Antoine Desrosier

In the early part of the XVII century Antoine Desrosiers, my Canadian ancestor, named after his father, was born in the small village of Renaison, France not far from the city of Roanne in the Department of Loire. His mother was Sylvie Trou and at his baptism on 14 April, 1617, he had as godparents Antoine Eyrand and Antoinette Martin dit Marin (or Morin).

We know nothing of his early life in France and the first knowledge we have of him that is recorded is in the registers of baptisms of Sillery in the province of Quebec where he is called on the 10th of January in 1642: "serviteur de cette maison . ." ("servant in this house"). It is fairly certain he had arrived in Canada sometime during the year of 1641 when he was 24 years old.

From the many notes and articles written about him it appears certain that Antoine was well accepted and liked by all of his contemporaries in the colony. When he first arrived he worked as a domestic servant for the Jesuits at Trois Rivieres. Antoine was most likely there until around 1645 when the great missionary, Father Jerome Lallemant who was the Jesuit Superior since 1644, wrote down the name, "Ant. des Rosiers," on an autumn evening of that year. The good Father was at Quebec thinking about the Jesuit community at Trois Rivieres. We cannot be sure why he wrote my ancestor's name down--perhaps he was thinking of the wages that were to be paid of 100 livres per year to the three domestics that were employed there or maybe he had actually met Antoine during the past summer as he passed on through Trois Rivieres on his way back to the lands of the Huron tribes he was working so hard to convert to the Catholic faith.

From this small amount of information we can say that it is most probable Antoine worked for the Jesuits for at least three years and possibly more. This would have been much to his advantage giving him the time needed to learn all about the colony and the countryside with its land, rivers and other settlements. He would get the chance to know his compratriots and the natives who populated the territory. Within the Jeuit community itself with its busy life, travelers arriving and leaving and its intellecual atmosphere, he would have been exposed to a great variety of subjects and to new knowledge and culture.

Not many years would pass before Antoine, a man, who when he arrived in New France could only approve documents with a cross for a signature because he was illiterate, would be writing down his own name. He was obviously an active, dynamic, and intelligent person, who had places to go and a destiny to fulfill.

On the 24th of November in 1647 a contract of marriage was drawn up by the notary, Flour Boujonnier, who wrote in the record: "(this) treaty of marriage which we know will be pleasing to God and perfect in the eyes of our Mother the most Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church, between Antoine Desrosiers, native of Bourg de Renaison, in the country of Lyonnais in France, and Anne du Herrison, native of Bourg du Thierry in Normandie . . ."

Anne's father, Michel Leneuf du Herrison, being a very wealthy man, promised his future son-in-law a present of 500 livres in cash along with a great many other gifts. The contract was signed by many of the inhabitants of the colony. Some of these are my ancestors as noted. These are the men who signed: Michel Leneuf du Herrison as well as his brother, Jacque Leneuf de la Poterie; Jacques Hertel (my ancestor), Gaspard Boucher (my ancestor), Adrien Duchesne, Thomas Godefroy de Normanville, Jean Poutrel, Jean Amiot, Pierre Boucher, Pierre Lefebvre (my ancestor), Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny, Bertrand Fafard, and Guillaume Isabel (my ancestor).

The young couple sealed their bond before God in 1649 and due to the generous gifts bestowed by Anne's father they started marriage much better off than most of the colonists. That same year Antoine received his first piece of property in the province of Quebec which was a grant given to him on 28 October 1649 of 20 square arpents by a Monsieur D'Ailleboust. This grant was not approved by Pierre Boucher until July of 1656. Why this took so long I do not know except that possibly he had not paid the sum of 6 deniers de cens for it until that date. This plot for cultivation use was on the edge of Trois Rivieres on the right bank of the Saint Maurice River. Where they lived during this period is unknown.

In 1650, the following year, Antoine located and purchased a small lot within the northwest side of Trois Rivieres on a street called Notre Dame. On this little lot, 128 feet square he built a very small stable and a house for him and his bride. They lived there for 17 years and at least six of their eight children were born at this place before he sold his homestead in 1667 for 150 livres to Michael Godefroy dit Lintot. It is interesting to know that the home of Monsieur de Gannes, the Major of the Trois Rivieres Militia was built on this very same lot in 1756.

Seven years later, on June 8, Antoine purchased another piece of land for 10 deniers de cens per acre of frontage. It was located at Riviere-aux-Sables, Pointe du Lac, and was obtained from Pierre Boucher. His nearby neighbors with this land were Guillaume Pepin and Pierre Lefebvre. In 1674 Urbain Baudry bought this property for 50 livres.

I do not know if Antoine was making profits from these various purchases and sales of property, but I suspect he was. He made other purchases and sales such as the strip of land he bought near the mouth of the Saint Maurice River on the Ile-aux-Cochons in April of 1664 and the land that had been the fief of Jacques Hertel at Cap de la Madeleine. This latter piece of property was 5 acres wide and about 40 deep. He sold this off on September 3, 1679 to Pierre Proulx for 300 livres.

In 1653, when he had a wife and two children to care for, he was captured by one of the fierce and terrible Iroquois bands that roamed the countryside and used the rivers as their highways. It was around the end of May that he had been taken prisoner and was missing for eleven weeks before he was rescued. One of his companions had been tortured and burnt to death. We can only imagine the anguish, worry, and sorrow his family and friends went through wondering if they would find him alive or dead. The Iroqouis were without a doubt the cruelest tribe in North America to white men as well as to other native tribes. Previously, according to Jesuit journals, on the 7th day of August in 1651 a domestic servant of his had left early in the morning about 4 A.M. to shoot crows and he was found dead with an Iroqouis tomahawk in his head and two bullets in his chest. It was enough to make any brave man a little nervous.

However, Antoine did survive this close call in that terrible year and so did the community of Trois Rivieres. He learned the carpentry trade and became known as a Master Carpenter. In those days was much more complicated than now with an understanding of timber construction and all the hand made joints that had to be formed with what we would consider very primitive tools. It is recorded that in 1649 he and two other men supplied Pierre Boucher, an agent and clerk of the Company of New France, with 500 posts that were eleven feet long for the construction of the fort at Trois Rivieres for which they were paid 75 livres. Antoine used his talents to build things that were very complicated such as a windmill he constructed in 1668 for the Jesuit fathers. The structure contained over forty different and complicated pieces such as the main wind sails that were 48 feet long, ten inches wide on the ends, and nine inches at center.

Through these years he grew in stature as a knowledgeable man who was known for his good heart and honesty. He hated bickering and squabbling and loved justice and tranquility. The records attest to his drive, to his busy nature, and there are many more transactions that can be found. According to the census records of 1667 the family was living at Cap de la Madeleine and they were listed as having 5 animals and 15 acres under cultivation. By the year 1668, Antoine and his family became colonists of Champlain and on the 29th day of August in 1669 he was named the new Fiscal Manager of the new area. He kept this position of authority until he died. Not only that, he was also the Judge of this territory and a trustee. He had come a long way since his days with the Jesuits. Here was a man, once illiterate, whose signature now appeared on hundreds of documents, his own library filled with books on law, on history, volumes of the Ordinances, and volumes by various authors. Here was a man who very well understood education and the power of the written word. He was ahead of his time. He sent his daughter, Marie, to study under the Ursuline nuns at Quebec at a time when educating a woman was unheard of. It makes me very proud to know he is one of my ancestors.

Although I have no proof whatsoever, I like to believe he was a good and kindly man with his family too. There is nothing to say that he wasn't. Anne was born at Caen, France about 1632 and was 17 when they married . We still do not know who her mother was, but suspect she may have been a mistress of Michel Leneuf. We may never find out although researchers are still hunting through records in France as I write.

The census of 1681 reveals a few more details of our ancestor so far distant from us in time. They were at Champlain by then with four children still at home. Two domestic servants are shown and forty acres of land are under the plow. The census also lists their firearms of 4 rifles and 4 pistols and there are nine animals in their possession.

These are the children Anne gave birth to:

  
1. Marie bp. 16/6/1650 at Trois Rivieres, married 19/2/1664 at Trois Rivieres
     to Alexandre Rault.  They had six girls and four boys.
2. Michel bp. 3/9/1652 at Trois Rivieres, married at Champlain on 14/1/1679 to
    Marie Thomasse Artault. They had 4 boys and 5 girls.  Michel added the
    surname Desilets to his family name of Desrosiers.
3. Joseph bp. 29/7/1655 at Trois Rivieres. He died at an early age as he does
    not appear in the census of 1666 and his name is not seen again.
4. Jean b. 29/9/1657, bp. 30/9/1657 at Trois Rivieres, married at Champlain to
    Marie Francoise Dandonneau on 20/1/1682. Jean added to his name Desrosiers
     the surname of Dutremble. They had 3 girls and 7 boys.
5. Anne (my ancestor) b. & bp. 12/11/1661 at Trois Rivieres, she married at
    Champlain on 4/4/1674 to Jacques Turcot. They had 5 boys and 6 girls.
6. Antoine (my ancestor) b. & bp. 30/8/1664 at Trois Rivieres, married at Champlain
    on 26/11/1696 to Marie Renee Lepelle.  They had 6 girls and 5 boys.  He added
    the name Lafresniere to his surname.
7. Pierre (my ancestor) b.ca. 1667, married Marguerite Aubuchon at Champlain
    on 27/4/1693.  He added Dargy to his surname.  They had 3 boys and 6 girls.
8. Marie Jeanne b.ca. 1671, married at Champlain on 18/3/1687 to Claude Drouet.
    They had 8 boys and 3 girls.

Records show that sons Antoine and Jean signed up to go out to the Illinois 
country around 1683.

We do know that men and women of the Desrosier line spread all over New England, the Maritimes, Quebec and the midwest. They distinguished themselves everywhere they went and I am very pleased and happy to know I am one of their descendants.

Ted Brassard

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Last Revised 12/2/97