B. 13 Sep 1661 in Quebec City, New France1
M. 18 Apr 1678 in Quebec City, New France2
Husband: Joseph Vandandaigue
D. 29 May 1735 in Quebec City, New France3
When Marie-Louise Chalifour was in her old age, she was charged with an unusual offense — building a channel from a waterway that affected community interests downstream.
Marie-Louise was born in Quebec City, New France on September 13, 1661.1 Her parents were Paul Chalifour (also spelled Chalifou) and Jacquette Archambault, the daughter of early Montreal settler Jacques Archambault. Louise became part of a very large family, which was typical for New France — she was the 7th of 14 children. All of her older siblings were girls, which placed a burden on her father to marry them off, and most of them were brides at a very young age. This was true for Louise who got married at age 16.
Louise’s husband was Joseph Vandandaigue, who was a carpenter that constructed buildings — this was the same occupation as her father, so it’s possible they had worked together on projects. Joseph had the unusual distinction of having been born in Brussels, Belgium; his name was originally Josef Van den Dyck when he arrived in the colony. Their wedding took place on April 18, 1678 at Notre-Dame in Quebec City,2 and Louise brought a large dowry of 2,500 livres into her marriage, which included land and a house. By the end of the year, she gave birth to her first child;4 she had six more born by 1693, with two dying as infants.
Louise and Joseph made their home in Beauport, and in 1681, both were witnesses to an altercation between two of their neighbors, Jean de Rainville and Charles Turgeon.5 It was de Rainville’s wife who seems to have struck and injured Turgeon, and Louise and her husband must have been there because they were called to testify in court. The men involved ended up settling out of court.
After a long marriage together, Joseph passed away in January 1725.6 Louise was left to handle her farm on her own, and later that year was hit with a lawsuit coming from the seigneur of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, Jacques Pinguet de Vaucourt, claiming that she had rerouted a stream.7 It’s likely that the offender was really her husband, and that she was forced to take responsibility for it now that he was dead. The charge stated that de Vaucourt could no longer operate his grist mill, something that affected an entire community. Louise was ultimately fined 40 sols, a considerable amount of money.
Louise lived another 10 years, dying on May 29, 1735 in Quebec City.3 She was buried at Saint-Charles Borromée Cemetery in Charlesbourg.
Children:
1. Jaquette Vandandaigue — B. 27 Dec 1678, Quebec City, New France;4 D. 24 Apr 1714, Quebec City, New France;8 M. Pierre Boutillet (~1676-1715), 5 Oct 1699, Beauport, New France9
2. Marie-Anne Vandandaigue — B. 12 Jan 1680, Quebec City, New France;10 D. 31 Mar 1752, Montreal, New France;11 M. (1) Antoine Bourg dit Lachapelle (~1662-1729), 26 Nov 1696, Beauport, New France;12 (2) Pierre Thibault Leveilé (1688-1747), 6 Oct 1732, St-Laurent, New France13
3. Claude Vandandaigue — B. 2 May 1682, Quebec City, New France;14 D. 10 Mar 1752, St-François-de-Sale, Ile Jésus, New France;15 M. Marie Brideault (1691-?), 5 Nov 1708, Beauport, New France16
4. Jeanne Vandandaigue — B. Mar 1684, Quebec City, New France;17 D. 11 Sep 1684, Quebec City, New France18
5. Marie-Charlotte Vandandaigue — B. 29 Jun 1685, Beauport, New France;19 D. 8 Oct 1727, Montreal, New France;20 M. Jean-Baptiste Dugas (~1670-1758), 9 Jan 1708, Beauport, New France21
6. Louise Vandandaigue — B. 23 Mar 1687, Beauport, New France;22 D. Oct 1725, Montreal, New France;23 M. (1) Jacques Gervais (~1677-1708), 17 Nov 1704, Beauport, New France;24 (2) Jean Étienne Boutin (1684-?), 14 Nov 1712, Beauport, New France;25 (3) François Lefebvre (1679-1727), 17 Jan 1718, La Pairie, New France26
7. Marguerite Vandandaigue — B. 7 Apr 1693, Beauport, New France;27 D. 1693, Beauport, New France28
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Chalifour, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Joseph Vandandaigue and Marie-Louise Chalifour, Q., C. P. R.
3 Burial record of Marie-Louise Chalifour, Q., C. P. R.
4 Baptismal record of Jacquette Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
5 Court record of case between Charles Turgeon and Jean Rainville, 1 Sep 1681 to 10 Sep 1681, BAnQ
6 Burial record of Joseph Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
7 Court record of case between the seigneury of Notre-Dame-des-Anges and Louise Chalifour, 28 Jun 1725, BAnQ
8 Burial record of Jacquette Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
9 Marriage record of Pierre Boutillet and Jacquette Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
10 Baptismal record of Marie-Anne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
11 Burial record of Marie-Anne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
12 Marriage record of Antoine Bourg Lachapelle and Marie-Anne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
13 Marriage record of Pierre Thibault Leveilé and Marie-Anne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
14 Baptismal record of Claude Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
15 Burial record of Claude Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
16 Marriage record of Claude Vandandaigue and Marie Brideault, Q., C. P. R.
17 Baptismal record of Jeanne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
18 Burial record of Jeanne Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
19 Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
20 Burial record of Marie-Charlotte Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
21 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Dugas and Marie-Charlotte Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
22 Baptismal record of Louise Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
23 Burial record of Louise Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
24 Marriage record of Jacques Gervais and Louise Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
25 Marriage record of Jean Étienne Boutin and Louise Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
26 Marriage record of François Lefebvre and Louise Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
27 Baptismal record of Marguerite Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
28 Burial record of Marguerite Vandandaigue, Q., C. P. R.
