Cavelier Family Notes.


The Cavelier name appears twice in our family tree as the surname for both Perette, wife of Pierre Godefroy and Collette, wife of Robert LeBer. Their estimated birth dates are far enough apart that it is probable they have different parents.

Interestingly various sources link both women to the explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, though no direct evidence is yet available of a kinship between the three. The name "cavalier" is of French origin and means "knight" or "horseman".

Here are the threads for your information:

  • Perette Cavelier was born about January 1572 Caudebec-en-Caux, Normandie
    • Parents: unknown
    • Married Pierre Godefroy about 1606
    • Her daughter (our ancestor): Anne married Jean Testard in 1630 in Lintot, Rouen, Normandie, they had a daughter Jeanne Testard (Perrette’s granddaughter)
    • Perette Cavelier died sometime after 1636
    • From Je Me Souviens, (Autumn 2001):p66 – “Pierre's [Godefroy] wife, Damoiselle (noblewoman) Perrette DE CAVELIER, had a famous cousin, Rene Robert CAVELIER, Lord DE LA SALLE (1643-1687)”


  • Colette Cavelier was born about April 1605 Notre-Dame de Pitres, Les Andelys, Rouen, Normandie
    • Parents: unknown
    • Married Robert LeBer about 1625
    • Her son (our ancestor): François LeBer married Jeanne Testard in Montréal. She was the daughter of Anne Godefroy and Jean Testard mentioned above
    • From The Wreck of the LaSalle, page 31:  “…two Montreal merchants, Jacques Le Ber and Charles Le Moyne.  Le Ber was (Robert Cavelier de) La Salle's distant cousin, being the son of Robert Le Ber and his wife, Collette Cavelier, of Pitre in bishopric of Rouen.”


  • Robert Cavelier de La Salle was born 22 November 1643 in Rouen, France
    • Parents: Jean Cavelier and Catherine Geest married 1635 in Rouen
    • Siblings: Jean (a priest) and Nicolas
    • Perette would have been about 70 when he was born, Colette about 38
    • Made his home at LaChine (called Sault Saint-Louis by Samuel Champlain) near Montréal. He explored the North American continent, claiming a wide region along the Mississippi in the name of King Louis XIV