Where was Rene born?
Ever since the
story of how Rene Cossitt came to America was reduced to writing, we
were told, and therefore believed, that he was born in France around
1690 and came to America around 1711 on the sailing ship
The Neptune.
The facts, as we have now discovered, are that
this story may have very little truth to it.
Starting in
2007, five males with the surname of Cossitt submitted specimens for 37
allele marker y-DNA testing.
In the more than 14 generations (when you count
both up and down) only 1 mutation in 185 tests was found.
With these five tested males we knew that the most
recent common male ancestor was Rene Cossitt.
For many years
we knew of a group of people in Canada with the surname of Cossette.
The question was whether they were related to
our Cossitt family, and if so, how closely related.
Thanks to Yves Cossette and Roger Cossette we
have some answers.
Both of these men submitted to the same y-DNA
testing and there was an exact match of y-DNA allele between them and
the five Cossitt males who were previously tested.
This means that the most recent common ancestor
between the two families would most likely be a very close ancestor to
our Rene Cossitt.
In 2010 The
Cossitt Family Association employed a bilingual genealogy expert who
specialized in the 18th
century French regional history to search records in France.
While two scenarios were proposed, when the
findings of the French genealogist were augmented with the genealogy
history that the Cossette families have maintained, the following
appears to be more probable.
1. N. Cosset – No date or place of birth but the following can be gleaned from records in Vendee. (N Cosset had two sons.)
o Child of N. Cosset –
2)
François Cosset born abt.
1599 in Saint-Etienne des Loges –
Married Jeanne Macouin.
o
Child of N. Cosset – 2)
Jacques Cosset born abt. 1607 in Saint-Etienne des Loges –
Married Renee Macouin born abt. 1616 same village.
o
Child of Jacques Cosset
and Renee Macouin–
3) Jean
Cosset born 1634 or 1642 in Saint-Etienne des Loges?; died in
Neuville
on November 13, 1687 (at age 53?) –married Marguerite (Loy or Eloy) Héloy dit Auby, (1651 – 1728) on February 12, 1668 in
Chateau-Richer Quebec City, Quebec.
·
o
Child of Jean Cosset and Marguerite–
4)
John (Jean) Cosset born
abt. 1670 – died 1687 w/o children
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
Marie Cosset
(1672 – 1705) – married Bransard
o
Descendants of Marie Cosset are living in Canada with the name of
Bransard
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
François
Cosset (1674 – 1742)
o
Descendants of François Cosset are living in Canada with name of
Cossette
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
Pierre Cosset born
1678 – died before 1681 census
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
Marguerite Cosset (1681 – after
1725) – married Baribeau
o
Descendants of Marie Cosset are living in Canada with the name of
Baribeau
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
Alexis Cosset born
1683 – died October 10, 1687
·
o
Child of Jean
Cosset
and Marguerite–
4)
The Cossette
families have traced their ancestors back more generations than our
Cossitt side and they have records that show Jean Cosset (our Rene’s
proposed father) owned land near Donnacona: it is 80 kilometers after
Trois-Rivières (3 Rivers) and 40 kilometers before Quebec City.
The following
is how our Rene may have got on
The Neptune
and was taken by the British as a prisoner of war:
René Cosset
lived at the Bourbon fortress (Fur Trading Post) situated in Upper
Canada 1704 to 1709.
His actual career between March 1709 and August
1710, is unclear so we can only speculate how and why he would have been
then found in New England?
He could have left the Bourbon fortress in the
north for France at the end of the summer of 1710 aboard
The Phoenix,
a ship bound for the port of La Rochelle with a cargo of furs.
(a)
The Phoenix would have made a stop in
Tadoussac or Quebec like in Acadie or Newfoundland (Plaisance) before
crossing the Atlantic. Rene Cosset would have found himself in Acadie and
thereafter in New England.
(b) If he did
sail to France, he would have then embarked on
The Neptune
in June 1711 for Acadia and Quebec but was intercepted by the English at
the beginning of August close to Newfoundland. He would have refused to
return to France and would have been released on his word to establish
himself in New England. He would have fallen in love with Ruth Elisabeth
Porter which could explain why he did not want to return to France.
(c) He could
also have left Bourbon fortress the summer of 1710, unloaded in Quebec
and continued his career travelling in the west.
He would have been found thereafter in New
England trapping and trading furs with the English.
(d) He could
also have left Bourbon fortress in 1714 during the evacuation and
arrived in England, refused to return to France and then decided to come
to New England.
In this case, the history of his arrival
starting from France via
The Neptune does not seem likely anymore.
We have all
been told that our Rene Cossitt taught French to earn a living once he
settled in Connecticut.
Initially, Rene could not sign. Consequently, it
appears doubtful that Rene Cosset, the ancestor of the Cossitt family in
North America earned his living by teaching French before marrying.
However if he controlled a little English, he could have taught French
without knowing how to write it.
If this
scenario is correct, then Jean Cosset, the father of our Rene Cossitt is
the most recent common ancestor of all Cossitt and Cossette families in
North America.