(L) Robert de la Berge was born in  Colomby-sur-Thaon, France in 1638.  He came

to Quebec in 1658.  (R) Pierre (Peter) Laberge - born St. Constant,, QC in 1822 and

immigrated to the United States to St. Joseph, MO in 1867.
 

Maison Laberge.  Built in 1674 is one of the oldest houses in Canada.  I am now
the owner of it and am in the process of restoring it.

While there have been many notable Laberges who were descendants of

Robert de la Berge,  it is my opinion that the two most notable were
Captain Joseph Marie LaBarge (L) and my father, Dr. Walter Barber LaBerge (R).

My Father's Side: LaBerge

On my father's side, my ancestor Robert de la Berge came from Normandy,
France to Quebec, Canada in 1658.  The house that he built in the town
of L'Ange Gardien on the banks of the St. Lawrence river near Quebec City
stands to this day.  All of the LaBerges in North America are descendants
of Robert de la Berge. 

The earliest known ancestor is Robert's grandfather, Jean de la Berge who
was born around 1590 and lived in the small farming village of Colomby sur
Thaon (where Robert was born), just west of Caen.  Prior to that, the name disappears.  It is unknown where Jean was born. 
 

I have posted information on the LaBerge family at:  LaBerge Info

Maison Laberge was built originally by Nicolas Durand about 1660 out

of wood with a stone chimney.  In 1663, Nicolas Durand died and his

wife, Francoise Gosse married Robert de la Berge.  Before they retired

they expanded the wood house to the west and added a chimney.  In

1759 the British attacked and burned the house to the ground.  The

house was rebuilt with stone walls in 1760 using the surviving chimneys.

Around 1810 it was again expanded to the west and a false chimney was

added.  The house remained in the Laberge family until 1970 when it
was sold to Jacques Gagnon and his wife France Maës.  On June 13, 2011

I purchased the house and am in the process of restoring it.  It is

classified as a "Monument Historique Classe" certified by the Ministry of

Culture & Communication (MCCCF).  Link

Photos from my visit on August 6th, 2010.  Photos

How is the Laberge name spelled and why?  Laberge Name Spelling

Please contact me if you would like me to send you  my ancestry
wall chart, list of ancestors & descendants or GED file.

My Mother's Side:  Sammon

          Thomas Sammon                                Howard Sammon

My mother, Patricia Anne Sammon LaBerge, was the descendant of
Thomas Sammon (b. 6/2/1817) who came over from Galway, Ireland to

New York in 1836 and lived in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and St. Louis. He

later moved to Galena, Illinois and then  Rockford, Illinois where he farmed
until 1875.  He then moved to Guthrie County, Iowa and settled in

the little town of Bayard where he had a 160 acre farm.  He served

in the Civil War.  Thomas had seven children with Julia McKenna.
His fifth child was Edwin Sammon who would marry Emma Duffy.  Edwin's
& Emma's oldest son, Howard (my grandfather), grew up in Baryard

and became a bank president in Chicago, lost it all in the great depression
and then successfully rebuilt the bank.  My grandmother, Marion Haggerty
Sammon, was a fascinating person who traveled all over the world.

It was hard to discuss a part of the world that she had not been to.

For further information on the history of the Sammon family, please

read the SammonFamilyAlbum written by Patricia Sammon LaBerge

and Dr. Jeanne LaBerge.
 

My earliest known maternal ancestor is Thomas Sammon's father,
Thomas and his wife Marcella O'Brien.

Please contact me if you would like me to send you  my ancestry
wall chart, list of ancestors & descendants or GED file.

Information on the Sammon family name:  Sammon Name Origin.pdf

Where did the Sammons come from in Ireland?  Thomas Sammon came over
from Galway.  My uncle Mike thought they came from the city of Garbally.
Here is a map showing the number of phone listings of Sammons by
county (found on eicomphonebook.ie)  I have also attached a population
density map.  The greatest numbers are in the Dublin/Kildare/Wicklow
area and the Clare/Galway/Mayo area.

Sammon_Family_History.htm (written by Michael Sammon)

Sammon Residential Phone Listing By County

Population Density Map by County