Show ContentsBretteau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Bretteau has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in the province of Brittany, known to the French as Bretagne. Dwellers in this province were referred to as Bretons.

Early Origins of the Bretteau family

The surname Bretteau was first found in Brittany, where the family has held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Bretteau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bretteau research. Another 310 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1558, 1609, 1655, 1679, 1700, 1900 and 1913 are included under the topic Early Bretteau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bretteau Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Bretteau, including Breton, Bretone, Bretton, Breto, Bretto, Bret, Bretau, Breteau, Brettau, Bretteau, Bretaux, Brettaux, Lebreton, Lebreteau, Lebreto and many more.

Early Notables of the Bretteau family

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bretteau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bretteau family

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Bretteau has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Bretteau were Widow Breton, aged 53; who settled with her son Jean Pierre Breton, aged 17; in Charles Town in 1732; Elizabeth Breton, aged 28; who settled in New York in 1820.



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