BEAULIEU Catherine Marguerite Hudon Dit

Notes:

Religion: Catholic
Jeanne-Catherine-Marguerite, baptized at L'Islet on 2 July 1681 and
buried at Riviere-Ouelle on 25 January 1754. Married in this place on
6 June 1701, to
Guillaume Paradis, son of Guillaume and of Genevieve Millouer. This
family lived at Riviere-Ouelle where they had three sons and three
daughters.

Died:
Burial: Jan 25, 1754, Riviere Quelle, New France

Catherine married PARADIS Guillaume on 06 Jun 1701 in Kamouraska, Kamouraska, PQ, Canada. Guillaume was born about 1672 in Ste-Famille, I'le D'Orleans, PQ, Canada; died before 08 Jan 1727 in Riviere Quelle, Kamouraska, PQ, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Occupation: Baker In Quebec In 1666;farmer @ Riviere Ouelle In 1681

Pierre Hudon (son of Jean Hudon and Francoise Durand) was born in
1648 or 1649 at Notre Dame de Chemille in Anjou, France. (Today the
department of Maine-Loire).
Arrived in Canada 17 Aug 1665 as a soldier in the Compagnie de
Grandfontaine of the Regiment de Carignan.
According to the census of 1666, Pierre Hudon was at Quebec. He was
a baker. He married Marie Gobeil, July 13, 1676 at Quebec. She was
born in 1658 at Poitiers,
France (daughter of Jean Gobeil and Jeanne Guiet). Pierre Hudon then
went to Riviere Ouelle, P. Q. Canada and bought a farm. It is there
that he lived all his life. We note
that at the census of 1681 that he had two guns, 2 head of cattle
and 10 acres of land under cultivation. He died April 25, 1710 at
Riviere Ouelle, P. Q. Canada. His wife
died in 1736.

He was from Notre-Dame de Chemillem eveche d'Angers, in France.

de Notre-Dame de Chemille, ar. Cholet, ev. Angers, Anjou (Maine-et-
Loire); 63 ans Riviere-Ouelle; 18 ans au rec. 66, a Quebec,
boulanger, volontaire; 32 ans au rec. 81, a
Riviere-Ouelle; arrive 17-0801665, soldat de la compagnie de
Grandfontaine au regiment de Carignan (RC).

Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu

Exactly a century ago in Quebec, the Abbot Henri-Raymond Casgrain
published a history of Riviere-Ouelle.(1) Entitled "Une paroisse
canadienne du XVIIe siecle " this
small volume, from the first chapter, launches the reader on the
track of those whom the genealogist Drouin calls the "heros of the
Riviere-Ouelle." Among the legendary
people who forced the fleet of Admiral Phips to retreat in October
of 1690 was, first and foremost, the curate, Pierre de Francheville.
He was a native Canadian, born at
Trois-Rivieres on 14 July 1649, the son of Marin Terrier de
Repentigny, Sieur de Francheville and of Jeanne Jallaut.(2)
Messengers from Ouebec had warned this young
priest that a large fleet of British and American warships was
coming up the river with the obvious intention of taking Quebec.
Since the Seigneur of la Bouteillerie was
absent, the parishioners begged their pastor to lead them in an
attempt to prevent the landing of enemy troops.(3)

THE "HEROS OF RIVIERE-OUELLE"

Abbot Casgrain wrote the following appraisal of this unique
religious leader:

"Ardent and impetuous of character, soldierly of bearing with looks
that pierced one's soul just as all the missionaries of former times:
such was the curate of
Riviere-Ouelle, who was also a pious and zealous priest."
On this October morning our "pious and zealous priest" would have
gladly exchanged his rough homespun robe for a coat of mail from the
crusades of the middle ages, so
much did he feel like the soul of a warrior. Said he to his
parishioners:(4)

"I would not acknowledge you if you show yourselves cowardly enough
to let here debark the miscreants from Boston without striking a
blow. You know what waits for
you if you let them come near: They will burn your houses, your
church, profane the holy vessels like they have done elsewhere and
carry you away into captivity; you,
your wives and your children. Remember that these men are the
enemies of God as well as ours. Take up your arms, and hold your
selves ready at the first signal!"

He needed say no more to convince this handful of peace loving
colonists: It was no sooner said than done! Each ran home to take the
family gun down off the mantle and
fill their powderhorns and leather sacks of leaden shot. They took
cover behind the brush which lined the river-bank and waited in
silence for the fleet which had already
appeared over the horizon. As planned, the enemy dropped anchor
across from their village and small boats filled with soldiers began
leaving the ships. As soon as the
invader came near to shore, a shower of shot greeted them. Surprised
by this not so cordial reception, and with the dead and wounded
filling the boats, the oarsmen put
about and headed for open water. The news of this feat of arms
spread like wildfire to Quebec and undoubtedly prompted Frontenac,
when face to face with the emissary of
Phips, to make that famous retort which we so well know.

Continuing his account of this event, Abbot Casgrain tells USA that
Monsieur de Francheville had driven back the assault force with but
thirty-nine combatants. The names
of some of them were: Francois and Joseph Deschamps, the sons of the
absent Seigneur; Robert Levesque, Galeran Boucher, Charles Miville,
Michel Bouchard, Pierre
Dancosse, Joseph Renault, Guillaume Lizot, Rene Ouellet, Jean
Pelletier, Jean Lebel, Pierre Emond, Mathurin Dube, Jean Mignot dit
Labrie, Noel Pelletier, Jean Gauvin,
Pierre de Saint-Pierre, Nicolas Durand, Francois Autin, Sebastien
Boivin and Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu.

HE ARRIVED WHEN ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OLD

The last man named above is the ancestor of all the Hudons and the
majority of the Beaulieu families in America. Even though, at the
time of the battle he was only in his
early forties, he had already worked in Canada for thirty years. In
1661, he was no more than twelve years old when his presence was
noted for the first time, on the Ile
d'Orleans. His signature "Pierre Hudon" appeared then in a document.
(6) Several ships had arrived from Normandy that year and during the
course of the preceding
summer.

On 3 April 1664, the official reports of the Sovereign Council of
New France, reveal that Pierre, then a domestic servant for Sieur
Nicolas Marsolet dit Saint Agnan, had
lodged a complaint against the domestic servant of Abraham Martin
because this person had abused him. The young man petitioned that a
provision of food and medicine be
awarded to him and he won his case after testimony given in his
favor by Sieur de Tilly and master surgeon Jean Madry. To this value
of about twenty silver livres,
Saint-Martin was ordered to pay court costs and make the payment at
once or suffer imprisonment.(7)

Pierre Hudon was listed in the census of 1666 among those living in
Quebec who were unmarried.(8) He was said to be eighteen years old
and working at the trade of
baker. The following year Pierre was among those missing from the
census. Where was he? Had he temporarily returned to France? Had he
gone into the fur trade? No one
knows. Not only was he missing that year but it was necessary to
wait nearly ten more years before hearing from him again.

A NATIVE OF ANJOU

The fact of his renewed presence was noted in his marriage agreement
made at Quebec on 13 July 1676. The hale and handsome groom must have
been about twenty-seven
years old. The registry tells USA that Pierre was already living at
Riviere-Ouelle and that he was the son of Jean Hudon and of Francoise
Durand, both deceased, from the
parish of Notre-Dame de Chemille, diocese of Angers in Anjou. (9) As
for the bride, Marie Gobeil, she lived in the lower town of Quebec,
the daughter of Jean Gobeil and
of Jeanne Guiet, originally from Saint-Didier de Poitiers, and
presently living in the parish of Saint-Pierre on the Ile d'Orleans.
The Gobeils were married in France and
immigrated to Canada with their first children. The marriage was
blessed by Abbot Henri de Bernieres, in the presence of the father of
the bride Robert Vaillancourt,
Monsieur Gachet and Antoine Bernard. The day before the ceremony,
notary Pierre Duquet drew up the marriage contract between the future
husband and wife.

It is necessary to wait until the census of 1681 for more news about
the Hudon family, if we make an exception, of course, for the arrival
of the first three children:
Marie-Gertrude and Pierre were baptized at Riviere-Ouelle, and
Catherine-Marguerite at L'Islet. Therefore in 1681, the Hudons had
not moved; they were still at
Riviere-Ouelle, in the seigneurie of la Bouteillerie.(10) Pierre was
32 years old, Marie was 23, and their children were four, two and one
year old, respectively. Their
property consisted of two guns (perhaps the same ones which were
used nine years later to drive away the Bostonians), two head of
cattle and ten arpents of cleared land
under cultivation. These were rather meager holdings for a colonist
who had been settled on his farm for at least five or six years. To
augment the agricultural produce, they
had to hunt and fish.

FARMING, HUNTING AND FISHING

The Abbot Casgrain tells USA that: (11)

"To the resources which our ancestors drew from agriculture, were
added those of hunt ing and fishing, the abundance of which was for a
long time incredible. They were
the providential manna which prevented the population from dying of
starvation during disastrous times when war continually held the men
under arms and forced them to
let the countryside go without cultivation. The neighboring forests
were stocked with native animals,such as deer, moose, caribou, bear,
lynx, beaver, otter, martin, mink,
fox, hare, squirrel, etc. Each spring and autumn large flocks of
Canadian geese, ducks, wild geese, turkey, teal, wood cock, pheasant,
plover, lark, dove, partridge, etc.,
came to rest on our shores and in the fields.

Proportionately, as the woods were cleared away, hunting was
curtailed: but fishing, although quite diminished, is still today an
important branch of industry and
commerce. Until the beginning of this century, salmon, shad, bass,
sturgeon, eel, herring, rockfish and capelin were caught in a
quantity sufficient to make the fortune of
each inhabitant if a convenient market was available nearby; but the
majority of these fish were all but worthless, lacking modern means
of preservation and distribution...
But one fish otherwise quite interesting and lucrative was the
porpoise. This superb cetacean, which grows to twenty-five feet, and
which is particular to our climate, makes
his appearance among the ice floes. They may be seen swimming in
large schools, sometimes but a stone's throw from shore, appearing
from time to time in order to
breathe just as whales do, and because of the whiteness of their
skin, seem to look like balls of snow floating on the water."

In spite of these abundant wild life resources within his reach,
Pierre Hudon knew that the future of his children would remain in
agriculture. On 26 February 1692, he
accepted a certain stretch of unallocated land from Seigneur
Deschamps. (12) It was bounded by the land of Jean-Galerin Boucher,
by that of the late Jacques Thiboutot and
the River Ouelle. Our ancestor lived for several more years after
this transaction but finally died and was buried in his adopted land
on 25 April 1710, at the age of sixty
years.

MARIE GOBEIL LOOKS AFTER HER FAMILY

As for mother Marie Gobeil, she continued to take care of her family
for more than a quarter century. On 27 August 1720, ten years after
the death of her husband, she had
an inventory taken of his property. (13) On 27 July 1722, she made a
donation to her son Louis. (14) Then on 15 April 1723, she gathered
her heirs together for a final
division of their inheritance. (15) Marie was able to attend the
marriages of almost all of her children, who settled not far from the
paternal hearth: at Riviere Ouelle,
Kamouraska and Saint-Anne-de-la-Pocatiere. On 26 November 1736, she
was laid to rest in this land which she had learned to love as much
as the waters of the rivers and
the streams, as much as the friendly people of her magnificent
parish.

Marie Gobeil belonged to this race of women of whom historian
Raymond Douville has said: "To them belongs the perpetuity owed by
the generations which followed."
(16)

A RATHER SEDENTARY FAMILY

The family of our ancestor Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu barely moved
from their adopted land, that of Riviere-Ouelle. Some of the children
settled in neighbor ing parishes
such as L'Islet, Kamouraska and Sainte Anne-De-La-Pocataire. The
circle of families was so limited that most of the marriages were
contracted with the Paradis and
Gagnon families, undoubtedly friendly neighbors.

Here is some information on the eleven Hudon children from whom the
greatest number of Beaulieu families in America descend:

1. Marie-Gertrude, baptized at Quebec on 8 July 1677; married at
Riviere-Ouelle on 4 July 1697 (contract by private agreement the day
before) to Pierre Fortin, son of
Julien and of Genevieve Gamache. They lived at L'Islet and had seven
sons and seven daughters.

2. Pierre, baptized at Quebec on 16 May 1679; married at Saint-
Pierre on the Ile d'Orleans on 1 August 1707 to Marie Paradis,
daughter of Pierre and of Jeanne Francoise
Millouer. This family had four sons and three daughters and lived at
Kamouraska, from which parish Pierre was buried on 17 October 1741.

3. Jeanne-Catherine-Marguerite, baptized at L'Islet on 2 July 1681
and buried at Riviere-Ouelle on 25 January 1754. Married in this
place on 6 June 1701, to Guillaume
Paradis, son of Guillaume and of Genevieve Millouer. This family
lived at Riviere-Ouelle where they had three sons and three
daughters.

4. Joseph, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 1 June 1685 and buried on
12 December 1711. Married on 28 July 1711 at L'Islet to Genevieve
Gamache, daughter of Nicolas, the
Seigneur of L'Islet, and of Elisabeth-Ursule Cloutier. After a brief
marriage, Genevieve was remarried in 1713 to Jean Gagnon dit Belzile.

5. Jean-Baptiste, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 26 April 1687 and
buried in the same place on 4 May 1754. Married in this parish on 9
January 1713 (contract Janneau, 7
January), to Angelique Gagnon, daughter of Jean and of Jeanne
Loignon, they never left Riviere Ouelle where they had five sons and
four daughters.

6. Francois, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 8 April 1689 and died
after 1740. First marriage to Genevieve Paradis, daughter of
Guillaume and of Genevieve Millouer; second
marriage at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocataire on 5 February 1722 (contract
Janneau, 16 January) to Marie-Angelique Emond, widow of Jean Baptiste
Dufaut and daughter of
Pierre Emond and of Agnes Grondin. This family lived at Sainte-Anne
and had three sons and four daughters.

7. Nicolas, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 3 June 1691 and buried on
14 September 1756. Married in the same place on 27 November 1713
(contract Chambalon, 16
October) to Madeleine Bouchard, daughter of Etienne and of Marie-
Madeleine Meunier. Nicolas was a Lieutenant in the militia of his
native parish where he and Madeleine
had eleven sons and five daughters.

8. Jean-Bernard, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 2 February 1694 and
buried on 19 November 1759. Married on 13 June 1718 in this place
(contract Janneau, 11 June) to
Marie-Charlotte Gagnon, daughter of Jean and of Jeanne Loignon. They
lived at Riviere-Ouelle and had six sons and four daughters.

9. Marie-Francoise, baptized at Riviere Ouelle on 27 March 1696 and
buried on 27 March 1762. Married in the same place on 25 April 1718
(contract Janneau, 23 March) to
Jean Paradis, son of Guillaume and of Genevieve Millouer. They
settled in Kamouraska where they had two sons and four daughters.

10. Louis-Charles, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 15 February 1697
and buried on 25 April 1751. Married in this parish on 30 August 1723
( contract Janneau, the day
before) to Genevieve-Angelique Levesque, daughter of Pierre-Joachim
and of Angelique Letartre. They lived at Riviere-Ouelle and had six
sons and ten daughters.

11. Alexis, baptized at Riviere-Ouelle on 30 August 1700 and buried
in the same place on 1 April 1720.

FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS

The principal variation to Hudon is Beaulieu. Additionally however,
there are the following variations on both names: Bolia, Dehudon,
Deshudons, Deudon, Gourdeau,
Heudon, Houdon and Udon.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Henri-Raymond Casgrain, priest and historian, was born at Riviere-
Ouelle in 1831 and died in 1904. He was the president of the Royal
Society of Canada in 1889. He is
the author of many works, notably "Histoire de ta Mare de
l'Incarnation", "Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu de Quebec", "Pelerinage au
Pays d'Evangeline", "Montcalm et Levis",
and many others.
2) Marin Terrier de Repentigny, Sieur de Francheville, was among the
first inhabitants of Trois-Rivieres. An old document notes his
presence there in 1638. At Quebec in
September 1647 he married Jeanne Jallaut, originally from Fontenay-
le-Comte in Poitou. Marin died in that unfortunate sortie led by
Guillaume Duplessis-Kerbodot against
the Iroquois on 19 August 1652. His widow was remarried to Maurice
Poulain, Sieur de la Fontaine. Pierre was the only son to reach
adulthood. Ordained on 19
September 1676, first he was the secretary to Msgr de Laval, then he
gave service to his flock at Beauport, Saint-Jean, Saint-Laurent and
Saint-Pierre on the Ile d'Orleans.
He was the curate at the Riviere-Ouelle from 1689 to 1691, then
successively curate at Longueuil and Cap-Saint-Ignace. The Abbot of
Francheville died Montreal on 7
August 1713.
3) Jean-Baptiste Deschamps de la Bouteillerie, first seigneur of the
Riviere-Ouelle was born in the region of Rouen in 1646 and buried in
the parish church of the
Riviere-Ouelle on 16 December 1703.
4) "Une paroisse canadienne", page 8.
5) Ibid, page 96.
6) BRH (1909), No.15, page 113.
7) "Judgements et deliberations du Conseil Souverain de la Nouvelle-
France", Volume I, page 157.
8) Benjamin Sulte, HCF, Volume IV, page 54.
9) Chemille (Maine et Loire) is a small town located about 35
kilometers to the south of Angers. The church of Notre-Dame dates
from the eleventh century.
10) Op Cit (8), Volume V, page 78.
11) Ibid, pages 129 to 139.
12) Record of Louis Chambalon.
13) Record of Etienne Janneau.
14) Record of Jacques Barbel.
15) Op Cit (13).
16) "Nos premieres meres de famille", Le Bien Public, 1976, page 3.

Pierre married GOBIEL Marie-Angelique on 13 Jul 1676 in Notre Dame Parish, Quebec City, New France, PQ, Canada. Marie-Angelique (daughter of GOBEIL Jean and (Guiet) Jeanne Guyet) was born on 02 Apr 1659 in St-Andre-Niorte, Diocese Poitiers, Poitou, France; died on 25 Nov 1736 in Riviere Quelle, Kamouraska, PQ, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The biographical account of the ancestor Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu,
at the same time, gives USA an account of Marie(2) Gobeil, born about
1659, married on 13 July 1676
at Quebec, mother of twelve children at Riviere-Ouelle. After the
death of her husband in 1710, she looked after her family for a
quarter of a century. Her burial was at
Riviere-Ouelle on Monday, 26 November 1736. How to explain that a
girl from the island could become the servant of Jacques Leber, a
notable merchant and land owner,
at Montreal? On 4 July 1690, we find her again, ill for two days at
the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec. She then said she was 23 years old.

Notes:

Jean Hudon and Francoise Durand were living at Notre-Dame de
Chemille', Province of Anjou, France in (unknown date).

de n Dame de Chemille; dioc. d'Angers Anjou, Neros de la Riviere-
Ouelle. Ancestre de F. Chas Langelier

------Family of Hudon dit Beaulieu
The family of Hudon dit Beaulieu is of the old French-Canadian
stock.
Jean Hudon and Francoise Durand, his wife, were formerly from Notre
Dame de Chemille, of the bishopric of Angers, France. They emigrated
to Canada sometime during
the early part of the 16th century.
Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu, their son, was born in Canada, in 1649.
He married Marie Gobiel, in Quebec, July 13, 1676. They had many
children. Pierre Hudon dit
Beaulieu died and was buried at Riviere Quelle, April 25th , 1710.
In Wisconsin Hist. Colls., xix, pp. 163-233 is published a
translation of the journal of Francois Victor Mahliot who was in
charge of the Lac du Flambeau post in the year
1804-05, in which he makes numerous mention of Bazille Beaulieu. And
also says that Bazille Beaulieu was employed at Lac du Flambeau by
the American Fur Company,
as interpreter at a salary of $2,400 and was discharged in 1819 (see
list in Wis. Hist. Colls X11., pp. 154)
Paul Hudon dit Beaulieu; it is ascertained, was at Lac la Fluie, or
Rainey Lake in 1815-16. His son, Basile H. Beaulieu, was born there
on January 1st, in 1815-16.
Another one of the Hudon dit Beaulieu family was on the Saskatchewan
in 1806, and travelled with David Thompson, the Geographer in 1807-
11. The christian name of
this trader is not given.
Between the period of 1710, the year Pierre Beaulieu died, and 1807,
when the family name is first mentioned in the fur trade, 97 years is
noted, etc.
[Dictionaire Genealogique, Cyprian Tanguay]

Jean married DURAND Francoise in 1647 in de Notre Dame de Chemillé, diocise D'Angers, Anjou France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
They were living in Notre Dame de Chemille, Province of Anjou, France
in 1676

Notes:

Jean Gobeil arrived in Canada without fanfare, accompanied by his
wife Jeanne Guyet and his five children. For more than a century,
serious researchers tried to determine
the place of origin of this Canadian family. Msgr Cyprien. Tanguay
states that Jean and his family were originally from St-Didier,
diocese of Poitiers. Others add:
Saint-Didier of the town of Poitiers, today a parish no longer in
existence. Rene Jette, in his recent genealogical dictionary, issues
a new opinion: Jean Gobeil, from
St-Andre, town and arrondissement, of Niort, diocese of Poitiers.

Niort, presently the head town of the department of Deux-Sevres, has
a population of 56,000 inhabitants. Until the conquest of New France
by England, the Canadian fur
trade gave Niort prosperity. Four parishes share the territory of
the city: Notre-Dame, St-Hilaire, St-Etienne and St-Andre. It was in
this last parish that the Guyet-Gobeil
couple's life began, before 1653.

FIRST APPEARANCE

Had Jean Gobeil saved some money in order to go to the Lower-Town of
Quebec? Did he come with a promise of work or without contract? We
find him for the first time
on 23 December 1665, in the presence of notary Auber from Chateau-
Richer. Sieur Toussaint Toupin, a bourgeois of Quebec, agreed to
lease him a farm at Sault-a-la-Puce
for five consecutive years, beginning on the preceding first of
November. Jean Gobeil was said to be a laborer. The new farmer began
with a house and buildings to shelter
2 steers, 3 cows, I bull and 2 calves. This incomplete record ends
on the second page. We have to wait a long time to know that Jean was
responsible for the animals and
that he must pay the agreed price should some die due to lack of
care. In addition, the first year, in other words at the end of 1666,
Gobeil paid the equivalent of 20 livres in
butter for the price of the lease of each cow and 10 livres for the
four following years. The neighbors of the Gobeils were an Cloutier,
owner of six arpents of frontal land
since 16 July 1652, and Nicolas Huot dit St-Laurent.

It was here, near the heart of the future parish of Chateau-Richer,
that the Gobeils lived for five years on these six arpents of frontal
land. During the following winter, on
21 February 1666, the 42 year old Jean Gobeil, was confirmed by Msgr
de Laval at Chateau-Richer. Marie and Francoise Gobeil, his
daughters, were also in this group of
twenty-one.

The censustaker in the year 1666 places the Gobeil family on the
Beaupre Coast. The censustakers in 1667 give more details. Jean
already owned 12 head of cattle and had
16 arpents of land under cultivation. Near his farm, there was the
homestead of Julien Fortin and that of Jean Cloutier.

Then, in 1668, Marie Gobeil was married to Robert Vaillancourt. The
following year two other daughters left the paternal home -to get
married. But two new Canadian
Gobeil children came to replace those who had left: Catherine and
Barthlemy.

SAINTE-FAMILLE ON THE ISLAND

A tenant is never completely in his own home. After five years of
work, Jean Gobeil looked across the river towards the beautiful Ile
'Orleans. The north coast had more
abundant and larger wild game and the soil of the island was more
fertile. On 28 October 1669, with is son-in-law Robert Vaillancourt,
Jean bought a piece of land from
Noel Rose. It was located on the Ile d'Orleans, in the parish of Ste-
Famille. And on the following 7 November, Jean obtained the three
remaining arpents on which there
were some buildings and two arpents of cultivated land. This entire
property had belonged first to Jean-Paul Maheu and Barthelemy Verreau
dit LeBourguignon, then to
Noel Rose dit Larose, husband of Marie Montminy. At the time of this
purchase, their neighbors were Robert Vaillancourt and Nicolas
Patenotre. The purchase price: 300
livres, 87 of which were immediately given to the teller. The
remaining debt was to be paid off in two years.

It is difficult to verify if Vaillancourt and Gobeil had decided to
live on the island right away. The scenario could have been: Gobeil
would spend the winter at
Chateau-Richer; Rose on the island. During the winter Vaillancourt
and Gobeil would probably cut wood on their new lot. In the spring,
Noel Rose moved to the
Saint-Charles River where he obtained a concession from the Jesuits
at Sainte-Anne in 1670. The Gobeil property was located across from
Chateau-Richer, to the west of
the present church of Ste-Famille, near the boundary of the parish
of St-Pierre, according to the map of Robert Villeneuve.

How to explain that on 14 January 1672, in another contract signed
by Romain Becquet, Jean Gobeil, "habitant living on the ile
dorleans," bought the same parcel of land
from Noel Rose for 280 livres? Had he not been able to pay his
mortgage? In fact, on 14 January 1672, Gobeil acquired his property
by means of a loan from Nicolas Huot
dit St-Laurent. Jean gave an annual rent of 14 livres tournois to St-
Laurent. Jean resold his farm on 16 March 1688 to Claude Panneton dit
LeFifre, for 300 livres.

Let's remember that on 16 March 1686, Jean Gobeil had not managed to
pay off his rent of 14 livres and the arrears. Charles Aubert de La
Chesnaye took care of it. For the
first time, it was said that the Gobeil land was located at Pot au
beurre, a popular name for a part of the parish of Ste-Famille.

SAINT-JEAN ON THE ISLAND

Jean Gobeil had the characteristics of a nomad. Did he suffer from
the fidgets? Perhaps also the weight of the years tired him. In the
census of 1681, Jean was 57 years old,
settled in the parish of St-Jean, on a piece of land with five
arpents in frontage, with neighbors Antoine Leblanc and son-in-law
Philippe Paquet, the husband of Francoise
Gobeil. Jean only had five arpents of land under cultivation. The
censustakers noted no cattle in the stable. We are definitely not at
the Palace of Versailles. The children,
with the exception of two, earned their living elsewhere. It seems
that the letters of acquisition for this concession have been lost.

Jean and Jeanne Guyet worked hard on their farm for several years
more, before bequeathing their inheritance. In 1695, twenty-five
arpents, in area were under cultivation.
The necessities of life allowed for no vacations nor any rest.

FIVE FRENCH DAUGHTERS, FOUR CANADIAN CHILDREN

When the Gobeil couple crossed the ocean, they were accompanied by
five daughters born in France. Two other daughters and two sons were
born in Canada. Here are the
names of the members of this second generation: Jeanne, Marie,
Francoise, Marie, Jeanne-Angelique, Catherine, Barthelemi, Marguerite
and Laurent.

I. The oldest, the little French Jeanne, was married about 1669,
probably at Chateau-Richer, to the soldier Pierre Philippe,
originally from the Vendee, in Poitou. This
family left no descendants. Jeanne, if there is no mix up with her
sister Jeanne-Angelique, appeared is godmother of niece Jeanne
Paquet, on 5 November 1676, at
Ste-Famille. In 1687 at St-Pierre, she became the godmother of
Francois Vaillancourt. As for her husband, we find him on the long
list of 279 people confirmed at Quebec
on 4 April 1684.

2. The history of Marie, born about 1655, is known to USA through
that of her fiance Robert Vaillancourt and through her twelve
children, all born and baptized at the
church of Ste-Famille on the island.

3. Francoise, confirmed with her sister Marie, at Chateau-Richer on
21 February 1666, met Philippe Paquet, son of Antoine and of Renee
Fouyart, from St- Martin
-la-Riviere, in Poitou. On 12 June 1669, they signed a marriage
contract. They settled on the island in the parish of Ste-Famille,
then went to the parish of St-Jean, where
eight sons and two daughters were born. Francoise Gobeil died on 24
February 1716.

4. The biographical account of the ancestor Pierre Hudon dit
Beaulieu, at the same time, gives USA an account of Marie(2) Gobeil,
born about 1659, married on 13 July
1676 at Quebec, mother of twelve children at Riviere-Ouelle. After
the death of her husband in 1710, she looked after her family for a
quarter of a century. Her burial was at
Riviere-Ouelle on Monday, 26 November 1736. How to explain that a
girl from the island could become the servant of Jacques Leber, a
notable merchant and land owner,
at Montreal? On 4 July 1690, we find her again, ill for two days at
the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec. She then said she was 23 years old.

5. The following year, Jeanne-Angelique met Louis Prat, living in
the Lower-Town of Quebec. The wedding took place at the cathedral on
30 July 1691. Louis Prat was a
good fellow, an innkeeper, a merchant-baker, a ship owner and the
port captain of Quebec. In 1704, he built the ship le Joybert. "A few
months after it was launched, the
vessel returned triumphantly to Quebec, bringing the Pembroke Gally,
a frigate taken from the English. This period is remembered in a
painting dated from 1706 given to
the sanctuary of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. "

In 1716, Louis and Jeanne-Angelique were living in the Rue Sous-le-
Fort. The couple had three daughters, one of whom survived, Marie-
Josephe, and was married to
Charles-Paul Denis, Sieur de Saint-Simon, on 17 October 1713, at
Quebec. Louis died in February 1726 and was buried in the cathedral.

6. Catherine, the first Gobeil to be born in New France, on 26 March
1666, was also a servant at the home of the fur merchant and founder
of the Compagnie A Nord,
Jacques Leber, in Montreal. She died as a result of the epidemic at
the Hopital-General de Quebec after 11 February 1703.

7. Barthelemi, the seventh Gobeil child, was the only one to carry
on the name. Godson of Barthelemi Verreau, on 21 April 1668 at
Chateau-Richer, a servant at the home
of Francois Belanger in 1681, he moved into the Dionne family by
marrying Anne, daughter of Antoine and of Catherine Ivory, on 19
August 1697, at Ste-Famille. They
had nine children, five of whom were sons, at St-Jean. Barthelemi
inherited the paternal property. He died on 7 February 1724, after a
long illness, fortified by all the
sacraments.

8. Marguerite Gobeil, was baptized at Chateau-Richer on 27 February
1670. At the age of 18, she became the life companion of ancestor
Guillaume Montminy, from
Rouen, on 25 February 1688, at St-Jean. Seven children were given to
them, including two born at La Durantaye. The burial act for
Marguerite is found in the registry at
Beaumont, on the date of 4 March 1715.

9. The youngest, Laurent Gobeil, became the godson of Nicolas Huot
dit St-Laurent on 5 November 1672, at Ste-Famille, and disappeared
into the darkness of history,
after 1697.

And so the second and sympathetic Gobeil generation lived and died
on the soil of their adopted country.

THE INHERITANCE

The weight of his 70 years lay heavily on the shoulders of Jean
Gobeil. Moderate priced low income housing did not exist. It was
necessary to get the family organized in
order to survive with a minimum of freedom and security. To live out
his old age in peace did not have the same sound of the bell as it
does today.

On 23 August 1695, Jean sold the farm to his son Barthelemi. This
consisted of 25 arpents of cultivated land with his "sorry " house,
his stable, the animals and his barn.
His son immediately paid him 300 livres "in playing card money"
which was legal tender at that time.

Francois Genaple placed the document of this last sale in his notes
at Quebec, in the presence of witnesses Nicolas Moreau, living on
"rue saint nicolas," and Jean-Baptiste
Peuvret, head clerk of the Sovereign Council. Son Barthelemi was
still a bachelor. This ancestral land remained in the Gobeil family
hands at St-Jean through the whole of
the French regime.

The special thing about Jean Gobeil's situation is that he imposed
10 conditions at the time of the signing of his sale contract. Should
we conclude that his son had verbally
promised his elderly father to keep him at his home? Yes.

We know that Jeanne Guyet died after 27 April 1689, the day on which
she attended the burial of her Montminy grandson born dead, at -
Laurent. This was the last notation
of her presence among USA. Jean Gobeil stayed eighteen days at the
Hotel-Dieu de Quebec during the months of January and February 1698.
Then his story goes out like a
beautiful candle at twilight.

Jean Gobeil entered this country without announcing his arrival and
he left it without leaving a trace of his departure. It may be
likened to the stalk of an olive tree which
disappears imperceptibly after having accepted new stems to replace
it.

FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS

The only known variation of the name Gobeil is Gubby.


END NOTES

1) Records of Auber, 23 December 1665; 7 November 1669.
2) Record of Becquet, 14 January 1672.
3) Record of Genaple, 23 August 1695.
4) Records of Rageot, 16 March 1686; 28 June 1690; 13 July 1690.
5) Record of Vachon, 16 March 1688.
6) Dussault, Eugene-F., Les Toupin du Sault (1976), page 36.
7) Hollier, Robert., La France des Canadiens (1962), page 120.
8) Jette, Rene., (1983), pages 506-507.
9) Lafontaine, Andre., RANF 1666 & 1667 (1985), pages 27, 25 1;
(1981), page 266; RAVO 1716 & 1744 (1983), pages 68, 188.
10) Montel-Glenison, Caroline., Un tour de France Canadien (1980),
page 163.
11) Roy, Leon., LTIO 1650-1725 (1978), pages 160-162, 264-268, 380-
391,419.
12) Tanguay, Cyprien., DGFC (187 1), Volume 1, page 272.
13) DBC, Volume 2, pages 554-555, Louis Prat.
14) MSGCF, Volume 15, page 45; Volume 26, pages 173-183.



He was from St-Andre, v. et ar. Niort, ev. Poitiers, Poitou (Deux-
Sevres), France. He answered that he was 42 in 1666 and 1667 and in
Beaupre (Chateau-Richer), and
ansered that he was 57 in the 1681 recording living at the Isle
Orleans. Confirmed on 21 Feb 1666 in Chateau-Richer, QP. He answered
that he was 42. He was cited as
being in Hotel-Dieu, Quebec, QP, on 12 Mar 1698 and age of 67.

Birth:
BET ABT 1624 AND 1625

Died:
Burial: Chateau-Richer, Montmorency, PQ, Canada

Jean married (Guiet) Jeanne Guyet about 1654 in St-Andre-Niorte, Diocese Poitiers, Poitou, France. Jeanne (daughter of GUYET Pierre and FOQUIER Gabrielle Roquier or) was born on 15 Nov 1632 in St-Andre-Niorte, Diocese Poitiers, Poitou, France; died on 13 Aug 1697 in St-Laurent, I'le D'Orleans, PQ, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She answered that she was 32 at the 1666 and 1667 recordings, and
that she was 47 in 1681.

Martin married BRUNET Francoise. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pierre married CHAIGNEAU Catherine on 18 Feb 1623 in St-Liguaire, Deux-Sevres, France. Catherine (daughter of CHAIGNEAU Samuel and AUDIER Jehanne) was born in 1603. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pierre married FOQUIER Gabrielle Roquier or. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]