When Mona and I decided on France as a destination, we wanted to have a chance to visit some of the places her ancestors may have come from, when they left France for Canada. Mona's family name is Turenne, which is NOT a common name in Canada. We also discovered it's not that common in France either. There was a Marechal de Turenne, who is famous as a military strategist for Napoleon, and the Village of Turenne in the Dordogne et Perigord region of Limousin province.


We had copies of family records in Canada that go back to the early 1700's at Port-Royal(Acadie). We didn't have anything for France, other than a genealogical report that indicated her family name was probably assumed by an early family member who had either come from the Turenne area, or served with Turenne troops.


So...we decided to visit Turenne. The family may have never lived in the castle, but they likely lived NEAR it at some point. (grin)..

We picked up a rental car in Brive, and set out for the loonng drive to Turenne - 17 kms. The road was pretty good, but very winding. After 20 minutes driving, I was getting tired when we saw the signs for Turenne! It was exciting for both of us...