Pierre Guillet dit Lajeunesse, a skilled laborer, a master carpenter and a furniture maker, was born about 1623 in the area of La Rochelle, Aunis in the Charentes-Maritime region of France. He arrived in New France around 1642. His brother, Mathurin Guillet arrived a little later. In 1648-9 (the records are lost), Pierre married Jeanne Saint-Père in Trois-Rivières. She was born in the parish of St Jean d'Angely, Saintonge in February 1627. Part of a magistrate family, she arrived in Canada with her widowed mother, Marie-Madeleine Couteau and her 14-year old sister, Catherine in 1647. Soon after, Mathurin Guillet married Catherine.
During this early period, the Guillet family lived in Trois-Rivières, purchased land there in 1650 bordering the property of Jacques Leneuf de la Potherie. This property would later be exchanged for one belonging to Pierre Boucher, the future governor of Trois Rivieres. The Guillets did not reside there long for early in 1652, they were on their newly acquired land at nearby, Cap-de-la-Madeleine.
The year 1652, would prove to be a trying one. On August 18, Pierre's brother Mathurin Guillet was crossing the river of Trois Rivières near the islands of the estuary with others when they were attacked by Iroquois. Mathurin Guillet was killed.
In August 1653, Pierre Guillet sold his land on Cap-de-la-Madeleine to Marguerite Hayet, widow of Jean Veron de Grandmesnil who was also killed by Iroquois in 1652. Marguerite Hayet later would soon become the wife of Médart Chouart des Groselliers, the partner of the well-known explorer and coureur-de-bois, Pierre-Esprit Radisson. Marguerite Hayet, herself, was Radisson's half-sister.
In May of 1654, Guillet purchased from the Jesuits the deed to land in the Seigneurie of Notre-Dame-des-Anges near Quebec. It was 60 arpents (about 50 acres) in size and located between the Charles and Beauport rivers. Pierre was not to live in the area for long, however. In September, 1656 he sold the land and returned to Cap-de-la-Madeleine where he settled his family on the land of Claude Houssard. Houssard was his mother-in-law, Madeleine Couteau's third husband. This land of 40 arpents had been deeded to Houssard by the Jesuits in 1651. It was located beside the property of ancestor Michel Lemay dit Lepoudrier. A notarized act in 1659 gave the deed of this land to Pierre Guillet.
In the meantime, Pierre Guillet is kept busy building houses and barns as noted by the various contracts... he continues to acquire and sell land, also.
September 1660, he accepts to build a barn.
January 1662, he contracts to build a barn.
March 1664 he builds a house (25 x 18ft) on Cap de la Madeleine for Michel Gamelin for the price of 600 pounds.
July 1667, a barn and house are to be built on l'ile de la Poterie for Marguerite Legardeur.
February 1668, with Elie Bourbaut, he builds a barn in Batiscan for Jacqueline Chamboy. Later in the year, he builds her a house.
And so on. Land concessions are continually being granted. Relatives, in-laws and friends continue to swap places. Pierre Guillet continues to buy, rent and sell parcels of land.
Pierre Guillet and Jeanne Saint-Père had eleven children. The youngest son Joseph born around 1664 was granted a coveted passport to travel to the west in April 1692. The west, at this time, was probably no further than the Great Lakes. The French government, in an effort to control the fur trade and collect appropriate taxes, issued passports (permits), which were a form of license. They were difficult to acquire since in many years, only 25 were issued.
When Jeanne Saint-Père died sometime in 1669 she left several young children, the youngest being a 3-year old daughter. As was the custom, Pierre Guillet married a year later. His second wife was Madeleine Delaunay, a 35-year old fille-du-roi from LaRochelle who had arrived in Canada during the summer. She was the daughter of a wood merchant. Her dowry was estimated at 600 livres plus an additional 50 livres from the royal treasury. An attractive sum. Pierre Guillet and his second wife never had any children.
Three of Pierre and Jeanne's children are my direct ancestors: third daughter, Anne, born in 1654 and married to Jean Moreau in 1667, second son Louis, born in 1657 and married to Marie Trotier in 1684, and sixth daughter, Marguerite, born in 1660 and married to Pierre DesHaies around 1676.
The genealogy...
Each indentation indicates another generation, ie: Anne Guillet is the daughter of Pierre Guillet and Jeanne Saint-Père; Joseph Moreau is the son of Anne Guillet and Jean Moreau, and so on.
A carat (>) indicates there is at least another sibling who is an ancestor, ie: Anne Guillet has a brother Louis Guillet and a sister Marguerite Guillet who are also an ancestors.
Pierre GUILLET and Jeanne SAINT-PÈRE, m. c. 1648 in Trois-Rivières, PQ
>Anne GUILLET and Jean MOREAU, m. 6-26-1667 in Trois-Rivières, PQ
Joseph MOREAU and Françoise FRIGON, m. 2-8-1700 in Bastican, PQ
*Marie-Josephte MOREAU and Pierre DESHAIES, m. 11-2-1722 in Bécancour, PQ
Marie-Louise DESHAIES and Antoine DARGIE, m. 11-3-1767 in Bécancour, PQ
Antoine DARGIE and Louise PRINCE, m. 10-4-1802 in Nicolet, PQ
Antoine DARGIE and Hélène LAFOND, m. 9-1-1844 in Granby, PQ
Napoléon DARGIS (Dargie) and Léonise TURCOTTE, m. 10-15-1883 in Lewiston, ME
Delia DARGIS (Dargie) and Wilfred CAMERON, m. 10-11-1910 in Attleboro, MA
Rhea CAMERON and Edward LIZOTTE, m. 6-20-1636 in Attleboro, MA
Pierre GUILLET and Jeanne SAINT-PÈRE, m. c. 1648 in Trois-Rivières, PQ
>Louis GUILLET dit St. Marc and Marie TROTIER, m. 1-18-1684 in PQ
Louis GUILLET and Marguerite TETREAU, m. 8-1-1718 in St. Ours, PQ
Marie-Louise GUILLET and Augustin FONTAINE, m. 7-28-1743 in Verchères, PQ
Louis-Augustin FONTAINE and Charlotte MEUNIER, m. 5-31-1763 in Verchères, PQ
Pierre FONTAINE and Marguerite BÉRARD, m. 6-22-1795 in Verchères, PQ
Marguerite FONTAINE and Louis DORÉ, m. 11-24-1829 in Rouville, PQ
Marie DORÉ and Louis FOURNIER, m. 1-18-1853 in Rouville, PQ
Mathilde FOURNIER and Ernest CAMIRAND, m. 11-24-1885 in Attleboro, MA
Wilfred CAMERON and Delia DARGIE m. 10-11-1910 in Attleboro, MA
Rhea CAMERON and Edward LIZOTTE m. 6-20-1936 in Attleboro, MA
Pierre GUILLET and Jeanne SAINT-PÈRE, m. c. 1648 in Trois-Rivières, PQ
>Marguerite GUILLET and Pierre DESHAIES, m. c. 1676 in Bécancour, PQ
*Pierre DESHAIES and Marie-Josephte MOREAU, m. 11-2-1722 in Bécancour, PQ
Marie-Louise DESHAIES and Antoine DARGIE, m. 11-3-1767 in Bécancour, PQ
Antoine DARGIE and Louise PRINCE, m. 10-4-1802 in Nicolet, PQ
Antoine DARGIE and Hélène LAFOND, m. 9-1-1844 in Granby, PQ
Napoléon DARGIS (Dargie) and Léonise TURCOTTE, m. 10-15-1883 in Lewiston, ME
Delia DARGIS (Dargie) and Wilfred CAMERON, m. 10-11-1910 in Attleboro, MA
Rhea CAMERON and Edward LIZOTTE, m. 6-20-1636 in Attleboro, MA
*This is a marriage between first cousins, once removed.
