M. 20 Nov 1651 in Quebec City, New France2
Wife: Marie-Françoise Hébert
D. 24 Oct 1699 in Montmagny, New France3
Guillaume Fournier gained status by marrying into Quebec’s oldest family, and became of patriarch of a significant family of his own. He was born about 1620 in Coulmer-Argentan, France, which was in Normandie.1 His parents were Gilles Fournier and Noelle Gagnon, but nothing else is known of his early years.
The early settlers' plaque on the Louis Hébert Monument in Quebec City lists Guillaume as having arrived in 1634, but there is no evidence that he was there before 1651. On November 20th of that year, he married Marie-Françoise Hébert,2 the 13-year-old daughter of Hélene Desportes and Guillaume Hébert. Two years later, they had their first child, a boy who died as an infant.4,5 They would have 14 more children, the youngest being born in 1680.6
Marriage record of Guillaume Fournier and Marie-Françoise Hébert
Through his marriage, Guillaume became a seigneur, or feudal lord.7 Land in New France belonged to the king and it was divided into seigneuries. Guillaume was granted a seigneury, and he presided over the habitants who lived on subdivisions of the land. The habitants were required to pay Guillaume a percentage of what they produced from the land, while Guillaume was required to build a gristmill for the habitants' grain.
In 1668, Guillaume acquired his first seigneury through litigation against his wife’s family.7,8 The land, which was located in Sault-au-Matelot, had been granted to Louis Hébert as the very first seigneury in New France. Françoise’s aunt Guillemette Hébert held the seigneury along with her husband, and since Guillaume's wife was also an heir of Louis Hébert, he felt he was entitled to a portion of it as well. The case was ruled in Guillaume's favor and he became co-seigneur. Later, the wife of Françoise’s late brother Joseph, Charlotte de Poitiers, claimed some of the land was rightfully hers, and Guillaume had to concede a good portion of his seigneury.8
By the early 1670s, Guillaume’s seigneury was in what was becoming the heart of Quebec City. The new administrative leader sent over from France, Jean Talon, acquired the entire seigneury, and Guillaume received another seigneury in a different location away from Quebec City.8 The grant was given on November 3, 1672, described as “ thirty acres on the river, two leagues in depth in the neighborhood of L'Islet, on the south shore of the St Lawrence.”8 This would be incorporated as the town of Montmagny in 1678.
Guillaume’s house on his new seigneury was described as being “built of squared beams,” and was 22 feet by 18 feet, single story plus an attic.7 It had two windows and a door on the north side, and one window on the south side. Mass was held in Guillaume’s house until they could build a church, and on December 21, 1685, Guillaume gave 3 or 4 acres of deforested land for it. This would become the St-Thomas-de-la-Pointe-à-la-Caille parish, and Guillaume is given credit as being its founder.9
St-Thomas church as it looked during the 18th century.
Guillaume died at Montmagny on October 24, 1699,3 and was buried in Saint Odilon de Montmagny Cemetery. His wife Françoise survived him by many years, passing away on March 16, 1716.10 They were the distant ancestors of Celine Dion, Jack Kerouac, Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais, Chloë Sevigny, and Bridget Fonda.11
Children:
1. Gilles Fournier — B. 26 Nov 1653, Quebec City, New France;4 D. 31 Dec 1653, Quebec City, New France5
2. Marie-Anne Fournier — B. 5 May 1655, Quebec City, New France;12 D. 13 Nov 1717, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France;13 M. Pierre Blanchet (1646-1709), 17 Feb 1670, Quebec City, New France14
3. Agathe Fournier — B. 9 Apr 1657, Quebec City, New France;15 D. 8 Jun 1743, Lauzon, New France;16 M. Louis Gesseron (1642-1712), 28 Sep 1671, Quebec City, New France17
4. Jacquette Fournier — B. 9 Apr 1659, Quebec City, New France;18 D. 22 Jan 1736, Montmagny, New France;19 M. Jean Proulx (1646-1703), 5 Jun 1673, Quebec City, New France20
5. Joseph Fournier — B. 12 Jul 1661, Quebec City, New France;21 D. 9 Dec 1741, Montmagny, New France;22 M. Barbe Girard (1667-1737), 25 Jun 1684, Quebec City, New France23
6. Marie-Madeleine Fournier – B. 17 Jul 1663, Quebec City, New France;24 D. 8 Oct 1664, Quebec City, New France25
7. Jean Fournier — B. 18 Mar 1665, Quebec City, New France;26 D. 17 Sep 1735, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, New France;27 M. Marie-Jeanne Roy (1664-1751), 2 Jun 1686, Cap-St-Ignace, New France28
8. Simon Fournier — B. 20 Apr 1667, Quebec City, New France;29 D. 8 Dec 1749, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France;30 M. Anne-Catherine Rousseau (1668-1749), 12 Nov 1691, St-Pierre-Ile ‘d Orleans, New France31
9. Pierre Fournier— B. 23 Apr 1669, Quebec City, New France;32 D. 22 Aug 1750, Montmagny, New France;33 M. Marie Isabelle (1675-1754), 24 Nov 1695, Montmagny, New France34
10. Françoise Fournier— B. 30 Apr 1671, Quebec City, New France;35 D. 15 Jul 1734, Montmagny, New France;36 M. Jacques Boulay (1664-1738), 21 Apr 1686, Saint-Thomas, New France37
11. Louis Fournier — B. 20 Apr 1673, Quebec City, New France;38 D. 17 Jun 1721, Montmagny, New France;39 M. Marie-Jeanne Caron (1678-1724), 19 Nov 1696, Cap-St-Ignace, New France40
12. Madeleine Fournier — B. 3 Aug 1675, Quebec City, New France;41 M. Pierre Laporte (~1675-1757), 2 May 1707, St-François-de-Sales, New France42
13. Charles Fournier — B. 20 Jun 1677, Quebec City, New France;43 D. 9 Sep 1739, Montmagny, New France;44 M. Elisabeth-Agnes Bouchard (1677-1758), 13 Jul 1699, Cap-St-Ignace, New France45
14. Baby Fournier — B. 2 Aug 1679, Montmagny, New France;46 D. 2 Aug 1679, Montmagny, New France46
15. Jacques Fournier — B. 17 Aug 1680, Montmagny, New France;6 D. 17 Apr 1681, Montmagny, New France47
Sources:
1 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Guillaume Fournier
2 Marriage record of Guillaume Fournier and Marie-Françoise Hébert, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Burial record of Guillaume Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
4 Baptismal record of Gilles Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
5 Burial record of Gilles Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Jacques Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
7 Our French-Canadian Ancestors, V. 27, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
8 L’Association des Fournier d’Amerique: Ancestors (detailed history)
9 Nos Racine: l’histoire vivante des Québécois, No. 16, 1996, pp. 55-56
10 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Hébert, Q.C.P.R.
11 FamousKin.com listing of Guillaume Fournier
12 Baptismal record of Marie-Anne Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
13 Burial record of Marie-Anne Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Pierre Blanchet and Marie-Anne Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Agathe Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
16 Burial record of Agathe Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
17 Marriage record of Louis Gesseron and Agathe Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
18 Baptismal record of Jacquette Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
19 Burial record of Jacquette Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
20 Marriage record of Jean Proulx and Jacquette Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
21 Baptismal record of Joseph Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Joseph Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of Joseph Fournier and Barbe Girard, Q.C.P.R.
24 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
25 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
26 Baptismal record of Jean Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
27 Burial record of Jean Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Jean Fournier and Marie-Jeanne Roy, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of Simon Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Simon Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Simon Fournier and Anne-Catherine Rousseau, Q.C.P.R.
32 Baptismal record of Pierre Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
33 Burial record of Pierre Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
34 Marriage record of Pierre Fournier and Marie Isabelle, Q.C.P.R.
35 Baptismal record of Françoise Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
36 Burial record of Françoise Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of Jacques Boulay and Françoise Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
38 Baptismal record of Louis Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
39 Burial record of Louis Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
40 Marriage record of Louis Fournier and Marie-Jeanne Caron, Q.C.P.R.
41 Baptismal record of Madeleine Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
42 Marriage record of Pierre Laporte and Madeleine Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
43 Baptismal record of Charles Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
44 Burial record of Charles Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
45 Marriage record of Charles Fournier and Elisabeth-Agnes Bouchard, Q.C.P.R.
46 Burial record of Baby Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
47 Burial record of Jacques Fournier, Q.C.P.R.
