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Saint-Cosme-de-Vair, France
(Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais)

Saint-Cosme | Pictures | Links

Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais

Simon Lereau dit L'Heureux, the ancestor of most of the L'Heureux in North America came from the commune of Saint-Cosme-de-Vair in the province of Maine along with 12 other families. After the revolution in 1789, the commune merged with Notre-Dame-de-Vair and more recently with two more, Champaissant and Contre-en-Vairais to become Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais, a city of 2,000 inhabitants, in the newly formed department of Sarthe. For maps and directions to Saint-Cosme, use MapQuest.

In Saints Cosme et Damien, a church of roman origin in the town of Saint-Cosme-en-Vairais, a commemorative plaque was installed by French Canadians. This plaque honors the thirteen families who left this area of France for the New World in the seventeenth century - including the Lereau family.  I have connections with at least seven of those thirteen ancestral families.
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The plaque reads as follows: 

AUX FAMILLES

de SAINT-COSME-DE-VAIR   NOTRE-DAME-DE-VAIR
et CHAMPAISSANT
parties au XVIIe S pour la NOUVELLE FRANCE

BISSON - BOULLARD - BOUCHARD - DODIER
FORTIN - GARNIER - GASNIER
LEREAU - MAUFAY
POULIOT - ROCHERON
ROUILLARD - ROULLOIS

"JE ME SOUVIENS"
Picture of plaque
Picture of church

If you are confused about the fact that the ancient documents refer to Saint-Cosme-de-Vair as being in the province of Maine when it is now in the Department of Sarthe, it is because the original provinces have been resized and renamed departments. These  maps of France will help you sort this out.

Also take the time to visit the site History of Saint Cosme en Vairais which includes pictures of the church and talks about the exodus in the 17th century.

Pictures of Saint-Cosme

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Last modified: June 25, 2006