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![Show Contents]() Gwynnell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Gwynnell familyThe surname Gwynnell was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat, and were members of the aristocratic families of that region. Interestingly, the first record of the family was found at Norwich in England where Peter Quesnel (died 1299) was a Franciscan, warden of the Franciscan house at Norwich. 1 Olivier Quesnel, born in 1654, son of Pierre and Marie (née Poulard), travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Catherine Prud'homme, daughter of Louis and Roberte (née Gadois), in Montreal on 15th January 1680. Olivier worked as an armorer and remained in Quebec until his death at Lachine on 15th May 1719. 2 Early History of the Gwynnell familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gwynnell research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1502, 1542, 1580, 1619, 1634, 1668, 1694, 1719, 1749, 1774, 1809, 1838 and 1923 are included under the topic Early Gwynnell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Gwynnell Spelling VariationsChanges 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 Gwynnell, including Quesnel, Quesnell, Quesnelle, Quesnoy, Quesnay, Quesne, Quesneau, du Quesnel, du Quesnell, Quennell, Quennel, Du Quesnoy, du Quesnay, du Quesne and many more. Early Notables of the Gwynnell familyAnother 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gwynnell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Gwynnell familyApproximately 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 Gwynnell 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 Gwynnell were Olivier Quesnel who settled at Duquesnel, Quebec, in 1676 from Normandy, and was later followed by Jacques Quesnel in 1676, also from Normandy; Magdalen Quesnell settled in Virginia in 1726..
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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