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The
Antaya family name The origins of the name “Antaya” are unknown to us today; its original meaning was long ago lost. Moreover, because François Pelletier could neither write nor sign his name, no original spelling of this sobriquet exists. Nonetheless, genealogist Louise Pelletier, a descendant of ancestor Guillaume Pelletier living in Sorel, contends that “the veritable origins of the name Antaya are of Montagnais roots,” and that the name likely appeared for the first time in 1641 as “Antanyé” or “Antangé.” She cites as her source a map of Québec dating to 1641 that shows, she says, the “location of an Indian cabin close to the Canardière Brook at Notre-Dame des Anges.” Although the name written on the map is illegible in the copy, Mrs. Pelletier confirms that it is “Antanyé” or “Antangé,” and that it is “probably a Montagnais name.” There is however a genealogist who does not accept the assertions made by Louise Pelletier. Yves J. Antaya, originally from British Colombia, has translated her text under the title “The Antaya Family Story.” He holds that the name is likely not Montagnais (an Algonquian language) but rather Huron (an Iroquois language). In his translation, he indicates some typical Montagnais words, such as “Nikabau” and “Pachabanokoué,” stating that these words hardly resemble the name “Antaya.” In addition, he cites an old French-Huron dictionary, written by the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, in which appear “antaye” and “ataya,” words that mean, respectively, “by the lands” and “tobacco.” Indeed, the true meaning of “Antaya” remains a mystery. All the same, we can state confidently that the first time that the name “Antaya” appears in the archives of New France is in a Becquet notarial contract dated August 22, 1667: Marguerite Morisseau is identified as “the wife of François Pelletier dit Nontayé.” Moreover, a few months later, on October 4th, according to the deliberations of the Prévôté de Québec, Marguerite is simply “the wife of Antaya.” Later, in 1675, François and Marguerite purchased the Seigneury d’Orvilliers, which shortly thereafter became the Seigneury d’Antaya. Ultimately, it was François and Marguerite’s children who would bear the name “Antaya” and transmit it to their children, who would themselves eventually follow suit. Now, about a year before the first appearance of “Antaya,” namely in June 1666, François Pelletier was among the 300 French and Indians led by Captain Pierre de Saurel against the Iroquois who had killed and captured six or seven French soldiers. Did François perform some meritorious action during this campaign to earn him a nickname? Given that this was an expedition against the Iroquois, we might wonder which tribe of Indians was accompanying Captain de Saurel. At the time, the French maintained relations principally with Algonquian tribes, such as the Micmac, the Montagnais, the Algonquin, the Attikamek, the Nipissing, the Abenaki, the Ottawa and the Ojibway. Does the name “Antaya” therefore come from an Algonquian language? Or is it perhaps due to François’ 1660 marriage with Dorothée, the “sauvagesse” mentioned in the Jesuit Journal? Or is it linked to no specific event whatsoever? It is possible that it is a nickname given him by his friends and neighbors in Sillery, whether they be Indian or not; or perhaps by those with whom he traded elsewhere. François was after all an experienced “coureur de bois” and would have undoubtedly had contacts throughout Indian society at the time. For now, the matter of the origins of the name “Antaya” remains a mystery; perhaps one day a definitive response will be discovered.
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©Association des Familles Pelletier Inc. |
