Show ContentsLamartine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French duchy of Gascogne was the home of the family who first used the name Lamartine. The surname was derived from the patron saint, Saint Martinus, a Bishop of Tours and Evangelist of la Gaule who was very popular in the Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Lamartine family

The surname Lamartine was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family has held a family seat from ancient times.

Another source claims the name is from St. martin in Normandy. "This family descends from Walter, Lord of St. Martin, who about 980 married a niece of Duchess Gunnora. William his son was father of Roger, Lord of Mortemer, and of Ralph, Sire de Garenne, and of the Sire de St. Martin, from whom came the family of St. Martin in Normandy and England." 1

Abraham Martin was born in France in 1589 and died in Quebec on 8th September 1664. He arrived in New France, along with his wife and daughter, on the boat "Le Sallemande" on 30th August 1620. Abraham received a plot of land that eventually became the location of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, fought between James Wolfe and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. This land is still known as "Les Plaines d'Abraham", or in English, "The Plains of Abraham". 2

Early History of the Lamartine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lamartine research. Another 486 words (35 lines of text) covering the years 1345, 1370, 1445, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1605, 1634, 1639, 1648, 1673, 1676, 1681, 1689, 1693, 1699, 1706, 1710, 1711, 1717, 1721, 1742, 1743, 1755, 1789, 1800, 1803, 1810, 1818 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Lamartine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lamartine Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Lamartine some of which are Martin, Martine, Lamartine, Martinat, Martinaud, Martinault, Martinot, Martineau, Martinet, Martiné, Martinon, Martinesque, Martet, Marthet, Marté, Martaud, Martault, Martot, Marti, Marty, Martinenche, Martiena, Martirena, Martens, Mertens, Saint-Martin and many more.

Early Notables of the Lamartine family

Notable amongst the family at this time was François Martin (1634-1706), the first Governor General of Pondicherry, Commissioner of French India (1681-1693), Governor-General of French India (1699-1706); Charles-Amador Martin, (1648-1711), Canadian clergyman, the second Canadian to be ordained a priest; Jean-Baptiste Martin, an officer and...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lamartine Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lamartine 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 Lamartine 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 Lamartine were Christopher Martin, who settled in Plymouth in 1620; Giles Martin, aged 23; who arrived in New England in 1623; Simon Martin, who immigrated to St Christopher in 1633.


Contemporary Notables of the name Lamartine (post 1700) +

  • Lamartine Griffin Hardman (1856-1937), American politician who served two terms as governor of Georgia


  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


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