This region, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River between Trois-Rivières and Montreal, is unknown to most North Americans except for those who had ancestors there.

The Elliotts were one well-known Lanaudière family. Through Grace Elliott Trudeau (1880-1973), Robert Elliot was an ancestor of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Robert Elliott was born in Scotland in 1762 and settled in the Lanaudière area. His funeral service was held on April 17, 1810 at the Anglican Church in Trois-Rivières, and he was buried two days later in Maskinongé County, in the Protestant Cemetery of Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon.

The Lanaudière region was settled by French Canadian, Acadian, British, Irish Catholic, Irish Protestant, Germanic, American and Eastern Europe families, including a few Loyalists in the Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Louiseville and Yamachiche regions.

The Acadian families who came here had originally been deported to Massachusetts. In August 1766, they accepted the offer of Governor James Murray to come to Quebec. A large number of these Acadians were assigned pristine lands in the Lanaudière region.

One has only to review the list of seigneurs at the beginning of this research guide to realize the importance of the military in this region. Senior and junior officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Régiment Carignan-Salières (1665-1669), as well as officers and soldiers of the 28 Compagnies Franches de la Marine en Nouvelle-France (1622-1761) were granted lands in Lanaudière. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was common for officers and soldiers to request land in New France after their tour of duty was completed. In 1665 about one third of the 1,200 soldiers and officers of the Régiment Carignan-Salières requested lands in various regions of New France.

Here is a link to the PFD research guide: Seigneuries of Lanaudière

In this compilation, you will find:

1.  p. 1 Seigneurs and military regiments
2. p. 11 Seigneuries in the current counties of Berthier, Joliette, L’Achigan, L’Assomption, Maskinongé, Montcalm
3. p. 39 Cemeteries
4. p. 40 Notaries practising in the area, 1712-1916
5. p. 76 Articles and resources on the Acadians, Irish, Germans and Loyalists.
6. p. 77 Repositories in Quebec and France

(corrected and updated Nov. 26, 2018)