I was born Norman LaPolice in 1950 in Chicopee, MA.
For the past 20 years, I have been conducting genealogical research on the LaPolice-DesLauriers Genealogical Tree, focusing on Nouvelle-France (Québec), Acadie, The Kingdom of France (Royaume de France), and Normandy.
To trace my ancestry, I have taken at least 5 DNA tests from various testing services, including Y & MT-DNA tests. Based on these tests, it is estimated that I am of 100% French ethnicity.
My father, Xavier Léon LaPolice (1924-2014), initially conducted research by traveling from Chicopee, MA to inspect church vital records in Québec.
Over the years, I have utilized numerous French-Canadian search sites, with one of the most helpful being https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca. I have also used genealogical sites to trace my Acadie ancestors.
As a genealogy enthusiast, I was a paid member of https://www.genealogiequebec.com for several years, as well as https://www.ancestry.com.
While using Ancestry.com, I reached a point where I felt satisfied with my progress, understanding that a single mistake could impact an entire branch of my family tree.
In addition to my genealogical pursuits, I am a semi-retired web developer with 20 years of experience working with SQL Server. Using a three-step process, I was able to re-format the GED file from Ancestry and import it into SQL Server, which I now use for this genealogical site.
My oldest known maternal ancestor in a direct, unbroken line is Marie Marguerite Masson. She was born in 1570 in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, Royaume de France, and passed away in 1600 in the same location.
Similarly, my oldest known paternal ancestor in a direct, unbroken line is Pierre Enguehard. He was born in 1525 in Annebecq, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, Royaume de France, and died in 1575 in Pont Farcy, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, Royaume de France.
Interestingly, both lineages originate from areas that were only 247 km apart. The distance between Dieppe and Annebecq/Pont Farcy is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes by car, covering a distance of 246.6 km in Normandy.
Moving on to more recent generations, my parents, Xavier Léon LaPolice and Thérèse Béatrice DesLauriers, were born in Chicopee, MA. Similarly, my paternal grandparents, Léon Xavier LaPolice and Céciliènne Anäis Boisvert, were also born in Chicopee, MA.
In terms of ethnicity, all my other direct ancestors were born in Québec, tracing back to Nouvelle-France and ultimately Normandy, Royaume de France.
The surnames of my patrilineal ancestors from Normandy are Enguehard, but there are many alternate spellings that were added as "dit" names, including Hangard, Hengard, Angard, Engard, and more.
It is worth noting that the letter "h" is not pronounced in French. The first patrilineal ancestor to sail from Normandy to Québec was Gilles-Louis Enguehard dit Hengard II, born in 1727 in Pont Farcy, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France.
In French, Enguehard is pronounced as en-geh-r (rolled) ah.
During the time when notaries in Québec recorded actes, not all of them were French speakers, and not all French settlers coming to Québec were literate. As a result, some settlers could only pronounce their names, leading to Enguehard, Hangard, Hengard, and Angard sounding alike to a notary.
These alternate spellings of Enguehard emerged as a result of these homophones being used as dit names.
The first ancestor to whom "LaPolice" became a dit name was Jean-Baptiste Hangard dit LaPolice I. He was born on July 12, 1756, in Trois-Rivières, Québec, and passed away on June 22, 1817, in Yamachiche, Maskinongé, Québec.
Unfortunately, I have not come across any records explaining why this name was added.
