Carpenter
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Le Charpentier | The Carpenter
In New France, the occupation of charpentier, or carpenter, covered all trades of wood construction.
When Champlain first arrived in the colony, he brought with him carpenters, masons and locksmiths. They immediately started work on building the new settlement, constructing houses and a small church made of cedar or spruce. By 1666, there were 36 carpenters in New France. Carpentry was seen as a very valuable trade and colonists with woodworking and construction skills were sought-after.
The carpenter participated in the construction of the most humble buildings, like barns, mills and houses, as well as the most prestigious ones such as churches. The word charpentier derives from charpente, which means frame or framework.
“Carpentry” in the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 2 (Paris, 1763).
Carpentry works could be divided into four very distinct categories:
Civil carpentry, or timber framing, meaning that which went into the construction of buildings, including wooden arches and scaffolding.
Hydraulic framework, including the construction of bridges, dykes, lock gates, dams and generally all the wooden work which was required to cross rivers, as well as stop and hold water.
Naval carpentry, whose main objective was the construction of ships; also included in this category was the building of the refit holds, breakwaters, etc.
Mechanical or factory carpentry, which included the construction of wheels for mills and factories, presses and all other large machines intended to move, raise, lower and transport heavy loads.
In the case of a charpentier de grosses oeuvres, or carpenter of large works, he was capable of framing large buildings such as churches, mansions, covered bridges, castles, etc.
Charpentier, or Carpentier, are common occupational surnames that survive in Canada today.
The carpenters ("Der Zimmerman", circa 1880 drawing (unknown artist), Wikimedia Commons).
Known persons who had the occupation of King’s master carpenter: David Corbin, Étienne Corbin, Joseph Corbin, Jean Fontenelle dit Champagne, Jean-Baptiste Grandmaison, Jean Guillot, Pierre Hubert, Jean-Baptiste Leclerc (father and son), Robert Leclerc, Pierre Ménage, Nicolas Moran, Jean Thomas, Jean Turgeon (father and son)
Known persons who had the occupation of master carpenter: Jean-Baptiste Alarie, André Améringère, René Arnaud, Fabien Badeau, François Badeau, Jacques Badeau, Jean-Baptiste Beaudry, Jacques Bédard, Jean Bédard, François Boivin, Jean-Hilaire Brideau, Prisque Chamberland, François Charlery, Michel Charlery, Charles Chauvin, Robert Choret, William Cook, David Corbin, Étienne Corbin, Joseph Corbin, Paul Côté, Jean-Baptiste Croteau, Jean Dabin, André de Vautour, Jean Delisle, François Derome dit Descarreaux, Joseph Drouin, François Dufault, Gabriel Dussault, Yves Ezequiel dit Chiquet, George Fontaine, Jean Fontenelle dit Champagne, François Frichet, Nicolas Goupil, Jean Guillot, Michel Guyon de Rouvray, Joseph Harnois, Pierre Hubert, Québec, Jean Janton dit Dauphiné, Barthélemy Jouineau, Timothée Laflèche, Jean Langlois, Jean-Baptiste Leclerc, Robert Leclerc, Jean Lemire, Guillaume Levitre, Pierre Lupien dit Baron, Jean-Baptiste Maranda, Étienne Marchand, Pierre Meguy, Pierre Ménage, Pierre Mercereau, Pierre Moisan, Léonard Paillé dit Paillard, Étienne Parent, Jean Parent, Henri Parent, Joseph Parent, Mathieu Parent, Mathurin Parent, Michel Parent, Robert Pearcy, Nicolas Pelleter/Peltier, Louis Poitras, Joseph Racine, René Réaume, Romain Robitaille, Nicolas Roussel, Joseph Saint-Cyr, Joseph Savard, Simon Sicard, Charles Simon dit Delorme, Joseph Simon dit Delorme, Guillaume Tartre dit Larivière, Luc Tarte dit Larivière, Jean Thomas, Thomas Touchet, Louis Trudeau, Charles Viger
“La Durance”, circa 1730 watercolour, BAnQ numérique
Known persons who had the occupation of ship carpenter: Jean-Baptiste Alarie, Joseph Alary, Barthélémi Badeau, Fabien Badeau, Jacques Badeau, Jean Badeau, Pierre Badeau, François Beaulieu, Pierre Blot, Augustin Bonneau, Louis Bonnodeau dit Châtellerault, Joseph Bourbeau, Louis Bourbeau dit Carignan, Charles Brassard, Jean-Hilaire Brideau, Luke Brown, Jacques Brulé, Guillaume Caché, Pierre Cadoret, Mathurin Camino, Guillaume Carmeding/Carmedy, François Charpentier, Louis Chevalier, Michel Chevalier, David Corbin, Étienne Corbin, Richard Corbin, Jean-Baptiste Croteau, Jean Dabin, Joseph Delestre, Michel Derome, Charles Desève, Martin Dierceval, Bernard Diez/Dierce, Jean-Baptiste Doucet, François Dussault, Gabriel Dussault, Pierre Émond, Corneille Esbens, Yves Ezequiel dit Chiquet, Charles Fontaine, Jean-Jacques Frenet, Étienne Frichet, Jean Grasset, Raymond Guay, Charles Guyon, Michel Guyon de Rouvray, Moise Hilleret, Charles Hubert, Moïse Hilaret, Olivier Labbé, Jean Baptiste Laberge, Martin Langlois, Jean Laval, Jean Legrain, Jean Lefebvre, Clément Lesueur, Guillaume Levitre, Pierre Levitre, Joseph Levitre dit Dalongny, Pierre Mailloux, Joseph Mauffet, Jacques Merceron, Jean-Baptiste Monmellian, Étienne Nicolas, James Oliver, Étienne Parent, Henri Parent, Jacques Parent, Mathieu Parent, Joseph Parent dit Desbutes, Gabriel Philibert, Prosper Poitras, Joseph Rancour(t), Antoine Richoux, Nicola Rousset, François Sauvin dit Larose, Pierre Savard, François Sigalin, Jean Thomas, Joseph Turgeon
A Carpenter’s Hammer (“Marteau de charpentier”, circa 1740 drawing, BAnQ numérique)
Known persons who had the occupation of carpenter: Joseph Alarie, Pierre Ardoin, François Audet, Barthélémi Badeau, Jacques Badeau, Pierre Badeau, Louis Beaulieu, Jean-Baptiste Beaupré, Jacques Bédard, Antoine Beleau dit Larose, Joseph Belleau, François Boivin, Joseph Boivin, Louis Bourbeau dit Carignan, Pierre Bouvet, Jean-Hilaire Brideau, Pierre Brosseau, Jacques Brûlé, Jean Cailet, Jean Chabot, Prisque Chamberland, Jean Charbonneau, François Charlery, Jacques Charlery, Michel Charlery, Jean Chauvin, Jean Chénier, Louis Chèvrefils dit Belisle, Caron, Robert Choret, Michel Constantineau, David Corbin, Étienne Corbin, Joseph Corbin, Pierre Corneau, Jean Côté, Pierre Couillard, Dominique Dassilva dit Portuguais, André de Vautour, Joseph Deniau dit Destaillis, François Derome dit Descarreaux, Philippe Desgrès dit Saint-Pierre, Desmarais, Edouard Destroismaisons dit Picard, Joseph Dubeau, Laurent Dubeau, Joseph Dufault, Pierre Dufour dit Latour, Jean Dufresne, Rémi Dupil, Noël Duprac, Yves Ezequiel, Charles Fontaine, Jean Fontenelle dit Champagne, André Forand, François Fortier, Henri Fortin, Joseph Fugère, Jean Gagné, John Gibbard, Jean Godbout, Edward Godier dit Béland, Nicolas Goupil, Jean Guillot, Joseph Harnois, Claude Hotte, William Houston, Benjamin Hyans, Léger Jarnac, François Jolicoeur, François Julien, Jean Baptiste Labelle, Pierre Laberge, Jean Lacroix, Joseph Lalague, Lallemand, Barthélemi Lanceleur, Jean Langlois, François Laroche, François Laventure, Peter Leach, Pierre Leclair, Jean-Baptiste Leclerc (father and son), Robert Leclerc, Pierre Lefebvre, Barthélemi Lemay dit Delorme, Jean Lemire, Charles Lessard, Guillaume Levitre, Augustin Lionais, Louiseau, Christophe Lussier, Jacques Manseau, Jean-Baptiste Manseau, Jean-Baptiste Maranda, Étienne Marchand, Jean Marchand, François Massicotte, Pierre Meguy, Pierre Melenne, Pierre Ménage, Joseph-Delphis Mercant, Pierre Mercereau, Jacques Merceron, Pierre Miville, Pierre Moisan, Jean Morand, Nicolas Morand, Félix Nadeau, Jean-Baptiste Nadeau, Gabriel Paillé, Léonard Paillé dit Paillard, Jacques Parent Desbuttes, Mathieu Parent, Mathurin Parent, Robert Pearcy, Nicolas Pelleter/Peltier, Jean Pépin, Louis Pépin, Joseph Picard, François Poitras, Louis Poitras, Jean-Baptiste Prévost, Jean Quenet, Joseph Rancourt, René Réaume, Romain Robitaille, Louis Rousseau, Nicolas Roussel/Rousset, Joseph Roy, Louis Saint-Éloi, Joseph Samson, Adrien Sédilot dit Briseval, Simon Sicard, Guillaume Tartre dit Larivière, Jean Thomas, Thomas Touchet, Jean-Baptiste Tourangeau, Edouard Trahan, François Trépagné, Edouard Trottier, Louis Trudeau, François Turenne, Pierre Valcourt, Germain Vermette, Pierre Vézina, Charles Viger, James Young
Known persons who had the occupation of mill carpenter: Christian Becker, John Gibbard, Charles Jourdain, Pierre Mercereau, Léonard Paillé dit Paillard
Known persons who had the occupation of house carpenter: Gabriel Attina dit Laviolette, Jean-Baptiste Bezeau, François Boivin, Jean-Baptiste Brosseau, Pierre Brosseau, François Charlery, Michel Charlery, Gabriel Chèvrefils dit Bélisle, Michel Constantineau, Jean Côté, Mathieu Cotin dit Dugal, Charles Couture, Pierre Gauvin, Abraham Godet, Joseph Grenon, Paul Guillot, Jean-Baptiste Guillot dit Grandmaison, Joseph Harnois, Barthélemy Jouineau, Joseph Lambert dit Champagne, Robert Leclerc, Jacques Manseau, Étienne Marchand, Pierre Mercereau, Nicolas Pelleter/Peltier, Gabriel Philibot, Joseph-Baptiste Renaud, Joseph Simon dit Delorme, Louis Turcot, Pierre Vézina, Étienne Villeneuve
Sources:
Jean Étienne Casimir Barberot, Traité pratique de serrurerie (Paris, Baudry et cie, 1888), 98. Digitized by Google Books, https://books.google.ca/.
Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 150-151.
Robert-Lionel Séguin, “L'habitation traditionnelle au Québec”, Les Cahiers des dix, (37), 1972, 191–222, https://doi.org/10.7202/1025297ar.