M. (1) 8 Jul 1668 in La Rochelle
Wife: Françoise Favereau
M. (2) after 13 Aug 1724 in New France
Wife: Marie-Anne Bourassa
D. about 1726 in (probably) St-Jean-Port-Joli, New France
Pierre Jean became so sick on a migration voyage to America, that he had to return to France. But this didn’t stop him from later trying it again—and this time, successfully.
Pierre was born in La Rochelle, France in early 1645 to Vivien Jean and Suzanne Herault, and he was baptized on February 19th at St-Barthélemy Church. Pierre was the second of eight children, and he spent his childhood in Ecoyeux, a suburb of La Rochelle. His father was said to have been a blacksmith, and had built the home where they lived, called Chez Vivien Jean.
At the age of 18, in 1663, Pierre sailed to New France intending to settle there. This was reported to be a disastrous crossing for two ships that traveled together: La Flute Royale de Brouage and L' Aigle d'Or. It was said that "60 passengers died at sea, 75 were left in Newfoundland and 159 others who disembarked at Quebec were in an appalling state." It was further stated that "that there were only 20 men ready to work, the others were so weak that they could barely stand." Thirty-eight passengers were taken to the hospital in Quebec and twelve of them died. It’s believed that Pierre was among the sick, and that in 1664, he was ordered to return to France along with about a dozen other immigrants.
Ship similar to the one Pierre arrived on in 1663.
Pierre and Françoise settled in Charlesbourg, and signed a lease for a farm alongside his brother Hélie. They had four children born between 1672 and 1681. On July 6, 1671, Pierre was hired to remove stumps from a piece of land in Beauport which had previously been owned by Charles Turgeon. He moved around from farm to farm during much of his life and his name appeared on many real estate transactions. During his life, he visited the notaries 60 times. Pierre was a tenant farmer, usually signing agreements to pay his landlords in amounts of grain or butter.
In 1681, Pierre was living at Petite Auvergne, Charlesbourg, with 6 head of cattle and 30 arpents of land under cultivation. In about 1689, he “leased a house from Jean Matheiu on Rue Saint-Nicolas” in Quebec City, and practiced the trade of carter. Four years later, he was back to farming in La Canardière.
By the end of 1699, Pierre sold that farm and signed a lease for another on Île-aux-Oies, a sparsely populated island near the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The deal stated he would have to pay 300 livres annually along with “80 minots of wheat and 1 fat pig.” His son-in law Jacques Chouinard also settled there around the same time. On August 23, 1708, Pierre signed a 3-year lease for a farm on the south shore mainland at St-Jean-Port-Joli. Then in 1712, Pierre and his wife lived on the land previously owned by their deceased son Antoine.
Françoise died in August 1723 at St-Jean-Port-Joli, and on August 13, 1724, the 79 year-old Pierre signed a contract to marry a second wife, Marie-Anne Bourassa. Pierre died just two years later; the exact date of his death is unknown, but it was well before February 10, 1727, when his daughter Louise’s inheritance was mentioned in a record. Pierre was the ancestor of Dan Aykroyd, and Leo Durocher.
Children:
1. Vivien Jean — B. 10 Dec 1672, Quebec City, New France; D. young
2. Pierre Jean — B. 11 Mar 1676, Charlesbourg, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Prinseau (1680-1723), 1 Jun 1700, Quebec City, New France
3. Louise Jean — B. 19 May 1678, La Canadière, New France; D. 1 Jan 1750, St-Jean-Port-Joli, New France; M. Jacques Chouinard (1663-1721), 2 Jun 1692, Quebec City, New France
4 Antoine Jean — B. 7 Jun 1681, La Canadière, New France; D. 3 Dec 1705, Cap-St-Ignace, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
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