KIROUAC FAMILY ASSOCIATION INC.

ORIGIN OF THE ASSOCIATION

"It was while consulting the Tanguay genealogical dictionary that I came up with the idea of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the arrival of our Ancestor in New France."


NOTE : It is important to note that this article was written in 1998 that is one year before the real identity of the Breton ancestor was discovered; to read the follow up to this article it is recommended to read the articles concerning the research in our family bulletins Le Trésor des Kirouac, starting with number 100 and following or The Breton ancestor of Jack Kerouac in "Welcome Page" of this site.


In the autumn of 1977, while consulting the Tanguay* genealogical dictionary, and reading that according to Mgr. Tanguay, our Ancestor had arrived in New-France in 1730 and settled in Kamouraska, where he was buried in 1736. In 1732 in Cap-Saint-Ignace he had married Louise Bernier who gave him three sons, Louis, Jacques and Alexandre it seems a good idea to celebrate, in 1980, the 250th anniversary of our Ancestor's arrival in New-France. With three years to prepare, the timing was just right to start planning a very special event.


Although we lost track of Jacques, we know that the other two siblings had descendants. That was the extent of our information at the time when launching the idea of celebrating the Ancestor's arrival in New-France. Of course twenty years later, we know far more and far better, but that is another story.


On 9 November 1977, a first letter was mailed to the 140 or so Kerouac and Kirouac listed in the Quebec City area telephone directory. About ten percent of the recipients expressed an interest in commemorating the event but few seemed able to get involved in such an endeavour. A year later, on 31 October 1978, a second letter was sent to the same people inviting them to a meeting on 20 November to form an official committee. In the letter it was clearly stated that if no planning committee was formed then, the project would be abandoned. Nevertheless, the time between the two letters was profitably used making many contacts with those who were keen to get involved; thus it was possible to put together a practical scenario for the 1980 festivities. Organizing regional meetings seemed an essential part of our motivational strategy. In addition, an eventual trip to our Ancestor's land, a souvenir book, even a genealogy were also considered.


Photo : Jacques Kirouac (1927 - 2019)

Everything looked covered, at least outlined so a project seem to be within reach. Therfore on 20 November 1978, fifteen people attended the meeting and signed a document marking the foundation of a permanent committee, the beginnings of our future Family Association. Without the involvement of these fifteen people, there would have been no permanent committee to organize the 1980 celebrations, and no Kirouac Family Association either, the KFA as we know it today. Now these fifteen people are known as the KFA founding members, the association which became official in 1983, one year after our second gathering held in Cap-Saint-Ignace in 1982, marking the 250th anniversary of the marriage of the Ancestor with Louise Bernier.


On 9 March 1979, a third and final letter was sent to the Kirouacs of the Quebec City area announcing the creation of the planning committee for the 250th anniversary celebrations to be held in 1980. The letter also outlined how we had divided the province into five regions comprising the largest concentration of Kirouac families. Eight of the fifteen founding members formed the first executive committee to share the planning of the regional meetings as well as assuming responsibility for the 1980 gathering in L'Islet-sur-Mer. Here, it is fitting to mention

the name and function of these pioneers:


* François, responsible for Central Quebec, Eastern Townships and Mauricie;

* Louis, responsible for the Quebec City area;

* Sarto, responsible for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean;

* Jean-Guy, responsible for the greater Montreal area, west of Rivière-Saint-Jean and Abitibi;

* Robert, responsible for Lower-Saint-Lawrence and Gaspé Peninsula;

* Alain, responsible for genealogy;

* Raymonde, responsible for the souvenir publication (L'Album);

* Jacques, Central Committee Coordinator.


By March 1979, the Central Committee members obviously had not wasted any time and the regional meetings began during that summer. There were five regional meetings in 1979. The following list shows the date, place and who was responsible:


June 16, in Quebec City, Louis Kirouac

August 12, in Warwick, Bruno Kirouac

August 26, in Saint-Eugène-de-l’Islet, Jean-Marie Kirouac

September 29, in Metabetchouan (Lac-Saint-Jean), Maurice Kirouac

October 27, in Montreal, Pierre Kirouac


These meetings were crucial and confirmed the Kirouacs' interest in celebrating the arrival of the Ancestor. The strong presence of the Kirouac families and related families to these meetings was already an indicator of the success of the upcoming 1980 festivity where more than seven hundred descendants of the Ancestor met and shared a common pride in their Breton origin.


Our archives do not indicate how many people took part in each regional meeting, but we can safely say that the total fairly matched the number of registrations for the 1980 gathering in L'Islet. Here it must be underlined that the regional meetings were the spark that kindle the interest and secured the success of the 1980 gathering.


By the autumn 1979, when we looked at the results of the five regional meetings we felt sure of the success of the 250th Anniversary. The enthusiasm was evident among the members of the Central Committee who met fifteen times by 30 April 1980.


Translation of an article written by Jacques Kirouac, KFA founder, published in Le Trésor des Kirouac, French edition only, number 54, December 1998, pp 26-27.


LIST OF FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

(In alphabetical order including the reference number as in the 1991 Kirouac Genealogy)


  • Marie-Anne Chalifour (Québec), Mrs. Marcel Kirouac (GFK 00550)
  • Thérèse Hébert (Charlesbourg), Mrs. Guy Kirouac (GFK 00515)
  • Raymonde Kérouac Harvey, Sainte-Foy (GFK 02067)
  • Alain Kirouac, Lévis, (GFK 00649)
  • Bruno Kirouac, Warwick, (GFK 00714)
  • Claire Kirouac, Sainte-Foy (GFK 00513)
  • Fernande Kirouac, Charlesbourg (GFK 00512)
  • François Kirouac, Duberger (Québec) (GFK 00715)
  • Jacques Kirouac, Sainte-Foy (GFK02298)
  • Jean-Guy Kirouac, Lévis (GFK 00516)
  • Louis Kirouac, Villeneuve (Québec) (GFK 00535)
  • Robert Kirouac, Cap-Rouge (GFK 02264)
  • Roland Kirouac, Sainte-Foy (GFK 00528)
  • Sarto Kirouac, Sainte-Foy (GFK 02245)
  • Mariette Pouliot (Sainte-Foy), Mrs. Roland Kirouac (GFK 00528)


* Monsignor Cyprien Tanguay (1819-1902), Catholic priest, author and historian, published in 1871, the first volume of his genealogical dictionary of Canadian founders from the beginning of the colony to the present day. The seventh and last volume appeared in 1890. It is the essential database of genealogical data to consult concerning the settlement of Quebec and Canada.


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