*
In this first chapter we
tell the story which is relevant to all the Richer dit Louveteau in
*
JACQUES
ERICHÉ dit LOUVETEAU (1664-1747) MARIE JOFFRION (1672-1756)
JACQUES,
- born in Louvetot, Normandy, France, in 1664; died on December 24th,
1747, 'aged 99 years' and buried the next day at Saint-Laurent, Montreal;
- son
of Jaques and Catherine Pin (Pain) of Louveteau (Louvetot) diocese of
- married on April 7th,
1698 at Notre-Dame (
MARIE JOFFRION,
- born at Verchères on March 25th , 1672, died on March 10th
1756 'aged 98 years' and buried the next day in the Cemetary
of the Poors in Montreal;
- daughter
of Pierre and Marie Brian (Priault);
- widow of Pierre
*
The children
1 - Marie Anne
born on February 18th, 1699; married on April 6th, 1717
to Jean Baptise Joly at Rivière-des-Prairies
(
2 - Marie Joseph
born on June 16th, 1700, died on the 19th and buried the
day after.
3 - Jacques born
on May 22nd, 1701, witness to his sister's weeding Marie Anne
on April 6th, 1717; was working in the fur trade in 1721.
4 - François born
on October 22nd, 1702, married the first time on October 18th,
1723 at Saint-Laurent with Marie Anne Brunet; married a second time on
October 11th, 1745 at Sault-au-Récollet
(Montreal) with Marie Joseph Normant;
died on December 26th, 1763 aged '63 years' and buried the following
day in the Cemetary of the Poors
of Montreal.
5 - Marie Coecille born on February 22nd, 1704,
married on January 11th, 1723 at Saint-Laurent with Pierre Plouf. Residents of Saint-Laurent, the Plouffe had 21 children, 8 of which died before attaining
their majority.
6 - Jean Baptiste born on April 19th, 1705, married
on January 22nd, 1731 at
7 - Marie Madelaine born on August 28th, 1706, died on
the 31st and buried the day after.
8 - Michel born
on September 28th, 1707, died and buried on July 18th, 1717.
9 - Jean born on
November 3rd, 1708, died on January 28th, 1709 and buried
the day after.
10 - Marie Magdeleine born on December 11th, 1709,
married on October 30th, 1730 at Saint-Laurent with François Libersan dit Laviolette.
Residents of Saint-Laurent, they had 14 children, 8 of which died before
attaining their majority.
11 - A stillborn
child, twin, born and died on November 22nd, 1710 and buried the
day after.
12 - Philippe René,
twin, born on November 22nd, 1710, died on December 13th
next and buried the day after.
13 - Françoise
born on May 8th, 1712, died and buried on December 27th,
1714.
14 - Marguerite
born on May 6th, 1713, died and buried on June 24th next.
15 - Mariane
born on January 23rd, 1715, died on March 1st, 1730 at
the
16
- Charles Augustin born on March 16th,
1716. Died probably in childhood.
17
- Marie Agnès born on September 22nd,
1718, died and buried on the following November 5th next.
*
Jacques' early years in
New France
The first mention of
Jacques Eriche dit Louveteau in
Jacques was a member of
the company of special troops under the command of Jacques Levasseur
de Néré, chief engineer in charge of military
constructions in
The cause of Jacques'
hospitalizations remains unknown; in fact, there are three possibilities. First,
since he had arrived in Quebec probably the year before he was hospitalized, it
may be that he had contracted a disease in the course of the voyage - a disease
such as smallpox, which decimated the population in those days; indeed, about a
quarter of the military personnel who arrived in Quebec in September of 1696
died of contagious diseases.
Second, he may have been
wounded in the expedition led by Governor-General Frontenac
against the Indians of the
Or - and this is the
most plausible of explanations - Jacques may have been seriously hurt during
the construction of defensive works. Levasseur de Néré, the engineer in charge of constructing defences,
drafted his soldiers to help in building barriers against an anticipated attack
by the English troops.
Jacques gets married
In any case, the
following year we find Jacques in
Marie came of a family
of nine children. She had a son by her first marriage. Pierre, born the 16th
of September 1691 in Montreal, died on October 11th following. Her
first husband had died in
The principal witness at
their marriage was, not surprisingly, René Cuillerier,
another soldier. During the 1690s of a population of some 2,000, there were in
Being a soldier, Jacques
had obtained permission to marry, together with a year's leave and a year's
salary. The King in this way was trying to encourage soldiers to establish
themselves in the colony.
Jacques and his spouse
Marie were married in community property, as stipulated in their marriage
contract dated a month before the wedding. The Notary was Antoine Adhémar. Such a contract ought not to surprise the reader
since at that time it was the custom to attend upon the Notary before attending
upon the clergyman.
Upon both occasions both
parties declared that they were illiterate and incapable of signing their
names. The execution of the marriage contract took place in the home of the
parents of the bride, which explains the presence of her father and mother, her
brothers Jean and Toussaint and of her sister Françoise and her brother-in-law
Pierre Rousseau.
Marie's mother, Marie Briau, would die less than a year later on the 14th
of February 1699. Her father Pierre Geoffrion follows
her four years later, the 17th of October 1704.
Jacques and Marie settle
on the Island of Montreal
The 17th of
February 1700, Jacques rented a tract of land from Antoine Berthelot
dit Savoyard, on what is now the côte-des-Neiges
on the
Then, in 1702, two years
before the end of his lease, Jacques decided to farm his own plot. The owners
of the
Before we go on with
Jacques' story, let us say a few words about the early settlement of
The settlement of the
Island of Montreal
At that time land was
held under the Seigniorial tenure. The King of
In 1640 the
The first Governor of
the Society of Notre-Dame was Paul de Chomedy, Sieur de Maisonneuve, whom
History has credited with founding the City of
But this religious
adventure soon failed. Debt-ridden, disappointed and frustrated in its plans,
the Society had no choice but to cede its Seignory to
the Saint-Sulpice Seminary of
In the years 1660-1670,
the Sulpicians granted large pieces of lands to
military officers who, in return, had to build small fortifications at
strategic points to protect the new settlers. Soon the South shore of the
There was
Then, at the end of the
17th century, the Sulpicians opened
several plots in the center of the
In 1760, at the end of
the French regime, the totality of the
There were no longer any
seigneurs and no longer any censitaires. The regime which came from
Jacques' lands in côte Saint-Michel
In 1702 Jacques Eriche found himself in possession of a tenancy of land in côte Saint-Michel, located in the middle of
the
Jacques' land was
bordered on the North by acres ceded to Faron dit Sancene; in front by côte Saint-Michel road and to the North-East
by vacant lands. The same year on the North-West Jacques Viger
moved on to a neighbouring tract.
Jacques also obtained a droit de commune (right of commune), along
with his neighbours, which right allowed them all to pasture their animals on
lands in front of their farms. This common pasture land occasioned endless
wrangling among the neighbours who could seldom agree, when it came time to
divide the herd, as to which animals belonged to whom. Sometimes these
disagreements required settlement in the courts.
In payment for his
lands, Jacques had to assume certain obligationsas
stipulated in his contract passed with the Sulpicians.
He had to pay a cens et
rentes (a small annual tax) payable on
Jacques had to plough
his land, fence it, keep it in good condition, build a house, tenir feu et lieu
(inhabit it) keep up the road in front of his plot and accommodate his
neighbours so that they might have free access to their concessions (droit de passage).
According to his land
title, Jacques was forbidden to offer or to sell to the natives any kind of
intoxicant, under pain of losing his concession. This clause is explained by
the proximity of the Indian mission which was located nearby, at the Sault-au-Récollet, in the North of the
Jacques had to face
other obligations that were not necessarily part of his written contrat with his seigneurs. If he
were to buy another piece of land already granted, he would have to pay to the
them a tax (lods et ventes) equivalent to one twelfth of the price paid. (Now
we have to pay this special tax to the local government and we call it a
welcome tax!). This tax was to discourage the selling of homesteads in order to
keep them in the same family from one generation to the next.
Jacques had to
participate in corvées (four days' annual work
in such public duties as building and repairing roads and bridges. He had to
support the local church and pay to the priest an annual due in grain called la
dîme.
Jacques and all the
other habitants (inhabitants) prayed each Sunday for the Sulpicians. (Now in Roman Catholics circles, people pray
every Sunday for the Pope, the bishop and the civil authorities!).
Every year on the first
of May he would join in a feast called la plantation du
mai when all the inhabitants got together to
celebrate the new season. The seigneurs would
offer food and drink.
On the other part the seigneurs had obligations too. Ounce their seigneurie granted to them they had to perform foi et hommage (a declaration of allegiance) to the King or
his representative, the Governor-General who lived in the château
They had to produce a papier terrier (a detailed description of
their seigneurie). If they had purchased their
seigneurie for some one else,they had to pay un droit
de quint (one fifth of the purchase price). Again
this tax was to discourage speculation and encourage the transmission of land
holdings from a seigneur to his son.
More important the seigneurs had to build a grist mill for the use of the censitaires, live among them (tenir
feu et lieu) and pay for
a court seigneurial (judicial court of first
instance). They could not refuse new grants of land. Abuses from the seigneurs were sanctioned by the intendant
of
The seigneurs
had certain privileges in the church where they had their own banc seigneurial (special pew for them and their family) and
during public and religious ceremonies. They and their family had the privilege
to be buried under the Church just below their banc seigneurial.
The Eriché
(Richer) children
Between 1699 and 1718
Jacques and Marie had 17 children of whom two were twins. They score rather
higher than the average. In the eighteenth century the average was 5.6
children. Seven - probably eight - of the children died before their first
birthday; three others died at 2, 20 and 15 years and only six grew to be more
than 15: three boys and three girls.
The girls, Cécile, Madeleine and Marie-Anne, will have numerous
children and, like their mother, will have twins. Two of the boys, François and
Jean-Baptiste, will marry. They will have
respectively families of eleven and fourteen children.
As to the third son
Jacques - except for his presence at the marriage of his sister Marie-Anne in
1717 and, three years later, his undertaking to take a canoe-load of
merchandise into the Great Lakes Country where he was to treat for furs -
nothing further is heard of him and no information has come to light.
Jacques' involvment in community service
In 1721 Jacques, now a
sergeant in the local Militia and three neighbours representing the inhabitants
of the côte Saint-Michel attended upon
Mathieu-Benoit Collet, the King's representative. There
was an inquest in the whole colony regarding distances from the churches to the
different settlements. Some people were complaining about distances even though
the inhabitants were not always anxious to pay for another church nor for its
upkeep, nor for the services of a priest.
Before 1720 the settlers
of côte Saint-Michel attended at
Notre-Dame de
Jacques and his
neighbours declared to the King's representative that they were satisfied with
their new church and were happy to be part of the newly established parish.
Jacques and Marie go
into retirement
In 1736 Jacques and his
wife Marie sell their land to Jean-Baptiste Monpellier dit Beaulieu. The
contract of sale was prepared by the Notary Francois Pailleur.
They were, at that time, respectively 73 and 63 years old.
They had cleared the
land, occupied it for 34 years and had raised their family there. Now, having
arrived at an age considered advanced for the time, living alone - Jean-Baptiste, their last child to leave the family home having
departed five years before - they decided to retire.
In rural societies the
custom was for parents to give their farm while still living to a child:
generally a son. This was called a donation entre vifs. The son undertook to care for his parents too old and
often too sick to look after themselves and see to their proper burial. This
also helped to keep the farm in the family. The custom persisted until well
into the twentieth century when finally social security replaced it.
The custom often
occasioned problems in the home, problems based on the mingling of the
generations under one roof. We still hear stories about this especially
wrangling between mother and daughter-in-law.
In any case, Jacques and
Marie made no such donation: probably because their farm was not suitable for
expansion and also because their children at the time of their retirement were
well established and had their own farm.
Except for François whom
we find on Bizard Island just off the Island of
Montreal, the others lived on the Island; Jean-Baptiste
in Pointe-Claire; Cécile and Madeleine, married
respectively to Pierre Plouffe and Francois Libersan, in Saint-Laurent and Marie-Anne, married to Jean-Baptiste Joly, in the Eastern
section of the Island, at Rivière-des-Prairies.
Jacques and Marie sold
their land for a thousand pounds. The purchaser paid them in instalments of
hundred pounds annually - half in money and half in products from the store of
Pierre Correau or some other merchant. In this way
Jacques and Marie were assured of an annual income in money and in kind for the
ten years to follow.
Also, Jacques retained
the right to seed the land in the spring of 1737 and to pasture one cow and one
pig with the animals of the new owner.
Seven year later, the
children of Jacques and Marie ratified, before the Notary Jean-Baptiste Adhémar, the sale of
1736 in favour of Beaulieu and in consequence, gave up their right to the
family estate.
Now let us have look at
the settlers' life during that time.
Pionner's life in New France
At the time, it took a
new settler about 30 years to construct a homestead. The first year, in spring,
he would proceed to construct a cabin of stakes about 15 by 20 feet. With only
an axe as a tool he would cut down small trees and sharpen them, then
proceeding to plant them in the ground.
His cabin had neither
floor nor chimney. He used bark and grass to construct his roof and to plug the
cracks. A few weeks later he could move in with his trunk of personal effects
and some provisions.
At the beginning of
summer he attacked larger trees: preferably pines, which he cut into pieces of
around 20 feet in length. These pieces were put aside for the construction of
the permanent dwelling. Then, he cleaned up the resulting clearing. He pulled
out the small trees and cut the larger ones, leaving the roots to rot. This
process took about five years.
The remaining pieces of
wood were cut and corded near the cabin to serve as heating material for the
home. Finally, the scraps were burned. Now the land was ready to be hoed and
this he did by autumn.
Late in the year or in
the following spring the settler planted the first crop in between the trunks
of the rotting trees. Waiting for winter he proceeded to square the pine logs
that he had kept for the construction of his house.
During the winter he
undertook another job, cutting the trees to the height of the snow. The
following spring he planted, between the tree trunks which were sometimes four
or five feet high, pumpkins, beans and corn. The cleaning up of this area was
left to the following autumn.
After a year the new
settler possessed a log cabin, an acre in hoed land, and two acres cleared. Each
year he cleared two more acres. As soon as possible, he built his permanent
house en pièce sur pièce (square logs pile on top of
each other) with a wooden floor and a wooden roof, with a chimney made of
earth.
He bought some animals:
a cow; a sow and a few fowl, which he housed in an old cabin rebuilt as a
stable. Five years after he first moved in, with the help of an ox, he pulled
out the rotten stumps (of the trees that he had cut). Then gradually he brought
the land into cultivation.
After some ten years the
settler had about ten acres under the plough, the very minimum required for the
feeding of his family. At his death, about thirty years after he had obtained
the concession, the settler possessed about 30 acres of arable land, a yard, a
pasture, a shed, a barn and a house.
The Eriché's
homestead
In 1731, about thirty
years after they homesteaded in côte
Saint-Michel, they had a house, a yard, a pasture, a barn and 23 acres of
arable land.
Five years later, when
they gave up their farm, there is mention in the sale contract of buildings,
yards, pastures, arable land, wood and an orchard. Jacques and Marie had
therefore spent their lives clearing and building.
Jacques' and Marie's
last years
Jacques would live
almost twelve years after the sale of his farm. He died in 1747 in
Saint-Laurent. He was perhaps living with his daughter Cécile
because Pierre Plouffe, his son-in-law, signed his
death certificate. He was 83 years old and not '99', as his age appears in the
parish register which at that time served as legal record. (In
His spouse Marie would
survive him by nine years. She died in 1756, also at the age of 83. She was
buried in the cemetery for the Poors in
In conclusion, in spite
of their numerous offspring, only two sons of Jacques and Marie: that is, Jean-Baptiste and François, will have
families who will carry on the name.
The story of the Richer family will switch to Pointe-Claire for Jean-Baptiste and for François to
JACQUES RICHER'S GRANT OF LAND ON
THE
*
This plan shows the
central part of the
*
The
same plan of 1702 showing Jacques'grant of land and
the common grounds where the censitaires
(inhabitants) would leave their animals in the summer.