Ancetres

 titre blason

Origin
Languedoc
Departure for a New Life
First Appearance
Settling in Grondines
Life in New France
ORIGIN

Jean Joubin was born in 1661 in Saint-Benoit de Carmaux, in the district of Albi, in the diocese of Lavaur, in Languedoc, in the south of France. He was the son of Benigne Joubin and Jeanne Rivos.

 LANGUEDOC

Languedoc was an economically profitable area, producing wheat, barley, wine and olives. Providing access from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean via the Bay of Biscay, it was part of a traditional trade route, exporting wine and wool, and importing spices, pepper, perfume, porcelain and weapons.

In the 15th century, a provincial parliament was established in the principal city, Toulouse.

 DEPARTURE FOR A NEW LIFE

The time of Jean Joubin's arrival in the New World is not known. His name appears on a list of colonists prepared in 1690; he was the only Joubin in New France, so he was probably the only one in his family to travel to the colony.

 FIRST APPEARANCE

The first record of Jean Joubin in New France is of his marriage, at the age of 33, to Françoise-Élisabeth Renaud, on May 2nd, 1694, in the parish of Grondines.

She was the daughter of Pierre-André Renaud dit (known as) Locat, from St-Martin de-Carcares, in the district and diocese of Béziers, in Languedoc. He had come to the colony with the Regiment of Carignan in 1665. The Carignan regiment, with a complement of more than 1000 men, had been sent by King Louis XIV to reinforce the local militia in their efforts to protect the colonists from the constant threat of Iroquois invasion.

Françoise-Élisabeth's mother had come to New France from Paris as a "Fille du Roi" (daughter of the King) in 1669; she brought to her marriage a dowry estimated at 200 pounds as well as a gift from the king of 50 pounds. In 1681, when their oldest child, Pierre, was eight years old, the family settled at Grondines.

 SETTLING IN GRONDINES



The seigneurie of Grondines is located on the north shore of the St.Lawrence river, upriver from Quebec City, between the seigneuries of Deschambault and de la Pérade. Its forests are rich in oak, evergreen, and maple trees. The river banks are low, making approach by boat easy; the harbour of Grondines is sheltered from the wind.

The seigneurie was granted to the Religious Hospitallers of the Hôtel Dieu; it was originally called Saint-Charles-des-Roches, but the inhabitants renamed it "Grondines" (from the verb "gronder", meaning to rumble or roar).

The signifiance of this name was explained by Gédéon de Catalogne in 1712, in a report he prepared about seigneuries.

    The name comes from the many heaps of rocks facing the shore; whenever it is windy, the water pounds on them, making a great deal of noise, and it becomes very dangerous for canoes and boats.

In 1671, the first concession was given to Timothée Josson; thirty more colonists settled that year. Among them were François Couillard, Hilaire Frapier, Pierre Tousignant, Antoine Leduc, Gilles Masson and Louis Hamelin. In 1674, the settlers asked the Religious Hospitallers to build them a mill. Master carpenter Pierre Mercereau of Quebec was hired to build it; when it was completed on September 13th, 1675, Gilles Masson was hired to run the mill and maintain the building which served as the seigneurial residence. Masson apparently neglected his duties, and he was fired on November 2nd, 1680. The property was a source of problems for the nuns, with little financial gain.

On March 20th, 1683, they sold the seigneurie to Jacques Aubert and his wife Antoinette Meunier, for 3,000 pounds. Four years previously, on August 7th, 1679, the oldest Aubert daughter, Antoinette, then aged thirteen, had married Louis Hamelin. Jacques Aubert had promised his future son-in-law a dowry of 500 Tours pounds, of which 200 was to be paid on St.Michael's day (September 29th), with the balance in cash or beavers during the two following years. On November 27th, 1685, Louis Hamelin's brother François married Antoinette's sister, Marie-Madeleine, with the same dowry arrangement.

On March 27th, 1693, Jean Joubin was granted a concession in Saint-Charles-des-Roches of Grondines. No copy of this transaction has been found, but the inventory of his important papers made after his death confirms its existence. A copy was in the files of notary Charles Lesieur, but few of his files have survived. We can assume the contract is similar to that of Jean Trotier, who had the neighbouring concession.

Concession of a homestead four arpents wide by forty deep, situated in the Seigneurie of Grondines, by Jacques Aubert, seigneur of the aforementioned district, to Jean Trotier, son of Jean of Batiscan.

In 1694, Jacques Aubert decided to return to France, so on October 28th he sold his son-in-law Louis Hamelin half of the seigneurie, for 2,500 pounds and some arrears. He gave the other half of the seigneurie to his wife, and left the colony with at least 5000 pounds. Antoinette Meunier died in 1697, leaving 800 pounds to her husband, and dividing her half of the seigneurie between her three daughters (Antoinette, Marie-Madeleine and Marie-Anne).

In 1702, Jacques Aubert returned to the colony, and tried to regain title to the seigneurie. He made a request to the Intendant, Raudot, who returned to him one-quarter of the seigneurie, the first pew in the parish church, and the title of seigneur. On June 19th, 1710, he died in Grondines at the age of eighty. The seigneurie was then shared by François and Louis Hamelin.

 LIFE IN NEW FRANCE

Jean Joubin married Françoise-Elisabeth Renaud in May, 1694, and in June their daughter Françoise-Isabelle was born, but did not survive. On January 29th, 1696, a son arrived; they called him Jean-Baptiste. When another son, François, was born on May 10th, 1698, his godfather was seigneur François Hamelin, co-seigneur of Grondines, indicating that there were close ties between the two families.

Apart from the baptismal records of their children, there are few notarial documents to give us details of the life of Jean Joubin dit Boisvert. On June 11th, 1700, notary Michel Roy de Chatellerault recorded the sale by Jean Joubin of a two-arpent lot in the seigneurie of Saint-Charles-des-Roches to Jean Trotier. In a 1709 document prepared by Gédéon de Catalogne it is recorded that Jean Joubin dit Boisvert occupied land between that of Jean Trotier and Antoine Lécuillé. The 1700 document confirmed that his land was separate from that of Trotier.

Around 1702, another son was born, and baptized Joseph Jobin dit Boisvert. On July 8th, 1704, Alexis Joubin dit Boisvert was born, followed by three girls, Marie-Françoise on February 22nd, 1707, Marie-Josette on January 31st, 1710; and Françoise, on May 8th, 1713. The last son, Charles, was born on May 23rd, 1716.

On April 12th, 1728, when Jean Joubin was sixty-seven, he and his wife Françoise appeared before notary François Trotain to make a living will in favour of their son Jean-Baptiste:
    Jean Joubin and his wife give and transfer to their oldest son Jean-Baptiste, living with them, a homestead two arpents wide by 40 deep, detached from another portion 4 arpents wide. The land fronts on the St. Lawrence river, and on either side are the homestead of the widow of Jean Trotier, and the detached portion of their land.

    This gift is made on condition that Jean-Baptiste look after his parents in their home, providing their upkeep, clothing and food. This gift is made in recognition of the good and loyal service their son has provided and continues to provide to his parents. He must also look after and feed his four brothers and sisters who have not yet reached the age of maturity.

On September 8th, 1729, Marie-Françoise died, at the age of twenty-one. Joseph died on April 14th, 1734, aged thirty-two. He had married Marie-Josephte Lecuyer in 1729; this marriage became a source of confusion to later generations of Boisverts, who assumed that they were descendants of Jean Joubin, because of an involuntary error on the part of Monseigneur Cyprien Tanguay in the preparation of his dictionary of Quebec families. The confusion resulted in descendants of Joseph Boisvert and Angélique Picher/Dupré presuming they were members of the Jean Joubin family, when they were actually descendants of Etienne DeNevers. There were in fact two Joseph Boisverts, rather than one who had married twice, as Mgr. Tanguay had assumed.

On August 31st, 1734, Jean-Baptiste died, a few years after his (second) marriage to Marguerite Chevalier. With Jean-Baptiste gone, Jean Joubin and his wife now had no-one to look after them. On June 2nd of the following year, when Jean was seventy-four, the Joubins made a second gift, this time to their son Alexis. Here is an extract from the act:
    ...being of advanced age which did not permit them to work and earn their living, and their assets not being sufficient to feed them and supply the necessities to maintain them in sickness and in health, and for this service having given half of their possessions to their deceased son Jean . . . but the spouses Joubin and François Renaud having more need than ever of special assistance: Given their actions, being deprived of everything because of the death of the aforementioned son Jean, of monies they were responsible for, and have decided . . . wishing as well to acknowledge the special care their son Alexis has taken of them...

They entrusted themselves to the care of Alexis and his wife Charlotte Hamelin in return for two of the four arpents they still owned, and for half of all the buildings thereon, and half of their livestock, furniture and household articles. Alexis and Charlotte were to take care of them in their home, and feed and care for them there, and, for the repose of their souls, have ten low requiem Masses said for each of them. This contract was prepared by notary Arnould-Baltazar Pollet, and signed in the Joubin home.

The document was filed and registered by the "Prévost" of Quebec, on June 10th, 1735, and signed by the registrar of the lieutenant general of the "Prévosté".

Two years later, Jean Joubin passed away and was buried at Grondines. On April 14th, 1738, at the request of Françoise Renaud, his widow and tutor of their son Charles, who was then about twenty-two years old, an inventory and description was made of all their furniture, utensils, clothing, linens, livestock, coin and notes, letters, deeds, papers, information and all other effects of Jean Joubin.

Through this inventory we may learn something of the life of the Joubin family. On April 14th the first inventory showed:
    IN THE KITCHEN

      - one pine table
      - 6 new straw chairs
      - 8 worn-out chairs
      - one bench
      - one pine bin with cover
      - one faulty mixing spoon
      - one small kettle
      - one wooden shovel
      - 2 small tubs
      - one small old barrel
      - several green pitchers
      - one cracked bean pot
      - one tin funnel and one tin cup
      - one tin lantern
      - one large clay plate
      - one pair of flatirons
      - one tin strainer
      - 15 pewter forks
      - 16 pewter spoons
      - one pewter cup and one pewter goblet
      - one frying pan
      - one grill
      - one tin chandelier
      - one pine salt shaker
      - 18 pewter plates
      - one pewter salt shaker

On April 15th they inventoried: