It Began With One
Basque Fisherman
It’s an uncommon and unusual name. Unlike others with more common surnames, there are a relatively small number of Goyetche family members. In Canada most are concentrated in Nova Scotia. Others are scattered across Canada, France, the United States, South America and the South Pacific. in the early 1970’s, inspired by conversations with my grandmother Maria of Petit de Grat, Nova Scotia, I began tracking down those who share the Goyetche surname in towns and cities across Canada and
elsewhere in the world. Thus began a life-long
journey to research our family history and
genealogy.
I discovered that, with only a few exceptions,
those who share the Goyetche surname in
North America trace their origins to Jean
Goyetche. He was a Basque fisherman born in
1763 in the Bayonne region
of France, who arrived in
North America sometime
before 1793.
It is believed he may have
spent time on the islands of
St. Pierre & Miquelon or at
Louisbourg before finally
settling in Arichat on Isle
Madame in Nova Scotia.
In the more than 225 years
since Jean’s arrival, the Goyetche family in
North America has grown to include some
2,200 descendants. They span nine
generations and encompass more than 700
family groups.
Basque whalers on the hunt - National Geographic
The Goyetche family has included a number
of colourful characters. Among them was
Martin Goyetche, who travelled with the
pirates Pierre and Jean Laffite, and married
one of the Laffite daughters; Dominique
Goyetche, who was sentenced to prison on
the island of New Caledonia in the South
Pacific; and Billy Goyetche, freight-hauler,
undertaker and police constable in St. Peter's,
NS.
Historical profiles of the islands St. Pierre &
Miquelon and of Isle Madame in Nova Scotia
include a number of references to Goyetche
family members.
2019 by Darryl Goyetche. All rights reserved
The Basques in Atlantic Canada
Basque fishermen began using Isle Madame in Nova Scotia as a summer base for their North Atlantic fishing and whaling expeditions perhaps as early as the 16th century. There is evidence they were making yearly fishing and whaling voyages to Atlantic Canada by around 1525, and possibly as many as ten years earlier. Among the attractions in that early period of European exploration were the immense herds of walrus that invaded the shores of Isle Madame on a regular basis. Even once the last walrus had left, the seas around Isle Madame continued to yield a sufficient bounty to justify a continued European presence. In time a number of the Basque fishermen, who had been using Isle Madame as a fishing station for generations, chose to settle permanently. While they were eventually assimilated, through intermarriage with their Acadian neighbors, their family names, Goyetche, DesRoches, Baccardax, and Josse (Joyce) may be found in Isle Madame to this day. On the islands of Saint-Pierre & Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland, an historical profile notes that the current population with Basque origins can trace its roots back to immigrants who came over from the mid to late 18th century. "These fishermen and peasants mostly came from Iparralde. Basque migration was at its peak at the end of the 18th century, however not all remained in Saint-Pierre & Miquelon, some returned to Iparralde after two or three years. This migration to Saint-Pierre & Miquelon was organized by the Goyetche family."
