B. 26 Feb 1735 in Lauzon, New France
M. 14 Sep 1761 in Lauzon, New France
Wife: Marie-Charlotte Turgeon
D. 5 Jan 1826 in Lauzon, Quebec
There was an interesting dynamic among the people of Quebec during the American Revolution. Do the French Canadians' sympathies lie with England, or with the American colonies? For some men, like Alexandre Fournier, the choice was to side with the British.
Alexandre Fournier was born on February 26, 1735 in Lauzon, New France, across the water from Quebec City. He came from a very large family of 15 children and he was the youngest of the brood; his parents, Jacques Fournier and Marie-Françoise Blanchon, were 51 and 45 when he was born. Alexandre was treated at Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec City twice during his youth, on June 9, 1752 and February 11, 1753. It isn't known what sort of sickness or injury he had, or if the two visits were related to each other.
At age 26, Alexandre married Marie-Charlotte Turgeon, with the wedding taking place at Lauzon on September 14, 1761. They were known to have nine children, born between 1762 and 1777. A child who died in 1779 was unnamed in their burial record, and was either a tenth child, or their first born daughter, who has no further record after her baptism.
Alexandre's marriage was a couple of years after the British takeover of Canada, and that event affected everyone who lived through it. One aspect was what it did to the churches along the south shore of the St. Lawrence, especially where the Fournier family lived in Beaumont. After England officially took control in October 1763, many members of the clergy returned to France, and Beaumont's church, St-Etienne, seems to have lost their priest. For this reason, most of Alexandre's children were baptized at St-Michel-de-Bellechasse. The lack of a priest didn't prevent the parishioners from holding funerals at St-Etienne. Alexandre played a role in this by witnessing dozens of burials; he was likely some sort of voluntary officer working with whoever was running the church.
The French settlers had an uneasy relationship with the new English authority, and worried that there would be a crackdown on Catholicism. But the overall economy improved under the British, making it easier for the people to support themselves. And when the Quebec Act of 1774 protected their religion, many of their fears were alleviated.
The Quebec Act was actually a move by England to get the French settlers on their side so they wouldn’t join the rebellion forming in the colonies to the south. When the American Revolution began a year later, the Continental Army sent an invasion force to Canada. Some of the army arrived near Beaumont in November 1775, and set up camp there. The British began recruiting the French men to fight against the Americans; meanwhile, the Americans were also trying to enlist the French to help their cause, and some men did.
It isn’t known exactly when Alexandre joined his local militia in Beaumont, but his name appeared in the notes for a review of the troops, and he was one of two sergeants in his unit. The inspection took place at 10:00 am on July 6, 1776 with 71 soldiers present. After shouts of “Hurrah!” and “Long live the king!” a review was given of their recent action. That March, some of the Beaumont men had marched to the next town and arrested a French man who had been spying for the Americans. Shortly afterwards, there was a battle downriver at the town of Saint-Pierre, with many French fighting for the British side being captured by the rebels. It isn't known if Alexandre took part in these actions, but the fact he was a sergeant suggests that he was likely involved.
The Americans retreated from Quebec by the end of the year, and presumably Alexandre returned to his civilian life as a farmer. His wife Marie-Charlotte passed away on March 4, 1799. Alexandre survived her by many years, and he died at the age of 90 on January 5, 1826.
Children:
1. Marie-Charlotte Fournier — B. 3 Jul 1762, Beaumont, New France
2. Alexandre Fournier — B. before 20 Jul 1765, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec; M. Marguerite Turgeon (~1775-?), 27 Jan 1794, Beaumont, Quebec
3. Joseph-Amable Fournier — B. 7 Dec 1766, Beaumont, Quebec M. Marie-Elisabeth Roy (~1772-1824), 20 Jan 1800, Beaumont, Quebec
4. Antoine Fournier — B. before 4 Jan 1768, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec; D. before 28 Jul 1773, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec
5. Jean-Baptiste Fournier — B. before 4 Jan 1770, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec; D. 5 Jul 1770, Beaumont, Quebec
6. Jean-Baptiste Fournier — B. before 12 Jul 1771, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec M. Marguerite Roy (~1780-?), 18 Apr 1803, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, Quebec
7. Antoine Fournier — B. before 28 Jul 1773, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec M. Judith Nadeau (1784-?), 10 Jan 1802, Beaumont, Quebec
8. Jacques Fournier — B. Feb 1775, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec D. 15 Sep 1860, St-Laurent, Quebec; M. (1) Genevieve Roy (1780-?), 1 Feb 1802, Beaumont, Quebec; (2) Marie-Hermine Chabot (1815-?), 25 Aug 1840, St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Quebec
9. Marie-Joseph Fournier — B. 23 Jun 1777, Beaumont, Quebec; D. 8 Nov 1856, St-Chrysotome, Levis, Quebec; M. (1) Michel Dubois (1774-1809), 4 Jul 1796, Beaumont, Quebec; (2) Laurent Gosselin (1787-1858), 19 Oct 1812, St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de Lévy, Lauzon, Quebec
10. [UNKNOWN] Fournier — B. before 21 Dec 1779, (probably) Beaumont, Quebec; D. 21 Dec 1779, Beaumont, Quebec
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
1689-1760 Registre journalier des malades de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Quebec, Marcel Fournier, 2005
Quebec Act (Wikipedia article)
Blockade of Quebec in 1775-1776 by the American revolutionists, Frederick Christian, 1905
Rapport de l’Archiviste de la province de Québec, 1927
Battle of Saint-Pierre (Wikipedia article)
