Grignau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• France

Early Origins of the Grignau family

Early History of the Grignau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grignau research. The years 1630, 1632, 1714, 1723, 1748, 1767, 1770, 1773, 1793, 1794, 1829, 1871 and 1912 are included under the topic Early Grignau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grignau Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Grignau, including Grignard, Grignon, Grignaud and others.

Early Notables of the Grignau family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

• François-Auguste-Victor Grignaud, born in 1871, earned his degree in mathematics and physics and worked in chemistry at the University...
• On November 13, 1912, Grignaud received the Noble Prize of chemistry jointly with Paul Sabatier of Toulouse...

Migration of the Grignau family

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. 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. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 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 Grignau 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 Grignau were 100 individuals who arrived from France onto Canadian shores between 1600 and 1900. Among them were Antoine Grignon, who came to Quebec in 1658; Marie Grignault, who arrived in Quebec in 1662.