My interest in genealogy began in January 1977 when I watched Roots, an American television miniseries on ABC-TV based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family.  My parents pronounced "Rioux" as "Rio" like the Rio Grande River or Rio de Janeiro not like the French pronunciation "Ree-ou" (roll the "R").  As a child born and raised in El Campo, Texas, USA, our family would go to a family reunion on my mother's German side and there would be hundreds of people but on my father's side, I only knew my father's sister, his half-sister, his father and step-mother, and his grandfather and grandmother.  When I would travel to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc., I would look in the telephone books (back when there were large printed telephone books) in the hotel room and found no one with my last name.  I realized that there were very few Rioux's in the USA as these were huge cities compared to El Campo, Texas, USA (about 8,000 in 1965).  I was born on 26-Jun-1947, my father died on 10-Sep-1959, my grandfather died on 28-Feb-1974, and my mother died on 24-Jul-1975.  I have been an amateur genealogist since first researching my Rioux ancestry in 1985 when my grandmother, wife, and I traveled to Fall River, Massachusetts, USA.  We had been told that my grandfather was born there, that my great-grandparents were married there, and the names of my great-grandfather's parent's names.  We found the American-French Genealogy Society originally in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA, on the second floor of the LeFoyer Club, a French Canadian social organization, but now in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA.  The President Lucille Rock looked through their collection and was able to trace my ancestors back to Jean Riou in about an hour.  Several years later, Father Dennis Boudreau did charts of all my Canadian-French ancestors.  I first traveled to the birthplace of Jean Rioux in Ploujean near Morlaix, France, in 1990 seeing his home, the church where he was baptized, holding the church records of his baptism, and making copies of church records.  From www.familysearch.org, Rioux in Southern France is a topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Old Provençal rieu (Latin rivus).  I still have not found the birth of my grandfather Adolphus Rioux supposedly on 10-Dec-1885 in Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA, nor the marriage of my great-grandparents Joseph Ernest Rioux and Matilda "Maggie" Beaumont (possibly Couillard) supposedly on 10-Jul-1882 in Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA.

In late 2020, I asked the American-French Genealogy Society to try to find the marriage of my fraternal great grandparents Joseph Ernest Rioux and Matilda "Maggie" Beaumont [Rioux] and gave them the information that I had.  On 28-Jan-2021, they informed me (a) that they had found that the daughter of Matilda "Maggie" Beaumont [Rioux], Matilda "Mattie" Beaumont [Rioux, Fetzer], had listed her mother's maiden name as Beauchémin on her 14-Apr-1939 Social Security Application; (b) that the father of Matilda "Mattie" Beaumont [Rioux, Fetzer] was Joseph Alexandre Adelphis Couillard de Beaumont who was born on 21-Mar-1858, married on 10-Jul-1881, and died on 01-Feb-1889 when "Mattie" was 5y/11m/16d old and Adolphus was 3y/1m/22d old; (c) that the mother of  Matilda "Mattie" Beaumont [Rioux, Fetzer] was Domathilde Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux] who born on 28-Jul-1865, married on 10-Jul-1881, and widowed on 01-Feb-1889; (d) that they could find no record of the marriage of Joseph Ernest Rioux and Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux]; and (e) that they could find no record of the birth/baptism or the adoption of Matilda "Mattie" Beaumont [Rioux, Fetzer] or Adolphus Rioux.

I am not a biological Rioux!  What a shock!  Ancestry.com DNA confirms this because (a) a 3rd cousin (if I were a Rioux) with whom I have communicated had an Ancestry.com DNA test done and she does not show up as a match and (b) there are several matches with people with the last name of Beaumont and Beauchémin.

What an unnecessary lie!  Joseph Alexandre Adelphis Couillard de Beaumont was baptized in the Catholic Church, married in the Catholic Church, and his funeral was held in the Catholic Church.  Domathilde Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux] was baptized in the Catholic Church, married in the Catholic Church, and was married to Joseph Alexandre Adelphis Couillard de Beaumont when he died.  Joseph Ernest Rioux was baptized in the Catholic Church and was never married.  Thus there was no impediment to them being married in the Catholic Church or adopting her children.  Domathilde Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux] (a) listed a totally fictitious father's name of Justin Beaumont and mother's name of Catherine Dupree on her death certificate and in her obituaries (1 & 2) and (b) she gave an invalid marriage date to Joseph Ernest Rioux of 10-Jul-1882 when she actually married her first husband on 10-Jul-1881.  Joseph Ernest Rioux and Domathilde Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux] gave invalid information to my fraternal step-grandmother Mildred Anita Wallace [Rioux] for their oral history.  I do not believe that Adolphus Rioux ever knew that Joseph Ernest Rioux was not his biological father as he was just 3 when he died.  Joseph Ernest Rioux listed his wife's true maiden name of Beauchémin on his Social Security Application.  When I was about 5 years old, I remember seeing Joseph Ernest Rioux and Domathilde Matilda "Maggie" Beauchémin [Beaumont, Rioux] in Palacios, Texas, USA, before she died on 11-Apr-1952 and he died on 27-Jul-1952.

I have adopted a convention to record people's names in the following order: (a) the first and middle names of the person found in the earliest document, (b) alternate first and middle names in parentheses, (c) nicknames in quotes, (d) the last name found in the earliest document, then (e) each married last name in chronological sequence.  As an example, my mother was baptized "Arleene Ann Wendel" (there were no birth certificates issued by Texas, USA, at the time of her birth), "Anna" was used before college, "Anne" was used after college, she married "Putnam" then they were divorced, she married "Rioux" (my father) then he died, and finally she married "Winstead" thus her name at the end was "Arleene Ann (Anna Anne) Wendel Putnam Rioux Winstead".  Only the part of the name is used at the recording of an event thus when she married "Winstead" her name is listed as "Arleene Ann (Anna Anne) Wendel Putnam Rioux".

I have included the latitude and longitude of a place in the link to a map so that you may enter the latitude and longitude into your GPS system to give you directions when driving to the location.

Jean Riou was born to Joannes (Jean Jan) Keroc'hiou (Roc’hiou) & Marguaretta (Marguerite) Guéguen and was baptized on March 20, 1652, at Notre Dame Catholic Church, in the village of Ploujean near the town of Morlaix in the Brittany part of France about 0.6 miles from a river that leads to the English Channel some 7.5 miles away.  Robert Davidson explains the name Keroc'hiou as "Ker" is a preix meaning hamlet or house, "Roh" pronounced like "Rok" means rock or castle in toponmy, the the suffix defines "Hiou" atricle, plural and diminutive thus Keroc'hiou could be translated as "Castle Rocks".  I have been unable to find documentation of Jean's crossing from Morlaix to Québec but it would be sometime after say his 14th birthday on March 20, 1666, and before his contract of marriage on December 26, 1677 so that narrows it down to an 11.77 year range.  Jean came to Île d'Orléans which is an island in the Saint Lawrence Seaway about 3.3 miles northeast of Québec City in Canada.  Jean had a contract of marriage with Catherine Leblond by the notary Moreau on the December 26, 1677, and by the notary Aubert on March 7, 1678.  Jean married Catherine Leblond on October 1, 1678 at Sainte-Famile-de-l'île-d'Orléans Catholic Church in the northwest area of Île d'Orléans.  Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond had 8 children: Nicolas, Jean, Antoine, Jean-Baptiste, Vincent, Catherine, Pierre, and Marie-Madeleine.  Nicolas and Vincent both married and had families, Marie-Madeleine became a nun, and the others died at an early age or did not marry.  Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond owned 2 tracks of land on Île d'Orléans, later traded these 2 tracks of land for a huge track of land around Trois-Pistoles about 115 miles northeast of Québec City on the eastern shore of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and founded the town of Trois-Pistoles in 1697.  Jean Riou died before August 13, 1710.  Jean Riou's grandfather's last name was Keroc'hiou, Jean Riou's father's last name was Roc'hiou, and when Jean Riou was married his last name was Riou.  The "x" was added to Riou to become Rioux during Jean Riou's lifetime as the last letter in French is not pronounced thus the "x" is silent.  Virtually everyone in Canada and the United States of America with the last name of Riou or Rioux is the descendant of Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond.

Father Gérard Lebel, C.Ss.R., published "Nos Ancêtres Québec, Volume 2, Biographie d'Ancêtres", Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, C. P. 1000, Sainte-Anne-de­Beaupré, Québec, Canada, G0A 3C0, 1981, ISBN 2-89238-233-5.  There are 24 volumes containing the history of the early settlers of Québec.  Volume 2 contains the history of 24 of the early settlers of Québec including Jean Riou.
Cover  Jean Rioux Drawing  Riou-x Crest  Jean Rioux History

Mr. J.-François Beaulieu published "Généalogie Descendante (en lignée directe) de Jean Riou & Catherine Leblond, 1678-1987, Premier Seigneur sédentaire de la Seigneurie Riviére Trois-Pistoles", © J.-François Beaulieu, Les Éditions Razades Enr., C. P. 969, Trois-Pistoles, Québec, Canada, G0L 4K0, July 1987, ISBN 2-920829-01-7.  This is a 452 page genealogy of the male descendants of Jean Rioux & Catherine Leblond.  He had made corrections and additions to this information and had been researching the female descendants.  His computer information contains data not published in his book such as birth data.
Cover  Autograph  Foreword  About Mr. J.-François Beaulieu

I had a very good friendship with Mr. J.-François Beaulieu and on Sunday, 17-Aug-1997, he gave me a digital copy of all his current computer information on the male and female Rioux's with no restrictions.  Because he was working on the 2nd volume of his book, I suggested (1) that I would not sell his computer information, (2) that I would not give his computer information in whole or substantial part to anyone else, and (3) that I could give information to users requesting individual or direct line data.  If you need help with your direct line, please send an e-mail to Tom Rioux at Contact with as much information as you have.

The Association des familles Riou-x d'Amérique inc. and the Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Trois-Pistoles inc. published "Dictionnaire Généalogique Familles Riou-x, Descendance de Jean Riou & Catherine Leblond, 1678-2001, Tome 1 A-I and Tome 2 J-Z", © AFRA-SHGTP, C. P. 208, Trois-Pistoles, Québec, Canada, G0L 4K0, June 2001, ISBN 2-922756-07-6.  Tome 1 A-I is a 594 page and Tome 2 J-Z is a 704 page genealogy of the male descendants of Jean Rioux & Catherine Leblond.  To order this book, go to Société historique et généalogie de Trois-Pistoles inc. then "Publications" then "Dictionnaire généalogique des Familles Riou-x les 2 tomes".
Cover  Foreword
Rioux Crest from l'Association des familles Riou-x d'Amérique inc.
la Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Trois-Pistoles inc. Crest
Jean Riou Early History

Dr. Benoît Grenier, Professor, Director of the Department of History, University of Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, published "Jean Rioux: émigrant breton, seigneur canadien" in "Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest", Volume 111, Number 2 (Summer 2004), p. 73-88
Jean Rioux : émigrant breton, seigneur canadien

Ploujean is a small village northeast of Morlaix in the Brittany area of France.  Jean Riou was born and baptized in Ploujean.  The marble fountain used to baptize Jean is still in the Notre Dame Catholic Church in Ploujean (see Photo 4).  Morlaix has the River of Morlaix which goes to the English Channel where the tides are 27.2 feet.  Today, Morlaix has a lock on the river where many boats are docked.  Jean's birthplace is some 0.255 miles (1,346 feet) from this river then 6.6 miles to the English Channel.  It is very possible that Jean learned to sail on this river.
Map of Ploujean 48°36'21.04"N,3°50'0.15"W  Wikipedia entry for Ploujean
Map of Notre Dame Catholic Church in Ploujean where Jean Rioux was baptized 48°36'19.51"N,3°50'2.84"W  Photo 1  Photo 2  Photo 3  Photo 4 (Marble fountain used to baptize Jean)
Map of Jean Rioux's Birthplace 48°36'17.13"N, 3°50'35.37"W  Photo 1  Photo 2  Photo 3  Photo 4  Photo 5  Photo 6  Photo 7  Photo 8

I was told that the "Ker" in "Keroc'hiou" means "village" and that the "Roc'hiou" in "Keroc'hiou" is the plural of "Roc'h".  The Keroc'hiou family owned property in Ploujean from near the village center to the Morlaix River.
Map of Keroc'hiou Chateau 48°36'7.17"N,3°50'38.68"W  Photo 1  Photo 2  Photo 3  Photo 4  Photo 5  Photo 6  Photo 7  Photo 8  Photo 9
1834 Land Plat  The Manors and Crafts of Keroc'hiou Page 1  Page 2  Page 3  Château de Keroc'hiou blogspot

Île d'Orléans is an island in the Saint Lawrence Seaway northeast of Québec City.  At the time when Jean Riou moved from Ploujean, France, to Île d'Orléans, there were as many inhabitants of the island as Québec City as it was more defensible from the Indians as they could see them canoeing out to attack and could muster their defenses.  The island was divided into parcels of land that stretched from the shore to the center of the island so that each owner would have shoreline as that established fishing rights.
Map of Île d'Orléans 46°55'46.31"N,70°55'52.3"W

Sainte Famille Catholic Church of Île d’Orléan is where Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond were married on 10-01-1678.
Map of Sainte Famille Catholic Church of Île d’Orléan 46°58'25.38"N,70°57'44.13"W  Photo

Near this church is a monument to to early settlers of Île d'Orléans with Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond listed.
Map of monument 46°58'26.66"N,70°57'48.53"W  Photo 1  Photo 2  Photo 3  Photo 4

Jean Riou and Catherine Leblond owned 2 tracks of land on Île d'Orléans.  One of the tracks at 3052 Chemin Royal north of Sainte Famille Catholic Church of Île d’Orléan and in the Saint-François region, has a monument to Jean Riou.
Map of monument 47°0'16.52"N,70°53'16.62"W  Photo 1  Photo 2

Abbreviations and Formats used in Rioux Genealogy

Jean Riou and his Ancestors

6 Famous Descendants of Jean Rioux and Catherine Leblond

Thomas Wayne Rioux  Resume  Couillard &  Beaumont Ancestors and Descendants  Rioux Ancestors and Descendants  Wendel Ancestors and Descendants