Overcoming adversity is in Francis Godon's DNA, his ancestral linage is full of fighters, movers and shakers. Before I get into his early childhood years, I want to share a bit about his ancestors and where this man came from. Extensive genealogy has been done on the Godon family with a few surprises. So as not to bore you with genealogical details I'll try to stick to just the basics.
Francis's family begins in France, In the LaRochelle area when the "Jean" family lost their lands to the Catholic church because they were Huguenots - French protestants - Elie Jean moved in the 1670's to Charlesbourg Quebec where he took up blacksmithing with his sons. In the new world he changed his name from Elie Jean to Elie Jean Dit Godon taking on the last name Godon as a tribute to the French protestants who were sometimes called Godon's or God Damned - a name that is credited to Joan of Arc.
Elie and his family son, grandson, and great grandson carried on the family business of blacksmith well into the 18th century. In 1778 Louis Godon was born - the great great grandson of Elie and son of Basile Godon. Louis became a voyager and trader and in the early 1800's he worked with Alexander Henry as a go between for the west and the east. He would bring out supplies from the east and take back furs from the west to Montreal. Louis married Louise an Assiniboine woman and in 1816 had a son Louison Godon who like his father worked the fur trade - Louison married another half-breed Isabelle Isacc and had at least 7 children 3 of whom become well known in Manitoba. One of Louison's sons was Joseph Godon who at the age of 15 killed 23 Sioux Indians at a battle of the Big mound near present day Pilot Mound MB, Joseph went on to be a buffalo hunter and farmer. Joseph's brother Gilbert Godon became notorious for being the first person charged with murder in MB after he got into a bar fight and killed a man with a hatchet. Joseph and his wife Caroline had at least 12 children one of them Jerome Godon - Francis's grandfather - Jerome married Mary Lillie who was the great granddaughter of Mary Grant - Cuthbert Grant's sister and through this linage direct ancestors of Kings of Scotland, England, France, Spain, Denmark and Norway.
Jerome had a son William in 1901 and after his death in 1918 in Sandy Bay, MB, William took his mother and 2 younger sisters with him to the Turtle Mountains on the border with North Dakota where his mother married Louis Racine Sr and his youngest sister Alice married Louis's son Louis Jr. William went further south and settled on the Chippewa reservation at Belcourt ND where he took jobs as a ranch hand and even worked in rodeo's as a bronc buster - this is where he met his wife Florence - whose first husband was killed in a rodeo accident leaving her and her daughter alone. William and Florence had 2 more sons Francis and Norman while living near Dunseith ND before having to leave the US due to trouble with the law concerning some stolen horses. William moved his family to the Canadian side of the Turtle Mountains and began to farm in the area. Francis was only 4 or 5 years old when they moved and grew up on the farm learning how to farm but also how to fish, trap, and hunt in abundant forest of the Turtle Mountains. He learned the Metis way's of surviving.
