Thomas Rousseau

  General Notes:

IMMIGRATION: Bef 23 Mar 1664
CONFIRMATION: 23 Mar 1664, Québec City

THOMAS ROUSSEAU from " Our French-Canadian Ancestors " by Thomas J. Laforest

In spite of going back in time, mystery still shrouds the most crucial moments in the lives of a great number of Our Ancestors, moments like birth and death. The absence of precious documents, their irreparable loss in many cases, makes us continue to raise a multitude of questions, building hypothesis, only to arrive in the end, with very fragile conclusions.
Concerning the early life of the pioneers of New France, isolated researchers still continue to shake dust from a few ancient parish registries in our mother country, sometimes with success, most often discovering nothing of value from them. The systematic work undertaken more than sixty years ago by Archange Godbout has not engendered disciples as tenacious as the master. In a field of exploration which necessitates rather monkish efforts, the harvest could be abundant but, there are so few missionaries!

AN EDUCATED ANCESTOR
Thomas Rousseau, a pioneer of the Ile d'Orleans, appears more educated to us than the average Frenchman who came to populate Canada in the XVII century. He signed all of the notarized acts which he had drawn up. His signature is firm, his name well formed and sometimes accompanied with a flourish, a distinctive mark of people of quality at the time.
When was he born? How long did he live? These questions leave us rather perplexed about Thomas. If he knew how to write, he appears to have been less gifted in mathematics, in any case, especially his age. The fact that, his burial act has not been found is no help in resolving this problem. The ages that he gave during three periods of his life are quite intriguing: 32 at the time of his confirmation in 1664, 55 in the census of 1681 and 98 at the time of a donation to his son Antoine, in 1707. To be more precise, he was born between 1609 and 1632.

ARRIVAL IN 1662 OR 1663
According to all probability, Thomas Rousseau landed on the banks of the Saint Lawrence for the first time in 1662 or 1663. Certainly before 1664 since he was confirmed at Quebec by Msgr.de Laval, on March 23 of this year.

In 1662 and 1663, several ships came from France, off loading hundreds of colonists along the river, as reported by the Jesuits and Marie L'Incarnation. "On October 27 (1662) finally arrived a chaloupe biscayenne, on which are Mons. Boucher & a gentleman on behalf of the King sent to take command of 100 soldiers whom the King sent in advance for aid in the year to come, & in addition 200 passengers, & this on 2 ships of the King resting at Tadoussac with P. Charles Simon & our F. Garnier, novice schoolboy".

In a letter addressed to her son, Charles Martin, on November 6, 1662, Marie de L'Incarnation described the situation as follows: "My very dear son. I have just been advised that a chaloupe is going to leave to find the King's ships which have stopped sixty leagues from here, not being able to make the Captain obey, even though he was asked by the King to come to Quebec. He excused himself due to the season which was too advanced, no ship had ever gone so late as far as Quebec, adding that this ship being of four hundred tons, it risked too much in the river. But the true reason is that he was afraid that he would be chastised for his bad conduct during the time of his voyage having very badly treated the Gentleman whom His Majesty sent in order to explore this country and also monsieur Boucher who was the bearer of letters from the King and finally all the Passengers whom he nearly caused to perish from hunger and thirst as indeed nearly forty of them died from it. He only had enough supplies for two months and he was four months at sea. In the same place the other ship also stopped which being only a storeship could come up as far as here and return even after Saint Martin, the others seem to have departed later in past years".

The following year, the same ship and its escort commanded by the same captain, anchored again at Tadoussac. At Quebec, their arrival was known on September 7. A chaloupe was sent there to fetch the bishop of Petree and Governor Saffray de Mesy. This time, the King's two ships berthed at Quebec on the 22nd of the same month with their cargo and the rest of the passengers.

FARMER OF SEIGNEUR PEUVRET DE MESNU
The archives are silent in their present state. They do not permit us to know all of the comings and goings of Thomas Rousseau before 1666. The first two censuses of New France completely ignore this colonist. It is possible that, Jean-Baptiste Peuvret de Mesnu took charge of him upon his arrival.

This seigneur had been in the country since 1651. First, he was a soldier in his brother Jacques's company. Jacques drowned in 1657. Jean-Baptiste soon became secretary to Governor Jean de Lauson before becoming a notary, then clerk of the Senechaussee. In 1659, he married Catherine Nau de Fossambault, the widow of Chevalier Louis de Lauson de la Citiere. Four years later, the Sovereign Council made him its first clerk and secretary, a post that he occupied until his death in 1697.

On March 12, 1661, Peuvret de Mesnu acquired a concession of twenty arpents of frontage granted some twenty years earlier to Noel Jechereau des Chastelets. This domain added to the twenty -three arpents still unoccupied which separated it from the arriere-fief of Beaulieu, was set up in the form of a seigneurie with high, middle and lower courts of its own to administer.

Jean-Baptiste Peuvret, always present at the important activities and events of his censitaires (landowners), hired Thomas Rousseau "living on the ile d'Orleans at the present" as a farmer for a period of five years "And Five Consecutive Crops to take possession on the Day & feast of Saint-Martin next Coming winter And ending on the same Day of the said Five years & harvest finished & complete". The contract was signed by the Notary Romain Becquet, on July 14, 1666.

The lease "as farm & price of grain" indicates that the land was situated on the Ile d'Orleans and included five workable arpents, some "hills & fardoches (?)", an inhabitable house, a barn, stable, yard and garden. The seigneur furnished "two large oxen" but, the tenant was committed to plow, cultivate and send and to maintain the buildings and each year provide the landlord 80 minots of wheat and 25 minots of peas which the tenant promised to deliver to the landlord early in the spring when the river was navigable. The contract mentions other obligations like those of hauling the wood, wintering the horses, furnishing butter, sharing the profits from the livestock which numbered a few cows, some pigs and hens. Besides the notary, the Seigneur Peuvret de Mesnu, Thomas Rousseau, Jacques Poze, Salomon Allain and Pierre Fauve signed at the end of the document.

FIRST MARRIAGE
This work provided Thomas Rousseau with sufficient income which allowed him to start a family, which was only delayed a little. The following year, the young farmer watched the arrival of the "daughters of the king". Several ships came from France throughout the summer and on board one of them traveled Madeleine Olivier, on whom Thomas set his heart.
On September 30, the two young people met at Quebec where, Notary Gilles Rageot drew up their marriage contract. This document tells us that, Thomas was the son of the late Honore Rousseau and the late Marie Billerot. His father and mother were from the parish of Gorgr (Gourge), the Diocese of Poitiers, in Poitou. As for the bride, she said that, she was the daughter of the late Jean Olivier and Louise Prevost, from the town of "Caux de becq" (Caudebec-en-Caux), in Normandy.

The document was read in the presence of Jean Talon, "counsellor to the King, Intendant of Justice & the police of New France, Acadia, the Island of Newfoundland and Canada"; Marie-Barbe de Boullogne, the widow of Louis d'Ailleboust, "during his lifetime chevalier seigneur of Coulonges and Argentenaye, Governor and lieutenant general of His Majesty" Jean-Baptiste Peuvret de Mesnu and de Gaudarville and Marie-Catherine Nau, his wife.

Thomas, who must not have been very well off, endowed Madeleine with only 50 livres in a "prefixed dowry". Contrary to most of the "daughters of the king" of the time, Madeleine does not seem to have brought any property to the marriage. At least, nothing about this was mentioned in the contract. Besides Jean Talon, Barbe de Boullogne, Peuvret de Mesnu, Catherine Nau and the Notary Jean-Baptiste Gaudron, Sieur de Bellefontaine and Jean Phellion, two people, it seems, who did not stay in New France, signed the act.

On October 5, the engaged couple met in the parish church of Quebec, where pastor Henri de Bernieres blessed their union, in the presence of God and men. The latter being represented by Jacques Dubois and Jacques Bouffart, two neighbors on the Ile d'Orleans. The act, drawn up by the priest, varies slightly if we compare it to the one by the lawyer. Billerot, the name of the groom's mother became Boillerot, while the place of origin was no longer Gourge but Oroux.

CENSITAIRE OF THE FIEF OF MESNU
Again in 1667, on November 14, Thomas Rousseau paid another visit to Notary Rageot, this time accompanied by Vincent Poirier dit Bellepoire, bourgeois of Quebec, who acknowledged having leased for five years "a yellow-hide milk cow about seven years old". The leasee promised to feed, shelter and keep it "well and duly", in such a way that no damage will happen to it. If, through the fault of Rousseau, the animal dies, he must pay 75 livres to the owner. Jacques Bernier dit Jean de Paris and Guillaume Roger were present for the signing of the contract.

The censuses of 1666 and 1667 completely ignore Ancestor Thomas. However, he is mentioned in the fief census which the vassal de Mesnu drew up for his Lord, Bishop and Seigneur (Msgr. de Laval) This document was recorded in the notes of Rageot, on June 9, 1668. It says that, Rousseau worked a piece of land with three arpents in frontage, whose depth reached to the road which bisects the Ile d'Orleans. He paid "60 sols and three live capons in seigneurial rent and one denier for the cens with lots & ventes, saisines & amandes".

In addition to a debt granted to Michel Lecourt in 1676 and a brief mention in an official report of the Sovereign Council in 1678, Thomas Rousseau had to wait until 1680 before carrying out an important transaction.

A few words first about the petition that Pierre Ganet presented to the Sovereign Council, on Monday, March 7, 1678. The petitioner let it be known that, he had been married for three years to Catherine Vieillot, the widow of Jacques Dubois and that all of the property the latter had left her was a piece of land with three arpents of frontage on which there were only three arpents cleared and a few buildings of little value. As Catherine was only the owner of half of ths property and that was insufficient to cultivate and to pay the cens and rentes charged for it, Pierre requested that the said land be entirely granted to him. Having heard the petitioner, the Council ordered Gabriel Gosselin, Thomas Rousseau, Clement Ruelle and Louis Sinadier to appraise the work which had been done there.

Ganet's request does not seem to have had all of the anticipated results. Rousseau offered to buy this land from him which, he had not been able to make profitable. The transaction was in the presence of Rageot, on February 3, 1680. The contract indicates that, the half acquired was adjacent to the half belonging to the minor children of the late Jacques Dubois and Catherine Vieillot. On the opposite side was the land of Francois Noel. The house, or rather the cabin, was made of stone walls and had a straw roof. Ganet also ceded to the buyer the possession of the one minot of wheat and one minot of mesteil (?), on each All Saint's Day beginning in 1681. And also the annual payment of the cens and rentes of 60 sols and three live capons, plus 96 livres for the acquisition of half of the homestead. The act was signed in the house of the Sieur Etienne Blanchon, bourgeois of Quebec, in the presence of Clement Ruelle and Nicolas Marion, Sieur de Lafontaine. Catherine Vieillot ratified this transaction on the following August 12.

This time, in 1681, the census taker did not miss Ancestor Thomas, who already had been living on the Ile d'Orleans for fifteen years. The land he occupied was the same as in 1668. He worked fifteen arpents, owned a gun and had four head of cattle. Seven of the eight children born so far were living with their parents. They were Catherine, Marie, Genevieve, Martin, Pierre, Marguerite and Thomas. Another Marie had died the preceding year when she was less than eighteen months old. Their immediate neighbors were Antoine Mondaine and Claude Salloy.

Three other children were to be born later. The last, Jean-Baptiste, was not yet four years old when the family was stricken with tragedy. Marie-Madeleine Olivier died, on April 21, 1690 and was laid to rest the next day, in the cemetery of Saint-Laurent. All of the colonists of the area sympathized with Thomas Rousseau and his family, namely Claude Ruelle, Jacques Marceau, Charles Pouliot and Mathurin Chabot, who were mentioned in the burial act signed by the pastor Jean-Henri Tremblay.

SECOND MARRIAGE
At the death of Madeleine Olivier, eight of the eleven children, whom she had brought into the world were still living. Marie and Pierre, one of the twins, were no longer alive. On the opposite side of the island, at Saint-Pierre, almost across from Thomas' land, lived a widow, Charlotte Belanger, the mother of ten children, at least seven of whom were still living. Her husband, Jean Langlois dit Boisverdun, died in 1687. The Rousseau family, on one side of the island, the Langlois family on the other, here were two families destined to merge with each other.

During the afternoon of June 21, 1691, the Notary Francois Genaple went to the home of Seigneur Peuvret de Mesnu, at Quebec, in order to settle the terms of a marriage contract between Thomas and Charlotte. Present besides the seigneur were his wife, Catherine Nau and their son Alexandre; the eldest daughter of the groom, Anne-Catherine Rousseau; Charlotte's eldest son, Jean Langlois; Charlotte's nephew, Jean-Francois Levasseur; and merchant and nephew by marriage, Pierre Roy. The parties agreed to place their property in joint ownership, with the exclusion of those acquired before their marriage, neither being responsible for the debts already contracted by the other. Thomas promised Charlotte a "prefixed dowry" of one hundred livres, if his income permits. He also gave her the assurance of humanely treating, sheltering, feeding and supporting her children, until they can earn their own living, it being well understood that they would make the best contribution possible for the well-being of the household. Jean-Baptiste Franquelin, royal hydrographer (a scientific studier of seas and lakes, rivers and other surface waters of the earth) and Balthazar Boutteville, a merchant from Rue Sainte-Anne, acted as witnesses and signed the act along with the future couple, the Peuvret family, Jean-Francois Levasseur and the Notary Francois Genaple. The actual wedding took place, on July 4, in the small church of Saint-Pierre built ten years earlier.

Between 1693 and 1701, Thomas participated in a few real estate transactions, especially as a representative of his second wife's interests. On March 12, 1693, at the home of Notary Genaple, Thomas confirmed to Francois Noel the deed as owner of the land which, Jean Langlois has acquired from Martin Guerard dit le Charbonnier, who had received it himself from the Nursing Sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. This land with two arpents of frontage passed right across the island. Noel had already done work there and each year paid twenty sols in land rent. Before dying, Langlois agreed to cede it to him, even having ordered Notary Pierre Duquet to draw up the contract this way. On April 23, Charlotte Belanger ratified the agreement reached between her husband and Francois Noel. Other acts concerning Charlotte were recorded in the records of Etienne Jacob in 1698 and 1701.

A QUASI-WILL
On the afternoon of October 11, 1707, Thomas Rousseau paid a visit to the Notary Louis Chambalon, at Quebec and had him prepare what seems to be the last act that he signed. If it is true, he reached the age of 98 which he gave himself, his signature was still firm and his great age was not apparent. The legacy that he made then to his son, Antoine, was in some way the Ancestor's will, as well as an inventory of his property.

The elderly man stated that, he was no longer able to cultivate an arpent and a half of land which belonged to him and that, his small property was not sufficient to feed him in both sickness and health for the rest of his days. With the consent of his sons-in-law Simon Fournier, Pierre-Noel Morin and Jean-Baptiste Prou and his daughters Anne-Catherine, Marguerite and Louise, the latter's wives, through a written agreement received by messire Goulvin Calvarin, curate of Saint-Thomas de la Pointe-a-la-Caille, on the preceding August 24, the Ancestor ceded to his son, Antoine, with whom he was living, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans, half of a homestead three arpents wide. This lot was located on the Ile d'Orleans, from the edge of the river to the lane or road which divides "the said Island through the middle from point to point which belonged to the Property between him and the late Madeleine Olivier during her lifetime his first wife which has since been divided between him And his Children heirs of the said Olivier their mother as well as the said arpent And Half Sepoursuit And includes appurtenacnes (a minor piece of property) with no Reserve such as what he is advanced through the said division", etc. To the north, stretched the homestead of Claude Salouer (Salloy) and to the south that of Antoine Naudin (Mondain). The half of the land which was the subject of the donation only produced about fifteen minots of grain. We find only two oxen, one cow, one mare, a little furniture and some utensils that the donor estimated had little value. The recipient must, for his part, pay thirty sols and one capon and a half in cens each year. He must also pay Charlotte Belanger the income from her dowry for the time that she survives her husband, if that should occur.

In addition, the son is charged with feeding, housing, providing heat, doing laundry and supporting his father until the day of his death which "when occurred Will be held to bury him and to have prayers said to god for the repose of his soul and to this end to have Celebrated ten low Requiem masses And Consequently if the said Donor can not get along with And live with the said recipient His son due to incompatibility of humor it is in this said case agreed that the said donor will Retire where it seems good to him in which case the said recipient his son will be held to provide him with support and to pay him in the form of a pension and each year twelve minots of wheat, one fat pig and the milk from a cow".
Finally, the old man suggested this act of donation to the Provost of Quebec during the following four months. He signed the document in the company of the notary and two witnesses; the merchant, Etienne Dulong and the baliff, Jean Meschin.

Did Thomas Rousseau and Charlotte Belanger live a long time after the drafting of this so called will? We are unable to accurately verify this. *The dates of their deaths are not known and the other documents which could enlighten us on this subject are lost, nonexistent or hidden in a pile of manuscripts not yet inventoried. Many unrelated Rousseaus settled in New France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Thomas' descendants rapidly spread through the majority of the regions of Quebec and their roots have now become indestructible there.

* Note: According to "Dictionnaire genealogique des familles du Quebec" by Jette, Thomas died after July 26, 1716 (probably a census year), at Saint-Pierre-de-la-Riviere-du-Sud and Charlotte died before October 11, 1707 (?).

TWELVE CHILDREN
Ancestor Thomas had eleven children with Madeleine Olivier and one with Charlotte Belanger. Seven of them founded families and raised a large number of offspring.
The children of Thomas and Madeleine:
1) Anne-Catherine was born on July 19, on the Ile d'Orleans and baptized, at Quebec, on July 26, 1668. She married Simon Fournier, the son of Guillaume and Francoise Hebert, on November 12, 1691, at Saint-Pierre, Ile d'Orleans. They had eleven children, eight girls and three boys.
2) Marie was baptized May 6, 1670, at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans. She died at the age of fifteen, on January 20, 1686 and buried the next day, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans.
3) Genevieve was born on May 6 and baptized, at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans, on May 26, 1671. On January 28, 1692, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans, she married Jean Langlois, the son of Jean and Charlotte-Francois Belanger, her step-mother's son. They had eight children, four boys, three girls and one born and died in infancy, gender unknown. Genevieve died, on October 27, 1708 and buried the next day, at Montmagny. Jean remarried to Charlotte Daveau, the daughter of Charles and Marguerite D'Aubigny, on April 9, 1709, at Montmagny. They had three daughters before Charlotte passed away.
She was buried, on February 12, 1714, at Montmagny. Once more, Jean tread the marriage path. This time to Angelique Destroismaisons, the widow of Alphonse Morin and the daughter of Philippe and Martine Crosnier. They were married, on April 30, 1714, at Montmagny. They had no children. Jean died and was buried, on January 19, 1715, at Montmagny.
4) Martin, a twin to Pierre, was baptized on December 25, 1673, at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans. Elisabeth Thibault became his wife, on May 3, 1700, at L'Islet. She was the daughter of Francois and Elisabeth-Agnes Lefebvre, widow of Jacques Belanger and sister-in-law to Charlotte Belanger, Thomas' wife. They had seven children, five girls and two boys.
5) Pierre, a twin to Martin, was also baptized December 25, 1673, at Sainte-Famille, Ile, d'Orleans. He died unexpectedly, on September 8, 1684 and buried the next day, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans.
6) Marguerite was born on September 7 and baptized at Sainte-Famille, on September 28, 1676. She married Pierre-Noel Morin, the son of Alphonse and Marie-Madeleine Normand, on May 30, 1696, at Montmagny. they had ten children, five girls and five boys.
7) Marie was born March 19 and baptized at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans, on March 26, 1679. She died and was buried, on September 21, 1680, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans.
8) Thomas was born on November 11 and baptized at Saint-Pierre, on November 18, 1680. This Thomas seems to have been abnormal. In fact, on July 26, 1716, in the presence of the Notary Abel Michon, his brothers Antoine and Jean-Baptiste and his brothers-in-law, Simon Fournier, Pierre-Noel Morin and Jean-Baptiste Prou obligated themselves to the Nursing Sisters so that, they would admit him to the Hospital-General of Quebec and that, they would feed and support him "well or ill" for his whole life. In return for this service, they committed themselves to give the institution twelve minots of wheat each year and to bequeath Thomas' share of the succession from his mother, Madeleine Olivier, to the nuns.
9) Louise was born on March 20 and baptized March 26, 1682, at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans. She married Jean-Baptiste Prou, the son of Jean and Jacquette Fournier, on June 14, 1701, at Montmagny. They had seven children, five boys and two girls.
10) Antoine was born and baptized April 3, 1684, at Saint-Laurent. On April 9, 1709, at Saint-Laurent, he took for his wife Anne-Catherine Bouffard, the daughter of Jacques and Anne Leclerc. They had ten children, four girls and six boys.
11) Jean-Baptiste was born on July 22, and baptized three days later, at Saint Laurent. He married Catherine Rouleau, the daughter of Guillaume and Catherine Dufresne, on May 25, 1712, at Montmagny. They had two children, a daughter and one that died at birth, gender unknown.
The child of Thomas and Charlotte:
Guillaume was baptized on June 9, 1694, at Saint-Pierre, Ile of d'Orleans. He passed away, on July 22 and was buried, on July 23, 1715, at Chateau-Richer.

FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS
There are very many variations plus anglicizations of this name. Not all of them derived from Thomas or his progeny: Beausoleil, Bonnet, Boussau, Brook, Brooks, Brosseau, Brousseau, Comtois, d'Orfontaine, Labonte, Lafleur, Lafond, Lajoie, Lapensee, Larose, Lasseigne, Lauzier, Lepage, LeRoy, L'Eveille, Libois, Louvois, Poitevin, Portelance, Portelas, Roiroux, Rouzeau, Rusaw, Rouseau, Russeau, Rosso, Royhaut, Sauvage, Saint-Amour, Saint-Jean, Saint-Louis, Souvigny, Tintamarre and Villejoin.

This biography was taken from " Our French-Canadian Ancestors " by Thomas J. Laforest; Volume 13- Chapter 12- Page 183 [4-29-98, James Gagne http://www.jamesgagne.net}

Thomas married Marie Madeleine Olivier, daughter of Jean Olivier and Louise Prévost, on 5 Oct 1667 in Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada.¹ (Marie Madeleine Olivier was born about 1642 in Notre-Dame de Caudebec-en-Caux, Rouen, Normandie, France,¹ died on 21 Apr 1690 in St-Laurent, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada ¹ and was buried on 22 Apr 1690 in St-Laurent, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

Thomas and Marie-Madeleine had 87 descendants as of 31 Dec 1729.

Thomas next married Marie Françoise Charlotte Bélanger, daughter of François Bélanger and Marie Madeleine Du Buisson Guyon, on 4 Jul 1691 in unknown location, Québec, Canada.^{1 2} (Marie Françoise Charlotte Bélanger was born on 25 Jun 1650 in Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada ¹, baptized on 30 Jun 1650 in Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada,¹ died on 3 Oct 1710 in Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada ¹ and was buried on 3 Oct 1710 in Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada ¹.)