The LeGere family originally came from the Dijon and Normandy areas of France; descendants of the Merovingian kings and lords of the surrounding region. Arriving in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in the middle 1600s, the family quickly assimilated to the wildness of Nova Scotia. Jacques dit Larosset Leger arrived as part of the French contingent, ready to conquer and settle in "New France." Some of the Legere men married native American women; one of whom was a daughter of Henri Membertou, the first Mic'Mac native to be baptized by the French priests at the age of 103 and the leader of the Mic'Mac nation. When the French were expelled from Acadia, many went south to the United States, even to Louisiana. The ancestors of Henry Joseph Legere of South Dakota married into Italian, Austrian, and Russian families, giving them a diverse background of experience and talents. Descendants of the Merovingian kings, the Legere family is spread across the Americas, adding to the American fabric.