Tne origin of François BELLENGER
and Marie GUION
Wording by Raymond Bélanger Translation to English by Jim Bélanger
To see the map of Normandie and of Perche, click
HERE
François Bellenger.
In spite of certain contradictions in the census of 1666, 1667 and 1681, we are
quite certain that 1612 is the date of birth for Francois Bellenger. The census
of 1666 and 1667, done at Chateau Richer by order of "Talon" indicates
that he is 54 and 55 years of age, respectively. This confirms the birth record
found at the registry of Saint Pierre de Sées that we will address a little
later. We must, therefore, consider it an error when the census of Bonsecours in
1681 indicates he is 60 years of age. Aside from that, the place of his birth is even more controversial.
Did he come from Normandy or Perche? There are three suppositions to follow in
regards to this age old controversy. The first two sources refer to
administrative documents while the third is the work of genealogists.
Acte de Confirmation  |
The first official document is the act of
confirmation of 2 February 1660 by Monseigneur Laval which can be found in the
archives of the Quebec Seminary and which is reproduced here for your viewing.
The text you see is an original reproduction of what is found in the Parish of
Lisieux which is located in Normandy.
This claim, despite intense research in
the archives of the diocese, has not yet been verified by a French source.
A second official document published in 1938 in the bulletin called
"Un Bulletin des Recherches Historiques" (Bulletin of historical
researches), mentions a Francois Bellenger baptised in September or October
1612 at Saint Pierre de Sées, in the region of Orne which is today known as
Basse Normandie (Lower Normandy) which used to be part of Perche.
In a letter addressed to Leon Belanger, dated 3 November 1872, Jean
Gourhand (director of the department of archives at Orne) confirms the place
of birth of Francois Bellenger. "the differences among the several
authors all seem to favor a baptism at Saint Pierre de Sées"
Francois Bellenger, son of Francois
Bellenger and of Francoise Horlays, was baptized the 7th day of October
and was named by the honorable Francois Dumesnil, esquire, master of Saint
Teny and the honorable Nicolas Bougis, master of Fossee, the controller
and Madame Loyse Gueou, wife of the honorable Guillaume Lepaulnier,
esquire, master of la Chapelle.
If we accept that Saint Pierre de Sées had the
majority among contemporary genealogists which would put an end to this debate
we must realize that there are other authors who remain skeptic with regard to
this document. The claim that this document refers to yet another Francois
Bellenger, having the same name as our ancestor who immigrated to New France
in 1634. At the beginning of this debate, we mentioned that a third trail of
research was possible and this is the genealogists who draw different
conclusions and are firm in their belief that this issue should remain open.
Mgr Tanguay, a renouned genealogist has
worked extensively with the well kept records of the Jesuits called the Jesuit
Relations. He mentions in a note that, Francois Bellenger, native of Normandy,
came to Quebec very late." Godbout, another respected genealogist,
relying on the confirmation documents maintains that the diocese of Lisieux in
Normandy is the place of birth. The abbé Gaulier has him born in Saint-Germain-de-Loisé,
in the Orne region, district of Normandy which used to be Perche. Benjamin
Sulte also indicates that he is from Normandy. The abbe Ferland, Yvanhöé
Caron , Léon-Henri Bélanger , Mme Pierre Montagne all say he is from Mortagne,
Perche.
Marie Guyon.
The origins of Marie Guyon, wife of Francois, is certain and is
verified from abundant notorial documents. The fourth child of Jean Guyon and
Mathurine Robin, she is born at Saint-Jean de
Mortagne, in Perche, on the 18th of March 1624.
We reproduce the results of research by P. Archange
Godbout , his extract of the baptism record.
Translated, it says; The 18th day of March 1624,
Marie, daughter of Jean Guyon and Mathurin Robin was baptised. The Godfather
was Jacques Robin and the Godmother was Marie Chahaigne who gave Marie her
name.
This excerpt of the registers of the parish Jean Saint of Mortagne,
concerning the year of the birth for Marie Guyon, provides numerous contradictions
emanating from different Quebec administrative sources that indicate her birth
between 1618 and 1626. The censuses of Chateau Richer in 1666 and of Bonsecours
in 1681 show her as being 40 and 55 years of age respectively. Both would seem
to verify a birth year of 1626. But, the census of Chateau Richer in 1667
records her age as 43 years which would confirm the official act of 1624. Finally,
the burial records of Cap Saint Ignace in 1696 indicates she is 78 years of age
which would make her year of birth 1618. These numerous contradictions all show
that our ancestors gave less importance to indications of age as they did to the
official baptismal act records. These records seem to have had priority over all
other documentation.
These numerous contradictions all show
that our ancestors gave less importance to indications of age as they did to the
official baptismal act records. These records seem to have had priority over all
other documentation.
Jean Guyon,
a native of Tourouvre was baptized September 18, 1592
at the church in Saint-Aubin where he constructed a stone staircase in 1615,
which exists today. After the death of his father, Jacques, he moved to
the parish of Saint Jean in 1615 and stayed there until 1626. He lived there
until a little after the death of his mother, Marie Huet on February 26, 1626,
when he and his family gathered at the parish of Notre Dame until their
departure, in April 1634, for New France. Three children were born in this
house which still exists today at the junction of routes Colonel Guerin and
Saint Denis.
It is there that Marie, along with seven other children,
spent her childhood and a part of her adolescence. In 1634 (according to
Cambray) or in 1636 (according to Dion Henri), she migrated to New France as a
result of a contract on March 14, 1634 which engaged her father with Robert Giffard at
Mathurin Roussel's abode. This family from Perche became the third
contingent of families to come to New France since the treaty of Saint German
in Laye in 1632. They settled in the land grant, called a Seigneurie, of
Beauport in the Du Buisson region. Jean Guyon received, in 1637, by virtue of
his agreement with Robert Giffard, a thousand arpents (loosely translated to
acre) of land. The name of Jean Guyon, father-in-law of Francois Bellenger, is
synonymous with the first settlers of New France. A memorial can be seen on
the monument of Louis Hébert, situated in Montmorency Park near the diocese of Quebec,
where the names of Jean Guyon and of Mathurine Robin, his wife are
transcribed.
As a summary for the above, we provide a table with significant dates and data
regarding the year of birth for Francois Bellenger and Marie Guyon.
