M. 25 Aug 1681 in Beauport, New France2
Husband: Robert Drousson dit LaFleur
D. 21 Dec 1741 in Montreal, New France3
There’s somewhat of a mystery surrounding a child that Marie-Jeanne Tarde had when she was in her mid-30s. Jeanne was born in about 1665 to Jean Tarde and Marguerite D’Amour in the Vendée region of France,1 possibly in the town of Fontenay-le-Comté where her mother had been born.4 When Jeanne was a small child, she and her parents migrated to New France, settling in the seigneury of Beauport.5 A sister was baptized in 1670, and in January 1672, a brother was born, but by then, Jean Tarde was already deceased.6 Both of Jeanne’s siblings likely died young because there was no further mention of them in parish records.
Within a year after Jeanne’s father died, her mother married a man named Nicolas Joffret dit Jolicoeur.7 Little is known about him, but Jeanne was later referred to as “dite Geoffrey” in some records, which was a reference to his status as her step-father. Two children were said to be born in this marriage, and it’s unknown what became of them. Then on July 29, 1677, a marriage was arranged for Jeanne, even though she was just 12-years-old.8 The husband on the marriage contract was Pierre Isanbart, but the wedding never took place. No reason was given for the cancellation; it’s easy to speculate that Jeanne wasn’t yet ready for marriage.
After that, Jeanne’s family seemed to disappear from her life, and on August 25, 1681, she married a second husband, Robert Drousson dit LaFleur.2 Later in the year, Jeanne and her husband were listed in a census as servants of Joseph Giffard, the seigneur of Beauport.1 Giffard and his wife were childless, and besides Jeanne and Robert, there were seven other servants in the household. It’s likely their chores were divided between taking care of the house and doing farm labor, although there are no actual details recorded about their work. The newlyweds’ jobs as servants probably ended when Giffard deeded his property to a nephew in February of 1683.9
Jeanne’s first child was born the following month,10 then shortly after, Robert moved the family to the Montreal area,11 which at the time, was still somewhat of a frontier. They took a farm in the settlement of La Prairie, the town where the rest of their children were born. By 1706, the family totaled nine children, of which three had died young. But the parish records also mentioned another child belonging to Jeanne, and oddly, no father was named.12 The baptism was dated November 3, 1699 with the name “Marguerite Lafleur, daughter of Jeanne Tarde.” More puzzling is that the child couldn’t have been newborn because Jeanne gave birth to another daughter just five months later.
Baptism record of Marguerite Lafleur. (Source: FamilySearch.org)
What is the story of Jeanne’s fatherless child? Perhaps the girl was the product of an affair, and Jeanne’s shame kept her from getting the baby baptized at birth. Or Jeanne may have been raped by someone; the area where she lived was filled with single men, many of whom were soldiers that later returned to France. It’s also possible that Robert was the father, but was mistakenly not written into the parish record. Whatever the truth was, it’s lost to history. Also lost is knowledge of what became of Marguerite, who was never mentioned in records again.
Just a few years later, two of Jeanne’s daughters had children out-of-wedlock. With the second of these two babies, the father was identified, so Jeanne and her husband took the man to court.13 He was a prosperous fur trader who was married, and it isn’t known how the lawsuit turned out. Not long after this scandal, the family moved to the town of Longueuil.14
Jeanne’s husband Robert died in Longueuil on July 13, 1730.15 She survived him by several years and passed away on December 21, 1741.3 She was buried at Notre-Dame-de-Montreal.
Children:
1. Marie-Louise Drousson — B. 18 Mar 1683, Beauport, New France;10 D. 17 Dec 1742, La Prairie, New France;16 M. Jean-Baptiste Raymond dit Toulouse (~1666-~1737), 10 Feb 1699, La Prairie, New France17
2. Marguerite Drousson — B. 12 Aug 1685, La Prairie, New France;11 D. 17 Aug 1768, Chambly, Quebec;18 M. Jean LaFort dit LaForest (~1675-?), 28 May 1708, Montreal, New France19
3. Etienne Drousson — B. 11 Oct 1687, La Prairie, New France;20 D. 11 Oct 1687, La Prairie, New France21
4. Marie-Madeleine Drousson — B. 3 Apr 1689, La Prairie, New France;22 D. 25 Aug 1747, Montreal, New France;23 M. Louis-Antoine Edeline (1690-?), 15 Jan 1720, Longueuil, New France24
5. Marie-Jeanne Drousson — B. 27 Apr 1692, La Prairie, New France;25 D. 8 Jun 1706, Montreal, New France26
6. Françoise Drousson — B. 7 Nov 1694, La Prairie, New France;27 D. 10 Apr 1695, La Prairie, New France28
7. Marie-Joseph Drousson — B. 13 Apr 1700, La Prairie, New France;29 D. 7 Apr 1754, Chambly, New France;30 M. Jean-François Courault dit Coulon (1699-1761), 15 Feb 1734, Longueuil, New France31
8. François Drousson — B. 12 Feb 1703, La Prairie, New France;32 D. 8 Jun 1778, La Prairie, Quebec;33 M. Marie-Madeleine Charles (1708-1733), 25 Nov 1726, St-François, Île Jesus, New France34
9. Ange Drousson — B. 30 Apr 1706, La Prairie, New France;35 D. 25 Feb 1785, Longueuil, Quebec;36 M. (1) Marie-Josephe Charles (1706-1736), 25 Nov 1726, St-François, Île Jesus, New France;37 (2) Marie-Madeleine Sorel (1716-1757), 20 Aug 1742, Longueuil, New France38
Child by an unknown man:
1. Marguerite Lafleur — B. before 3 Nov 1699, La Prairie, New France12
Sources:
1 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
2 Marriage record of Robert Drousson dit LaFleur and Marie-Jeanne Tarde, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Burial record of Marie-Jeanne Tarde, Q.C.P.R.
4 Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730, René Jetté, 1983
5 Baptismal record of Marie Tarde, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Paul Tarde, Q.C.P.R.
7 Marriage record of Nicolas Joffret dit Jolicoeur and Marguerite D’Amour, Q.C.P.R.
8 Inventaire des greffes des notaires du régime français, Pierre Georges Roy and Antoine Roy, V. 1, p. 252
9 Dictionary of Canadian Biography listing for Ignace Juchereau Duchesnay
10 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Marguerite Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Marguerite Lafleur, Q.C.P.R.
13 Inventaire des greffes des notaires du régime français, Pierre Georges Roy and Antoine Roy, V. 6, p. 215
14 Court record of Barbe Beauchamp vs. Robert Drousson, June 26, 1713 - July 14, 1713, BAnQ
15 Burial record of Robert Drousson dit LaFleur
16 Burial record of Marie-Louise Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
17 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Raymond dit Toulouse and Marie-Louise Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Marguerite Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
19 Marriage record of Jean LaFort dit LaForest and Marguerite Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
20 Baptismal record of Etienne Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
21 Burial record of Etienne Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
22 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
23 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
24 Marriage record of Louis-Antoine Edeline and Marie-Madeleine Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Marie-Jeanne Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Marie-Jeanne Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
27 Baptismal record of Françoise Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
28 Burial record of Françoise Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of Marie-Joseph Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Marie-Joseph Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Jean-François Courault dit Coulon and Marie-Joseph Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
32 Baptismal record of François Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
33 Burial record of François Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
34 Marriage record of François Drousson and Marie-Madeleine Charles, Q.C.P.R.
35 Baptismal record of Ange Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
36 Burial record of Ange Drousson, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of Ange Drousson and Marie-Joseph Charles, Q.C.P.R.
38 Marriage record of Ange Drousson and Marie-Madeleine Sorel, Q.C.P.R.
