DIONNE Jean

Abt 1620 - Aft 1674  (> 54 years)

• Name	DIONNE Jean
  Birth	Abt 1620	France
  Gender	Male
  Death	Aft 07 Nov 1674
  Notes	Preface regarding Jean and Antoine Dionne dit Sansoucy Flag of France Jean (Dionne) Dionne dit Sansoucy migrated from France to Nouvelle-France. Flag of Nouvelle-France Jean Dionne / Diaunne / Guyonne dit Sanssoucy / Sansoucy was born in France and travelled to Nouvelle-France by 1661-62 when he acquired property on the Île d'Orléans downstream of Québec. [1] [2] [3] As reviewed below, when records reflected two men both named with versions of Dionne dit Sansoucy present among the very small number of early immigrants on the Île d'Orléans (i.e. Jean Dionne dit Sansoucy and Antoine Dionne dit Sansoucy), it was assumed that they were brothers. When Jean did not appear to have married nor to have had children of his own (but was godfather for a neighbor's daughter and later for Antoine's) - despite being in the colony for more than a decade - it was assumed that Jean must have chosen to remain celibate and to have eventually returned to France. Most notably, Léon Roy in his 1949 family summary entitled "Antoine et Jean Dionne-dit-Sanssoucy et leurs enfants" essentially concluded that Antoine and Jean were brothers who arrived together, the former giving rise to the Dionnes and Sansoucy of North America and the latter not. [4] While Léon Roy's suggestion that they were brothers was basically just a working assumption, it affected subsequent descriptions. For example, Jean's appearance on the baptismal record for Antoine's daughter was interpreted as Jean acting as the godfather (parrain) for his niece. The author did not in fact state that the baptismal record identified Jean as her uncle - indeed they rarely would, since the parrain is acting as the child's godfather, not in another capacity. Further confusion was added to biographies by suggestions that Antoine occupied land initially held by Jean that was later conveyed to Antoine - but that is likewise not correct. They both engaged in multiple land transactions in Nouvelle-France but they were different properties. The following biography and references, which reflect aspects of both Jean's and Antoine's timelines and connection to each other, is intended to help untangle these matters and to distinguish what is established or likely from what is not - as well as to provide references designed to facilitate future research. Arrival of Jean in Nouvelle-France Jean Dionne dit Sansoucy was first referenced in Nouvelle-France in connection with two different land records reflecting events of July 1662, both on the Île d'Orléans. Firstly, in a document of 14 July 1662 (not reflecting a transfer to Jean but rather to his neighbor), Jean is referred to in connection with a concession of two arpents of frontage land to Pierre Cha(s)lut, in which Jean (his name scripted by the notary Paul Vachon as Jean Diaunne) is noted as the holder of an adjacent concession to the property being conveyed to Pierre (Citation Levasseur: Concession à Pierre Chalut, le 14 juillet 1662, acte de Paul Vachon). [2] [5] The original act through which Jean Dionne received his own neighboring property (reportedly received by 20 July 1662) does not appear to be located in the microfilmed file before or adjacent to that of Pierre Chaslut. However, Jean was noted in Pierre's original of 14 July 1662 as holding the adjoining concession of land, suggesting that Jean already held his property prior to that date. That would be consistent with the indication by historian Marcel Trudel that Jean had acquired his own land before 14 July 1662 (obtient une terre avant 14 juil. 1662) and had therefore arrived in the colony by the prior Summer/Fall (i.e. 1661). [1] Note: Alfred Levasseur, who researched related documents in Québec and in France over two decades prior to his summary of findings related to Jean and Antoine Dionne (published in 1991 by the Société de généalogie de Québec[2]) - essentially researched and reported on some documents before their reorganisation for subsequent microfilming; and the notarial documents as reorganised for microfilming were often sorted into chronological order but are not always in order. Among the original documents as reviewed by Levasseur before 1991, he noted that he found the original 1662 conveyance of the land to Jean Dionne (referenced in the concession to Pierre Chaslut) associated with a re-conveyance of Jean's original property in 1678 (from Thomas Lasueur who purchased it from Jean in 1677 to Jean Houlde). That 1678 re-conveyance is in place online (cited below), but as microfilmed it does not contain the prior conveyances (presumably separated), although the 1677 conveyance from Jean Dionne to Thomas Lasueur is referred to by the notary in 1678. (Additional information is provided below in Research Notes.) Secondly, in a later transfer of the property that Jean previously owned (reflected in a document before the notary Romain Becquet in connection with a re-sale of land by Thomas Lesueur to Jean Houlde on 12 September 1678), it was noted that the land was first ceded by Seigneur Charles de Lauson de Charny Lirec to Jean Dionne, the act for which had been received by Jean on 20 July 1662: [2] Citation 1): Jean a lui aussi deux arpents de terre concédés par Charles de Lauson de Charny Lirec, seigneur d'une partie de l'Île d'Orléans; Jean Dionne reçut l'acte le 20 juillet 1662; Citation 2): Concession à Jean Dionne le 20 juillet 1662, fait inédit que j'ai découvert dans un acte de vente par Thomas Lesueur à Jean Houlde, du 12 septembre 1678 (Romain Becquet) On 5 June 1663, Jean (his name spelled by the priest as Jean Diaune dit Sansoucy) acted as the godfather (parrain) for his neighbor Pierre's daughter, Anne Chaslut, who was baptised at the church of Notre-Dame-de-Québec the day after her birth. [6] Arrival of Antoine and family in Nouvelle-France Antoine Dionne / Guione dit Sans(s)oucy, along with his wife Catherine Ivory / Yvory and their son André arrived in Nouvelle-France by the Summer/Fall of 1663. Antoine is first reflected on the Île d'Orléans in a land document of 22 November 1663 in which Mathurin Ballouart (Ballouard) and Antoine Guione are noted as being the holders of the properties flanking that being granted to Laurent Benoist (Citation: Première mention d'Antoine à l'Île d'Orléans, acte de Paul Vachon) [2] [7] Note: although Antoine was identified in connection with this neighboring parcel of land on 22 November 1663, he was presumably a tenant of Jean Mourier dit père Veron from whom he eventually purchased the property on 2 March 1665, see below. Antoine and his young family were not reflected in Trudel's "Catalogue des immigrants" which covered only the first three decades of the colony from 1632-1662; however, his first appearance on a land record of Île d'Orléans on 22 November 1663 suggests that he arrived earlier that year, potentially on one of the larger ships that reached Québec 22 September of 1663 (although there were several smaller ones earlier that Summer). [2] A year after the arrival of Antoine Dionne and Catherine Ivory and their young son in Nouvelle-France, their son André died and was buried on 28 Nov 1664 at the church of La-Visitation-de-Notre-Dame in Château-Richer, just across the river from the Île d'Orléans. [8] The following Summer, on 27 July 1665, Catherine gave birth to the first member of the Dionne family born in Nouvelle-France, a daughter named Anne. She was baptised at Notre-Dame-de-Québec the following week, and Jean was her godfather. The family surname for Anne, Antoine and Jean was written as Diaume. [9] Relationship of Jean and Antoine Dionne dit Sansoucy Early biographers largely followed the 1949 lead of Léon Roy who essentially assumed that Jean and Antoine must have been brothers who came to Nouvelle-France together, that Antoine was already married and had further children in Nouvelle-France, and that Jean didn't find a wife and eventually left the colony. [4] However, Léon Roy did not suggest that the 1665 baptismal record for Anne Dionne showed that Jean was the brother of Antoine or the uncle of Anne - nor did it. Close relatives often acted as godparents (and there was no other Jean Dionne reported on Île d'Orléans at the time); but their precise family relationship was often not referenced. Rather, they were often simply noted as parrain or marraine - and that is how Jean was noted - both on the baptismal record for Anne Chaslut (his neighbor's daughter) and for Anne Diaume (Antoine's daughter), i.e. as parrain (godfather). [6] [9] Léon Roy essentially just assumed that Jean and Antoine were brothers, and therefore later references to the baptismal certificate as being that of Jean's niece were likewise assumed. Roy also did not know that Jean had come to Nouvelle-France before the arrival of Antoine and his young family (Trudel's work on immigrants coming out decades later) - and does not appear to have considered the possibility that Jean was Antoine's father, who did not marry and raise a family in the colony because he had already been married in France. As later researched and reported by Alfred Levasseur, a testamentary document from 1668 reflected Jean as the father, rather than the brother, of Antoine. In particular, in a testamentary gift of 21 October 1668 in which a donation in case of death was to be made from Laurent Benoist to Antoine's other neighbor Mathurin Ballouard (as noted above), Antoine Dionne was also reflected - and noted as being the son of Jean Guyonne / Dionne dit Sanssoucy, then residing with the Jesuit fathers: [2] Le 21 octobre 1668, dans un acte de donation de Laurent Benoit à l'île, son voisin Antoine Dionne est cité comme fils de Jean Guyonne dit Sanssoucy, demeurant chez les Pères Jésuites, cet acte nous le présente comme le père d'Antoine [cit: Donation en cas de mort de Laurent Benoit à Mathaurin Bellouard (même notaire) [i.e. Romain Becquet] Consistent with Levasseur's research indicating that Jean was the father rather than the brother of Antoine are Jean's engagement in land transactions in the colony but not marriage or raising what would be an additional family, and the later sale of his property and his "disappearance" from the records almost half a century before Antoine's death. The fact that Antoine's mother is never noted in the colony (either in connection with Jean or Antoine) would likewise be consistent with her having stayed in and already passed away in France (see below and Research Notes). Jean's departure from Île d'Orléans In the 1666-67 census, Antoine Guyosne (Dionne), age 26, was noted on Île d'Orléans with his wife Catherine Yvory, age 24, and their daughter Anne, age 2. Jean was not noted, suggesting that he had left Île d'Orléans by 1667. [10] [11] Consistent with Jean Dionne having left Île d'Orléans by 1667, he was noted in connection with a transfer of property below the Hôtel-Dieu at Québec on 31 July 1667, in which his name was referenced as Jean Guyonne, but his signature on the document was reflected as Jean Dione: [2] Citation: Concession d'un terrain à Québec à Jean Guyonne, au bas de la montée à l'Hôtel-Dieu, par Guillemette Hébert, fille de Louis Hébert, veuve de Guillaum Couillard. Signé Jean Dione (acte de Pierre Duquet) The following year, on 21 October 1668, Antoine Dionne was reflected in the testamentary gift by neighbor Laurent Benoist in which Antoine was noted as being the son of Jean Dionne dit Sansoucy - and Jean was noted as then residing with the Jesuit fathers (see above). [2] The final act in Nouvelle-France reflecting Jean Dionne was recorded on 7 November 1674, in which Jean (who was noted as residing at Beauport) conveyed the property on the Île d'Orléans that he had acquired by 1662 to Thomas Lasueur (Citation: Acte de Romain Becquet 7 nov 1674). [2] While Jean died sometime after 7 November 1674, his burial record has not been identified to date and so it remains unclear whether he died in Nouvelle-France or elsewhere, potentially having returned to France. [2] Thomas Lasueur, to whom Jean had conveyed his property on the Île d'Orléans, re-conveyed the property to Jean Houlde on 12 Sep 1678. The re-conveyance refers to the earlier transfer from Jean Dionne dit Sansoucy but the 1678 record as organised on microfilm does not contain an original or copy of either prior conveyance. [12] Research notes Spellings of surname and dit name As reflected in the records for both Jean and Antoine, the family surname was spelled in multiple ways by those transcribing records, usually as a variant of Guyonne or Dionne. Most researchers have considered that the family name in France was likely spelled as a version of Guyon / Guione / Guyonne - but as noted above Jean himself is reported to have signed a 1667 document in which he was named as Guyonne with the spelling Dione - and that increasingly became the family's standard. Among the first family born in Nouvelle-France, however, all variants appear in their baptismal records (often changing from one child to the next) among the following variants for Antoine's children: Dionne Dione Diaume Guionne Guyonne The family's "dit name" was sometimes spelled as Sanssoucy, later standardised as Sansoucy. Properties and relation between Jean and Antoine Early biographers largely followed the 1949 lead of Léon Roy who essentially assumed that Jean and Antoine were brothers who came to Nouvelle-France together, that Antoine was already married (and had further children), and that Jean didn't find a wife and eventually left the colony. [4] Furthering the story that Jean and Antoine were brothers, it has often been suggested or simply reported that Jean was the uncle of Antoine's daughter at her 1665 baptism. See, e.g., the Geneanet tree of Jacques St-Pierre. [13] It was later suggested that Jean was the father, and that Antoine in 1665 acquired the land that Jean had originally held. [14] As reviewed herein, the first is likely true but the second is not. Turning to what is known and reflected in research of original records, Marcel Trudel had discovered and reported in 1983 that Jean came first to Nouvelle-France (i.e. not accompanied by Antoine), holding land on Île d'Orléans prior to 14 July 1662, and had therefore presumably arrived by 1661. [1] Unfortunately, Trudel's reporting on the early immigrants of Nouvelle-France only covered the initial decades from 1632-1662. However, parallel and subsequent research by Alfred Levasseur, who was a co-founder of the Association Les Dionne d'Amérique, based on two decades of research of records in Québec and France, was reported by the Société de généalogie de Québec in 1994, with citations to the underlying original records (see references and texts above). [2] As researched and reviewed by Levasseur, the reference to Antoine being the son of (fils de) Jean does not come from property records nor the baptisms in which Jean was noted as godfather but rather from a testamentary gift (une donation en cas de mort) - and not that of Jean or Antoine, but of Laurent Benoit who had been Antoine's first neighbor to his neighbor on the other side, i.e. Mathurin Ballouard (see notes and reference cited above). [2] The related facts that Jean was neither accompanied to Nouvelle-France by a spouse nor did he marry or have children in the colony (other than apparently Antoine) - as well as the fact that his last appearance in the colony was almost 50 years before the death of Antoine - would certainly be consistent with his being a father. Since Jean's wife would then presumably be Antoine's mother (both Jean and Antoine having been married in France), it would be reasonable to assume that she had probably passed away prior to Jean's journey to Nouvelle-France in 1661 - but essentially nothing is known regarding her (see note below). Estimated years of birth While Jean and Antoine are both considered to have been born in France (and several references have suggested that at the time the surname was often associated with the province of Nivernais), neither of their baptismal nor marriage records have been identified to date. The fact that Antoine arrived in Nouvelle-France in 1663 and was married with a young son at the time has led to the presumption that Antoine and Catherine were married in France by about 1661, and that Jean had married in France by about 1641, as reported by PRDH. [3] [15] Wife of Jean Although property transfers at the time did not necessarily reflect a spouse, none of the records from Nouvelle-France identified to date name a spouse of Jean Dionne; and Antoine was already married in France before he emigrated with his wife and son André. While Jean is named as godfather for the daughter of their neighbor and for Antoine's daughter, the godmothers were not Jean's wife nor do other records clearly reflect her. Accordingly, there is no indication that Jean's wife travelled to Nouvelle-France, nor what her name was. While some genealogies have suggested that her name was Marie Ménard, that is considered unsupported absent source documents (see Conclusions below). Additional notes re property transfers While the reference to Antoine being the son of Jean does not come from a property transfer nor from a baptismal record but rather from a testamentary gift (as reflected in the 1991 research published by the Société de généalogie de Québec), there appears to have been considerable confusion caused by an indication reflected in a summary several years later that Antoine had first settled on his father's property on the Île d'Orléans, and that the transfer was officially reflected on 2 March 1665 by an act of sale by Jean Mourier dit Véron to Antoine Dionne. [14] As referenced above, Jean Dionne had a property on the Île d'Orléans by 14 July 1662 when he was reflected in the grant by Charles de Lauson de Charny as to Pierre Chaslut as having the adjacent concession. And Antoine was noted in connection with a property on the Île d'Orléans on 22 November 1663 (which he apparently held as a tenant, finally purchasing it in on 2 March 1665). Much confusion appears to have been caused by the suggestion that these were the same property and that Jean had conveyed it to his son Antoine. The records make clear that they were not the same properties (see notes and property transfers for Jean and Antoine above). Additional acts are reflected below. Actes notariaux / Notarial acts Vente de Jean Mourier dit PereVeron à Antoine Guionne (2 mars 1665). Vol II pg 16 Notaire Paul Vachon [16] [17] Le contrat mentionne le précédent contrat de concession faite à Jean Mourier en date du 12 décembre 1663 de la part du sieur de Charny. Charles de Lauson de Charny est le seigneur qui fait ces concessions. Devant le même notaire : Concession de Charles de Lauson à Jean Mourrier dit Veron (12 décembre 1663). Vol II pg 12 [16][18] Les concessions devant le même notaire dans cette période citée de 1662 (Paul Vachon est le notaire attitré pour l'île d'Orléans alors): Vol II pg 10 [16] Concession des Jésuites à Pierre Denis de la Ronde (12 mars 1662). Concession de Charles de Lauzon à Jean Creste (10 juin 1662). Concession de Charles de Lauzon à Jacques Asselin (22 juin 1662). Concession de Charles de Lauzon à Pierre Chaleut (14 juillet 1662). Concession de Charles de Lauzon à René Chevalier (15 juillet 1662). Les actes ci-haut se trouvent en séquence. Concessions : 10 juin 1662 Jean Creste (pg 166+); 22 juin Jacques Asselin (pg 171+); 14 juillet Pierre Chaleut (pg 175+) attenant de l'autre côté à celle de Jean Diaunne, copie de cette concession suit qui nomme Jean Guionne dit Sansoucy; 15 juillet René Chevalier (pg 183-184) [19] Conclusions Contrary to earlier reports and some current biographies, there is no evidence to suggest that Jean was the brother of Antoine. The only evidence to date referring to the relationship between Jean and Antoine is the reported 1668 testamentary donation of Antoine's neighbor referencing him as the son of (fils de) Jean Dionne dit Sansoucy. There is no evidence to suggest that a woman named Marie Ménard was the wife of Jean or the mother of Antoine. Unfortunately the marriage records from France have not yet been identified since their place of origin remains unknown. Accordingly, Jean is attached as the father of Antoine; however, it is still possible that their relationship was a different one and so it is marked as uncertain. Marie Ménard has been detached pending further evidence. Sources ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Trudel, Marcel. "Catalogue des immigrants 1632-1662" in Cahiers du Québec - Collection Histoire (Editions Hurtubise HMH, Montréal, Québec 1983); Catalogue des immigrants / Région de Québec et des Trois-Rivières / 1661; page 454, DIONNE dit SANSSOUCY, Jean ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Levasseur, Alfred. "Jean et Antoine Dionne dit Sanssoucy, pionniers de l'Île d'Orléans de 1662 à 1721; published in L'Ancêtre: Bulletin de la Société de généalogie de Québec; vol. 18 no. 4 (Décembre 1991) ISSN 0316-0513; pp. 145-48 ↑ 3.0 3.1 Programme de recherche en démographie historique (Université de Montréal) avec l'Institut généalogique Drouin PRDH Individu 20352: Jean DIONNE SANSOUCY (b France, m avant 1641 France, d hors du Québec) père d'Antoine ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Roy, Léon (1949). Antoine et Jean Dionne-dit-Sanssoucy et leurs Enfants, in Bulletin des Rescherches Historique, vol. 55, nos 1 et 2 cf. p 53 ↑ BAnQ: Paul Vachon (Actes 10 janvier 1655 - 24 janvier 1668, 1180 fichiers), images 319-320 (Concession à Pierre Chalut, le 14 juillet 1662, original) ↑ 6.0 6.1 Baptême: Actes d'état civil et registres d'église du Québec (images of church registers available at Généalogie Québec, Institut généalogique Drouin) Le LAFRANCE BMS Acte 57923: Baptême – Québec (Notre-Dame-de-Québec) 06-mars-1663, naissance 05-mars-1663 - CHASLUT, Anne (sujet); CHASLUT, Pierre (père) et BONIN, Marie (mère) DIAUNE SANSOUCY, Jean (parrain) et FOSSÉ, Anne (marraine) ↑ BAnQ: Paul Vachon (Actes 10 janvier 1655 - 24 janvier 1668, 1180 fichiers), images 318-20 (Concession à Laurent Benoist, le 22 novembre 1663, original) ↑ 1664 Burial Record of André Dionne, "Canada, Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979," database with images, FamilySearch, Château Richer > La Visitation-de-Notre-Dame > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1661-1702 > image 129 of 219; Archives Nationales du Quebec (National Archives of Quebec), Montreal. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Baptême: Actes d'état civil et registres d'église du Québec (images of church registers available at Généalogie Québec, Institut généalogique Drouin) Le LAFRANCE BMS Acte 58046: Baptême – Québec (Notre-Dame-de-Québec) 03-août-1665, naissance 27-juil-1665 - DIAUME, Anne (sujet); DIAUME, Antoine (père) et YVORY, Catherine (mère) DIAUME SANSOUCY, Jean (parrain) et MARTIN, Anne (marraine), femme de Jacques Rate ↑ Recensement du Canada 1666-67; p 80 (Image 87 de 163) ↑ Wikisource: Recensements 1666-1667 Censuses selon Benjamin Sulte Histoire des Canadiens-français, Tome 4, chap. 4 ↑ BAnQ: Romain Becquet (Actes 5 septembre - 31 octobre 1678, 1117 fichiers), images 1005-06 (Vente de Thomas Lasueur à Jean Houlde 12 septembre 1678, original) ↑ Geneanet de Jacques St-Pierre re Jean Dionne dit Sancoucy. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Erudit: Cap aux Diamants, Numéro 37, Printemps 1994 Antoine Dionne : un pionnier de l’île d’Orléans, par Sylvie Tremblay ↑ Programme de recherche en démographie historique (Université de Montréal) avec l'Institut généalogique Drouin PRDH Famille 1383: Antoine DIONNE SANSOUCY GUYONNE et Catherine IVORY (m avant 1661 France) ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 BAnQ Notarial acts index Inventaire des greffes des notaires du régime français, par Pierre Georges Roy et Antoine Roy; 27 Vol + index 1-8 ↑ BAnQ: Paul Vachon, Actes, 10 janvier 1655 - 24 janvier 1668 (1180 fichiers), pgs 596-597/1180 (Vente de Jean Mourier à Antoine Guionne 1665, original) ↑ BAnQ: Paul Vachon, Actes, 10 janvier 1655 - 24 janvier 1668 (1180 fichiers), pgs 325-326/1180 (Concession à Jean Mourier 12 décembre 1663, original) ↑ BAnQ: Paul Vachon, Actes, 10 janvier 1655 - 24 janvier 1668 (1180 fichiers), pgs 166-184/1180 (Concessions : 10 juin 1662 Jean Creste (pg 166+); 22 juin Jacques Asselin (pg 171+); 14 juillet Pierre Chaleut (pg 175+); 15 juillet René Chevalier (pg 183-184), originales)
  Person ID	I60273	Freeman-Smith
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

  
  

  Family
  Children	1. DIONNE Antoine,   b. Abt 1641, France d. 24 Dec 1721, Saint-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Canada, Nouvelle-France (Age 80 years)  [Father: natural]
  Family ID	F347657	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026