Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
I just came across this web site finding that I have many more or less distant relatives in the US. I had made some research about my family myself, some time ago, and gathered some information that might interest some of you. I translated from French to English the first chapter which is about the life of Gabriel Roger who came to the New World some 338 years ago. He is the ancestor for most of the Roger in America.
Gabriel Roger 1639-1699
Gabriel Roger, son of René Roger and Jeanne Augeard was born in 1639 at Bourg des Stes-Vierges, district of Bressuire, bishopric of Poitiers, in the Poitou region in France. The exact date of his arrival in New-France (Nouvelle-France) is not known to me yet. His name is mentioned for the first time in Château-Richer, Île d’Orléans, on July 15th 1665. Château-Richer is a small village on the North bank of the St-Lawrence river in front of the Orleans Island (Île d’Orléans). He would then have been 26 years old and probably had engaged himself to come to work on a farm for 36 months as it was common. After those 3 years, the men could apply to get a land for themselves and start a family.
So, in 1667, (June 2nd from the notary Vachon records) he received as a "concession" from bishop Laval (Mgr de Laval), a three arpents (an arpent was approx. one acre) piece of land at St-John, Orleans Isl. (Saint-Jean de l’Île d’Orléans); Saint-Jean was one of the five parishes on the island. This "concession" consisted of the land parcel number 21, cadastral plots #41 et 42. This land was located between the lands of Jean Brochu-Lafontaine and of Jacques Bidet-Desrouselles. Although they could keep the land forever and sell it, it was still a feudal system in which they had to pay to the feudal lord, bishop Laval, a percentage of their production and had various other obligations but they could get the land for "free".
On Oct. 30th 1669, in Quebec City (Québec) (parish Notre-Dame), he married Marie De LaCour also know as La Comète (nickname: The Comet ! This nickname or said name is intriguing and I have done some research to find that around that time the passage of a comet which could be observed from that part of the world has been reported in the colony). She was the daughter of Guillaume De LaCour, master carpenter, and of Marie Birra from the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois parish in Paris. Marie De LaCour had arrived in Québec the same year (1669) and was one of those called the "King’s daughters" (Filles du roi). She brought with her 400 ? (denomination illegible) of goods or personal valuables and 50 "livres" (or "pounds", the French curency of the time) as the King’s dowry and could sign her name, as opposed to Gabriel who couldn’t.
The "King’s daughters" (Filles du roi) were young women recruited to come to New France to get married and help increase the population which lacked women. They were mostly from orphanages and poor families. The King of France will then give them a small dowry to encourage them to come here. In those days, a woman without a dowry could hardly get married and would most likely end up as a servant. Between 1663 and 1672, about 750 of these "filles du roi" came to the colony and would get married within days or weeks of their arrival which was quite an event for the settlers looking for a wife.
On the marriage certificate, registered in Notre-Dame of Québec, Gabriel Roger is presented as from Ste-Famille, Île d’Orléans (his origins in France are also mentioned). As for Marie De LaCour, only her French origins are mentioned suggesting that she has just arrived. Witnesses for the marriage act, besides Henri Debernières, priest resident of St-Augustin, were Jacques Decailhaut De la Tesserie, Charles Amiot, Nicolas Durand and Jacques Duret. There is also a marriage contract registered with notary Becquet, Oct. 14, 1669. I have a photocopy of this contract but have been able to decipher only a fraction of it so far.
Jeanne, the first child of the couple was born in 1670. Then a boy, named Gabriel like his father, was baptized on April 23rd 1672 in Ste-Famille. He had for his godfather Nicolas Durand and for godmother Nicole Saulnier, wife of Jean Brochu, their neighbors. Then came Jean-Baptiste and/or Nicolas, (were they twins? This is unclear but it seems that both were born either together or at different times but the record for the second birth is then unknown) baptized on Nov. 27th 1674 (godfather: Nicolas ?, Jean Bardet, Jean Pauluz(the numerous names for godfathers tends to favor the theory of the twins)) and he or they will die before 1699. The fifth child, Joseph, was born on April 29th 1676 and baptized on May 1st. Godfather: M..., godmother: Élisabeth Denion, wife of Jean Lehoux. Then the last-born, Louis, baptized on Oct. 9 th 1677 and who would also die before 1699.
I find these listings of godfathers and godmothers interesting as these new immigrants had left their relatives behind on the old continent and would recreate a "family" from friendship and the necessity to support each other. Jean Brochu had received his land next to Gabriel around the same time. They both had to clear it and build a house and get ready to both marry King’s daughters within two days intervals. Their new wives must have made the journey across the Atlantic on the same boat before they would get married to these two friends and neighbors that they had never seen before and then start families simultaneously. In fact, in each parish there were dozens of very new families that just started within a few weeks following the arrivals of those ships loaded with women. This must have strongly marked the life of the colony for the 10 to 15 years that this system lasted.
Marie De LaCour disappears between the birth of Louis in 1677 and the census of 1681 four years later where she doesn’t appear. On this census, Gabriel (I) is 40 years old and has 20 arpents in value. ("En valeur" is in opposition to a land in "standing wood" (en bois debout) since the lands were originally forests that needed to be cleared for cultivation.
He buys from Gervais Rocheron the parcel #22 located between those of Jacques Bidet-des-Rousselles and of Louis Therrien. This land will eventually goes to his son Joseph (II) in 1709. I cannot find records for the death of Jeanne, Jean-Baptiste, Nicolas and Louis. We only know that they did not make it to adult age. As for their mother, we only know that she had passed away before 1681 when the two survivor brothers, Joseph and Gabriel were only 5 and 9 years old.
It is 6 years later, on Nov. 17th 1687, that Gabriel Roger (I) re-marries to a Marie-Louise Bolper (or Beaurepère), daughter of Gilles B. and of Nicole Lechef du Pont-Tranchefêtu, bishopric of Chartres, Orléanais and widow of François Marceau. The marriage is registered in St-François, l’Île d’Orléans. They will not have children together but Marie-Louise will bring with her the daughters from her previous marriage. What will happen between the Marceau sisters and the Roger brothers will be part of the next generation.
Gabriel Roger (I) died on July 24, 1699 at 60 (burial act dated 25th, St-Jean parish; present were: René Cochon said Lauverdière and Gabriel Thibierge); we find the inventory of his estate with notary Jacob son, dated Nov. 5 th. 1699. On Aug. 2nd 1702, notary Chambalon, shares between Gabriel Roger son (II), surgeon (in other texts he appears as merchant) from La Rochelle, France, visiting in Québec, and Joseph Roger his brother, each one inheriting for a clear half, by the death of Louis, Jean and Nicolas their other brothers. So Gabriel (II) the eldest son, born in America, chose to go live in France while Joseph, his only surviving brother remained here to continue on the family land and is, therefore our first ancestor to be born in the new world.
In 1707 (notary Chambalon), Gabriel (II) surgeon from La Rochelle, sells to Jean-Baptiste Fortier the 3 arpents parcel that he had inherited. Feb. 18 th. 1710 (notary Chambolon) sale of a land (#30 ?, for 460 pounds (livres), by Sr Gabriel Roger (II), merchant from La Rochelle, creditor and sole legatee of the late Joseph Blay (born in 1678) from St-Jean, Île d’Orléans, by his will, received by Hirnoix, notary in La Rochelle, July 3 rd. 1705 to Joseph Allaire.
La Rochelle, France, was the main port to the New France in the 17th century. I have visited this old harbor town some time ago and could still find some Roger families in the local phone directory.
A few years ago, I also visited the Orleans Island and stopped at their genealogy center. The Orleans Isl. is often seen as the cradle of the New France and a large proportion of the French Canadian families find their roots there, so they have set a small genealogy center to help the visitors looking for their ancestors places. They had an old map there at their counter on which I could see a place identified as the "ruins of Gabriel Roger’s barn". With the help of a local historian, I could find the original land of Gabriel Roger. The original house does not exist anymore, which would have been quite extraordinary but the current owners were kind enough to welcome me to visit the place. When I talked about the ruins of a barn, the owner took me right there. He said that he had always avoided the mound as he had been plowing around it without really knowing what it had been. So it is still there, the stone foundations of a small barn built by Gabriel Roger near a little stream, around 1670. This current owner was originally from the US and had married a woman from Quebec City and they had settled there to cultivate that piece of land of our ancestors.
I also have information on the descendants of Gabriel Roger but I will need some time to translate them from French.
Normand Roger
normandroger@hotmail.com
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:
|
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/roger/messages/53.html | ||
 |
Agreement of Use Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|