M. 25 Oct 1734 in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France2
Wife: Marguerite Daniau
D. 2 Mar 1776 in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec3
By virtue of where Antoine Morin lived, he and his family stayed out of harm's way when the English invaded his country in 1759. Considering the place his parents had originated, he seems to have been very lucky.
Antoine was born on October 16, 1704 in Montmagny, New France,1 located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, and he was baptized at St-Thomas church. His father and mother, Pierre Morin and Françoise Chiasson, had only moved there a couple of years earlier.4 Each was born in Acadia and had married there with no intention of leaving, but a crime committed by Antoine’s uncle in 1687 caused the entire extended family to be exiled.5 At the time, three children were in the family, and five others were born before they settled in Montmagny for good. Antoine had an older brother born there and two more siblings came after his birth.
After Antoine came of age, his name was on a January 1723 document listing 21 men who had been granted land in the seigneury of Bellechasse, but had not lived on the land nor produced any crops on it.6 The men were accused of not paying their rent, not bringing grain into the seigneury mill, and not contributing to the “public works.” While this may have been Antoine’s uncle (who was also named Antoine Morin), the complaint also mentioned his brother Sebastien, so it seems likely it was him.
Two other records during this part of Antoine’s life mentioned issues of property. On January 17, 1725, his parents gathered the entire family to formalize their children’s inheritance, a meeting presided over by a local priest.7 Each member of the family was asked to sign the record, but most of them, including Antoine, made a mark instead. After the death of his mother, Antoine along with his brother Charles had some sort of property dispute with the other siblings. A court appeal that was heard on April 13, 1736 upheld a previous ruling which apparently went against Antoine and Charles.8
It wasn’t until Antoine was age 30 that he got married. His bride was Marguerite Daniau and the wedding took place on October 25, 1734 in a new settlement called St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud.2 The Rivière-du-Sud, or South River, flowed parallel to the St. Lawrence, emptying into the larger river at Montmagny. St-François was about ten miles upriver and several miles inland from the south coast. This became the place Antoine raised his family of sixteen children, born between about 1735 and 1760, five of whom died young.
Antoine was in his 50s when war broke out between England and France, causing hardship to all who lived in Canada, although compared to other towns, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud wasn’t a bad place to be. At the time of the 1759 Quebec siege, settlers all along the the south shore fell victim to British troops landing their ships and making camp in their towns. Many farms were burned and churches damaged, but none of that seems to have happened at St-François because it was safely inland.9 Things had been even worse in the place Antoine’s parents were from — 1755 saw the forced removal of all of the French inhabitants in Acadia, and had his family stayed there, they likely would have gone to some faraway place.
Location of St-François-de-la Rivière-du-Sud.
Antoine’s children left the nest one-by-one, but most of them stayed nearby. He lived to see all but the two youngest married off, and died in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud on March 2, 1776.3 His wife Marguerite lived another dozen years, passing away in 1788.10
Children:
1. Marie-Marguerite Morin — B. about 1735, (probably) St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;11 D. 18 Sep 1816, Kamouraska, Quebec;12 M. Jean-François Chouinard (1732-1807), 18 Feb 1754, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France13
2. Pierre-Noël Morin — B. about 1737, (probably) St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;14 M. Anne Bourg (1738-1811), 31 Aug 1767, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec15
3. Therese Morin — B. about 1738, (probably) St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;16 D. 16 Mar 1808, St-Vallier, Quebec;17 M. (1) Jacques Tanguay (1730-1792), 22 Jun 1761, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;18 (2) Jean-Baptiste Lecompte (1735-1802), 30 Sep 1793, St-Vallier, Quebec19
4. Marie-Louise Morin — B. 6 Nov 1740, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;20 M. Joseph-Pierre Jean (1736-1810), 10 Oct 1757, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec21
5. Theotiste Morin — B. about 1742, (probably) St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;22 D. 5 May 1806, St-Vallier, Quebec;23 M. Jean-Baptiste Tanguay (1739-1816), 21 Nov 1768, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec24
6. Genevieve Morin — B. 3 Apr 1743, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;25 D. 10 Mar 1767, St-François-du-Sud, Quebec;26 M. Joseph Dumas (1743-1830), 11 Jan 1762, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec27
7. Marie-Clothilde Morin — B. 17 Apr 1744, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;28 D. young
8. Marie-Françoise Morin — B. 28 Jan 1746, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;29 D. 3 Nov 1798, Beauceville, Quebec;30 M. Jean-Baptiste Bourg (~1748-?), 22 Oct 1770, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec31
9. Louis Morin — B. 22 Aug 1747, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;32 M. (1) Marguerite Paré (1760-?), 26 Jan 1778, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec;33 (2) Antoinette Cotnoir (1778-?), 3 May 1819, St-Cuthbert, Berthier, Quebec34
10. Martin Morin — B. 25 Mar 1749, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;35 M. (1) Françoise Pelletier (1756-1796), 18 Jan 1773, Montmagny, Quebec;36 (2) Therese Gaudreau (1769-?), 9 Jan 1798, Montmagny, Quebec37
11. Eustache Morin — B. 6 Mar 1751, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;38 D. 12 Feb 1820, Quebec City, Quebec;39 M. Josephte Boulet (1761-1825), 27 Oct 1777, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec40
12. André-Isaac Morin — B. 30 Aug 1752, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;41 D. young
13. Augustin Morin — B. 24 Feb 1754, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;42 D. 30 Apr 1759, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France43
14. Baby Girl Morin — B. Nov 1755, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;44 D. Nov 1755, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France44
15. Denis-Marie Morin — B. 26 Dec 1756, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;45 D. 27 Apr 1761, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France46
16. Pierre-Michel Morin — B. 11 Nov 1760, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France;47 M. (1) Reine McNeill (1768-1801), 27 Nov 1787, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec;48 (2) Cecile Duquet (1776-1832), 25 Jul 1803, St-Henri-de-Lévis, Quebec49
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Antoine Morin, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Antoine Morin and Marguerite Daniau, Q.C.P.R.
3 Burial record of Antoine Morin, Q.C.P.R.
4 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Morin (Antoine’s brother), Q.C.P.R.
5 "The Morins of Acadia," French-Canadian and Acadian Genealogical Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1968
6 Petition dated 30 Jan 1723 concerning land grants in Bellechasse
7 Court record of gathering of Morin family to settle inheritance issues, BAnQ
8 Court case involving Michel, Charles and Antoine Morin, BAnQ
9 "Les églises ont-elles souffert de la conquête?" Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française, Vol. 8, No. 1, Marcel Trudel, 1954
10 Burial record of Marguerite Daniau, Q.C.P.R.
11 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Marie-Marguerite Morin
12 Burial record of Marie-Marguerite Morin, Q.C.P.R.
13 Marriage record of Jean-François Chouinard and Marie-Marguerite Morin, Q.C.P.R.
14 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Pierre-Noël Morin
15 Marriage record of Pierre-Noël Morin and Anne Bourg, Q.C.P.R.
16 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Therese Morin
17 Burial record of Therese Morin, Q.C.P.R.
18 Marriage record of Jacques Tanguay and Therese Morin, Q.C.P.R.
19 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Lecompte and Therese Morin, Q.C.P.R.
20 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Morin, Q.C.P.R.
21 Marriage record of Joseph-Pierre Jean and Marie-Louise Morin, Q.C.P.R.
22 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Theotiste Morin
23 Burial record of Theotiste Morin, Q.C.P.R.
24 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Tanguay and Theotiste Morin, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Genevieve Morin, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Genevieve Morin, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Joseph Dumas and Genevieve Morin, Q.C.P.R.
28 Baptismal record of Marie-Clothilde Morin, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Morin, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Morin, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Bourg and Marie-Françoise Morin, Q.C.P.R.
32 Baptismal record of Louis Morin, Q.C.P.R.
33 Marriage record of Louis Morin and Marguerite Paré, Q.C.P.R.
34 Marriage record of Louis Morin and Antoinette Cotnoir, Q.C.P.R.
35 Baptismal record of Martin Morin, Q.C.P.R.
36 Marriage record of Martin Morin and Françoise Pelletier, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of Martin Morin and Therese Gaudreau, Q.C.P.R.
38 Baptismal record of Eustache Morin, Q.C.P.R.
39 Burial record of Eustache Morin, Q.C.P.R.
40 Marriage record of Eustache Morin and Josephte Boulet, Q.C.P.R.
41 Baptismal record of André-Isaac Morin, Q.C.P.R.
42 Baptismal record of Augustin Morin, Q.C.P.R.
43 Burial record of Augustin Morin, Q.C.P.R.
44 Burial record of Baby Girl Morin, Q.C.P.R.
45 Baptismal record of Denis-Marie Morin, Q.C.P.R.
46 Burial record of Denis-Marie Morin, Q.C.P.R.
47 Baptismal record of Pierre-Michel Morin, Q.C.P.R.
48 Marriage record of Pierre-Michel and Reine McNeill, Q.C.P.R.
49 Marriage record of Pierre-Michel and Cecile Duquet, Q.C.P.R.
