Was Mathieu da/de COSTE'* the father of Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE'?

A Preliminary Outline

Jean or Jehan COTE'[1] dit COSTE' and Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON**, a Wyandott
(Huron-Wendat) woman****, are the ancestors of almost all people with the
surname COTE, COSTE, COSTA, COTY, CODY (and many other variants) in "North
America" today, they are estimated to have 50,000 to 100,000 living
descendants. Was Mathieu da/de COSTE', the first African known to have
lived in "Canada", the father of Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE'?


I.

- Mathieu de/da COSTE' was the first African known to have lived and worked
in what is now known as "Canada" (Acadia, Mi'kmaki[2]) in the early 1600s.

- Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE''s date and place of birth and baptism are
unknown but believed to be ca 1604.  The names of his biological parents
are not recorded, which would not be surprising if he were of Mi'kmaq and
African heritage, the only interest the European recorders had was in
recording their own children (e.g. the first European child born in
"Canada" who survived to adulthood is believed to have been born in 1648).

II.

- Mathieu de/da COSTE' was "un grumete", a translator, who knew several
languages including Mi'kmaq.  "Un grumete" was a translator who not only
learned the language but the culture of the people by living among them and
becoming part of Indigenous communities and families.  It is more than
likely that he lived in Mi'kmaki for a number of years before 1600, and had
a Mi'kmaq wife.  He worked for the Dutch and for the French; in 1605 he
arrived on the "Jonas" with Samuel de Champlain which came from La
Rochelle, FR.

- Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE', who may have been sent to France for an
education and to learn the French language and culture, perhaps with a
foster family or godparents named LOISEL, arrived ca 1634 with the fleet
"Le Saint Jean".

III.

- Mathieu de/da COSTE' signed a contract in Amersterdam to provide service
in Acadia (Mi'kmaki) to Pierre du gua de Monts, the first Governor of New
France, for the years 1609 to 1612.

- Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' worked for the second Governor of New France,
possibly also as "un grumete" or interpreter, Charles Jacques Huault de
Montmagny, who also was the first Onontiio, the head of the Franco-Indigene
alliance.

IV.

- Mathieu de/da COSTE' probably followed the tradition of marrying an
Indigenous (Mi'kmaq) woman in order to learn the language and culture of
the Mi'kmaq, his was an hereditary occupation or trade.

- Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' seems to have had a marriage arranged for him
by the Jesuits soon after he arrived in New France.  He was married to a
Huron woman 11 Nov 1635, Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON, and the couple were among
the first families established in the colony set up by the Jesuits for
their Huron-Wendat converts on the Ile d'Orleans.  Being married to a
Huron-Wendat woman would have given him the opportunity to learn the
language and culture, which he would have needed in his work for the
Onontiio.  The French appear to have had great difficulty in learning
Indigenous languages, which is why there was a great need for skilled
interpreters.

V.

- personal details about Mathieu de/da COSTE' are not known, or are lost to
history.  Again, not surprising, since Europeans had no interest in
recording African history, they would have considered Mathieu de/da COSTE'
and others as their employees.

- the early history of Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' is not known.  No record
of birth or baptism has ever been found.  Again probably not all that
surprising if he was of African-Mi'kmaq (Red-Black) ancestry, there would
have been little or no interest by Europeans in recording it.  Anne
MARTIN/MATCHONON however, might have been a half-breed with some European
ancestry; she was the daughter of Abraham MARTIN dit l'ECOSSAIS, so this
might be why their descendants were recorded.  Also they were part of the
colony established on the Ile d'Orleans by the Jesuits for their Huron
converts.  She would have been considered Huron-Wendat by her own people,
not half-breed, since the Wyandott are maternal lineal.

VI.

- descendants of Mathieu de/da COSTE' - see personal details

- descendants of Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON and Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' were
recorded***.  Noteworthy is that one of the children (a son b.  1642) was
named Mathieu.  There also was a child named Jean COTE' dit LEFRISE' (a son
b.  25 Feb 1644).  Le frise' in French means "frizzy-haired person",
perhaps this name was given to the child because he was the only one who
had "frizzy" (i.e. African) hair, while the other children of Anne and Jean
had straight hair like their Indigenous ancestors.  Also, a signature of
Jean circulating on several websites has the name as "jeancoste' ", perhaps
the name was translated later on to the French from the Portuguese "COSTE'
", the "O" with a circumflex accent denotes a lost "S".  All the children
of the second generation*** have their names recorded as "COSTE' " and not
"COTE".

Having maybe one European grandparent (Abraham MARTIN dit L'ECOSSAIS) of
three (two Indigenous, one African) might have ensured the family was
recorded, but their children are never mentioned as being the first
Europeans born in New France.  Some claim the first European child, Barbe
MEUSNIER, was born in Ville-Marie (Montreal) in 1648.

VII.

- Mathieu de/da COSTE' died ca 1623

- Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' died 27 Mar 1661 Kebek City New France (aka
QC)

===

Some references:

Mathieu DaCosta and Early Canada: possibilities and probabilities by A.J.B.
Johnston, Parks Canada, Halifax
http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/portroyal/natcul/dacosta_e.pdf

Jesuit Relations
http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/relations_01.html

Notes:

* Mathieu da COSTA; (french) Mathieu de COSTE; (dutch) Matheus de COST, een
Swart genamd Matheu

"Mathieu da Costa, an African Blackman signed a contract in Amsterdam to
provide service in Canada or Acadia to Pierre du gua de Monts for the years
1609 to 1612."

New France, 1608
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dgarneau/french4.htm

"Mattheu Da Costa, thought to be the first Black man in Canada (Acadia),
came to Canada with Samuel de Champlain...  He travelled aboard the Jonas,
which left La Rochelle, France, on May 13 [1605].  Da Costa acted as an
interpreter for the French among the Mi'kmaq natives.  Clearly, he had been
in Canada some time previous to Champlain's voyage of discovery, since
Mi'kmaq is not a European or an African language."  (Source: DaCosta 400)
http://www.dacosta400.ca/overview/overview.shtml

**Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON b. 1614 was the daughter of Abraham
MARTIN dit L'ECOSSAIS (1589-1664) and an unknown Huron-Wendat woman;
and she was the sister of MATCHONON "a Savage" (according to the Jesuits)
b.  1609 baptised 3 Nov 1634 as Joseph MARTIN and Eustache MARTIN b. 1621.

***Children of Jean/Jehan COTE' dit COSTE' and Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON

1. Louis COSTE' b.  25 Oct 1635 m.  Kebek 6 Nov 1662 Elizabeth LANGLOIS
2. Simone COSTE' b.  9 Dec 1637 m.  Kebek 16 Nov 1649 Pierre SOUMANDE
3. Martin COSTE' b.  12 Jul 1638 m.  Chateau Richer 25 July 1667 Suzanne PAGE
4. Mathieu COSTE' b.  Kebek 16 Jul 1642 m.  1669 Elizabeth GRAVELLE
5. Jean COSTE' dit LEFRISE' b.  25 Feb 1644 m.  (1) Kebek 11 Nov 1669 Anne
COUTURE (2) Kebek 25 Feb 1686 Genevieve VERDON
6.  Noël dit COSTE' b.  4 May 1646 m.  Helene GRATON
7.  Marie dit COSTE' b.  12 Jan 1648 d.  25 Jan 1648
8.  Louise dit COSTE' b.  18 Apr 1650

****Anne MARTIN/MATCHONON was of the Cord Clan.  "In 1656 people of the
Bear Clan (Attignaouantan) joined the Mohawk, people of the Rock Clan
(Arendahronon) joined the Onondaga, the people of the Cord Clan
(Attigneenongnahac) were the only ones who remained at the Ile d'Orleans
Huron-Wendat settlement.  ... Anahotaha, the Chief, was killed in
1659."
Frederick Hodge, 1906, Huron History
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/huron/huronhist.htm

Footnotes

[1] COTE' - due to the difficulty of rendering accents in some formats,
this spelling has been used.  This French word translates into English as
"Coast" as does COSTE'.  It is incorrect to translate it in English as some
do as "Side" or "Rib"; the final "E" has an acute accent in the word
meaning "Coast", the word which means "Side/Rib" does not, they are two
different words.  The family name is spelled in French as "C - O with a
circumflex accent - T - E with an acute accent".  In French, an "O" with a
circumflex accent represents "OS", over time, the "S" became silent and was
eventually replaced with the circumflex.  This family name is pronounced
"Koh-tay" hence the numerous alternate spellings in English.  The word for
"Side" in French which does not have the final accent, would be pronounced
"Kote".

[2] Mi'kmaki - the never ceded territory in the North East (the Maritimes)
of the North American continent that is the homeland of the L'nu'k people
who are more commonly known as Mi'kmaq.  Mi'kmaq is from a French rendering
of the word "nikmaq" which means "friend, ally".  The French called this
region "Acadie" or "Acadia", from a word in one of the Wabanaki languages
meaning "place" (in English the suffix "-quoddy", etc.)

===

by Anne Cote' (Annie Deer) 10 July 2008 CC License CA 2.5
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/