M. 9 Jan 1662 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Marie-Marthe Bourgoin
D. 5 Sep 1674 in Quebec City, New France
There is a small river in eastern Quebec called Godbout River that was said to be named for 17th-century immigrant, Nicolas Godbout. And later, the river gave its name to a small settlement nearby.
Nicolas Godbout was born in Berneval-le-Grand, France in May of 1635 to Michel Godbout and Colette Caron; he was one of eight children. The village where he was from was close to the port city of Dieppe, which may have been why he was recruited to move to New France. It’s said that he migrated in 1654, but there’s no documentation of it.
The earliest mention of Nicolas in New France was in a land transaction of Jean Bourdon dated April 15, 1655. It’s thought that Nicolas worked for Bourdon, who had lived in New France for many years as a surveyor and mapmaker. Two years later, Bourdon led an expedition to reach Hudson Bay, a trip that ventured far to the north. It’s possible that Nicolas was one of the 16 men who went with him, but there’s no way to say this definitively.
Nicolas was known to be a sailor and navigator, a useful skill in a place where boats were the only transportation. A contract in April 1658 identified Nicolas as being hired for an expedition “from Trois-Rivières in a boat of [Jacques Maheu] …to make a journey to Tadoussac and other places coming back.” For this he was to paid 30 livres per month. Among Nicolas' possessions at the time he died was a “naval chart on parchment with a logbook concerning the voyage that he had taken at sea.” This may have referred to his 1658 trip, or some other voyage not recorded in surviving documents.
At the end of 1661, Nicolas agreed to a marriage contract with Marie-Marthe Bourgoin, a woman who had been brought to Quebec City by Bourdon and his wife after a trip to France. The document signing took place at Bourdon’s home on December 26th and was attended by some of the most important people in the colony, including the governor. Marie-Marthe had connections to the French government through her late father Jean Bourgoin, who once worked for King Louis XIII. The wedding was a couple of weeks later on January 9th at Notre-Dame church in Quebec City.
In August 1662, Nicolas bought land at St-Pierre on Île d’Orleans, but he seems to have kept his residence in Quebec City. Marie-Marthe gave birth to their first child in 1663, and they would have three more children born in Quebec City. Then by the end of 1671, they were living at St-Laurent on Île d’Orleans, where one more child was born.
During his married life, Nicolas may have continued working as a navigator on boats that transported people and goods up and down the St. Lawrence. In a 1670 journal written by a Jesuit missionary was reference to a small river on the north shore, far downriver from Quebec City, called “Godebout River.” It isn’t known how the river became named for Nicolas, but it suggests he visited that remote area at some point in his life.
Nicolas was only 39 when he died at Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec City on February 5, 1674. At the time of his death, he had debts of over 640 livres that his widow Marie-Marthe had a difficult time paying off. She remarried the following year, but died in 1682.
The lasting legacy of Nicolas Godbout is that his name is still on the map today, attached to a tiny fishing village next to the river that he may have only seen in person once.
Children:
1. Marie-Anne Godbout — B. 9 Jun 1663, Quebec City, New France; D. 21 Jun 1668, Quebec City, New France
2. Marie-Jeanne Godbout — B. 11 Aug 1665, Quebec City, New France; D. 7 Jul 1732, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. (1) Jean Baillargeon (1659-1694), 2 Mar 1683, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; (2) René Pelletier (1659-1713), 23 Jul 1703, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
3. Nicolas Godbout — B. 14 Oct 1667, Quebec City, New France; D. 27 May 1720, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Marguerite Angélique Lemelin (1668-1742), 16 Oct 1685, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
4. Antoine Godbout — B. 16 Nov 1669, Quebec City, New France; D. 23 Apr 1742, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Marguerite Labrecque, 26 Feb 1691, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France
5. Joseph Godbout — B. 29 Jun 1672, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 16 Jun 1745, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Marguerite Manseau, 8 Feb 1700, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
Godbout, Quebec (Wikipedia article)
