M. (1) 10 Sep 1670 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Marie-Louise Michaud
M. (2) 7 Jun 1686 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, New France
Wife: Françoise Rondeau
D. 6 Jan 1709 in La Durantaye, New France
In 1665, the leadership in France was concerned that Iroquois were posing too much of a threat to their settlers along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. So a military force was raised, recruiting men from all over the country, and one of them was Jean Daniau dit Laprise.
Jean was born to Joseph Daigneault and Renée Brunet in about 1638 in the village of Niort, not far from La Rochelle, France. That region was populated by many non-Catholics who were followers of the Calvinist religion, and Jean was baptized at one of their churches there. He had an older brother named Paul, but it’s unknown if he had other siblings.
In early 1665, Jean enlisted as a soldier assigned to the Carignan-Salières Regiment, which was being set up to deal with issues in the New France colony. It was thought that the only way to keep colonists from being wiped out by the Iroquois was to send over great numbers of soldiers, so more than a thousand men were put on ships bound for New France. Jean served in the La Fouille Company which left France on May 24th aboard the Saint-Sebastien, a ship that became infested with disease. Some men were then loaded onto another vessel, The Justice, and it’s not known which ship Jean actually arrived on. In any event, his voyage took several months and it was miserable.
Uniform of the Carignan-Salières Regiment. (Source: Francis Back, Canadian Military History Gateway)
Upon arrival in New France, Jean's company went to the Trois-Riviére region where they built a fort at the mouth of the Loup River. His exact participation in this effort isn’t recorded, but he was likely stationed there, or nearby, for the three years he served as a soldier.
When his enlistment was up in 1668, he returned to the Quebec City area, looking to make a home in New France. Before he could marry a French bride, he had to change his religion, and on September 6, 1670, he renounced Calvinism to become a Catholic. A few days later, on September 10th, he married Fille du Roi Marie-Louise Michaud at Notre-Dame de Quebec. They settled In Berthier-sur-Mer, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River across from Île d'Orléans. Between 1672 and 1679, they had four children, but Marie-Louise died sometime during the 1680s.
On June 2, 1686, Jean married a second wife, Françoise Rondeau, and they had eight children, with the youngest born in 1705. By this time, they had moved inland to the settlement of La Durantaye. Jean died there on January 6, 1709. His wife Françoise survived him and died in 1730.
When Jean set down his roots in North America, they grew to become a tremendous tree. It’s been estimated that Jean has up to 1,600,000 descendants living today, a large number even for a 17th century ancestor. Among his descendants were Ricky Gervais and Angelina Jolie.
Children by Marie-Louise Michaud:
1. Jacques Daniau dit Laprise — B. 12 Jan 1672, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France; D. 18 Jul 1751, St-François-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France; M. Louise Destroismaisons (1680-1755), 3 Aug 1702, Montmagny, New France
2. Marguerite Daniau dit Laprise — B. 11 Feb 1674, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France; D. 23 Dec 1708, Montmagny, New France; M. Arnault La Vergne (1672-1712), 25 Nov 1693, Montmagny, New France
3. Marie-Françoise Daniau dit Laprise — B. 23 Jul 1676, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France; D. 18 Oct 1759, St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France; M. François Destroismaisons (1678-1749), 3 Nov 1700, Montmagny, New France
Children by Françoise Rondeau:
1. Jean-Baptiste Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1687, New France; D. 19 Jun 1759, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France; M. (1) Marie-Marthe Lamy (1692-?), 1715; (2) Marie-Françoise Guillemet (1685-1748), 7 Jan 1716, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France; (3) Marguerite Malboeuf (1695-1766), 7 Oct 1748, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France
2. Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1688, New France; D. 3 Feb 1761, New France; M. (1) Genevieve Lamy (1705-1736), 3 Feb 1723, Montmagny, New France; (2) Marie-Suzanne Julienne Dumont dite Lafleur (1713-1743), 8 Oct 1736, Montmagny, New France; (3) Jeanne Guimond (1699-1778), 14 Oct 1743, Montmagny, New France
3. François Daniau dit Laprise — B. 1692, New France
4. Laurent Daniau dit Laprise — B. before 18 Oct 1694, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France; D. 19 May 1715, Montmagny, New France
5. Pierre Daniau dit Laprise — B. 8 Nov 1699, La Durantaye, New France; D. 18 Dec 1725, St-Vallier, New France
6. Joseph Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1700, New France; D. 22 Jul 1795, Montmagny, New France; M. (1) Angelique Lepage (1693-1758), Montmagny, New France; (2) Marie-Angelique-Genevieve Bilodeau (1731-?), 20 Nov 1758, Montmagny, New France
7. Françoise-Martine Daniau dit Laprise — B. 24 Mar 1702, La Durantaye, New France; D. 14 May 1723, Montmagny, New France; M. Claude Gendron (1693-1727), 18 Aug 1722, Montmagny, New France
8. Augustin Daniau dit Laprise — B. 7 Feb 1705, La Durantaye, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000
La cie de La Fouille à Louiseville (website)
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