What is "beaupre"

Beaupre (originally Beaupré) is a primarily Catholic family that lives mostly in northern New England and Michigan.

The history of the Beaupre family can be accurately traced to about AD 1045 to 1050. Ancestors of this family may well have fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy defeated King Harold of England, making himself King of England, yet still only the Duke of Normandy. The current age of the Beaupre family name is approximately 960 years.

One ancient pedigree is that of Sir Edmonde Beaupre of Beaupre Hall, Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, he is descended from:

1. Senulph Tempore H.2. apud Lyn Epi' in Norfolk
2. Robert fitz Senulf de Lyn
3. Warren fitz Rob. de Lyn
4. Gilbert fitz Warren de Lyn m. Richell dau. of Ernald Bardwell
5. John fitz Gilberti m. Christian dau. & co-heir of Sir Thomas St Omer, knight, Lord of Well in Norfolk
6. Richard le fitz John le fitz Gilbert dicte quoqe Beawpre m. Katherine dau. of Osbert Mountfort, Regis King Edward II
7. Sir Thomas Beaupre, knight d. during the reign of King Richard II m. Joane dau. of Richard Holbiech of Lincolnshire
8. Nicholas Beaupre m. Margaret dau. of Richard Holbiech
9. Thomas Beaupre m. Margaret dau.of John Meeres of Lincolnshire
10. Thomas Beaupre m. Margaret dau. of Robert Ashfield of Stow Langtofte in Suffolk, during the reign of King Edward IV
11. Nicholas Beaupre m. Margaret eldest dau. & co-heir of Thomas Foderinghay, Lord of South Acre, Alderford & Dorewards Hall in Bocking Essex. His other dau. Christian Foderinghay, m. John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford.
12. Edmonde Beaupre m. 1. Margery dau. of Sir John Wiseman 2. Katherine dau. of Phillip Bedingfield, a relative of Sir Henry Bedingfield.

Edmonde Beaupre of Beaupre Hall, was the last of the male line of his Beaupre family. This Beaupre line therefore became extinct in 1567. By his wife Katherine, he had one daughter, Dorothy, who m.

1. Sir Robert Bell d. 1577, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
2. Sir John Peyton, Lieutenant of the Tower of London.

Eventually, members of the Beaupre family moved to Quebec, Canada to a town now known as Beaupre. Ste. Anne's Cathedral is located there. The name was probably the result of settlers taking names descriptive of their settlement locations.

Gradually the Beaupre family has moved down to New England, in the United States. This is considered by much of the family to be the 'home area' although parts of the family have also moved to ( Biloxi, Mississippi), Minnesota, York, South Carolina and to both Wolfe Island, Ontario and Winnipeg, Canada; Chiemsee, Alaska; the Dakotas; Heerlen, Netherlands; and even Baghdad, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Others have moved down to Michigan from Quebec around the middle 19th century.

The Beaupre family has recently mixed with the German Kilian family, which has ancestors who lived in Germany, Poland and possibly even Russia.

Beaupre or Beaupré may refer to:

• The surname Beaupre, found mostly in Canada, the United States and parts of England.
• Beaupré, Quebec, a ville in the Canadian province of Quebec
• Beaupré Cove, a cove in Graham Land.
• The town of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, Canada, not far from Quebec city.
• The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, a Roman Catholic sanctuary in the town of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, Canada.
• Old Beaupre Castle, a ruined castle near Cowbridge, Wales.
• Beaupre Hall, a former home of the Beaupres in Outwell, Norfolk, England, demolished in 1966.
• Beaupre parachute system used in Project Excelsior.