Gaspesian Heritage WebMagazine

The earliest recording of the Béchervaise name is that of Colinus of St. Laurent 1331 -- the first member of the family appearing in Jersey records.

The publication, Cemetery Heritage in Quebec: A Handbook, has just been released. The book, published by QAHN and written by Matthew Farfan, project leader of QAHN's Cemetery Heritage Inventory and Restoration Initiative (CHIRI), is available in softcover format.

This sculpture, by Québec artist Yves Trudeau, was completed in 1984 and offered to the Town of Gaspé by the Government of Québec in honor of the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in Gaspé. “Hard edge” in its expression and with “minimalist” tendencies, the Discovery Place Monument explores the historic events of 1534, reminding us of Cartier’s caravel with its forecastle, deck and sails - a ship’s prow, waves, a beach and the Indigenous settlement that once existed where the monument now stands.

As World War I was beginning, in October 1914; Gaspé Bay became the rallying point for an imposing Canadian war fleet on its way to Europe. The fleet included 31 ships, 31,300 men, 8,000 horses and some thirty trucks. At the end of the War, during the summer of 1919, the Cenotaph was erected in Gaspé to commemorate the 38 Gaspesians who fell on the field of honour.

The son of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the promoter of the Suez and Panama canals, Frenchman Jacques de Lesseps (1885-1927) was a pioneer of aviation. Second pilot to cross the English Channel in 1910, and the first to fly over Montreal and Toronto (in the same year), this hero was decorated for his endeavors during World War I (1914-1918).

Although Jacques Cartier has planted five crosses during his travels from 1534 and 1535-36, only one, planted in Gaspé in July 1534, marks his official taking possession of the new territory on behalf of the king of France, Francis I. On August 25, 1934, during the 400th anniversary celebrations of the arrival of Cartier in Gaspé, the Historic Sites and Monuments of Canada unveiled a cross in Gaspé made of granite measuring 10 meters high and weighing 29 tons.

The Jacques Cartier Monument National Historic Site is composed of six cast-iron stelae in shapes that recall the flat pebbles of the Gaspé Peninsula beaches, the mountainous profile of Forillon National Park of Canada and the standing stones of Brittany. The bas-reliefs on the stelae portray the principle scenes of the historic encounter between Europeans and Amerindians on July 24, 1534 when Jacques Cartier erected a cross on the shore of Gaspé Bay before a group of troubled Kwedech (Iroquois).

Since the Gulf of St. Lawrence was a strategic spot for enemy invasions (German submarines were known to be there starting in 1941), Gaspé became a strategic spot for the Ministry of National Defence. A naval base with 3000 men was built at Sandy Beach in order to patrol the Gulf. Strategic forts were sprinkled over the territory, and remnants of that time still exist today, such as the Fort Peninsula galleries at the entrance to Forillon National Park, the Fort Ramsay naval base at Sandy Beach, and the shoreline batteries at Cap-aux-Os and Fort- Prével.

Around the middle of the 19th century, the great Irish famine brought thousands of impoverished families to America. One of the immigrant ships, the Carricks of Whitehaven, went down off Cap-des-Rosiers in 1847. Of the 187 passengers on board, 87 perished at sea and 100 survivors were taken in by families in the village.

Fauvel Monument
The Fauvel Monument was erected in honour of William LeBoutillier Fauvel (1850-1897), on the day of his burial 1897.

Originally from Jersey Island, William Fauvel was without a doubt one of New Carlisle’s most illustrious citizens ever.Son of John Fauvel, he managed one of the town’s long disappeared landmarks, LeBoutillier Brothers Store.He was mayor of New Carlisle from 1889-1897. He was elected as the county’s first federal deputy in 1891, and re-elected in 1896.