NINTH GENERATION

384. Nicolas BÉLANGER was born around 1633 in St-Thomas de Touques, Diocese of Lisieux, Normandy, Department of Calvados, France. He and Marie DERAINVILLE signed a marriage contract on 12 Nov 1659 in front the Notary Paul Vachon. He married Marie DE RAINVILLE on 11 Jan 1660 in Notre-Dame de Québec, Canada. He was also known as Nicolas BELLANGER. He died on 19 October and was buried 20 Oct 1682in the cemetery of Notre-Dame de Beauport.(1) (2)(3) (4)(9)(20)   Click for Photo

Please refer to a note about Nicolas Bélanger. Tanguay (1) and Gérard (2) list Nicolas as being born around 1633 and the son of François Bélanger and Marie Guyon. According to Drouin (3) and PRDH (4), he is not the son of François Bélanger and Marie Guyon. Nicolas and François were probably cousins from the same parish of St-Thomas de Touques. This has not been verified. (NAL)

Additional information - renseignements en outre

New Bélanger Website - Nicolas Bélanger
Notes from Jim Bélanger                                              First Canadian Ancestors - Bélanger
Historical notes on François                                         L'Association des familles Bélanger, Inc.
L'ancienne maison de Nicolas dit Catherine - La Maison Girardin
     
Renseignements en outre                                               Chez les Bélanger
Nicolas Bélanger - Index des patronymes - en français
François et Nicolas BÉLANGER, ancêtres des Bélanger d'Amérique

 

385. Marie DE RAINVILLE was born around 1640 St-Thomas De Touques, Ev. Lisieux, Normandie (Ar. Lisieux, Calvados). Marie died on 6 November and was buried on 7 November 1711 in Beauport. Sister to Marthe DE RAINVILLE.(4)

    Children were:

child192 ix. Paul BÉLANGER was born 24 Mar & baptized 25 Mar 1674 in the parish of Notre-Dame de Beauport. He married Jeanne MAHEU on 7 Apr 1704 in the parish of Notre-Dame de Beauport. He died on April 30 and was buried 1 May 1717 in the cemetery of Notre-Dame de Beauport. (1)(4)(10)(11)(12) 

	child96 iii. Jean-Baptiste BÉLANGER was baptized 24 Jun 1709 in Beauport. 
	He married Marie Angélique VÉSINAS/VÉZINA 10 Nov 1732 
	in L'Ange-Gardien, Montmorency. 
	They had eleven children. 		      			
	Ancestor of Norm Léveillée, this author. (1)(2)(3)(18)(19)

childviii. Nicolas BÉLANGER was born 12 Jan and baptized 17 Jan 1672. He married Marie MAGNAN/MIGNIER on 2 Nov 1699 in Charlesbourg. He died 12 Apr 1742 in Beauport. Nicolas and Marie had thirteen children.(1)(4)(5)(6)(7)(15)(16) 

	Jacques BÉLANGER was born on 3 Aug 1721 in Charlesbourg, Québec. 
	He married Marie Jeanne PROTEAU on 1 Sep 1749 in Charlesbourg, Québec. 
	They had nine children.
	Ancestor of Blessed Dina Bélanger. (13)(14)

i. Jean BÉLANGER was born 31 Dec 1660 and baptized 1 Jan 1661 in Québec. He was buried 22 Jan 1661 in Québec. (1) (4)

ii. Marthe Marie BÉLANGER was born 23 Nov and baptized 27 Nov 1661 in Québec. She married Étienne SOUHÉ 7 Apr 1682 in Beauport. She was buried 17 Mar 1741 in Château-Richer. (1) (4)

iii. Pierre Bertrand BÉLANGER was born 13 Sep and baptized 16 Sep 1663 in Québec. His first marriage was to Marie GUIGNARD 23 Feb 1694 in Beauport; second marriage to Marie CHEVAUDIER 13 Aug 1703 in Beauport. He died 18 Apr and was buried 19 Apr 1736 in Beauport. (1) (4)

iv. Marie Suzanne BÉLANGER was born & baptized 1 Mar 1665 in Québec. She married Jean GIROUX 12 Feb 1686 in Beauport. She died 27 Feb and was buried 28 Feb 1707 in Beauport. (1) (4)

v. Martin BÉLANGER was born 24 Nov and baptized 29 Nov 1666 in Québec. (1) (4)

vi. Marie Madeleine BÉLANGER was born 19 Oct and baptized 21 Oct 1668 in Québec. Her first marriage was to Ignace CHORET 26 Nov 1685 in Beauport. Her second marriage was to Jacques PARANT 9 Nov 1705 in Beauport. She died 7 Jan 1719 in Beauport.(1) (4)

vii. Pierre BÉLANGER was born 12 Mar and baptized 16 Mar 1670 in Québec. He married Marguerite DELAUNAY 8 Feb 1700 in Beauport. She died 1 Mar and was buried 2 Mar 1703 in Beauport. Pierre then married Marie Catherine GROSLEAU after 1703. Marie died before 1729. (1)(4)(8)

Pierre and Marie-Catherine's son Joseph BÉLANGER married Angélique SUREAU, widow of Jacques PÉRINEAU on 5 March 1720 in Montréal.
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x. Thérèse Marie BÉLANGER was born 1676 in Québec. She married Jean PRÉMONT/PRIMONT 28 Jun 1709 in Beauport. She died 12 Jun 1710 at Hôtel-Dieu de Québec.(1)(4)

xi. Marie Josephe BÉLANGER was born befoe 1678. She married Joseph PARANT/PARENT 12 Feb 1696 in Beauport. She died 15 Nov 1750 in Beauport. (1) (4)

xii. Marie-Françoise BÉLANGER was baptized 13 Oct 1680 in Beauport. She married Jean PARANT/PARENT 12 Feb 1696 in Beauport. She died 21 Jun 1746 in Beauport. (1) (4)

Notes:

      Nicolas reportedly originates from Saint Thomas of Touques in Calvados. From his reported age for the census of 1666, 1667 and 1681 he must have been born between 1632 and 1637 and, in his childhood, became accomplished in the salt trade. He is found in New France around 1658 employed by the merchant François Perron. He graduated from the salt trade, in which he worked in Europe, and became a fisherman and farmer.
     The exact date of Nicolas' arrival in New France is not known. His name appears in the records of the Seigneurie of Beauport on 15 Oct. 1655 as owner of a piece of land consisting of one arpent and 61 rods. It is here, in the actual research of genealogists, that the first mention is found of our ancestor on an official document of the colony. The second mention was found on a paper dated 28 Sept. 1658 before the notary Guiillaume Audouart where Nicolas made a claim against Michel Desorcys.
     On November 12, 1659, we find Nicolas Bellanger and his future wife, Marie de Rainville, before Paul Vachon, Royal notary in the Seigneurie and Jurisdiction of Beauport and Prevoste of Notre Dame des Anges, to draw up their marriage contract in the presence of witnesses, relatives and friends, which was the custom of the time. This contract reveals that the intended couple were natives of the Parish of St. Thomas de Touques, in Normandy. It states that Nicolas was master of his trade and that the parents of his fiancée were Paul de Rainville and Rolline Poette. The parents of Nicolas are not mentioned and the spelling of his family name is Bellanger, which corresponds to the most widespread pronunciation of the times.
     Nicolas and Marie were married on Sunday Jan 11, 1660 in the presence of father Paul Ragueneaux of the Company of Jésus in the chapel of the high manor. This is where religious services were performed by visiting priests performing parish functions since Beauport was not yet a parish. The contract of marriage, which was written in the records of the mother parish (Notre Dame de Québec), also does not mention the names of the parents of Nicolas. This is yet another omission which continually keeps us from linking Nicolas to his parents. Nicolas and Marie settled in Beauport and raised their 12 children.
     In the marriage contract, Nicolas is said to be a master salt maker. During that time, in New France, that title designated a dealer in salt. In the deliberations of Feb 9, 1664 of the Sovereign Council, one named Desorcys acknowledged that "Bellanger has hauled and furnished sawdust" thus he was remembered from Oct 20, 1659. This paragraph seems to indicate that Nicolas was engaged in the commerce of fish and that he was hauling sawdust in connection with that occupation. Five years later, Nov 8, 1664, Nicolas Bellanger, Pierre Lefebvre and Léonard Leblanc were summoned before the Sovereign Council in a matter of right to fish. The defendants were ordered to pay to the clerk of the court the value of their fishing farms on the coast of Lauzon. The reason for this fine is unknown. From the preceding we conclude with certainty that Nicolas was a commercial fisherman and fish merchant. This seems only natural because of the similarity between being a salt merchant and a fisherman and these would have been complimentary businesses at this time.
     At the time of the census of 1667 Nicolas (at 29) owned 2 cattle and 12 arpents of land in value. Fourteen years later, at the census of 1681, Nicolas owned one gun, 10 cattle and his farm at Beauport was 41 arpents in value; (it was worth this much in cultivated and pasture land). You should remember that the value of uncleared land was "worthless". This increase of 30 arpents in area signified an average of 2 arpents per year which represented an enormous accomplishment considering the means at their disposal in the 17th century. It seems Nicolas may have turned to farming around 1670 in order to provide for his family in a dependable fashion.
     It appears that Nicolas may have owned, for a few years, a farm designated "number 16" in the land survey register number 46 of the parish of St. Pierre de L'Isle d'Orleans. In a contract of grant from Charles de Lauzon of Charny to Antoine Poulet presented before Paul Vachon, notary, on November 4, 1662 Nicolas Bellanger was mentioned as neighbor. In the census of 1666 he is still neighbor to Poulet but in 1667 this farm was owned by Laurent Benoist.
     The year 1667 also marked the end of the English occupation of Acadia, which they had taken a few years earlier.
     The little white house with the slender roof, located at 600 Avenue Royale in Beauport, was built by or for Nicolas Bellanger on land granted to him by the Lord Joseph Giffard Jan 24, 1673 before the notary Paul Vachon. (Nicolas was then 35 and had 7 living children) The original house of 22 by 20 feet was built of stone on a stone foundation. This dwelling was passed on to Pierre, a son of Nicolas, around 1700. Pierre lived there during some 20 years and then sold it to a family named Marcou. It was the last resident, Mr. Girardin, who left his name on the house before it became the property of the Sisters of the Congregation. The last owner was Mr. Michel Dufresne who was successful in saving this historic site from being demolished.

The church in Beauport - 1676:
     Nicolas is one of the censitaires who renounced their rights to some 6 acres of their land so it could be used to build a future church. This renunciation in favor of the "church elders of Beauport" (Fabrique de Beauport) (more than likely a building committee of some kind) was recorded in a notarized document presented before Paul Vachon June 14, 1676. In gratitude, the deacons promised to have said, in perpetuity, an annual mass on the day after the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary for the intention of these generous and devout parishioners. This expression of recognition has long been forgotten.
     Nicolas died on Oct 19, 1682 at the age of 50. His oldest son, Bertrand Pierre, was 19 and his youngest daughter had just turned 1. One son had died very young (just days old), another had died before 1681 and one daughter, Marthe, was married. This left 9 children still living at home.
     Nicolas Bellanger was buried the 20th day of October 1682 in the cemetery at Beauport. He was 50 years of age and had died the day before. Assisting at the burial were René Rémy, Paul Vachon (Royal notary at Beauport) and Jean de Rainville (brother-in-law of the deceased) who signed, except Jean de Rainville, the record. René Rémy, Paul Vachon and Ch. A. Martin, priest, signed with initials.

Marie Rainville:
     On April 29, 1710, Marie requested the services of notary Jean Robert Duprac, to assist her in renting her land in the village of St-Michel de Beauport, to laborer Charles Paradis. The lease was made for five years and five harvests beginning the following May 1. This land consisted of a barn, some workable land, meadows, pastures, woods of full grown trees and outbuildings. Charles agreed to provide his landlady with 26 minots of wheat, two minots of peas and ten of oats, on March 15, each year. He also had to maintain the fences and to cut the wood.
     Marie died on November 6, 1711, with her funeral the next day at Beauport. She was about 66 years old.
     The distribution of the Bélanger property among the heirs was made three years later. Notary Duprac gathered the entire family on October 24, 1714 and announced that each party was entitled to jointly own that which came to him from a piece of land with two arpents situated in the village of St-Michel de Beauport, bordering Nicolas Bélanger on one side, and Jean Paradis on the other. Each of the heirs received a border of two perches in frontage. The shares had been drawn by lots by young Nicolas Bélanger, ten years old, undoubtedly the son of Nicolas and of Marie Magnan. (22)

Relationship Charts - Léveillée & Paré Ancestry

     Index BÉLANGER     Index DE RAINVILLE     Table of Contents   

(1) Cyprien Tanguay, DGFC Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes Vol 1, p. 38
(2)Frère Éloi-Gérard, B.A., B.P., mariste, Receuil de Généalogies des comptés de Beauce, Dorchester, Frontenac, 1625-1946, Collège du Sacré-Coeur, Beauceville, P.Q. p. 164
(3) Claude Drouin, DNCF Dictionnaire national des canadiens français 1608-1760, Vol 1, p. 82.
(4) PRDH - Programme de recherches en démographie historique, Un. de Montréal, Certificat de famille No. 275.
(5) Ibid., Certificat de mariage No. 81354.
(6) Ibid., Certificat de famille No. 8450.
(7) Ibid., Certificat de famille No. 14228.
(8) Ibid., Certificat de famille No. 8498.
(9) Renseignements en outre.
(10) PRDH, Certificat de baptême No. 75907.
(11) Ibid., Certificat de mariage No. 77370.
(12) Ibid., Certificat de sépulture No. 77936.
(13) Ibid., Certificat d'union No. 27332.
(14) Ibid., Certificat de mariage No. 174213.
(15) Ibid., Certificat de baptême No. 58673.
(16) Ibid., Certificat de sépulture No. 171224
(17) Ibid., Certificat de Contrat de mariage No. 94176.
(18) Ibid., Certificat de mariage No. 76581
(19) Ibid., Certificat de famille No. 18282.
(20) Bélanger website: www.belangers.us
(21) Source: Website: http://www.geocities.com/lefrog_2000/Nicolas.htm
(22)Source: "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest, Volume XXII, pages 29-30.

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