Another complication is that the pronunciation of French in northern Aroostook county (as well as in neighboring parts of Québec and New Brunswick) has its own specificities.
Another thing to keep in mind is that in 1860 there was no single, standardized way to spell many names, so even if people could read and write they may have spelled their name differently from others with the same name. This explains much of the variation.
This is only a guide to deciphering the names. For those names for which I have definite information, I have included the correct spellings of the names in the annotations that show up in the popup boxes. This page is meant to be a guide, that is, to suggest possible ways that some common names were spelled; and to suggest possible correct spellings for some of the more common names found in the census to help point you in a direction for further research. Before you assume that the equivalents given here are correct for a specific individual, you should find other evidence for that spelling of his/her name.
If you have any other examples, or know specific names in the census, please Thanks.
Please note: This is only a guide. You should always
check other sources to confirm the actual spelling of names.
In addition to the problem of spelling French names, there is also the challenge of what are known as "dit names"; that is, in some families two different last names were used either together or separately. Thus, someone with the last name of Roy may have been listed under Roy, or under Voisine, or under both. Following the list of misspelled names is a list of dit name equivalents. For more information on dit names see FrancoGêne's page on Dit Names and Linda Jones's page on dit names.
Please note: This is only a guide. You should always check other sources to confirm the actual spelling of names.
"Real names"---> 1860 census versionAuclair = OClair Audibert = Adubert Baron = Boreau Beaulieu = Boleau Bélanger = Belonge, Belongir Bérubé = Burebie, Berraby Bois = Wood Bonenfant = Bonfan Bouchard = Bushaud, Buchaud Boucher = Bushy, Bushaud, Buchaud Boulé = Bullie, Bulie Boutot = Butotte Caron = Coreau Charette = Chorette Charron = Choreau Clavette = Clovite Cloutier = Cluky Collin = Cully Corbin - Curbie Cormier = Comir Côté = Coutir Couturier = Courtior, Couturia Daigle = DAigle Dastous = Deusta Deschênes = Deshane Desrosiers = Derosie Devost = Deveau Dionne = Young Dubé = DeBe Dubois = DeBe, Wood Duperré = DuPira Émond = Amour Fongemie = Forjimi Fortin = Firteau Fournier = Fornier Gagnon = Gonyou, Gagnon Gaudreau = Gutreau Gauvin = Gover, Govah Grivois = Grenway Guédry = Jedry Guérette = Yourette Guimond = Diemon Hughes = Hewes Gervais = Jervis Labbé = LeBe Labrie = Labre Labonté = LeBonti Lafrance = France Lagacé = Legasse Lajoie = Lovejoy Lamarre = LAmour Lang = Long Langlois = English Lauzier = Lougir Lebel = Bell Leclair = Clare Leduc = Duke Levasseur = Vassieur Lévesque = LeVique Marquis = Marque, Marqui, Markee Mercure = Markee Morneau = Murno Nadeau = Nado Pelletier = Peltier Paradis = Perodie Picard = Picore Pinette = Penit, Penite Plourde = Plude Quinn = Queen Raymond = Romain, Rimon. Remo Rossignol = Rosinal Roy = King Roy-Lauzier = Lasie Ruest/Ruais = Elui Saucier = Soucier Soucy = Soucier, Suci St.Amant = St.Amond, St.Thomas St-Germain = Squirrel* St.Pierre = St.Peter Sylvain = Sylvin, Sylvie Tardif = Terdis Thériault = Tarreo Turgeon = Torgeau Vaillancourt = Villeancourt Voisine = possibly Ouissin |
1860 census version ---> "real names"Adubert = Audibert Amour = Émond Bell = Lebel Belonge = Bélanger Belongir = Bélanger Berraby = Bérubé Boleau = Beaulieu Bonfan = Bonenfant Boreau = Baron Bullie, Bulie = Boulé Burebie = Bérubé Bushaud, Buchaud = Bouchard, Boucher Bushy = Boucher Butotte - Boutot Choreau = Charron Chorette = Charette Clare = Leclair Clovite = Clavette Cluky = Cloutier Comir = Cormier Coreau = Caron Couturia = Couturier Courtior = Couturier Coutir = Côté Cully = Collin Curbie = Corbin DAigle = Daigle DeBe = Dubé, Dubois Derosie = Desrosiers Deshane = Deschênes Deusta = Dastous Deveau = Devost Diemon = Guimond Duke = Leduc DuPira = Duperré Elui = Ruest/Ruais English = Langlois Firteau = Fortin Forjimi = Fongemie Fornier = Fournier France = Lafrance Gonyou = Gagnon Govah = Gauvin Gover = Gauvin Grenway = Grivois Gutreau = Gaudreau Hewes = Hughes Jedry = Guédry Jervis = Gervais King = Roy Labre = Labrie Lasie = Lauzier (Roy-Lauzier) LAmour = Lamarre LeBe = Labbé Lebonti = Labonté Lefelieur = Laferrière Legasse = Lagacé LeVique = Lévesque Long = Lang Lougir = Lauzier Lovejoy = Lajoie Markee, Marque, Marqui = Marquis Markee = Mercure Murno = Morneau Nado = Nadeau OClair = Auclair Ouissin = possibly Voisine Peltier = Pelletier Penit, Penite = Pinette Perodie = Paradis Picore = Picard Plude = Plourde Queen = Quinn Remo = Raymond Rimon = Raymond Romain = Raymond Rosinal = Rossignol Soucier = Saucier, Soucy St.Peter = St.Pierre St.Thomas = St.Amant Squirrel = St-Germain-Cureux* Sylvin, Sylvie = Sylvain Tarreo = Thériault Terdis = Tardif Torgeau = Turgeon Vassieur = Levasseur Villeancourt = Vaillancourt Wood = Bois, Dubois Young = Dionne Yourette = Guérette |
*This is one name that had me stumped, until I found out that a "dit" name for St-Germain is Cureux; the French for squirrel is écureuil; thus perhaps the census taker merely "translated" the dit name of the St-Germains. Or perhaps the census taker heard the English word "squirrel" when the French speakers said "Cureux".
Beaulieu-Hudon Bélanger-Lafèbvre Deschênes-Miville Dessain-St.Pierre Faucas-Raymond Grace/Grasse-Dick Grivois-Guédry |
Guérette-Dumont Labrie-Migneault Laferrière-Charron Laplante-Madore Leclerc-Francoeur Martin-Beaulieu Massé-Gravel Migneau-Labrie |
Talbot-Gervais Roy-Voisine Roy-Desjardins Roy-Voisine-Desjardins Roy-Lauzier Sansfaçon-Consigny Sirois-Duplessis St-Germain-Cureux |
First names, if they were common ones, were put down in their English equivalents. Thus Jean became John (and the common name Jean-Baptiste was usually written down as John B.), Édouard - Edward, François - Francis, Michel - Michael, Antoine - Anthony, Henry - Henri, Marie - Mary, etc. Others were written down phonetically according to how the census taker heard them. They were rarely consistent in spelling. Included here are common abbreviations used in this census.
Alair = Hilaire
Alexy = Alexis
Amabe, Amebe = Amable
Angelic = Angélique
Annri = Henri, Honoré
Artans = Hortense
Benj. = Benjamin
Brineau = Bruno
Calasty = Scholastique
Cetey = Docithé
Chas. = Charles
Christmas = Noël
Damus = Damase
Demrise = Demerise
Deusta = Augustin
Dinah = Délina
Doriman = Dorimène
Dumas = Damase
Dussite = Dosithe
Elexee = Alexis
Eli = Hilaire
Elway = Éloi
Emay, Emey = Aimé (men's name)
Exeause = Elzéar
Fearah = Zéphirin
Febrance, Frebrance = Fébronie
Felemon = Philomène
Femmie = Euphémie
Fermin = Firmin
Flerent, Flerante = Fleurent
Flevy, Flevie = Flavie
Flora = Fleurent
Frisine = Euphrosine
Geo. = Georges
Harriett = Henriette
Henry = Honoré
H.N. = Étienne
Israel = Isaïe, Israel
Jere. = abbrev. for Jeremiah
Jeremiah = Germain, Jérémie
LeCarte = Léocade
LeNoire = Eléonore
Lodie = Élodie
Metied, Metiet , Mitaite = Méthaïde
Osime = Onézime
Patk. = Patrick
Paul = Hyppolite
Pauline = Appoline
Perpha = Parfait
Philoman, Philamen = Philomène
Placey = Placide
Prudhon = Prudent
Prudun = Prudent
Regeste = Régis
Richard = Régis
Rosimo = Rosimond
Salomy = Salomée
Saml. = Samuel
Samuel = Ansèlme
Sélina = Céline
Talie = Nathalie
Taline = Vitaline
Tazie, Tarsie, Torsie = Anastasie
Thadeus = Thadée
Thomas = Damase (also Thomas)
Twin = Antoine
Zavier = Xavier, usually short for François-Xavier
Zazee = Isaïe
Zedore = Isidore
Zite = Ozithée
Return to 1860 US Census of Upper St.John River Valley
Last revised 6 Apr 2007
© 2004-2007 C. Gagnon