Peraux History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The history of the Peraux name began during the Middle Ages in a region known as Brittany. The French name is derived from the popular French personal name Pierre, which comes from the ancient name Petros, or Peter, meaning "rock".

Early Origins of the Peraux family

The surname Peraux was first found in Brittany where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Launay and Vieux Launay.

They also branched to the regions of Neufchatel, île-de-France, at Chazelle and Courcelles, the Franch Comte at Viseney, Paris (Ablancourt) and Geneva. They were elected to the noblesse as Barons of the Empire. The Pieroway variant is an interesting one. Some sources believe the name to be a Channel Islands variant and a branch of the family settled on Sandy Point, Newfoundland. Today the family can be found in Stephenville, St. Georges and in the Corner Brook area of Newfoundland. 1 Ada Pieroway of St. Georges, married Ronald MacDonald of Antigonish who won the second Boston Marathon in 1898 and Stella Pieroway, a teacher at St. Geroges, married James Ronald MacDonnell, Newfoundland politician who represented St. Georges in the Newfoundland House of Assembly from 1919 to 1923.

Jacques Perrault and his wife Marguerite (née Cache) of Saint-Jacques, Bourgogne, had two sons, François and Jacques. François, a merchant, and Jacques, a surgeon, travelled together to New France in the early 1700's. François married Suzanne Page, daughter of Guillaume and Elisabeth (née Letartre), in Quebec on 26th November 1715. Jacques married Marie-Elisabeth Navers, daughter of Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Françoise (née Sauvin), in Château-Richer on 10th January 1724. 2

Early History of the Peraux family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peraux research. Another 24 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1608, 1611, 1613, 1628, 1644, 1661, 1670, 1680, 1684, 1687, 1688, 1691, 1703 and 1717 are included under the topic Early Peraux History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Peraux Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Peraux is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Perot, Perrot, Perrotte, Perreault, Perault, Perrault, de Perrot, De Perrot, De Perot, De Perault, De Perrault, Perrott, Perrau, Perraut, Perroud, Peroud, Perraud, Perrauld, Perauld, Peraud, Perroux, Peroux and many more.

Early Notables of the Peraux family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Nicolas Perrot (1644-1717), French explorer, diplomat, and fur trader, one of the first white men in the Upper Mississippi Valley; François-Marie Perrot (1644-1691), French Governor of Montreal by a royal commission in 1670, and later Governor of Acadia (1684-1687); Nicolas Perot (ca. 1611-1661), French Jansenist and historian; and his brothers, Claude Perrault (1613-1688), French architect...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Peraux Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Peraux family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Peraux has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Peraux were Pierre Perrault who arrived in Quebec from Angoumois on the west coast of France in 1730; Nicolas(1660) and Pierre(1763) arrived in Quebec from Bourgogne.

Citations +

Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland Montreal: McGill's-Queen's University Press 1998. Print. (ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print