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Pierre Michaud and Marie Ancelin

Discover the ancestors of all Michaud families from Québec

 Cliquez ici pour la version en français

Pierre Michaud & Marie Ancelin

Discover the ancestors of all Michaud families from Québec

 

Pierre Michaud, son of Anthoine Michaud and Marie Train, was born circa 1637 in the parish of Notre-Dame in Fontenay-le-Comte, Poitou, France (in the present-day department of Vendée, in the Loire region). Today, Fontenay-le-Comte is inhabited by about 13,000 residents, called Fontenaisiens and Fontenaisiennes. It is located about 50 kilometres northeast of La Rochelle.  

[Pierre’s surname has also been spelled Michel, Micheau, Michau, Michault and Michaux.]

 

Location of Fontenay-le-Comte in France (Mapcarta)

 

Postcards of Fontenay-le-Comte (Geneanet)

When he was 18 years old, Pierre was in La Rochelle. There, he decided to leave his home country and embark on the adventure of New France. On March 27, 1656, Pierre agreed to a 3-year indenture contract before notary Paul Moreau. He was to travel to Québec and work for Jacques Pépin, a Protestant merchant in La Rochelle. Pierre would receive 36 livres per year, of which 38 livres and 5 sols were paid in advance. Pépin also agreed to feed Pierre during the ocean passage. The nature of the work was not specified. Pierre declared he did not know how to sign the indenture contract.

 

1656 work contract of Pierre "Michau" (Archives départementales de la Charente-Maritime)

 

Pierre crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the ship La Fortune, alongside 20 other indentured workers hired by Pépin. He left La Rochelle in mid-April and arrived in Canada, part of New France, later that year.

The first mention of Pierre in Canada was in 1661. In an accounting register for the years 1661 and 1662 belonging to the parish of Sainte-Anne-du-Petit-Cap, Pierre was given three livres for two days of work. [The parish would later become known as Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.]

Pierre became a landowner on August 26, 1663. He and Michel Marquiseau received a plot of land located in the village of Beaupré measuring three arpents of frontage (facing the St. Lawrence River), to the east of the river Sainte-Anne. A few years later on September 6, 1665, Pierre sold the land to François Daniau for 150 livres.  

Pierre wasn’t recorded in the 1666 or 1667 censuses of New France. He may have been away on a work contract, perhaps as a fisherman or coureur des bois working in the fur trade, or he may have been recruited as a soldier.  

Pierre likely received another land concession in June of 1667 from Monseigneur de Laval. The plot of land was located on Île-d’Orléans and measured three arpents of frontage (facing the river). [The original concession document no longer exists.]

Marie Ancelin, daughter of René Ancelin and Claire Rousselot, was baptized on May 7, 1651, in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Cogne in La Rochelle, Aunis, France (in the present-day department of Charente-Maritime). Her godparents were Guillaume La Croze and Marie Ecarlatte. [The baptism is located in the parish register of Sainte-Marguerite.]

 

Baptism of Marie Ancelin (Archives départementales de la Charente-Maritime)

 

Location of La Rochelle in France (Mapcarta)

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Cogne in La Rochelle (postcard, Geneanet)

Marie’s father René was a “filassier,” or spinner (or thread-maker). Marie left France alongside her father and her stepmother Marie Jouin. The Ancelin family arrived in Canada in 1665, making their home in L’Ange-Gardien. [The family name has also been spelled Asselin, Ansellin and Anselin.]

The Ancelins appear in the 1667 census of New France, living in L’Ange-Gardien. René worked as a farmer. He owned six arpents of cleared land and two head of livestock.

 

1667 census for the Ancelin family (Library and Archives Canada)

 

Marriage

On October 2, 1667, Pierre and Marie had their marriage contract drawn up by notary Claude Auber. However, the contract is incomplete and unsigned. It doesn’t appear as though another contract was ever created.   

Pierre and Marie were married in the parish of La-Visitation-de-Notre-Dame in Château-Richer. Marie’s father was present at the wedding. [The date and month of the marriage were omitted from the record; it is located between marriages dated September 12, 1667, and November 18, 1669. The PRDH (the Université de Montréal’s Research Programme in Historical Demography) believes the wedding occurred in November of 1667.]

Marriage of Pierre Michaud and Marie Ancelin (copy, Généalogie Québec)

Pierre and Marie had at least ten children:

  1. Pierre (1672-1761)

  2. Jean Baptiste (1674-?)

  3. Marie Anne (1676-1755)

  4. Joseph (1678-1735)

  5. Pierre (1681-1760)

  6. Louis (abt. 1683-?)

  7. Marie Élisabeth (1685-1766)

  8. François (abt. 1687-1727)

  9. Geneviève (1690-1690)

  10. Marie Madeleine (1692-1775)

The couple first settled on Pierre’s property on the south side of Île-d’Orléans. A few years after their marriage, Pierre and Marie were embroiled in a dispute against neighbour Mathurin Thibodeau dit Lalime. In 1671, Pierre sued Thibodeau for having caused harm to Marie, necessitating a visit to the surgeon. The criminal trial lasted for over two weeks and the legal document contains 16 pages. It appears that the case was ultimately dismissed. After the trial, Pierre and Marie left Île-d’Orléans for Île-aux-Oies. In 1673, Pierre sold his land on Île-d’Orléans, along with a house, to Jean Morier for 950 livres. On the notarial record, he was recorded as a resident of Île-aux-Oies.

Pierre received yet another land concession on July 17, 1674, from seigneur Pierre Beccar [Bécart] de Granville. This plot of land was located on Île-aux-Grues and measured six arpents of frontage at low tide (facing the St. Lawrence River) by the entire depth of the island. The agreement also included hunting and fishing rights. Pierre was absent when this concession was drawn up by notary Romain Becquet; his new neighbour Pierre Terrien was present and accepted on his behalf.

In November of 1681, another census for New France was conducted. Pierre, Marie and their five children were enumerated on Île-aux-Grues. Pierre owned seven arpents of cleared land, one gun and ten head of livestock.

1681 census for the “Michau” family (Library and Archives Canada)

Pierre and Marie did not remain on Île-aux-Grues for long. By 1685, the Michaud family was living at Rivière-des-Trois-Saumons, near Saint-Jean-Port-Joli (per the baptism record of daughter Élisabeth). The last two Michaud children, Geneviève and Marie Madeleine, were baptized in Cap-Saint-Ignace, about 20 kilometres southwest of Rivière-des-Trois-Saumons. On October 19, 1695, Pierre received a land concession in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. Just two years later, Pierre and Marie sold that land to Pierre Lessard. On May 30, 1697, they sold another plot of land in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli to Eustache Fortin.

Final Destination: Kamouraska

Location of Kamouraska in Québec (Mapcarta)

On June 30, 1695, Pierre and Marie received a land concession from seigneur Charles Aubert in the seigneurie of Kamouraska. The land measured 12 arpents of frontage by “the entire depth” of the seigneurie. The agreement included hunting and fishing rights. Pierre and Marie agreed to pay 20 sols and one live capon (or the value of 20 sols per capon, at the seigneur’s discretion) per arpent of frontage annually in rente and 12 sols in cens for the entire concession. The couple also agreed to augment the value of their land (in other words, to clear it and plant crops or vegetables) and to bring their grains to the seigneurial mill for grinding. The notarial document was drawn up by Louis Chambalon; Pierre and Marie declared not knowing how to sign. On the very same day, Pierre Michaud Jr. received his own land concession in Kamouraska, measuring four arpents of frontage by 30 arpents deep. 

1695 Land Concession to Pierre Michaud and Marie Ancelin (FamilySearch)

By 1701, Pierre and Marie were preparing for their future, and that of their children. “At an advanced age” and “with the little health they have left,” they drew up an agreement before notary Louis Chambalon on October 16th. Pierre was in especially ill health, suffering with a cancer of the mouth which “was very troublesome and prevented him from working as he had.” He expressed “little hopes of healing.” Their children (and their spouses) and the parish priest of Rivière-Ouelle were summoned to the Michaud home. In the event of one of their deaths, Pierre and Marie requested that the survivor be given all of their assets, as the share of the survivor “would not be sufficient to subsist.” [Normally, the assets of the couple would be divided between the surviving spouse and their children.] The Michaud children agreed.   

Death of Pierre Michaud

Pierre Michaud died at the age of about 65, sometime between May 30, 1702 (marriage of son Joseph), and May 8, 1703 (marriage of daughter Élisabeth). His burial record has not been found.

Perhaps attempting to provide her children with a better inheritance, Marie requested and received an addition to her land concession on October 18, 1704, from seigneur Louis Aubert, “sieur de Forillon et de Kamouraska.” The grant added about eight arpents of frontage to the family’s existing 12-arpent plot.

On April 20, 1724, notary Abel Michon drew up an agreement to divide Marie’s land in La Durantaye (previously known as Kamouraska) between herself, her children and their spouses. Nine days later, Marie gave her portion of land, measuring two arpents of frontage, to her son Joseph. In return, he promised to feed and take care of his mother until her death. Joseph would also ensure that ten masses would be performed for the Requiem of her soul.

Death of Marie Ancelin

Marie Ancelin died at the age of 77. She was buried on April 18, 1729, in the Saint-Louis parish cemetery in Kamouraska. [The date of her death was omitted from the burial record.]

 

1729 burial of Marie Ancelin (Généalogie Québec)

 

Legacy

Michaud monument erected in Kamouraska (Wikitree)

Pierre Michaud and Marie Ancelin are the ancestors of all Michaud families from Québec. Today, their descendants are scattered throughout Québec, New Brunswick and the rest of Canada, as well as the northeastern United States. 

In 1989, the province of Québec named a bridge in honour of Pierre Michaud : the Pont Pierre-Micheau. Built over the Kamouraska River, the bridge is located on Route 132 just north of the village of Kamouraska. The naming was proposed by the Association des familles Michaud.  

Pont Pierre-Micheau north of Kamouraska (Google)

 
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