M. after 31 Oct 1666 in Île d’Orlèans, New France2
Wife: Andrée Remondière
D. 10 Nov 1721 in St-Pierre, Île d’Orlèans, New France3
Thomas Rondeau was one of the many tradesmen who came to New France in the 17th century and wound up leaving a huge number of descendants. Born in about 1638 to Jean Rondeau and Marie Fourestier, Thomas was from Sainte-Souille, France, not far from La Rochelle.1,2 He likely became an apprentice to someone experienced in working with metal. Then while in his 20s, he boarded a ship and migrated to New France.
The earliest record of Thomas was in the census taken of New France in 1666.4 The colony had recently come under direct authority of the crown, and those in charge wanted to monitor the settlers as to how each contributed to the overall wealth. There were many married men on the Île d’Orleans, who operated farms and raised families. There were also a number of single men of various occupations, and among them was Thomas, age 25, who was a cloutier, which translates as “nail smith.” This would have been a valuable profession to support all of the construction of new houses and barns in the area
Later that year, Thomas agreed to a contract to marry Andrée Remondière, a girl who may have been as young as 15-years-old.2 The contract was signed on October 31, 1666 and was witnessed by Andrée’s step-father, who seemed to have married her mother, Renée Riviére, earlier in the year. Mother and daughter had arrived from La Rochelle, and are sometimes identified as Filles du Roi, but this status doesn’t seem to be clearly proven. Andrée brought 100 livres dowry into the marriage; unfortunately, the record of their wedding is lost.
By 1668, Thomas and Andrée moved to a farm in Ste-Famille, and their first child was born that year.5 They eventually had a family of 15 children, four of whom died young, although one child wasn’t named and may have been stillborn. The family was listed in the 1681 census as having a farm with six cattle and 10 arpents of land under cultivation.1 By then, they had moved to St-Pierre, in another part of the Île d’Orleans.
1689 map of St-Pierre showing location of Thomas' farm.
Andrée passed away on November 21, 1702.6 Even though Thomas was much older, he survived her by many years, dying on November 10, 1721 at St-Pierre.3 Their children produced about 50 grandchildren, and today it’s believed that over 2 million people can claim Thomas as their ancestor,7 including actress Bridget Fonda and chef Emeril Lagasse.8
Children:
1. Mathurin Rondeau — B. 7 Feb 1668, (probably) Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;5 D. before 1681, New France1
2. Thomas Rondeau — B. 22 Dec 1668, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;9 D. 13 Nov 1671, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France10
3. Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau — B. 19 Oct 1670, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;11 D. 8 Nov 1746, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France;12 M. Pierre Leclerc (1659-1736), 7 Feb 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France13
4. Marie Rondeau — B. 16 Dec 1672, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;14 D. 30 May 1751, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;14 M. Philippe Noël (1670-1736), 5 Nov 1692, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France16
5. Françoise Rondeau — B. 25 Aug 1674, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;17 D. 12 Oct 1699, St-Jean, Île d’Orleans, New France;18 M. Charles Dumas (1671-1734), 12 Aug 1694, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France19
6. Ursule Rondeau — B. 5 Aug 1676, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;20 D. 17 Jan 1746, Quebec City, New France;21 M. Jean Bussiere (1673-1735), 21 Apr 1694, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France22
7. François Rondeau — B. 7 Apr 1678, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;23 D. 27 Oct 1748, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;24 M. (1) Marie-Anne Decaux (1678-1723), 21 Jul 1705, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France;25 (2) Marie-Madeleine Denevers (1686-1725), 1724, Ste-Croix, New France;26 (3) Marie-Anne Denevers (~1704-1729), 7 Jan 1728, Ste-Croix, New France27
8. Marie-Madeleine Rondeau — B. 28 Dec 1679, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;28 D. 9 Sep 1712, St-Nicolas, New France;29 M. Jacques Côte (1686-1734), 8 Feb 1706, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France30
9. Fabien Rondeau — B. 23 Oct 1681, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;31 D. 14 May 1712, Quebec City, New France;32 M. Marie Denevers (~1684-1712), about 1705, New France33
10. Baby Rondeau — B. 28 Oct 1683, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;34 D. 28 Oct 1683, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France34
11. Marie-Charlotte Rondeau — B. 25 Dec 1684, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;35 M. Pierre Côte (1679-1715), 27 Apr 1707, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France36
12. Jean-Baptiste Rondeau — B. 24 Mar 1688, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;37 D. 23 Jan 1709, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France38
13. Claire Rondeau — B. 12 Jul 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;39 D. 18 Jul 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France40
14. Thomas Rondeau — B. 18 Nov 1692, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;41 D. 26 Mar 1734, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;42 M. Marie-Catherine Bourgouin (1700-?), 25 Oct 1717, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France43
15. Anne Rondeau — B. 4 Nov 1694, St-Pierre, Île d’Orlèans, New France;44 M. (1) Julien Rapoché (1707-1731), 19 Aug 1725, Quebec City, New France;45 (2) Philippe Desmarais (1702-?), 21 Nov 1735, Quebec City, New France46
Sources:
1 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
2 Marriage contract of Thomas Rondeau and Andrée Remondière
3 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
4 Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France
5 Baptismal record of Mathurin Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
6 Burial record of Andrée Remondière, Q.C.P.R.
7 Genealogy of the French in North America (website)
8 FamousKin.com listing of Thomas Rondeau
9 Baptismal record of Thomas Rondeau (older child), Q.C.P.R.
10 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau (older child), Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
12 Burial record of Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
13 Marriage record of Pierre Leclerc and Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
14 Baptismal record of Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
15 Burial record of Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
16 Marriage record of Philippe Noël and Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
17 Baptismal record of Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
19 Marriage record of Charles Dumas and Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
20 Baptismal record of Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
21 Burial record of Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
22 Marriage record of Jean Bussiere and Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
23 Baptismal record of François Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
24 Burial record of François Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
25 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Anne Decaux, Q.C.P.R.
26 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Madeleine Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Anne Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
28 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
29 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
30 Marriage record of Jacques Côte and Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
31 Baptismal record of Fabien Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
32 Burial record of Fabien Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
33 Marriage record of Fabien Rondeau and Marie Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
34 Burial record of Baby Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
35 Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
36 Marriage record of Pierre Côte and Marie-Charlotte Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
37 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
38 Burial record of Jean-Baptiste Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
39 Baptismal record of Claire Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
40 Burial record of Claire Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
41 Baptismal record of Thomas Rondeau (younger child), Q.C.P.R.
42 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau (younger child), Q.C.P.R.
43 Marriage record of Thomas Rondeau and Marie-Catherine Bourgouin, Q.C.P.R.
44 Baptismal record of Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
45 Marriage record of Julien Rapoché and Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
46 Marriage record of Philippe Desmarais and Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
