B. about 1639 in Duclair, Normandy, France
M. (1) 9 Nov 1665 in Champlain, New France
Wife: Antoinette Meunier
M. (2) 27 Jan 1698 in Le Château-d’Oléron, France
Wife: Jeanne Massé
D. 19 Jun 1710 in Grondines, New France
A landmark stands on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, halfway between Quebec City and Trois-Riviéres—a 17th-century windmill that’s said to be the earliest still in existence. And it was once owned by Jacques Aubert.
Born in about 1639 in Duclair, France, Jacques was the son of a merchant, Georges Aubert, and his wife, Marguerite Ossanne. It isn’t known why Jacques migrated to New France. He first appeared in a marriage contract signed on November 9, 1665 in Champlain, a village upriver from Trois-Riviéres. Jacques' bride was Antoinette Meunier, a Fille du Roi who had arrived from France just a month earlier. Over the next few years, the couple had three daughters; there may have been other children, but the three girls were the only ones who survived.
During the 1670s, Jacques was involved in several transactions for land near Champlain. Then on March 20, 1683, he made a major purchase, traveling to Quebec City to acquire the fief of Grondines from the religious order of nuns who owned it. By owning the fief, Jacques became a seigneur, meaning that he collected rent from the others who lived there. In return, he took care of community business, and most importantly, supplied a mill to grind his tenants’ wheat into flour.
Nine years before Jacques became seigneur of Grondines, the nuns had arranged to have a mill built there. It was a small, round tower with a mechanism that was powered by the wind. The top two floors contained machinery that ground the wheat, and the bottom floor had a bin to receive the flour. Jacques lived with his family in a house nearby, while the habitants of Grondines brought their wheat to the mill so they could grind it into a product they could sell.
Jacques remained as seigneur of Grondines until 1694, when he decided to return to France. By this time, all three of his daughters were married, and he signed the fief over to his sons-in-law. Jacques sailed to France, leaving behind his wife Antoinette, who passed away on February 25, 1697 in Grondines. Word reached Jacques of his wife’s death, and the following year, he married a second wife, Jeanne Massé, at Le Château-d'Oléron, a village on an island just off the coast of France. The couple had no children (Jacques was about age 60), and Jeanne died in 1702. Soon after, Jacques returned to New France, and he tried to regain his fief, managing to get one-quarter of the ownership back, along with the title of seigneur.
Around the time Jacques returned to Grondines, he may have fathered an out-of-wedlock daughter with Marguerite Renaud, a woman who was younger than his legitimate daughters. The document that claims this fact was the girl’s 1722 marriage record, but there’s nothing else to verify the story.
Jacques died at Grondines on June 19, 1710, passing his fief once again to his sons-in-law. The mill he had once owned continued on, producing flour well into the 19th century. In 1912, it was repurposed as a lighthouse that was in use until 1967; then in 1984, the site was given a historical status. Today it’s a cultural center and small museum known as “Moulin à vent de Grondines,” the oldest surviving windmill in Quebec.
Children (all by Antoinette Meunier):
1. Antoinette Aubert — B. about 1666, Champlain, New France; D. 8 Dec 1720, Grondines, New France; M. Louis Hamelin (~1650-1718), 7 Aug 1679, Grondines, New France
2. Marie-Madeleine Aubert — B. about 1667, New France; 2 Jun 1742, Grondines, New France; M. François Hamelin (~1658-1725), 27 Nov 1685, New France
3. Marie-Anne Aubert — B. about 1672, Grondines, New France; D. 29 Aug 1712, Grondines, New France; M. Roch Ripault (~1660-1715), 6 Feb 1689, Cap-Santé, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
WikiTree
Seigneurial system of New France (Wikipedia article)
“Windmills in Québec II – Moulin de Grondines,” FrancoAmerican Gravy: Family History & Stories from Upstate New York, Quebec and Acadia (blog)
Moulin à vent de Grondines (Wikipedia article)
Hamelins of the Grondines (website)
