M. before 28 Sep 1616 in (probably) Dieppe, France1
Wife: Marguerite Langlois
D. before 8 Sep 1664 in Quebec City, New France2
What would motivate a man to abandon his home country, not once but twice, to lived in a fledgling colony across the ocean? Whatever it was, courage, strength or a strong sense of adventure, Abraham Martin must have had it.
Abraham was born in 1589, probably in France,1 and was said to be illiterate,3 but everything else about his origins are unknown. In some records, Abraham was called "dit L'Ecossais," which translates as "the Scotsman." Some say he served on ships that traveled to Scotland when he was a young man, and others say that it's a derogatory name given to deserters and those engaged in illegal activities. It's also been speculated that Martin lived on the Rue de l'Ecosse in Dieppe, and this is where the nickname came from.1
We do know that Abraham was living in Dieppe in 1616, so perhaps that’s where he was born. His name, along with his wife Marguerite Langlois appeared on the baptismal record of their infant Jehan on September 28th at St-Remy church.1 Abraham and Marguerite were likely married not long before this date; since there is no other record of son Jehan, he presumably died young.
St-Remy church in Dieppe.
At some point, Abraham must have become acquainted with Samuel de Champlain, who was recruiting young couples to join his colony in Canada, and this led to the Martins agreeing to migrate. Also signing up was another man from Dieppe named Pierre Desportes, who was married to Marguerite’s sister Françoise.3 So in the summer of 1619, they all boarded a ship that brought them to the small compound Champlain had built on the St. Lawrence River,3 thus becoming among the earliest European inhabitants of Canada. Between 1621 and 1648, Abraham and Marguerite had ten children; the oldest was considered to be the first male European born in Canada,4 but he likely died as an infant.
The early days of the colony must have been challenging. Champlain’s settlement included only a handful of people, and they all had to work together and share responsibilities. Abraham made his living as a river pilot, fishing around the Gulf of St. Lawrence,1 but he performed other functions of the community as well. As the wooden buildings deteriorated, in 1624, they were replaced with ones made of stone, and Abraham was part of the construction team.3
Champlain's compound would one day become Quebec City, and Abraham was granted 32 arpents of land there.3 It is said that he would lead his animals down a path to the water and this area became known as Côte d'Abraham, or the Coast of Abraham. The area gained greater fame in 1759 as the site of a battle that decided the fate of Quebec when it fell into the hands of the British: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham.5 It’s important to note, though, that the battlefield wasn’t anywhere near the land Abraham had actually owned.3
The Plains of Abraham.
During the 1620s, the little colony struggled to survive. Champlain wasn’t able to convince very many other couples or families to become a part of his venture, and his own wife moved back to France. The settlers were dependent on shipments of supplies from back home, and at times they had to wait long periods for ships to arrive. This led to a period of near-starvation in 1627 and 1628,3 something Abraham and his family had to deal with.
By May 1629, the situation in Canada was desperate, and Champlain ordered that some of the men take a small boat out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in an effort to find French fishing vessels who might have food. Abraham was the pilot for this mission, which travelled over 600 miles in a trip that took several weeks, but they returned to Quebec empty-handed — they encountered no other ships.3
Not long after this, some Englishmen sailed into the colony led by David Kirke, and forced Champlain to turn it over to them.6 Most of the settlers went back to France, and Abraham and Marguerite were among them.1 The family returned to Dieppe along with the Desportes family, and this is where they lived for the next few years. Marguerite’s sister Françoise and her husband Pierre both died in Dieppe,7 suggesting that the circumstances for all of them was pretty rough. But by 1634, France had regained control of Canada, and Abraham returned to the St. Lawrence; he and his family are thought to have sailed on the ship Saint-Pierre on March 23, 1633.3
After this point in time, the colony really took hold, but they lost their leader when Champlain died in December 1635. He bequeathed 600 livres to Abraham and another 600 livres to Abraham's oldest daughter Marguerite (specifying that she should "marry a man of Canada").3 It's doubtful that these gifts were paid out because the will was contested by Champlain's cousin back in France and was overturned.
In 1649, Abraham was involved in an incident that brings his character into question, but it's hard to tell what really happened. He was accused of raping an unnamed girl who was 15- or 16-years-old. The girl had been a thief and was hanged for her crime in January of that year. Abraham was imprisoned to be tried for the offense on February 15, 1649.3 It isn't known if his trial was held, and speculation is that Jesuits later removed mention of it from the records.
For a brief time in 1648 and 1649, Abraham became a seal harvester,3 a practice in which the animals were killed for their oil. This was a way some Canadians made money as the fur trade thinned out around Quebec City. He was known to have been piloting boats on the St. Lawrence as late as 1653, when he was about 64-years-old.3
In about September 1664, Abraham’s long life came to an end.2 His wife Marguerite died a year later in December 1665.8 Abraham's only surviving son, Charles-Amador Martin, became a priest,9 so the name Martin wasn’t passed to later generations. Famous descendants of Abraham include Jack Kerouac, Madonna, Céline Dion, Jim Carrey, Justin Bieber, Nathon Fillion, Bridget Fonda, Meghan Trainor and Alex Trebek.10
20th-century monument in honor of Abraham.
Children:
1. Jehan Martin — B. about 28 Sep 1616, Dieppe, France;1 D. (probably) young
2. Eustache Martin — B. 24 Oct 1621, Quebec City, New France;4 D. (probably) young
3. Marguerite Martin — B. 4 Jan 1624, Quebec City, New France;11 D. 25 Nov 1679, Château-Richer, New France;12 M. Etienne Racine (~1607-1689), 22 May 1638, Quebec City, New France13
4. Hélène Martin — B. 21 Jun 1627, Quebec City, New France;14 M. (1) Claude Etienne, 22 Oct 1640, Quebec City, New France;15 (2) Medard Chouart Des Groseillers (1618-1698), 3 Sep 1647, Quebec City, New France16
5. Pierre Martin — B. about 1 Aug 1630, Dieppe, France;1 D. (probably) young
6. Marie Martin — B. 10 Apr 1635, Quebec City, New France;17 D. 25 Apr 1699, Quebec City, New France;18 M. Jean Cloutier (1620-1690), 21 Jan 1648, Quebec City, New France19
7. Adrien Martin — B. 22 Nov 1638, Quebec City, New France;20 D. (probably) young
8. Madeleine Martin — B. Sep 1640, Quebec City, New France;21 D. Feb 1688, Lachenaie, New France;22 M. (1) Nicholas Forget (~1620-1680), 6 Feb 1653, Quebec City, New France;23 (2) Jean-Baptiste Fonteneau dit Saint-Jean (1647-1688), 1 Feb 1681, Lachenaie, New France24
9. Barbe Martin — B. Jan 1643, Quebec City, New France;25 D. 4 Oct 1660, Quebec City, New France;26 M. Pierre Biron (~1626-?), 12 Jan 1655, Quebec City, New France27
10. Anne Martin — B. 23 Mar 1645, Quebec City, New France;28 D. 14 Jan 1717, Ile d'Orleans, New France;29 M. Jacques Ratté (~1630-1699), 12 Nov 1658, Quebec City, New France30
11. Charles-Amador Martin — B. 6 Mar 1648, Quebec City, New France;31 D. 19 Jun 1711, Ste-Foy, New France32
Sources:
1 Fichier-Origine listing of Abraham Martin
2 Burial record of Abraham Martin, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Phantoms of the French Fur Trade: Twenty Men Who Worked in the Fur Trade Between 1618 and 1758, Timothy J. Kent, 2015
4 Baptismal record of Eustache Martin, Q.C.P.R.
5 Plains of Abraham (Wikipedia article)
6 David Kirke (Wikipedia article)
7 Hélène’s World: Hélène Desportes of Seventeenth Century Quebec, Susan McNelley, 2014
8 Burial record of Marguerite Langlois, Q.C.P.R.
9 Charles-Amador Martin (Wikipedia article)
10 FamousKin listing of Abraham Martin
11 Baptismal record of Marguerite Martin, Q.C.P.R.
12 Burial record of Marguerite Martin, Q.C.P.R.
13 Marriage record of Etienne Racine and Marguerite Martin, Q.C.P.R.
14 Baptismal record of Hélène Martin, Q.C.P.R.
15 Marriage record of Claude Etienne and Hélène Martin, Q.C.P.R.
16 Marriage record of Medard Chouart Des Groseillers Etienne and Hélène Martin, Q.C.P.R.
17 Baptismal record of Marie Martin, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Marie Martin, Q.C.P.R.
19 Marriage record of Jean Cloutier and Marie Martin, Q.C.P.R.
20 Baptismal record of Adrien Martin, Q.C.P.R.
21 Baptismal record of Madeleine Martin, Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Madeleine Martin, Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of Nicolas Forget and Madeleine Martin, Q.C.P.R.
24 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Fonteneau dit Saint-Jean and Madeleine Martin, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Barbe Martin, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Barbe Martin, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Pierre Biron and Barbe Martin, Q.C.P.R.
28 Baptismal record of Anne Martin, Q.C.P.R.
29 Burial record of Anne Martin, Q.C.P.R.
30 Marriage record of Jacques Ratté and Anne Martin, Q.C.P.R.
31 Baptismal record of Charles-Amador Martin, Q.C.P.R.
32 Burial record of Charles-Amador Martin, Q.C.P.R.
