When first starting my genealogical journey through this family, I gathered up every scrap of information that I could; they were the genealogical puzzle pieces that helped fit the family together. Fortin was one of the lines that I seemed to gather a lot of information on. So while the direct line from this family is rather short, there's a lot of info to be shared. Let's dive in, shall we?
Fortin dit Bellefontaine
Julien the butcher was the son of Simon FORTIN; his mother and his date of birth are unknown. He was the fourth of the five children of Simon.
Marie-whose surname is also spelled Lavie-was the daughter of Gervais LAVYE, the owner of the "Inn of the Cheval Blanc" at Vair, Perche, France; an establishment that he bought from François Martin in 1617. Her birth details are unknown, as is her mother's name.3,4
Julien and Marie were married at Notre-Dame-de-Vair, Mamers, LeMans, Perche, France on 26 November in either 1618 or 1619. One person was visibly absent from the festivities; Julien's father, Simon Fortin, had died 10 April 1617.
Julien and Marie had 5 children; four boys and a girl. The eldest was JULIEN.
Marie Lavye's funeral took place 24 November 1628 at Notre-Dame-de-Vair, two days before what would have been her 9th or 10th wedding anniversary. Julien would marry Julienne Guillemin on 7 January 1630 at St. Martin d'Igé, France and have eight children with her. Julien Fortin died 30 January 1679 in France.3,4
Julien dit Bellefontaine was born in France, in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Vair, arrondissement of Mamers, diocese of LeMans, Perche; the oldest child of Julien & Marie LAVYE. He was presented at the baptismal font on 9 February 1621 by godparents François Loriot and Denise Fouet--known also as "the widow Fortin".3,4
Robert Giffard, famous for recruiting settlers to the new French colony of Canada, visited the abovementioned "Inn of the Cheval Blanc" when Julien was about 13 years old. Julien became enchanted by the tales of the new world across the ocean. He worked as a butcher's boy for his father and learned the craft. And when Mr. Giffard returned to the Inn in 1650 to recruit more colonists, young Julien--now a full-fledged butcher--was ready to go. One of his shipmates was none other than our own Claude BOUCHARD.3,4
Upon arrival in Canada, Julien lost no time in playing the land speculation game that many of his fellow countrymen engaged in. At one time he was part owner of Beaupré and the Île d'Orléans; he sold that in 1662 to Monseigneur de Laval. One parcel of land that he acquired in Cape Tourmente is referred to today as "The Fortin Coast".3,4
Meanwhile, Geneviéve dite Lamarre arrived in Canada in 1652 from her hometown of St.-Illiers-la-Ville, Chartres, Beauce, Orléanais, France. Her parents were Nicolas & Jacqueline CADOT, about whom nothing else is known; she was born to them about 1637. Her brother was Nicolas Gamache, and she had a half-brother named Jacques Gamache, whose mother is unknown. She is considered a fille a marier.3,4
Julien was smitten by Genevieve, and entered into a marriage contract with her on 23 October 1652; an act which was penned by notary Aubert "in the home of Toussaint" at Cap Tourmente. Julien had learned a trade but had not learned how to write; both parties were unable to sign this document.
Genevieve's brother Nicolas was present to witness the creation of this instrument; and to promise to give his sister 200 livres worth of clothes, linens, and furniture. He also agreed to feed the couple for the next 2 years. This appears at first to be a generous offer! But the devil is in the details; and the contract goes on to read that the couple would be in service to him for the 2 years; and that they would be paid 150 livres per year out of the inheritance of he and Genevieve's parents! Julien Fortin, a man who possessed a marketable skill, found himself in servitude in order for his wife to redeem her inheritance. I suppose true love knows no bounds.3,4
Only two marriage banns were published, one on 28 October and one on 3 November; a dispensation was given for the third bann. And on 11 November 1652, the couple were married in the chapel of St. Joachim de Montmorency at Cap Tourmente by Paul Ragueneau, superior of the Jesuits. This act was recorded in Quebec City registers. This is the marriage information according to "Before the King's Daughters: The Filles à Marier" by Peter Gagné. However, "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas Laforest, Volume 1 claims that the marriage ceremony took place at the home of Louis GAGNÉ; and also erroneously identified the Nicolas Gamache who was present at the wedding as Geneviéve's father rather than her brother; a father who could be assumed dead since frère Nicolas was controlling the inheritance. No idea which info is accurate; I only offer it as information.3,4
Julien and Geneviéve had the following twelve children:The only source to give a date and place for Julien Fortin dit Bellefontaine's death is "Before the King's Daughters: The Filles à Marier" by Peter Gagné, which shows 10 August 1692 at Québec's Hôtel Dieu. No record of this could be found in the Drouin Collection or the PRDH; Thomas Laforest also claims that this information is uncertain. What is certain is that Julien's inventory was taken on 9 and 11 July 1704.2,3,4,5Barbe
Geneviéve Gamache dite Lamarre succumbed to illness on 5 November 1709 in the home of her son Charles at L'Islet, Québec; she was buried there the next day.Jacques was born to Julien & Geneviéve GAMACHE on 12 January 1660. He was baptized at Québec on the 15th.1,3,4
Catherine was baptized 15 March 1674 in Québec, the daughter of François & Marguerite PACQUET1,2,5.
The marriage of Jacques and Catherine took place on 11 June 1689 in Quebec.
Their two known children are BRIDGITTE and Marie.
Jacques Fortin was buried in Baie St. Paul on 28 February 1730. Catherine Biville's date of death is unknown.1,2Fortin dit Lagrandeur
Tanguay's Dictionary describes Philippe as a vigneron, or "wine grower". In other words, he owned a vineyard and probably made wine as well. They lived in the Evreux region of France. Their son was Louis. It doesn't get any more Reader's Digest Condensed than this; but it's all we know about this couple.1
Louis was born about 1647 in Incardeville, Evreux, France to Philippe & Agnès LONDIN. His arrival in Canada is unknown. Louis was a laborer and a bedeau, or someone who assists with religious services and may also do some of the clerical work for the curate.1 Catherine was born 11 May 1659 in Montrèal and baptized the same day. Her parents were Pierre & Jeanne ROUSSELIER The day after her 10th birthday, she was confirmed in Montréal--the date was 12 May 1669.4,6
The year 1672 was action-packed for Catherine. Sometime before her November wedding, Catherine was slapped by her neighbor Pierre Boutonne because he believed that she had stolen bread from his home. The outcome of the case is unknown, but Monsieur Boutonne had to pay the costs. Catherine was able to move on from that to her marriage to Louis Fortin, which took place 21 November 1672 in Montréal. The bride was 13 years old; the groom 12 years her senior. Their first child was not born until 1675. Did Catharine miscarry a pregnancy? Or is this an indicator that the couple observed the directive in the colony that the bride had to be 14 years of age before a marriage could be consummated? The possibilities can be pondered, but there is no answer available.3,6
The couple had the following known children:Louis Fortin died on 5 October 1687 in Lachine and was buried there the next day. The cause of death was pleurisy. He was 40 years old. This seems young to us, but in that time period--before penicillin and better sanitation--attaining the age of forty was considered a fairly full life.1,2,6
Catherine, however, was still a fairly young 28 years old with children to take care of. Four months later, on 16 February 1688, Catherine married Jean Nepveu in Lachine. Catherine Godin's death details are unknown.The In-Laws "A mother-in-law often forgets that she was once a daughter-in-law". I don't know who said this, but it is often spot-on! The in-laws are listed in alphabetical order by husband's surname. Note that any in-laws mentioned above whose link takes you to another page won't be repeated here.
François Biville dit Le Picard came from the parish of St. Nicolas in Boulogne, Picardy, France where he was born about 1635. His parents were François BIVILLE & Jeanne MAGNON, about whom nothing else is known.5
François was a soldier with the Grandfontaine Company of the Carignan Regiment when he arrived in Canada on 17 August 1665. By the time of the 1666 census, he was a master woodworker in lower Quebec City. The following year's census records show him as a servant of the Beaupré seigneurie farm.5
On 23 November 1670, François entered into a marriage contract with Marguerite; a fille du roi who brought a dowry of 400 livres worth of goods to the union, along with the King's Gift of 50 livres. Notary Becquet wrote up this act, which the bride was unable to sign. However, François was able to sign, as did Intendant Talon, who witnessed the event. The couple married 3 days later on 26 November. The bride was the daughter of Émery Pacquet & Vincente Beaumont (or Rat); and was born in the parish of St. Paul in Poitiers, Poitou, France about 1646. She set out for Canada in the spring of 1667, along with her father, stepmother, brother, sister-in-law, and niece.5
François and Marguerite had 2 children and was expecting a third when François died on 10 July 1675 at Quebec and was buried the same day--usually indicative of a contagious disease or illness; the baby was born a month later. Their daughter Catherine is the child of interest to us.5
On January 18, Marguerite entered into a marriage contract with cobbler Bernard Gonthier at Quebec City; a document that Bernard was able to sign. The marriage took place two days later on 20 January in Quebec City and resulted in the birth of 6 children.11
Marguerite Paquet died at Beaumont, Quebec sometime between 1687, the birth of her last child, and 1698, when an inventory of her estate was drawn up by notary Métru. Her burial place is unknown.5
Pierre GODIN dit Châtillon & Jeanne ROUSSELIER
Pierre was born about 1633 to Claude & Marie BARDIN; nothing else is known about his parents. Pierre worked as a journeyman carpenter in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Burgundy, France before going to Canada, but it is unclear if that is where he was born or if he was from Savolles, Dijon, Burgundy, France. Either way, he obviously acquired his "dit" name from the former location.4
Pierre landed in Montréal on 22 September 1653 as part of the Grande Recrue, aboard the "St. Nicolas". In February 1654 he was given a land grant. He also became a member of the 19th squadron of the Sainte-Famille militia in Montréal.4
History considers Jeanne a fille à marier, as she came to Canada in 1654. Her place of origin was Moëz, Rochefort, Saintonge, France, where she was born about 1636. Her parents are Louis & Isabelle PARIS, but that is all we know about them.4
Pierre and Jeanne were married on 14 October 1654 in Montréal and went on to have 9 children. Their child that contributed to our lineage is CATHERINE.4
The year 1672 was a busy one for the Godin family. Not only did the family have a wedding to plan, they had a court case to deal with!!! Sometime in 1672, Pierre Godin and son Laurent were tried for an assault on their neighbor Pierre Boutonne. This occurred because Monsieur Boutonne allegedly slapped Catherine after catching her stealing bread. This also allegedly incensed Jeanne Rousselier to the point that she marched over to Boutonne's house and drove a sword through the stones in his wall and called for his death! I am curious about how hard this slap was, as well as what amount of bread Catherine had to have taken to merit said slap! On 30 August 1672, Boutonne agreed to bear the cost of pursuing the trial, but its outcome is not known. It apparently was not something that impeded Catherine's wedding a few months later.4
In 1675, the Godin family was living at Lachine near the rapids when Pierre was given the job of building a chapel at Lachine. However, by 11 June 1677, the family had relocated to Port-Royal, Acadia, Nova Scotia, due to the fact that there was work there for Pierre. Here, Pierre found himself in the courts once again; this time he was the plaintiff. He sued Jean Campagnard for witchcraft, saying that the latter cast a spell on him to make him forget threats that Jean had made. Pierre did not prevail in this case.4
Pierre Godin died at Rivière Saint-Jean, Acadia sometime before the 1686 census. It is unknown when Jeanne Rousselier died.4The parents of Émery PACQUET & Vincente BEAUMONT are not known. The couple was married about 1638 in Poiters, Poitou, France. In addition to their daughter Marguerite Paquet, they also had 2 sons; René was born before and Maurice was born after Marguerite.5
Vincente Beaumont died 20 November 1658 in Poitiers, Poitou, France. Sometime before 1667, Émery married Reneé Guillocheau. On the same day, Émery's son, Maurice, married Françoise Forget, the daughter of his father's new bride! In 1667, the entire family relocated to New France, where Émery could ply his trade as a master woolen weaver. Both Émery and son Maurice took land grants at Charlesbourg, in the Bourg-Royal section. It is not known when Emery or Reneé died.5Sources:
1. Tanguay's Dictionary
2. The Drouin Collection at Ancestry
3. "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas Laforest, Volume 1
4. "Before the King's Daughters: The Filles à Marier" by Peter Gagné
5. "King's Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi" by Peter Gagné
6. PRDH
This page was updated April 2009. .
Noel Family of Brockton, MA by Jolynn Noel Winland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States LicenseWhat does this mean? .
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