Story
of our ancestors
Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin
JEAN BAUDET,
son of Sebastien Baudet and Marie Baudonnier was born in 1650 et
grew up in the small village of Blanzay, today a small commune of
the Vienne province in France, located south of the city of Poitiers.
In February 1664, Jean is fourteen years old. He leaves his family
and boards with 49 other workers on the Holland boat “Le Noir” which
leaves La Rochelle for New France.
On May
25th, the boat arrives at Quebec. Jean Baudet goes to work for
Nicolas Gaudry aka Bourbonnière along with a companion from the
Poitou region named Jean Malherbeau. He will learn the farm trade.
Nicolas Gaudry owned a farm of about 8 acres on the Côte
Saint-François and Saint-Jean, near Quebec. In 1670, six years after
his arrival, Jean Baudet still lives in New France and has decided
to stay.
MARIE GRANDIN,
a young French girl from the parish of Saint-Euverte in the city of
Orleans, arrives in Quebec on July 31 1670. His father had died
earlier and she left her mother behind. Saint-Euverte is an old
abbey which gets his name from a bishop of the fourth Century.
Marie
was with a group of 120 Filles du Roi who had left La Rochelle on
the boat “La Nouvelle-France”. Once in Quebec she boarded at madame
Bourdon (Anne Gasnier) like many other girls who arrived that way.
During ten years, Mme Bourdon signed 304 marriage conventions
pertaining to the Filles du Roi.
The
marriage of Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin was celebrated less than
two months after their encounter. The contract is signed in front of
notary Romain Becquet on September 7th, 1670 and is registered at
the church Notre-Dame de Québec on September 23rd, 1670. Marie
brings a dot of 300 pounds and a gift of 50 pounds from the King of
France.
Their
first years together are in Sillery. On September 4th, 1672, Jean
rents a farm with a house, a barn and a stable. In 1677, the family
already having 2 girls and a boy leave Sillery for Lotbiniere where
the seigneur Louis-Chartier de Lotbiniere gives Jean the
responsibility of his seigniorial domain. Jean rents a piece of
land, builds the manor and stays on the premises with his family.
In
1680, Jean Baudet obtains his first land concession situated on the
Platon. He continues to work for Louis Chartier and he builds
himself a house. The following year, he moves in with his family. By
1692, the family has 6 girls and 4 boys.
Besides
farming the land, Jean is a eel fisherman and does business with
fish markets in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Quebec. He delivers
annually between 20 and 40 large kegs during the 20 years he had
that business. In 1708, he gets another farm concession which he
will split between his 3 younger sons : Jean-Baptiste, Michel and
Jacques.
Jean Baudet dies in 1714. Marie Grandin gives the
Platon concession to the eldest Charles on condition that he takes
care of her until her death. She dies soon after, on July 14th,
1715, at the Hotel-Dieu hospital in Quebec.
The ten children of Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin
■
Marie (Louise) - baptized on September 14th, 1671 in Sillery
■
Simone (Anne) - baptized on December 27th, 1673 in Sillery
■
Jean-Charles - baptized on August 14th, 1676 in Lorette
■
Louise - baptized on April 21st, 1679 in Neuville
■
Jeanne-Françoise - born on October 1st, 1681 in Lotbiniere
■
Jean-Baptiste - born on September 2nd, 1683
■
Michel - born in 1686 in Lotbiniere
■
Marie-Josèphe - baptized on April 24th, 1687 in Sillery
■
Jacques - baptized on November 20th, 1690 in Lotbiniere
■
Marie-Madeleine - born in 1692
It is
important to note that except for the first three children, the
7 others were most surely born in the Seigneurie of Lotbiniere. At
the time, the only priests were missionaries travelling sporadically
on the vast territory of New-France. The different registers (Neuville
and Sillery), where the children appeared were probably the parish
of the missionary.
For
more information, please buy and read the book “Sur les traces de
nos ancêtres” published by our Association.