 The French
Connection
Jacques Poissant dit LaSaline was born in the Diocese of Saintes, the
capital of the Saintonge region of the Bourg Marrennes in France.
The diocese of Saintes existed from the sixth century until the
French Revolution. Its see was at Saintes in western France, in the
modern department of Charente-Maritime. After the Concordat of 1801,
its territory passed mainly to the diocese of La Rochelle. Saints and Saintonge get their name, not from the Saints of the church, but
from the Santon tribe that once inhabited the area. Julius Caesar
estimated that the Santons sent 12,000 men to fight against his
troops, however, he prevailed and a thriving Gallo-Roman city known
as Mediolanum (crowned place) grew up
there. Today, the ancient capital of the Santons attracts large
numbers of tourists drawn by its heritage and the renowned "Académies
Musicales" festival. The city of Saintes today boasts a population
of 25,000 and the surrounding region is known as Charente-Maritime. |
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Saintes Tourism:
in French
in English
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Our Common Ancestor
- Jean Besset dit Brisetout
father of Jacques Poissant dit Lasaline's wife, Marie-Marguerite
Bessette, Jean also was a French Marine who arrived in New France
about 20 years before Jacques. This makes him a common ancestor to
nearly all of the Poissants in North America today and makes nearly
all of the Bessettes in North America today cousins to the Poissants.
For more about Jean Besset dit Brisetout click
here. |
Act of Abjuration
Jacques Poissant dit Lasaline's renunciation of Calvinism click
here. |
Poissant
Genealogical Research & Documents
courtesy of
John Fisher Sr. |
| "dit" Names
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An Explanation |
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Prior to the Merican Civil War
(1856-1865), about 85% of the
French-Canadians, who traveled The Old
Canada Road to reach Maine, came from
the Beauce region of Québec. The
Chaudiere River, originating at Lac
Magantic, runs north to St-Georges-de-Beauce
and then north-northwest through many of
the towns from whence our
French-speaking ancestors came. The
Chaudiere River empties into the St.
Lawrence River facing Quebec city, and
most of the first Quebecois to venture
forth followed the Chaudiere River into
Maine. |
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Where were
US Poissant families
living in 1920?*
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Number of Poissant families
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For more info on the
French-Canadian immigration to the US click
here. |
Dr. J. C. Poissant
Much of the information on the Poissant family from 1684-1909
originated with the research of Dr. Joseph Celibert Poissant,
who published his book, "Genealogie de La Famille
Poissant" in 1909. For more information
about this book,
click here. |
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