Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 7)

New France (Canada) circa 1697

Canada A Country by Consent: New France

The land that is now known as Canada was first home to many different nations of native peoples with distinctly different languages and social organizations. What they shared was a great ability to live with the land and it was only by copying native ideas like the snowshoe, birch bark canoes and pemmican: dried lean meat that the Europeans were able to survive the harsh winters and develop a vast fur trade that eventually spread European influence across the country.

Canada is not a country based on ethnic uniformity like many countries. It is not a country forged by the fires of civil war or wars of unification. It is a country which has evolved and been held together by the agreement and will of the various groups who have helped build it over the years. Canada is a Country by Consent. (View the content of this online project which is organized into 27 chapters, many with an audiovisual introduction. The text is enhanced with additional film clips, interviews, essays by guest historians, hundreds of archival images, satellite maps and definitions.)

Etienne Roy (1690-1749) and Marie LaCasse (1692-1764)

 

Etienne (Stephen) Roy was the first male child in our Roy lineage to be born in Canada (New France). When he was born on April 20, 1690, in Lauzon, Quebec, his father Nicolas Roy (1661-1727) was 29 and his mother, Marie-Madeleine LeBlond (1665-1722) was 24. Etienne was fortunate to have his extended family welcome his birth, including his grandparents, Nicolas LeRoy (1639-1690) and Jeanne Lelièvre (1640-1728), and his great-grandmother, Anne LeMaitre (1617-1718). The joy was short-lived, however, when his grandfather Nicolas LeRoy died a few days later on April 27, 1690 at the age of 50 years.

Etienne Roy Profile

Etienne married Marie LaCasse on November 18, 1709, in Beaumont, Quebec when he was 19 years old and was 17 years old. (Source: Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 Record for Etienne LeRoy. Beaumont (St-Étienne) > 1692-1796, 67. 2nd entry.)

Etienne Roy and Marie LaCasse church marriage record 1709

Marie LaCasse was born on June 19, 1692, in Lauzon, Quebec to Marie-Francoise Bazin, age 19, and Joseph LaCasse, age 22. The LaCasse family records (shown below) indicates that she was the oldest of 15 children – 11 girls and 4 boys. From an ancestry lineage perspective, it is noteworthy that three of the LaCasse girls (Marie, Marie-Francoise and Marie-Angelique) married Roy boys (Etienne, Louis and Jean-Baptiste, respectively).

As the following ancestry tree shows, Etienne and Marie had 10 children in 22 years from 1711 to 1733. This included 6 girls and four boys to carry on the Roy family name. Their third son, Pierre Roy (1725-1764), continues our family heritage.

Etienne Roy and Marie LaCasse Family

Ancestry records show that Etienne Roy died on December 3, 1749, in St. Vallier, Quebec, when he was 59 years old and was buried there. At that time, Etienne and Marie had been married 40 years. Marie LaCasse died on January 5, 1764, in St. Vallier, Quebec, when she was 71 years old. For reference purposes, the vital records for Etienne and Marie are available online and include guidance on how to read French documents.

Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 6)

Our Roy Family – Three Generations emigrating from France to Canada

 

The Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 1) notes that the ancestors of the Roy family have many stories to tell. According to the records, three generations of that family crossed the Atlantic Ocean in May 1662 aboard the sailing ship The Garden of Holland. The story of the first generation, Louis LeRoy (1611-1661) and Anne LeMaitre (1617-1718) is told in Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 2).

 

The emigration from France to New France (Canada) and the commemoration of our first Roy ancestors to come to Canada are discussed in the Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 3). The adventures of the second generation, Nicolas LeRoy (1639-1690) and Jeanne Lelièvre (1640-1728) are told in the Roy Ancestry - France to Canada (Part 4). An overview of the third generation of our French-Canadian ancestors, Nicolas Roy (1661-1727) and Madeleine LeBlond (1665-1722) is provided in Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 5).

 

French-Canadian Man

French-Canadian Woman

 

 

Roy Family History in St Vallier, Bellechasse, Quebec

 

The home where Nicolas Roy lived (Saint-Vallier, Quebec) continued to house future generations of the Roy family to this day. Photos of the home were taken recently by one of the Roy family and are shown below. Photos of the St Vallier village and surrounding area are available online (St Vallier Images on Google Search). A brief history of St Vallier is also available online, in French (Histoire de Saint-Michel et de Saint-Vallier). In 2013, St Vallier celebrated its 300^th anniversary (1713-2013).

Montmorency Falls (near Roy Ancestral Home)

Our Roy family lineage follows from the eldest son of Nicolas Roy, Etienne Roy (1690-1749) who was the first male Roy born in Canada. He began a long line of Roys in Canada: Pierre (1725-1764), Francois (1763-1829), Féréol (1802-1883), Isidore (1835-1904), Gaudias (1863-1921), Alcide (1891-1939) and my father, Emile Roy (1914-1992).

 

Roy Ancestral Family Home - front

Roy Ancestral Family Home- Back

Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 5)

Nicolas (Le)Roy Family Tree

Nicolas Roy (1661-1727) and Madeleine LeBlond (1665-1722)

Nicolas Roy was born on March 24, 1661 at St. Remy, Diocese of Rouen, Dieppe, Normandy, France. He was the second of 10 children of Nicolas LeRoy (1639-1690) and Jeanne Lelièvre (1640-1728).. Nicolas was just a baby when he came to Canada with his parents and grandmother. 

Map of Dieppe, Normandy, France

The 1667 census of Montmorency (reproduced below), Quebec lists the seven Roy family members. At that time, Nicolas was only 6 years old. In 1670, when Nicolas was 9 years old, a younger sister and brother (Anne and Jean) died in a house fire. His father passed away in 1690 at the age of 50 but his mother outlived him, passing away in 1728 at the age of 88 years.

Montmorency, Quebec Census 1667

Nicolas Roy married Marie-Madeleine Leblond on November 18, 1686 at St Famille, Ile d'Orleans in Quebec, Canada (Note: The hand-written church marriage registration is available online in French). Madeleine was born on December 17, 1665, in Quebec City, Quebec to Marguerite Leclerc (1640-1705) and Nicolas Leblond (1637-1677). At that time, her father was 28 and her mother was 25. She was the second oldest of 10 children, 3 girls and 7 boys. She died on February 4, 1722, in St Vallier, Quebec, at the age of 56, and was buried there (her profile is shown below). They had been married for 35 years.

Nicolas and Madeleine had 10 children, five boys and five girls, in 20 years. The Quebec PRDH genealogy record of their family and the related family tree (see below) show that two of their children died as infants. With the birth of their son Etienne (Stephen), the family name "LeRoy" was shortened to Roy, at the turn of the 18th century.

The above profile of Nicolas indicates that, after the death of his wife in 1722, he married a second time to Marie-Renée Rivière on April 18, 1723, in Quebec City, Quebec. Nicolas was 62 years old and his new wife was 25 years old with a daughter from another relationship. He died less than four years later on February 4, 1727, in St. Vallier, Quebec, at the age of 65, and was buried there. The legacy of Nicolas Roy and his family is reviewed in the next story of this series.

Roy Ancestry – France to Canada (Part 4)

Nicolas LeRoy Family Tree

 

Nicolas LeRoy (1639-1690) and Jeanne Lelièvre (1640-1728)

 

Nicolas LeRoy was baptised on May 25, 1639 in Dieppe, Rouen, Normandy, France. The records show that he was baptized at St. Remy as the son of Anne LeMaitre, age 21, and Louis LeRoy, age 28 (refer to the Roy Ancestry – France to Canada, Part 2). His godparents were Jacques Baudoin and Françoise Preaux.

Jeanne Lelièvre married Nicolas LeRoy in February 1658 when she was 18 years old. She was born in 1640 in Honfleur, Basse-Normandie, France. The records indicate that she was the illegitimate daughter of Guillaume Lelievre, age 24.

The first child of Nicolas and Jeanne was born about 9 months after they were married. Louis (named after his grandfather), was baptised on November 26, 1658 in St. Rémy de Dieppe. Their second child, Nicolas (named after his father), was baptized on March 3,1661 in the same church. As shown in the following table prepared by researchers at Quebec’s PRDH, they had 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, in the 20 years from 1658 to 1678. Their first two children were born in France and the others were all born in Canada (New France). Their third son, Noel, was the first child born in Canada.

A New Beginning

The following observations are based on several sources, including Nicolas Leroi et Jeanne Lelièvre - une histoire à suivre by Jacqueline Sylvestre and Nicolas Le Roy et ses Descendants by Joseph-Edmond Roy.

On June 17, 1661, Nicolas signed a contract promising to repay the sum of 50 livres (which was the cost of his passage) to Jean Gloria eight days after his arrival in New France. The contract describes him as being a bourgeois of Dieppe. In those days, the term bourgeois meant a person who had some means but was not of the clergy or of the nobility. It was usually applied to a professional or tradesman. As the following graphic shows, Nicolas signed his name with an assured hand on this contract and others later on in his life which suggests that he had received some schooling.

The research indicates that Nicolas LeRoy emigrated to New France in May 1662 along with his recently widowed mother (Anne LeMaitre), his wife and their two children (Louis and Nicolas). Their sailing ship, The Garden of Holland, arrived in Quebec City. It was the custom for new arrivals to serve a contract of 36 months in the new land. This contract obliged the patron to provide an agreed upon wage, food and clothing. There are no records to indicate  what kind of work Nicolas LeRoy did during this period.

Jeanne’s father, Guillaume Lelièvre, had preceded them to New France. The records show that he signed a marriage contract before the Notary Adouart on August 28, 1660 to wed Marguerite Milliet, widow of Pierre Briscoté. Unfortunately, she drowned two days later while travelling from Beauport to Quebec City. There are no indications that he ever re-married but he lived on his land at Île d'Orléans and maintained close ties with his soon to arrive family.

On November 10, 1663, Jeanne Lelièvre was ordered to appear before the sovereign council due to a complaint sworn in by Anne Chevalier. Jeanne was represented by her father. The reason for the requested appearance was not given and no other paperwork ensued. In those days, even small matters, such as quarrels between neighbours, were addressed by the sovereign council.

On June 8th 1664, Nicolas received a land grant in the seigneury of Beaupré. The contract was signed before Notary Pierre Duquet with the seigneuress Guillemette Hébert Couillard. The LeRoy’s family obligations are as follows:

• they must pay the sum of “12 deniers & 20 sols” for each measure of land (arpent) and 3 live poultry, payable on the day of the winter feast of St. Martin (November 11).
• they must maintain each side of their property and a 6 foot wide and 15 foot road along the St. Lawrence River.
• they must mill their grain at the seigneuress' mill.
• the fields are commonly held but they must mow them on their property.
• they must raise fences, otherwise they are responsible for damage to their property.
• they must pay their tithe to the priest.

In the 1666 census, Nicolas LeRoy is described as a gamekeeper with 4 cattle and 7 “arpents” under cultivation. His children are listed as Louis 7, Nicolas 5, Noël 3, and Marie-Jeanne, 16 months. Another member of the household was listed as Jean Brière, aged 24. He was described as a hired domestic and baker. Because the 1666 census had many errors, it was redone in 1667. By then, the household had a new baby, Guillaume, aged 2 months. When the census takers arrived at Guillaume Lelièvre’s house on île D'Orléans several months later, they find him with his grandson, Noël, and Jean Brière who probably came for a visit. 

On July 6, 1670, tragedy struck when a fire in the LeRoy home claimed the lives of 2-year-old Anne and 1-year-old Jean. The family was devastated!

In 1677, the family moved to the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. An undated draft document was found in the notes of Notary Romain Becquet covering the period from July 27 to August 28, 1677. The document indicates that Nicolas LeRoy (having lived for 1 year on said property) and the seigneur Olivier Morel de la Durantaye agreed to have Nicolas exploit the seigneur’s property in exchange for rent. The lease was to begin in April and have a duration of 4 years. This lease was renewed by Morel’s daughter in a document signed before Notary Rageot on February 16, 1686.The area was first known as the La Durantaye seigneury. When a church was built, it took the name of St. Michel de La Durantaye. Eventually the territory was split in two; the western part keeping the name of St. Michel and the eastern part taking on that of St. Vallier de Bellechasse.

St. Vallier Church, Quebec

St. Vallier de Bellechasse, Quebec

According to the records, Nicolas LeRoy died on April 27, 1690 at the age of 50 years, at La Durantaye, Bellechasse, Quebec. He was buried at the St. Vallier Cemetery. About five years after Nicolas died, his wife Jeanne Lelièvre married François Molinet on February 8, 1695 in St-Étienne de Beaumont. She died on January 11, 1728 at St. Vallier, Quebec, having lived a long life of 88 years, and was buried there. 

It is noteworthy that descendants of the Roy families continue to this day at the homestead established by Nicolas and Jeanne at La Durantaye, Bellechasse, Quebec.

Roy Family Ancestry