M. 25 Aug 1681 in Beauport, New France
Wife: Marie-Jeanne Tarde
D. 13 Jul 1730 in Longueuil, New France
During colonial times, the area around Montreal featured a colorful society with sometimes rugged characters. One of them was Frenchman Robert Drousson dit Lafleur, who was once charged with striking a woman in a public place.
Robert was likely born in Clermont, France, to Jean Drousson and Mathine Heritiere. Nothing else is known of Robert’s origins, nor when and why he migrated to New France. He first turned up in records in his marriage to Marie-Jeanne Tarde on August 25, 1681. The wedding took place in Beauport, where the couple lived for the first few years of their marriage. After she gave birth to a daughter in 1683, they moved to near Montreal, settling in the town of La Prairie, and they had another 8 children, with the youngest born in 1706.
That same year, Robert’s daughter Marguerite became pregnant out-of-wedlock. The father was unnamed in the baptism of the baby girl, who was born on April 30th. Two years later, another of Robert's daughters, Madeleine, became pregnant. This time he sought to take legal action against the father of the child, Pierre You de la Découverte, accusing him of seducing his daughter. Pierre You was a well-known adventurer who ran a successful, though illegal, fur trade business, so perhaps Robert felt he could get some money out of him. It’s not known how this was resolved, but the second child, another girl, was born on September 9th and baptized in Montreal.
Within a few years, Robert moved his family to Longueuil, and it was here that he got into some trouble. During the spring of 1713, Robert was involved in a scuffle, or a confrontation that turned violent, between himself and two other people, Barbe Beauchamp and André Bouteiller. The activity took place at Barbe’s husband’s mill, and Robert was said to have threatened Barbe, and struck her with his bayonet, plus assaulted André in some way. The case was tried in court between June 26th and July 14th, with witnesses that included three women. A doctor reported that Barbe’s injury was only slight. From the record, it’s not clear if Robert was punished for what he may or may not have done.
Part of the court record of the 1713 incident involving Robert.
An incident that happened a couple years later suggests that the Drousson family had a bad reputation. This again involved daughter Madeleine who had now arranged to marry a young man from another Longueuil family, Laurent Benoit. The suitor had been a witness at Robert’s trial, but it isn’t known if this played into his relationship with Madeleine. In a somewhat unusual case, his parents filed a lawsuit to nullify their agreement to marry — the Benoits wanted a better match for their son! Madeleine was soon out a husband, though she rebounded by marrying someone else.
Robert lived into his 70s, dying on July 13, 1730 in Longueuil. His wife survived him and died in Montreal in 1741.
Children:
1. Marie-Louise Drousson — B. 18 Mar 1683, Beauport, New France; D. 17 Dec 1742, La Prairie, New France; M. Jean-Baptiste Raymond dit Toulouse (~1666-~1737), 10 Feb 1699, La Prairie, New France
2. Marguerite Drousson — B. 12 Aug 1685, La Prairie, New France; D. 17 Aug 1768, Chambly, Quebec; M. Jean LaFort dit LaForest (~1683-?), 28 May 1708, Montreal, New France
3. Etienne Drousson — B. 11 Oct 1687, La Prairie, New France; D. 11 Oct 1687, La Prairie, New France
4. Marie-Madeleine Drousson — B. 3 Apr 1689, La Prairie, New France; D. 25 Aug 1747, Montreal, New France; M. Louis-Antoine Edeline (1690-?), 15 Jan 1720, Longueuil, New France
5. Marie-Jeanne Drousson dite Robert — B. 27 Apr 1692, La Prairie, New France; D. 8 Jun 1706, Montreal, New France
6. Françiose Drousson — B. 7 Nov 1694, La Prairie, New France; D. 10 Apr 1695, La Prairie, New France
7. Marie-Josephte Drousson dite Robert — B. 13 Apr 1700, La Prairie, New France; D. 7 Apr 1754, Chambly, New France; M. Jean-François Courault dit Coulon (1699-1761), 15 Feb 1734, Longueuil, New France
8. François Drousson — B. 12 Feb 1703, La Prairie, New France; D. 8 Jun 1778, La Prairie, Quebec, M. Marie-Madeleine Charles
9. Ange Drousson — B. 17 May 1706, La Prairie, New France; D. 25 Feb 1785, Longueuil, Quebec, M. Marie-Josephe Charles
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
“My Ancestry & their descendants plus misc research,” Denis Paul Edeline, RootsWeb.Ancestry.com
