Robert VAILLANCOURT

  General Notes:

The Vaillancourt (or sometimes Anglicized to Smart) name can be traced all the way by to the early 1200's in Normandy. In fact, in 1220 an abbey was built on land that had been given by Guillaume D'Abberville on his property at Thum. The abbey was given the name "de Villencourt" because that is where the court of Count William of Ponthieu would have been held. In 1195, he had married Alice of France, the daughter of Louis VII, King of France, so his Court held considerable clout. Unfortunately, he died within a year of the founding of the abbey (his heirs would eventually produce two kings of England, Edward I and II) By 1662 during the Wars of Religion, the seat of abbey moved to Abbeville, the capital of Ponthieu, for greater safety.

While we can't make a direct connection to the ancestor Robert Vaillancourt, it is interesting to note that his birthplace is within a dozen leagues of the small community of Willencourt in the Pas de Calais district.

Robert married Jacqueline PAPIN.