B. 19 Oct 1670 in St-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France
M. 7 Feb 1690 in St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France
Husband: Pierre LeClerc
D. 7 Nov 1746 in St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
Élisabeth-Isabelle Rondeau, who was born into a family of early New France settlers, was caught in a property dispute with her grandson late in life.
Élisabeth was born on October 19, 1670 in St-Famille on Île d’Orleans. Her parents were Thomas Rondeau and Andrée Remondière, and she was the third of 15 children. Two brothers died as children, but that still must have made for a crowded household, and as the oldest girl, given her extra responsibilities. Ste-Famille was located on the northeast side of the island, and by 1681, the family moved to St-Pierre, which was just to the west. Here Élisabeth got married on February 7, 1690 to another settler named Pierre Leclerc.
Soon after they got married, Élisabeth and Pierre relocated to the south side of the island, in the seigneury of St-Laurent. Here she gave birth to fourteen children, with the youngest born in 1713. Only one died as an infant, and the others all celebrated weddings in her lifetime. Needless to say, this gave the couple many grandchildren, and one of them, Jean-Baptiste Baillargeon, was the source of the litigation in Élisabeth’s later years.
A court action dated July 14, 1632 showed that 17-year-old Baillargeon seems to have gone against his grandparents wishes on some land they had given him: he sold it to someone else. Élisabeth and Pierre filed “letters of restitution addressed to the lieutenant general at the headquarters of the Provost Court of Quebec,” meaning that they wanted to stop the sale and reclaim the property. The argument was that Baillargeon was underaged, and he didn’t have the right to sell the land.
Élisabeth’s husband Pierre passed away on January 26, 1736, leaving her to deal with the property dispute. The case seems to have become active again in 1744, when the following appeared in the records on October 5th: “Judgment granting default to Jean-Baptiste Baillargeon, resident of the island of Orleans and appellant of the sentence rendered by foreclosure in the Provost Court of Quebec, on June 25, 1733, between him and Elisabeth Rondeau, widow of the said Pierre Leclerc.”
Another year and a half went by before the issue was resolved. In a court record dated January 25, 1746, Élisabeth was ordered to abandon her claim on the land in question, and the original sale from 1732 was honored. The property was described as having an arpent and a half of frontage, indicating that the lot was narrow, but bordered the St. Lawrence River.
Élisabeth died later that year on November 7th, and was buried the following day in the cemetery at St-Laurent-de-Île d’Orleans.
Children:
1. Anne Leclerc — B. 9 Aug 1691, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 24 Oct 1727, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Pierre-Noël Fortier (1686-1731), 13 Oct 1710, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
2. Margeurite Leclerc — B. 17 Mar 1693, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 25 Jul 1750, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Nicolas Baillargeon (1684-1749), 16 Nov 1711, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
3. Jean Leclerc — B. 12 Apr 1694, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 9 Jun 1772, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, Quebec; M. Marie-Madeleine Gosselin (1700-1750), 11 Nov 1720, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
4. Marie-Madeleine Leclerc — B. 10 Sep 1695, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Alexis Roy (1693-1746), 20 Jul 1716, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
5. Pierre Leclerc — B. 2 Nov 1696, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 3 Apr 1751, St-Vallier, New France; M. (1) Marie-Josephe Mimaux (1702-1738), 4 Mar 1726, St-Vallier, New France; (2) Marie-Claire Cellier ~1694-1752), 2 Feb 1739, St-Vallier, New France
6. Élisabeth Leclerc — B. 3 Jul 1698, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 22 Feb 1736, St-Vallier, New France; M. Jacques Fradet (1700-1783), 28 Nov 1725, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
7. Joseph Leclerc — B. 24 Sep 1699, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 19 Dec 1699, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
8. Agnes-Madeleine Leclerc — B. 9 Oct 1700, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 28 Jul 1759, Charlesbourg, New France; M. Augustin Dufresne (1711-1759), 20 Jan 1749, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
9. Jacques Leclerc — B. 14 Jan 1702, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 15 May 1778, St-Vallier, Quebec; M. Élisabeth Turgeon (1712-1784), 20 Nov 1730, Beaumont, New France
10. Ignace Leclerc — B. 17 Jun 1704, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 22 Mar 1776, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, Quebec; M. Marie-Madeleine Côte (1722-1783), 15 Jul 1748, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France
11. Madeleine Leclerc — B. 22 Jul 1706, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 8 Nov 1743, Berthier, New France; M. Joseph Beaudoin (~1707-1783), 23 Oct 1730, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
12. Joseph Leclerc — B. 8 Oct 1707, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 11 Nov 1781, Quebec City, Quebec; M. Ursule Noël (1712-1798), 8 Jun 1734, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
13. Genevieve Leclerc — B. 24 Jan 1709, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 20 Feb 1748, St-Vallier, New France; M. Augustin Fradet (1706-?), 23 Oct 1730, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France
14. Marie-Anne Leclerc — B. 8 Feb 1713, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 6 Aug 1774, St-Charles, Bellechase, Quebec; M. (1) Antoine Gosselin (1716-1751), 25 Nov 1743, St-Laurent, Île d’Orleans, New France; (2) Jean Vallieres (1704-1768), 6 Nov 1760, St-Charles, Bellechasse, New France
Sources:
