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Contact: Michel Lopez
Beaudry's
genealogy (8)
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GUILLAUME PEPIN dit
Tranchemontagne |
"Pepin is a name from the oldest of
French nobility. Pepin de Landen (the Old), lived in the XII
century; he was the father of Grimoald, ancestor of the
Carolingians, whose dynasty gave twelve Kings to the mother country.
Pepin d'Heristal, grandson of Pepin de Landen, was Duke of the
Austrasiens, a people living in the eastern part of France. Finally,
Pepin the Short, the best known of all, is famous for his warlike
actions. A powerful man, born to the saddle, he rode to glory over
the backs of the Aquitans, the Alamans, the Bavarois and the Saxons.
Having united his Kingdom by the sword, he was crowned by
Saint-Boniface, apostle of the Germains.
"Are the Canadian Pepins distand
descendants of these old Kings of France? Each has the freedom to
claim it, but we will never really know. There are so many
generations between the two eras, lost in the fog of the centuries,
and, apart from the records kept by the nobility, largely
unrecorded.
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"IN THE CRADLE OF LIFE IN
TROIS-RIVIERES |
"Without the Pepins, the first few
decades of life in Trois-Rivieres would have been quite different.
Three noted historians and genealogists, Tanguay, Sulte and
Bellemare, all claim that Guillaume Pepin dit Tranchemontagne was
present at the founding of the town in 1634. However, this assertion
is not based on known documents.
"What is certain however, is that a
man named Jean Pepin, about whom we know almost nothing, lived in
the budding trifluvien community in 1643. On 15 June of that year,
his name was entered in the civil records as a Godfather. On 7 May
1658, we find his signature in a contract by notary Severin Ameau,
and on 11 July 1660, his name was again mentioned in the official
report of the local Provost.
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"SURNAMED LAFOND OR
DELAFOND |
"As for the so-called "brother",
Guillaume and Etienne Pepin, both with the surname Delafond or
Lafond, they must have arrived in the country about the same time as
Jean. Etienne was in Quebec in 1642, and he took a wife there in
1645. On 28 September of this last year, Guillaume, as well as
Francois Marguerite, Jean Veron de Grandmesnil and Guillame Isabel,
all citizens of Trois-Rivieres, obtained permission from the
governor to develop the land situated near the
Fort.
"One, Jean Lafond, Sieur de
Lafontaine, who could well be the same Jean Pepin mentioned
previously, also lived in Trois-Rivieres before going to settle in
Boucherville, from where he was buried on 2 June 1711 at the age of
81 years. The census of 1666 also mentions Pierre Delafond, a 26
year old servant in the home of Marie Boucher, in
Petit-Cap-de-la-Madeleine. On 24 June 1667, Pierre was at the
signing of the marriage contract between Jean Trotier and Genevieve
Lafond, daughter of Etienne, his cousin. On 23 March 1673, this
Pierre, having returned to France, and living as a laborer in nearby
LaRochelle, sold, through Pierre Boucher, a homestead situated near
that of Jean Delafond, in Boucherville. On 5 April 1675, this same
property was resold, through Pierre Boucher, to Denis Veronneau, for
70 livres payable in three years.
"Therefore, the family ties of the
Delafonds, whether they bear the original name of Pepin or not, seem
a sure thing. Even though the families of Etienne and Guillaume
appear intimately connected, let us leave aside the activities of
the first and only describe, for the moment, those of the second.
"Father Archange Godbout states that
we know neither the place of birth nor the names of Guillaume's
parents. If we admit the hypothesis that he is the "brother" of
Etienne, and this has not yet been proven beyond a reasonable doubt,
he would then be the son of Pierre Pepin and Francoise Prieur from
Saint-Laurent de la Barriere in
Saintonge.
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"GUILLAUME MARRIES AN
ADOLESCENT |
"Guillaume must have married in the
tririverine region about the end of 1645. There are some papers in
the archives of Quebec which concern a contract of commitment to
Pierre Lagardeur by Jean Meschin, a laborer, worker and sailor,
living at LaRochelle. This colonist drowned at Cap-a-l'Arbre on 6
November 1646 with eight other Frenchmen while going to
Trois-Rivieres by boat. It is possible that Jean Meschin was the
father of Jeanne, a young girl who must have been fourteen or
fifteen at the time of her marriage to Guillaume
Pepin.
"On 14 April 1646, Jacques was
carried to the baptismal font of the chapel at Trois-Rivieres; he
was the eldest son of Guillaume and Jeanne. The Godfather was none
other that Governor Jacques Leneuf de la Poterie. The Godmother was
Marie Leneuf, Jacques sister and wife of Jean
Godefroy.
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"LAND CLEARING ON THE ILE
SAINT-CHRISTOPHE |
"On 1 June 1647, the Governor-General
of New France, Charles Huault de Montmagny, granted permission to
Guillaume Pepin, Guillaume Isabel, Pierre Lefebvre and Sebastien
Dodier, to clear the Isle du Milieu across from their homes in
Trois-Rivieres. This island, about 80 arpents in size, was known for
a time as the Ile a Pepin, for the leader of the land clearers.
Today it is called the Ile Saint-Christophe. On 6 June 1652, this
jewel in the Mraicien estuary was granted as fief and seigneury to
Guillaume Guillemot Duplessis-Kerbodot; a few weeks later, he was
killed in that insane assault which he himself organized against the
Iroquois. The island finally reverted to the Jesuits on 20 October
1654, then on the following 9 March, they divided it into eight
parcels of ten arpents each in order to distribute it to as many
people.
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"AN IMPORTANT PROPRIETOR |
"At that time, several colonists
possessed land on the right bank of the Saint-Maurice river, a
stream then called simply by the name of "river of Trois-Rivieres."
Guillaume Pepin obtained his piece on 23 July 1647. It was a lot
with three arpents of frontage by nine in depth, with a road of
fifteen toises running along the river, between the holdings of Jean
Godefroy de Lintot and Guillaume Isabel. In the town itself, the
Pepin property was bordered on the north-east by the Chenaux road,
on the south-east by the rue Jean-Amyot, on the south-west by the
rue Saint-Paul and on the north-west by a line which passed from
beyond the rue Whitehead to the level of the church of
Saint-Patrice.
"Our ancestor also owned a plot in
town, seventeen toises in frontage, between those of Alexandre Raoul
(the ancestor of the Rheaults) and the widow of Baptiste Bourgery.
Pepin received this grant on 6 June 1650 from Governor-General Louis
d'Ailleboust, acting in the name of the Company of New France. In
1668, he had a house, a barn and a stable there. On this same 6 June
1650, our pioneer also accepted, from the same beneficiary, another
building lot of twenty square toises, situated below the Fort of
Trois-Rivieres.
"On 22 May 1652, Guillaume Pepin,
Sieur de la Fond, in the company of Pierre Boucher and of the notary
Roland Godet from Quebec, verified the official record of possession
by the Jesuit Father Rene Menard, of the concession granted by
Jacques de la Ferte, the Abbot of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. On 20
March 1651, this celebrated Abbot, who gave his name to
Cap-de-la-Madeleine, received from the Company of New France,
without ever setting foot in Canada, a stretch of land with two
leagues of frontage by twenty deep, from the cape to
Trois-Rivieres.
"Pepin received several other
domains. On 15 June 1656, he obtained one with an area of forty
arpents square, situated then to the north-west of the town, between
the holdings of Medard Chouart des Groseillers and Quentin Moral. On
14 July of the same year, Pierre Boucher made him a gift of sixty
arpents, but Guillaume ceded them back to him on 21 July 1684. Not
to be deterred by this suggestion, on 12 September 1657, Pierre gave
him another concession, on the hill. About the same time, Pepin
ceded to the associates Michel Lemay and Elie Bourbaut, a piece of
land for 600 livres. Our ancestor gave a quit claim to it on 11
February 1662. Guillaume owned another piece of land with five
arpents in frontage in the commune of Lac Saint-Pierre, but it is
not likely that he ever developed it because it was a favorite
stalking ground of the Iroquois
enemy.
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"SORTIE AGINST THE IROQUOIS
AGGRESSOR |
"On 18 August 1652, Pepin must have
participated, along with dozens of other men, commanded by
Duplessis-Kerbodot, in a sortie against the Iroquois aggressor. The
Governor himself lost his life, as did several of his men. On 21
April 1663, Antoine Desrosiers, Pierre Lepele dit Lahaie and
Guillaume Pepin were called to give testimony relating to the death
of Jean Pelerin dit La Grave, killed in this
engagement.
"The records of notary Severin Ameau
contain several acts concerning the pioneer Pepin, notably a
concession from Nicolas Marsolet at Cap de l'Arbre-a-la-Croix (3
August 1665); another concession in the arriere-fief belonging to
Pierre Mouet de Moras on the south bank of the Saint-Lawrence; land
and homestead ceded by his son-in-law Guillaume de la Rue on the
seigneury of Champlain (29 August 1675). On 25 August 1679, Pepin
ceded to another of his sons-in-law, Jean Herou dit Bourgainville,
all the lands which belonged to him "in the town and territory of
Trois-Rivieres, the said beneficiary to enjoy them all his life and
to share it after his death with his co-heirs." On 23 February 1678,
Guillaume made a similar donation to his sons Jean Pierre and
Etienne, of half of the land acquired from Louis Pinard in the
vicinity of the town.
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"ALONE WITH HIS GUN AND ANIMALS |
"After having led a very active life
for more than thirty years - he had even been Mayor in his town in
the 1650's - our ancestor went tranquilly into retirement. He was
still mentioned in some acts by Ameau, Jean Cusson and Antoine
Adhemar. In 1681, all of his children were settled; the census taken
mentioned him all alone, with his gun, his three head of cattle, his
thirty arpents under cultivation and his seventy years of
age.
"Abbot Bellemare says that death
surprised Guillaume while he was living at the home of his son
Pierre, at Pointe-aux-Sables, on the other side of the river in the
future parish of Saint-gregoire. On 12 August 1697, his mortal
remains were brought to Trois-Rivieres to be buried there in the
cemetery of the parish. His death certificate said that he was about
ninety years old. As for Jeanne Meschin, we don't know precisely the
date of her death. An act by Severin Ameau drawn up in 1679 says
that she was living but the census of 1681 does not mention her.
Thus we must believe that she was taken sometime between these two
years.
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"A NORMAL FAMILY FOR THE TIMES |
"Guillaume and Jeanne were the
parents of thirteen children, about average for the times. The sons
are listed as follows:
1. Jacques, born in 1646, married
Marie-Jeanne Caiet (Cayer) in 1671. They had 9 children, 4 of whom
were boys.
2. Jean dit Descardonnets, born in
1647, married Madeleine Loiseau in 1685. They had 11 children, 7 of
whom were boys.
3. Guillaume, born in 1651, died
before marrying.
4. Pierre dit Laforce, born in 1652,
married Louise Lemire in 1681. They had 14 children, 6 of whom were
boys.
5. Etienne, born in 1654, died
without marrying.
6 & 7 Twins, Louis and Joseph,
born in 1660, died in the cradle.
"There were six
daughters:
1. Marie, born in 1649, married
Guillaume de la Rue.
2. Jeanne, born in 1656, married Jean
Herou dit Bourgainville in 1674, and was remarried in 1690, to
Mathurin Marais.
3. Madeleine, born in 1657, married
Francois Roussel in 1671.
4. Elisabeth, born in 1659, married
Jean Arcouet dit Lajeunesse in 1671.
5 & 6 Twins, Marguerite and
Marie-Ursule, born in 1662. The first married Bernard Joachim dit
Laverdure in 1679; the second married Nicolas Geoffroy about 1678
and was remarried in 1680 to Louis
Pinard.
"Some descendants of Guillaume Pepin,
a small number of whom are called Laforce, live in the same town in
which their ancestor lived three hundred years ago. However, the
majority have settled on the south bank of the river, from Nicolet
County to the Montreal region.
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"NAME VARIATIONS OF PEPIN AND
TRANCHEMONTAGNE |
"Some name variations, across the
border and over the generations, have been
recorded:
"Pepin: Cardonnet, Chateauguay, De La
Fond, Descardonnets, Dupin, Lachance, Lachaussee, Laforce, Laforge,
Lechance, Papan, Pain, Patin, Pepain,
Pepine, Pepitt, Pine, and Refort.
"Tranchemontagne: Bausier, Beausier,
Corbeil, Daneau, Denoyer, Desnoyers, Fortier, Garceau, Gourbeil,
Laisne, Lescuyer, Lespardier, Nouvel, Pizachon,
Roussel, St.Pierre, Sullier,
Sullieres, Sustier, Suyer, Thomas, Vignault and Vilelain(Thomas
LaForest, Our French Canadian Ancestors (n.p.: n. pub.,
n.d.), Volume 5, Chapter 17, page 181-192.). Reference: I. PEPIN dit
Tranchemontagne, Guillaume, footnote (2) Syndie de Yrois-Rivieres,
puis juge de la seigneurie de Champlain, Il etait deja etabliaux
Trois-Tivieres, en 1634, a l'endroit ou se trouve aujoud'hui la
communeaute des Dames Urulines, Il est un des ancetres de
l'Honorable Hector Langevin.' b 1607, de St.Laurent de la Baviere,
eveche de Xaintes; s 12 aout 1697, aux Trois-Rivieres. MECHIN,
Jeanne, b 1630. Jacques, b 14 avril 1646; m 16 nov. 1671, a Jeanne
Caiet. Jean, b en aout 1647; m 23 nov. 1683, a Madeleine Loiseau, a
Boucherville. Marie, b 21 avril 1649; m 3 oct. 1663, a Gilles La
Rue. Guillaume, b 4 aout 1651. Pierre, b 29 dec. 1652; m 20 oct.
1681, a Louse Le Mire, a Quebec; s 2 avril 1722. Etienne, b 14 avril
1654. Jeanne., b 28 mars 1656; 1 m 6 fev. 1674, a Jean Herou; 2 m 13
aout 1690, a Mathurin Marais. Madeleine, b 19 nov. 1657; m 7 avril
1671, a Francois Roussel; s 8 juillet 1722. Elizabeth, b 1659; m 16
nov. 1671, a Jean Arcouet dit Lajeunesse; s 31 dec. 1697, a
Champlain. Louis, b 21 nov. 1660. Joseph, b 21 nov. 1660.
Marguerite, b 6 mai 1662; m 14 nov. 1679, a Bernard Joachim.
Marie-Ursule, b 6 mai 1662; 1 m a Nicolas Geoffroy; 2 m 30 nov.
1680, a Louis Pinard' circa 1985(Cyprien Tanguay, Dictionnaire
Genealogique des Familles Canadiennes (28 Felsmere Avenue,
Patucket, Rhode Island 02861-2903: Quintin Publications, 1996
reprint), Volume I, page 472.).
Children of Guillaume Pepin
dit11 Tranchemontagne and Jeanne Mechin (see #82)
were as follows:
i. Marie Ursule10
Pepin married Louis Pinard, son of Jean Pinard and Marguerite
Gaigneur, on 29 October 1658 at Trois-Rivieres, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada.
ii. Jacques Pepin was baptised on 14
April 1646. He married Marie Jeanne Caille, daughter of Claude
Caille and Anne Malle, on 16 November 1671 at Quebec, Quebec,
Quebec, Canada.
iii. Jean Pepin dit Des Cardonnets
was born in August 1647. He married Marie Madeleine Loiseau,
daughter of Lucas Loiseau and Francoise Cure, on 23 November 1685 at
Boucherville, Chambly, Quebec, Canada.
iv. Marie Pepin was baptised on 21
April 1649. She married Gilles LaRue on 3 October
1663.
v. Guillaume Pepin was baptised on 4
August 1651.
vi. Pierre Pepin dit Laforce was
baptised on 29 December 1652. He married Louise Lemire, daughter of
Jean Lemire and Louise Marsolet, on 20 October 1681 at Quebec,
Quebec, Quebec, Canada. He was buried on 2 April
1722.
vii. Etienne Pepin was baptised on 14
April 1654.
viii. Jeanne Pepin was baptised on 28
March 1656. She married Jean Herou on 6 February 1674. She married
Mathurin Marais on 13 August 1690.
ix. Madeleine Pepin was baptised on
19 November 1657. She married Francois Roussel, son of Jacques
Roussel and Madeline Beauregard, on 7 April 1671 at Trois-Rivieres,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was buried on 8 July
1722.
72 x. Elisabeth
Pepin.
xi. Louis Pepin was baptised on 21
November 1660.
xii. Joseph Pepin was baptised on 21
November 1660.
xiii. Marguerite Pepin was baptised
on 6 May 1662. She married Bernard Joachim on 14 November
1679.
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82. Jeanne11 Mechin was
born in 1630. She married Guillaume Pepin dit Tranchemontagne
(see #81) in 1645 at Trois-Rivieres, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
She died on 6 November 1646. She was buried on 20 December 1646
at Quebec, Canada. |
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83. Jean12
Mechin. |
Children of Jean12
Mechin and an unknown spouse were:
82 i. Jeanne11
Mechin.
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1850Ci Minn Harpole, Patricia C. and Mary
D. Nagle, ed., Minnesota Territorial Census, 1850 (St.Paul,
Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society,
1972). |
1870C-MB 1870 Manitoba Census,
National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Microfilm Reel Number
C-2170.
AP1 Belleau, Reverend Father J.
M., ed., Records of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church, Pembina,
North Dakota: Baptisms, Marriages, Sepultures, Book One,
1848-1874.
Cindy Charlebois Research,
n.d.
Clarence Kipling
Research.
Cyprien Tanguay, Dictionnaire
Genealogique des Familles Canadiennes (28 Felsmere Avenue, Patucket,
Rhode Island 02861-2903: Quintin Publications, 1996
reprint).
Denney, Charles D., Denney
Papers, Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta.
FDP Baptisms & Marriages Fort
des Prairie, Saskatchewan District Clarence Arvil KIPLING, (n.p.: n.
pub., n.d.)[CD].
Harriet McKay Research,
n.d.
HBS 1886-1901, 1906 Half-Breed
Scrip Applications, RG15-21, Volume 1333 through 1371, Microfilm
Reel Number C-14944 through C-15010, National Archives of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario.
HBSI Index 1886-1901, 1906
Halfbreed Scrip Applications, RG15-21, Microfilm Reel Number
C-14943, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa,
Ontario.
James W. Chesebro, PhD,
n.d.
L1 Lebret Mission de St.Florent
Roman Catholic Registre des Baptemes, Mariages & Sepltures,
Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Book One: 1868-1881, FHC microfilm
1032949.
LaForest, Thomas, Our French
Canadian Ancestors (n.p.: n. pub., n.d.).
LLBR1 Notre Dame des Tidoren,
St.Paul Diocese, Lac La Biche, Alberta, Registre des Baptemes,
Mariages & Sepltures de Notre-Dame, Volume 1,
1853-1898.
MBS Scrip Applications, Original
White Settlers & Halfbreeds residing in Manitoba on 15 July
1870, RG15-19, Volume 1319 through 1324, 2128, Microfilm Reel Number
C-14925 through C-14934, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa,
Ontario.
NWHBS 1885 Scrip Applications,
North-West Halfbreeds residing outside Manitoba on 15 July 1870,
RG15-20, Volume 1325 through 1332, Microfilm Reel Number C-14936
through C-14942, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa,
Ontario.
SB St.Boniface Roman Catholic
Registre des Baptemes, Mariages & Sepltures,
1825-1834.
SFXI-1834-1900 St.Francois Xavier
Register Index, 1834-1900; compiled by Clarence
Kipling.
SIWB St.Ignace Roman Catholic
Registre des Baptemes, Mariages & Sepltures, Willow Bunch,
Saskatchewan, 1882-1917. |