« On
the tenth day of the month of November, was baptized by me, public priest, in the church
of Repentigny Pierre Gautier son of Germain Gautier and of Jeanne Beauchamp his wife, born
the previous night. The godfather was Pierre Lavigne (i), resident of
Boucherville and the godmother (ii) …Beauchamp who declared not being able
to sign, whom I asked in accordance to the Law except that Germain Gautier signed with me. (iii) »
(i)
It was Pierre Larrivée, uncle of the child.
(ii) The
godmother was Denise Beauchamp, wife of Pierre Larrivée and sister of
Jeanne Beauchamp, mother of the child.
(iii) Germain
Gautier had not signed as can be seen on the original act. He did not know how to read and
write according to many acts to which he was party.
The child had not reached his
third year when the family left Repentigny in order to settle on the South shore of the
Saint-Laurent, more precisely in the seigneury of Boucherville. One finds, in fact, in the
Ste-Famille parish register, dated 6 July 1687, the baptism of Marie-Françoise, daughter
of Germain Gautier and Jeanne Beauchamp « residents of Boucherville ».
On 1 October of the same year, Germain sold to a certain Jean Rumilly, his house and
concession of Repentigny (Notary
M. Moreau, 1 October 1687).
Thus it was in
Boucherville that Pierre spent the rest of his childhood and his few years of adolescence.
In 1681, the total population of that seigneury was 179 persons. (B. Sulte, Hist, des
C.F.) He probably did not go to school, declaring throughout his life « not being
able to write nor sign » (1). His constant daily occupation must have
been, as it is for boys through the ages, to grow, to become a strong and courageous man.
Wasn't the land there, waiting for his arms « to tame it », to plow and
seed it. It is difficult for us to imagine what children of that dangerous era in New
France saw, their fears and dreams. The vast virgin lands of the Laurentians, deep in
mystery and dangers, nostalgic images and legends of the home country, often talked about
during the evenings by candle light remembering relatives over there in Normandy,…all
this would have a stronger impression on this child, whose world ended at the end of the
clearing, than any film could ever show us.
Where did the Gautier dit St-Germain
reside when they arrived in Boucherville? Document are silent on that fact but it is not
impossible that they settled on « Côte de St-Joseph »
(St-Joseph Hill) upon arrival in the seigniorial domain of Pierre Boucher at least well
before Boucher officially conceded land to Germain, on 7 April 1701, of 110 acres which
will be his home until his death. However, we are certain that he lived there in March of
1691, as shown on the baptismal act of François, « son of Germain Gautier dit
St-Germain and Jeanne Beauchamp his wife, resident of Coste St-Joseph, parish of
Boucherville ». It is on this land to the East of the village, of which much of
the wood was still standing, that Pierre Gautier learned the hard trade of the settler.
Did he become an « engagé » as his brother François and his
brother-in-law did...like his son Paul and many nephews...did he go to the Illinois for
furs? It does not appear that he signed a contract to that effect. On the other hand, his
father was about 40 when he established himself in Boucherville and 54 when he obtained
his concession. Pierre was 17 and Jean, his older brother 19. One can easily see how
precious these two youths would have been to their father and it is easy to deduce
that they would have stayed home to help him until their marriage.
Marriage
Pierre Gautier was close
to his twenty-third birthday when he made what was at the time considered a good marriage.
On 15 May 1707, he married Marie-Anne Tessier, grand-daughter of Urbain Tessier, a friend
of Monsieur De Maisonneuve and one of the pioneers of Ville-Marie. Here is a translation
of the text of the Notre-Dame church registry for the year 1707.
« On the fourteenth day of
the year one thousand seven hundred and seven, after publishing two bans and
dispensing with the third in agreement with Monsieur Francois Vachon de Belmont Grand
Vicar of Monsignor, the Bishop of Quebec, I, the undersigned, Priest, vicar of the
Parish of Ville-Marie, after having received the mutual consent, vocally, of Pierre
Gautier, here present, aged 23, son of germain gautier dit St-germain resident of
Boucherville and Jeanne Beauchamp his wife, his father and mother of the first part, and
of Marie-Anne Texier aged twenty-two years, daughter of deceased Laurent Texier and
Anne LeMyr, his wife of this parish of the second part. I have wed them in accordance with
the Rites of our Holy Church In the presence of the said germain, father of the said
Husband of pierre Larrivée his uncle resident of the said Boucherville of jean
Gautier his brother, of Paul Texier uncle of the said Bride, of Jean Texier, also her
uncle, of Pierre Couturier, master-mason And many others parents and friends of both
parties. The Husband, The Said Gautier, Larrivée and jean Texier declared not being able
to sign thus in accordance with the Ordinance the following have signed,
marie an texier, Damous, anne Lemire
paul texier P. couturier, ch. Texier
Belmont, vic gnal
Priat. Prêtre »
This act, as usual, is
relatively simple and reveals only the essential elements concerning the spouses. On the
other hand, the marriage contract passed in front of the notary Michel Lepailleur on 28 May 1707 contains many
interesting details as follows:
« Were
witnesses at the signing of the contract, for the husband : Germain Gautier and
Jeanne Beauchamp, his father and mother, Sire Pierre Larrivée, his uncle on his mother's
side, Sires Jean Gautier his brother and Pierre Richard his first cousin (2) »
On the
bride's side, we see Anne Lemire(3),
her mother, widow of Laurent Tessier, Sieur Gédéon de Catalogne, esquire, lieutenant the
detachment of the marine troops and Marie-Anne Lemire, his wife, uncle and aunt of the
future bride, and finally, ladies Catherine Lemire and Élizabeth Barreau also her aunts,
all representing the maternal side. On the paternal side, there was « honorable
lady Marie Archambault, widow of deceased Sieur Urbain Tessier, her grandmother »,
then the Sieurs Paul, Jean and Jacques Tessier, her uncles, Philippe Damours, Sieur de La
Moranière, officer of the troops and Pierre Couturier, her cousins.
The spouses married under
community of goods system. The bride would bring the usual brought or the sum of 600
« livres » as she chose. Both spouses would have equal rights to 200
« livres » .
Germain Gautier and his
wife pledged to feed the young couple for two years, and to that effect, to supply them
annually with thirty bushels of wheat, one fat pig, and tub of butter, and also, the
pledge to give them two oxen, one cow, a pregnant heifer, the whole valued as
follows : the bushel of wheat « 42 sols », the pig « 20 livres
», the tub of butter « 25 livres at 6 sols per livres », the two
oxen « 80 livres », the cow « 25 livres » and the heifer
« 15 livres ». In addition, the said St-Germain and his wife promised to the
future spouses « to help them build a barn and stable without asking for a salary
and should they die, their commitment would be annulled ».
In addition, the groom,
Pierre Gautier, brought to the community, the sum of « 300 livres » thus,
« 200 livres » in coin and « 100 livres in new furniture ».
Concerning Marie-Anne
Tessier, I can be said that she did not arrive empty-handed since she brought the sum of
« 500 livres » for the purchase of half of a
farm belonging to her mother situated at Longue-Pointe, at the time
known as Côte Saint-François. Of these « 500 livres », 400 became part of
the community and 100 remained hers as « coming from an inheritance ». Finally, I
t was agreed and conceded that the house of deceased Laurent Tessier, her father, situated
on Notre-Dame street in Ville-Marie(4) and where Anne Lemire Resided would be
shared « between the said widow Lemire, the said Gautier spouses and the brother
of the bride, the Sieur Jean-Baptiste Lemire (5) ». And the parties
stipulated that this clause « would have force of law in the eventual partition
of the house ». As we will see later, this article of the contract was too vague
and would eventually lead to difficulties. In any event, it is in this house, where
Marie-Anne Tessier had lived with her mother, that the contract in question was signed.
At the
Longue-Pointe :
1707-1724
Did the young couple
inhabit the part of the house on Notre-Dame street in Ville-Marie that they had just
received? Nothing confirms it. The farm in Longue-Pointe was too far and the road too
difficult to allow its owners to cultivate it and keep beasts there while living in the
Ville-Marie. On the other hand, Pierre and Marie-Anne married in May, at seeding time and
it is unthinkable that they would have been idle during the Spring and Summer of 1707
leaving their land unexploited. Their marriage contract says so between the lines when it
shows that Pierre « recognizes having received from his parents the two oxen that
they had promised to give him at his marriage ». Thus it seems that he
cultivated his farm in St-François on that year and that he lived there in 1707. Anyway,
two documents lead us to conclude that he did live there in 1708. First, in the act of
baptism of Marie-Anne, the first child he had with Marie-Anne Tessier, where it is said
that « the parents lived in Longue-Pointe » (R.E.C. of Notre-Dame, 1
June 1708). Secondly, a sales contract that he signs with Pierre de Vanchy for « a
third part of a farm situated in St-François »…next to his own, where he
is expressly said to be a « resident of St-François » (Notary N.
Senet, 4-11-1708).
Saint-François d`Assise
of Longue-Pointe is the third oldest parish on the island of Montreal. That of Notre-Dame
was founded in 1657 and that of Pointe-aux-Trembles in 1674. Between these two centers was
a vast expanse of land, vacant from the shore of the river and the center of the island.
The Sulpician Order, who owned the land, had not delayed in granting lands. They started
with the upper area, i.e. in the West as early as 1666; then from 1680 to 1685, they
disposed of lands situated closer to the river. Urbain Tessier had received a concession
on 6 December 1665 by Sieur Gabriel Souart.
So, from the islands of
Boucherville, the riverside development advanced into the river on a long point where a
wooden redoubt was still standing in 1719. The habitations of the first settlers were
built all around this redoubt and since they were rather far from the church of
Ville-Marie and that of Pointe aux Trembles, a small chapel was built dedicated to Saint
François d`Assise, but mass was seldom held there. This chapel existed at the time Pierre
Gautier and his wife arrived in Longue-Pointe, and it was served at times by the priest of
Pointe-aux-Trembles and at others by the priests of Notre-Dame. The situation persisted
until 1724 when Longue-Pointe became a parish and had its first full time parish priest,
namely Father Joseph Hourde, p.s.s.(6). So, it is not surprising that all the
children of Pierre and Marie-Anne Tessier whose firstborn was born in 1723 were baptized
in Ville-Marie.
These few brief notes on
the early days of give us an idea of the setting where our ancestors spent the first
fifteen years of married life.
Pierre Gautier had a
lifelong preoccupation if not an « obsession » of buying and selling
land; the traded until his death. As we have seen, in the year following his marriage, he
added a piece of land to the part his wife brought to the marriage. In the Autumn of 1711,
he bought from Jean-Baptiste Tessier, his brother-in-law, the part of the ancestral land
which the latter had inherited and which adjoined his own. (Notary M. Lepailleur,
21-10-1711).
The unquestionable
interest manifested by Pierre Gautier to enlarge his domain has no bounds. At the time,
New France was in a state of renewal, the War of Succession of Austria had ended in 1713,
Louis XIV died in 1715; a new era started. The Marquis de Vaudreuil and especially the
intendant Bégon, desiring to profit from the recent peace, imprinted an impetus on the
establishment of new farms. It was the start extended settlement, of deforestation and
development along the plain of the Saint-Lawrence river, in addition to lands already
conceded. We must view the numerous concessions by the seigneurs and the extensive
land trading which ensued by the light of these facts.
While he was busy
improving and clearing his land in Longue-Pointe, Pierre Gautier did not lose interest in
the rights he and his wife held on a house and lot they owned jointly, in Ville-Marie,
with Jean-Baptiste Tessier their brother-in-law. In fact, the terms of apportionment were
somewhat vague, and, we will recall, both parties were minors at the time the contract
came into effect. Thus, it is not surprising that some friction between the parties
occurred and that new arrangements were necessary. They were made in three stages during
the year 1712. It must be remembered that as early as 1708, Pierre Gautier and Marie-Anne
Tessier taken the initiative of selling, to Jean Caillaud dit Baron, the land next to the
house as if they were the only owners (M. Lepailleur, 21-12-1708). Undoubtedly, this is
what stimulated Anne Lemire to conclude « to maintain the peace »…these
were the exact terms of the act…, an agreement with her son Jean-Baptiste Tessier,
Pierre Gautier and Marie-Anne Tessier, her son-in-law and daughter. This agreement
stipulated:
(A) that the widow would
surrender to Jean-Baptiste and to Marie-Anne her two children, all her rights to (a) a
farm in Saint-François subject to the succession of her deceased husband Laurent Tessier,
(b) half of a lot and house on Notre-Dame street in Ville-Marie.
(B) That the two children
of the said Anne Lemire recognized that their mother, and tutor, had given them a proper
accounting of her administration of the goods of deceased Laurent Tessier as she did for
those of their grandfather Urbain Tessier.
(C) That they shared
amicably the land and house on Notre-Dame street: the lady Lemire would keep the
stone house and her daughter and son-in-law would keep the adjoining buildings. As to the
land, part would belong to the mother and part to the children, the lot limits being
precisely stated (M. Lepailleur, 7-1-1712).
This agreement had the
merit of clarifying the situation respecting the mother and the children. All that
remained was for all to act accordingly. It would be done in two stages. First, in early
March of the same year, 1712, Jean-Baptiste Tessier and Pierre Gautier shared the wooden
house and the lot on Notre-Dame street. The part of the house next to the apartments of
Anne Lemire, in fact some twelve feet wide by the depth of the house belonged to
Marie-Anne Tessier, and the rest adjoined the part of the house belonged to Jean-Baptiste
Tessier. Similarly, the lot was shared nearly equally and Sieur Gédéon de Catalogne,
their uncle, drew up the plans to be annexed to the contract (Notary M. Lepailleur, 9-3
1712).
However, the above
agreement was only temporary. One month later, Jean-Baptiste Tessier and Pierre Gautier
St-Germain, husband of Marie-Anne Tessier, heirs to the estate of Laurent Tessier,
contract as follows :
« The first cedes
to the second and his wife all his rights on the house and lot on Notre-Dame street; on
their part, the Gautier couple ceded to the Tessier the part of the wooden house due to
them » (Notary M. Lepailleur, 7 4 1712).
This was the way they
found to resolved a situation which nearly ended in open conflict, and thus was closed an
episode which could have threatened the family.
Meanwhile, Pierre Gautier
seems to have prospered. To proof, he made a loan of 1150 « livres » to his
brother-in-law Jean-Baptiste Tessier and Anne Aubuchon, his wife, an amount which he gives
them in card money « card money being the currency of this land »
(Notary M. Lepailleur, 5-2-1713). The next month, he contracts with Sieur François Martin
dit Langevin, master mason of Ville-Marie, « a masonry contract » for a
house measuring 20 feet by 30, that he has built on his farm in Longue-Pointe for the sum
of 240 « livres » payable as the work progresses, « half in money and half
in wheat » at the price of 8 « livres » per bushel (Notary
M. Lepailleur, 16-3-1713). This contract scrupulous and interesting details and does
not leave much room for errors or negligence. One can judge by the following details
relating to the construction of the chimney « of which there must be two, one
well-built and the other have stones placed end to end in which there will be a door to an
oven. The hearth of the bedroom will be made of large cut stones by the said Martin and
well-jointed…the chimneys will be brought up above the ridge in accordance with the
ordinance…». The wood necessary for the construction of the planned frame, it
will be bought from lady Elizabeth Beaudereau widow of Jacques Richard at the price of 400
« livres all the cedar wood, squared fro a house of 30 feet in length by 20 feet
in width » specifies the contract received by Michel Lepailleur on 8-7-1714. It
was certainly a good house, livable, and built to defy the weather.
While settling in
Longue-Pointe, Pierre Gautier did not, seemingly, cease to increase his holdings.
Actually, at the same time, he bought from Sieur Charles Raimbault, « land of 2
acres in width by 3 in depth situated at a place called " The Big Prairie " on
the island of Montreal ».
Seven years had gone by
since the marriage of Pierre Gautier and Marie-Anne Tessier; and during that time, they
had five children : Marie-Anne, baptized conditionally on 1 June 1708 in
Notre-Dame church and buried at the same place on 11 December 1708, Marie-Josephe,
baptized in N.D. on 16 October 1709, Pierre, baptized in N.D. on 18 February 1711, Henri,
baptized in N.D. on 2 Nov. 1712 and buried at the same place on 19 April 1714, and Paul,
baptized in N.D. on 14 April 1714. The couple had four other children later on.
The Archives, for
the years 1715-1716, are silent on Pierre Gautier except for a receipt he delivered to his
cousin Pierre Richard for a shipment of beaver pelts that his brother François, then on a
beaver expedition, had sent him for disposal. (Notary M. Lepailleur, 20-2-1715).
(2) More properly a first
cousin of Marie-Anne Tessier, his wife.
(3) It is Geneviève-Anne
Lemire, daughter of Jean Lemire and Louise Marsolet.
(4) This house was located
on the north side of Notre-Dame street, corner of Place d`Armes where the Aldred building
now stands.
(5) It is Jean-Baptiste
Tessier dit de La Tessonnière.
(6) Saint-François d`Assise
of Longue-Pointe. (Historical notes of Mgr Olivier Maurault. Montreal 1924, 2nd edition.
(7) The acts usually show
Isabelle but she signed Élisabeth.
(8) She was fifty-three
years old, having been born in 1695. Her father Léonard Paillart was a carpenter and at
the end of the 17th century he built many of the important buildings in Montreal. He had
married Louise Vachon, daughter of Paul Vachon, notary of Quebec.
(9) At the time, in New
France, the age of majority was set at 25, which added to the numbers and length of
guardianships.
******************************************************
« These
biographical notes on Pierre Gautier, our second ancestor in the direct line, were based
on the civil registry and especially the notary acts which concerned him. Despite their
brevity, these acts help us see a picture of the man and his surroundings. May his
descendents, who read these words, feel some of the emotions I had when writing them. »
Armand Gautier (St-Germain)
Montreal, 7 juin, 1975
