Our Bray Immigrant Ancestor

Many of you have seen the Bray family tree made by Herbert E. Thellin in the 1930’s titled “Family Tree of Pierre Bray”.  Thellin's tree was a huge accomplishment for its day but is not without small inaccuracies.  Of concern for us Brays is that we do not descend from Pierre Bray. 

The error seems to have originated in 1871 with the first major genealogist of Quebec, Father Cyprien Tanguay. Tanguay's monumental opus Dictionnaire généalogique des Familles Canadiennes depuis la fondation de la colonie jusqu’à nos jours is now readily available on the internet.  Alas for Tanguay, he did not have access to all the records we do today, and in making a reasonable assumption he made an understandable error. 

As Thellin's tree shows, Pierre Bray is the father of Leger Bray dit Labonte. Leger and Etienne are the only two male immigrants to Canada during the French regime who left sons who carried on the Bray name. Both Leger and Etienne lived in the Montreal region. Leger was about 21 years older than Etienne.  Without access to Etienne's marriage records, the Tanguay's mis-assignment of Etienne into Leger's family was understandable.  Tanguay shows Etienne as the son of Leger (erroneously) and Leger as the son of Pierre.

Our Bray immigrant ancestor - the ancestor who immigrated to Canada from France - is Etienne Bray, who married Barbe Daze, in Canada in 1724.  Etienne’s parents are named in his marriage record, where they appear listed as Etienne Bre and Helene Ergon.  Both Etiennes – French father and immigrant son - appear on Thellin's tree:  Thellin shows Etienne as the son of Etienne, and then shows (erroneously) the elder Etienne as the son of Pierre. 

I don't know what inspired Thellin to relate the elder Etienne to Pierre.  The younger Etienne's 1724 marriage record lists his parent's home parish as "St Etienne en Daufine".  This parish is in Montagne, a tiny hamlet in the French department of Isere.  Leger Bray dit Labonte's French origins are not known - Leger's parents' names - including father Pierre Bray - originate from Leger's 1718 second marriage record, in Longueil, Quebec.  Neither Pierre nor the elder Etienne immigrated to Canada. 

Given that Bray is a common name in France, there is no reason I'm aware of to believe that the elder Etienne and Pierre are related.

Source information --

"two male immigrants to Canada", "21 years older", "married Barbe Daze" -  PRDH

"1718 second marriage record" - The LAFRANCE