque married (1)Marie-Anne Lebel in 1746;   (2)Catherine Maupas in 1753;   (3)Marie-Louise Morel de la Durantaye in 1763;

Current records indicate Jean w/2 kids; Michel w/8 kids; Joseph-Simon w/1 kid; Jean-Baptiste w/11 kids; Pierre w/3 kids and Prisque w/5 kids; both carried the Dumont family name throughout Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and in the United States. Joseph-Simons’ family terminated after the fourth generation around 1827 - no male born to carry on the family name.

(10) Le Berceau

Records show that the descendants of Pierre Dumont are the least in number. It seems that many of them left the region and settled in the United States, especially when the mills opened in the St. John Valley. We found in the Kamouraska region that Michel’s descendants are the most numerous and the majority are in the Canadian region.

It is also known that in the first generation, there were numerous "petit" Dumont's. For example, Michel, himself, only had two married sons, Michel and Antoine and three married sons which already made up 10 new families. The grandson of Michel is also known to have had 11 married sons. It is believed that Michel, the son, had other married sons in the region of Bas St. Laurent. So, it is assumable that the descendants of Michel and Rose LeVasseur are the most numerous branch of Dumont's. It is actually more numerous than all of the four other brothers put together. Records show that four generations lived in Kamouraska, St. Andre and Riviere Ouelle before families started dispersing into other regions. Therefore, Kamouraska is known as the "berceau" of the grand Dumont family.