M. (1) 24 Nov 1667 in Quebec City, New France2
Wife: Catherine Baillé
M. (2) 4 Jan 1678 in Quebec City, New France3
Wife: Catherine Meliot
D. 3 Dec 1690 in Quebec City, New France4
When a widower marries a widow, and each is the parent of minor children, the accounting of who owns what becomes messy. In the case of Pierre Bouvier, this was further complicated by the debts he owed, which left a paper trail in the courts of New France.
Pierre was born in Rouen, France in about 1631,1 the son of Sebastien Bouvier and Jeanne Leconflette. He may have had a younger brother named Antoine, but nothing else is known of his family. At some point, likely during the early 1660s, Pierre migrated to New France. The first time he appeared in records was as a servant of Denis Derome dit Descarreaux, an edge tool maker in the lower town of Quebec City. After working in Derome’s shop in 1666,1 Pierre seems to have set up his own forge for making tools, and for the rest of his life, this was his profession.
By the the fall of 1667, Pierre decided to find a wife among that year’s group of Filles du Roi, which arrived in Quebec in late September. The woman he married was Catherine Baillé, who was from the northern coast of France not far from Rouen, and they were married at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec on November 24th.2 Their first child was born about a year later; they had four more together, with the youngest born in October 1675.5 On March 11, 1670, Pierre purchased a concession on the south shore of the St. Lawrence in a place called Cap-St-Claude,6 but because his children were baptized in the church at Quebec, it’s not clear if the family moved there.
By 1677, Pierre acquired another farm, this time on the north shore in the seigneury of Neuville. But sadly, on October 31st of that year, Catherine died,7 leaving him with five children under the age of 10. He quickly arranged to marry a widow named Catherine Meilot, and their wedding took place at Quebec on January 4, 1678.3 At the time, Pierre had accumulated some debt, and his joint finances with his first wife had to be taken into account for the children they had together. He couldn’t sell the house he still owned in Quebec City to pay his creditors because half of it belonged to his minor children. A guardian had to be assigned to take care of the children’s interests, and presumably after that, the house was sold.8
Second wife Catherine had four small children of her own from her first husband. She wanted to keep the land, household items and furniture she had accumulated in her first marriage, but as soon as she became Pierre’s wife, her own children’s guardian took them both to court.9 Pierre was ordered to pay 410 livres for the estate property, a large sum of money, and as of 1689, he still hadn’t paid most of it.
Court document dated October 3, 1689 involving Pierre and the guardian of his wife's children.
Pierre became a father three times with his second wife; all were sons born between 1681 and 1684, but at least two of them died as infants. The family moved back to Quebec City, and Pierre died at Hôtel-Dieu on December 3, 1690.4 Catherine survived him and passed away in 1699.10
Children by Catherine Baillé:
1. Marie Bouvier — B. 20 Sep 1668, Quebec City, New France;11 D. 28 Apr 1711, Ste-Foy, New France;12 M. Pierre-Jacques Custeau (1663-1711), Quebec City, New France13
2. Charles Bouvier — B. 8 Feb 1671, Quebec City, New France;14 D. 23 Jun 1712, Quebec City, New France;15 M. Marie-Catherine Renaud (1671-1723), 27 Feb 1696, Quebec City, New France16
3. Jeanne-Thèrese Bouvier — B. 29 Jul 1673, Quebec City, New France;17 D. 28 Nov 1729, Lotbinière, New France;18 M. Jean-Baptiste Barabé (1671-1729), 1693, New France18
4. Catherine Bouvier — B. 1674, New France;20 D. after 1681, (probably) New France21
5. Pierre Bouvier — B. 12 Oct 1675, Quebec City, New France;5 D. 16 Mar 1715, Quebec City, New France;22 M. Marie Meunier (1685-1743), 30 Jan 1702, Beaupré, New France23
Children by Catherine Meliot:
1. Antoine Bouvier — B. 12 Apr 1681, Neuville, New France24
2. Charles Bouvier — B. 21 Apr 1683, Quebec City, New France;25 D. 2 May 1683, Quebec City, New France26
3. Jacques Bouvier — B. 2 Dec 1684, Quebec City, New France;27 3 Dec 1684, Quebec City, New France28
Sources:
1 Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France
2 Marriage record of Pierre Bouvier and Catherine Baillé, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Pierre Bouvier and Catherine Meliot, Q.C.P.R.
4 Burial record of Pierre Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
5 Baptismal record of Pierre Bouvier (younger), Q.C.P.R.
6 Histoire de la Seigneurie de Lauzon, Volume 1, page 246, Joseph-Edmond Roy, 1897
7 Burial record of Catherine Baillé, Q.C.P.R.
8 Order to elect guardian for children of Pierre Bouvier and Catherine Baillé, March 20, 1680, BAnQ
9 Ruling in case between Pierre Bouvier and François Repoche, October 3, 1689, BAnQ
10 Burial record of Catherine Meliot, Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Marie Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
12 Burial record of Marie Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
13 Marriage record of Pierre-Jacques Custeau and Marie Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
14 Baptismal record of Charles Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
15 Burial record of Charles Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
16 Marriage record of Charles Bouvier and Marie-Catherine Renaud, Q.C.P.R.
17 Baptismal record of Jeanne-Thèrese Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Jeanne-Thèrese Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
19 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Barabé and Jeanne-Thèrese Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
20 Baptismal record of Catherine Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
21 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
22 Burial record of Pierre Bouvier (younger), Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of Pierre Bouvier and Marie Meunier, Q.C.P.R.
24 Baptismal record of Antoine Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Charles Bouvier (younger), Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Charles Bouvier (younger), Q.C.P.R.
27 Baptismal record of Jacques Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
28 Burial record of Jacques Bouvier, Q.C.P.R.
