M. 31 Aug 1693 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Marie Brunet
D. 25 Jul 1731 in Montreal, New France
Often a person’s circumstances when they're a child leads to their path in life. For François Bigras dit Fauvel, his situation likely caused him to migrate to New France, and he found opportunity there on the frontier.
François Bigras was born on July 26, 1665 in La Rochelle, France to Mathurin Bigras and Catherine Parenteau. He had 8 siblings, one of whom was a twin sister named Françoise. François was educated enough to be able to read and write. He might have gone on to a career that would use those skills, but by the time he was 12-years-old, his mother and father had both died.
La Rochelle.
Without the support of parents, François likely fell into the care of relatives in La Rochelle. The bustling port city was where ships left for America, and this may have been a factor for him to move there. He also had an aunt, Marie Parenteau, who had migrated in 1671 as a Fille du Roi, so the decision was made that he would join her there. Marie had married a merchant and barrel-maker named Pierre-Antoine Fauvel, and the couple lived with their children in Quebec City. It’s believed that when François stayed with them, “dit Fauvel” was added to his name.
When François was 17-years-old, the time had come to make his own living, and on July 14, 1682, he signed a contract to be an indentured servant of a doctor living in Côte-de-Lauzon named Louis Moreau, who was the husband of his mother’s cousin. Along with room and board, François would receive 40 livres for one year, and 50 livres for each of the next two years, but just 6 months later, Dr. Moreau died from an “accident at home.” This left François looking for work elsewhere.
On November 6, 1684 François signed on to work for a notary in Trois-Riviére named Ameau dit Saint-Séverin. The pay was decent, at 60 livres the first year, 80 livres the second and 110 livres the third. It’s likely that his writing skills came into play while he worked for the notary. He also might have had an opportunity to meet merchants and other such people doing business in New France. Meanwhile, François acquired a grant of land on Île d’Orleans; the plot he purchased on October 2nd was 40 arpents deep with 6 arpents of river frontage.
Around this same time, François was looking further west, perhaps lured by the money that could be made in the fur trade. Up until this time, the explorer La Salle had a monopoly in dealing furs in areas beyond the Great Lakes, but after this arrangement changed, merchants in Montreal began organizing expeditions, and François made his way to that town. In his dealings, he met a man named Michel-Mathieu Brunet dit LeTang, and expressed an interest in marrying his daughter, Marie, so a contract was drawn up. The only thing that prevented the wedding from happening immediately was the age of the bride: she was 7-years-old. The marriage was agreed to on August 25, 1685, but François would have to wait a few years for the wedding.
The next few years had François working for a merchant in Trois-Riviéres, then he returned to Quebec City in February 1686. It’s not known if he stayed long. It’s likely that he spent some time on fur trading expeditions during these years, and finally on August 31, 1693, he married Marie Brunet in Montreal. They had 13 children together born between 1694 and 1719, settling in Lachine in 1697.
A few records of François' fur trading expeditions have been preserved. In 1713, he was involved in a trip to the "Lake of Erie Strait." The following year, he hired men to travel to Michilimackinac, a trading post where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan. These trips happened late in his life when he was almost 50-years-old, so it may be that he stayed in Lachine while others traveled to the locations. By this time, his oldest son was beginning to work in the fur trade, and several more of his sons would follow.
François died in Montreal on July 25, 1731. His wife Marie, whom he contracted to marry so young, survived him, and passed away in 1756.
Children:
1. Marie-Louise Bigras — B. 28 Oct 1694, Lachine, New France; D. 19 Jun 1772, Pointe-Claire, Quebec; M. André Franche-Laframboise, 16 Oct 1713, Pointe-claire, New France
2. Jacques Bigras — B. 14 Sep 1696, Lachine, New France; D. 4 Feb 1751, Detroit, New France; M. Angelique Clement, 13 Apr 1722, Pointe-Claire, New France
3. Marie-Françoise Bigras — B. 4 May 1698, Lachine, New France; M. René Aubin, 15 Jun 1716, Pointe-Claire, New France
4. François Bigras — B. 19 Feb 1700, Lachine, New Francec; D. 16 Jun 1781, St-Martin, Quebec; M. (1) Marie-Thérese Devoyau-Laframboise, 31 Jul 1724, St-Laurent, New France; (2) Marie-Thérese Bautron-Major, 31 May 1734, St-Laurent, New France
5. Marguerite Bigras — B. 26 Nov 1701; M. René Venet, 11 Aug 1722, Pointe-Claire, New France
6. Marie-Angelique Bigras — B. 20 Aug 1703, Lachine, New France; M. François Calvé, 30 Aug 1733, Pointe-Claire, New France
7. Alexis Bigras — B. 27 Jun 1705, Lachine, New France; D. 12 Feb 1791, Pointe-Claire, Quebec; M, (1) Marie-Catherine Prézeau, 3 Feb 1728, Pointe-Claire, New France; (2) Marie-Anne Meloche, 13 Feb 1764, Ste-Genevieve, Quebec; (3) Marie Benoit, 26 Feb 1781, Ste-Genevieve, Quebec
8. Joseph Bigras — B. 27 Mar 1707, Lachine, New France; M. Marie-Charlotte Goujon, 10 Jan 1729, Montreal, New France
9. Judith Bigras — B. 11 Feb 1709, Lachine, New France; D, 15 Jul 1755, Ste-Genevieve, New France; M. (1) Michel Desmoulins dit Lagiroflée, 15 Feb 1729, Pointe-Claire, New France; (2) Jean-Baptiste Gauthier, 3 Nov 1751, Pointe-Claire, New France
10. Marie-Anne Bigras — B. 12 Jul 1711, Lachine, New France; M. (1) Nicolas Briquet-Beque, 4 Nov 1731, Pointe-Claire, New France; (2) Etienne Groulx dit St-Marcel, 1 May 1764
11. Antoine Bigras — B. about 1713; M. Jeanne Cantureau, 14 Oct 1734, Quebec City, New France
12. Genevieve Bigras — B. 29 Apr 1714, Pointe-Claire, New France; M. (1) Jean Bernet-Larose, 1 Mar 1734, Pointe-Claire, New France; (2) Jean Spaure, 7 Jan 1761, Montreal, New France
13. Marie-Madeleine Bigras — B. 1 Dec 1719, Pointe-Claire, New France; D. 26 May 1722, Pointe-Claire, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
François Bigras (Wikipedia article)
Dictionnaire biographique des Ancêtres québécois, Michel Langlois, 1998
Bigras, François, l’ancêtre (website)
