Gagnier (Gagne) History Web Site
by Rev. John F. Gagnier
Section
Two: Settlement in
After
reading this section,
click on the blue link at the bottom of the page to go to
Section Three: Ancestral Documents and Signatures
THE FAMILY ROOTS IN
Most of the Gagne & Gagnier, etc. families in
are descended from one of the two brothers, Pierre and Louis Gasnier.
They were born in
THE FIRST EMIGRANTS - 1644
Louis Gasnier, the younger brother, emigrated
first.
He was born in 1612 at
He was married to Marie Michel at Saint-Martin-du-vieux-Belleme on June 11, 1638.
They had a daughter, Louise, who came to
Their remaining seven children were born in
This child probably died in infancy since they named another son Louis, born in
HISTORY OF THE GASNIER BROTHERS, THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN
Louis Gasnier, the younger of the two brothers
arrived in Quebec in 1644
with his wife, Marie Michel and their infant daughter, Louise.
The other children were born in
There are no official records of the death and burial of Louis Gasnier.
However, there is much circumstantial evidence about the manner of his death.
On July 14, 1661, there was, "by verbal order of Monsieur the
Governor" an official
"inventory of the property and possessions remaining after the decease of
the late Louis Gasnier."
The inventory was witnessed by the notary Auber, and was signed with an
"X" by the "said widow," Marie Michel.
She would have been 41 years old and the mother of 8 living children at that
time.
A translation of this inventory can be found later in this text.
It is said that Louis was among eight persons captured and killed by the
Mohawks at
Auriesville today is the site of the Shrine of the
North American Martyrs northwest of
A neighbor, Louis Guimont, was killed at Auriesville according to a letter dated June 8, 1661 in the Jesuit Relations, a multivolume history of the missionaries of that era.
A similar postmortem inventory was done on the goods of Louis Guimont on the same date as that of Louis Gasnier, July 14, 1661, leading one to believe that the circumstances of their deaths were similar.
Marie Michel Gasnier was born in 1620, the
daughter of Pierre Michel and Louise Gory.
After the apparent death of her husband Louis Gasnier,
she remarried in September, 1666 to Paul DeRainville.
They had no children. She died on November 12, 1687.
Nine Children of Louis Gasnier and Marie Michel Gasnier:
1. Louis, baptized
at Notre Dame de Vair, France September
8, 1639.
fate unknown, perhaps died in infancy since another child born later was
also named Louis.
2. Louise, born at Ige, France January 21,
1642.
As an infant, she came to New France (
As a widow she passed her property to her children on October 16, 1706.
She died April 21, 1721 and was buried at Baie-St-Paul.
3. Marie, born at Quebec September 20, 1644.
She was the first Gagne born in the
married January 26, 1659 to Andre Berthelot
married July 30, 1690 to Jacques Abelin
died at St. Anne de Beaupre November 19, 1717
4. Pierre, born at Quebec March 27, 1647.
married October 28, 1668 to Louise Faure
5. Olivier, born at Cap Tourmente May 7, 1649.
married November 8, 1679 to Isabelle Pepin
6. Louis, born at Quebec July 7, 1651.
married Marie Gagnon
died at Chateau-Richer June 24, 1698
7. Anne, born at Quebec October 27, 1653.
married September 11, 1670 to Francois Lacroix
8. Ignace, born at Quebec March 12, 1656.
Records show that an emergency Baptism was performed
on that date at the Gasnier home by a Jesuit, Father Ragueneau.
married November 5, 1680 to Barbe Dodier
married November 6, 1689 to Louise Tremblay
9. Joachim, born in 1660.
married at
died at
The older of the two brothers, Pierre Gasnier, was
born at
He married in 1639 to Marguerite Rosee.
In 1653, they emigrated to
Marguerite was pregnant with their child, Marguerite.
Six Children of Pierre Gasnier and Marguerite Rosee Gasnier:
1. Jacques, born March 3, 1640 at St. Cosme-de-Vair, France,
died in
2. Jean, twin of Jacques, died November 14, 1648.
3. Louis, born at St. Cosme-de-Vair, France January 28, 1643.
confirmed at
married at St. Anne de Beaupre October 4, 1673 to Louise Picard
Louis, third son of Pierre, obtained a title of Signeur
as Lord of the Fresnaye and with it a new name,
Bellavance.
He chose to give his property at Cap-Saint-Ignace the
name La Fresnaye
after a manor located near his former village in
He is the ancestor of the Bellavance line.
4. Pierre, born at St. Cosme de Vair February 24, 1645
married November 19, 1670 to Catherine Daubigeon
He was the first Captain of La Prairie.
Robert Gagne, genealogist of the Gagne-Bellavance Family Association has
written a book in French:
Instrument de recherche concernant
Pierre Ganier, fils de
Pierre Gasnier et Marguerite Rosee
($25 Canadian)
5. Nicholas, born at Courcival, France January 29,
1651
died unmarried and was buried at Montreal September 8, 1687
6. Marguerite, born at Quebec September 14, 1653
married January 10, 1667 to Martial Sauton
married September 4, 1673 to Pierre Lefebvre
THE FIRST FARM, 1646
On October 27, 1646 Louis and Marie leased a farm on the Saint Lawrence
River at Cap Tourmente
near the town of
The owner was the "Company of
Its local representative was Olivier LeTardif,
who on March 27, 1647 served as godfather for Louis and Marie's son, Pierre.
THE ANCESTRAL LAND, 1650 AND THE FIRST HOUSE, 1653
Later, on October 20, 1650 the Company of Beaupre granted him a
concession
for lot number 96 on the coast of the
He was required to build a house on the property not later than the following
year.
The text of his deed to this land is given later in this presentation.
There is a house on this property built on the original foundations built
by Louis in 1653.
The current address of the house is 432 Cote Ste. Anne in the town of
The original house measured 24 by 22 feet including walls two feet thick.
M. Aime Gagne of
Pionniers de la Nouvelle-France venus
de Perche ($40 Canadian)
This book contains more details on Louis Gasnier and
a plan of the original house.
The present owners of this house enjoy dramatic views of the countryside.
The house sits on a cliff overlooking the
From the back porch of this house, facing south, you can see the Isle of
To the left, facing east, the river continues to the
To the right, facing west, is the rear of the great Basilica of
The left
photograph below shows the house now standing on the original land belonging to
Louis & Marie Gagnier.
The right photograph shows the Basilica as seen in the valley below
from a point 0.7 miles to the west of the house.
1653 Gagnier House -- & Basilica 0.7 miles to west
The property remained in the Gagnier family for over
two centuries and is now owned by Laureat Goulet.
The
arrow shows the house as seen from the town below.
Painting
of the Ancestral Gagnier House
Artist
Gabriele Gagne Boisvert of Sherbrooke,
Quebec
Below: view from back porch of the house facing south
toward the River.
Below: view from the front of the house facing the
road,
Father Gagnier poses in front of the
Gagnier House.
Section Three: Ancestral Documents & Signatures
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Gagnier
(Gagne) History Web Site
by Rev. John F. Gagnier
Last
modified on Wednesday February 8, 2012