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Racine-Martin EN

Discover the story of Étienne Racine and Marguerite Martin, founding pioneers of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and ancestors to generations of Racines in North America. Explore their lives, legacy, and contributions to early New France.

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Étienne Racine & Marguerite Martin

Founding Pioneers of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

 

Étienne Racine, son of René Racine and Marie Loysel, was born around 1606 in the parish of Saint-Germain in Fumichon, Normandy, France. His baptismal record has not been found. [His first name is sometimes spelled Estienne.]

Located about 200 kilometres northwest of Paris and 11 kilometres east of Lisieux, Fumichon is now part of the Calvados département. Classified as a rural commune with a dispersed settlement, Fumichon has approximately 270 inhabitants, known as Fumichonnais.

 

Location of Avremesnil in France (Mapcarta)

 

The exact date of Étienne's arrival in New France is not known, but by 1637 he was settled there, working as a servant for Guillaume Hubou.

Marguerite Martin, daughter of Abraham Martin dit L'Écossais and Marguerite Langlois, was baptized on January 4, 1624, in the parish of Notre-Dame in Québec. Her godfather was Thierry Desdames, and her godmother was Marguerite Lesage. Her date of birth is omitted from the baptismal record. She was the third child born to European parents in Canada, after her brother Eustache in 1621 and her cousin Hélène Desportes in 1620.

1624 baptism of Marguerite Martin (Généalogie Québec)

On November 16, 1637, notary Jean Guitet drew up a marriage contract for Étienne Racine and Marguerite Martin at her father’s home in Québec. The future groom was about 32 years old, the future bride 13. Étienne was assisted by Guillaume Couillard and Adrienne d’Abancourt. Marguerite was assisted by Nicolas Pivert, husband of Marguerite Lesage, and Guillaume Hébert.       

The contract followed the norms of the Coutume de Paris. Étienne gave his future wife a customary dower of 200 livres. Abraham Martin gave his future son-in-law the sum of 100 livres. Marguerite’s parents gave her utensils and clothing worth 64 livres. Marguerite Lesage, Marguerite’s godmother, and her husband gave the future wife 100 livres in cash, along with some clothes and utensils. Étienne’s handwriting was graceful, and he signed his name on the contract with a paraph, indicating that he had probably received a better education than was typical in France. Marguerite also knew how to sign.

 

Legal Age to Marry and Age of Majority

In New France, the legal minimum age for marriage was 14 for boys and 12 for girls. These requirements remained unchanged during the eras of Lower Canada and Canada-East. In 1917, the Catholic Church revised its code of canon law, setting the minimum marriage age at 16 for men and 14 for women. The Code civil du Québec later raised this age to 18 for both sexes in 1980. Throughout these periods, minors required parental consent to marry. 

The age of majority has also evolved over time. In New France, the age of legal majority was 25, following the Coutume de Paris (Custom of Paris). This was reduced to 21 under the British Regime. Since 1972, the age of majority in Canada has been set at 18 years old, although this age can vary slightly between provinces.

 

The second page of Étienne and Marguerite’s 1637 marriage contract (FamilySearch)

 

Étienne and Marguerite were married six months later, on May 22, 1638, in the parish of Notre-Dame de Québec. The groom was about 33 years old, the bride 14. The witnesses were Olivier Letardif and Guillaume Couillard.

The 1638 marriage of Étienne Racine and Marguerite Martin (Généalogie Québec)

The couple had at least ten children:

  1. [anonymous] (1640–1640)

  2. Louise (1641–1675)

  3. Noël (1643–1728)

  4. Marie Madeleine (1646–1726)

  5. François (1649–1714)

  6. Marguerite (1652–1695)

  7. Pierre (1654–1729)

  8. Marie (ca. 1657–1736); she became a nun at the Hôtel-Dieu in Montréal

  9. Jeanne (ca. 1660–1702)

  10. Étienne (1662–1722)

In Huron Country?

According to some accounts, Étienne accompanied the Jesuits to the Sainte-Marie-au-pays-des-Hurons mission between 1644 and 1646. This hypothesis is based on a mention in the Journal des Jésuites in August 1646:

"Those who returned this year from the Hurons were Pierrot Cochon, Gilles Bacon, Daniel Carteron, Jean le Mercier, des Grosillers, Racine, & Eustache Lambert, who had given himself [as a donné] & was to return, & indeed he returned with the aforementioned; & moreover he took charge of two calves.” 

The absence of a first name for Racine makes it impossible to confirm with certainty that he was Étienne, as he was not the only Racine present in New France at the time—Claude Racine was also living there. However, Étienne's presence in 1650 at the habitation Saint-François in Sillery, a Jesuit property, suggests links with the religious order, making his passage to Huron country plausible.

"Map Showing Huron Mission Sites," with the Sainte-Marie Mission in red, created by Andrew Frederick Hunter in the 17th century (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

Étienne's meticulous handwriting can be seen on September 23, 1647. On that date, Governor Montmagny asked him to draw up a report on damaged peas belonging to Jacques Maheu.

Étienne’s 1647 report (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

Shortly after this document was written, Étienne returned to France, either to settle family affairs or to recruit settlers. While there, he attended the marriage of Zacharie Cloutier Jr. and Madeleine Émard, celebrated in La Rochelle on April 4, 1648, in the company of Noël Juchereau, Olivier Letardif, Nicolas Macquart and Claude Bouchard, all of whom had settled in New France. Étienne and Zacharie probably left La Rochelle aboard the Notre-Dame, arriving at Québec on September 20, 1648.   

First Land Concession

On March 27, 1650, Étienne was granted land in the seigneurie of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré by Olivier Letardif. The land measured twelve arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence River by 126 arpents in depth, along the Rivière aux Chiens, and was located on the boundary between Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Château-Richer. Payment of cens and rentes was due to the seigneur every year on Saint Martin’s Day. Étienne undertook to build a home and live in it within the first year, and to fence off his land as it was cleared. He was also granted hunting and fishing rights on the land.

Étienne is believed to be the first French settler to receive and farm land in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. He is considered the town’s founding pioneer.

Plaque of the landowners of Sainte-Anne-du-Petit-Cap in 1658, on the commemorative chapel at the Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (©The French-Canadian Genealogist)

On July 31, 1650, Étienne signed a three-year lease with Nicolas Juchereau de Saint-Denis for a cow and a two-month-old calf. He agreed to provide half the manure and 25 pounds of butter produced by the cow each year, and to pay ten livres for the calf in the first year and twelve livres for each of the following two years. According to the deed drawn up by notary Guillaume Audouart, Étienne had not yet fully settled on his land at Sainte-Anne. Instead, he is described as an “habitant ordinarily residing in the habitation Saint-François” in Sillery, with the Jesuits. The word ordinarily indicates that Étienne sometimes lived elsewhere, probably on his land at Sainte-Anne with his wife and children.  

Tragedy struck the Racine family a year later. According to the Journal des Jésuites, “On the 21st [of July] at ten o'clock in the morning, the Racine house burned down.” Fortunately, none of the family lost their lives.  

Gradually, French families settled on the côte de Beaupré and formed a community called Sainte-Anne-du-Petit-Cap. As there was no church in Sainte-Anne or Château-Richer before 1658, baptisms and marriages took place in Québec.

On February 2, 1660, François de Montmorency-Laval, “Monsignor the Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop of Petrée, Vicar Apostolic in all the land of New France,” visited Château-Richer and gave the sacrament of confirmation to 174 people, including Marguerite Martin and four of her children.

Confirmation of Marguerite Martin in 1660 (Généalogie Québec)

On February 6, 1661, notary Audouart drew up an agreement between Étienne, his son-in-law Simon Guyon (husband of Louise Racine), and Bertrand Chesnaye de la Garenne. The deed specifies that Étienne and Simon were habitants living on the côte de Beaupré. Chesnaye sold them a house located in the Lower Town of Québec, “adjoining at one end the store belonging to the community and facing the courtyard of the said store, consisting of two rooms and an attic.” In exchange, Étienne and Simon agreed to build Chesnaye a shed and a house on his land on the côte de Beaupré, to be completed before All Saints’ Day of the following year.   

On September 8, 1664, Abraham Martin dit L’Écossais, Marguerite’s father, was buried in Québec. A few months later, on November 7, his widow Marguerite Langlois and their children met before notary Duquet to settle his estate. The heirs agreed that Marguerite Langlois could keep the family land, livestock, furniture and her personal property, provided she paid her husband’s debts and met certain financial obligations. Marguerite Langlois died the following year, on December 19, 1665.

The Racine Family in the Census

In 1666, when the first census of New France was taken, Étienne and Marguerite were recorded in Beaupré with their eight children and Nicolas Delage, a hired domestic servant. Étienne was listed as an habitant.

Census of 1666 for the Racine Family (Bibliothèque et Archives Canada)

The following year, Étienne and Marguerite again appeared on the census, still in Beaupré, with their seven children. They owned 30 arpents of land and eleven head of cattle.

Census of 1667 for the Racine Family (Bibliothèque et Archives Canada)

On June 1, 1667, Étienne and Marguerite, along with Marguerite’s siblings and their spouses, sold the Martin family land to the Ursuline nuns for 1,200 livres. The land, located “in the outskirts of Quebecq,” measured approximately 32 arpents and included a house and a barn. The heirs stated that they were obliged to sell the land because it had been left fallow, the buildings had fallen into ruin, and they did not have sufficient resources to put it back into “productive use.”

Signatures on the 1667 deed of sale (FamilySearch)

On October 11, 1671, Étienne and his son-in-law Simon Guyon sold the house in Québec they had bought a decade earlier to Intendant Jean Talon for 400 livres.

Death of Marguerite Martin

Marguerite Martin died at the age of 55 on November 25, 1679. She was buried the following day inside the church of La-Visitation-de-Notre-Dame in Château-Richer.

1679 burial of Marguerite Martin (Généalogie Québec)

 

Buried inside the church?

Intramural church burials are an ancient Christian tradition that early colonists brought from France. In France, this privilege was primarily reserved for clergy and nobles. However, in New France, burials within church walls were not limited to these elite groups. They were performed for those belonging to the most powerful social groups (which could even include farmers), successful tradespeople, and those devoted to their church and community. Bodies were typically placed in crypts located under the church floor or in graves dug after raising the floor or moving a church bench. 

The funeral rites for such burials were generally more elaborate and expensive than those for cemetery burials. These rites often included special masses, processions, and other ceremonies that underscored the social status and community contributions of the deceased. The practice of intramural church burials began to decline by the mid-nineteenth century, primarily due to public hygiene concerns, a lack of space, and changing attitudes towards burial practices. By this time, many communities started to favour dedicated cemeteries away from populated areas.

Étienne Racine’s Final Years

In 1681, Étienne was enumerated in Beaupré with his children Pierre, Étienne and Jeanne, as well as a 16-year-old domestic servant named Étienne Simard. The census shows that Étienne was 77 years old. He owned two guns, eight horned cattle and 15 arpents of land.

Census of 1681 for the Racine Family (Bibliothèque et Archives Canada)

On November 2, 1682, before notary Paul Vachon, Noël Racine and his wife Marguerite Gravel retroceded to Étienne a land concession located in the seigneurie of Beaupré. The land measured two arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence River. The rente was set at ten sols per arpent of frontage, the cens at twelve deniers per arpent, plus one live capon, all payable annually. Noël signed his name Rasine.  

On the afternoon of April 30, 1688, at the age of 83, Étienne appeared before notary Étienne Jacob to have an inventory of his property drawn up, in the presence of several members of his family, all future heirs. The deed specifies that he was an habitant of the parish of Notre-Dame in Château-Richer, in the seigneurie of Beaupré. The valuation was carried out by Pierre Gagnon and Michel Roullois. [Not all items are listed because some words are illegible.]

The kitchen utensils and crockery included a cooking rack, two drip pans, a warming pan and an old grill, six pails, an old frying pan, three cooking pots, a pewter basin, an iron kettle, six terrines, a copper colander, a roasting spit, a silver cup, a lead mould, an old funnel, two old pans, a fire shovel and a large terrine.   

Extract from the inventory listing Étienne’s livestock (FamilySearch)

The tools included an anvil and hammer, a cross-cut saw, a small saw, a long saw, several old blades, two old forks, two manure forks, three manure hooks and four axes. As far as farming and livestock tools were concerned, there was a meat-hanging hook, a plough chain, two chains and an old push cart. 

The bedding and textiles included five blankets, a feather bed, a bolster and two pillows, a justaucorps, two coats, an old pair of stockings, an old cape, a shroud, twelve shirts, nine serviettes, several pieces of small linen, three tablecloths and a pair of old shoes.

The furniture included a large lockable chest containing several items of clothing and a large wardrobe. Containers included a barrel and a half-barrel, as well as seven large glass bottles. 

The inventory also listed miscellaneous items, such as four old razors, a cowhide, a copper lamp, a spigot, 130 livres in cash, a chamber pot, a clothes iron, four pistols and important documents (contracts, etc.). 

Finally, the livestock included two oxen, a bull, a cow, three pigs and a calf.

Death of Étienne Racine

A year later, Étienne Racine died at the age of 84, on April 24, 1689. He was buried the following day in the church of Sainte-Anne in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. His sons Noël, Pierre and François attended the burial.

1689 burial of Étienne Racine (Généalogie Québec)

Legacy

A number of commemorative plaques have been installed in Québec to honour the common ancestor of the vast majority of Racines in North America. A plaque was also affixed to the church in Fumichon, Normandy, in 1989 by the Association des familles Racine.

The commemorative chapel at the Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (©The French-Canadian Genealogist)

Plaque affixed to the commemorative chapel at the Sanctuaire de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (©The French-Canadian Genealogist)

In Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, you'll find rue Étienne-Racine. According to the Commission de toponymie du Québec :

"This street is located in an area where roads are named after pioneers. It is named after Étienne Racine (circa 1607–1689), husband of Marguerite Martin (1624–1679). He received his concession on March 27, 1650, and he and his wife were the first to settle in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. Étienne Racine and Marguerite Martin are the ancestors of many Racine families in Quebec.”  

The plaque commemorating the first settlers of Québec (photo by Jean Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0)

Rue Marguerite-Martin is also located in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

There is also a rue Étienne-Racine in Saint-Hyacinthe, in the Montérégie region, where there is a large population bearing the Racine name.

Mount Étienne-Racine in Château-Richer also bears his name. The Marguerite-Martin Summit is located on this hill.

Finally, Étienne’s name appears on the plaque commemorating the first settlers of Québec, installed on the Louis-Hébert monument in Montmorency Park in Québec City.  

 
 
Étienne Racine & Marguerite Martin (article in PDF format)
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