Beaudet-Grandin Marriage

Marie Grandin & Jean Baudet

Pioneers of New France

Marie Grandin

Marie Grandin was born around 1651 in the parish of Saint-Euverte (also called Saint-Eubert) in the city of Orléans, Orléanais (now Loiret), France. She was the daughter of Michel Grandin and Marie Lejeune.[1] [2]

Following her father’s death, Marie embarked for New France as one of the Filles du Roi (King’s Daughters). She arrived in Quebec on July 31, 1670, aboard the vessel La Nouvelle France.[3] Marie brought with her goods estimated at 300 livres, and she received the King’s gift of 50 livres as part of the program to encourage settlement.[1:1]

Jean Baudet

Jean Baudet (also spelled Beaudet) was born around 1648 in Blanzay (near Montmorillon), diocese of Poitiers, in Poitou (now Vienne), France. He was the son of Sébastien (or Bastien) Baudet and Marie Baudonnier.[4] [5]

Jean was among the contracted passengers of the Noir de Hollande, which departed La Rochelle in April 1664 bound for Quebec. The ship carried 30 crew members, 51 recruits (50 men and 1 woman), and known passengers including Father Louis Nicolas and Jeanne Mance. It arrived in Quebec on May 25 after a seven-week crossing. The ship transported 10 barrels of brandy, 400 small axes, and 6 ewes.[6]

In the 1666 census, Jean was listed as a domestic servant for Nicolas Gaudry at Côte Saint-François et Saint-Jean in Quebec City. In the 1667 census, he was no longer in Gaudry’s service and could not be found.[7]

1666 Census: Saint-Jean, Saint-François and Saint-Michel

Nicolas Gaudry, 45, inhabitant; Agnès Morin, 24, his wife; Hélène, 9; Jacques, 7; Christine, 5; Marie-Françoise, 3; Nicolas, 16 months; Jean Baudet, 18, contracted domestic servant; Jean Mallerbant, 15, contracted servant.[7:1]

Marriage

On September 7, 1670, Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin signed a marriage contract before notary Romain Becquet.[8]

The contract stated: “Marriage between Jean Boudet (Beaudet), inhabitant of Champigny, son of Bastien (Sébastien) Boudet (Beaudet) and Marie Baudouin (Baudonier), his father and mother from the village of Blaichais (Blanzay) in the diocese of Poitiers, and Marie Gaudin (Grandin), daughter of the late Michel Gaudin (Grandin) and Marie LeJeune, her father and mother from the city and diocese of Orléans.”

Present at the signing were Dame Anne Gasnier, widow of the late Sieur Jean Bourdon, in his lifetime esquire and lord of Saint-Jean and Saint-François, counselor to the Sovereign Council, Mademoiselle Élizabeth Étienne, Hélène DesPortes, Agnès Morin, Madeleine Normand, and Jean-Baptiste de Poitier, esquire, Sieur du Buisson, friends of the future spouses, with Jean-Baptiste Gosset and Gilles Dutartre as witnesses. The document was registered on October 17, 1670.[9] [10]

The marriage was celebrated on September 23, 1670, at Notre-Dame de Québec. Henry de Bernières officiated. Witnesses included Jacques Gaudry, Nicolas Valin, Michel Maillou, and Jean Beriau.[11] [12]

Settlement and Farming Life

On September 4, 1672, Jean entered into a six-year lease with Noël Pinguet the younger, before notary Romain Becquet.[8:1] Through this lease, he obtained land on the St-Michel coast, measuring two arpents by 30 arpents in depth. Approximately ten of these arpents were plowed, and the property included a habitable house, barn, and stable. This farm would today be located between Quatre-Bourgeois Road and La Frenière Street in Sainte-Foy.[13]

Five years later, on October 30, 1677, Jean signed an agreement with Seigneur Louis Chartier de Lotbinière before notary Gilles Rageot.[8:2] René-Louis Chartier, esquire Sieur of Lotbinière, leased him the land reserved for the seigneurial manor of Lotbinière for two years. This land was located on the edge of the Saint Lawrence River. The Seigneur retained his seigneurial rights over the property, but Jean could enjoy it as if it belonged to him and was to care for it “as a good father.” This was a farming lease (bail à ferme), which typically required either a fixed fee or share of the crop, or both.[13:1]

Two years later, on July 26, 1679, Jean renewed his lease with the Seigneur before the same notary.[8:3] René-Louis Chartier agreed to lease him for three years the principal manor of the Seigneurie of Lotbinière, along with all dependent buildings, with the exception of one room in the manor. The Seigneur also leased him two cows, two oxen for working the land, a young bull, and four small pigs.[13:2]

According to historian Raymond Douville, it is plausible that the manor in question was built by Jean Baudet during the first two years of his lease, and that this was the residence he occupied with his family.[13:3]

On March 2, 1680, before notary Gilles Rageot, Jean obtained his own concession from the Seigneur,[8:4] measuring ten arpents by thirty, on the shore of the Saint Lawrence. He had to pay the cens et rentes (dues owed to the lord of a domain), amounting to thirty francs and a denier (small denomination). This sum could be paid as follows: “the value of six francs by means of six good hens and twenty-four other francs in grain coming from his land, the quality of which will be at the discretion of the Sieur of Lotbinière.”[13:4]

Children

Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin had ten known children who all married:

  1. Marie Louise Baudet, born September 13, 1671, baptized September 14 at Sillery; married Jacques Houde dit Desruisseaux
  2. Simone Anne Baudet, born December 26, 1673, baptized December 27 at Sillery; married Michel Pinot on July 4, 1689, at Cap-Santé
  3. Jean Charles Baudet, born August 13, 1676, baptized August 14 at L’Ancienne-Lorette; married Madeleine Lemay in 1726
  4. Marie Louise Baudet, born c. 1679 (Louise, age 2 in the 1681 census); married Jacques Marcotte before 1698
  5. Jeanne Françoise Baudet, born October 1, 1681, at Lotbinière, supplementary baptism April 21, 1682 at Lotbinière (registered at Neuville); married Jean Baptiste Bisson in 1699
  6. Jean Baptiste Baudet, born September 2, 1683, baptized September 17 at Lotbinière (registered at Pointe-de-Lévy); married Françoise Chatel in 1717
  7. Marie Josephe Baudet, born after 1681; married Jacques Alexandre Denevers (marriage contract October 14, 1704, notary Louis Chambalon); died as a widow on May 28, 1748, buried May 29 at Ste-Croix de Lotbinière[14]
  8. Michel Baudet, born around 1686; married Thérèse Pérasse (Pérusse) on June 17, 1719, at Ste-Croix de Lotbinière
  9. Jacques Baudet, born around 1688; married Marie Angélique Lemay on November 20, 1720, at Ste-Croix de Lotbinière
  10. Marie Madeleine Baudet, born around 1691; married Nicolas Joly around 1723[15] [16] [17]

The sons established themselves in Lotbinière, while the daughters, after their marriages, left the village for Saint-Antoine, Cap-Santé, Saint-Nicolas, Sainte-Croix, and La Prairie.[13:5]

1681 Census: Seigneurie de Lotbinière

Jean Baudet, 31; Marie Grandin, his wife, 30; children: Marie, 10, Simone, 8, Charles, 5, Louise, 2, Jeanne, 15 days; 1 gun; 1 cow; 3 arpents under cultivation.[18]

Eel Fishing and Trading

In addition to being a colonist, land clearer, builder, and farmer, Jean also sold eels. He began fishing for eels upon arrival in Lotbinière, but from 1681 onward, he made a true trade of it. That year, he was found in Ville-Marie (Montreal), selling twenty barrels of eels to merchant Jean Milot. For more than twenty years, he entered into contracts of this kind.[13:6]

As Jean also had to manage delivery, he later made an agreement with Michel Boucher for the carriage of his goods. On May 10, 1689, Michel Boucher[8:5] of Lauzon committed himself to transporting 45 barrels of eels from Lotbinière to Montreal, collecting them from Jean Baudet’s residence. This deal was made at a rate of eighteen livres per barrel, which Jean promised to pay. The 45 barrels would have contained approximately 500 eels per barrel. This fish was fortunately abundant in the area. A memoir from the French-Canadian Genealogical Society provides information on this subject: eel fishing was practiced especially from Québec to Trois-Rivières, with no place more favorable than Sainte-Croix, the Platon, and Lotbinière. In a single tide, one could catch up to three thousand eels. Eel was a significant food resource for the first Canadians.[13:7]

Jean’s family was very busy in September and October, as this was the only season for eel fishing. Jean and his sons collected the eels, and the entire family participated in the salting process.[13:8]

Later Land Acquisitions

On November 2, 1708, Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin of Lotbinière sold to their sons, Jean and Michel, a piece of land in Lotbinière measuring 10 arpents and 3 perches by 30 in depth, adjoining Jean Hamel on the northeast and the heirs of the late Joseph Lemay dit Delorme on the southwest, with buildings constructed on it. They had acquired it from Louis Chartier de Lotbinière before notary Rageot on March 2, 1680. This sale was recorded before notary Louis Chambalon.[8:6]

On November 4, 1708, Jean obtained another concession from the Seigneur of Lotbinière.[8:7] It was located west of the village, covering approximately lots 101 to 124 of the current land registry of Lotbinière. This land measured about fifteen arpents in frontage along the river by thirty in depth. By obtaining this concession, Jean was thinking of settling his sons, as a single piece of land was insufficient for his four boys.[13:9]

Final Years

As the Beaudet-Grandin couple advanced in age, on March 25, 1714, Jean sold to his son Michel part of his second concession, measuring five arpents of frontage by thirty of depth. The remainder of this concession would go to Jean-Baptiste and Jacques, who would each receive five arpents.[13:10]

This contract of March 25, 1714, is the last we have from Jean Baudet. Four months later, on July 13, 1714, Marie Grandin, then widowed, appeared before notary Dehornay de Laneuville for the reading of her husband’s inventory of goods.[17:1] No document indicates the exact date of Jean’s death,[13:11] but a document dated May 28, 1714, before notary Louis Chambalon, in which Marie Grandin ratified a sale made by her cousin Louise Prou, referred to her as the widow of Jean Baudet, not his wife. Therefore, he died between March 25 and May 28, 1714.[8:8]

On February 25, 1715, Marie Grandin, widow of Jean Beaudet, “in life habitant living in the seigneurie of Lotbinière, St-Louis parish,” made a donation of land in the Seigneurie of Lotbinière to her son Charles Beaudet, resident of the same place. The donation was executed before notary Dehorné (Dehornay), royal notary from the Sault-de-La-Chaudière to the limits of the Jurisdiction of Trois-Rivières, and was registered in the Prévôté de Québec records on March 15 of the same year.[19] In return, Charles had to take care of his mother by providing her housing and food. He also undertook to provide her annually with a skirt of carisse (a type of fabric), a fabric bra, two handkerchiefs, and a pair of socks, and every three years, a pair of French shoes. After her death, he was to have ten masses said for the repose of her soul.[13:12]

Marie Grandin was hospitalized at the Hôtel-Dieu of Québec in July 1715. She died there on July 14, almost exactly one year after the reading of Jean Baudet’s inventory. She was buried under the name “la bonne femme Baudet” (the good woman Baudet) in the hospital cemetery on the same day.[20] [21]

Family Connections

On June 27, 1704, Louise Prou, daughter of Nicolas Prou and Louise Grandin, from Orléans, rue Desnoyers, parish of St-Victor, spouse in her 4th marriage to Pierre Roulard of Champigny, declared that Marie Grandin, daughter of the late Michel and his wife, spouse of Jean Baudet of Lotbinière, was her first cousin and had no other heir than herself in this country. Through this declaration, she instituted her cousin as her sole heir, and in her default, substituted the children born to Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin, on the day her succession would open. This was recorded by notary Louis Chambalon.[8:9]

However, on August 9, 1710, Louise Proux annulled and revoked her declaration instituting Marie Grandin, her first cousin, as her heir. This revocation was also recorded by notary Louis Chambalon.[8:10]

Legacy

Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin left a significant legacy through their ten children, all of whom married and established families throughout New France. Their descendants continue to bear the Baudet/Beaudet name across North America today.

Jean’s contributions as one of the early settlers at Lotbinière, his work as a farmer, builder, and eel trader, and the couple’s role in establishing a lasting family presence in Quebec, make them important figures in early Canadian history.

Notarial Records

The lives of Jean Baudet and Marie Grandin are well-documented through numerous notarial records. These include contracts for land leases, sales, obligations, quitclaims, and agreements with various merchants and individuals. The extensive records demonstrate the couple’s active involvement in the economic life of early New France and provide valuable insights into their daily activities and business dealings.[8:11]

Sources

Additional References

  • Mariage – Marriage – Jean Baudet – Marie Grandin: “Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-28005-29517-70?cc=1321742 : accessed 1 March 2016), Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979 > Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979 > Québec > Notre-Dame-de-Québec > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1621-1679 > image 467 of 512; nos paroisses de Église Catholique, Quebec (Catholic Church parishes, Quebec).

  • Migrations: Filles du roi

  • Actes d’état civil et registres d’église du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1997 – Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection: Institut Généalogique Drouin IGD (membership)

  • The Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) list of the «Filles du Roi» (the King’s Daughters) Université de Montréal – accessed 12 June 2014

  • La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan – accessed 12 June 2014

  1. Yves Landry: Orphelines en France, pionnières au Canada: Les Filles du roi au XVIIe siècle; revised edition 2013 Éd BQ ISBN 978-2-89406-340-8 pg 119 ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Note: There were 2 filles du roy named Marie Grandin, not to be confused. The other came from Normandy and married Claude Robillard. ↩︎

  3. Migrations: navire Nouvelle France 1670 ↩︎

  4. Navires Nouvelle-France, engagés ↩︎

  5. Pionniers PRDH ↩︎

  6. Blogue de Guy Perron: L’Expédition du navire le Noir de Hollande pour Québec et la pêche en 1664 ↩︎

  7. Recensements de 1666-1667 en Nouvelle-France, referring to chapter IV of the book Histoire des Canadiens Français by Benjamin Sulte, compiled by Jean-Guy Sénécal (senecal at gel.ulaval.ca) on March 17, 1998 ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. BAnQ Notarial acts index ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. BANQ insinuation de contrat de mariage 1670 ↩︎

  10. BANQ: Insinuation de contrat de mariage à la prévôté de Québec, image Patrimoine québécois, Nouvelle-France. Cour de la prévôté de Québec. Fonds Cour supérieure. District judiciaire de Québec. BAnQ, Patrimoine, Archives, Bourdon, Jean, [vers 1601]-1668, Desportes, Hélène, [vers 1620]-1675, CR301,P114 ↩︎

  11. Mariage image IGD ↩︎

  12. Migrations: actes de filles du roi, mariage, image FamilySearch ↩︎

  13. L’ancêtre des Beaudet d’Amérique: Jean Baudet ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. Sépulture-Funeral Marie Josephe Baudet IGD ↩︎

  15. According to PRDH, citation on her profile ↩︎

  16. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1997 – Drouin IGD ↩︎

  17. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec – René Jetté pg 62 ↩︎ ↩︎

  18. Wikisource Recensement 1681 Census according to Benjamin Sulte ↩︎

  19. BANQ 25 Feb 1715 Donation ↩︎

  20. Sépulture-Funeral IGD ↩︎

  21. Registre Hôtel-Dieu de Québec pg 813 ↩︎

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