Francois Noel Vanasse was born around 1642 in the parish church of St Maclou in the city of Rouen  , the capital of the French province of Normandy . Today this is in the French department of Seine Maritime . Francois was the son of Paul Vanasse and Barbe Monsel and it is believed that he immigrated to New France in 1665 .

The next year 1666 a census  was held thoughout the colony and Francois "Vannart" was listed in the region of Trois Rivieres as being 24 years of age and an employee of Jean Cusson.

Francois Noel purchased a piece of land measuring 2 acres on January 1 , 1669 in the vicinity of Champlain . Jean Cusson , the man for whom Francois had been working was the local notary  at Cap de la Madeleine so it should not surprise us that he would draw up the marriage contract between Francois     Noel and Jeanne Fourrier on August 2 1671 . Jeanne  , the daughter of Pierre Fourrier and Jeanne Busson , had already been married to Jean Baillon and was a 19 year old widow. This took place at Cap de la Madeleine across the river from Trois Rivieres .

In the 1681 census Francois and family are still living in the area of Champlain . As of this point the young Vanasse family had stayed on the north side of the Saint Lawrence River.Things  however would change as it is believed that the Vanasses moved across to Baie St Antoine on the river's south side in 1683 .

In 1686 we find them in Trois Rivieres maybe because on March 10  of that year Joseph Petit dit Bruno , a local seigneur , gave Francois Noel the job of supervising his lands in the region of Trois Rivieres . This was a seven year contract so the family stayed at Trois Rivieres until 1690 .

The next that we hear from them is in the early 1700s when they are at Baie du Febvre on the south river in the region of Yamaska . From this homestead son Francois Vanasse dit Precourt would stay at Baie du Febvre , Nicolas  was a voyageur to the West but when he returned he settled at  Maskinonge  , Etienne would move to Saint Francois du Lac which was nearby , Sebastien would cross the river north to Louiseville in Maskinonge . Francois Noel had passed into eternity by the time that Etienne married in 1717 . It is presumed that Francois Noel and Jeanne died at Baie du Febvre .

The Vanasse family then added different surnames to distinguish the branches . The descendants of Nicolas took Vertefeuille , those of Sebastien took Bastien and those of Francois took Precourt . The ancestors of Etienne kept Vanasse plain and simple . One of the descendants of Nicolas Vanasse dit Vertefeuille , Louis Amable in the late 1700s in turn became Louis Amable Vanasse dit Beauvais to distinguish himself from others in the Vertefeuille line .