M. 12 Nov 1658 in Quebec City, New France2
Husband: Jacques Ratté
D. 14 Jan 1717 in St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France3
There was a period of time in early New France that young men vastly outnumbered young women, which pushed the age of brides to girls barely in their teens. Anne Martin was one such bride. She was born in Quebec City on March 23, 1645 to Abraham Martin and Marguerite Langlois.1 Her parents had come to New France in 1619 among the first settlers,4 and had one of the earliest large families in the colony. Anne was the tenth of eleven children, and she was more than 20 years younger than her oldest siblings.
By the 1650s, Quebec City was becoming a thriving town, with a surge of settlers coming over from France. Almost all of them were single men looking for opportunity to make a living. A handful of single women joined the migration, but not enough to supply the male settlers with wives. So Abraham Martin’s daughters filled the void, even though they were very young. Anne’s older sisters Marie, Madeleine and Barbe all had weddings at age 12,5 and this became the norm in the Martin family.
Anne was actually just 11 when a contract was drawn up on August 19, 1657 for her to marry Jacques Ratté, a carpenter from France.6 They were married on November 12th of the following year at Notre-Dame de Quebec.2 As was the custom with brides who were really still adolescent girls, Anne and Jacques probably lived with her parents for at least the first six months of their marriage.6
Anne was actually just 11 when a contract was drawn up on August 19, 1657 for her to marry Jacques Ratté, a carpenter from France.6 They were married on November 12th of the following year at Notre-Dame de Quebec.2 As was the custom with brides who were really still adolescent girls, Anne and Jacques probably lived with her parents for at least the first six months of their marriage.6
Anne Martin and Jacques Ratté's 1657 marriage contract
While still in her teens, Anne gave birth to three children, all boys who died before the age of four. Mothers that young often had problems delivering children because their bodies were still developing, and this may have been the case with Anne. She went on to have nine healthy children, born between 1665 and 1686. By 1667, Anne and Jacques moved to Île d'Orleans, where they had a farm on the north shore in the seigneury of St-Pierre.7 This was during the early years of settlement on the island, and until about 1680, Anne’s children had to be baptized at Ste-Famile, because St-Pierre had no church.8
Eventually, the family homestead was turned over to oldest son Jean-Baptiste, and Anne and Jacques lived with him in their old age.9 Jacques died first on April 8, 1699,10 and Anne passed away on January 14, 1717 at the age of 71.3 Her death record said that she died suddenly, so it may have been a heart attack or stroke. Anne’s descendants include Bridget Fonda.11
Children:
1. Jacques Ratté — B. 30 Dec 1659, Quebec City, New France;12 D. 31 Dec 1659, Quebec City, New France13
2. Bertrand Ratté — B. 10 Dec 1660, Quebec City, New France;14 D. 25 Dec 1660, Quebec City, New France15
3. Michel-Joseph Ratté — B. 25 Dec 1662, Quebec City, New France;16 D. before 166617
4. Marie-Anne Ratté — B. 13 Feb 1665, Quebec City, New France;18 D. 25 May 1729, St-Laurent, Île d'Orleans, New France;19 M. Ignace Gosselin (1654-1727), St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France20
5. Jean-Baptiste Ratté — B. 28 Nov 1667, Ste-Famile, Île d'Orleans, New France;21 M. Madeleine Blouard (1682-1746), 13 Oct 1698, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France22
6. Anne Ratté — B. 16 Oct 1670, Ste-Famile, Île d'Orleans, New France;23 D. 25 Dec 1709, Chateau Richer, New France;24 M. (1) Jacques Trapanier (1665-1706), 20 Feb 1691, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;25 (2) Jean Langlais (~1678-1748), 8 Mar 1707, Chateau Richer, New France26
7. Jacques Ratté — B. 16 Jun 1673, Ste-Famile, Île d'Orleans, New France;27 D. before 168128
8. Pierre Ratté — B. 11 Oct 1675, Ste-Famile, Île d'Orleans, New France;29 D. 21 Mar 1721, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;30 M. Jeanne Nolin (1685-1733), 27 Nov 1702, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France31
9. Genevieve Ratté — B. 27 Jan 1678, Ste-Famile, Île d'Orleans, New France;32 D. Nov 1754, St-Pierre, Ile d'Orleans, New France;33 M. Jean Sicard (1664-?), 27 Nov 1694, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France34
10. Louise-Angelique Ratté — B. 17 Jun 1680, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;35 D. May 1749, La Pocatiere, New France;36 M. Louis Martin (1671-1749), 12 Jan 1700, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France37
11. Ignace Ratté — B. Aug 1683, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;38 D. Jan 1744, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;39 M. (1) Helene Bouchard (1689-1728), 10 Nov 1705, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;40 (2) Genevieve Langlois (1703-1788), 13 Jun 1729, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France41
12. Guillaume Ratté — B. 14 Nov 1686, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;42 D. Oct 1759, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France;43 M. Marie-Madeleine Nolin (1690-1748), 4 Nov 1710, St-Pierre, Île d'Orleans, New France44
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Anne Martin, Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Jacques Ratté and Anne Martin, Q., C. P. R.
3 Burial record of Anne Martin, Q., C. P. R.
4 Phantoms of the French Fur Trade: Twenty Men Who Worked in the Fur Trade Between 1618 and 1758, Timothy J. Kent, 2015
5 Marriage records of Marie, Madeleine and Barbe Martin, Q., C. P. R.
6 Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
7 Recensement de 1667 en Nouvelle-France
8 The parish registers for St-Pierre begin in 1679.
9 Donation of property by Jacques Raté and Anne Martin, BAnQ
10 Burial record of Jacques Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
11 FamousKin.com listing of Jacques Raté
12 Baptismal record of Jacques Ratté (her older son), Q., C. P. R.
13 Burial record of Jacques Ratté (her older son), Q., C. P. R.
14 Baptismal record of Bertrand Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
15 Burial record of Bertrand Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
16 Baptismal record of Michel-Joseph Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
17 Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France
18 Baptismal record of Marie-Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
19 Burial record of Marie-Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
20 Marriage record of Ignace Gosselin and Marie-Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
21 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
22 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Ratté and Madeleine Blouard, Q., C. P. R.
23 Baptismal record of Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
24 Burial record of Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
25 Marriage record of Jacques Trapanier and Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
26 Marriage record of Jean Langlais and Anne Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
27 Baptismal record of Jacques Ratté (her younger son), Q., C. P. R.
28 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
29 Baptismal record of Pierre Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
30 Burial record of Pierre Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
31 Marriage record of Pierre Ratté and Jeanne Nolin, Q., C. P. R.
32 Baptismal record of Genevieve Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
33 Burial record of Genevieve Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
34 Marriage record of Jean Sicard and Genevieve Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
35 Baptismal record of Louise-Angelique Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
36 Burial record of Louise-Angelique Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
37 Marriage record of Louis Martin and Louise-Angelique Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
38 Baptismal record of Ignace Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
39 Burial record of Ignace Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
40 Marriage record of Ignace Ratté and Helene Bouchard, Q., C. P. R.
41 Marriage record of Ignace Ratté and Genevieve Langlois, Q., C. P. R.
42 Baptismal record of Guillaume Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
43 Burial record of Guillaume Ratté, Q., C. P. R.
44 Marriage record of Guillaume Ratté and Marie-Madeleine Nolin, Q., C. P. R.