M. 27 Feb 1680 in Neuville, New France2
Wife: Marie-Françoise Briere
D. 25 Oct 1727 in St-Nicolas, New France3
For a peasant farmer in 17th century New France, Michel LeMarié seems to have been all over the map. Michel was born about 1654 in the Charente region of France,1 which was not far from the port city of La Rochelle. Michel’s parents were Jacques LeMarie (also spelled Marièr) and Marie Morin, and he was their oldest child. The next known child in the family was born in Quebec City on April 25, 1661,4 so sometime between these years, young Michel experienced the rugged journey across the Atlantic onboard a ship.
For the next few years, Michel’s family lived in the seigneury of Beauport, and this is where he grew up. Beauport was on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, a short distance east of Quebec City. The 1667 census showed they had a quite substantial farm of 80 arpents,5 and Michel as the oldest son likely worked in the fields alongside his father. Seven younger siblings were born there by 1672, but as the area filled with more people, Michel’s father looked to settle across the river in the newer settlement of Lauzon. On November 25, 1672,6 he secured concessions for himself, Michel and two other sons who were under the age of 12.7
Oddly, no one in the family moved to Lauzon that year; instead they seem to have gone to Maures (later called St-Augustin-de-Desmaures), which was upriver from Quebec City on the north shore. It was in nearby Neuville that Michel got married to Marie-Françoise Briere on February 27, 1680.3 After the couple had two sons born in that area, they moved to Lauzon in 1686;8 it isn’t clear whether this was the same property his father had gotten for him in 1672. Two more children were born in Lauzon, then in 1692, the parish in Neuville recorded the loss of their stillborn baby.9 Over the next decade or so, Michel and Françoise had children baptized at St-Nicolas in 1695,10 St-Antoine-de-Tilly in 1699,11 Neuville in 1702,12 and back in St-Nicolas in 1705.13 Births of two other children in 1693 and 1695 took place in unknown locations, making for a total of 11 children.
The places where Michel lived.
Why was Michel recorded in so many places? It’s possible that he was a part-time fisherman and he was seeking fertile waters. It’s known that his father had fished for eels in addition to farming, and one record from January 1680 suggested that Michel had a boat.7 He also may have moved from place to place to try to gain better farming. New France settlers had to deal with very harsh conditions for growing crops, and producing enough to support a family was often difficult. Eventually Michel seemed to put down roots in St-Nicolas on the south shore. This is where he died on October 25, 1727 at the age of about 73.3 His wife Françoise lived another 12 years, passing away in 1739.14
Children:
1. Michel LeMarié — B. 6 Sep 1682, St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, New France;15 D. 31 Oct 1757, St-Nicolas, New France;16 M. Madeleine Pilote (~1692-1742), 24 Nov 1715, St-Foy, New France17
2. Jacques LeMarié — B. 25 Oct 1684, Neuville, New France;18 D. 14 Mar 1714, St-Nicolas, New France19
3. Marie-Elizabeth LeMarié — B. 23 Oct 1686, Côte-de-Lauzon, New France;8 D. 27 Jul 1773, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec;20 M. Jean-Baptiste Lambert (1695-1752), 25 Nov 1717, St-Nicolas, New France21
4. Marie-Thérèse LeMarié — B. about 1688, New France;22 D. 22 Apr 1778, St-Vincent-de-Paul, Laval, Quebec;22 M. François Boucher dit Deroches (1684-1760), 28 Nov 1709, St-Nicolas, New France23
5. Baby Girl LeMarié — B. 3 Jan 1692, Neuville, New France;9 D. 3 Jan 1692, Neuville, New France9
6. Marie-Charlotte LeMarié — B. about 1693, New France;24 D. 25 Apr 1767, Quebec City, Quebec;24 M. Jean Chevrery (1685-1760), 3 May 1716, Quebec City, New France25
7. Jean LeMarié — B. 9 Feb 1695, St-Nicolas, New France;10 D. 25 May 1769, Quebec City, Quebec;26 M. (1) Jeanne Tareau (1700-1730), 13 Sep 1725, Quebec City, New France;27 (2) Angelique Hebert (1709-1774), 4 Nov 1732, Quebec City, New France28
8. Joseph LeMarié — B. 11 Sep 1697, St-Nicolas, New France;29 M. Agnes Dumay (1708-?), 16 Sep 1729, New France30
9. Marie-Françoise LeMarié — B. 27 Oct 1699, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec;11 D. 26 Apr 1763, St-Vincent-de-Paul, Laval, Quebec;31 M. (1) Denis Gagnon (~1678-1736), 11 May 1727, New France;32 (2) Joseph Côte (1716-?), 11 Nov 1736, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France33
10. Marie-Marguerite LeMarié — B. 5 Mar 1702, Neuville, New France;12 D. 31 May 1755, St-Vallier, New France;34 M. Antoine Remillard (1698-1757), 6 Jun 1728, Quebec City, Quebec35
11. Marie-Anne LeMarié — B. 11 Jun 1705, St-Nicolas, New France;13 D. 14 Apr 1739, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;36 M. Fabien Côte (1706-1775), 26 Aug 1727, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France37
Sources:
1 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing of Michel Marier
2 Marriage record of Michel LeMarié and Marie-Françoise Briere, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Burial record of Michel LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
4 Baptismal record of Thomas LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
5 Recensement de 1667 en Nouvelle-France
6 Baptismal record of Robert LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
7 Histoire de la Seigneurie de Lauzon, Vol. 1, Joseph-Edmund Roy, 1897
8 Baptismal record of Marie-Elizabeth LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
9 Burial record of unnamed baby of Michel LeMarié and Marie-Françoise Briere, Q.C.P.R.
10 Baptismal record of Jean LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Marie-Marguerite LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
13 Baptismal record of Marie-Anne LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
14 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Briere, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Michel LeMarié (younger), Q.C.P.R.
16 Burial record of Michel LeMarié (younger), Q.C.P.R.
17 Marriage record of Michel LeMarié and Madeleine Pilote, Q.C.P.R.
18 Baptismal record of Jacques LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
19 Burial record of Jacques LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
20 Burial record of Marie-Elizabeth LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
21 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Lambert and Marie-Elizabeth LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Marie-Thérèse LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of François Boucher dit Deroches and Marie-Thérèse LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
24 Burial record of Marie-Charlotte LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
25 Marriage record of Jean Chevrery and Marie-Charlotte LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Jean LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Jean LeMarié and Jeanne Tareau, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Jean LeMarié and Angelique Hebert, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of Joseph LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
30 Marriage record of Joseph LeMarié and Agnes Dumay, Q.C.P.R.
31 Burial record of Marie-Françoise LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
32 Marriage record of Denis Gagnon and Marie-Françoise LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
33 Marriage record of Joseph Côte and Marie-Françoise LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
34 Burial record of Marie-Marguerite LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
35 Marriage record of Antoine Remillard and Marie-Marguerite LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
36 Burial record of Marie-Anne LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of Fabien Côte and Marie-Anne LeMarié, Q.C.P.R.
