A Brother With the Same Name — Pierre Chouinard

B. 20 Apr 1695 in (probably) La Carnardière, New France¹
M. 14 Feb 1724 in St-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France²
Wife: Ursule Martin
D. 19 Jun 1767 in L’Islet, Quebec³

In very large colonial families, baby names were sometimes repeated, resulting in two siblings having the same name. This is what happened in the case of Pierre Chouinard and his younger brother. Pierre was born on April 20, 1695 to Jacques Chouinard and Louise Jean, who lived in La Carnardière, New France.¹ He was their first child, the oldest of what would be 16. Pierre’s baptism was recorded in the parish records of Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, although it isn’t clear if the event took place there. His godfather was his mother’s brother Pierre Jean, and this may have been where he got his name (his maternal grandfather was also named Pierre).

While Pierre was still an infant, his family left the north shore of the St. Lawrence and moved to Île-aux-Oies, a small island out in the river.⁴ Here he would spend the first few years of his life. Life must have been very harsh, especially in the winter. Île-aux-Oies had only a handful of farms and no church; in order to attend services, people would have to take a boat to the south shore. Pierre’s mother gave birth to four sons during this time, and the first two infants died young. It was the fourth of these boys, born in 1702, who was named Pierre.⁵ There is no explanation for why their parents used the same name twice. In many later records, the terms l’Ainé and le cadet were added to their names, which translates as “oldest boy” and “the younger.”⁶

Document showing both brothers named Pierre.

When Pierre was about 9-years-old, his family moved to the south shore community of L’Islet.⁷ His grandparents also settled there, although it isn’t clear who was leading the way. The Chouinard home became crowded as Pierre’s mother had one child after another; a year after the youngest was born in 1720,⁸ Pierre’s father died, and it’s thought he drowned at sea.⁴ It was another four years before Pierre got married, and during this time he and his brothers likely ran their mother’s farm. His bride was Ursule Martin, the daughter of a boat master who lived in one of the south shore communities; their wedding took place on February 14, 1724 in St-Anne-de-la-Pocatière.²

Pierre and Ursule raised a large family while farming along the south shore of the St. Lawrence; between November of 1724 and about 1745, they had 12 children, of whom 3 died as infants. Meanwhile his family lived nearby. His mother in her widowhood sought to arrange for her security in old age, and on February 10, 1727, she signed over her property to Pierre’s younger siblings in return for the use of the family home.⁹ At the same time, she specified that Pierre would have 60 masses said after her death, which meant he would need to pay the church a sum of money when the time came. She died in 1750.¹⁰

There is some indication that Pierre struggled to make a living on his farm. A document dated February 21, 1731 listed 12 men of his community who were delinquent on paying their annual rent, as the seigneury system of New France required them to do.¹¹ Pierre was one of those named, along with his brother Pierre, his mother, and his elderly grandfather. The reality was that many along the St. Lawrence were only maintaining a subsistent life, getting by from year to year.

In 1755, with war looming in New France, Pierre seemed to have reached a point where he could no longer support his family. On February 19th of that year, the courts appointed a guardian for his minor children, an event that usually followed the death of a parent.⁶ In this case both Pierre and Ursule lived for many more years. So why was this done? It isn’t clear, but the guardian chosen was his younger brother Pierre. Perhaps the elder Pierre had become physically disabled in some way; the document signing took place in his house surrounded by his family. It was likely a sad event for all of them.

Pierre lived through the 1759 invasion by England, which destroyed many houses and farms in his community; it’s easy to speculate that his home was one of them. Somehow, he survived another eight years, passing away on June 19, 1767.³ Ursule lived into her late 80s, and died in 1792.¹²

Children:
1. Marie-Louise Chouinard — B. 9 Nov 1724, L’Islet, New France;¹³ D. 29 Dec 1801, St-Michel-de-Perce, Quebec;¹⁴ M. (1) Jean-Baptiste Labbe (1727-?), after 11 Feb 1749, New France;¹⁵ (2) Louis Bourget (~1734-?), 23 Feb 1757, L’Islet, New France¹⁶

2. Pierre Chouinard — B. 12 Dec 1725, L’Islet, New France;¹⁷ D. 27 Jan 1804, L’Islet-sur-Mer, Quebec;¹⁸ M. (1) Madeleine Morin (~1732-1796), 1 Feb 1749, Montmagny, New France;¹⁹ (2) Angelique Bechard (1733-1810), 28 Oct 1799, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec²⁰

3. Baby Chouinard — B. 18 May 1727, L’Islet, New France;²¹ D. 18 May 1727, L’Islet, New France²²

4. Louis-Marie Chouinard — B. 6 Jun 1728, L’Islet, New France;²³ D. 6 Jun 1784, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;²⁴ M. (1) Marie-Barbe Rondeau (~1725-1768), after 21 Jan 1753, New France;²⁵ (2) Françoise Pelletier (1751-?), 25 Nov 1771, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec²⁶

5. Marie-Thérèrse Chouinard — B. 27 Mar 1730, L’Islet, New France;²⁷ D. 19 Oct 1732, L’Islet, New France²⁸

6. Jean-François Chouinard — B. 10 Feb 1732, L’Islet, New France;²⁹ D. 29 Oct 1807, Kamouraska, Quebec;³⁰ M. Marguerite Morin (~1735-1816), 18 Feb 1754, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France³¹

7. Marie-Ursule Chouinard — B. 25 Feb 1734, L’Islet, New France;³² D. before 23 Nov 1761, New France;³³ M. Nicolas-Antoine Ducros (1727-1776), 14 Feb 1752, L’Islet, New France³⁴

8. Louis-Gabriel Chouinard — B. 4 Feb 1736, L’Islet, New France;³⁵ D. 13 Mar 1820, Rimouski, Quebec;³⁶ M. (1) Françoise Leclerc (1743-?), 8 Nov 1762, L’Islet, New France;³⁷ (2) Françoise Toussaint (1742-1828), 8 Feb 1768, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec³⁸

9. Julien Chouinard — B. 30 Dec 1738, L’Islet, New France³⁹

10. Charles Chouinard — B. 24 Nov 1740, L’Islet, New France;⁴⁰ M. Agathe Desrosiers (1740-1835), 24 Nov 1768, L’Islet, Quebec⁴¹

11. Genevieve Chouinard — B. about 1743, New France;⁴² M. (1) Jacques Collin (~1722-1792), 8 Nov 1760, New France;⁴³ (2) Pascal Gagnon (1759-?), 25 Nov 1793, Kamouraska, Quebec;⁴⁴ (3) Benjamin Boucher (1737-?), 26 Sep 1803, St-André, Kamouraksa, Quebec⁴⁵

12. Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard — B. about 1745, New France;⁴⁶ D. 22 Jan 1835, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;⁴⁷ M. (1) Louis Toussaint (1735-1787), 30 Jan 1764, L’Islet, Quebec;⁴⁸ (2) Vincent Consigny (1756-1795), 27 Oct 1788, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;⁴⁹ (3) Germain Hudon (1754-1805), 27 Apr 1797, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec⁵⁰

Sources:
1    Baptismal record of Pierre Chouinard, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2    Marriage record of Pierre Chouinard and Ursule Martin, Q.C.P.R.
3    Burial record of Pierre Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
4    Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
5    Baptismal record of Pierre Chouinard (Pierre’s brother), Q.C.P.R.
6    Court record appointing guardians for Pierre Chouinard’s children, 19 Feb 1755, BAnQ  
7    Baptismal record of Louise Chouinard (Pierre’s sister), Q.P.C.R.
8    Baptismal record of Charles Chouinard (Pierre’s youngest brother), Q.C.P.R.
9    Document signing over property from Louise Jean to Pierre Chouinard, 10 Feb 1727, BAnQ 
10  Burial record of Louise Jean, Q.C.P.R.
11  Document showing Pierre Chouinard was delinquent on rent, 21 Feb 1731, BAnQ  
12  Burial record of Ursule Martin, Q.C.P.R.
13  Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
14  Burial record of Marie-Louise Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
15  Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Labbe and Marie-Louise Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
16  Marriage record of Louis Bourget and Marie-Louise Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
17  Baptismal record of Pierre Chouinard (the son), Q.P.C.R.
18  Burial record of Pierre Chouinard (the son), Q.C.P.R.
19  Marriage record of Pierre Chouinard (the son) and Madeleine Morin, Q.C.P.R.
20  Marriage record of Pierre Chouinard (the son) and Angelique Bechard, Q.C.P.R.
21  Baptismal record of Baby Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
22  Burial record of Baby Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
23  Baptismal record of Louis-Marie Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
24  Burial record of Louis-Marie Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
25  Marriage record of Louis-Marie Chouinard and Marie-Barbe Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
26  Marriage record of Louis-Marie Chouinard and Françoise Pelletier, Q.C.P.R.
27  Baptismal record of Marie-Thérèrse Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
28  Burial record of Marie-Thérèrse Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
29  Baptismal record of Jean-François Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
30  Burial record of Jean-François Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
31  Marriage record of Jean-François Chouinard and Marguerite Morin, Q.C.P.R.
32  Baptismal record of Marie-Ursule Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
33  Marriage record of Nicolas-Antoine Ducros and Marie-Josephte Fortin, Q.C.P.R.
34  Marriage record of Nicolas-Antoine Ducros and Marie-Ursule Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
35  Baptismal record of Louis-Gabriel Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
36  Burial record of Louis-Gabriel Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
37  Marriage record of Louis-Gabriel Chouinard and Françoise Leclerc, Q.C.P.R.
38  Marriage record of Louis-Gabriel Chouinard and Françoise Toussaint, Q.C.P.R.
39  Baptismal record of Julien Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
40  Baptismal record of Charles Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
41  Marriage record of Charles Chouinard and Agathe Desrosiers, Q.C.P.R.
42  Genevieve Chouinard listing on Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française 
43  Marriage record of Jacques Collin and Genevieve Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
44  Marriage record of Pascal Gagnon and Genevieve Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
45  Marriage record of Benjamin Boucher and Genevieve Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
46  Baptismal record of Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard, Q.P.C.R.
47  Burial record of Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
48  Marriage record of Louis Toussaint and Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
49  Marriage record of Vincent Consigny and Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
50  Marriage record of Germain Hudon and Thérèrse-Reine Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.