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Individual:
The founder of our family in Canada was Louis Jacques. He was born at
St-Michel d’Amiens, Somme, Province of Picardie, France, 23 April 1664and baptized 24 April 1664. He was the son of Nicolas JACQUES (born 1627,Franleu, France, died 1 May
1681 at St-Michel d’Amiens) [Franleu is near Moyenneville, in the area of Abbeville sur la Somme, Picardie]; and Marie SOYER (born abt. 1622 inPicardie, France; died 5 September 1676, at St-Michel d’Amiens. Marie wasthe daughter of Michel
SOYER and Marie DuMONSTIER. Nicolas and Marie were married 27 May 1647, at St-Michel d’Amiens. (Please read the included (link below) story ofLouis Jacques written by François Jacques, priest, published in NosAncestres. This gives very
interesting information about Nicolas and Marie as well Louis.)
Louis Jacques - Vol. 2, Chapter 12
by François Jacques, priest
Jacques have spread throughout a good part of North America. They are found especially in Québec and in Canada, as well as all along theAtlantic coast as far south as Florida, and into the western part of theUnited States. From these various
places come requests for information on a common ancestor: Louis Jacques.
All of these people are interested in the history of their family and have established their family tree and acknowledge this person as the onewho is at the beginning of their line, even if he is not the only Jacquesto have a family here.
In fact, others did come, but did not leave descendants: Henri Jacques, buried at Beaumont on 22 September 1748, saw his three sons die ininfancy. Likewise, Henri Jac dit Jacques, from his marriage toMarie-Joseph Garand, on 22 October 1738 at
St-François de la Rivière-du-Sud, had as descendants two daughters after their three sons died as young children. A 20-year old sailor, AdamJacques, spent 31 days at the Hôtel-Dieu of Québec during the summer of1691; he has left no trace.
Let's mention Jean Jacques dit Leblond, originally from Ste-Catherine de Bruxelles, who had three daughters following his marriage to CatherineGuillemont, at Montréal on 24 November 1715.
Therefore, we agree to confer on Louis Jacques the title of the common ancestor to the Jacques of Québec and to their Franco-Canadian andFranco-American relatives.
Franleu
Louis was born on 23 April 1664 at Amiens, France, from the marriage of Nicolas Jacques and Marie Soyer. He was immediately baptized in theparish church of Saint-Michel, in the shadow of the cathedral of thiscity.
His father, Nicolas, was originally from Franleu, near the mouth of the Somme, a few kilometers from la Manche. The Jacques family seems wellestablished in this village since the marriage contract of Nicolas (27May 1647) mentioned that he
inherited two pieces of land which came to him from his grandfather living at this place. The head of the parish of Franleu was Saint-Martin.
The history of France was not indifferent to this village, because it was there that King Louis III settled in 881 with the Francs in order torepel the second invasion by the Normands (Viking) whose hordes werecamped quite near, at Saucourt.
The year 1992 constituted the 1111th anniversary of the victory of the Francs over the Normands. The Normand invasions did not cease for allthat. They resumed the following year. Beginning in 890, however, theinvaders had the tendency to
settle in Picardy as in Normandy; in 925, Rollon, their leader, was baptized.
These newcomers had a certain influence on the evolution of the local population. Was it through the mixing of blood, or otherwise? The factremains that one can note that the Picard peasants, like those ofNormandy, quickly enjoyed an enviable
freedom if one compares their fate with their peers elsewhere in France. Serfdom disappeared from these two regions before the year one thousand.
Among the facts of the local history of Franleu, let's note the birth in 11464 of Antoinette Mallet, one of the founders of the Grey Sisters ofAbbeville, a neighboring community. In the nineteenth century, theJacques of Québec saw the
founding of the Sisters of Charity of Québec by Marcelle Mallet, a Grey Sister from Montréal. A surprising coincidence.
The Origin of a Name
The majority of the present names of the cities and villages of France were set in the nineth and tenth centuries. For example, right after thebattle of Saucourt, appeared the name of Franleu, in other words, theplace of the Francs. In the
same way, family names appeared in the thirteenth century. Until then, only the first name received at baptism was counted; little by little,either a surname (sobriquet, trade, place) was added, or the first nameof the father, which
gradually became hereditary. At the end of the Middle Ages, these hereditary first names were most often Guillaume, Jacques, Jean, Martin,and Pierre.
However, another possibility exists concerning the origin of the last name of Jacques; it is that it was given to the rebel Picard peasants(1358) during the captivity of King Jean II during the Hundred Years War.
The English occupied Picardy and the French were busy hunting them down. Exasperated by the endless violence and the constant searches for whichthey had to bear the expense, several peasants turned against thenoblemen who sought reap profit
from anarchy. We must admit that the latter had provoked them; in addition to making them bear the weight of poverty generated by the war,they had begun two years earlier to ridicule the simplicity of the poorfolks and the inability of the
peasants to defend themselves. They called them the Jacques Bonhomme. The expression jacques could have remained attached to certain peasantfamilies and become their name over the years.
A Controversial Marriage
Let's return to Nicolas, the father of Louis. Little interested in agriculture, he left behind him nine journaux (three hectares) of landwhich could have allowed him to comfortably support a family. His goalhowever, was to settle at Amiens.
On 19 November 1646, he was received there as an èbèniste in other words, a cabinet maker; six months later he married Marie Soyer.
This marriage caused a lot of uneasiness. While Nicolas arrived as a penniless immigrant, Marie Soyer was the daughter of Michel Soyer andMarie DuMonstier, both from very prominent families. From father to son,the Soyers constituted a dynasty
of rich merchants whose leadership the community of Amiens regularly had recourse to in organizing help for the poor, especially during epidemicsor the plague. On the DuMonstier side, Marie's uncle, FrançoisDuMonstier, occupied some very
important duties in the Kingdom. After having been rector of the University of Paris, he went into the service of the king, as consellorand assessor. An assessor was an assistant; he sat near the king,assisted him in his duties, answered his
mail, and sometimes took his place in his absence.
On the death of Michel Soyer, François DuMonstier became Marie's guardian. It was he who agreed to her marriage to Nicolas, not withoutsome concern. In his letter of 17 May 1647, he admitted that she hadsucceeded in imposing the choice of her
husband: That which angered me was that it is necessary that we follow the inclinations of a girl when she should follow ours. More annoying,Nicolas' circumstances were not good. The research carried out leads tothe belief that he was not in
a position to find housing with his new bride.
His in-laws provided him with help. But, as a sign of repudiation, Marie only received a dowry of 500 livres upon her marriage, instead of 20,000which one would have normally given her as a duty to her family origins.However, she benefited in
lodgings for herself, Nicolas and their children, on the condition of sheltering her mother, Marie DuMonstier.
Marie and Nicolas lived in the merchant quarter of Amiens, on la Rue de Noyon, across from the Saint-Denis gate, the main entrance to thecemetery of the same name. Toussaine, the eldest of the children, wasborn there in October 1650; Louis
was born in the same place, fourteen years later.
It would be the death of Marie, on 5 September 1676, that led Nicolas and Louis to leave the lodgings on la Rue de Noyon for another, quite near,on la Rue du Loup which led to Rome; this name refers to an ancienttrench which had been filled.
The inventory after the death of Marie revealed that she owned almost all of the household goods, including several cabinet making tools. Nicolasinherited it all and benefited from the profits from renting lands whichshe had owned.
Marie was buried in the chapel of Saint-Jacques in the cemetery of Saint-Denis with her loved ones; Nicolas did not share this privilege,because he did not have the required fortune. When the hour of his deathwas sounded, he was buried
directly in the cemetery.
Louis learned woodworking and cabinetmaking from his father. He was received as a master in cabinetmaking on 23 December 1680 and lost hisfather a few months later, on the first of May 1681.
A Crossroad of History
Jacques have spread throughout a good part of North America. They are found especially in Québec and in Canada, as well as all along theAtlantic coast as far south as Florida, and into the western part of theUnited States. From these various
places come requests for information on a common ancestor: Louis Jacques.
All of these people are interested in the history of their family and have established their family tree and acknowledge this person as the onewho is at the beginning of their line, even if he is not the only Jacquesto have a family here.
In fact, others did come, but did not leave descendants: Henri Jacques, buried at Beaumont on 22 September 1748, saw his three sons die ininfancy. Likewise, Henri Jac dit Jacques, from his marriage toMarie-Joseph Garand, on 22 October 1738
at St-François de la Rivière-du-Sud, had as descendants two daughters after their three sons died as young children. A 20-year old sailor,Adam Jacques, spent 31 days at the Hôtel-Dieu of Québec during the summerof 1691; he has left no trace.
Also let=s mention Jean Jacques did Leblond, originally from Ste-Catherine de Bruxelles, who had three daughters following hismarriage to Catherine Guillemont, at Montréal on 24 November 1715.
The registries of St-Antoine-de-Tilly noted in February 1743 the birth and the baptism of François-Xavier, son of Pierre Jacques. Well, thisrefers to an Aabenakis Amerindian whose name no longer appears anywherelater. Finally, a branch even
changed name. This was the case of those issued from Guillaume Gems (for James); he was married in 1703 at Montréal to Catherine Lemouzine ditBeaufort. Both were of English origin and were the parents of threedaughters and two sons. The
grandchildren took the name of Jacques dit Sansoussy in order to save it, in the following generation, from that of Sanssoucy.
Therefore, we agree to confer on Louis Jacques the title of the common ancestor to the Jacques of Québec and to their Franco-Canadian andFranco-American relatives.
In New France A good part of the information at our disposal here is drawn from research notes gathered by Madame Diane Maheu-Jacques, fromCharlesbourg. We still don't know when Louis crossed the sea to NewFrance. Let's say only that the
merchant François Hazeur, from Québec, was searching for two cabinetmakers in 1685. As he went to Amiens, the village of his originon business, we believe more and more that it was at this time that Louiswas hired and embarked. As a matter
of fact, the indenture contracts and Apassage for New France lasted three years. Since Louis had been employed by François Hazeur until 1688,according to what we read in his marriage contract, 1685 is the probableyear of his arrival here.
Did he work as a cabinetmaker, according to his training, or as a carpenter? Only the indenture contract could inform us of this. However, we are certain, again through his marriage contract, that helived in the heart of Place Royale, at the
home of his master.
The year of his marriage, 1688, was also that of the construction of the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victories. Did he work there? We can believeso since M. Hazeur was warden of the parish cathedral on whom thisconstruction depended. For now,
we know nothing more about it.
It was on 17 May at the cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Québec that he married Antoinette Leroux, daughter of François Leroux dit Cardinal. Her fatherwas a former soldier in the Carignan Regiment. Her mother was MarieRenaud, who had come to
Québec as a daughter of the king.
A little while later, the new couple settled at Bourg-Royal, where a second town was formed, three kilometers to the east of the first, thatof Charlesbourg. Cabinetmaking was not sufficient for Louis to providefor the needs of his family,
because four years later, on 21 September 1692, he acquired a concession from Germain Langlois. It cost him one hundred fifty livres. It waswithin the price range of the place: from 150 to 200 livres per piece ofpioneering land, because
well-developed, land with house and barn, could be bought for two thousand to three thousand livres. All was paid promptly; in fact, areceipt was given to him in the twelfth month which followed, on 23September 1693.
It concerned forty arpents of land including eighteen workable, with only a barn on it. This land which bordered that of his brother-in-law,Ignace Leroux, who had built a house, and that of Jean Sigouin, on theside which went from the
northwest to the southwest of the town plat.
The land was part of a star shape which was made up of all those which surrounded the town plat. This is why its dimensions were a half-arpentof frontage on the face, 17 arpents in depth, and 4 arpents of frontageon the back which bordered
the lands of the Jesuit priests.
On the death of his father-in-law François Leroux, Louis renounced the inheritance in favor of his brother-in-law Ignace Leroux. Ascompensation, the latter had to furnish him with nine days expenses inorder to build a house. The contract
was signed on 16 July 1694. Therefore, it would be in this period of their life that Antoinette and Louis were able to have their own house.
Their life at Bourg-Royal seems to have passed peacefully, quietly, quite modestly. Louis was absent a few times due to his work. Severalchurches, therefore, benefited from his talent: let=s mentionSainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, L'Ange-Gardien on
the Beaupré Coast, and Saint-Pierre on the Ile d'Orléans. He also carried out several contracts at the College of the Jesuits in Québec. In order to give an idea of what he was able to accomplish, the accountbook of the Fabrique of
Charlesbourg reveals that he participated in the interior decoration of this church. In 1707, he worked on the choir; in 1709, he executed acanopy; between 1713 and 1720, he sculpted the altar piece.
Ten children were born to Antoinette and Louis: Geneviève, Nicolas, Louis, Pierre, Charles, Marie-Catherine, Anne, Marie-Madeleine, Thomas,and Marie-Thérèse. Four would be victims of infant mortality: Geneviève, Charles, Thomas and
Marie-Thérèse.
And the Descendance
Nicolas, the eldest, lived at Charlesbourg and was married three times. He was married successively to Marie-Josèphe Bédard (1712), CatherineAllard (1719) and Marie-Josèphe Tessier (1737). With his last wife, hemoved to Contrecoeur. More
educated than most others, he became a bailiff for the seigneurie of Notre-Dame-des-Anges which had been ceded to the Jesuit priests. He alsofulfilled the duty of church warden in the parish of Charlesbourg andthat of militia captain. He
had studied at the College of the Jesuits and had been a boarder at the Petit Seminary of Québec.
Twenty children were born to him in these three marriages. In order to give an idea of the extent of the Jacques family they say that from thesecond marriage, all the children, except Louis, settled at Contrecoeur.
Louis, the second son of the ancestor, married Marguerite Sigouin (1719), and settled on the land of his in-laws. His sons would share it and thengo in various directions. Louis, grandson of the ancestor, would go tothe coast of the Ile
Dupas while his brother Joseph went to live near there, at Berthier and Lanoraie. While Nicolas settled at Québec, Jean-Baptiste rejoined hisUncle Pierre, in the valley of la Chaudière, while Pierre-Ange opted forSaint-Joachim de Beaupré.
Pierre, the other son of the ancestor, had been a master cobbler. After having married Marie-Ambroise Chalifour in 1720, he settled on the rangeof Saint-Pierre de Charlesbourg (Orsainville) and from there, he left forSaint-Joseph de Beauce
in 1737. His children would marry and settle there for the most part.
Finally, Marie-Madeleine was married to Joseph LeCompte, cabinetmaker, in 1730. They were welcomed at the home of Antoinette and Louis. And, ayear later, on 14 October 1731, Antoinette and Louis signed a contract ofdonation in their favor;
in accordance with the coutume of Paris, they gave them half of their property on the condition that the latter provide them with lodging,heat, food, support and care, both in good health and in sickness andthat they assure them burial after
their death and the celebration of a certain number of masses in their honor. Among the property mentioned, let=s note a horse completelyharnessed, a cow, a sheep, a pig, all the cabinet-making tools and thefurniture and articles of the
house.
Louis died on 22 February 1735 and was buried in the chapel of the Congregation at Charlesbourg, because he was the first to become a memberof the Congregation of Sainte-Anne. In her turn, Antoinette died on 20April 1739.
Family Name Variations
Duhaut, Jacks, Jacobs, James, Jaquays, Jacquet, Jamme, Jaques, Jock, Pierrejacques, Rochon, Stanislas and York.
Bibliography
From France:
Records of Franleu.
Records of the notary Denis.
Inventaire de décès, Archives of the department of the Somme, Amiens, France.
Registres de St-Michel d'Amiens Archives of the City Hall, Amiens, France.
Inventaire des archives communales antérieures à 1789.
Registre aux maítres et apprentis, Municipal library, Amiens, France.
Christine Bonneton, editor., Picardy, Le Puy en Velay, 1980, France.
Emile Pharand., Histoire de l'arrondissement d'Abbeville (1863), Vol. 1, Paris, Abbeville (5 towns, 300 villages).
For Québec:
Hubert Charbonneau & Jacques Légaré, Répertoire des actes de baptème, mariage, sèpulture et des recensements du Québec (1987), Université deMontréal, Montréal, Québec.
Michel Gaumond, La Place Royale, ses maisons, ses habitants (1971), Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
René Jetté, DGFQ (1983), pp. 588-589.
André Lafontaine, Le bailliage de Notre-Dame des Anges (1988), Vol. 1, pp. 339, 378-381.
Reine Malouin, Charlesbourg 1660-1949 (1972), 132 pages, ed. La Liberté Inc., Québec.
Luc Noppen and John R. Porter., Les églises de Charlesbourg et l'architecture religeuse du Québec (1972), 132 pages. Ministry ofCultural Affairs, Québec.
Luc Noppen, Les églises du Québec de 1600 à 1850 (1977), 298 pages. Fides: Montréal.
Cyprien Tanguay, DGFC (1975), Montréal.
____, ANQ, Fiefs appartenant aux Jésuites dans le Gouvernment de Québec, 17 January 1733, (Microfilm M6.1).
________, ANQ, Records of the notarys Rageot, Chambalon, Bequet, Duprac, J.-R, and Duprac N.
________, Account books of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, 1659-1731.
________, Account books of the Seminary of Québec, 1600-1698, 1703-1708.
________, Register of the accounts and deliberations of the parish of Saint-Charles Borromeo of Charlesbourg, 1698-1712.
________, Parish registers and account books of Notre-Dame de Québec.
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