Suzanne et Marthe Prévost sont photographiées ici près du mémorial irrigé sur les terres de Martin Prévost è Beauport, près de Québec

Le mariage entre Martin Prévost et Marie Olivier Manitouaba8ich est le premier mariage enregistré au Canada entre un blanc et une autochtone.

+son père adoptif fut l'interprète Olivier LeTardif

.

+ Marie reçut une dot de 500 francs de son parrain Pierre de Puyseaux. C'est lui qui en 1641 avait hébergé le Sieur de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance ainsi que Madame de la Peltrie en attendant qu'ils remontent le Saint-Laurent pour fonder Monréal en 1642. -------------------- .

Marriage: November 3rd, 1644 in Québec City.

This is the first recorded marriage between a White man and an Indian

maiden.

Martin is the son of Pierre Prévost and Charlotte Vié. He was from Montreuilsous-

Bois, arrondissement of Bobigny, Bishopry of Paris (Seine-St-Denis), a

northeastern suburb of Paris, France.

He was baptized on January 4th, 1611 in the magnificient church St.Peter and

St.Paul of Montreuil-sous-Bois and he died in Beauport, Québec on January

27th, 1691 at the respectful age of 90 years old.

Marie Manitouabewich was an Indian of the Algonquin tribe (according to

Father Hierosme Lalemant in a document dated May 10, 1661). Daughter of

Roch Manitouabewich and Outchibabanoukoueou, she was the god-daughter of

Olivier LeTardif who did took her under his protection to have her be

instructed in the French manner by the Ursuline Nuns. Unfortunately we have

not been able to find her baptism act.

She died on September 10th, 1665 in Québec City and was buried in the Côte

de la Montagne cemetery, in downtown Québec

The Marriage Act of Martin Prévost and Marie Olivier Manitouabewich was

written this way. Here is the translation of this Act :

Year 1644. The 3rd day of the month of November, the bans

having been published on the 3 following days - the first of which

was the 23rd day of October, the second being the 28th day, and

the third on the 30th day of the same month of October, and

having uncovered no legitimate encombrances, The Rev. R.P.

Barthelemy Vimont, Superior of the Mission of the Company of

Jesus (Jesuit) in this country of La Nouvelle France and holding

the office of Pastor of this Church of the Conception of Virgin

Mary at Quebec, and having interrogate Martin Prevost, son of

Pierre Prevost and of Charlotte Vien, his deceased wife, of the

Parish of Montreuil, Sur-le-Bois-de- Vincennes, France, and Marie

Olivier, daughter of Roch Manithabehich (Indian) and having their

mutual verbal consent presently given, did solemnly marry and

gave them the Nuptial Benediction in this Church of the

Conception at Quebec in the presence of known witnesses, Olivier

LeTardif and Guillaume Couillard of this parish.

(No signature)

Eight children were born to this couple :

1.- Marie-Madeleine : born on December 21st, she was baptized in Québec on

December 28th, 1647. She died and was buried also in Québec on February

5th, 1648 at the age of 46 days.

2.- Ursule : born on December 13th, 1649, she was baptized in Quebec the day

after. She died on New Year's day, 1661 and buried January 2nd at 11 years

old.

3.- Louis : born about 1651. He married Françoise Gagnon, daughter of

Mathurin and Françoise Godeau, on February 21st, 1672 in Château-Richer.

Then Marguerite Carreau dit Lafraîcheur, daughter of Louis and Jeanne

LeRouge on February 17th, 1681 in Château-Richer.

9 children were born out of these two marriages: 5 from the first and 4 of the

second one.

Louis drowned on May 12th 1686 near Beauport where the St.Lawrence River

becomes a wide basin between Beauport and Quebec. His body was found a few

days later and was buried on May 27th in Quebec. He was only 35.

4.- Marie-Madeleine : born in Québec on January 7th, 1655, she was baptized

on January 13th and died in March or April of 1662 at the age of 7.

5.- Antoine : born in Québec on October 15 and baptized on October 23rd,

1657. He was buried at the same place on March 16th, 1662. He was 4 years

old.

6.- Jean : born in Québec on January 31st, 1660 he was baptized on February

14th. He married Françoise Cadieux, daughter of Charles and Madeleine

Michelle Macard in Québec on May 4th, 1690. He died in Québec in 1694 at

the age of 33.

This couple had one daughter, Marie-Madeleine. She married Mathieu MORIN,

in Beauport, on February 8, 1717.

7.- Jean-Baptiste : born in Québec on May 16th, 1662, he was baptized on

June 24th.

He married Marie-Anne Giroux, daughter of Toussaint and Marie Godard on

August 18th, 1683: They had 14 children.

Widowed, Jean-Baptiste married Geneviève Sédillot, daughter of Jean and

Marie-Claire DelaHogue, on February 3rd, 1712 in Ste-Foy: 11 children were

born out of this second marriage.

He died in St.Augustin on May 12th, 1737 at 75.

8.- Thérèse: born and baptized in Québec on June 3rd, 1665.

She married Michel Giroux, son of Toussaint and Marie Godard, on August

18th, 1683 in Beauport. They had 12 children.

Once widowed, Martin Prévost married Marie d'Abancourt, widow of Geoffroy

Once widowed, Martin Prévost married Marie d'Abancourt, widow of Geoffroy

Guillot and of Jean Jolliet, on November 8th, 1665 in Québec. She was the

mother of the famous discoverer of the Mississippi River, Louis Jolliet.

Martin Prévost had a very interresting life and we strongly suggest to read the

biography that Robert Prévost wrote about him: it is in French and is titled

Témoin de nos commencements. Robert makes us aware of the way our first

ancestors lived through one of our ancestors who was already here in New

France, in 1639. See boutique

We estimate the arrival of Martin in Québec in 1639 at the same time as

Marie de l'Incarnation, founder of the Ursuline Nuns in Canada.

Martin Prévost worked for the Company of the One Hundred Associates

(Compagnie des cent associés) as storekeeper clerk which at that time was the

equivalent of a warehouse manager today. So, we can figure out that maybe he

was the one who was in charge of preparing all the merchandises needed for

the Maisonneuve expedition in the founding of the City of Montréal, in 1642.

In 1994, to commemorate the 350th wedding anniversary of Martin and Marie

Manitouabe8ich, the Association des Prévost-Provost d'Amérique erected a

monument in the parc Martin-Prévost located in the Beauport borough of

Québec City. This park is situated at the corner of De Tunis and De la

Renardière Streets, on the exact site of the land owned by Martin from 1645

until his death in 1691 (See Le Prévostal, Vol. 3 No. 4)

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