M. 19 Oct 1667 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Catherine Bourgeois
D. 15 Jun 1699 in Beauport, New France
René Binet was one of hundreds of New France colonists who started out as contract laborer. He came from a village in western France, born on April 9, 1638 in Saint-Jean-de-Sauves, and baptized in La Chausée just to the north. His parents were Mathurin Binet and Marie Proulx, and he had at least two younger brothers.
On March 23, 1665, René was living in the city of Loudon when he was recruited by La Rochelle merchant Pierre Gaigner to work in New France. The contract he agreed to required his service for three years, for which he would receive 60 livres per year, and he was given 30 livres in advance. It’s likely that René didn’t have any special skills or trade and this was a good opportunity to make money. On April 27th, he boarded the ship Le Cat at La Rochelle, along with 66 other young men who had similar contracts. The voyage took less than 8 weeks, arriving at Quebec City on June 18th.
Upon arrival in New France, René was turned over to the patronage of the Jesuits of Quebec, who then assigned him to be a servant of Henri Pinguet, the elderly patriarch of a Quebec family. René was listed in Pinguet’s household in the 1666 census, along with Pinguet’s son, daughter-in-law, five grandchildren and another man who was a servant. The house was only two rooms with a cellar and attic, and the property had a garden, a barn and 10 cattle on 63 arpents of land. It’s likely that René worked for the family outdoors on their farm, plowing fields and helping take care of livestock.
René must have decided within his first year in America that he wasn’t going to return to France. The Jesuits were setting up a new community north of Quebec City, and on March 16, 1666, they granted 40 arpents of land to René. The settlement would become the town of Charlesbourg; the Jesuits laid it out with the plots of land radiating away from the center, so that people could build their houses clustered next to the church in the center. René’s land was in a section called Petite-Auvergne, which was a half-circle layout just south of the main circle. (There is a present-day street named Avenue Binet in Petite-Auvergne, most likely named for René.)
Avenue Binet in Petite-Auvergne. (source: Google Street Views)
When the term of his contract was almost up, René sought out a wife amongst the Filles du Roi who had arrived from France, and he found Catherine Bourgeois, a 34-year-old woman from Normandy. They were married at Notre-Dame Church in Quebec City on October 19, 1667. They had at least five children together, born between 1668 and 1680.
By the fall of 1673, René had moved the family to Beauport, where he would spend the rest of his life. He died at Beauport on June 15, 1699; Catherine survived him by three years, passing away in 1702. René was an ancestor of Jack Kerouac.
Children:
1. Anne Binet — B. 21 Sep 1668, Quebec City, New France; D. Aug 1698, Charlesbourg, New France; M. (1) Pierre Dron, 25 Jun 1685, Quebec City, New France; (2) Jean Bouron, 7 Oct 1686, Beauport, New France
2. Louise Binet — B. 18 Mar 1670, Quebec City, New France; D. 3 Apr 1670, Quebec City, New France
3. Nicolas Binet — B. 11 Feb 1671, Quebec City, New France; D. 29 Jul 1753, Beauport, New France; M. Genevieve Brisson, 12 Nov 1697, L’Ange-Gardien, New France
4. Joseph-François Binet — B. 22 Sep 1673, Beauport, New France; D. 25 Aug 1703, Beauport, New France; M. Marie-Françoise Vachon, Feb 1698, Beauport, New France
5. René Binet — B. 10 Jan 1680, Beauport, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Société de généálogie de l’Outaouais (website)
WikiTree
Navires venus en Nouvelle-France: Gens de mer et passagers des origines á la Conquete mai a aout 1665 (website)
The Canadian Encyclopedia (website)
