M. 18 Feb 1754 in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France2
Wife: Marie-Marguerite Morin
D. 29 Oct 1807 in St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec3
During the 1759 English invasion of Quebec, an order was given to punish all who lived in Côte-du-Sud (the south shore of the St. Lawrence), prompting an action to destroy the houses and farms of the French population. And almost certainly, Jean-François Chouinard was one of the victims.
Jean-François was born in the settlement of L’Islet on February 10, 1732.1 He was the fifth of the twelve known children of Pierre Chouinard and Ursule Martin (some parish records have been lost and the number of siblings may have been more). Jean-François had ancestors going back to the earliest days of Quebec, and had farmed along the south shore for as many as 30 years by the time he was born.
On February 18, 1754, Jean-François married Marie-Marguerite Morin at St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud,2 the village where she was from. They settled somewhere along the Côte-du-Sud, and it’s believed that their first child was born by the end of the year.4 Jean-François and Marguerite would have a total of 12 or 13 children by 1778, but the baptismal records for the ones born before the Quebec invasion are missing. Since the family later turned up in St-Jean-Port-Joli, and that village has no surviving records before 1767, it’s very likely this was where they lived.
It was a difficult time to manage a farm and support a young family, because in 1756, war broke out between France and England. The colonists in New France hadn’t developed an independent economy like those in the English colonies to the south, and relied on France to supply them the goods they needed for survival. During the early part of the war, England’s navy was able to secure a blockade, causing hardship and starvation to the people of New France, including Jean-François' family.
It all got worse when in 1759, a massive English force sailed up the St. Lawrence on a mission to take control. Since ships with soldiers from France couldn't get past the blockade, there was little the Canadians could do to defend themselves. Much of the resistance was put up by bands of young men bravely trying to protect their homeland. Many were from Côte-du-Sud, and the English decided to take revenge on them by destroying their homes and farms.
When 800 men led by Major George Scott carried out this order, they didn’t single out known rebels; instead they targeted the entire population.5 The village where Jean-François likely lived was one of the hardest hit. The inhabitants of St-Jean-Port-Joli found safe haven inland before the English set fire to every house and field in the area. They destroyed boats, seized cattle, and damaged churches up and down the coast. Even if they were in a nearby village, Jean-François must have lost much, if not all, of what he had owned. Records are sketchy because many were destroyed in the process, so it’s hard to verify his loss.
Villages burned by the English in September 1759.
In the years that followed, the people of the south shore returned to their property and rebuilt. By 1768, Jean-Francois was definitely established at St-Jean-Port-Joli.6 Considering what he went through during the war, he lived a fairly long life. Sometime before the end, he moved downriver to St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, where he passed away on October 29, 1807 at age 75.3 His wife Marguerite survived him, dying in 1816.7
Children:
1. Jean-Marie Chouinard — B. about 1755, Côte-du Sud, New France;4 D. 8 May 1836, St-Louis, Kamouraska, Quebec;8 M. (1) Genevieve Miville (1760-1788), 17 Aug 1778, St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Quebec;9 (2) Catherine Roy (1768-1791), 1 Feb 1790, Kamouraska, Quebec;10 (3) Marie-Antoinette Pinet (1772-1813), St-Andre, Quebec;11 (4) Euphrosine Tardif (1773-1856), 21 Jan 1817, Kamouraska, Quebec12
2. (possibly) Marguerite Chouinard — B. 7 Oct 1758, Côte-du Sud, New France;13 D. 7 Oct 1758, Côte-du Sud, New France13
3. Marguerite Chouinard — B. about 1759, Côte-du Sud, New France;14 D. 2 Dec 1828, Bellechasse, Quebec;14 M. (1) François-Joseph Mignault dit LaBrie (1743-1805), 12 Jan 1779, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;15 (2) Joseph Lacasse (1754-1829), 26 Jan 1807, Lauzon, Quebec16
4. Charlemagne Chouinard — B. about 1759, Côte-du Sud, New France;17 D. 7 Apr 1852, Kamouraska, Quebec;18 M. Perpetue Mignault (~1780-1849), 23 Nov 1801, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec19
5. Louis-Marie Chouinard — B. 11 Mar 1761, L’Islet, New France;20 D. 16 Feb 1821, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec;21 M. Marie-Josephe Levasseur (~1771-1821), 7 Nov 1785, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec22
6. Genevieve Chouinard — B. about 1763, Côte-du Sud, New France;23 D. 19 Apr 1851, St-Denis, Kamouraska, Quebec;24 M. Jean-François Lavoie (1762-1820), 28 Jul 1783, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec25
7. Jean-Chrysostome Chouinard — B. about 1765, Côte-du Sud, Quebec;26 D. 1 Nov 1835, St-Ours, Quebec;27 M. (1) Marguerite Michaud (~1742-1827), 3 Nov 1801, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec;28 (2) Josephte Beaunoyer (~1790-?), 4 May 1829, St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec29
8. Marie-Françoise Chouinard — B. about 6 May 1768, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;6 M. Joseph Blouin (~1755-?), 18 Jun 1787, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec30
9. Marie-Reine Chouinard — B. 13 Feb 1771, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;31 D. 3 Sep 1851, St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, Quebec;32 M. Joseph-Marie Roy (1764-1856), 10 Feb 1792, Kamouraska, Quebec33
10. Marie-Therese Chouinard — B. 18 Sep 1772, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec34
11. Amable Chouinard — B. 19 Jun 1774, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec35
12. Marie-Veronique Chouinard — B. 23 Sep 1776, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;36 D. 11 Jan 1781, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec37
13. Archange Chouinard — B. 2 Nov 1778, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec;38 D. 31 Oct 1860, St-Frederic, Drummondville, Quebec;39 M. Benjamin Pinet (1768-?), 21 Jul 1794, Kamouraska, Quebec40
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Jean-François Chouinard, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Jean-François Chouinard and Marie-Marguerite Morin, Q., C. P. R.
3 Burial record of Jean-François Chouinard, Q.C.P.R.
4 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing of Jean-Marie Chouinard
5 The French and Indian War and the Conquest of New France, William R. Nestor, 2014
6 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
7 Burial record of Marie-Marguerite Morin, Q., C. P. R.
8 Burial record of Jean-Marie Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
9 Marriage record of Jean-Marie Chouinard and Genevieve Miville, Q., C. P. R.
10 Marriage record of Jean-Marie Chouinard and Catherine Roy, Q., C. P. R.
11 Marriage record of Jean-Marie Chouinard and Marie-Antoinette Pinet, Q., C. P. R.
12 Marriage record of Jean-Marie Chouinard and Euphrosine Tardif, Q., C. P. R.
13 Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes depuis la fondation de la colonie jusqu'a nos jours, Cyprien Tanguay
14 Burial record of Marguerite Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
15 Marriage record of François-Joseph Mignault dit LaBrie and Marguerite Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
16 Marriage record of Joseph Lacasse and Marguerite Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
17 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing of Charlemagne Chouinard
18 Burial record of Charlemagne Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
19 Marriage record of Charlemagne Chouinard and Perpetue Mignault, Q., C. P. R.
20 Baptismal record of Louis-Marie Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
21 Burial record of Louis-Marie Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
22 Marriage record of Louis-Marie Chouinard and Marie-Josephe Levasseur, Q., C. P. R.
23 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing of Genevieve Chouinard
24 Burial record of Genevieve Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
25 Marriage record of Jean-François Lavoie and Genevieve Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
26 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing of Jean-Chrysostome Chouinard
27 Burial record of Jean-Chrysostome Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
28 Marriage record of Jean-Chrysostome Chouinard and Marguerite Michaud, Q., C. P. R.
29 Marriage record of Jean-Chrysostome Chouinard and Josephte Beaunoyer, Q., C. P. R.
30 Marriage record of Joseph Blouin and Marie-Françoise Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
31 Baptismal record of Marie-Reine Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
32 Burial record of Marie-Reine Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
33 Marriage record of Joseph-Marie Roy and Marie-Reine Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
34 Baptismal record of Marie-Therese Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
35 Baptismal record of Amable Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
36 Baptismal record of Marie-Veronique Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
37 Burial record of Marie-Veronique Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
38 Baptismal record of Archange Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
39 Burial record of Archange Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
40 Marriage record of Benjamin Pinet and Archange Chouinard, Q., C. P. R.
