Show ContentsFoys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French name Foys was first used in the province of Auvergne. It was a name for someone who lived in Auvergne.

Early Origins of the Foys family

The surname Foys was first found in Auvergne, a historic province in south central France.

Early History of the Foys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foys research. The years 1632, 1649, 1655, 1730, 1775, 1779, 1793, 1805, 1815, 1817, 1822 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Foys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foys Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Foys, some of which include Defoy, De Foy, Foy, Foyatier, Foye, Foyot, Foyer, Le Foyer, Lefoyer and many more.

Early Notables of the Foys family

Notable amongst the family was Jean Foy, born in Beauvais in 1632, who became a lawyer in 1649 and then a medical doctor in 1655. Louis-Etienne De Foy was ordained priest in 1730; Charles Foyer studied at the ecclesiastic college and in 1793 was elected captain of the parish of Notre-Dame of Beaupréau, for the Mauges Army; Sebastien-Maximilien Foy was a count, general, and very important politician in 1775; Louis-Isidore Foye was a politician in 1779 and was prefect of Etampes; Denis Foyatier was a sculptor in 1793 in Bussieres; Francois Foy...
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Foys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Foys 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 Foys 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 Foys were Louis Defoy, who was married in 1696 in Quebec; Charles Defoy was married in 1718 in St-Augustin; Antoine Defoy was married in 1783 in St-Augustin; Etienne Defoy was married in 1787 in the same town..



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