The Fair & Gauvin Family History

Did you ever wonder where you come from?

As a kid I knew that my mother (Bernice Gauvin) came from Canada when she was 14 and my biological father (Billy Fair) was American.

I grew up knowing only three of my grandparents:

On my mother's side, my grandparents (we called them  Mémère & Pépère), spoke mostly French and very little English, all I knew was that they came from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada but nothing beyond that.

On my Father's side I knew my "gramma" Dotty (Dorothy Fair/Raymond), but my grandfather died before I was born, so I never knew him, but I heard that he came from New York. 

Beyond that I had no idea about where my family came from.

For my birthday, my wife got me the Ancestry.com DNA Test, and I started digging on the genealogy websites...

One of the first things I found was my grandfather (Pépère's) birth certificate from 1912, we always knew him as Aimé Gauvin, but according to his birth certificate his given name was Joseph Aimé Gauvin. His grandfather's name was Aimé S. Gauvin and I even found pictures of him and his wife Marie LeBlanc online form the 1800's (see below).

Greg Fair DNA Test

There were no real surprises in the DNA Test results, it was pretty much what I thought, but why 56% French?

The ratio should be less if only my mother's side was from Canada? 

So I started digging and I found some pretty interesting stuff.

Origin Of The Family Names:

Andrew J. Fair (Fairservice) (3rd great-grandfather on Fair side):

Andrew Fairservice was Born in 1831, in Newport, Shropsire, England:

Andrew was a British Soldier that was starting a family In New York , he changed his name to "Andrew Fair", but then the "Indian Uprising" started in the British colony of India in 1857, so he was called up to go fight with the 23rd Company of Royal Engineers in India. His name registered with the British Military was "Fairservice"'

He died on 17th of March, 1858 • in Camp, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

<<< These are the actual medals that Andrew was awarded, they were auctioned off to a collector in 2015 (I have already contacted the seller about trying to get them back in the family).

According to actual British military records and a few war-time books from the "Battle at Lucknow", Andrew was killed in a gunpowder explosion along with 14 other soldiers. 

There is a memorial on the site in India where they died with Andrew's name on it.

Ancestry.com had "Andrew J. Fair as a "dead end"  in New York with a census record and marriage record in 1855, many people were trying to track down where he came from and he was referred to as "the soldier", but after extensive digging in many genealogy databases I was able to verify that Andrew J. Fair was actually Andrew Fairservice.

My 2nd great-grandfather Alfred William Fair was only 5 years old back in the Bronx, New York when Andrew died fighting in India.

- Alfred William Fair was listed as working as a "Clerk" in the 1870 New York census when he was only 17.

Jean Gauvin (Immigrant Ancestor) (7th great-grandfather on Gauvin side):

Born in 1641 • Croix-Chapeau, La Rochelle, Aunis, France.

Jean Gauvin was among the original settlers of the Quebec colony in Canada (New France), and he is the first Gauvin that is directly related to us that came to the new world.

His career began when he entered into an association with Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, noted seaman, captain, and future governor of Acadia. In 1632, he arrived in Acadia with the governor Isaac de Razilly. He served as master of arms of Fort Pentagouet (now Castine, Maine) as a major. After the death of d'Aulnay in 1650, Doucet became commandant serving at the French fort of Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal). Under Major General Robert Sedgwick, the English captured the fort on August 15, 1654. 

My Relatives

Thomas Offrey - 1855

Daniel B Tompkins (1824) & Laura A. Hubbard (1831)

William H. Fair & Dorothy "Dotty" Fair 

Notable Direct Family Ancestors:

Pierre Du Gua de Monts (11th great-grandfather on Bella Gauvin/Gaudet side):

In 1603, King Henry IV sponsored Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons to explore and settle the new world colonies in Canada, then called "New France"

Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; c. 1558 – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French settlement in Canada. He travelled to northeastern North America for the first time in 1599 with Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit.

De Mons seems to have made several voyages to Canada including in 1600, with Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit to Tadoussac. 

King Henry granted Du Gua exclusive right to colonize lands in North America between 40°–60° North latitude. The King also gave Du Gua a monopoly in the fur trade for these territories and named him Lieutenant General for Acadia and New France. In return, Du Gua promised to bring 60 new colonists each year.

There are many statues and memorials honoring Pierre Dugua de Mons all over Canada.

Germain Doucet (10th great-grandfather on Bella Gauvin/Gaudet side):

Doucet was a French commander in the French colony of Acadia.

His career began when he entered into an association with Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, noted seaman, captain, and future governor of Acadia. In 1632, he arrived in Acadia with the governor Isaac de Razilly. He served as master of arms of Fort Pentagouet (now Castine, Maine) as a major. After the death of d'Aulnay in 1650, Doucet became commandant serving at the French fort of Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal). Under Major General Robert Sedgwick, the English captured the fort on August 15, 1654. 

Under the terms of the surrender, Doucet was forced to leave Acadia for good, and returned to France. 

But both his son Pierre, and his daughter Marguerite stayed behind, and they created the founding family line that are related to us.

European Direct Root Ancestors:

Tommaso Francesco di Savoia : Prince of Carignano (10th great-grandfather 

on Gauvin side): 

Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano (Italian: Tommaso Francesco di Savoia, Principe di Carignano, French: Thomas François de Savoie, Prince de Carignan; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the dynasty's deposition in 1946.

See Wiki Page: Thomas Francis of Savoy

See how we are related

Philip II "the Prudent", King of Spain & Portugal (12th great-grandfather 

on Gauvin side): 

Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was King of Spain (1556–98), King of Portugal (1581–98, as Philip I, Filipe I), King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and by marriage King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554–58). 

He was also Duke of Milan. From 1555 he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip was called "Felipe el Prudente" ("Philip the Prudent") in Spain; his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age. The expression "the empire on which the sun never sets" was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his dominion.

See Wiki Page: Phillip II - King of Spain

Duarte - King Edward of Portugal (14th great-grandfather on Gauvin side): 

Duarte ([duˈaɾt(ɨ)]; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), known in English as Edward and called the Philosopher (o Rei-Filósofo) or the Eloquent (o Eloquente), was King of Portugal and the Algarve and Lord of Ceutafrom 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son of John I of Portugal and his wife, Queen Philippa of Portugal, a daughter of John of Gaunt. Edward was the oldest member of the "Illustrious Generation" of accomplished royal children who contributed to the development of Portuguese civilization during the 15th century. As a cousin of several English kings, he became a Knight of the Garter.

See Wiki Page: King Edward of Portugal

See how we are related

King Philip the 1st of Castile (13th great-uncle on Gauvin side):

Philip of Habsburg 22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), called the Handsome or the Fair, was Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506 and the first member of the house of Habsburg to be King of Castile as Philip I.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I by his first wife Mary, Philip was less than four years old when his mother died, and upon her death, he inherited the greater part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands as Philip IV. In 1496, his father arranged for him to marry Joanna of Castile, second daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, rulers of Aragon and Castile respectively. Around the same time, Philip's sister Margaret was given in marriage to Joanna's brother John, as part of an agreement between their fathers. Within four years after the wedding, Joanna became heir presumptive to Aragon and Castile, following the deaths of her brother, elder sister and infant nephew during that period. In 1504, aged 27, Philip became king of Castile by marriage when his mother-in-law died and Joanna succeeded her. 

He died only two years later, leaving his wife distraught with grief.

See Wiki Page: Philip the Handsome

Mary DeBourgogne - Duchess or Burgundy (15th great-grandmother - Gauvin):

Mary (French: Marie; Dutch: Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), Duchess of Burgundy, reigned over many of the territories of the Duchy of Burgundy, now mainly in France and the Low Countries, from 1477 until her death. 

As the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon, she inherited the duchy upon the death of her father in the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477. Owing to the great prosperity of many of her territories, Mary was often referred to as Mary the Rich.

Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels at the ducal castle of Coudenberg, to Charles the Bold, then known as the Count of Charolais. Her birth, according to the court chronicler Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilight sky.

See Wiki Page: Mary of Burgundy

Charles The Bold of Burgundy (16th great-grandfather on Gauvin side):

Charles the Bold (also translated as Charles the Reckless) (French: Charles le Téméraire, Dutch: Karel de Stoute, 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois.

His early death at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Duke of Lorraine, was of great consequence in European history. The Burgundian domains, long wedged between the growing powers of France and the Habsburg Empire, were divided, but the precise disposition of the vast and disparate territorial possessions involved was disputed among the European powers for centuries.

See Wiki Page: Charles the Bold - Duke of Burgundy

Origin of the name Gauvin = Michel Gauvin (Gauvain) - 1551 in Cancale, France - 10th great-grandfather - His Father's name was Blaise Gauvain born in 1529

Oldest Direct Ancestor = Bernard de LIVRON, Born 1200 in France, 20th great-granfather on the Gaudet side.

There are 500+ direct ancestors in the family tree (not including children)

211 from Canada (from both sides) Hailing from France, Portugal, and Spain

114 from U.S.A. (mostly New York and New England) From Canada & France

4 from Germany (on Fair/Raymond side)

2 from England (Andrew Fair/Fairservice and his father John)

Family Crests

Fair Family Crest

Gauvin Family Crest

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