Ouvre Line

Louis Ouvre (1802-1838)

He was the great great grandfather of William Spies. His father, Louis Ouvre dit Grandlouis, was an immigrant from France. Louis Ouvre Jr. was born in Missouri and married Therese Lorrain at St. Ferdinand Church in Florissant, Missouri.

(A word about “dit” names: A dit name is an alternate name tacked onto a surname. Dit (pronounced “dee”) is a form of the French word dire, which means “to say,” and is translated as “that is to say,” or “called.” The first name is the family’s original surname, while the “dit” name is the name the person is actually “called” or known as.

Dit names were common in France and New France (North America). They were used by families, passed down for generations. Most families eventually settled on one name or the other, although it isn’t uncommon to see some siblings within the same family using the original surname, while others carried on the dit name. The use of dit names slowed dramatically during the mid-to-late 1800’s, but were used by some families into the early twentieth century.)

Here is the family tree with Louis as the root person (on the left). Click on it to make it bigger.