FIRST WAVE 1635 to 1659: COTÉ-MICHAUD-ALLAIRE-BEAUCHAMP
Details for the ship voyages of my French ancestors are described in a 4 part blog post:
Part1: First Wave 1635 to 1639 This Blog Post
Part2: Second Wave 1663 to 1665 Link Part2
Part3: Third Wave 1667 and 1669 Link Part3
Part 4: Ship Voyage for Pierre Jamme dit Carriere 1687 Link Part4
Here is a link to the Introduction to the Atlantic Crossings of my French Ancestors that can be found on the 17th Century footprints tab on this website.
EXPLANATION: FIRST A SHIP VOYAGE LOG THEN SOME DETAILS FOR MY ANCESTORS
I have been able to determine some crossing details for only some of my ancestors (about 1/3). This is because the maritime records for the French ancient regime have not survived. And the passenger lists that have survived or have been re-constructed are not complete.
Ship voyage logs have been prepared chronologically by year. For each ship voyage log I have included: the year, the number of ships that arrived from France, the departure port from France, the number of documented arrival passengers, the name of the ship that my ancestor sailed on, the size of the ship, the departure and arrival dates and the voyage length (number of days).
After the ship voyage is summarized, some details are provided about my ancestor who came to New France on the ship.
Here are the ship voyage logs with some ancestral details for the years 1635 to 1659:
1635
Five ships arrived in New France, all from La Rochelle, France.
There are 16 documented arrival passengers.
Ship: THEODORE BOCHART-DUPLESIS
Ship size unknown, departure date unknown, arrival date July 20, 1635.
The fleet was under the command of General Theodore Bochart-Duplesis “who speaks of a lot of turmoil of the sea”.
Only 3 arrival passengers were on this ship, including Jean Coté (born 1607, Perche, Normandy) who is the French forefather to my great grandmother Virginie Coté. There are tens of thousands of Cote family descendants in North America today, who all trace their French roots to Jean Coté (aka Costé, Cotté).
This is an image of what Jean Coté may have looked like –of course no 17thCentury photos exist.
This life-like image appears in the book by T.J. Laforest “Our French-Canadian Ancestors”, Volume 6.
Jean Coté was one of the earliest pioneer settlers in New France. He married Anne Martin (sister of Abraham Martin whom the Plains of Abraham are named after) soon after his arrival. They had 5 sons and 3 daughters. Jean and Anne’s life as farming habitants was mostly spent along the Beauport Coast near Quebec city, a number of years were spent on Île d’Orléans and their later years were spent in Quebec city. A detailed sketch of his life in New France can be found in Volume 6 of “Our French-Canadian Ancestors” by T.J. Laforest.
1656
Four ships arrive in New France all from La Rochelle, France.
There are 54 documented arrival passengers.
Ship: LA FORTUNE
Size:100 Tons, departed La Rochelle, France on April 8, 1656, arrival early June, voyage of approximately 60 days, which is a typical crossing time for this era.
There are 21 passengers on board this ship. All of these men are indentured labourers who have agreed (unable to sign) to a 3 year labor contract in New France in exchange for passage and an annual salary. The passenger list includes my ancestor Pierre Michaud (born 1637, Fontenay-le-Comte, Poitu). He is 18 years old and agrees to an annual salary of 36 livres. Here is a representative image of Pierre:
This life-like image for Pierre Michaud appears in the book by T.J. Laforest “Our French-Canadian Ancestors”, Volume 2.
Pierre Michaud lived and worked in New France for more than 10 years before he married my 7th great grandmother Marie Asselin (Ancelin) in 1667. Marie Asselin was born 1651 in La Rochelle, France and came to New France together with her father René Asselin (Ancelin) and step mother in 1665. No record of the Asselin family ship journey across the Atlantic was found.
The story of Pierre Michaud’s life in New France has also been written by T.J. Laforest and is found in volume 2 of “Our French-Canadian Ancestors”. Pierre and Marie Michaud led an unusual life as habitants in New France as they relocated four times over a span of 25 years from Île d’Orléans to Ile-aux-Oies to L’Islet to Kamouraska. In Kamouraska, Marie’s father René Asselin (Ancelin) and stepmother had also established about a homestead. Kamouraska is therefore the cradle of the multitude of descendants of the Michauds of North America.
1658
Five ships arrive in New France, four from La Rochelle, France and one from Rouen, France.
There are 53 documented arrival passengers.
Ship: LE TAUREAU
Size: 150 Tons, departed France on May 28, 1658, arrival July 6, voyage of 38 days which is a very quick crossing.
This image of a flute found on YouTube is believed to be a reasonable representation of what the ship Le Taureau would have looked like.
Merchants Francois Peron and Benjamin Anceau load the ship with goods to be sold in New France. Rats are commonly a pest in the hold of these ships and the ships logs notes that ten cats were taken aboard Le Taureau. The battles must have been fierce, on arrival in Quebec there were only four left!
On board this ship are 16 indentured laborers, including two brothers Jean and Charles Allaire (born 1637 St. Philbert du Pont Charrault, Poitu). Charles Allaire is my 7th great grandfather. He is 20 years old, with a 3 year labor contract with an annual salary of 75 livres. The two brothers were at first employed by the already established colonists on the Île d’Orléans but soon put down roots and are today are recognized as pioneers of the island.
This life-like image for Charles Allaire appears in the book by T.J. Laforest “Our French-Canadian Ancestors”, Volume 10.
The story of Charles Allaire’s life in New France has also been written by T.J. Laforest and is found in volume 10 of “Our French-Canadian Ancestors”. Charles had established himself as a habitant farmer on the Île d’Orléans prior to his marriage to Catherine Fievre. Catherine Fievre was a Fille du Roi (Daughter of the King). During the years 1663 to 1673 the King of France sponsored women to settle in New France with the intent to marry and establish a family. This was an important program to promote the growth of the colony. Charles and Catherine had 13 children, 10 of whom reached adulthood and by the third generation there were 93 grandchildren! Part 3 of this blog will provide many more details about the “Fille du Roi”.
Le Taureau (ship) returned to La Rochelle with an unknown quantity of fur pelts. Le Taureau sailed together with the Sacrifice of Abraham on its return voyage to France. The two ships encounter very rough seas on the return voyage -the crossing takes 46 days.
1659
Three ships arrive in New France, all from La Rochelle, France.
There are just under 150 documented arrival passengers.
Ship: LE SAINT ANDRE
Size: 350 Tons, departed France on July 2, 1659, and arrived in New France (Quebec) on September 7.
The voyage took 67 days, which is a typical crossing time for this era.
This is an image of the Saint Andre that is found on the front cover of Godbout’s novel (see reference below).
This famous Atlantic crossing is the subject of a book by Archange Godbout, “The Passengers of the Saint-Andre, The Recruit of 1659”. Although this ship is believed to carry more than 200 passengers, Godbout’s book documents less than 150. This crossing is famous for several reasons: the circumstances surrounding it’s departure from France, the ship’s condition, the difficult crossing, and the fact that the majority of the passengers were bound for Montreal who urgently needed recruits.
Just prior to the departure of the Saint Andre the passenger rate for the free emigrants is increased from the usual 50 to 75 livres. Prior to this voyage the Saint Andre was a hospital ship. There was no quarantine and it was found to still be infected with the plague. About 8 passengers died at sea and another 10 died in Quebec. Several more passengers had to be hospitalized after arrival at Quebec city. The Atlantic crossing took more than 2 months and the ship and passengers endured several furious storms. There was also a serious potable water shortage during the journey.
On board the Saint Andre are engaged masons, stonemasons, carpenters, land clearers, plowmen, soldiers for the fort (6), religious sisters, and young girls recruited by Jeanne Mance for the Hotel Dieu, Montreal and people accompanying Marguerite Bourgeoys who was establishing the congregation of Notre Dame (schools, chapel). Also on the passenger list is Etienne Trudeau, the ancestor of the Trudeau family (and future prime ministers Pierre and Justin Trudeau).
There are many conflicting stories, conjectures and assumptions about the actual passenger list on this ship. Marie Dardenne (wife of my 8th great uncle Jacques Beauchamp) is the only member of the Beauchamp family that was actually recorded on the passenger list published by Godbout. A biographical note for her can also be found on the Navire Nouvelle France website. Two brothers Jacques and Jean Beauchamp also sailed to New France to start a new life. Records show they originally settled on the outskirts of Ville Marie and then moved to Point Aux Trembles where they established good sized homesteads for their large families.
I believe that it is quite plausible that Jacques Beauchamp, his wife Marie Dardenne and his younger brother Jean Beauchamp (born 1644 at La Rochelle, France) my 8th great grandfather sailed to New France on this ship. That is the subject of a future blog…..
Sources:
Ship Images
Fluyt Image: Found on You Tube in May 2021, (https://line.17qq.com/articles/qsfqnpkwy_p2.html) note that this link is no longer working.
Saint Andre Image: P. Archange Godbout, Les Passagers Du Saint-André – La Recrue de 1659, Montreal: Société Généalogique Canadienne-Francoise -No 5, 1964, 188p.
Ship Voyage Logs
Two websites were used extensively to document the Atlantic crossing of my ancestors:
1. Navire Nouvelle France Website https://naviresnouvellefrance.net/
This website also includes biographical notes for many of the recorded passengers. There is a detailed note for Jean Cote, Pierre Michaud, Charles Allaire and Marie Dardenne that can be found on this website. Update: This website is no longer active – I have detailed extracts available upon request.
2. Guy Perron Blog https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com
The following blog articles were very helpful and I am indebted to Guy Perron for his extensive research.
The Expedition of the ship Le Taureau in 1658
The Expedition of the ship Le Saint Andre in 1659
Ancestor Representative Images and Stories:
T.J. Laforest, Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Palm Harbor, Florida: The Lisse Press, Volumes 2,6 and 10.
Book:
Archange Godbout, Les Passagers Du Saint-André – La Recrue de 1659, Montreal: Société Généalogique Canadienne-Francoise -No 5, 1964, 188p.
My ancestors, Jean Reaume and Marie (nee Chevalier) arrived on the ship, Le Saint Andre, on July 2, 1659.
One of my french ancestors was Francois Peron who half owned Le Taureau, the captain owned the other half. it is fascinating to learn more about the early French colonists.
Thank you for your comment. What an interesting connection we have!