M. (1) 10 Sep 1670 in Quebec City, New France2
Wife: Marie-Louise Michaud
M. (2) 7 Jun 1686 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, New France3
Wife: Françoise Rondeau
D. 6 Jan 1709 in La Durantaye, New France4
In 1665, the leadership in France was concerned that Iroquois were posing too much of a threat to their settlers along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. So a military force was raised, recruiting men from all over the country, and one of them was Jean Daniau dit Laprise.
Jean was born to Joseph Daigneault and Renée Brunet in about 1638 in the village of Niort, not far from La Rochelle, France.1 That region was populated by many non-Catholics who were followers of the Calvinist religion, and Jean was baptized at one of their churches there. He had an older brother named Paul, but it’s unknown if he had other siblings.
In early 1665, Jean enlisted as a soldier assigned to the Carignan-Salières Regiment,5 which was being set up to deal with issues in the New France colony. It was thought that the only way to keep colonists from being wiped out by the Iroquois was to send over great numbers of soldiers, so more than a thousand men were put on ships bound for New France. Jean served in the La Fouille Company which left France on May 24th aboard the Saint-Sebastien, a ship that became infested with disease.5 Some men were then loaded onto another vessel, The Justice, and it’s not known which ship Jean actually arrived on. In any event, his voyage took several months and it was miserable.
Uniform of the Carignan-Salières Regiment. (Source: Francis Back, Canadian Military History Gateway)
Upon arrival in New France, Jean's company went to the Trois-Riviére region where they built a fort at the mouth of the Loup River.5 His exact participation in this effort isn’t recorded, but he was likely stationed there, or nearby, for the three years he served as a soldier.
When his enlistment was up in 1668, he returned to the Quebec City area, looking to make a home in New France. Before he could marry a French bride, he had to change his religion, and on September 6, 1670, he renounced Calvinism to become a Catholic.1 A few days later, on September 10th, he married Fille du Roi Marie-Louise Michaud at Notre-Dame de Quebec.2 They settled In Berthier-sur-Mer, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River across from Île d'Orléans.6 Between 1672 and 1679, they had four children, but Marie-Louise died sometime during the 1680s.7
On June 2, 1686, Jean married a second wife, Françoise Rondeau,3 and they had eight children, with the youngest born in 1705.8 By this time, they had moved inland to the settlement of La Durantaye. Jean died there on January 6, 1709.4 His wife Françoise survived him and died in 1730.
When Jean set down his roots in North America, they grew to become a tremendous tree. It’s been estimated that Jean has up to 1,600,000 descendants living today, a large number even for a 17th century ancestor. Among his descendants were Ricky Gervais and Angelina Jolie.
Children by Marie-Louise Michaud:
1. Jacques Daniau dit Laprise — B. 12 Jan 1672, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France;10 D. 18 Jul 1751, St-François-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France;11 M. Louise Destroismaisons (1680-1755), 3 Aug 1702, Montmagny, New France12
2. Marguerite Daniau — B. 11 Feb 1674, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France;13 D. 23 Dec 1708, Montmagny, New France;14 M. Arnault La Vergne (1672-1712), 25 Nov 1693, Montmagny, New France15
3. Marie-Françoise Daniau — B. 23 Jul 1676, Berthier-sur-Mer, New France;16 D. 18 Oct 1759, St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France;17 M. François Destroismaisons (1678-1749), 3 Nov 1700, Montmagny, New France18
Children by Françoise Rondeau:
1. Jean-Baptiste Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1687, New France;21 D. 19 Jun 1759, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France;22 M. (1) Marie-Françoise Guillemet (1685-1748), 7 Jan 1716, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France;23 (2) Marguerite Malboeuf (1695-1766), 7 Oct 1748, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France24
2. Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1689, New France;25 D. 3 Feb 1761, New France;26 M. (1) Genevieve Lamy (1705-1736), 3 Feb 1723, Montmagny, New France;27 (2) Marie-Suzanne Dumont (1713-1743), 8 Oct 1736, Montmagny, New France;28 (3) Jeanne Guimond (1699-1778), 14 Oct 1743, Montmagny, New France29
3. François Daniau dit Laprise — B. 1692, New France;30 M. Marie-Françoise Rousseau (1702-1774), 11 Feb 1725, New France30
4. Laurent Daniau dit Laprise — B. before 18 Oct 1694, St-Michel-de-Bellechasse, New France;31 D. 19 May 1715, Montmagny, New France32
5. Pierre Daniau dit Laprise — B. 8 Nov 1699, La Durantaye, New France;33 D. 18 Dec 1725, St-Vallier, New France34
6. Joseph Daniau dit Laprise — B. about 1700, New France;35 D. 22 Jul 1795, Montmagny, New France;36 M. (1) Angelique Lepage (1693-1758), Montmagny, New France;37 (2) Marie-Angelique-Genevieve Bilodeau (1731-?), 20 Nov 1758, Montmagny, New France38
7. Françoise-Martine Daniau — B. 24 Mar 1702, La Durantaye, New France;39 D. 14 May 1723, Montmagny, New France;40 M. Claude Gendron (1693-1727), 18 Aug 1722, Montmagny, New France41
8. Augustin Daniau dit Laprise — B. 7 Feb 1705, La Durantaye, New France42
Sources:
1 King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000, p. 410
2 Marriage record of Jean Daniau dit Laprise and Marie-Louise Michaud, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Jean Daniau dit Laprise and Françoise Rondeau, Q., C. P. R.
4 Burial record of Jean Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
5 Migrations: compagnie la Fouille (website)
6 Baptismal record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
7 Burial record of Marie-Louise Michaud, Q., C. P. R.
8 Baptismal record of Augustin Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
9 Burial record of Françoise Rondeau, Q., C. P. R.
10 Baptismal record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
11 Burial record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
12 Marriage record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise and Louise Destroismaisons, Q., C. P. R.
13 Baptismal record of Marguerite Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
14 Burial record of Marguerite Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
15 Marriage record of Arnault La Vergne and Marguerite Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
16 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
17 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
18 Marriage record of François Destroismaisons and Marie-Françoise Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
19 Baptismal record of Joseph Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
20 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
21 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Jean Daniau dit Laprise (his son)
22 Burial record of Jean Daniau dit Laprise (his son), Q., C. P. R.
23 Marriage record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise and Marie-Françoise Guillemet, Q., C. P. R.
24 Marriage record of Jacques Daniau dit Laprise and Marguerite Malboeuf , Q., C. P. R.
25 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise
26 Burial record of Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
27 Marriage record of Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise and Genevieve Lamy, Q., C. P. R.
28 Marriage record of Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise and Marie-Suzanne Dumont, Q., C. P. R.
29 Marriage record of Guillaume Daniau dit Laprise and Jeanne Guimond, Q., C. P. R.
30 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of François Daniau dit Laprise
31 Baptismal record of Laurent Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
32 Burial record of Laurent Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
33 Baptismal record of Pierre Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
34 Burial record of Pierre Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
35 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Joseph Daniau dit Laprise
36 Burial record of Joseph Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
37 Marriage record of Joseph Daniau dit Laprise and Angelique Lepage, Q., C. P. R.
38 Marriage record of Joseph Daniau dit Laprise and Marie-Angelique-Genevieve Bilodeau, Q., C. P. R.
39 Baptismal record of Françoise-Martine Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
40 Burial record of Françoise-Martine Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
41 Marriage record of Claude Gendron and Françoise-Martine Daniau, Q., C. P. R.
42 Baptismal record of Augustin Daniau dit Laprise, Q., C. P. R.
