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Andre Robidou

Christening: 1640
Ste Marie, Galice, Burgos, Spain
Burial: 1 Apr 1678
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Summary for Andre Robidou dit L’Espagnol

Came to St. Lambert, LaPrairie, Quebec in 1670. Andre was part Spanish and of dark complection and was sometimes called the Spaniard. The 1666 census for the town of Quebec shows Andre as a sailor and employed by Eustache Lambert, a prominent interpreter, settler, and fur-trader. Employees were paid 10 cents a day with board and lodging.

Andre Robidou Timeline

Thanks to the diligent research of Guy Rabideau we now have a bit more detailed history of Andre and his life.

original source

  • Circa 1636-1640- Andre is born in Sainte-Marie, Spain, the son of Manuel Robidou and Catherine Alue. (Notes: Sainte-Marie is noted as a parish, and also as being in Galicia in the Diocese of Burgos).
  • circa 1645 or later- Jeanne Denot is born, the daughter of Antoine Denot and Catherine Leduc. She is baptized at Saint-Germain-L’Auxerrois, Paris, France.
  • prior to 20 April 1661- Andre works as a sailor in Nantes, Brittany (now Loire-Atlantique, Pays-de-la-Lorie, France).
  • 20 April 1661- Andre, now in La Rochelle, Aunis (currently Carente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France) enters a contract of engagement with Antoine Grignon, on behalf of merchant Eustache Lambert, obligating Andre to go to Nouvelle-France (New France) and work for 3 years.
  • late spring and summer 1661- Probably working as a member of the crew, Andre sails from La Rochelle, France to Ile-Perce (on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec), Acadia and finally to Nouvelle-France (New France) aboard La Marguerite, a ship originally hailing from Dieppe, Normandy, (now Seine-Maritime), France. late summer 1661 Andre arrives in Quebec, Nouvelle-France.
  • between late summer 1661 & prior to 15 June 1664- Andre is an engage to merchant Eustache Lambert in Quebec.

source

Engagés were nothing more than indentured servants. An indentured servant was bound to his employer for the duration of his contract which was usually three years. Most of the men who went to New France were “engagés or indentured servants. The “engagé’s employer whether a farmer, a religious order, or a merchant, paid for their transportation from France. During the tenure of his contract, the “engagé could not become a citizen, get involved in the fur trade or marry. Some were servants, but the majority performed hard labour such as clearing land. He earned a paltry sum of 75 livres a year, with food, lodging and clothing deducted. After three years of toil, he usually only had the shirt on his back, a gun and his freedom. His labour could be bought and sold without his consent. In 1665, a quarter of men over the age of 15 who lived in New France were “engagés.

  • circa 1664- Andre receives a concesion of land in what is now Sainte-Laurent on Ille-D’Orleans, Nouvelle-France.
  • 15 June 1665- Andre receives a concession of land on Cote Lauzon (now Levis, Quebec), Nouvelle-France.
  • 13 May 1665- Andre works as a sailor aboard the royal galiotte (type of ship) sailing from Quebec.
  • circa 1665- Andre gives up his concession of land on Cote Lauzon and Ille-D’Orleans.
  • 13 May 1666- Jeanne Denote leaves from La Rochelle as a Fille Du Roi aboard Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a ship originally sailing from Dieppe.
  • 1666- Census records show Andre works as a sailor and lives with merchant Eustache Lambert in Quebec.
  • circa 11 August 1666- After first stopping at the Gaspe Peninsula, the ship carrying Jeanne Denot arrives in Quebec.
  • between circa 11 August 1666 & 17 June 1667- Jeanne Denot resides at a house on the grounds of the Ursuline monastery, Quebec.
  • 16 May 1667- Andre and Jeanne Denot contract for marriage in Quebec.
  • 17 June 1667- Andre Robidoou dit L’Espagnol and Jeanne Denot marry at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, Quebec.
  • 11 July 1669- Marie Romaine Robidou, daughter of Andre & Jeanne Denot, is born, and is baptized the same day at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec. She is named after her godmother Romaine Boudet.
  • circa 1671- Andre, Jeanne Denot, and Marie Romaine Robidou move to the seigneury of LaPrairie, Nouvelle-France, acquiring property within the village of LaPrairie.
  • 10 November 1671- Marguerite Robidou, daughter of Andre and Jeanne Denot, is born, and is baptized the same day at Saint-Francois-Xavier-des-Pres, LaPrairie. She is named after her godmother Marguerite Tenard.
  • 15 January 1672- Sepulture (burial) for Marguerite Robidou (age 2 months) at Saint-Francois-Xavier-des-Pres, LaPrairie.
  • prior to 02 June 1672- Andre acquires property on Cote de la Riviere Saint-Jacques, LaPrairie.
  • 04 December 1672- Andre exchanges with Jean Caillault the property on Cote de la Riviere, Saint-Jacques, LaPrairie, for property on Cote de la Tortue, LaPrairie. He also sells the property in the village of LaPrairie to Pierre Lefebvre.
  • 22 January 1673- The prior concession to Andre by the Compagnie de Jesus of the property on Cote de la Riviere Saint-Jacques, LaPrairie, is confirmed.
  • 20 September 1673- Jeanne Robidou, daughter of Andre and Jeanne Denot, is baptized at Saint-Francois-Xavier-des-Pres, LaPrairie. She is named after her godmother Jeanne Roinay.
  • circa 1674- Andre receives a concession of land on Cote Saint-Lambert, LaPrairie, from the Compagnie de Jesus, and gives up his concession of land on Cote de la Tortue, LaPrairie.
  • 08 December 1674- Andre’s concession of land on Cote Saint-Lambert, LaPrairie, is confirmed by the Compagnie de Jesus.
  • 28 November 1675- Guillaume Robidou, son of Andre Robidou and Jeanne Denot, is baptized at Saint-Francois-Xavier-des-Pres, LaPrairie. He is named after his godfather Guillaume Brunet.
  • 08 November 1677- The Compagnie de Jesus, as seigneur of LaPrairie, inventories all of the concessions, which inventory lists the 08 December 1674 concession to Andre.
  • 15 January 1678- Joseph Robidou, son of Andre Robidou and Jeanne Denot, is baptized at Saint-Francois-Xavier, LaPrairie. He is named after his godfather Joseph Boyer.
  • 01 April 1678- Sepulture (burial) for Andre (age between approximately 38 and 42 years) at Notre-Dame, Montreal, wherein he is noted as residing at LaPrairie. He had fathered five children. (Note – the priests records his death, but no cause is given. Kim)
  • 16 August 1678- Jacques Suprenant dit Sanssoucy and Jeanne Denot marry at Saint-Francois-Xavier, LaPrairie.

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