Association des Tremblay d'Amérique (Quebec) (Canada)

The association, based at Loretteville (Quebec), was founded on 10 April 1978. Tremblay is today the biggest French-speaking lineage in Northern America. The single root of the lineage is Pierre Tremblay, born around 1626 in Randonnai, a village (today's population, 817 habitants) located in the region of Perche in Lower-Normandy, France. On 9 April 1647, Pierre Tremblay signed a 36-month contract with the recruiting agent Noël Juchereau, and worked probably in Quebec. He later moved to Beaupré, where he married Ozanne Achon on 2 October 1657. They got 12 children, of which 10 became adults. Their six daughters are the roots of the famous Roussin, Gagné, Savard, Perron, Peymart dit Laforêt and Pelletier lineages. The for sons Pierre, Michel, Louis and Jacques founded the four branches of the Tremblay lineage. Ozanne Tremblay died on 24 December 1707, aged 75, but the death certificate of Pierre Tremblay has been lost. It is believed that he died between April 1687 and November 1689.
Source: Association's website

The flag of the association is vertically divided, on the left part white with the coat of arms of the association, on the right part white with six red diagonal stripes.

The left part of the flag is incorrect, since there should be a writing Association - des - Tremblay - d'Amérique surrounding the upper part of the shield.

The arms of the association are: "D'azur semé d'étoiles d'argent posées en cinq, deux, quatre, deux; en abîme, deux anneaux d'or entrelacés. Au chef, parties des armes du Perche et de l'Aunis, qui sont d'argent aux trois chevrons de gueules et au faucon d'or surmonté d'une couronne de vidame du même" Azure 13 mullets argent 5 + 2 + 4 + 2 surrounding two annulets or entwined the chief party Perche and Aunis, that is argent three chevrons gules gules a falcon or crowned of the same.

This description calls a few remarks:

• Since the number of stars is specified, this should not be called a semy.
• In French heraldry, the usual - and of course not common in usual language" for a ring is "annelet" and not "anneau" (as explained by Brian Timms)
• The arms of Perche are very commonly used in the region of Perche, mostly on road signs
• On the original arms of Aunis, the bird is a partridge and not a falcon
• A Vidame (from Latin "vice dominus") was in the Middle Ages the chief of an army acting on behalf of a Bishop. The title became later honorific (and equivalent to the title of Viscount) but I have not found any Vidame in Aunis, whereas the Vidame de Chartres was the lord of La Ferté-Arnault, called today La Ferté-Vidame and located ... in Perche.

The motto placed on a yellow scroll below the arms reads:

"Tremble et va sans biais"

"Tremble" is the imperative mood of the verb "trembler", to tremble. It has to be understood with - unusual in modern French - positive connotations, as "perceive in yourself all the urges and emanations of the surrounding world". There is a direct relationship with the aspen, called in French "tremble", because the least wind breeze makes its leaves tremble.

"Va" is the imperative mood of the verb "to go" and means "move to your destiny".

"Sans biais" means unbiased, that is without prevarication, cheating and rambling.

The motto can equally be read "Tremblay va sans biais", that is Tremblay lives without prevarication, cheating and rambling.
Source: Tremblay website

Ivan Sache, 7 January 2007