We have just celebrated Canada Day with some of our friends and families. Do we ever get to know who all our ancestors were or where they came from?
About 20 years ago, I became partially disabled and started to find out a little about my ancestors, where they came from, and why they came here. The more I found out, the more I realized that I didn’t know the whole story and maybe never would.
One night while having supper after a day working with other Quebec milk federation friends, all of whom were raised in the French culture, one of my French friends asked me, “are you Irish?” Many people say that the Ottawa Valley accent is much like that of some of our Irish ancestors. That quickly turned to some information about where my ancestors came from. The entire milk board were surprised when I informed them that my Judd ancestors had came from France in 1066 with the Norman invasion of England.
A few years after that, there was more French spoken in England than English. My Judd ancestors moved from England to Connecticut in 1633 and spent from then until 1812 moving up through Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and into Quebec and Ontario. We have many Irish ancestors, so we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We have Scottish ancestors, so we celebrate Robbiey Burn’s Day. We have many German ancestors, so we celebrate Oktoberfest. Although John the Baptist Day was originally a religious holiday, for many years it has been Quebec’s day to celebrate. I sill haven’t found out when the English celebrate.
A DNA test tells me that our family originally came from South Africa, but I haven’t had time to research that yet. The first Judd in North America was “Deacon Tom Judd” but we have celebrated several religions in our history. Politics has always been part of our life, but our family has not only helped both Abraham Lincoln (R) and Barack Obama (D) in their presidential campaigns to get elected, but has supported several parties through the years, depending what their vision was. My cousin was the head of the Treasury Board the last time Canada had a balanced budget. All that being said, I am proud to say that I am Canadian, and many of my ancestors have fought and some have died for our freedom.
I am positive that many of you will find that you have a much more interesting past than I have, when you start looking through it. Our Pontiac County is one of the most, if not the most inclusive areas to live in in the province of Quebec, where a stranger is just a friend that we haven’t met yet. Be proud of your heritage and don’t just tell your children about their ancestors, but teach them how to find out more about their past.
Remember that most wars in this world were fought over religion or language. There are more than 4,300 religions in the world, and most religions teach us how to get to a better eternal life. My closest French friend once told me, “language is like an automobile; a car is only a mode of transportation, and language is but a mode of communication.” During a visit to Quebec in 2023, Pope Francis, in an address to the people, said, “No one can declare one language, one religion, or one culture superior to another.”
Let’s not only remember and celebrate our own family heritage, but also so many other cultures that make Canada the most desired place in the world. No one is more responsible to pass on this rich heritage to our children than we are.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
