Philippe
Mius d’Entremont =
Francois-Virgine d’Entremont ?
ith the exception of Catherine de Baillon, virtually EVERY French-Canadian pioneer who is
said to be descended from nobility has been subjected to intense dispute. With many (as you will see in the following
information for Philippe Mius d’Entremont),
even though a great deal of circumstantial evidence is present, and birth and
marriage dates and even the identity of the
spouses coincide, there remains the lacks of conclusive proof. To the
professional genealogist, conclusive proof is nothing short of irrefutable documentaion in the form of a marriage record, deed,
baptismal record, etc., which not only dates from the appropriate period in
history, but also is proven to have been created by a known, dependable source.
Since no such irrefutable evidence has been found for Philippe (despite the
record of his wife “coincidentally having the same name and approximate year of marriage (1649-1649) as the
wife of Francois-Virgine, Philippe can still not be
said to be the same person, and indeed is believed by many of the most esteemed
Acadian genealogists unlikely to have any relation to the d’Entremont
family of nobility.
While I respect the due diligence
of such researchers to make no claims that they cannot absolutely prove, I am
astonished that since 70-80% or more of persons of European origin are believed
to have a direct bloodline back to Charlemagne, so incredibly few are able to
prove it. Perhaps as the cost of DNA
testing decreases over time, it will ultimately provide a database of
additional “irrefutable” documentation that may be linked together to
mathematically resolve what logic may not.
In the meanwhile, the identity of
Madeleine Helie du Tillet
as the spouse of both Philippe and Francois is sufficient for me to retain my illustration
of this dubious lineage, in the hopes that someone may yet produce one form or
another of “irrefutable” proof - one way or the other.
To all appearances, the
controversy over whether the two men are the same person originated with
historian H. Leander d’Entremont who proposed the
Francois-Virgine = Philippe, and was picked by Couillard Despres. At the outset
of this controversy there may (or may not) apparently be a letter, believed but not proven to have been written by H.
Leander d’Entremont (I have not examined, nor even
seen a copy of the original letter in French).
Mike Talbot has provided the English translation of the letter (which he
has also not seen -- just the translation), along with what I find to be
an objective commentary, here.
Note: Unless a copy of the mysterious original
letter (in French) is located, however, one must recognize that the missing
letter has the auspices of urban folklore, despite the fact that in Histoire du
Cap-Sable, Leander’s nephew substantiates - via his own counter-arguments to
his uncle’s - that Leander did indeed believe the theory, (and therefore it is
consistent, if not likely, that Leander would have communicated/documented his
reasoning, and there appears to some evidence that Father Clarence may have
remarked upon said letter. If anyone can located such a reference to the letter
in "Histoire du Cap-Sable," please let me know, so that I may
document that, here.
Pauline d’Entremont,
offers those arguments of Father Clarence d’Entremont
via translated extracts from “History du Cap-Sable” that the two men were not the same, here.
Reference Sources for linking Phillipe Mius d'Entremont
to Beatrice de Coligny d'Entremont:
Actes du Colloque l'Amiral
de Coligny et son Temps (published 1974 in
Beatrice de Coligny d'Entremont (born December 1572) married Claude-Antoine de Meouillon de Montauban. The reference seemed to indicate that she was born after her father's death at the hands of the Guises. Records seem to indicate that there were 6 children -
1. François-Virgine
born after 1600 and died after 1650 (married to Madeleine du Tillet)
2. unnamed son who became the abbe de Chesery
3. unnamed son who became baron de Nattage
4. unnamed son who became sieur de St-Mauris
5. Beatrice
6. Marguerite
Assumption (now "unprovable"
either way):
"Madeleine du Tillet" is Madeleine Helie (Elie) du Tillet, daughter of Jacques Helie du Tillet and Françoise Faucon. The assumption is unprovabale, because no records have been found to show whose daughter Madeleien Helei du Tillet was. However, Madeleine du Tillet, who married Francois-Virgine d'Entremont is recorded as the daughter of Jacques Elie (Helie) and Francoise Faucon.
Philippe Mius d'Entremont
was born in 1609 and died in 1700. The research by H-Leander d'Entremont and Couillard-Deprès
notes that Francois-Vigine disappeared from French
records at approximately the same time that Philippe turned up in
Madeleine Elie (Helie) du Tillet's marriage to
Philippe Mius d'Entremont
is mentioned in several different sources including the Dictionary of Canadian Biographies and the National History of France. Madeleine du Tillet,
named as the daughter of Helie du Tillet
is cited as the wife of Francois-Virgine d’Entremont in the book
of Samuel Guichenon, “Histoire de Bresse
et de Bugey,” published in 1650, that talks about the
d'Entremont family.
See excerpt. ª
ª Credit for inclusion of the primary source information
in Guichenon’s book goes to John Le Garignon of Gatieneau, (
Assumption:
Philippe Mius d'Entremont =
Francois-Virgine d'Entremont,
i.e - Francois-Virgine
"Philippe" Mius d'Entremont.
Known: PHILIPPE MIUS D'ENTREMONT, BARON DE
POBOMCOUP was born 1609 in Normandie, and died 1700
in Grand Pre, Acadia. He married MADELEINE HELIE Abt.
1649. She was born Abt. 1626, and died Bef. 1678.
Known: FRANCOIS-VIRGINE D”ENTREMONT was still living in
Unknown: exact date of arrival of for
Philippe d’Entremont in
Known:
1648-1653 was the period of the “Fronde,” an
anarchistic period of French Civil war,
and therefore a particularly attractive time for some to look toward New France
for a brighter future, especially for someone who had made an enemy of Cardinal
Richelieu.
Known: Philippe’s daughter
Marie-Marguerite-Anne was married in 1664 at Port-Royal. Philippe’s son, also named Philippe had his
first set of Metis children by a Mi’qmak women
between 1679-1682.
Known: The list of children of Francois-Virgine included in Guichenon’s
book do NOT include a daughter Marie-Marguerite-Anne or a son Philippe, As for
Philippe (Jr.), that is not a problem; he was born after the arrival of Phillipe and Madeleine in Canada, as were sons Jacques and
Abraham. With regard to Marie-Marguerite-Anne, this presents a good
argument that Phillippe is NOT the same person as
Francois-Virgine, despite the same names of their
wives. Francois-Virgine’s
daughters were named Francoise, Therese and Beatrix, and one does not find any
of these daughters, nor the two sons, Jean-Francois or Helie
arriving in Canada with Philippe, Madeleine and Marie-Marguerite-Anne.
Reference: A partial list of Philippe and Madeleine children also
appears on a microfilm at the Bibliothèque et
Archives
ª Credit for inclusion of this source Bibliothèque et Archives Canada goes to John Le Garignon of Gatieneau, (Quebec), Canada, who found the mention of Phippe and Madeleine’s family during the course of his
research, and who kindly forwarded me a copy of the relevant link.
Click on the image icon to enlarge the
relevant section: 
John Le Garignon also provided the following email response from an
archivist in
“Monsieur,
Votre courrier électronique du 14 mai vient de m'être transmis et, pas plus que mes collègues, je ne parviens, à travers les registres
paroissiaux de
Il
ne vous a pas échappé que la biographie que Clément CORMIER a consacré à
Philippe M. d'E. fait état
de sa naissance "en Normandie,
probablement à
Par
ailleurs, mon collègue Rodolphe de Mons, grand spécialiste des noms de famille et de leur localisation, m'informe que MIUS ou MUIS lui paraît être
originaire de Flandre ou de Brabant (dans l'extrême nord de la France ou en Belgique). Il suggère que BOURBOURG, près de Dunkerque, serait beaucoup plus approprié et
plus logique comme lieu
possible de naissance de Philippe Mius d'Entremont.
Pour
les DU TILLET, on trouve trace d'un Elie du Tillet, sieur de Nogent (Loiret) et Pannes (Loiret), maître d'hôtel ordinaire
du roi, qui épouse, en
1604, Françoise Faucon de Ris,
fille du Premier président
du Parlement de Bretagne. Cette
famille semble originaire d'Angoulême ou de sa région.
Les biographes font une
confusion entre HELIE du TILLET (éventuel nom de famille) et Elie du TILLET (prénom). Voir
François BLUCHE, L'origine des magistrats
du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe
siècle, Paris, 1956, p.168.
Comme vous le voyez, ce ne sont
que des hypothèses ; aussi je forme le voeu qu'elles puissent
vous conduire sur une piste
plus probable.
Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de ma considération distinguée.
Janjac LEROY,
archives
départementales de la Manche”
(In
short, M. Leroy states that in the absence of a source citing a Mius d’Entremont born in
Normandy, there appears to be no
credence to this hypothesis by Cormier that this was Philippe’s birthplace, and
says that a colleague specializing in surnames and their place of origins
suggest a more likely origin in Bourbourg. Leroy goes
on to discuss the transition of the Christian name Elie
du Tillet to an eventual use as the surname Helie du Tillet, which addresses
one of Father Clarence d’Entremont’s objections
regarding the variation in names, but sheds no further light on the
identification of Philippe as a separate individual from Francois-Virgine, except that if a birth record for a separate
individual is to be found, it was felt more likely that the search should
center in Flanders versus Normandy.)
Thanks
again to John le Garignon for this information, as well as to Janiac Leroy and Rodolphe de Mons for their insights.
Assumption:
One
or more ersearchers have identified an archival
reference in France, attesting that Madeleine, widow of Francoise-Virgine received a pension in France, in 1671, and have commented that therefore this proves that Francois-Virgine
had died prior to that time and could not be the same person as Philippe, who
died later in Acadia.
Here
is the citation:
INVENTAIRE
SOMMAIRE DES ARCHIVES DÉPARTEMENTALES ANTÉRIEURES À 1790
Série E — Chartrier d’Azay-le-Rideau
Inventaire sommaire AD Indre et Loire - série E suite 497-1116
"DU TILLET Madeleine, veuve de François, marquis
de Montbel et comte d'’Autremont. Récépissé de
20.000 livres pour le rachat
d’une rente de 1.000
livres constituée en 1666
(3 septembre 1671)."
This
is a decent hypothesis, and I suppose the preponderance of evidence and
“expert” opinion will continue to favor the two men as separate
individuals. I continue, however, to show
it as a disputed lineage. While I have
no reason to doubt the existence of this archival entry, I have not visited personally
visited the archives at Indre et
Loire, nor seen the actual entry myself, and therefore I cannot personally
vouch for its authenticity. I will
nonetheless, for the purpose of this discussion, assume the French pension
citation is entirely legit, despite the infamously-untrustworthy reputation of
information obtained in internet chat groups and forums.
Ultimately,
I do not know that anyone claims that Madeleine actually travelled with
Francois-Virgine to Acadia. She certainly could still have remained in
France, claimed Francois to be killed during the religious fighting, and
received a pension in France, as the presumed widow. It does not necessarily
follow that because she is listed as a widow in France in 1671, then Francois-Virgine truly did die in France before 1671. If the document is legit, it is certainly a
very good piece of evidence, and would make me lean more in that direction,
too, but even so, it does NOT disprove the hypothesis that Francois = Philippe. Is it not even cliché that someone trying to
escape a certain death might very well attempt to fake his death and then vanish?
I
do show in my charts that Philippe had at least two children who were married
in Acadia, one of those in 1664. I also show the mother to be Madeleine, due to
their ages (although it could be argued that those children could have been
born in Acadia of a different mother), but if the children are indeed
Madeleine’s and accompanied Francois in fleeing France around 1651, that still
does not prove that Madeleine did, too.
The
idea that Philippe = Francois-Virgine has always been
controversial, and most historians would certainly favor the theory that
Francois died in France, but the alternative theory will no doubt remain alive,
unless DNA testing should someday be able to prove one or the other claim.
Further Notes for PHILIPPE MIUS
D'ENTREMONT BARON DE POBOMCOUP:
Baron de Pobomcoup
SW=Stephen White's; Dictionnaire
Genealogique Des Familles Acadiennes.
DS=Denis Savard's;
Dictionaire genealogique
des familles Arsenault.
SWpg1201,840,
Notes for MADELEINE HELIE:
SWpg1201,840,
Marriage Notes for PHILIPPE MIUS and
MADELEINE HELIE:
SWpg840,
French
Explanation\Summary:
Je montre cette ligne
aux mes pages web parce qu'on trouve dans
les archives nationales de France le mariage de "Francois-Virgine"
d'Entremont avec Madeleine Helie
du Tillet, (la meme fille
de Francoise de Faucon et Helie\Elie du Tillet qui est nomme' comme
epouse de "Phillippe"
Mius d'Entremont (voyez comme des sources: Dictionary
of Canadian Biographies et National History of France), qui est venu en Nouvelle France apres l'explusion de Francois-Virgine dEntremont de France suivant la lutte political et religeuse entre les familles de
Coligny, et de Medici.
Si Phillipe ne soit pas la meme personne que Francois Virgine????...comment se passe que tous les deux
(Francois et Philippe) se marie avec Madeleine Helie du Tillet (soie-meme de sang noble [son arriere-grand
pere, Jean Helie I du Tillet etatit enobli
par Charles VIII en 1484] et par le mariage de son
parent Naudin du Tillet (arriere-arriere grand pere) avec
Catherine Chabot, descendant de Madeleine de Luxembourg).
Peut-etre l'epreuve de
Philippe = Francois Virgine n'est
pas absolumment conclusif, mais les coincidences de marriage sont
formidable.
Père Clarence d'Entremont ne croyait
pas que les deux hommes soient le meme. Dans son ouvrage "Histoire du
Cap-Sable," il explique:
Remarquez, cependant, que le bon Père d'Entremont n'a pas fait connu que l'étude
des deux signatures (voyez c--dessous) par le firm Osborn-Murphy de New York
(experts célèbres de l'analyse d'écriture) a produit l'avis qu'on ne peux pas
conclure que les signatures se provenaient de deux personnes differentes. Ce
n'est pas à dire qu'ils étaient le même (ou non), seulement qu'on n'en pouvait
pas conclure.
Aussi...on trouve le nom du Baron de Pobomcoup gravé en bois =
"Francois Mius d'Entremont"
( ...plutot que
"Philippe") sur un table ancien decouvert en
"Thomas G. Haliburton,
author of "An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia"
(1829) in two volumes, published in 1847 in the "Frazer's Magazine for
town and Country" of London, and again in 1849 in his "The Old Judge:
Or, Life in a Colony, N.S.," the discovery, made about 1763 of what could
have been an Acadian trading post on the left bank of the La Have River,
Lunenburg county, at a place called Horse-Shoe Cove; this name was given to
this small harbour on account of its striking
resemblance to a horseshoe. It is said to be between
Above are the two signatures in question. The first, by Francois-Virgine is from a document in 1632. The second - known to
be Philippe's - is a signature made in 1684. In 1956, Father d'Entremont, hoping to settle the issue once and for all,
submitted the two samples to Osborn-Murphy of
I find it it puzzling that some researchers in their
"disproof" of the identity of Phippe d'Entremont use Father d'Entremont's
personal conclusion, rather than the inconclusiveness indicated by a company of
experts who were at that time, undeniably, and today remain among the top
expert handwriting analysts\forensic document examiners in the world.
Another challenge to
Philippe = Francois Virgine is the most obvious: the
first names are different. Why would
Francois Virgine change his name to Philippe? It is
unlikely that any proof will ever be revealed in this particular question. Some
propose that Francois Virgine, a grandson of one of
the dangerous Huguenots in
The Catholic
Encyclopedia provides additional insights for other reasons and examples:
“The practice of adopting a new name was
not limited to baptism. Many medieval examples show that any notable change of condition, especially in the spiritual
order, was often accompanied by the reception of a new name. In the eighth
century the two Englishmen Winfrith and Willibald
going on different occasions to
There is also precedent for Christian name changes
upon the “conversion/recantation” of Huguenots arriving in
According to Placide Gaudet, [source: notes
preserved in the PAC and at the Université de
Moncton; études published in Moniteur
Acadien (Shediac, N.B.), 17
Dec. 1886, 11 and 25 Jan. 1887], Philippe Mius was
related by marriage to the House of Bourbon and was made Sieur
d’Entremont by Louis XIV. According to a descendant,
H. Léandre d’Entremont,
however, the titles of nobility are said to go back to the 11th century in
Savoy, and and branch of the family relocated in the
16th century to Normandy, where Philippe was born.
Please decide for yourselves whether you believe
that Philippe = Francois-Virgine, but understand that
conclusive evidence has NOT thus far been presented to positively confirm (or
refute) this, although most historians think it unlikely.
- Michael Marcotte