B. about 1651 in La Rochelle, France1
M. after 31 Oct 1666 in Île d’Orleans, New France2
Husband: Thomas Rondeau
D. 21 Nov 1702 in St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France3
During the 1660s, when French women were recruited to become the brides of settlers in Canada, they usually said goodbye to their families forever. But Andrée Remondière arrived in different circumstances — her mother either accompanied her or was already there.
Andrée came from a part of France which supplied many of the Fille du Roi: the port city of La Rochelle. Her parents were Jacques Remondière and Renée Rivière, who were likely married around 1650 in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Cogne.4 Andrée is believed to have been born in about 1651,1 but may have been an only child because no other offspring are attached to her parents. Her father died sometime before 1666,4 presenting two scenarios for her childhood — one is in a two-parent household until she was an adolescent, and the other with her widowed mother struggling alone to raise her child from infancy. No records exist that can determine the circumstances of how Andrée grew up.
The lives of Andrée and Renée changed dramatically when a decision was made to move to Canada. This happened in about 1666, and the details are unfortunately lacking, but we can speculate that the mother as well as the daughter needed to find husbands, and somehow it made sense that both of them migrate. While Renée seems to have married a man she connected with on her own, Andrée is believed to have been part of the Fille du Roi program which gave small dowries in return for being courted by the men who desired wives in New France. There is no actual confirmation that mother and daughter traveled together, nor that either of them were Filles du Roi.
The record of Andrée’s marriage survives in the form of a contract with her new husband, Thomas Rondeau. Because of the date of the contract, October 31, 1666,2 it can be assumed that Andrée and her mother were on that year’s ship of prospective brides. Renée is noted on the document as the wife of Mathurin Croiset, who served as stepfather to Andrée; both couples would settle on Île d’Orleans, although there are no marriage records for either one.
In spite of seeming to be an only child herself, Andrée gave birth to 15 children. The oldest was born in 1668,5 and the youngest in 1694.6 It was common for New France mothers to have such a big family because the authorities offered money to families with 10 living children. The pregnancies may have taken a toll, though, because Andrée didn’t live to a ripe old age; she passed away on November 21, 1702 at the age of about 51.3 Her husband Thomas never remarried and died in 1721.7 They were both ancestors of Bridget Fonda and Emeril Lagasse.8
Children:
1. Mathurin Rondeau — B. 7 Feb 1668, (probably) Île d’Orleans, New France;5 D. before 1681, New France9
2. Thomas Rondeau — B. 22 Dec 1668, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;10 D. 13 Nov 1671, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France11
3. Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau — B. 19 Oct 1670, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;12 D. 8 Nov 1746, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France;13 M. Pierre Leclerc (1659-1736), 7 Feb 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France14
4. Marie Rondeau — B. 16 Dec 1672, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;15 D. 30 May 1751, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;16 M. Philippe Nöel (1670-1736), 5 Nov 1692, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France17
5. Françoise Rondeau — B. 25 Aug 1674, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;18 D. 12 Oct 1699, St-Jean, Île d’Orleans, New France;19 M. Charles Dumas (1671-1734), 12 Aug 1694, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France20
6. Ursule Rondeau — B. 5 Aug 1676, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;21 D. 17 Jan 1746, Quebec City, New France;22 M. Jean Bussiere (1673-1735), 21 Apr 1694, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France23
7. François Rondeau — B. 7 Apr 1678, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;24 D. 27 Oct 1748, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;25 M. (1) Marie-Anne Decaux (1678-1723), 21 Jul 1705, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France;26 (2) Marie-Madeleine Denevers (1686-1725), 1724, Ste-Croix, New France;27 (3) Marie-Anne Denevers (~1704-1729), 7 Jan 1728, Ste-Croix, New France28
8. Marie-Madeleine Rondeau — B. 28 Dec 1679, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;29 D. 9 Sep 1712, St-Nicolas, New France;30 M. Jacques Côte (1686-1734), 8 Feb 1706, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France31
9. Fabien Rondeau — B. 23 Oct 1681, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;32 D. 14 May 1712, Quebec City, New France;33 M. Marie Denevers (~1684-1712), about 1705, New France34
10. Baby Rondeau — B. 28 Oct 1683, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;35 D. 28 Oct 1683, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France35
11. Marie-Charlotte Rondeau — B. 25 Dec 1684, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;36 M. Pierre Côte (1679-1715), 27 Apr 1707, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France37
12. Jean-Baptiste Rondeau — B. 24 Mar 1688, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;38 D. 23 Jan 1709, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France39
13. Claire Rondeau — B. 12 Jul 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;40 D. 18 Jul 1690, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France41
14. Thomas Rondeau — B. 18 Nov 1692, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;42 D. 26 Mar 1734, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;43 M. Marie-Catherine Bourgouin (1700-?), 25 Oct 1717, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France44
15. Anne Rondeau — B. 4 Nov 1694, Saint-Pierre, Île d’Orlèans, New France;6 M. (1) Julien Rapoché (1707-1731), 19 Aug 1725, Quebec City, New France;45 (2) Philippe Desmarais (1702-?), 21 Nov 1735, Quebec City, New France46
Sources:
1 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Andrée Remondière
2 Marriage contract of Thomas Rondeau and Andrée Remondière
3 Burial record of Andrée Remondière, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
4 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Jacques Remondière
5 Baptismal record of Mathurin Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
7 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
8 FamousKin.com listing of Thomas Rondeau
9 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
10 Baptismal record of Thomas Rondeau (older child), Q.C.P.R.
11 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau (older child), Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
13 Burial record of Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Pierre Leclerc and Elisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
16 Burial record of Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
17 Marriage record of Philippe Noël and Marie Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
18 Baptismal record of Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
19 Burial record of Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
20 Marriage record of Charles Dumas and Françoise Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
21 Baptismal record of Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
23 Marriage record of Jean Bussiere and Ursule Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
24 Baptismal record of François Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
25 Burial record of François Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
26 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Anne Decaux, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Madeleine Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Françoise Rondeau and Marie-Anne Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Jacques Côte and Marie-Madeleine Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
32 Baptismal record of Fabien Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
33 Burial record of Fabien Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
34 Marriage record of Fabien Rondeau and Marie Denevers, Q.C.P.R.
35 Burial record of Baby Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
36 Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of Pierre Côte and Marie-Charlotte Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
38 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
39 Burial record of Jean-Baptiste Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
40 Baptismal record of Claire Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
41 Burial record of Claire Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
42 Baptismal record of Thomas Rondeau (younger child), Q.C.P.R.
43 Burial record of Thomas Rondeau (younger child), Q.C.P.R.
44 Marriage record of Thomas Rondeau and Marie-Catherine Bourgouin, Q.C.P.R.
45 Marriage record of Julien Rapoché and Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
46 Marriage record of Philippe Desmarais and Anne Rondeau, Q.C.P.R.
