| Notes |
- Jean Gobeil arrived in Canada without fanfare, accompanied by his
wife Jeanne Guyet and his five children. For more than a century,
serious researchers tried to determine
the place of origin of this Canadian family. Msgr Cyprien. Tanguay
states that Jean and his family were originally from St-Didier,
diocese of Poitiers. Others add:
Saint-Didier of the town of Poitiers, today a parish no longer in
existence. Rene Jette, in his recent genealogical dictionary, issues
a new opinion: Jean Gobeil, from
St-Andre, town and arrondissement, of Niort, diocese of Poitiers.
Niort, presently the head town of the department of Deux-Sevres, has
a population of 56,000 inhabitants. Until the conquest of New France
by England, the Canadian fur
trade gave Niort prosperity. Four parishes share the territory of
the city: Notre-Dame, St-Hilaire, St-Etienne and St-Andre. It was in
this last parish that the Guyet-Gobeil
couple's life began, before 1653.
FIRST APPEARANCE
Had Jean Gobeil saved some money in order to go to the Lower-Town of
Quebec? Did he come with a promise of work or without contract? We
find him for the first time
on 23 December 1665, in the presence of notary Auber from Chateau-
Richer. Sieur Toussaint Toupin, a bourgeois of Quebec, agreed to
lease him a farm at Sault-a-la-Puce
for five consecutive years, beginning on the preceding first of
November. Jean Gobeil was said to be a laborer. The new farmer began
with a house and buildings to shelter
2 steers, 3 cows, I bull and 2 calves. This incomplete record ends
on the second page. We have to wait a long time to know that Jean was
responsible for the animals and
that he must pay the agreed price should some die due to lack of
care. In addition, the first year, in other words at the end of 1666,
Gobeil paid the equivalent of 20 livres in
butter for the price of the lease of each cow and 10 livres for the
four following years. The neighbors of the Gobeils were an Cloutier,
owner of six arpents of frontal land
since 16 July 1652, and Nicolas Huot dit St-Laurent.
It was here, near the heart of the future parish of Chateau-Richer,
that the Gobeils lived for five years on these six arpents of frontal
land. During the following winter, on
21 February 1666, the 42 year old Jean Gobeil, was confirmed by Msgr
de Laval at Chateau-Richer. Marie and Francoise Gobeil, his
daughters, were also in this group of
twenty-one.
The censustaker in the year 1666 places the Gobeil family on the
Beaupre Coast. The censustakers in 1667 give more details. Jean
already owned 12 head of cattle and had
16 arpents of land under cultivation. Near his farm, there was the
homestead of Julien Fortin and that of Jean Cloutier.
Then, in 1668, Marie Gobeil was married to Robert Vaillancourt. The
following year two other daughters left the paternal home -to get
married. But two new Canadian
Gobeil children came to replace those who had left: Catherine and
Barthlemy.
SAINTE-FAMILLE ON THE ISLAND
A tenant is never completely in his own home. After five years of
work, Jean Gobeil looked across the river towards the beautiful Ile
'Orleans. The north coast had more
abundant and larger wild game and the soil of the island was more
fertile. On 28 October 1669, with is son-in-law Robert Vaillancourt,
Jean bought a piece of land from
Noel Rose. It was located on the Ile d'Orleans, in the parish of Ste-
Famille. And on the following 7 November, Jean obtained the three
remaining arpents on which there
were some buildings and two arpents of cultivated land. This entire
property had belonged first to Jean-Paul Maheu and Barthelemy Verreau
dit LeBourguignon, then to
Noel Rose dit Larose, husband of Marie Montminy. At the time of this
purchase, their neighbors were Robert Vaillancourt and Nicolas
Patenotre. The purchase price: 300
livres, 87 of which were immediately given to the teller. The
remaining debt was to be paid off in two years.
It is difficult to verify if Vaillancourt and Gobeil had decided to
live on the island right away. The scenario could have been: Gobeil
would spend the winter at
Chateau-Richer; Rose on the island. During the winter Vaillancourt
and Gobeil would probably cut wood on their new lot. In the spring,
Noel Rose moved to the
Saint-Charles River where he obtained a concession from the Jesuits
at Sainte-Anne in 1670. The Gobeil property was located across from
Chateau-Richer, to the west of
the present church of Ste-Famille, near the boundary of the parish
of St-Pierre, according to the map of Robert Villeneuve.
How to explain that on 14 January 1672, in another contract signed
by Romain Becquet, Jean Gobeil, "habitant living on the ile
dorleans," bought the same parcel of land
from Noel Rose for 280 livres? Had he not been able to pay his
mortgage? In fact, on 14 January 1672, Gobeil acquired his property
by means of a loan from Nicolas Huot
dit St-Laurent. Jean gave an annual rent of 14 livres tournois to St-
Laurent. Jean resold his farm on 16 March 1688 to Claude Panneton dit
LeFifre, for 300 livres.
Let's remember that on 16 March 1686, Jean Gobeil had not managed to
pay off his rent of 14 livres and the arrears. Charles Aubert de La
Chesnaye took care of it. For the
first time, it was said that the Gobeil land was located at Pot au
beurre, a popular name for a part of the parish of Ste-Famille.
SAINT-JEAN ON THE ISLAND
Jean Gobeil had the characteristics of a nomad. Did he suffer from
the fidgets? Perhaps also the weight of the years tired him. In the
census of 1681, Jean was 57 years old,
settled in the parish of St-Jean, on a piece of land with five
arpents in frontage, with neighbors Antoine Leblanc and son-in-law
Philippe Paquet, the husband of Francoise
Gobeil. Jean only had five arpents of land under cultivation. The
censustakers noted no cattle in the stable. We are definitely not at
the Palace of Versailles. The children,
with the exception of two, earned their living elsewhere. It seems
that the letters of acquisition for this concession have been lost.
Jean and Jeanne Guyet worked hard on their farm for several years
more, before bequeathing their inheritance. In 1695, twenty-five
arpents, in area were under cultivation.
The necessities of life allowed for no vacations nor any rest.
FIVE FRENCH DAUGHTERS, FOUR CANADIAN CHILDREN
When the Gobeil couple crossed the ocean, they were accompanied by
five daughters born in France. Two other daughters and two sons were
born in Canada. Here are the
names of the members of this second generation: Jeanne, Marie,
Francoise, Marie, Jeanne-Angelique, Catherine, Barthelemi, Marguerite
and Laurent.
I. The oldest, the little French Jeanne, was married about 1669,
probably at Chateau-Richer, to the soldier Pierre Philippe,
originally from the Vendee, in Poitou. This
family left no descendants. Jeanne, if there is no mix up with her
sister Jeanne-Angelique, appeared is godmother of niece Jeanne
Paquet, on 5 November 1676, at
Ste-Famille. In 1687 at St-Pierre, she became the godmother of
Francois Vaillancourt. As for her husband, we find him on the long
list of 279 people confirmed at Quebec
on 4 April 1684.
2. The history of Marie, born about 1655, is known to USA through
that of her fiance Robert Vaillancourt and through her twelve
children, all born and baptized at the
church of Ste-Famille on the island.
3. Francoise, confirmed with her sister Marie, at Chateau-Richer on
21 February 1666, met Philippe Paquet, son of Antoine and of Renee
Fouyart, from St- Martin
-la-Riviere, in Poitou. On 12 June 1669, they signed a marriage
contract. They settled on the island in the parish of Ste-Famille,
then went to the parish of St-Jean, where
eight sons and two daughters were born. Francoise Gobeil died on 24
February 1716.
4. The biographical account of the ancestor Pierre Hudon dit
Beaulieu, at the same time, gives USA an account of Marie(2) Gobeil,
born about 1659, married on 13 July
1676 at Quebec, mother of twelve children at Riviere-Ouelle. After
the death of her husband in 1710, she looked after her family for a
quarter of a century. Her burial was at
Riviere-Ouelle on Monday, 26 November 1736. How to explain that a
girl from the island could become the servant of Jacques Leber, a
notable merchant and land owner,
at Montreal? On 4 July 1690, we find her again, ill for two days at
the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec. She then said she was 23 years old.
5. The following year, Jeanne-Angelique met Louis Prat, living in
the Lower-Town of Quebec. The wedding took place at the cathedral on
30 July 1691. Louis Prat was a
good fellow, an innkeeper, a merchant-baker, a ship owner and the
port captain of Quebec. In 1704, he built the ship le Joybert. "A few
months after it was launched, the
vessel returned triumphantly to Quebec, bringing the Pembroke Gally,
a frigate taken from the English. This period is remembered in a
painting dated from 1706 given to
the sanctuary of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. "
In 1716, Louis and Jeanne-Angelique were living in the Rue Sous-le-
Fort. The couple had three daughters, one of whom survived, Marie-
Josephe, and was married to
Charles-Paul Denis, Sieur de Saint-Simon, on 17 October 1713, at
Quebec. Louis died in February 1726 and was buried in the cathedral.
6. Catherine, the first Gobeil to be born in New France, on 26 March
1666, was also a servant at the home of the fur merchant and founder
of the Compagnie A Nord,
Jacques Leber, in Montreal. She died as a result of the epidemic at
the Hopital-General de Quebec after 11 February 1703.
7. Barthelemi, the seventh Gobeil child, was the only one to carry
on the name. Godson of Barthelemi Verreau, on 21 April 1668 at
Chateau-Richer, a servant at the home
of Francois Belanger in 1681, he moved into the Dionne family by
marrying Anne, daughter of Antoine and of Catherine Ivory, on 19
August 1697, at Ste-Famille. They
had nine children, five of whom were sons, at St-Jean. Barthelemi
inherited the paternal property. He died on 7 February 1724, after a
long illness, fortified by all the
sacraments.
8. Marguerite Gobeil, was baptized at Chateau-Richer on 27 February
1670. At the age of 18, she became the life companion of ancestor
Guillaume Montminy, from
Rouen, on 25 February 1688, at St-Jean. Seven children were given to
them, including two born at La Durantaye. The burial act for
Marguerite is found in the registry at
Beaumont, on the date of 4 March 1715.
9. The youngest, Laurent Gobeil, became the godson of Nicolas Huot
dit St-Laurent on 5 November 1672, at Ste-Famille, and disappeared
into the darkness of history,
after 1697.
And so the second and sympathetic Gobeil generation lived and died
on the soil of their adopted country.
THE INHERITANCE
The weight of his 70 years lay heavily on the shoulders of Jean
Gobeil. Moderate priced low income housing did not exist. It was
necessary to get the family organized in
order to survive with a minimum of freedom and security. To live out
his old age in peace did not have the same sound of the bell as it
does today.
On 23 August 1695, Jean sold the farm to his son Barthelemi. This
consisted of 25 arpents of cultivated land with his "sorry " house,
his stable, the animals and his barn.
His son immediately paid him 300 livres "in playing card money"
which was legal tender at that time.
Francois Genaple placed the document of this last sale in his notes
at Quebec, in the presence of witnesses Nicolas Moreau, living on
"rue saint nicolas," and Jean-Baptiste
Peuvret, head clerk of the Sovereign Council. Son Barthelemi was
still a bachelor. This ancestral land remained in the Gobeil family
hands at St-Jean through the whole of
the French regime.
The special thing about Jean Gobeil's situation is that he imposed
10 conditions at the time of the signing of his sale contract. Should
we conclude that his son had verbally
promised his elderly father to keep him at his home? Yes.
We know that Jeanne Guyet died after 27 April 1689, the day on which
she attended the burial of her Montminy grandson born dead, at -
Laurent. This was the last notation
of her presence among USA. Jean Gobeil stayed eighteen days at the
Hotel-Dieu de Quebec during the months of January and February 1698.
Then his story goes out like a
beautiful candle at twilight.
Jean Gobeil entered this country without announcing his arrival and
he left it without leaving a trace of his departure. It may be
likened to the stalk of an olive tree which
disappears imperceptibly after having accepted new stems to replace
it.
FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS
The only known variation of the name Gobeil is Gubby.
END NOTES
1) Records of Auber, 23 December 1665; 7 November 1669.
2) Record of Becquet, 14 January 1672.
3) Record of Genaple, 23 August 1695.
4) Records of Rageot, 16 March 1686; 28 June 1690; 13 July 1690.
5) Record of Vachon, 16 March 1688.
6) Dussault, Eugene-F., Les Toupin du Sault (1976), page 36.
7) Hollier, Robert., La France des Canadiens (1962), page 120.
8) Jette, Rene., (1983), pages 506-507.
9) Lafontaine, Andre., RANF 1666 & 1667 (1985), pages 27, 25 1;
(1981), page 266; RAVO 1716 & 1744 (1983), pages 68, 188.
10) Montel-Glenison, Caroline., Un tour de France Canadien (1980),
page 163.
11) Roy, Leon., LTIO 1650-1725 (1978), pages 160-162, 264-268, 380-
391,419.
12) Tanguay, Cyprien., DGFC (187 1), Volume 1, page 272.
13) DBC, Volume 2, pages 554-555, Louis Prat.
14) MSGCF, Volume 15, page 45; Volume 26, pages 173-183.
He was from St-Andre, v. et ar. Niort, ev. Poitiers, Poitou (Deux-
Sevres), France. He answered that he was 42 in 1666 and 1667 and in
Beaupre (Chateau-Richer), and
ansered that he was 57 in the 1681 recording living at the Isle
Orleans. Confirmed on 21 Feb 1666 in Chateau-Richer, QP. He answered
that he was 42. He was cited as
being in Hotel-Dieu, Quebec, QP, on 12 Mar 1698 and age of 67.
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1627 - 1702 (74 years)
