Bretto History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• France

Early Origins of the Bretto family

Early History of the Bretto family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bretto 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 Bretto History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bretto Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Bretto some of which are Breton, Bretone, Bretton, Breto, Bretto, Bret, Bretau, Breteau, Brettau, Bretteau, Bretaux, Brettaux, Lebreton, Lebreteau, Lebreto and many more.

Early Notables of the Bretto family

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

Migration of the Bretto family

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Bretto were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Bretto 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.