M. (1) 7 Feb 1611 in St-Langis-les-Mortagne, France2
Wife: Julienne Baril
M. (2) 29 Mar 1629 in St-Langis les-Mortagne, France3
Wife: Perrine Mallet
D. 29 Mar 1671 in Château-Richer, New France4
If not for where he lived in France, Marin Boucher might have been forgotten to history. But since his home was in a region called Perche, he was recruited to move to Canada very early on, making he and his wife one of the “super couples” of New France.
Marin was born in about 1589 in St-Langis-les-Mortagne, Normandy, France to Jacques Boucher and Françoise Paigne,1 one of at least three children. On February 7, 1611, Marin married Julienne Baril in St-Langis-les-Mortagne.2 Between 1611 and 1625, they had seven children. Julienne died in 1627 and Marin married a second wife, Perrine Mallet on March 29, 1629.3 They had two sons born in France.
Marin was a stone mason, and this skill was probably why he was recruited by Robert Giffard to help populate Quebec.5 The little settlement on the St. Lawrence River had been struggling to take hold for about 20 years, culminating with a takeover by the English in 1629. Founder Samuel de Champlain tried to get French men and women to join his effort, but few had taken him up on it. After France regained control of Canada in a 1632 treaty, the colony was getting a second chance. Giffard was one of the men invested in the project who wanted to boost the population, and he recruited many from the part he France he was from: Perche.5
It was then that Quebec really took hold as a permanent settlement. Among the families who arrived in the first few years, some grew very large; the parents in these families have been dubbed “super couples,” and Marin with his wife Perrine are among them. Three of the other top five super couples also came from Perche; the only couple that didn’t originate from there were Jacques Archambault and François Toureau. Why were these people so notable? Since they arrived in France a generation ahead of most, we can multiply their descendants by however many children they had who produced offspring. Needless to say, the super couples are on many, many genealogical charts.
(Source: Institut Drouin)
Marin and his oldest son sailed on the ship St-Jehan, which arrived on June 4, 1634;6 the rest of his family migrated the following year.6 It's believed that the new colonists stayed in Fort St-Louis before moving to a permanent settlement.6 The fort was built by Champlain in 1608, and it was said that at some point Marin may have done some stonework for the colony's founder.6 When Champlain died in December 1635, Marin was remembered in his will: "I give to Marin, mason, living near the house of the Récollet Fathers, the last suit I had made from material which I got at the store." Unfortunately, the will was contested by a cousin back in France and was overturned.7
After settling in New France, Marin had five more children with wife Perrine, born between the years 1636 and 1647. Marin cultivated land in the settlement of Beauport,5 a short distance down the river from Quebec City. Some of the land had been abandoned by Récollets (a French order of the Catholic church) when the French were driven out of Quebec in 1629. Years later in 1670, the Récollets returned and reclaimed their land. Marin contested this and lost;6 by this time, he had moved on to Château-Richer.8
Marin died at Château-Richer on March 29, 1671.4 He was recorded by the local priest as having received the last rites and was buried in the cemetery of Château-Richer. Because he had 14 children, Marin has several hundred thousand descendants living today, including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Celine Dion, Jack Kerouac, Ryan Gosling, Justin Bieber, Alex Trebek, Ricky Gervais, Nathan Fillion, Julianne Hough, Derek Hough, Chloë Sevigny, and Dan Aykroyd.
After settling in New France, Marin had five more children with wife Perrine, born between the years 1636 and 1647. Marin cultivated land in the settlement of Beauport,5 a short distance down the river from Quebec City. Some of the land had been abandoned by Récollets (a French order of the Catholic church) when the French were driven out of Quebec in 1629. Years later in 1670, the Récollets returned and reclaimed their land. Marin contested this and lost;6 by this time, he had moved on to Château-Richer.8
Marin died at Château-Richer on March 29, 1671.4 He was recorded by the local priest as having received the last rites and was buried in the cemetery of Château-Richer. Because he had 14 children, Marin has several hundred thousand descendants living today, including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Celine Dion, Jack Kerouac, Ryan Gosling, Justin Bieber, Alex Trebek, Ricky Gervais, Nathan Fillion, Julianne Hough, Derek Hough, Chloë Sevigny, and Dan Aykroyd.
Children by Julienne Baril:9
1. Nicole Boucher — B. 8 Nov 1611, Mortagne, France;10 D. about 1623, Mortagne, France10
2. Jehan Boucher — B. 15 Mar 1613, Mortagne, France;11 D. 21 Sep 1617, Mortagne, France11
3. Louise Boucher — B. 15 Aug 1615, Mortagne, France;12 D. 22 Sep 1617, Mortagne, France12
4. François Boucher — B. 21 Nov 1617, Mortagne, France;13 D. before 2 May 1678, New France;14 M. Florence Gareman (~1629-?), 3 Sep 1641, Quebec City, New France15
5. Étienette Boucher — B. 11 May 1620, Mortagne, France;16 D. about 1620, France16
6. Charlotte Boucher — B. 15 Jan 1622, Mortagne, France;17 D. about 1634, France17
7. Marie Boucher — B. 8 Jun 1625, Mortagne, France;18 D. about 1634, France18
Children by Perrine Mallet:
1. Louis-Marin Boucher — B. 25 Aug 1630, Mortagne, France;19 D. 18 Dec 1700, Quebec City, New France20
2. Jean-Galleran Boucher — B. 16 Feb 1633, Mortagne, France;21 D. 29 Mar 1714, Rivière Ouelle, New France;22 M. Marie Leclerc (~1641-1702), 10 Oct 1661, Château-Richer, New France23
3. Françoise Boucher — B. 22 Jun 1636, Quebec City, New France;24 D. 18 Apr 1711, Château-Richer, New France;25 M. Jean Plante (~1626-1706), 1 Sep 1650, Quebec City, New France26
4. Pierre Boucher dit Pitoche — B. 13 Feb 1639, Beauport, New France;27 D. 13 May 1701, Rivière Ouelle, New France;28 M. Marie Saint-Denys (1647-1705), 4 Apr 1663, Château-Richer, New France29
5. Madeleine Boucher — B. 4 Aug 1641, New France;30 D. before 28 Oct 1709, Laneuville, New France;31 M. Louis Houde (~1617-?), 12 Jan 1665, Château-Richer, New France32
6. Marie Boucher — B. 11 Apr 1644, New France;33 D. 15 Jul 1730, L'Ange-Gardien, New France;34 M. Charles Godin (~1632-?), 6 Nov 1656, Château-Richer, New France35
7. Guillaume Boucher — B. 5 May 1647, New France;36 D. 1 Jul 1729, Château-Richer, New France;37 M. Marie-Jeanne Thibault (1657-1718), 21 Nov 1672, Château-Richer, New France38
Sources:
1 Estimated birth year of Marin Boucher based on first marriage record
2 Marriage record of Marin Boucher and Julienne Baril, Archives départmentales de l'Orne, Mortagne-au- Perche, paroisse Saint-Jean et-Saint Malo
3 PRDH listing of Marin Boucher
4 Burial record of Marin Boucher, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
5 Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Vol. 4, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
6 Marin Boucher (Wikipedia article)
7 Samuel de Champlain (Wikipedia article)
8 Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France
9 FamousKin.com listing for Marin Boucher
10 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Nicole Boucher
11 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Jehan Boucher
12 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Louise Boucher
13 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for François Boucher
14 Inventaire des greffes des Notaires du Régime français, V. 4, p. 44, Roy, Antoine, 1943
15 Marriage record of François Boucher and Florence Gareman, Q.C.P.R.
16 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Etiennette Boucher
17 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Charlotte Boucher
18 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Marie Boucher (older)
19 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Louis-Marin Boucher
20 Burial record of Louis-Marin Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
21 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Jean-Galleran Boucher
22 Burial record of Jean-Galleran Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of Jean-Galleran Boucher and Marie Leclerc, Q.C.P.R.
24 Baptismal record of Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
25 Burial record of Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
26 Marriage record of Jean Plante and Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
27 Baptismal record of Pierre Boucher dit Pitoche, Q.C.P.R.
28 Burial record of Pierre Boucher dit Pitoche Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
29 Marriage record of Pierre Boucher dit Pitoche and Marie Saint-Denys, Q.C.P.R.
30 Baptismal record of Madeleine Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
31 Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Madeleine Boucher
32 Marriage record of Louis Houde and Madeleine Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
33 Baptismal record of Marie Boucher (younger), Q.C.P.R.
34 Burial record of Marie Boucher (younger), Q.C.P.R.
35 Marriage record of Charles Godin and Marie Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
36 Baptismal record of Guillaume Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
37 Burial record of Guillaume Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
38 Marriage record of Guillaume Boucher and Marie-Jeanne Thibault, Q.C.P.R.
