Any Louisiana Cajuns out there?
Rhonda Richoux Fox
ancestral names on my dad's side are Arceneaux, Duhe, and Barrios,
which was also my grandmother's maiden name (and it is Spanish). I
have no idea where the name Richoux originated other than Orleans,
France, where my ancestor Jean Pierre Richoux (I think) came from.
Here's something I wrote recently in my journal:
What's a richoux?
I've been wondering lately about my name. The name of my father's
family, Richoux. All I know about it is that some guy named either
Jean Pierre or Pierre Joseph Richoux came to Louisiana from Orleans,
France in the 1700's and started making babies. I don't know anything
else about him; a man named Ronald Paul Richoux wrote a book about the
family called "Re-Shoe on the Bayou" or something like that, but I
couldn't afford the book and have never read it.
I tried looking in my French-English/English-French dictionary for a
clue to the meaning of the name, hoping to get some idea of its
origins. The closest translation I can figure is that the Richoux clan
was a bunch of happy cabbages, or laughing cabbages maybe. Does that
mean they were cabbage farmers? Does cabbage grow in France? Can a
cabbage be truly happy?
I do know that cabbage, or "choux", is a term of endearment to the
French. As in, "Je t'aime, ma petite choux!". Now that's another
thing...why is it considered a term of endearment? Who the hell wants
to be called a vegetable? And one that gives you gas, to boot! What's
up with that?
Ah, well...some of life'smysteries are not meant to be uncovered.
However, if anybody reads this who knows what the hell a richoux is,
please, let me know!
Rhonda Richoux Fox
claude Boisseau
My name is Claude Boisseau and I live in Bordeaux, France. Concerning
Richoux meaning, here is what I found on www.geneanet.fr: I quote: Richou
(the end x is not important. it represent the plural form).
"Trois souches différentes pour ce nom. D'une part le Maine-et-Loire
(variante : Richoux), où c'est un nom de personne d'origine germanique,
Ricwulf (ric = puissant + wulf = loup). D'autre part la Bretagne (22, 29),
où c'est un toponyme, nom de plusieurs hameaux (signification probable :
lieu de repos, abri). Enfin l'Ariège, où ce devrait aussi être un toponyme,
variante de "rechou" (= petit ruisseau), même si on peut aussi penser à
l'occitan "richon" (petit rire, sourire). Le dictionnaire de M.-T. Morlet
signale l'existence d'un hameau ou lieu-dit Richou à Sainte-Croix-Volvestre
(09)." " end of quote.
I translate:
Three different stock for this name: on the one hand the "Maine et Loire"
(it is a county in the Anjou region).
(Different spelling Richoux), where it is a name of anybody of origin
Germanic, Ricwulf (ric = powerful + wulf = wolf).
On the other hand Brittany (22, 29), where it is a toponym, name of several
hamlets (probable significance: resting place, shelter).
And finally, Ariège county (in the South of France), where it should also be
a toponym, alternative of "rechou" (= small brook), even if one can also
think of the occitan "richon" (small laughter, to smile). The dictionary of
M.-T. Morlet announces the existence of a hamlet or Richou locality to
Sainte-Croix-Volvestre (09).
My ancestors come frm Angers, Maine et Loire, France it is not far from
Orléans, so we could have some same links each others.
Best regards,
Claude Boisseau
"Rhonda Richoux Fox" <rhonda...@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:f0e7e477.04080...@posting.google.com...
Denis Beauregard
Fox) écrivait dans soc.genealogy.french:
>Ah, well...some of life'smysteries are not meant to be uncovered.
>However, if anybody reads this who knows what the hell a richoux is,
>please, let me know!
Richoux can be derived from Richard. In France, there are about
1 million of family names. It seems many of them are variations
of popular first names with a local taste.
Since the words were frozen only since the 1800s while the names
exist since the 1300s, you can see that in 500 years, there were
a lot of fancies in the names.
See Elizabeth as an example. It can be Betty, Betsy, Isabel,
Isabeth, Elisa, even Lisa or Liza.
Also, languages in France were somewhat naturally formed, i.e.
you had the Provencal and Occitan in the south, French in the north,
Breton in Britanny, Alsacian (derived from German) in the east.
Plus many local dialects. In England, the language was formed from
each wave of invaders so that the England as a whole seems to
follow the same rules, giving more words but less family names.
In France, it was not the new invaders that gave the new language,
but the natural change of the language mostly from Latin.
Denis
--
0 Denis Beauregard
/\/ www.francogene.com
|\ >>Adresse modifiée souvent/email changed frequently<<
/ | Société généalogique canadienne-française
oo oo Mon association a 60 ans en 2003 ! - www.sgcf.com
James LeBas
French is that good) these people:
Richoux Florian
112Bis r Anguignis 45100 ORLEANS 02 38 66 70 47
Richoux Georgette
résid Les Ombrages 2 r Winston Churchill 45100 ORLEANS 02 38 63 87 90
Richoux Philippe
112Bis r Anguignis 45100 ORLEANS 02 38 66 70 47
Richoux Pierre
10 r Jules Gouchault 45100 ORLEANS 02 38 66 61 48
Richou Philippe
11 r Jacquard 45000 ORLEANS 02 38 68 13 80
I found these names at http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/pb.cgi
This can be a fascinating undertaking. You may find a long-lost relative
thrilled to tell you about their family.
JL
"Rhonda Richoux Fox" <rhonda...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f0e7e477.04080...@posting.google.com...
Rhonda Richoux Fox
fascinated! It was so kind of you to send me that information. I'm
going to copy it and send it to my cousins, who are as curious as I
am. Whereas the elders in my mother's family shared family history
with us at an early age, the Richoux elders did not, which leaves a
hole in our history! I have such an appreciation of my family, knowing
my ancestors and the trials and tribulations that led them here, and
to each other, and through the generations. My curiosity about the
meaning of my name is silly, but my love of history is not, and I
thank you for responding to my post. Rhonda Richoux Fox
"claude Boisseau" <claude....@free.fr> wrote in message news:<4115c476$0$32536$626a...@news.free.fr>...
Rhonda Richoux Fox
to my post, and I appreciate the information. Another gentleman from
France also mentioned the different spellings of the name, and that it
meant different things in different parts of France! I had no idea I'd
learn so much from a google post! Again, thank you for your response.
Rhonda Richoux Fox
Denis Beauregard <n...@nospam.com.invalid> wrote in message news:<ungbh0ddbd1kmbunb...@4ax.com>...
> Le 7 Aug 2004 22:42:49 -0700, rhonda...@yahoo.com (Rhonda Richoux
> Fox) écrivait dans soc.genealogy.french:
>
> >Ah, well...some of life'smysteries are not meant to be uncovered.
> >However, if anybody reads this who knows what the hell a richoux is,
> >please, let me know!
>
> Richoux can be derived from Richard. In France, there are about
> 1 million of family names. It seems many of them are variations
> of popular first names with a local taste.
>
> > Denis
Rhonda Richoux Fox
It's been educational, interesting and downright kickin'. Hmmm..do you
think those people you listed would know what I was writing if I wrote
in English? I haven't used French since high school, and no Cajun
French since my grandmother died. I wouldn't know a chien from a chat
or a chapeau from a chateau. Is there an x at the end of chapeau? See
what I mean? I'm useless as a Cajun. Except that I can cook a good
gumbo, stay afloat in a pirogue, bait my own hook and stare down an
alligator. Anyway, thanks for the info...I think I will attempt a
writing campaign...most countries are smart enough to learn English as
a second language even though Americans don't take the time to learn
anything else with any fluency. Rhonda Richoux Fox
"James LeBas" <jle...@austin.rr.com> wrote in message news:<pUrRc.10688$rb2....@fe2.texas.rr.com>...
James LeBas
Why don't you compose a letter in your best pidgin-French, and email a draft
to me. My French is not too bad -- just bad enough to be cute to them.
Also, dig up or create some digital images of yourself and your family. You
can imbed them in the letter. It's somewhat of a numbers game -- you'll
need to send to 3 or 4 people to draw one response.
JL
"Rhonda Richoux Fox" <rhonda...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f0e7e477.04081...@posting.google.com...
Rhonda Richoux Fox
> The references I sent you, do they have mailing addresses?
>
> Why don't you compose a letter in your best pidgin-French, and email a draft
> to me. My French is not too bad -- just bad enough to be cute to them.
>
> news:<pUrRc.10688$rb2....@fe2.texas.rr.com>...
> > > I'm a coonass, me. You should consider writing to (or calling, if your
> > > French is that good) these people:
> > >
> > > Richoux Florian
> > > 112Bis r Anguignis 45100 ORLEANS 02 38 66 70 47
> > >
James, an update: Florian Richoux sent me an e-mail with some
interesting information on my family name. Our threads somehow ended
up on a French geneology site to which Florian subscribes, and he
contacted me. I appreciate your response, and the responses of all who
e-mailed me with information on the name "Richoux". It's been
educational, and a lot of fun! Rhonda Richoux Fox
Joe Makowiec
> James, an update: Florian Richoux sent me an e-mail with some
> interesting information on my family name. Our threads somehow ended
> up on a French geneology site to which Florian subscribes, and he
> contacted me. I appreciate your response, and the responses of all
> who e-mailed me with information on the name "Richoux". It's been
> educational, and a lot of fun! Rhonda Richoux Fox
I missed your original post, but thought I'd add - we were in Nova Scotia
this summer, right in the midst of the Congrès Mondial Acadien 2004 -
http://www.cma2004.com/ It was a truly wonderful event, and I saw a lot
of genealogy work going on. I also gather that there were a fair number
of Cajuns visiting the Maritimes. As we were searching for Scottish
ancestors, I didn't pay much attention beyond that, but you may want to
wander through the website and see if you can't find genealogy links.
--
Joe Makowiec
http://makowiec.org/
Email: http://makowiec.org/contact/?Joe