Translation of CHAMPAGNE, Antoine
(1950). L'ancêtre Jean Beaugrand dit Champagne, Mémoire de la Société
Généalogique Canadienne Française, Volume IV, No 2, Juin 1950, pp. 73-85.
Text translation by Jacques P.
Beaugrand who has added personal notes (NDT) which are found at the end of the
whole text. Your comments, suggestions as well as linguistic corrections are
welcome. E-mail: beaugrand.jacques@uqam.ca
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The ancestor Jean Beaugrand-dit-Champagne Many people seem to believe that
history is the story of the actions of famous men. It is above all that of the
birth and development of people. And as such, all the pioneers, even the most
obscure, have a strict right to appear in history.
Isn't it indeed they who,
while creating the families whose nation came out, felled the first trees,
brought forth the first months-sons, planted the first orchards, built the
first houses, opened the first roads, endured the greatest hardships, drove
back the enemy bold and sneaky? Was it not they above all who passed on to our
people those traditions of courage and perseverance which enabled them to
survive and grow and those Christian virtues that are still our most beautiful
heritage after supporting our ancestors? When the nation is reduced to a small
number of families or individuals, each person takes on major importance
because they are invested in a special vocation, because his actions impact on
the whole future of the country. In short, the first ancestors are founders,
and all documentation that sheds some light on them and their families should
interest us. Telling the story of one of them, tracing his origins when you
can, given the lineage of his first descendants, is to lay a stone base,
however humble, of the great edifice of history. Although several thousand
Canadians today claim Jean Beaugrand as their ancestor, his descendants are not
among the most numerous in Canada; we will see that the beginnings were slow. Nor
are his descendants among the most illustrious. They did not provide the nation
or the Church with a long list of leaders or great people. They did not give
the intellectual elite many brilliant subjects. But, on the other hand (this
appears above all in the second and third generations), they insist from the
beginning on fulfilling their modest role, they have their ambitions, and they
refuse to remain in mediocrity. They do not belong to what we have agreed to
call the elite, and neither do they belong to a certain amorphous and passive
mass that allows them to be led by events, and which always remains at the same
point. The family and descendants are ordinary, like so many others who are the
solid foundation and the very structure of the Canadian nation. And we thought
that this fact was a real headline for the public and that we could safely
present these notes on Jean Beaugrand. With a few details, details of people,
dates, and places, a multitude of Canadian families could recognize him as
their ancestor. Likely, Jean Beaugrand, the ancestor of all Beaugrand-dit
Champagne was first a soldier, and he belonged to one of the 24 companies that
arrived in Quebec from June to September 1665. Was he from the Regiment de
Carignan and the Compagnie de Saurel as some have affirmed, or of one of the
four companies of M. de Tracy? No document gives us details on this subject.
But this is only of relative importance since all the companies marched under
one leader and accomplished the same work [NDT 1].
We see him, after a
temporary stay in the seigneury of Dautray [Note 1], establishing himself
definitively in that of M. Berthier. In both seigneuries, there were soldiers
of M. de Saurel and of other companies. A serious argument in favor of the
first is that Jean Beaugrand seems to associate preferentially with soldiers
from the Saurel company, such as Letendre, Piette, Hénault, etc. It should also
be noted that this Seigneurie of Berthier was first granted by Talon, on
October 29, 1672, to Sieur Hugues Randin, ensign of the Compagnie de Saurel,
who resold it to Sieur Alexandre de Berthier a year later, on November 3, 1673
[Note 2] [NDT 2].
Be that as it may, we know the important role played by the
24 companies of 1665 in the establishment of the country, either from a
military point of view or from a colonization point of view, and most of our
families can be proud to have among their ancestors one or more of these
soldiers who became settlers. As for Jean Beaugrand, we see him, after the
dismissal of the troops in 1667-1668, soon settle on agricultural land. The
documents show us his first ambition to enlarge the ancestral domain, and the
Beaugrand family continued to be, with rare exceptions, a family of farmers.
Apart from a few navigators whose vocation was motivated by the nearby river,
we only find, in the first seven generations, people of this class. Many
Canadian families have the advantage of finding in France the place of origin
of their first ancestor and other details to which filial love gives invaluable
value. The descendants of Jean Beaugrand do not have this happiness. The name
of his parents is unknown to us, as well as that of the town where he was born
and the parish where he was baptized. We are reduced to conjectures about the
province or region from which he originated and even about the exact form of
his name. The parish registers could no doubt have filled in most of these
gaps, but, in this region more than elsewhere, many records have disappeared.
For many years, Sorel and the surrounding area were served by missionaries
staying for varying lengths of time among groups of settlers or among the
soldiers of Fort Richelieu, Sorel, Berthier, Dautray, Ile-Dupas, and a good
half-dozen other localities thus received their visits intermittently. It was a
difficult and even dangerous ministry. Many deeds had to be written on loose
sheets and got lost. Not to mention the registers or parts of registers lost
later, as we have the proof for Sorel, Berthier, and Ile-Dupas. This is how
there remain so many question marks about Jean Beaugrand, his wife, and their
children, as well as about several other families then living in this region.
The name of the ancestor Beaugrand appears in different forms. We find:
Gougran, Bougrand, Bougueran, Baugran, Beaugrand, Bougrin, Bougron, and to the
extreme Boudron and Bourguerats. But it is obvious, seeing the documents, that
there are only two important variants: Bougrand and Beaugrand. They are the
only ones who come back on a regular basis and the rest is just everyone's
whim. The first of these two forms is the most used in the beginning, but the
second soon prevails and settles down definitively [NDT 3].
The nickname
Champagne is used from the beginning and Jean Beaugrand wore it as a soldier on
his arrival from France. Little by little it prevails, and the name of
Beaugrand is no longer carried by only a few families [NDT 4].
We could try
hypotheses on the origin of this ancestor and the form of his name. But it is
still a dangerous practice and one that risks leading in the wrong direction.
All we can say is that the Beaugrand are numerous in France today, that their
name is still written in this form and that they are found mainly in the former
province of Champagne.
Beaugrand Bougaran Bogran Bouguerats Bégrand Bougueren Bouguerand Bougrand,
faster and easier to pronounce, would it be a popular or regional corruption of
Beaugrand? Could the association of this last name and several localities of
the former province at the present time be a clue? We cannot say. We have a
document, only one so far, bearing the signature of the first ancestor. He acts
as a witness before Adhémar, on 26-6-1676 and writes rather awkwardly: “Gean
Bougeran” [NDT 5].
But the notary writes, undoubtedly basing himself on the
current pronunciation: "In the presence of Jean Bougaran-dit-Champagne, an
inhabitant of Dautray, undersigned witness". Knowing how to sign your name
at that time is something, and judging by the spelling, the grammatical science
of the ancestor could not have gone much further. Let us now follow, with the
help of the documents that remain, the chronological order of the events which
concern the life of this pioneer and his family. Jean Beaugrand, once released
from military service, chose to stay in the country. About 400 other soldiers
did the same. The king encouraged this transformation from soldier to settler.
Like his peers, he will receive in return a small annual fee from the lord
[Note 3], a free grant of land, and a gift of one hundred francs in cash, or,
if he prefers, fifty francs and a year's provisions [Note 4]. He was 24 when he
enlisted as a soldier. He is now 27. The 1681 census, in fact, gives him 40
years, which makes him born in 1641 [Note 5]. It was around the same time,
probably 1668, that he united his destiny with that of an 18-year-old girl,
Marguerite Samson. She would have been born in 1649 according to the document
which gives her 32 years and would have been 8 years younger than her husband.
The marriage church record is missing, and the origin of the latter also
remains a mystery to us. We only know that there were several Samson families
established in Quebec for quite a long time and that they were from Normandy
[NDT 6]. The first of their known children, Jean II or Jean Baptiste, was born
in 1672. The 1681 census gives him 9 years of age. The baptism record has not
been found. Jean II and his two sons Antoine and Pierre-Simon are the ancestors
of all the Beaugrand-Champagne.
A second son, Charles, was baptized in Sorel on 16-2-1673. The only mention we
have of him after this date is that of the same census, which gives him 7
years. A daughter, Marie or Marie-Anne [NDT 7], born in Dautray on 27-7-1675,
was baptized in Sorel on the 29th. Her godfather was Pierre Letendre, a
resident of Dautray and a soldier in Saurel's company. She is 6 years old in
the 1681 census, and it is probably her that we find in Berthier on 3-3-1693.
This is the last mention we have of her. There ends the list of Jean
Beaugrand's children. Three children, during a married life of more than 20
years, is not much for this time, and it is likely that others will come to
animate the home. The loss of the first pages of the Sorel register may well
have caused the traces of several of them to disappear forever. Where did Jean
Beaugrand, the soldier who became a colonist, first settled? Did he live for
some time in the Seigneurie de Sorel, under the protective cannons of Fort
Richelieu? It is possible, but nothing proves it. In any case, in the list of
concessions concerning this region, we do not see any that were granted to Jean
Beaugrand. All we know is that on 27-7-75 when Marie-Anne was born, he lived in
Dautray, this old Seigneurie, one of the oldest in New France, granted to Sieur
Jean Bourdon, royal engineer, December 1, 1637 [Note 6]. Was he already there
when Charles was born, two and a half years earlier, and even Jean, in 1672?
Sticking to the documents, we cannot say so, but it is very possible and even
probable. Charles' baptism certificate made in Sorel on 16-2-1973 does not
mention the place of birth and does not authorize any hypothesis. Sorel was the
only place where one could find a priest at that time and for several years
later [Note 7]. It is also in Dautray that he lives on 25-6-1676, when he puts
his signature at the bottom of the document quoted above. These two documents
are the only ones that we know about his stay in this Seigneurie. Our settler
later abandoned this land as we shall see. The census of 1681 shows him
established in a definitive way in Berthier. He had there, a mile and a half
upstream from the lot reserved for the church [Note 8] and only a few miles
from his land in Dautray a lot of 3 arpents frontage on the river with 40 deep
[Note 9]. This is where he will live from now on, this is where he will raise
his little family, and this is where he will die. It is there that his son Jean
and a whole branch of his descendants will live for more than two centuries
[Note 10].
Berthier will be the center from which his many descendants will shine, in the
neighboring parishes first, then to the borders of America. Marie-Louise
(Rosalie), Joseph, Arthur, Edmonton. They emigrated to Manitoba in 1880 and
1881 and have many descendants there. When did he move from Dautray to
Berthier? Obviously between the extreme dates that we have cited: 25-6-1676 and
the 1681 census. But we cannot pinpoint these dates a little closer. The census
gives us the following details: "Seigneurie de Villemur (Berthier):
Jean-Bougran-dit-Champagne, 40 years old; Marguerite Samson, his wife, 32 years
old; Jean, 9; Charles 7; Marie 5; 2 cows; 3 arpents in value" [Note 11].
This short text suggests several things: first, that Jean had built a house and
stable there, then that he had developed cleared, then sown or harvested 3
acres of land. With the means at his disposal, this complete installation
required, we believe, two good years of work. Moreover, the construction of the
buildings had to precede the preparation of the land; he could not commute from
Dautray to Berthier for several months or more for grubbing and other work. The
property had therefore been acquired or even inhabited as early as 1679 or 1678
[Note 12]. For the years following the 1681 census, we have no documents, but
it remains reasonable to believe that life was not spent in luxury and
abundance. (Concession to Jean Beaugrand at Ile-Dupas, by Pierre Salvaye,
seigneur, on 25-7-1686: 6 arpents over the entire width of the island. Jean B.
leaves 2 to Prudent Bougret 26-8-1699). 1688: Jean II, the eldest of the
family, grew up; he will soon be a man: he turned sixteen several months ago.
It's time to help your family. It is also the time for adventures. Perhaps he
could combine the two? For three years the colony's authorities had relaxed
their initial severity and granted permits for the fur trade. A few lords and
other wealthy individuals equipped caravans for this purpose and hired men.
Some of his acquaintances left and came back, recounting the adventures of
their thrilling journey [Note 13]. Why shouldn't he try his luck too? His
parents granted him permission, albeit reluctantly, and on August 1, 1688,
before Antoine Adhémar, notary in Montreal, he made a commitment to Marguerite
Morisseau, widow of François Pelletier-Antaya, seigneur of Dorvilliers, a
well-known neighbor, "to make the trip to the Ottawa’s country, beginning
today and ending in the fall of next year one thousand six hundred and
eighty-nine, during which time the said Bougueran promises to obey Cottu who
goes to the Pays of the Outaouais for the said Mauriceau and to do his best
faithfully, on condition that he will be fed during the aforesaid time; and
furthermore the said Mauriceau promises to pay him for his wages the sum of one
hundred fifty pounds in beaver at the price of the Quebec office on his return
to that city (Montreal). (In addition) the said Mauriceau undertakes to give
him before his departure a rifle, a blanket, three shirts, a bonnet, a tapabor
(leather cap), and six pounds of tobacco, which the said Bougueran will be able
to trade for his benefit; and the beaver and pelts that he will make of them,
will embark them in the canoe where he will be on the way down; ... Done and
passed at the said Villemarie, the study of the notary, the year one thousand
six hundred and eighty-eight, the first day of August afternoon... The parties
declared that they did not know how to sign... (Witnesses): Sillevain
Guérin, Cabazie, Adhémar, notary. Fifteen months for a first absence, and under what condition? The time
must have been long for the mother's heart! What worries for parents! Would
their son ever return from such a perilous journey? However, the months pass.
Winter is coming, and it will be long when, by the fireside, parents talk sadly
about their absent son. Then spring reappears, then summer. The ears of wheat
begin to swell. First of August: one year today since the son left! No doubt
the parents confided their concerns again on this anniversary. A few more days
pass. But here comes horrible news. It is no longer just over their son, it is
over them that the storm is brewing, and it is their little family that is
threatened. On August 5, 1689, the Iroquois suddenly descended on the village
of Lachine and massacred almost all the inhabitants, men, women, and children;
200 some say. Those who were able to flee wandered distraught through the
countryside. The Iroquois advanced on both sides of the river, leaving ruins
everywhere. We do not know how Jean Beaugrand lived with his family during
these months or rather these years of terror. For another five or six years,
the scenes of carnage were renewed, and scarcely any month or week passed
without someone being massacred, sometimes in one place and sometimes in
another [Note 14]. What is certain is that several inhabitants fled from this
region never to return and that several Seigneuries had difficulty recovering.
Among other testimonies, we are left with the account of Gédéon de Catalogne, an
eyewitness, who wrote in 1709, therefore 20 years later: "In Berthier,
there are few inhabitants, in Lanoraie and in Antaya (Dorvilliers), even less,
in Dautré, since the general massacre, there are no more. In Lavaltrie, the
greater part of the land has again become a bush” [Note 15]. Four years go by
without any new developments, to our knowledge. A dispute between the lords of
Île-Dupas and an alleged beneficiary has brought us new information. This is a
formal summons from the royal bailiff Daniel Normandin. Here is the somewhat
abbreviated text: “The year 1693, on March 3 before noon, I, royal bailiff
residing in Champlain, have, to Jean Beaugrand-dit-Champagne, residing in
Berthier doing as much for him as for his son, and his domicile, speaking to
his daughter who promised to make him know, summoned by the king, to recognize
the Sieurs Dandonneau and Brisset, lords of Ile-Dupas, as having the said
Beaugrand and his son, a land in the said Seigneurie and forbade the said
Baugrand to recognize the name Dufort (Prudent Bougret-dit-Dufort) or any other
person as lords of the said Seigneurie and to cause me to appear (give proof)
of the title they have and to give to the Sieurs Brisset and Du Sablé
(Dandonneau) a new title to their land which they hold by concession, declaring
to the said Beaugrand, except by him to immediately satisfy my present summons,
that the said lords Brisset and Du Sablé will sue him by legal means. Made and
abandoned copy of my present summons to the domicile of the said Baugrand,
where I have expressly gone, a distance of eighteen leagues from my residence,
&c. “ (signed) D. Normandin, royal usher.
This precious document shows us: That Jean still lived with his family on his
land in Berthier, that he had acquired another in Ile-Dupas, and that his
daughter (Marie-Anne, no doubt), was living at that time. She must have been
18. We can't find her anymore. The comparison of this document with several
others leads us to ask ourselves how our colonist drew his family's subsistence
from the land [NDT 8]. The census of 1681 shows us him having 3 arpents in
value. We see here that he enlarged his domain by taking a concession at
Ile-Dupas. On the other hand, in the Aveu et Dénombrement de Berthier made by
the Sieur de Lestage on August 9, 1723, we have the following information:
Between the widow of Jacques Joly and the heirs of the named Grand-Parisien is "Jean
Bougran (he is the son) who owns 5 arpents frontage by 40 deep, loaded with 18
pounds, five capons of revenue and a soil marked with cens for the land and for
the right of common, who has a house, barn, a stable and 5 acres of arable land".
Three acres were cultivated in 1681, and only five in 1723: really the
exploitation does not seem to have progressed much! And yet, in the meantime,
in 1693 or earlier, our settler enlarged his land on the neighboring island.
The explanation is easy: the cultivation of grain on the sides of Berthier,
covered with forests with tight trunks, required enormous work of clearing. On
the other hand, as early as 1673, Frontenac wrote that the Canadians did not
know what to do with the wheat that they could not consume on the spot [Note
16]. It was later exported to the West Indies but in small quantities. In
addition, the islands of the St. Lawrence River offered beautiful fields where
farming was easy and yielded well. It also met almost all the needs of the
household: the family had there within reach the most essential foodstuffs such
as various meat, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, the leather necessary for making
moccasins, and a few other items, clothing, "babiche" for snowshoes.
The tallow provided the candle for lighting, etc. As a result, only enough
wheat was grown for the needs of the family. When did the acquisition of this
land in Ile-Dupas date? It is impossible to say for sure. However, we have
valuable clues.
Pierre Dupras, Sieur de Braché, an officer in the regiment of Carignan, had
lived on this island in 1669, having been attacked there by a small group of
Iroquois on July 19 of that year, then had had the official concession of it
from Jean Talon on the 3 -11-1672. He died on 20-12-1677 and was buried in
Sorel on the 22nd. His widow, Charlotte Denis, had retired to Trois-Rivières
and had left the seigneury in liquidation. It was acquired by Sieur Charles
Aubert de la Chesnaie, who sold it to Sieurs Jacques Brisset and Louis
Dandonneau, inhabitants of Champlain, on 10-11-1690. It seems that it was only
after this date that concessions were given and in very small numbers because
none have been found before 1700. All the concession contracts we have are
dated from 1700 to 1713 [Note 17]. Jean Beaugrand must have been one of the
first, if not the first to obtain his own, because a cadastral map by Gédéon de
Catalogne, dated 1709, gives his son Jean II the lot immediately following that
reserved for the church, the latter comprising 25 arpents at the southeast end
of the island [NDT 9]. The map seems to give it 3 or 4 arpents in width.
Moreover, this case of disputes and summons seems to constitute a typical case,
at the time of the first concessions and that to Jean Beaugrand should be at
this time, that is to say a little before 3-3-1693 . The text of the summons
even seems to indicate that he had his concession from Prudent
Bougret-dit-Dufort, which triggered the action of the lords and the bailiff.
The words "show me the title they have" and "give Sieurs Brisset
and Du Sablé a new title to their land" do not seem to have any other
meaning. The concession would therefore have taken place between 18-6-1692 and
3-3-1693 [Note 18]. In 1694, the new departure of eldest son. On September 14,
1694, Jean Bougron-dit-Champagne undertakes Jean Bisset, Sieur de Vincennes, to
make the trip to the Outaouais once again. We are probably less worried this
time because he has acquired age and experience. He will have better wages too
because he is given the management of a canoe. Like the first time, he will not
return until next year, when travelers come down from the said countries to
bring the beaver to this city (Montreal). His salary will be "350 pounds
which will be paid in beaver, as soon as the beaver arrives in this city, and
moreover, the said Champagne will be able to carry with him for 50 francs of
goods only to trade for his particular profit...", etc. The deed is signed
by Basset, royal notary, and two witnesses, Jean Beaugrand having declared that
he did not know how to sign. The first months of 1697 bring an event of
importance to the house. Jean II, aged 25, united his destiny with that of a
17-year-old girl, Françoise Guignard, born in Repentigny on May 15, 1680, to
Pierre Guignard-dit d'Olonne and Françoise Tierce, widow of Aufray Coulon. The
two households will live together in Berthier's house.
It was there that a little girl was born, at the beginning of 1698, who was
baptized in Sorel on January 7 of that year and who bore the name of Marie
Anne, in memory of her aunt, the daughter Jean I, whom we met the 3-3 1693 and
who had to leave this world in the meantime. Jean and his wife are no doubt
very happy with the arrival of this girl, but this establishes them as grandpa
and grandma and announces that they are no longer so young. More than the
years, however, the wear and tear from excessive work and deprivation will soon
get the better of this settler's energy. He will not see the birth of his first
grandson Antoine, who will be baptized in Sorel on 6-6-1700. He makes his way
quickly to the grave. His son, also accustomed to the hard life, can take over.
And the father dies at the age of 58. He is buried in Sorel on 5-12-1699. The
mother inherited all the property, but it is the son who asserts the property.
Why shouldn't he himself administer the paternal good in his own way? He has
expressed his point of view several times, which makes good sense. Despite the
differences in ideas, the mother ends up being persuaded. It so happened that
the Grand Vicar of Quebec, M. de Belmont, made his visit to these parts in the
name of the bishop. We will take advantage of his visit to arrange everything
and write it in good and due form, taking all the precautions that human wisdom
advises. And so it was that on 23-10-1701, "Before Messire François de
Belmont, Grand Vicar of Mgr l'Issustrissime and Reverendissime Bishop of
Quebec, making his visit to the place and cost of Berthier, were present in
their person Marguerite Samson, widow of the late Jean Bougrand, on the one
hand, and of Jean Bougrand, son of the said Jean Bougrand and of the said
Marguerite, assisted by Françoise Guignard, his wife on the other hand;
"who, for the good of the peace and salvation of their souls, have placed
their differences in his hands and resolved to conclude them by making an act
of a transaction, giving him full power to have them settled in good and due
form and legally received by a royal notary". "Have agreed to the
following terms and conditions: " "Will give the said Jean Beaugrand,
son, per year, to Marguerite Samson, the mother, the quantity of 20 minots (of)
good and valid wheat, payable in two installments: the first, of 10 minots, at
next Christmas, the second at Candlemas in the year 1702, also by 10 minots,
and so until the end of the life of the said Marguerite Samson, the mother.
"Will from now on give the said Jean Beaugrand to his mother, a cow to
choose from the three he owns", "Will now give his said mother a fat
pig ready to kill and two six-month-old food babies".
"Obliges the said Jean Bougrand, to build for his said mother next year
1702 a building for her and the animals and poultry as he is accustomed to
doing on these sides. "The said Jean Bougrand obliges himself to drag his
said mother 10 cords of wood and bring his wheat to the mill and this, only in
the time that she and he will live in the same place, coast or parish.
"Obliges the said Jean Bougrand and Françoise Guignard, his wife, in the
event that they should die before the said mother, all their heirs (heirs) and
having cause to fulfill the said conditions, will be open to the said
Marguerite Samson to return to all her rights as if the contract had not been
made. "Will take away the said Marguerite Samson her furniture, clothes
and utensils, namely: her bed lined with curtains, her shrouds (sheets), two
blankets, her chest with all the linen and clothes she has for her use, plus
two pots, two cauldrons, two plates, a dish, a basin, six spoons".
"In return for which yields the said Marguerite Samson to the said Jean
Bougrand, her son, all and one each (of) her rights to the schedule
(inheritance) of the late Jean Bougrand, her husband... Give the said
Marguerite complete freedom to Jean Bougrand, his son, to sell, alienate, lease
and exchange the dwellings (land) he holds from his late father, located in
Berthier and Ile-Dupas, provided that he satisfies the clauses and conditions
of the said contract, for the satisfaction of which terms and conditions the
said Bougrand and his wife mortgage (pledge) all their present and future
property and undertake to pay their father's debts, if any". "Done at
Berthier, this October 23, 1701, in the presence of the witnesses below. "
"François de Belmont, Grand Vicar; Priat, priest; Seguenot; Marguerite
Samson (brand), Jean Bougrand (brand); Françoise Guignard (brand)". As we can see, nothing is forgotten;
so the agreement must have been perfect, because it was only seven years later
that Marguerite Samson thought she should file the document with the notary. On
August 17, 1708, we see her go to Adhémar, in Montreal, including the preceding
convention in the number of her minutes and have two copies delivered to those
concerned. This document allows us to conclude: 1) That Jean Beaugrand, at the
time of his death, no longer had his Dautray land. Should we see a relationship
between this abandonment and the acquisition of his concession on Île-Dupas?
Did the Iroquois threat have something to do with it? All this is perfectly
possible: Dautray, which had only a few inhabitants, was not defensible and in
fact disappeared for a time. The
opportunity was good to look elsewhere and develop a more profitable culture.
2) That Jean II is the sole survivor of the children of Jean I, being the sole
heir. We have already noted that the others disappeared after one or two
mentions in the documents. The above act gives us a positive argument, although
their death is not mentioned explicitly. 3) That the family of our settler was
not rich, but that it did not lack necessities either. Jean II leaves his
mother a milk cow, a third of those he owns, two calves, and three pigs. If we
keep the same proportion everywhere, that already gives us 9 heads of cattle
and 9 pigs, without counting poultry. But it is quite likely that the mother
only kept what was necessary and that the herd was larger. She could not forget
to consider the young family where there was already a little Marie-Anne almost
4 years old and a little Antoine of a year and a few months, with others in
prospect. She knows very well, besides, she will lack nothing next to her son.
What she wants is simply to have her independence, as many others do in such
cases: two households together are often a bad household... We can also assume
that Jean I had other sources of income. There was the fur trade, in which his
son had acquired experience and in which many settlers were engaged. Then, if
his mother is content to "have ten cords of wood dragged around her"
for her winter, taking care of sawing them and cutting them up, it is because
she is used to working outside and does not fear it. She could very well,
during her husband's lifetime, take care of the animals and the barnyard, while
he worked for the lord or for some neighbor. Jean Beaugrand's farm, however
modest it may have been, had to provide, if not comfort, at least what was
necessary for the needs of the small family. Marguerite Samson will live more
than 20 years after the aforementioned arrangement and nearly 22 years after
the death of her husband. She will see the arrival in this world of five other
little children, in addition to the two already mentioned. They are: Pierre,
baptized at Ile-Dupas on 7-8-1704 and who must have died very young;
Pierre-Simon, born in 1708; Marie Francoise, born 1708-1710; Geneviève,
baptized in Sorel on 23-8-1711; Jean, baptized in the same place on 3-9-1713.
She will see Françoise Guignard leave this world at the age of only 35: she is
buried in Sorel on 12-8-1715. She will see her son Jean II contract a second
marriage on February 1, 1717, at Ile-Dupas, with Catherine Houré-dit-Grammont.
Aged 42 at her marriage, she apparently had only one daughter, Marie-Thérèse,
baptized in Sorel on 6 5-1719, who died at the age of one month and a half, and
buried in Sorel on the 26th of the following month. The grandmother must have
been, more than the mother-in-law, the new mother of Françoise Guignard's
children. Marguerite Samson died at the age of 72 and was buried on Île-Dupas
on 24 7-1721. This act closes the admirable story of one of those generous and
obscure couples who formed the Canadian nation.
FAMILY of JEAN BEAUGRAND-DIT-CHAMPAGNE
Jean Bougrand or Beaugrand-dit-Champagne, soldier of Carignan, later a farmer,
arrived in the country between June and September 1665, settled in Dautray
where he was on 27-7-1675 and 25-6-1676, then in Berthier where he is found in
the 1681 census and where he remained for the rest of his life. He signs
"Gean Bougeren" (Adhémar registry, 25-6-1676). Born in 1641 (he was
40 years old in the 1681 census), he was buried in Sorel on 5-12-1699 at the
age of 58. He had married, around 1668, Marguerite Samson (of unknown parents
and origin), by whom he had at least three children. This last one, born in
1649 (she was 32 years old in the 1681 census), was buried on Ile-Dupas on
24-7-1721, at the age of 72.
THEIR KNOWN CHILDREN
Jean II or Jean-Baptiste, farmer, born in 1672 (9 years old according to the
1681 census) first married, in 1697, Françoise Guignard (daughter of Pierre
Guignard-dit-d'Olonne and Françoise Tierce), and secondly, (Ile-Dupas, February
1, 1717), Catherine Houré-dit-Grandmont, (prob. daughter of René and Denise
Damané) [NDT 10]. He is buried in Berthier on 23-9-1730. From Jean (II) and his
two sons, Antoine and Pierre-Simon descend all the Beaugrand-dit-Champagne.
Charles was baptized in Sorel on 16-2-1673. Mentioned only in the 1681 census.
He died before 23-10-1701 (arrangement between Marguerite Samson and her son
Jean II, sole heir). Marie or Marie-Anne, born in Dautray, on 27-7-1675, was
baptized in Sorel on the 29th. Mentioned in the census of 1681. On 3-3-1693, in
Berthier, she received for her father the summons of Daniel Normandin, royal
bailiff. She died before 23-10-1701. Antoine CHAMPAGNE, (Beaugrand) no. 482
Annotations in the original text
[Note 1] We use the form "Dautray" in preference to
"Autray", because the former seems to us more consistent with
history.
[Note 2] « Inventaire des concessions en Fief et Seigneurie » by
Pierre-Georges Roy, II, p. 179 and 187.
[Note 3] For the nature of this redevance, see « Aveu et Dénombrement de
Berthier » par le sieur Lestage, 9-8-1723.
[Note 4] The franc or the
pound of that time had substantially the same value as the current franc after
the French Revolution and until the war of 1914: it was worth 18 to 20 cents of
our Canadian (gold) currency.
[Note 5] We give later this census for the family of Jean Beaugrand.
Calculations on the age of the children allow us to place it in member or
between the last days of August and the first of October, for the region which
concerns us.
[Note 6] See: “Inventaire des Concessions” .., I, 160.
[Note 7] There is no doubt about this according to the report of the parishes
and missions of New France, sent to Pope Innocent XI and dated 1683. It is
expressly stated that the same priest serves Sorel, Rivière-du-Loup and
Rivière-Saint-François. It gives for each locality the number of families and
people, the dimensions of the chapel or church when there are any, and the
material with which they are built: wood or stone. Berthier, Lanoraie, Dautray,
Lavaltrie, and Saint-Sulpice have neither church nor chapel. L'Ile Dupas is not
mentioned there, any more than in the 1681 census: even no inhabitants. – This
confirms what Couillard-Després wrote in his “Histoire de Sorel”, p. 65.
[Note 8] This is the same lot where the current church is located. The first
church was built on this lot, but a little closer to the river. See: «
Carte de Gédéon de Catalogne », 1709, published by Benjamen Sulte in « Album de
l’histoire des Trois-Rivières », 1881.
[Note 9] We were able to
locate this lot of Jean Beaugrand and assess its width using the following
documents: a- Map by Gédéon de Catalogne, 1709; b- Deed of sale from Jean
Plouffe to Jean Beaugrand, 2 arpents wide. Greffe Tétro 27-7-1714; c- Aveu et
Dénombrement de Berthier, by Sieur de Lestage, 8-8-1723; d- Cadastral map of
Berthier County, 1938, Ministry of Lands and Forests, Quebec. We know that the
original lot was 3 arpents of frontage on the river by 40 of depth because
according to the “Aveu et Dénombrement de Berthier” of 1723, Jean II has 5
arpents, including 2 acquired from Jean Plouffe on 27-7-1714. The map of Gédéon
de Catalogne places Jean Beaugrand between Le Parisien to the southwest and La
Grandeur to the northeast. The Act of 1714 puts his lot between those of the
deceased Le Parisien and Jacques Joly. L’Aveu of 1723 gives him the same
neighbors as in 1714. Thus enlarged, this lot corresponds to no. 48 of the
current cadaster. It has 3 arpents and to neighboring lots. The house that we
see there was built by Basile V Beaugrand-Champagne around 1825 and is today
(1950) inhabited by Pierre Sylvestre who acquired it in 1913. Seven generations
of Beaugrand forming a single line, have succeeded on this land from
1676-1681-1881. After the death of Elie VI, 12-4-1881, his widow Modeste Bonin
and his children Marie Louise, Joseph, Arthur, and Edmond sold the property,
which has since passed through several hands.
[Note 10] The successive generations on the Jean Beaugrand lot were: I Jean, m.
Marguerite Samson vers 1668; II Jean II, m. Françoise Guignard, 1697; III
Pierre-Simon, m. Marie-Josephte Courrier, contr. Danré de Branzy, 17-3
1746; IV Jean-Baptiste, m. Marie-Josephte Boucher, Berthier, 18-1-1779; V
Basile, m. Marie Desanges Tellier, Berthier, 18-4-1820; VI Ellie, m.
Marie-Modeste Bonin, Lanoraie. 16-10-1855;
VII Marie-Louise (Rosalie), m. Joseph Arthur Edmond. They emigrated to Manitoba
in 1880 and 1881 and have many descendants there.
[Note 11] Published in « Histoire des Canadiens français » de Benjamen
Sulte. V, 65.
[Note 12] Father S.A. Moreau, in “Histoire de Berthier”, published in 1889, p.
107, gives Jean Beaugrand and Jean Piette as the first two pioneers of Berthier
in 1672. Julien Allard and Pierre Delbec-dit-Joly would have joined them in
1676- We have seen that Jean Beaugrand lived in Dautray in 1675 and 1676. He
could have his land of Berthier, but he certainly did not live there. We don't
know on which documents relies Father Moreau.
[Note 13] See List of Commitments in Report of the Archivist of the Province of
Quebec, by P.-G. Roy, years 1929-1930, p. 195.
[Note14] As we know, it is at this period that the feat of Madeleine de P a ge
| 16 Verchères took place, on October 22, 1692. See also: Tanguay, “Through the
Registers”, pp. 68-80, where numerous cases of massacres carried out by the
Iroquois are given, from 1689 to 1694.
[Note 15] Quoted in: “Le Sacré-Coeur de Lanoraie”, by Father Adélard
Desrosiers, p. 37: it is interesting to compare this information with the
census of 1681 and the Report of the Churches and Missions from 1683: Region
1681 1683 Dautray (and Lanoraie) 4 families 22 persons 2 families Berthier
(Villemur) 7 families 31 persons 14 persons 8 families Lavaltrie 7 families 43
persons 42 persons 7 families.
[Note 16] See : « Histoire des Canadiens français », B. Sulte, V., 28 43
persons.
[Note 17] See : “Histoire de
l’Ile-Dupas” (manuscript), by Rev. Plinguet, 1864. A copy can be found at the
presbytery of Ile-Dupas.
[Note 18] This summons case seems a bit of a mystery. We will risk the
following explanation: In “Inventaire des Concessions...”, III, 83, we find the
following document: “June 18, 1692: Faith and Tribute to Prudent
Bougret-dit-Dufort, residing in Ville-Marie, Ile de Montréal, for Jacques
Bougret, his son, for half a fief and seigneury called Ile-Dupas,
Ile-aux-Vaches with the adjacent islets and others fiefs called de Chicot, —
the other half of the said fief belonging to Jean Vinet, of Boucherville..."
Prudent Bougret had therefore acquired rights to the seigneury. This could have
been offered for sale due to insolvency or for any other reason and purchased
by him. But he would have exceeded his rights by giving concessions before the
expiration of a certain period of "grace" which the lords would have
benefited from. Of the summons and elimination of the pretender to the title of
lord.
Notes added by the translator (NDT)
[NDT 1] It is now established that Jean Beaugrand-dit-Champagne was a soldier
of the company of Saurel. Ref: Fournier, M. & Langlois, M. (2014).
Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières : les premières troupes françaises de la
Nouvelle-France 1665-1668. Editions
Histoire Québec.
[NDT 2] According to the logbook of the ship La Paix, “Jean Bougueron” landed
in Quebec on August 18, 1665. This logbook attests that on this same ship were
(in whole or in part) the companies of Contrecoeur, Saurel, of Maximy, and La
Colonelle. The ship had sailed on May 13, 1665 from the port of La Rochelle.
Jean I had thus 3 months during the crossing of the Atlantic to socialize with
some soldiers of these other companies. This ship gauged 300 tons, was under
the control of Captain Étienne Guillon Sieur de Laubertière. The ship La Paix
sank in the St. Lawrence River on its return.
[NDT 3] His name was most likely Bougaran. He signed Bougeren, which is a
variant. Bougran is a contraction based on its phonetics and it was frequently
used in New France. See also NDT 4. Bougaran is a common surname in Finistère,
Brittany. A search in the French database of Geneanet reveals 486 cases of
“Bougaran” who had lived before the year 1650 in Finistère only. Among them, a
Jean Bougaran, born in 1640 at Ploudalmézeau.
[NDT 4] “Champagne” was his « war name », which served in the French army to
hide the identity of soldiers against possible reprisal from the local
population. In the army, only officers could use their names. Dauvergne, R.
(1948). Les surnoms militaires en France au XVIIIe s. Revue internationale
d'onomastique, 2-3-4, pp. 237-245
https://www.persee.fr/doc/rio_0995-872x_1948_num_2_3_1066
[NDT 5] Before Adhémar, on 1676-06-25, he signs Gean Bougeren and the notary in
the same document writes "In the presence of Jean Bougaran-dit-Champaigne,
resident of Dautray, undersigned witness". Here is his handwritten
signature in the Adhémar registry, 25-6-1676 However, in a private agreement
with Prudent Bougret dated 26-8-1699, Jean I signs Gean Bougueren, with the
letter u after the g, suggesting that locals did not pronounce his name
correctly. We can hypothesize from this that Jean came from a region of France
where Bougeren was pronounced Bougueren, in Brittany, or Occitania for example.
In the Parisian and Poitou Charente regions, Bougeren would be pronounced
“Boujeren” when without the letter u after the g.
[NDT 6] Marguerite Samson was a Fille du Roi. She was born about 1649. Her
origins in France are unknown. She came to Canada in 1670, at about age 21. She
married Jean I in 1670 or 1671. Their marriage record was not found. She was
buried on July 24, 1721, at Île-Dupas. Ref: Gagné, Peter J. (2001). King’s
Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi, 1663 1673. Vol. 2. Quintin
Publications, Pawtucket, RI, USA (page 515).
[NDT 7] Anne, is also the same first name as that of her alleged grandmother
Anne Kerskaven from Brittany. A mere coincidence? See, below, the baptism of
Johannes Bougaren, Ploudalmézeau, Brittany, France, November 21, 1640.
[NDT 8] Jean I Bougaran and his son did not cultivate much land and some
wonder, among them Rev. Antonio Champagne, how they managed to support their
family and even obtained the means to buy other plots of land. They probably
worked for the lord, and for other nearby settlers. Clearing a lot and building
a house or barn cannot be done alone by a single man. The settlers surely
helped each other and possibly derived some income from this activity. They
could also trap and trade fur with local Amerindians. They hunted and fished
and possibly sold the excess game. The islands of Berthier and Richelieu (Sorel
today) abounded with games of all kinds, nesting ducks and geese, marsh birds,
doves, &c. The channels between the islands and the numerous marshes are
the spawning ground for several species of fish, carp, perch, tomcod, bass,
eel, pike, &c. These could easily be harpooned or captured with a net,
trap, or seine. Even during the winter months, fishing on ice could have been
an important source of food.
[NDT 9] Localisation of the two concessions of Jean Beaugrand and son on the
Berthier Coast and on Ile-Dupas. They are highlighted in green.
Reference: Carte cadastrale de 1709 dressée par Gédéon Catalogne, ingénieur du
Roi. The original at:
https://bit.ly/3F64Ghd
[NDT 10] Catherine Auré-dit-Grandmont was effectively the daughter of René Auré
dit Grandmont and Denise Damané, according to the PRDH, Family #1942 at
https://www.prdh-igd.com/Membership/fr/PRDH/Union/1942
