The surname Griselain is a name of ancient French origin. It was a Breton name given to a person with gray hair. The name Griselain is derived from the Old French word "gris," which means "gray," and was often given to someone with gray hair.
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Early Origins of the Griselain family
The surname Griselain was first found in Brittany where this distinguished family held a family seat at Motte, and were prominent members of the aristocracy.
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Early History of the Griselain family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Griselain research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1789 is included under the topic Early Griselain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Griselain 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 Griselain, including Gris, Griss, Grix, LeGris, Legris, Legriss and many more.
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Early Notables of the Griselain family
More information is included under the topic Early Griselain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Griselain 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 Griselain 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 Griselain were Adrien Legris (1686), Jean Legris (1692 Lépine), and Denis Legris (1728) all arrived in Quebec from Ile-de-France.
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