Show ContentsCourdurier History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Courdurier family

The surname Courdurier was first found in Limousin, where the family first originated as one of the distinguished families of the region. In Limousin, members of the family intermarried with other important families of the day, such as the Renon family. Many members of this family were well known for their contributions to the culture and politics of their respective communities.

Guillaume Couture, born in 1617, son of Guillaume and Madeleine (née Malet), travelled from Rouen, France to Canada in 1640. After his arrival he worked as a land clearer and as an interpreter for the Jesuit Fathers in Quebec. He married Anne Aymart, born in 1629, on 16th November 1649. They settled together in Quebec until Anne's death on 18th June 1700, and Guillaume's death in 1702. 1

Early History of the Courdurier family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Courdurier research. The years 1617, 1640 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Courdurier History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Courdurier 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, Courdurier some of which are Couture, Cousture, Coudure, Couturas, Couturat, Coutureau, Couturaud, Couturot, Couturier, Couturié, Couturière, Lecouturier, Lecouturié, Coudurier, Coudurié, Coudurière, Lecoudurier, Lecoudurié, Cousturier, Cousturié, Cousturière, Lecousturier, Lecousturié and many more.

Early Notables of the Courdurier family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Courdurier Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Courdurier family

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that 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. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Courdurier surname were Jeanne Couturier, who settled in New York State in 1700-01; Frederick Couturier, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1840; Jacob and Louis Couturier, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1860..



  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


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