Anne Daudelin & René Prevost

Anne Daudelin

Anne Daudelin and her twin brother René were born and baptized on April 28, 1667, in Château-Richer. She was the daughter of Nicolas Daudelin and Anne Giard. Her godfather was Louys (last name left blank), and her godmother was Mathurine Bélanger.[1]

Census Records

• 1667 Census: Côte de Beaupré
  Nicolas Daudelin, 30; Anne Girard, his wife, 30; René, 3 months; Anne, 3 months; 10 cattle, 40 arpents of cultivated land.[2]
• 1681 Census: Seigneurie de Beaupré
  Nicolas Daudelin, 48; Anne Girard, his wife, 40; children: René and Anne (twins), 14; Marie, 12; 19 cattle; 37 arpents of cultivated land.[3]

Marriage

On January 9, 1684, René Provost, aged about 32, son of Nicolas Provost and Anne St-Amand from the parish of St-Laurent, Archdiocese of Paris, married Anne Daudelin, aged 16, daughter of Nicolas Daudelin and Anne Girard from the parish of Ste-Anne, Diocese of Quebec, in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade.[4]

Death

Marie Anne Daudelin, aged 64, wife of René Provost, died after a long illness on July 1 and was buried on July 2, 1733, in Sainte-Anne-de-Varennes in the presence of Cristophe L’Huissier and Pierre Michel Petit, witnesses who declared they could not sign the document.[5]

Guardianship

On November 10, 1733, a guardianship was established for the minor children of the late Marie Anne Daudelin and René Provost.[6]

Children

René Provost and Anne Daudelin had the following children:

1. Pierre Prévost
   Born: 1686[7]
   Married: April 27, 1716, to Marguerite Bourdon in Boucherville.
2. Marie Prévost
   Born: Unknown
   Married: November 25, 1715, to Louis Robert.
3. René Prévost
   Born: July 2, 1706
   Married: February 5, 1731, to Marie-Marguerite Brunel.
4. François Prévost
   Born: September 30, 1694, in Varennes.

(Note: The couple had a total of 10 children, with three or four dying young.)

René Provost

René Provost was born around 1652 in Paris, France, in the 10th Arrondissement. His parents were Nicolas Provost (also spelled Prevost) and Anne St. Amand, who attended St-Laurent parish. René had enough schooling to sign his name, but little else is known about his early years.[8]

René first appeared in records on January 9, 1684, when he married Marie-Anne Daudelin in La-Pérade, New France. He likely arrived in New France a year or two before this date, as he was not listed in the 1681 census. His bride was 17-year-old Marie-Anne Daudelin, the daughter of a settler from La-Pérade. It is unknown why René migrated to New France, but it is possible he was a soldier, although there is no evidence to support this.[9]

After their marriage, René and Marie-Anne settled in Batiscan, where their first two children were likely born. They later moved to the Montreal area, specifically Varennes, after René acquired a land concession on October 1, 1688. The couple had eight more children in Varennes, with the youngest born in 1706. Of their ten children, three (possibly four) died young.[10]

René was widowed on July 1, 1733, when Marie-Anne passed away. He died on May 31, 1735, and was buried the following day at Ste-Anne parish in Varennes. His surviving children remained in Varennes or nearby Boucherville. Today, a small suburban street in Varennes bears his name.[11]

Notarial Materials

The marriage contract between René Provost and Marie Anne Daudelin reads as follows:

“On the ninth day of January in the year one thousand six hundred eighty-four, after the publication of the three marriage banns between René Provost, aged about thirty-two years, son of Nicolas Provost and Anne St-Amand, his father and mother, from the parish of St-Laurent, Archdiocese of Paris, on one part, and Anne Daudelin, aged sixteen years, daughter of Nicolas Daudelin and Anne Girard, her father and mother, from the parish of Ste-Anne, Diocese of Quebec, on the other part, I, the undersigned priest, have taken their mutual consent by words of the present, and no legitimate impediment having been found, I have given them the nuptial blessing according to the form of our Holy Mother Church, in the presence of Sir Edmond de Sueve, esquire, and Jean le Moyne, and the said Nicolas Daudelin, and the said Sir Edmond de Sueve and Jean le Moyne have signed, and the said Nicolas Daudelin has declared not knowing how to sign, being so questioned. Follows. [Signed] Edmond de Sueve, Jean le Moyne, René Provost, Claude Volant, priest.”[12]

Sources