Show ContentsShampaigne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Thousands of new names appeared among the French people in the medieval period. Shampaigne appeared in Champagne at that time. It was a name for a person who lived at Champagne, in France.

Early Origins of the Shampaigne family

The surname Shampaigne was first found in Champagne, to which the family held the countship from ancient medieval times.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Champagne family were renown throughout the whole of western Europe for their textiles and "Champagne" wine which drew merchants and nobles alike. The descendants of the family of the count of Champagne trace their origin back to these times, and several cadet branches of the family were created, the Marquis de Villaines of Maine, de Champagne de la Suze of Maine, de Champagne' de Motteferchaut of Anjou, and de Champagne de la Pommeraye of Bretagne, to mention a few. The Champagne family were involved in the many facets of the culture and times, and during later years branches of the family established themselves in Austria, Geneva, Belgium, and Italy.

Jean-Baptiste Champagne, son of Charles and Catherine (née des Ombaes), travelled from île de Ré, France to Canada in the 17th century. He worked as a sergeant in the Marien detachment, and after arriving in Quebec he married Marguerite Legardeur, daughter of Michel and Marguerite (née Gambier), on 29th October 1703. Marguerite passed away and Jean-Baptiste remarried to Marie-Angelique Brisval. 1

Early History of the Shampaigne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shampaigne research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1134, 1154, 1361 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Shampaigne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shampaigne Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Shampaigne include Champagne, Champagn, Champaigne, Champaign, Chanpagne, Chanpagn, Chanpaigne, Chanpaign, Chempagne, Chempagn, Chempaigne, Chempaign, Chenpagne, Chenpagn, Chenpaigne, Chenpaign, Shampagne, Shampagn, Shampaigne, Shampaign, Shanpagne, Shanpagn, Shanpaigne, Shanpaign, Shempagne, Shempagn, Shempaigne, Shempaign, Shenpagne, Shenpagn, Shenpaigne, Shenpaign and many more.

Early Notables of the Shampaigne family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shampaigne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shampaigne family

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Shampaigne were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Shampaigne were Francois Champagne, who settled in Quebec in 1641; Aubin Champagne, who settled in Quebec in 1665; Christophe Champagne, who came to Quebec in 1665; Pierre Champagne, who came to Montreal in 1666.



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


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