B. about 1612 in Londigny, Angouleme, France1
M. (1) 20 Nov 1650 in Quebec City, New France2
Wife: Marguerite Guillebourdeau
M. (2) 8 Mar 1666 in Quebec City, New France3
Wife: Esther Coindriau
D. before 1681 in (probably) Île d’Orléans, New France4
There are lots of records of Jean Baillargeon working and raising a family in New France, but only during the prime of his life. Jean’s origins are a mystery, and it’s only known that he was born in about 1612 in Londigny, France to Louis Bailargeon and Marthe Fourier.1 It wasn’t until Jean was in his late 30s that he first appears in any surviving document, and that was after he arrived in New France—how and why he got there isn’t known.
On a lease dated July 1, 1650, Jean partnered with another man to acquire a farm on the southwestern tip of Île d’Orleans.1 The land was owned by a wealthy widow named Eleanore de Grandmaison; it included a house, barn and stable, along with two oxen and five cows provided for the tenants’ use. The house was 40 feet by 20 feet, and had been built two years earlier by another immigrant, Paul-Charles Chalifour. The lease agreement specified that the two men were to pay the first year’s rent with quantities of wheat, peas and barley harvested during the first year.
Later that year, Jean got married in Quebec City.2 His bride was Marguerite Guillebourdeau, a woman about 30-years-old who also had a sketchy background, and seemingly no relatives in New France. The wedding took place on November 20, 1650, and she gave birth to their first child just six months later, making it certain that she was pregnant when they married. Eventually they had three more children, with the youngest born in 1659; one of the children died young.
During the 1650s, Jean agreed to contracts working for several people in New France. On March 26, 1651, he made his mark on an agreement to work for Ursuline nuns in Quebec City doing unspecified labor for six months; he was paid a wage of one and a half livres for each day of work.1 Three years later in 1654, he agreed to provide some masonry for a new building in Quebec City; he was to “extract all of the stone” for the jambs of the chimney, and be paid two livres for the job.1
Besides the contracts for labor, Jean was busy working on farms and dealing in property. Between about 1655 and 1660, his name appeared on many contracts and transactions:
October 18, 1655 — He bought a concession of land on Île d’Orléans with 4 arpents of frontage from a widow named Étiennette Després.1
August 15, 1656 — He sold the above concession of land.1
June 5, 1656 — A house in the lower town of Quebec City was bought by Martin Prévost “for the benefit of” Jean.1
June 27, 1656 — He purchased the crops from a piece of land at Cap-Rouge from a settler returning to France. The plan was for Jean to harvest the crop and share the profits from sale with the settler who owned the land.1
October 22, 1656 — He agreed to work the land of a man who owned a farm in Sillery. He contracted to do this for five years at a rate of 350 livres per year. He also received 100 livres for each arpent he cleared on the property.1
June 16, 1657 — He sold the house in Quebec City to Étiennette Després for 300 livres.1
January 24, 1659 — He bought 50 arpents of land “between the fort St François Xavier and Le Cap Rouge.”1
On February 1, 1660, Jean signed a lease for 10 arpents of land with a house, stable and garden, plus three cows and two oxen located at St-Laurent on Île d’Orléans.1 He was paid 500 livres per year for three years, but could pay in “wheat, peas, butter, planks, etc.” The rent was later reduced to 300 livres by the owner after Iroquois attacked the island in the spring of 1661.1 There was suggestion that the raiding Indians damaged the property, although Jean and his family escaped harm.
After settling at the farm in St-Laurent, Jean seems to have stayed there for good. His wife Marguerite died on October 20, 1662 at the age of 42,5 and he had a brief second marriage with a woman named Esther Coindriau from 1666 to 1667.3 Jean last appeared in records on August 22, 1669 when St-Laurent property was officially ceded to him.1 He wasn’t alive in the 1681 census, so he must have died by that date.1
Children:
1. Jeanne Baillargeon — B. 4 May 1651, Quebec City, New France;6 D. 19 Aug 1729, Quebec City, New France;7 M. (1) Jean Lebrecque (1634-1673), 27 Nov 1664, Château-Richer, New France;8 (2) Pierre Brulon (1637-1678), 1 Nov 1674, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orléans, New France;9 (3) Antoine Mondin (~1644-1707), 3 Feb 1681, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orléans, New France10
2. Nicolas Baillargeon — B. 22 Feb 1654, Quebec City, New France;11 D. 2 Sep 1712, Quebec City, New France;12 M. (1) Anne Crepeau (1667-1703), 15 Nov 1683, St-Pierre, Île d’Orléans, New France;13 (2) Jeanne Rouleau (1690-1749), 8 Aug 1707, St-Laurent, Île d’Orléans, New France14
3. Louis Baillargeon — B. 26 Oct 1656, Quebec City, New France15
4. Jean Baillargeon — B. 5 Sep 1659, Quebec City, New France;16 D. 1 Apr 1694, St-Laurent, Île d’Orléans, New France;17 M. Marie-Jeanne Godbout (1665-1732), 2 Mar 1683, St-Laurent, Île d’Orléans, New France18
Sources:
1 Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
2 Marriage record of Jean Baillargeon and Marguerite Guillebourdeau, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Jean Baillargeon and Esther Coindriau, Q.C.P.R.
4 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
5 Burial record of Marguerite Guillebourdeau, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Jeanne Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
7 Burial record of Jeanne Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
8 Marriage record of Jean Lebrecque and Jeanne Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
9 Marriage record of Pierre Brulon and Jeanne Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
10 Marriage record of Antoine Mondin and Jeanne Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Nicolas Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
12 Burial record of Nicolas Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
13 Marriage record of Nicolas Baillargeon and Anne Crepeau, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Nicolas Baillargeon and Jeanne Rouleau, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Louis Baillargeon, Q.C.P.R.
16 Baptismal record of Jean Baillargeon (younger), Q.C.P.R.
17 Burial record of Jean Baillargeon (younger), Q.C.P.R.
18 Marriage record of Jean Baillargeon and Marie-Jeanne Godbout, Q.C.P.R.
