Historical records matching Guillaume Couture
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About Guillaume Couture
- Sources:
- Drouin Institute (Archived marraige record - see attached in Media tab)
- Drouin Institute (Archived marraige record - see attached in Media tab)
Notes
- Location info: Normandie, France (birth), Seigneurie de Lauzon (marriage), Hôtel-Dieu-de-Québec (death)
- Pionnier de la Nouvelle-France. Arrive au Québec en 1641.
- Donné jésuite et missionnaire.
- Il a occupé plusieurs métiers et fonctions : menuisier, interprète, capitaine de milice, juge sénéchal et notaire. Il a également été un célèbre coureur des bois.
- Contrat de mariage entre Guillaume Couture et Anne Aymard le 18 nov 1649 par notaire Audouart.
Biography
Guillaume Couture (or Cousture) (January 14, 1617/8 – April 4, 1701) was a citizen of New France. During his life he was a lay missonary with the Jesuits, a survivor of torture, a member of a Mohawk council, a translator, a diplomat, a militia captain, and a lay leader among the colonists of the Pointe-Levy (actually named (Lévis) City) in the Seigneury of Lauzon. A district of New France located on the South Side of Quebec City.
Couture was born in Rouen in 1618, Rouen was the political center Normandy, a province in Northern France, the son of Guillaume Couture Sr. and Madeleine Mallet (at this time in France married women kept their birth names). Guillaume Sr. was a respectable carpenter in the St Godard district, young Guillaume was brought up to follow in his father's footsteps. However, by 1640 Guillaume Couture was recruited by Jesuits to be a donne in New France. A donne was a lay missionary who would assist the Jesuits in converting the natives of New France to Roman Catholicism. Couture had to take a vow of celibacy and give up his inheritance, transferring it to his relatives in Rouen
In 1642, Couture set out with Father Jogues, another lay missionary, Rene Goupil, and several Huron converts for Quebec. On their way back to the Huron missions, a Mohawk war party ambushed the group. Right before the attack, Couture saw the Hurons, who realized what was about to happen, take off into the woods; Couture followed them as Jogues and Goupil were captured. However, according to Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France (the official reports sent by the Jesuits to their leaders in France) reported that Couture soon began to regret what he did. The Relations reported that:
This young man was able to escape; but the thought of it having come to him -"no" he says, "I wish to die with the Father; I cannot forsake him; I will gladly suffer the fire and the rage of these tigers for the love of Jesus Christ, in the company of the good Father" That is speaking like a truly faithful man.
On his way to surrender himself to the Mohawks, Couture was ambushed by five Mohawks. One of them fired a gun at Couture, but he missed. Couture shot back, this time killing him instantly. The other four Mohawks, fell upon Couture and with heavy clubs beat him up. They also took a javelin and forced it through one of his hands. Later on, Couture, Jogues, and Goupil were subjected to even more torture. The Mohawks tore out Couture's fingernails, and bit the ends to cause maximum pain. Then the three men were stripped and forced to walk through a party of two hundred Mohawks; as they did, the Mohawks beat the three with sticks of thorns. After arriving at a Mohawk village, a Mohawk leader took out a dull knife and began to cut off Couture's right middle finger. When it failed to work, the chief simply pulled the finger out of its socket. At this point, Couture was sent deep into Mohawk Country (present day upstate New York in Auriesville) where he was given to a family to be their slave.
For the next three years, Couture impressed his captors greatly. No doubt they were impressed with the fact that he withstood his torture (which would had killed most people) and performed the tasks assigned to him with dignity. So impressed were the Mohawks that they invited Couture to sit on their councils. No other European would ever get this honor.
In 1645, de Montmagny, the governor of New France, decided it was time to end the war with the Mohawks. He released several Mohawk prisoners and sent them into Mohawk Country to negotiate a peace settlement. The Mohawks in turn released Couture, and asked him to act on their behalf, which Couture agreed to do. Couture arrived at Trois-Rivières and, along with two Mohawk leaders, was able to put an end (for the time) the war between the Five Nations (better known as the Iroquois) and the French.
Instead of settling down after such an ordeal, Couture decided to go straight back to Huron Country. In 1646 he was reported as working in the Huron missions with Father Pijart. He only did this for only two years between 1645 and 1647.
On May 15, 1647, he became the first settler of the Seignory of Lauzon at Pointe-Levy (located in front of Quebec City) which will become the city of Lévis in 1861. However, he was not a seignor because the Seignory of Lauzon was the property of Jean de Lauzon (Governor of New France between 1651 and 1657.). In 1649, he had decided to finally settle down. The Jesuit leaders in New France voted unanimously to release Couture from his vows and to allow him to get married. The woman who Couture chose to be his bride was Anne Aymard, who was from St Andre de Niort, in Poitou region of France. The couple would have ten children during their years of marriage.
During the 1650s and 1660s, Couture acted as a diplomat, going to New Netherlands to negotiate trade and to settle boundary disputes between the two colonies.
In 1663, Couture was recruited by French Governor Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour for a mission in the North of New France. The main mission was to find the North Sea. However, Couture found the Mistassini Lake and he goes to the Rupert River. He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet et Jean Langlois and many Amerindians. This shipment consisted of 44 boats. No doubt Couture's skills with native languages came into good use. The party worked among the Papinachois, who lived in present day northeastern Quebec.
Sometime around 1666, with war with the Iroquois and the English looming, Couture, now living full time in Pointe-Lévy (Lévis) since 1647. Couture was the main administrator and had been named Captain of the Militia for the area he lived in. This was a major honor in New France, only going to those who had proved themselves, something Couture had done again and again. In 1690, when Admiral William Phips invaded Quebec City Area, Couture was able to prevent the English from attacking Pointe-Levy at the age of 72 yrs old.
By this point, Couture was also the Chief Magistrate of the Pointe-Levy (actually named Lévis) district. Among his jobs were to run the censuses, enforce government edicts, and run the local assemblies that met from time to time. Couture was also in charge of local court cases, being both judge and jury. On some occasions, Couture was invited to sit on the Sovereign Council, which ran New France for Louis XIV. The fact that the status-obsessed French government offered Couture, who was low born, a part time seat on the council shows how highly the leaders of New France viewed him.
Guillaume married Anne Emard(or Aymard) on November 16, 1649 in Quebec City, Canada. Together they had the following children:
* Guillaume (11 Oct 1662-15 Dec 1738)
* Jean Baptiste (6 Nov 1650-22 Aug 1698)
* Anne (22 Jan 1652-26 Nov 1684)
* Louis (29 Aug 1654-?)
* Marguerite (29 Feb 1656-28 Mar 1690)
* Marie (18 Jun 1658-22 Jul 1702)
* Charles (29 Nov 1659-9 Sep 1709)
* Louise (19 Mar 1665-22 Dec 1751)
* Eustache Francois (24 Mar 1667-16 May 1733)
* Joseph Auger (27 Jul 1670-6 May 1733
On November 18, 1700, Couture's wife Anne died. In the Springtime of 1701, Couture was 83 yrs old and sick (probably smallpox). He was moved to the Hotel Dieu of Quebec City, where he died on April 4, 1701. The location of his graveis actually unknown.
ID: I022121 Il immigre en Nouvelle-France vers 1640, a titre de maitre menuisier (cabinet maker/carpenter), domestique des Jesuites de la missions des Hurons; Around 1642, traveling with Father Isaac Jogues, they leave Three Rivers. They are attaqued by the Irogquois and taken prisonners. Guillaume is mutilated, his fingers are cut and his fingernails are pulled out; but he is left alive. Eventually, Guillaume is sent as ambassador for the Iroquois whose language he learned. After three years of captivity, they sent him to Three-Rivers where he served as interpretor and ambassador for the Amerindians until 1646. At this time, he seeks and obtain his freedom. On November 16, 1649, he marries Anne Aymard. He has a "concession" (grant) at Lauzon. During the census of 1667, he has 20 arpents and six horned-animals. He is also the capitain of the militia of the Lauzon Cote, and in 1690, he halts Phipps troops. Afterward, he was named 'juge general' including contestations, inventories, and applying seals, fulfilling the role of"coroners" of today. Gilliaume and Anne left a numerous posterity including: Couture Couture and Couture-Lamonde, and Couture-Bellerive.
General Notes:http://www.delmars.com/family/perrault/1609.htm
IMMIGRATION: before 1640, donné of the Jesuits OCCUPATION: Carpenter
GUILLAUME COUTURE From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest
Guillaume Couture was born in 1617 in the Parish of Saint Godard in Rouen, the capital of Normandy. His late father, also named Guillaume, taught his son to be a carpenter like himself. His mother was Madeleine Mallet and he had a sister Marie. Sometime before 1640 Guillaume left home and hearth and emigrated to Canada.
In 1640 Master Carpenter Couture found his vocation as a "donné," or lay missionary, on the staff of the Jesuit Fathers for the Huron missions in New France. However, he was obliged to renounce his worldly possessions. So while at Québec on 26 June, 1641, before the Notary Martial Piraube, he made an irrevocable gift to his family back in France of "that two-thirds of his father's inheritance left to him, in the parish ot Haye Aubray in Normandy."
From this time on, the good Guillaume labored among the Hurons. Father Joques, on his return to Québec in 1642 after six years among the Indians, mentioned Couture as one of his traveling companions. We may appreciate some of the difficulties inherent in such traveling when we think of the impenetrable forests, the fragile canoes, the numberless portages, the voracious mosquitoes, not to mention the ever-menacing Iroquois. Up until this time however, Guillaume had not met any Iroquois. Before long his luck would run out.
After 15 days in Québec, a little band of 40 men went up river to Trois-Rivières for a few days, outfitting for the return trip to the missions. They set out on the first day of August, 1642. After traveling 30 miles, paddling up river against the current, they made camp near Lake Saint-Pierre. The second day out they were attacked by an Iroquois hunting party and straight away the Hurons in the party took off.
"Another Frenchman named Guillaume Couture, seeing the Hurons run away, escaped with them and since he was swift, he was soon beyond capture by the enemy: but remorse seized him for having forsaken his Father (Jogues) and his comrade (Surgeon René Goupil, now a canonized Saint). He stopped short, deliberating with himself whether he should go on or go back. He about-faced to return and immediately was confronted by five Iroquois. One of them, a Mohawk Chief, aimed at him with his arquebus. The gun misfired, but the Frenchman in his turn did not miss the Indian - he shot him stone dead on the spot. The other 4 Indians fell on him with the rage of demons. Having stripped him bare as your hand, they bruised him with heavy blows of their clubs. Then they tore out his fingernails with their teeth - crushing the bleeding ends in order to cause him more pain. Then they pierced one of his hands with a javelin and led him, tied and bound in this sad plight to the place where we were."
The trip into Iroquois territory took 13 days, a true "Way of the Cross." As for himself, Guillaume "suffered almost insupportable torment: hunger, stifling heat, the pain of our wounds, which for not being dressed, became putrid even to breeding worms. Then we encountered a party of 200 Iroquois braves returning from a hunt. They were gleeful on seeing us, they formed two facing lines of 100 on a side, armed themselves with sticks of thorns and made us pass all naked between them down a road of fury and anguish where they let go upon us with numerous strong blows."
After arriving at their village and being subjected to repeated indignities, "one of these barbarians, having noted that Guillaume Couture, whose hands were torn apart, had not yet lost any of his fingers, seized one of his hands and tried to cut off an index finger with a dull knife, and as he could not succeed therein, he twisted it and in tearing at it, he pulled sinew out of the arm, to the length of a span."
Finally the prisoners were allowed to live and their tortures stopped because the Mohawks believed that they could be useful in trade for making peace. Father Jogues and René Goupil were kept in a small distant camp but the Indians sent Guillaume to a larger village. Here this courageous young man was adopted by an old squaw who had lost her brave in battle. Thus he was protected and treated as a member of the tribe. One can sum up this period of disruption in the life of Guillaume Couture thusly: "Vigorous, active, indefatigable, able to stand the worst misery, yet always content, habituated in all the arts dear to the savages, excellent shot, swift runner, capable of traveling the woods or paddling a canoe, this Norman, intrepid as are all Normans, was not slow to emulate the spirit of his new companions. He conformed to their ways, learned their language so much and so well that they ended up by admitting him into the councils of the nation. While his friends deplored their lot, Couture was enthroned in dignity in the midst of the Indian Sachems."
In the spring of 1645, after three years of captivity, Couture saw the arrival of an Indian who had been captured but sent back by the French Governor de Montmagny. This Iroquois brought a message that Ononthio was desirous of negotiating a peace. Two Mohawk delegates were sent back with Guillaume Couture to Trois-Rivières to parlay. As for his homecoming, "As soon as he was recognized everyone threw their arms around him, looking on him as a man resurrected from the dead . . ."
Guillaume, now a free man, returned with the emissaries in order to make a peace treaty acceptable to the Mohawk tribe. Returning in the spring of 1646 he was celebrated everywhere as the artisan of peace. However, he would not be content until he had revisited the Huron missions and so he went back to them with Father Pijart.
Evidently the good Guillaume had learned the Indian dialects during his trips and his captivity. He was a precise interpreter, a faithful companion to the missionaries, and a powerful ambassador of the young colony accredited to the American Indians. In 1646, the Jesuit Father Buteux put on a festival in honor of Couture at Trois-Rivières, and gave him the Indian name of Achirra, to their great delight.
The government of that time was forever calling on the services of Couture: in 1657, in 1661, in 1663 and in 1666 they sent him to Albany, New Netherlands. In 1665 Guillaume accompanied Father Henri Nouvel to the territory of the Papinachois, along the north coast. Then on another expedition with some missionaries he was shipwrecked not far from a point of land nearby Rimouski, called the Pointe-au-Père.
FATHER OF A PEOPLE Guillaume Couture asked to be relieved of his vows as a lay missionary and subsequently, on April 26, 1646, the Journel of the Jesuits mentioned that the Council of the Order announced that it had unanimously approved of Guillaume's marriage. It was on November 28, 1649 that he married Anne Esmard (Aymard). She was baptized on October 22, 1627, in Saint André de Niort, Poitou. She was the daughter of the late Jean and Marie Bineau. Anne had two sisters in Canada: Barbe, wife of Gilles Michel dit Taillon, and after him, of Oliver Letardif; and Madeleine, wife of Zacharie Cloutier. The wedding of Guillaume and Anne took place in the house of Couture, at Pointe Lévy, in the presence of Father Jean LeSeur, Chaplain of the Hospitalliers of Québec. The couple engendered ten children: 6 boys and 4 girls.
THE RESPECTED CITIZEN On May 15, 1647, Guillaume Couture was granted a concession, 5 arpents of river frontage by 40 arpents deep. He cleared and settled this land at Pointe Lévy, and it became the ancestral home. His first neighbor was François Bissot; their property was separated by a brook. The Jesuits had some land nearby to the east on which was built a modest shelter called the "Cabin of the Fathers." The first Mass was probably celebrated there on April 12, 1648 by Father Pierre Bailloquet. Then in 1667, they built a beautiful church on the land of Bissot, where the first priest in residence was the Abbot Philippe Boucher. It was known as Saint Joseph up until 1690. The second neighbor of Guillaume, about 1651, was Charles Cadieu dit Courville, the fellow who operated an eel fishery.
Guillaume also had a lot on which he built a house of 24 feet frontage by 40 feet deep, in the Rue Sous-le-Fort in the lower town of Québec City, on the Place Royale.
The census of 1667 tells us that he had 20 arpents under cultivation and 6 animals. During his long absences his tenant farmer Guillaume Durand looked after things for him.
As it was necessary to rally to the defense of the colony when called upon to do so, about 1666 our Guillaume was named a Captain of Militia on the Lauzon coast, a very important responsibility at that time. In 1681 he had four field cannon in his force and it was reported that in 1690, at the age of 73, the Captain and his men opposed the advance of Phipps and his troops along the Lauzon coast. This Captain of Militia, because he could also read and write, was required to carry out the orders and proclamations of the Governor, command the troops, preside over census enumerations and convene citizen assemblies.
Moreover, Guillaume was Chief Magistrate of the same territory up until his death. We know that Our Ancestors were quite capable of committing misdemeanors and it was the duty of the Magistrate to reconcile problems and differences before they went up to the Sovereign Council. The Magistrate became, in most of the litigations, judge, prosecutor, jury and arbiter. He even performed the duty of what today would be called the coroner.
TO THEIR GLORY It was the mother who was the first to go. Anne Esmard (Aymard) was buried at Lévis on November 18, 1700. Then the patriarch Couture entered the hospital of Québec on March 31, 1701, where he died the following 4th of April. The Notary Lepailleur took an inventory of his belongings on November 14th that same year.
Let us not forget that Guillaume Couture, in spite of all the service he rendered to the colony of New France, did not ask for nor did he receive any title of nobility or special privilege. He had only that given by the King of France to all those who had 10 or more children - a family allowance of 300 livres annually, and even that ended in 1681. During his lifetime Guillaume thought only of others; the indigenous, the French, his children. He had but on goal: Peace and Charity.
In 1947 a great celebration marked the 300th anniversary of Guillaume Couture at Pointe Lévy. On this occasion the Biography of Heroes, by Joseph-Edmond Roy was republished.
In addition to the surnames of Bellerive and Lamond, the family names of Crevier, De la Cressonniere and Lafrensnaie were adopted by some descendants of Our Ancestor.
From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest [SOURCE: Couture Family Page http://www.angelfire.com/az/JMSHomepage/COUTURE.html]
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In 1647, Couture established himself in Pointe-Lévy in the seigneurie of Lauzon. He thus becomes the first settler of Lévis, where his statue stands today on Saint-Joseph Street.
Couture was the owner of a lot situated in the lower part of Québec City from 1658 to 1668. Impossible to say if he actually ever lived there, but we know he started building a house on it in 1667 and sold it in 1668. It is situated on 53, Sous-le-Fort street (lot 2285).
In 1666, Couture was sent to New Holland by the governor to protest against the murder of two French officers. He arrived in the Iroquois village and ordered that they surrendered the murderers, otherwise France would organize an expedition against them. On September 6th, he was back in Québec with the two Mohawk assassins. This expedition was to be his last.
Around 1666, he was named captain of the côte de Lauzon militia. The 1667 census informs us that he was cultivating 20 acres of land and owned 6 beasts. Couture was then named to the very prestigious office of "Juge-Sénéchal". It appears that he might also have served as local notary on occasions. Clearly a leader of the Lauzon community, he demanded in 1675 that a priest be assigned permanently to the seigneurie. Despite the prestige of his responsibilities and of his accomplishments, in the census of 1681 he simply declared himself "a carpenter".
In 1690, during the British siege of Québec, story goes that the militia captain (then about 73 years old Couture) and his men managed to keep the British troops from landing in Lauzon. On several occasions, he was invited to sit at the colony's Sovereign Council (Conseil souverain) when one of the regular members (the governor, the intendant or bishop) was unable to attend. The valiant Couture passed away on April 4th 1701. The final resting place of this great hero of New France remains a mystery.
Guillaume's statue can be seen in Lévis, on the south shore of the Sainte-Laurent, opposite Québec city. A Montréal school now bears the name of Guillaume Couture, it is situated on Albanie street, near Rosemont and Langelier boulevards.
SOURCE: http://www.republiquelibre.org/cousture/COUST2.HTM
picture
Guillaume married Anne Émard, daughter of Jean Émard and Marie Bineau, on 16 Nov 1649 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada.1 2 3 (Anne Émard was born on 22 Oct 1627 in St-André de Niort, Poitiers, Poitou, France 3, baptized on 22 Oct 1627 in St-André de Niort, Poitiers, Poitou, France,2 died on 17 Jan 1700 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada 3 5 and was buried on 18 Jan 1700 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada 3 4 5.)
bullet Marriage Events:
• Marriage Contract, 18 Nov 1649, Québec City, Québec, Québec, Canada. 2
bullet Marriage Notes:
Guillaume and Anne had 220 descendants as of 31 Dec 1729. 6 picture Sources
1 Institut Drouin, Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760 (AFGS 1968), page 320.
2 Gagné, Peter J., Before the King's Daughters: The Filles à Marier, 1634-1662 (Pawtucket, RI: Quintin Publications, 2002), page 131.
3 PRDH (University of Montréal - Online).
according to Wiki: Guillaume Couture (or Cousture) (January 14, 1617/8 – April 4, 1701) was a citizen of New France. During his life he was a lay missonary with the Jesuits, a survivor of torture, a member of a Mohawk council, a translator, a diplomat, a militia captain, and a lay leader among the colonists of the Pointe-Levy (actually named (Lévis) City) in the Seigneury of Lauzon. A district of New France located on the South Side of Quebec City. Contents [hide]
* 1 Early life and recruitment by the Jesuits
o 1.1 Work with Isaac Jogues
o 1.2 Tortured by the Mohawks
* 2 Diplomacy and release
* 3 First settler of Pointe-Levy in the Seignory of Lauzon (actually named City of Lévis since 1861)
* 4 Last Mission and Last Expedition in New France
* 5 The administrator and Captain of the Militia of Pointe-Levy
* 6 Marriage and children
* 7 Couture died in 1701
* 8 References
[edit] Early life and recruitment by the Jesuits
Couture was born in Rouen in 1618, Rouen was the political center Normandy, a province in Northern France, the son of Guillaume Couture Sr. and Madeleine Mallet (at this time in France married women kept their birth names). Guillaume Sr. was a respectable carpenter in the St Godard district, young Guillaume was brought up to follow in his father's footsteps. However, by 1640 Guillaume Couture was recruited by Jesuits to be a donne in New France. A donne was a lay missionary who would assist the Jesuits in converting the natives of New France to Roman Catholicism. Couture had to take a vow of celibacy and give up his inheritance, transferring it to his relatives in Rouen. [edit] Work with Isaac Jogues
Arriving in New France in 1640, Couture went to work among the Hurons. By 1642 Couture was working with the Jesuit leader Isaac Jogues. During this period, Couture learned several major native languages, which increased his stature, for he could now work as a translator for the Jesuits. Couture also learned much about native culture and ways during this period. [edit] Tortured by the Mohawks
In 1642, Couture set out with Father Jogues, another lay missionary, Rene Goupil, and several Huron converts for Quebec. On their way back to the Huron missions, a Mohawk war party ambushed the group. Right before the attack, Couture saw the Hurons, who realized what was about to happen, take off into the woods; Couture followed them as Jogues and Goupil were captured. However, according to Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France (the official reports sent by the Jesuits to their leaders in France) reported that Couture soon began to regret what he did. The Relations reported that:
This young man was able to escape; but the thought of it having come to him -"no" he says, "I wish to die with the Father; I cannot forsake him; I will gladly suffer the fire and the rage of these tigers for the love of Jesus Christ, in the company of the good Father" That is speaking like a truly faithful man.
On his way to surrender himself to the Mohawks, Couture was ambushed by five Mohawks. One of them fired a gun at Couture, but he missed. Couture shot back, this time killing him instantly. The other four Mohawks, fell upon Couture and with heavy clubs beat him up. They also took a javelin and forced it through one of his hands. Later on, Couture, Jogues, and Goupil were subjected to even more torture. The Mohawks tore out Couture's fingernails, and bit the ends to cause maximum pain. Then the three men were stripped and forced to walk through a party of two hundred Mohawks; as they did, the Mohawks beat the three with sticks of thorns. After arriving at a Mohawk village, a Mohawk leader took out a dull knife and began to cut off Couture's right middle finger. When it failed to work, the chief simply pulled the finger out of its socket. At this point, Couture was sent deep into Mohawk Country (present day upstate New York in Auriesville) where he was given to a family to be their slave. [edit] Diplomacy and release
For the next three years, Couture impressed his captors greatly. No doubt they were impressed with the fact that he withstood his torture (which would had killed most people) and performed the tasks assigned to him with dignity. So impressed were the Mohawks that they invited Couture to sit on their councils. No other European would ever get this honor.
In 1645, de Montmagny, the governor of New France, decided it was time to end the war with the Mohawks. He released several Mohawk prisoners and sent them into Mohawk Country to negotiate a peace settlement. The Mohawks in turn released Couture, and asked him to act on their behalf, which Couture agreed to do. Couture arrived at Trois-Rivières and, along with two Mohawk leaders, was able to put an end (for the time) the war between the Five Nations (better known as the Iroquois) and the French.
Instead of settling down after such an ordeal, Couture decided to go straight back to Huron Country. In 1646 he was reported as working in the Huron missions with Father Pijart. He only did this for only two years between 1645 and 1647. [edit] First settler of Pointe-Levy in the Seignory of Lauzon (actually named City of Lévis since 1861)
On May 15, 1647, he became the first settler of the Seignory of Lauzon at Pointe-Levy (located in front of Quebec City) which will become the city of Lévis in 1861. However, he was not a seignor because the Seignory of Lauzon was the property of Jean de Lauzon (Governor of New France between 1651 and 1657.). In 1649, he had decided to finally settle down. The Jesuit leaders in New France voted unanimously to release Couture from his vows and to allow him to get married. The woman who Couture chose to be his bride was Anne Aymard, who was from St Andre de Niort, in Poitou region of France. The couple would have ten children during their years of marriage. [edit] Last Mission and Last Expedition in New France
During the 1650s and 1660s, Couture acted as a diplomat, going to New Netherlands to negotiate trade and to settle boundary disputes between the two colonies.
In 1663, Couture was recruited by French Governor Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour for a mission in the North of New France. The main mission was to find the North Sea. However, Couture found the Mistassini Lake and he goes to the Rupert River. He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet et Jean Langlois and many Amerindians. This shipment consisted of 44 boats. No doubt Couture's skills with native languages came into good use. The party worked among the Papinachois, who lived in present day northeastern Quebec. [edit] The administrator and Captain of the Militia of Pointe-Levy
Sometime around 1666, with war with the Iroquois and the English looming, Couture, now living full time in Pointe-Lévy (Lévis) since 1647. Couture was the main administrator and had been named Captain of the Militia for the area he lived in. This was a major honor in New France, only going to those who had proved themselves, something Couture had done again and again. In 1690, when Admiral William Phips invaded Quebec City Area, Couture was able to prevent the English from attacking Pointe-Levy at the age of 72 yrs old.
By this point, Couture was also the Chief Magistrate of the Pointe-Levy (actually named Lévis) district. Among his jobs were to run the censuses, enforce government edicts, and run the local assemblies that met from time to time. Couture was also in charge of local court cases, being both judge and jury. On some occasions, Couture was invited to sit on the Sovereign Council, which ran New France for Louis XIV. The fact that the status-obsessed French government offered Couture, who was low born, a part time seat on the council shows how highly the leaders of New France viewed him. [edit] Marriage and children
Guillaume married Anne Emard(or Aymard) on November 16, 1649 in Quebec City, Canada. Together they had the following children:
* Guillaume (11 Oct 1662-15 Dec 1738)
* Jean Baptiste (6 Nov 1650-22 Aug 1698)
* Anne (22 Jan 1652-26 Nov 1684)
* Louis (29 Aug 1654-?)
* Marguerite (29 Feb 1656-28 Mar 1690)
* Marie (18 Jun 1658-22 Jul 1702)
* Charles (29 Nov 1659-9 Sep 1709)
* Louise (19 Mar 1665-22 Dec 1751)
* Eustache Francois (24 Mar 1667-16 May 1733)
* Joseph Auger (27 Jul 1670-6 May 1733
[edit] Couture died in 1701
On November 18, 1700, Couture's wife Anne died. In the Springtime of 1701, Couture was 83 yrs old and sick (probably smallpox). He was moved to the Hotel Dieu of Quebec City, where he died on April 4, 1701. The location of his tomb is actually unknown, as is that of Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec City.
Guillaume Couture Born: 14 Jan 1618, St-Godard, Rouen, Normandie, France 3 4 Marriage: Anne Émard on 16 Nov 1649 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada 1 2 3 Died: 4 Apr 1701, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, Québec, Canada at age 83 3 5 Buried: 4 Apr 1701, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, Québec, Canada 3
IMMIGRATION: before 1640, donné of the Jesuits OCCUPATION: Carpenter
GUILLAUME COUTURE From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest
Guillaume Couture was born in 1617 in the Parish of Saint Godard in Rouen, the capital of Normandy. His late father, also named Guillaume, taught his son to be a carpenter like himself. His mother was Madeleine Mallet and he had a sister Marie. Sometime before 1640 Guillaume left home and hearth and emigrated to Canada.
In 1640 Master Carpenter Couture found his vocation as a "donné," or lay missionary, on the staff of the Jesuit Fathers for the Huron missions in New France. However, he was obliged to renounce his worldly possessions. So while at Québec on 26 June, 1641, before the Notary Martial Piraube, he made an irrevocable gift to his family back in France of "that two-thirds of his father's inheritance left to him, in the parish ot Haye Aubray in Normandy."
From this time on, the good Guillaume labored among the Hurons. Father Joques, on his return to Québec in 1642 after six years among the Indians, mentioned Couture as one of his traveling companions. We may appreciate some of the difficulties inherent in such traveling when we think of the impenetrable forests, the fragile canoes, the numberless portages, the voracious mosquitoes, not to mention the ever-menacing Iroquois. Up until this time however, Guillaume had not met any Iroquois. Before long his luck would run out.
After 15 days in Québec, a little band of 40 men went up river to Trois-Rivières for a few days, outfitting for the return trip to the missions. They set out on the first day of August, 1642. After traveling 30 miles, paddling up river against the current, they made camp near Lake Saint-Pierre. The second day out they were attacked by an Iroquois hunting party and straight away the Hurons in the party took off.
"Another Frenchman named Guillaume Couture, seeing the Hurons run away, escaped with them and since he was swift, he was soon beyond capture by the enemy: but remorse seized him for having forsaken his Father (Jogues) and his comrade (Surgeon René Goupil, now a canonized Saint). He stopped short, deliberating with himself whether he should go on or go back. He about-faced to return and immediately was confronted by five Iroquois. One of them, a Mohawk Chief, aimed at him with his arquebus. The gun misfired, but the Frenchman in his turn did not miss the Indian - he shot him stone dead on the spot. The other 4 Indians fell on him with the rage of demons. Having stripped him bare as your hand, they bruised him with heavy blows of their clubs. Then they tore out his fingernails with their teeth - crushing the bleeding ends in order to cause him more pain. Then they pierced one of his hands with a javelin and led him, tied and bound in this sad plight to the place where we were."
The trip into Iroquois territory took 13 days, a true "Way of the Cross." As for himself, Guillaume "suffered almost insupportable torment: hunger, stifling heat, the pain of our wounds, which for not being dressed, became putrid even to breeding worms. Then we encountered a party of 200 Iroquois braves returning from a hunt. They were gleeful on seeing us, they formed two facing lines of 100 on a side, armed themselves with sticks of thorns and made us pass all naked between them down a road of fury and anguish where they let go upon us with numerous strong blows."
After arriving at their village and being subjected to repeated indignities, "one of these barbarians, having noted that Guillaume Couture, whose hands were torn apart, had not yet lost any of his fingers, seized one of his hands and tried to cut off an index finger with a dull knife, and as he could not succeed therein, he twisted it and in tearing at it, he pulled sinew out of the arm, to the length of a span."
Finally the prisoners were allowed to live and their tortures stopped because the Mohawks believed that they could be useful in trade for making peace. Father Jogues and René Goupil were kept in a small distant camp but the Indians sent Guillaume to a larger village. Here this courageous young man was adopted by an old squaw who had lost her brave in battle. Thus he was protected and treated as a member of the tribe. One can sum up this period of disruption in the life of Guillaume Couture thusly: "Vigorous, active, indefatigable, able to stand the worst misery, yet always content, habituated in all the arts dear to the savages, excellent shot, swift runner, capable of traveling the woods or paddling a canoe, this Norman, intrepid as are all Normans, was not slow to emulate the spirit of his new companions. He conformed to their ways, learned their language so much and so well that they ended up by admitting him into the councils of the nation. While his friends deplored their lot, Couture was enthroned in dignity in the midst of the Indian Sachems."
In the spring of 1645, after three years of captivity, Couture saw the arrival of an Indian who had been captured but sent back by the French Governor de Montmagny. This Iroquois brought a message that Ononthio was desirous of negotiating a peace. Two Mohawk delegates were sent back with Guillaume Couture to Trois-Rivières to parlay. As for his homecoming, "As soon as he was recognized everyone threw their arms around him, looking on him as a man resurrected from the dead . . ."
Guillaume, now a free man, returned with the emissaries in order to make a peace treaty acceptable to the Mohawk tribe. Returning in the spring of 1646 he was celebrated everywhere as the artisan of peace. However, he would not be content until he had revisited the Huron missions and so he went back to them with Father Pijart.
Evidently the good Guillaume had learned the Indian dialects during his trips and his captivity. He was a precise interpreter, a faithful companion to the missionaries, and a powerful ambassador of the young colony accredited to the American Indians. In 1646, the Jesuit Father Buteux put on a festival in honor of Couture at Trois-Rivières, and gave him the Indian name of Achirra, to their great delight.
The government of that time was forever calling on the services of Couture: in 1657, in 1661, in 1663 and in 1666 they sent him to Albany, New Netherlands. In 1665 Guillaume accompanied Father Henri Nouvel to the territory of the Papinachois, along the north coast. Then on another expedition with some missionaries he was shipwrecked not far from a point of land nearby Rimouski, called the Pointe-au-Père.
FATHER OF A PEOPLE Guillaume Couture asked to be relieved of his vows as a lay missionary and subsequently, on April 26, 1646, the Journel of the Jesuits mentioned that the Council of the Order announced that it had unanimously approved of Guillaume's marriage. It was on November 28, 1649 that he married Anne Esmard (Aymard). She was baptized on October 22, 1627, in Saint André de Niort, Poitou. She was the daughter of the late Jean and Marie Bineau. Anne had two sisters in Canada: Barbe, wife of Gilles Michel dit Taillon, and after him, of Oliver Letardif; and Madeleine, wife of Zacharie Cloutier. The wedding of Guillaume and Anne took place in the house of Couture, at Pointe Lévy, in the presence of Father Jean LeSeur, Chaplain of the Hospitalliers of Québec. The couple engendered ten children: 6 boys and 4 girls.
THE RESPECTED CITIZEN On May 15, 1647, Guillaume Couture was granted a concession, 5 arpents of river frontage by 40 arpents deep. He cleared and settled this land at Pointe Lévy, and it became the ancestral home. His first neighbor was François Bissot; their property was separated by a brook. The Jesuits had some land nearby to the east on which was built a modest shelter called the "Cabin of the Fathers." The first Mass was probably celebrated there on April 12, 1648 by Father Pierre Bailloquet. Then in 1667, they built a beautiful church on the land of Bissot, where the first priest in residence was the Abbot Philippe Boucher. It was known as Saint Joseph up until 1690. The second neighbor of Guillaume, about 1651, was Charles Cadieu dit Courville, the fellow who operated an eel fishery.
Guillaume also had a lot on which he built a house of 24 feet frontage by 40 feet deep, in the Rue Sous-le-Fort in the lower town of Québec City, on the Place Royale.
The census of 1667 tells us that he had 20 arpents under cultivation and 6 animals. During his long absences his tenant farmer Guillaume Durand looked after things for him.
As it was necessary to rally to the defense of the colony when called upon to do so, about 1666 our Guillaume was named a Captain of Militia on the Lauzon coast, a very important responsibility at that time. In 1681 he had four field cannon in his force and it was reported that in 1690, at the age of 73, the Captain and his men opposed the advance of Phipps and his troops along the Lauzon coast. This Captain of Militia, because he could also read and write, was required to carry out the orders and proclamations of the Governor, command the troops, preside over census enumerations and convene citizen assemblies.
Moreover, Guillaume was Chief Magistrate of the same territory up until his death. We know that Our Ancestors were quite capable of committing misdemeanors and it was the duty of the Magistrate to reconcile problems and differences before they went up to the Sovereign Council. The Magistrate became, in most of the litigations, judge, prosecutor, jury and arbiter. He even performed the duty of what today would be called the coroner.
TO THEIR GLORY It was the mother who was the first to go. Anne Esmard (Aymard) was buried at Lévis on November 18, 1700. Then the patriarch Couture entered the hospital of Québec on March 31, 1701, where he died the following 4th of April. The Notary Lepailleur took an inventory of his belongings on November 14th that same year.
Let us not forget that Guillaume Couture, in spite of all the service he rendered to the colony of New France, did not ask for nor did he receive any title of nobility or special privilege. He had only that given by the King of France to all those who had 10 or more children - a family allowance of 300 livres annually, and even that ended in 1681. During his lifetime Guillaume thought only of others; the indigenous, the French, his children. He had but on goal: Peace and Charity.
In 1947 a great celebration marked the 300th anniversary of Guillaume Couture at Pointe Lévy. On this occasion the Biography of Heroes, by Joseph-Edmond Roy was republished.
In addition to the surnames of Bellerive and Lamond, the family names of Crevier, De la Cressonniere and Lafrensnaie were adopted by some descendants of Our Ancestor.
From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest [SOURCE: Couture Family Page http://www.angelfire.com/az/JMSHomepage/COUTURE.html]
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In 1647, Couture established himself in Pointe-Lévy in the seigneurie of Lauzon. He thus becomes the first settler of Lévis, where his statue stands today on Saint-Joseph Street.
Couture was the owner of a lot situated in the lower part of Québec City from 1658 to 1668. Impossible to say if he actually ever lived there, but we know he started building a house on it in 1667 and sold it in 1668. It is situated on 53, Sous-le-Fort street (lot 2285).
In 1666, Couture was sent to New Holland by the governor to protest against the murder of two French officers. He arrived in the Iroquois village and ordered that they surrendered the murderers, otherwise France would organize an expedition against them. On September 6th, he was back in Québec with the two Mohawk assassins. This expedition was to be his last.
Around 1666, he was named captain of the côte de Lauzon militia. The 1667 census informs us that he was cultivating 20 acres of land and owned 6 beasts. Couture was then named to the very prestigious office of "Juge-Sénéchal". It appears that he might also have served as local notary on occasions. Clearly a leader of the Lauzon community, he demanded in 1675 that a priest be assigned permanently to the seigneurie. Despite the prestige of his responsibilities and of his accomplishments, in the census of 1681 he simply declared himself "a carpenter".
In 1690, during the British siege of Québec, story goes that the militia captain (then about 73 years old Couture) and his men managed to keep the British troops from landing in Lauzon. On several occasions, he was invited to sit at the colony's Sovereign Council (Conseil souverain) when one of the regular members (the governor, the intendant or bishop) was unable to attend. The valiant Couture passed away on April 4th 1701. The final resting place of this great hero of New France remains a mystery.
Guillaume's statue can be seen in Lévis, on the south shore of the Sainte-Laurent, opposite Québec city. A Montréal school now bears the name of Guillaume Couture, it is situated on Albanie street, near Rosemont and Langelier boulevards.
Additional information(1):
Early life and recruitment by the Jesuits Couture was born in Rouen in 1618, Rouen was the political center Normandy, a province in Northern France, the son of Guillaume Couture sr and Madeleine Mallet (at this time in France married women kept their birth names). Guillaume Sr. was a respectable carpenter in the St Goddard district, young Guillaume was brought up to follow in his father's footsteps. However, by 1640 Guillaume Couture was recruited by Jesuits to be a donne in New France. A donne was a lay missionary who would assist the Jesuits in converting the natives of New France to Roman Catholicism. Couture had to take a vow of celibacy and give up his inheritance, transferring it to his relatives in Rouen.
Work with Isaac Jogues Arriving in New France in 1640, Couture went to work among the Hurons. By 1642 Couture was working with the Jesuit leader Isaac Jogues. During this period, Couture learned several major native languages, which increased his stature, for he could now work as a translator for the Jesuits. Couture also learned much about native culture and ways during this period.
Tortured by the Mohawks In 1642, Couture set out with Father Jogues, another lay missionary, Rene Goupil, and several Huron converts for Quebec. On their way back to the Huron missions, a Mohawk war party ambushed the group. Right before the attack, Couture saw the Hurons, who realized what was about to happen, take off into the woods; Couture followed them as Jogues and Goupil were captured. However, according to Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France (the official reports sent by the Jesuits to their leaders in France) reported that Couture soon began to regret what he did. The Relations reported that: This young man was able to escape; but the thought of it having come to him -"no" he says, "I wish to die with the Father; I cannot forsake him; I will gladly suffer the fire and the rage of these tigers for the love of Jesus Christ, in the company of the good Father" That is speaking like a truly faithful man. On his way to surrender himself to the Mohawks, Couture was ambushed by five Mohawks. One of them fired a gun at Couture, but he missed. Couture shot back, this time killing him instantly. The other four Mohawks, fell upon Couture and with heavy clubs beat him up. They also took a javelin and forced it through one of his hands. Later on, Couture, Jogues, and Goupil were subjected to even more torture. The Mohawks tore out Couture's fingernails, and bit the ends to cause maximum pain. Then the three men were stripped and forced to walk through a party of two hundred Mohawks; as they did, the Mohawks beat the three with sticks of thorns. After arriving at a Mohawk village, a Mohawk leader took out a dull knife and began to cut off Couture's right middle finger. When it failed to work, the chief simply pulled the finger out of its socket. At this point, Couture was sent deep into Mohawk Country (present day upstate New York in Auriesville) where he was given to a family to be their slave.
Diplomacy and release For the next three years, Couture impressed his captors greatly. No doubt they were impressed with the fact that he withstood his torture (which would had killed most people) and performed the tasks assigned to him with dignity. So impressed were the Mohawks that they invited Couture to sit on their councils. No other European would ever get this honor. In 1645, de Montmagny, the governor of New France, decided it was time to end the war with the Mohawks. He released several Mohawk prisoners and sent them into Mohawk Country to negotiate a peace settlement. The Mohawks in turn released Couture, and asked him to act on their behalf, which Couture agreed to do. Couture arrived at Trois-Rivières and, along with two Mohawk leaders, was able to put an end (for the time) the war between the Five Nations (better known as the Iroquois) and the French. Instead of settling down after such an ordeal, Couture decided to go straight back to Huron Country. In 1646 he was reported as working in the Huron missions with Father Pijart. He only did this for only two years between 1645 and 1647.
First settler of Pointe-Levy in the Seignory of Lauzon (actually named City of Lévis since 1861) On May 15, 1647, he became the first settler of the Seignory of Lauzon at Pointe-Levy (located in front of Quebec City) which will become the city of Lévis in 1861. However, he was not a seignor because the Seignory of Lauzon was the property of Jean de Lauzon (Governor of New France between 1651 and 1657.). In 1649, he had decided to finally settle down. The Jesuit leaders in New France voted unanimously to release Couture from his vows and to allow him to get married. The woman who Couture chose to be his bride was Anne Aymard, who was from St Andre de Niort, in Poitou region of France. The couple would have ten children during their years of marriage.
Last Mission and Last Expedition in New France During the 1650s and 1660s, Couture acted as a diplomat, going to New Netherlands to negotiate trade and to settle boundary disputes between the two colonies. In 1663, Couture was recruited by French Governor Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour for a mission in the North of New France. The main mission was to find the North Sea. However, Couture found the Mistassini Lake and he goes to the Rupert River. He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet et Jean Langlois and many Amerindians. This shipment consisted of 44 boats. No doubt Couture's skills with native languages came into good use. The party worked among the Papinachois, who lived in present day northeastern Quebec.
The administrator and Captain of the Militia of Pointe-Levy Sometime around 1666, with war with the Iroquois and the English looming, Couture, now living full time in Pointe-Lévy (Lévis) since 1647. Couture was the main administrator and he has been named Captain of the Militia for the area he lived in. This was a major honor in New France, only going to those who had proved themselves, something Couture had done again and again. In 1690, when Admiral William Phips invaded Quebec City Area, Couture was able to prevent the English from attacking Pointe-Levy at the age of 72 yrs old. By this point, Couture was also the Chief Magistrate of the Pointe-Levy (actually named Lévis) district. Among his jobs were to run the censuses, enforce government edicts, and run the local assemblies that met from time to time. Couture was also in charge of local court cases, being both judge and jury. On some occasions, Couture was invited to sit on the Sovereign Council, which ran New France for Louis XIV. The fact that the status-obsessed French government offered Couture, who was low born, a part time seat on the council shows how highly the leaders of New France viewed him.
Marriage and children Guillaume married Anne Emard(or Aymard) on November 16, 1649 in Quebec City, Canada. Together they had the following children: Guillaume (11 Oct 1662-15 Dec 1738) Jean Baptiste (6 Nov 1650-22 Aug 1698) Anne (22 Jan 1652-26 Nov 1684) Louis (29 Aug 1654-?) Marguerite (29 Feb 1656-28 Mar 1690) Marie (18 Jun 1658-22 Jul 1702) Charles (29 Nov 1659-9 Sep 1709) Louise (19 Mar 1665-22 Dec 1751) Eustache Francois (24 Mar 1667-16 May 1733) Joseph Auger (27 Jul 1670-6 May 1733
Couture died in 1701 On November 18, 1700, Couture's wife Anne died. In the Springtime of 1701, Couture was 83 yrs old and he was sick (probably the smallpox). He has been moved to the Hotel Dieu of Quebec City, where he died on April 4, 1701. The location of his tomb is actually unknown, as Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec City.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION(2):
Guillaume Couture arrived in Canada Jun 26, 1641 as a donne (see below for definition) of the Jesuits and soon set off to deliver supplies to the missionaries in Huronia. He returned the next year with Huron Chief Ahatsistari and Jesuits Isaac Jogues and Charles Raymbaut, who were ill. After remaining in New France only 15 days, Guillaume set out with Father Jogues and fellow donne Rene Goupil, to escort Ahatsistari safely back to his people. Their mission was not a success.
The party was attacked and captured by the Iroquois. Guillaume was tortured, his fingernails torn out, joints broken and one finger sawn off with a shell. He was brought to the Mohawk Villages, forced to watch the murder of Ahatsistari and suffer further torture. During his time among the Iroquois, Guillaume learned their language and customs and gained their respect and the name "Achirra".
In July 1645, he accompanied chief Kiotseaeton to a council with Governor de Montmagny at Trois-Rivieres. Dressed as an Iroquois, Guillaume was not immediately recognized by those who knew him, who had given him up for dead. Suprisingly Guillaume did not remain in New France, but chose to return to the Mohawk territory to try to negotiate a peace. When he returned in 1646, he asked to break his vows as a donne, a request that Jesuit superior Jerome Lalemant granted on Apr 26th. It is possible that he intended to marry an Iroquois girl to further cement the peace, but that October, Jean de LaLande and Father Jogues (who had escaped the previous captivity) were killed, ending all official peace efforts, though Guillaume returned to Huronia in 1647.
In 1647, Guillaume became partners with Francois Bissot de La Riviere and settled at Pointe-Levy in the seigneurie of Lauzon. Bissot gave him 200 livres for clearing the land and building a house, which Guillaume could stay in until he built his own on adjacent land. On Oct 15, 1648 Jean de Lauzon gave the two official title to their lands. Guillaume then built the home where he and Anne were married.
In 1657, Guillaume's experience among the natives was called upon in the founding of the Mission at Onondaga.
In 1661, Guillaume was sent on an expedition by Governor Voyer d'Argenson to try to find the "Northern Sea" (Hudson's Bay) and was sent on a similar expedition two years later by then Governor Dubois Davaugour.
The 1667 census finds the family at Lauzon and lists Guillaume as a militia captain. That year, Guillaume was sent to New Holland to protest the murder of two Frenchmen by the Mohawks.
Guillaume Couture acted as judge-seneschal for the coast of Lauzon from Nov 26, 1673 to 1678 and from 1682 until his death and was occasionally asked to sit on the Conseil Souverain (see below for definition ) in the absence of its regular members.
An inventory of his estate was drawn up Nov 14, 1701 by Notary Lepailleur.
DONNE: A civilian who gives all of his or her money and possessions to a religious order in return for food, lodging and perpetual care by that order until their death. Also, a lay assistant to a priest.
CONSEIL SOUVERAIN: The Conseil Souverain (Sovereign Council) was created in 1663 to act as an executive council and court of appeals. At the outset, the Council was made up of the Governor General, Bishop of Quebec and five other councilors, appointed by the first two. In addition, it was complemented by a prosecuting attorney and a clerk. The Council sat in the Palais de L'Intendance in Quebec City. Councilors received little pay for their duties, but their positions commanded much respect.
In the early 18th century, the Council became known as the Conseil superieur and its makeup changed. By the end of the French Regime, the Governor-General rarely attended sessions and the bishop sent a substitute. The Intendant sat as the president of the Conseil Superieur, with 15 other councilors (appointed by the King) and a number of Councilor-Assessors. The role of the Council was mostly that of a court of appeal for any court in the colony; civil, ecclesiastical, royal or seigneurial. Guillaume Couture arrived in Canada Jun 26, 1641 as a donne (see below for definition) of the Jesuits and soon set off to deliver supplies to the missionaries in Huronia. He returned the next year with Huron Chief Ahatsistari and Jesuits Isaac Jogues and Charles Raymbaut, who were ill. After remaining in New France only 15 days, Guillaume set out with Father Jogues and fellow donne Rene Goupil, to escort Ahatsistari safely back to his people. Their mission was not a success.
The party was attacked and captured by the Iroquois. Guillaume was tortured, his fingernails torn out, joints broken and one finger sawn off with a shell. He was brought to the Mohawk Villages, forced to watch the murder of Ahatsistari and suffer further torture. During his time among the Iroquois, Guillaume learned their language and customs and gained their respect and the name "Achirra".
In July 1645, he accompanied chief Kiotseaeton to a council with Governor de Montmagny at Trois-Rivieres. Dressed as an Iroquois, Guillaume was not immediately recognized by those who knew him, who had given him up for dead. Suprisingly Guillaume did not remain in New France, but chose to return to the Mohawk territory to try to negotiate a peace. When he returned in 1646, he asked to break his vows as a donne, a request that Jesuit superior Jerome Lalemant granted on Apr 26th. It is possible that he intended to marry an Iroquois girl to further cement the peace, but that October, Jean de LaLande and Father Jogues (who had escaped the previous captivity) were killed, ending all official peace efforts, though Guillaume returned to Huronia in 1647.
In 1647, Guillaume became partners with Francois Bissot de La Riviere and settled at Pointe-Levy in the seigneurie of Lauzon. Bissot gave him 200 livres for clearing the land and building a house, which Guillaume could stay in until he built his own on adjacent land. On Oct 15, 1648 Jean de Lauzon gave the two official title to their lands. Guillaume then built the home where he and Anne were married.
In 1657, Guillaume's experience among the natives was called upon in the founding of the Mission at Onondaga.
In 1661, Guillaume was sent on an expedition by Governor Voyer d'Argenson to try to find the "Northern Sea" (Hudson's Bay) and was sent on a similar expedition two years later by then Governor Dubois Davaugour.
The 1667 census finds the family at Lauzon and lists Guillaume as a militia captain. That year, Guillaume was sent to New Holland to protest the murder of two Frenchmen by the Mohawks.
Guillaume Couture acted as judge-seneschal for the coast of Lauzon from Nov 26, 1673 to 1678 and from 1682 until his death and was occasionally asked to sit on the Conseil Souverain (see below for definition ) in the absence of its regular members.
An inventory of his estate was drawn up Nov 14, 1701 by Notary Lepailleur.
DONNE: A civilian who gives all of his or her money and possessions to a religious order in return for food, lodging and perpetual care by that order until their death. Also, a lay assistant to a priest.
CONSEIL SOUVERAIN: The Conseil Souverain (Sovereign Council) was created in 1663 to act as an executive council and court of appeals. At the outset, the Council was made up of the Governor General, Bishop of Quebec and five other councilors, appointed by the first two. In addition, it was complemented by a prosecuting attorney and a clerk. The Council sat in the Palais de L'Intendance in Quebec City. Councilors received little pay for their duties, but their positions commanded much respect.
In the early 18th century, the Council became known as the Conseil superieur and its makeup changed. By the end of the French Regime, the Governor-General rarely attended sessions and the bishop sent a substitute. The Intendant sat as the president of the Conseil Superieur, with 15 other councilors (appointed by the King) and a number of Councilor-Assessors. The role of the Council was mostly that of a court of appeal for any court in the colony; civil, ecclesiastical, royal or seigneurial.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Couture
Guillaume Couture, n ca 1587 Normandie +Madeleine Malet, n ca 1592 Normandie, m ca 1612 Normandie, d bef 1692 Normandie
Sources
Il a immigré vers 1637 à Sainte-Marie aux Hurons en Ontario comme donné des Jésuites. Il a fait un testament en 1638 pour sa mère et sa sœur demeurées en France.
Il fut capturé par les Iroquois le 2 août 1642 parce qu'il avait tué un chef agnier. Il fut torturé pendant pendant sept jours. On lui arracha les ongles, lui coupa un doigt et lui passa une lame au travers de la main. Il demeura prisonnier pendant trois ans avant d'être échangé. Les Agniers lui donnèrent le nom d'Achirra. C'est ainsi qu'il apprit la langue iroquoises et devint plus tard interprète.
Il fut interprète, découvreur, coureur des bois, diplomate, ambassadeur à Albany en 1666, capitaine de milice à Lauzon du 26 novembre 1673 à 1678 et en 1682, notaire à la Seigneurie de Lauzon, juge sénéchal en novembre 1673, menuisier et charpentier et on se souvient de lui comme étant le premier colon de Lévis.
Trois sœurs et un frère sont baptisés à Rouen (St-Godard): Geneviève, 02-11-1621; Marie, 25-03-1624, Alexandre, 29-11-1626 et Anne, 06-12-1628. Son père, d/s 26-01-1641 Rouen (St-Godard). Ses grands-parents paternels sont Robert Cousture (père François) et Isabeau Dorée (père Robert), mariés à La Haye-Aubrée (St-Léger) (27317), le 30-06-1572. (ref. http://www.fichierorigine.com/app/recherche/detail.php?numero=241058)
Guillaume Couture, born on January 14, 1618 in Rouen and died on April 4, 1701 in Quebec City, arrived in New France as a "given" to the Jesuits and later became a French settler. He was the first European to settle on the seigneurie of Lauzon (now Lévis) in 1647. This seigniory was located south of the city of Quebec, precisely in the area named Pointe-Lévis. He is the ancestor of all Couture of North America. Couture, the unsung hero of New France, became the first seneschal judge and militia captain of Pointe-Lévy (or Pointe-de-Lévy). He never got a seigneurial title. However, through his initiatives and skills, he contributed to the development of the seigneurie of Lauzon and was also an explorer in New France. He may be given the title of "first commoner builder" of the seigniory of Lauzon. He also sat on the Sovereign Council of New France on a few occasions as a replacement.http://miroise.org/catalogue/tri0188/
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Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 2008 1,1091::15043512
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[METISGEN] Mi'kmaq Couture Couture via4:02 AM (2 hours ago)to pleblanHello Cousins. Trying to Account for Mi'kmaq and Cree DNA: Have a large Couture tree but will be tearing off a part of my family tree on Ancestry and starting again as I am certain there are errors in the part that contains the Acadian Metis ancestors. Have had to forage much of the scattered Acadian information as I only have one lifetime to do research, but will ask the assistance of the group in the rebuilding process please. Mi'kmaq/Cree came into the Couture Family Joseph Romeo Couture 1874-1940 Emilia Gagnon 1876-1944 Married in Lowell, Massachusetts 1 Mar 1897. Both mill operatives. Lived in Little Canada in Lowell. Had three children there. (Two oldest boys died of FH in mid 50's) Emelia was Metis and Acadian. Whether she was both Mi'kmaq and Cree is unknown. That is a puzzle. Not many Crees in Acadia. Joe Couture was the grandson of Guillaume Couture, donne to Saint Jogues and founder of Pointe Levy (Levis), across from Quebec. Guillaume was captured with Jogues in 1624 and taken to Tionnontogen, New York, the village of the Mohawk Wolf Tribe, where he was assimilated and became a Pine Tree Chief of the Haudenosaunee. Needless to say, without going into the story, there is a HUGE Native American influence on the Couture family. If Joe Couture was part Cree it would not be a shocker, but I have found no evidence of such. Regardless, Gail Morin's compendiums First Metis Families of Quebec 1622-148 have numerous pages of Guillaume Couture grandchildren marrying into the families of Madeleine dite Euphrosine Nicolet (Nipissing) , Catherine Anenontha (Huron), Marie Mitequamigoukoue (Weskarini), and others, Anything is possible. T It is important to my family if the Cree was part of Emilia Gagnon's Metis or Joe Couture's. It is important to my family to know who Emelia Gagnon's Mi'kmaq grandparents were. Please help me with this puzzle. Thank you cousins. [METISGEN] Mi'kmaq Couture Couture via4:02 AM (2 hours ago)to pleblanHello Cousins. Trying to Account for Mi'kmaq and Cree DNA: Have a large Couture tree but will be tearing off a part of my family tree on Ancestry and starting again as I am certain there are errors in the part that contains the Acadian Metis ancestors. Have had to forage much of the scattered Acadian information as I only have one lifetime to do research, but will ask the assistance of the group in the rebuilding process please. Mi'kmaq/Cree came into the Couture Family Joseph Romeo Couture 1874-1940 Emilia Gagnon 1876-1944 Married in Lowell, Massachusetts 1 Mar 1897. Both mill operatives. Lived in Little Canada in Lowell. Had three children there. (Two oldest boys died of FH in mid 50's) Emelia was Metis and Acadian. Whether she was both Mi'kmaq and Cree is unknown. That is a puzzle. Not many Crees in Acadia. Joe Couture was the grandson of Guillaume Couture, donne to Saint Jogues and founder of Pointe Levy (Levis), across from Quebec. Guillaume was captured with Jogues in 1624 and taken to Tionnontogen, New York, the village of the Mohawk Wolf Tribe, where he was assimilated and became a Pine Tree Chief of the Haudenosaunee. Needless to say, without going into the story, there is a HUGE Native American influence on the Couture family. If Joe Couture was part Cree it would not be a shocker, but I have found no evidence of such. Regardless, Gail Morin's compendiums First Metis Families of Quebec 1622-148 have numerous pages of Guillaume Couture grandchildren marrying into the families of Madeleine dite Euphrosine Nicolet (Nipissing) , Catherine Anenontha (Huron), Marie Mitequamigoukoue (Weskarini), and others, Anything is possible. T It is important to my family if the Cree was part of Emilia Gagnon's Metis or Joe Couture's. It is important to my family to know who Emelia Gagnon's Mi'kmaq grandparents were. Please help me with this puzzle. Thank you cousins.
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Volume: Vol. 1 Sect. 1 : A-Hel; Page: 147 1,2177::222656
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Volume: Vol. 1 Sect. 1 : A-Hel; Page: 147 1,2177::222656
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@R1050710867@ Quebec, Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families (Tanguay Collection), 1608-1890 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc
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Volume: Vol. 1 Sect. 1 : A-Hel; Page: 147 1,2177::222656
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@R1050710867@ Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
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Volume: Vol. 1 Sect. 1 : A-Hel; Page: 147 1,2177::222656
https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogie=Cout...
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On April 3, 1638, Guillaume Couture was quoted in the testament of Jean Hunot, written by the Quebec notary Jean Guitet. It would therefore arrive at the latest in 1637. It serves in Huronia as gives Jesuits. On June 26, 1641, in front of the Martial Piraube notary Marbec, Guillaume Couture left to his mother, widow of Guillaume Couture and represented by Guillaume Tronquet, his movables and immovables located in the parish of Harpe Aubray (probably The Hague Aubree in the Eure , Canton of Routot, west of Rouen). He is then servant of the Company of Jesus of the mission of the Hurons in New France. He left shortly after the Huron and returned in the spring of 1642 with Father Isaac Jogues and Father Charles Raimbeau. The latter is seriously ill.Two weeks later, he leaves with Isaac Jogues and Rene Goupil. On August 2, just after leaving Trois-Rivieres, they are taken prisoner by the Iroquois. Couture having killed, by defending himself, a chief of tribe, he is sawed with the aid of a shell.In each village where they are made to go, all are laid bare and must pass between two rows of men armed with whips and clubs. Goupil is assassinated, father Jogues manages to escape with the help of Dutch.Guillaume Couture is adopted by a widow of the tribe of the chief whom he killed. He learns Iroquois language. Guillaume takes the name Ihandich, then that of Achina. The Iroquois held him among them in esteem and reputation as one of the first in their nation ... having acquired this credit by his prudence and his wisdom, tells us the relations of the Jesuits. On April 26, 1646, the father Jerome Lalemant allows him to break his vows of giving. Since his captivity, Guillaume Couture has not stopped working on a peace treaty with the Iroquois. The assassinations of Father Jogues and Jean de La Lande break his vows of giving. On his return, Trois-Rivieres then Sillery make him party. Father Jacques Buteux calls him the good Couture. On May 15, 1647, Monsieur Montmagny conceded to him and Francois Byssot, a land at Pointe-Levis 5 arpents forehead on 40 deep. Carpenter-carpenter, Guillaume built two houses, one for him, the other for his neighbor. On November 18, 1649, before Guillaume Audouart, he contracts marriage with Anne Aymard, coming from Niort in Poitou with his souers Barbe (wife Gilles Michel) and Madeleine (wife of Zacharie Cloutier son). The wedding ceremony takes place at Guillaume Couture's Point-Levis. Anne was born on October 22, 1627 in Nirot. Daughter of Jean Aymard and Marie Bineau, it is worn on the baptismal font of Saint-Andre Church the same day by Jehan Filleul and Anne Jouslard. However, she had been baptized at home by the midwife, Martha Coupprie, because of necessity. Guillaume Couture (also known as Costure) was born on January 14, 1617/18 in Rouen, Normandie, France. His father, the late Guillaume Couture, was a master carpenter and taught his son the trade. Guillaume came over to Canada in 1641 and was one of the great explorers of that time. He spent a lot of time with the Huron tribe as a missionary. He learned their laguage and wok ethics, their ceremonies and songs. On the first day ofAugust in 1642, Guillaume set out for Trois Riveries with a band of 16 men. Both converted Hurons and Frenchmen. They paddled upstream for only 30 miles before the Hurons knew something was wrong. They were the first ones to leave the scene while the Frenchmen were captured by a hunting band of Iroqouis. Guillaume escaped but realized that he couldn't leave his friend, Father Jogues. Before he could go back to save his friend, a small break off of the main party confronted him. One if the natives shot at him and missed. In self defense, Guillaume fired back and didn't miss his mark. The Iroquois came down on him with no mercy. They beat him with clubs and pierced his hand with a spear. For maximum pain, they ripped out his fingernails and stomped on his hands. Then they made thier way back to the main group. The main group of about a hundred iroquois merged with another group of about a hundred Iroquois, and they all lined up in lines of a hundred and sent the hostages down the line while they beat them with clubs. At the village, one tribesman noticed that Guillaume's mauled hands still had all of its fingers. so he took a dull knife and tried to saw it off. It wouldn't come off so he twisted it and pulled an arm's length of tendon out of his arm. Couture was then sent to the Mohawk family of the fallen Iroquois to take his spot. For the next three years, Guillaume really impressed his adoptive family and was eventually asked to sit on the tribes councils. No other European was asked, ever. In 1645, the governor of New France decided to end the war with the Five Nations (Iroquois). He sent a couple of Mohawk prisoners into the Mohawk country to negotiate peace. In return the tribe released Couture and asked him to act on their behalf. Which he agreed to do along with two other leaders. They successfully negotiated peace for the time being. After all of this, Guillaume went back to work with the Huron tribe for two more years (1645-1647). On May 15, 1647, Guillaume decided to settle down and became the first settler of the Seignory of Lauzon at Pointe-Levy (present day city of Levis). His vows were lifted on April 26, 1646, and he was allowed to marry and the woman he chose was Anne Aymard. They were married on November 28, 1649. Couture's last mission in New France was to find the North Sea. Instead he found Mistassini Lake and the Rupert River. His language skills came into use when they worked among the Papinachois (near northeastern present day Quebec). Many people went on the expedition along with 44 boats. In 1666, Couture was named the Captain of the Militia for the area around him. This was a great honor that only was rewarded to those that proved themselves. In 1690, Captain Couture defended Pointe-Levy from the British invader Admiral William Phips and his troops. He was 72 years old. By now, Guillaume was the chief magistrate of the Pointe-Levy. Some of his jobs were: run the censuses, enforce government edicts, and run the local assemblies. He was also in charge of local cases, being both judge and jury. Couture was also periodically invited to sit on the Sovereign Council, which ran New France for Louis XIV. This was a great honor since the French were very status oriented, when Guillaume was low born. On November 18, 1700 Anne died. In the springtime of the next year Guillaume supposedly sick with the small pox. He died on April 4, 1701. His grave site is unknown.
https://gw.geneanet.org/rnelson?lang=en&n=couture&oc=0&p=guillaume#....
Guillaume Couture was born in 1617 in the Parish of Saint Goddard in Rouen, the capital of Normandy. His late father, also named Guillaume, taught his son to be a carpenter like himself. His mother was Madeleine Mallet and he had a sister Marie. Sometime before 1640 Guilllaume left home and hearth and emigrated to Canada.
In 1640 Master Carpenter Couture found his vocation as a "donne," or lay missionary, on the staff of the Jesuit Fathers for the Huron missions in New France. However, he was obliged to renounce his worldly possesions. So while at Québec on 26 June, 1641, before the Notary Martial Piraube, he made an irrovocable gift to his family back in France of "that two-thirds of his father's inheritance left to him, in the parish ot Haye Aubray in Normandie."
From this time on, the good Guillaume labored among the Hurons. Father Jogues, on his return to Québec in 1642 after six years among the Indians, mentioned Couture as one of his traveling companions. We may appreciate some of the difficulties inherent in such traveling when we think of the impenetrable forests, the fragile canoes, the numberless portages, the voracious mosquitoes, not to mention the ever-menacing Iroquois. Up until this time however, Guillaume had not met any Iroquois. Before long his luck would run out.
After 15 days in Québec, a little band of 40 men went up river to Trois Rivières for a few days, outfitting for the return trip to the missions. They set out on the first day of August in 1642. After traveling 30 miles, paddling up river against the current, they made camp near Lake Saint-Pierre. The second day out they were attacked by an Iroquois hunting party and straight away the Hurons in the party took off.
"Another Frenchman named Guillaume Couture, seeing the Hurons run away, escaped with them and since he was swift, he was soon beyond capture by the enemy: but remorse seized him for having forsaken his Father (Jogues) and his comrade (Surgeon Rene Goupil, now a canonized Saint). He stopped short, deliberating with himself whether he should go on or go back. He about-faced to return and immediately was confronted by five Iroquois. One of them, a Mohawk Chief, aimed at him with his arquebus. The gun misfired, but the Frenchman in his turn did not miss the Indian - he shot him stone dead on the spot. The other 4 Indians fell on him with the rage of demons. Having stripped him bare as your hand, they bruised him with heavy blows of their clubs. Then they tore out his fingernails with their teeth - crushing the bleeding ends in order to cause him more pain. Then they pierced one of his hands with a javelin and led him, tied and bound in this sad plight to the place where we were."
The trip into Iroquois territory took 13 days, a true "Way of the Cross." As for himself, Guillaume "suffered almost insupportable torment: hunger, stifling heat, the pain of our wounds, which for not being dressed, became putrid even to breeding worms. Then we encountered a party of 200 Iroquois braves returning from a hunt. They were gleeful on seeing us and formed two facing lines of 100 on a side, armed themselves with sticks of thorns and made us pass all naked between them down a road of fury and anguish where they let go upon us with numerous strong blows."
After arriving at their village and being subjected to repeated indignities, "one of these barbarians, having noted that Guillaume Couture, whose hands were torn apart, had not yet lost any of his fingers, siezed one of his hands and tried to cut off an index finger with a dull knife, and as he could not succeed therein, he twisted it and in tearing at it, he pulled sinew out of the arm, to the length of a span."
Finally the prisoners were allowed to live and their tortures stopped because the Mohawks believed that they could be useful in trade for making peace. Father Jogues and Rene Goupil were kept in a small distant camp but the Indians sent Guillaume to a larger village. Here this courageous young man was adopted by an old squaw who had lost her brave in battle. Thus he was protected and treated as a member of the tribe. One can sum up this period of disruption in the life of Guillaume Couture thusly: "Vigorous, active, indefatable, able to stand the worst misery, yet always content, habituated in all the arts dear to the savages, excellent shot, swift runner, capable of traveling the woods or paddling a canoe, this Norman, intrepid as are all Normans, was not slow to emulate the spirit of his new companions. He conformed to their ways, learned their language so much and so well that they ended up by admitting him into the councils of the nation. While his friends deplored their lot, Couture was enthroned in dignity in the midst of the Indian Sachems."
In the spring of 1645, after three years of captivity, Couture saw the arrival of an Indian who had been captured but sent back by the French Governor Charles Huault de Montmagny. This Iroquois brought a message that Ononthio was desirous of negotiating a peace. (Editor's Note: Ononthio was the name the aborigines gave Governor Montmagny, who awed by his imposing stature and dignity, called him Ononthio meaning "High Mountain" --also a translation of his name, Montmagny, Mons magnus). Two Mohawk delegates were sent back with Guillaume Couture to Trois Rivières to parlay. As for his homecoming, "As soon as he was recognized everyone threw their arms around him, looking on him as a man resurrected from the dead . . ."
Guillaume, now a free man, returned with the emissaries in order to make a peace treaty acceptable to the Mohawk tribe. Returning in the spring of 1646 he was celebrated everywhere as the artisan of peace. However, he would not be content until he had revisited the Huron missions and so he went back to them with Father Pijart.
Evidently the good Guillaume had learned the Indian dialects during his trips and his captivity. He was a precise interpreter, a faithful companion to the missionaries, and a powerful ambassador of the young colony accredited to the American Indians. In 1646, the Jesuit Father Buteux put on a festival in honor of Couture at Trois Rivières, and gave him the Indian name of Achirra, to their great delight.
The government of that time was forever calling on the services of Couture: in 1657, in 1661, in 1663 and in 1666 they sent him in Albany, New Netherlands. In 1665 Guillaume accompanied Father Henri Nouvel to the territory of the Papinachois, along the north coast. Then on another expedition with some missionaries he was shipwrecked not far from a point of land nearby Rimouski, called the Pointe-au-Pere.
FATHER OF A PEOPLE
Guillaume Couture asked to be relieved of his vows as a lay missionary and subsequently, on April 26, 1646, the Journal of the Jesuits mentioned that the Council of the Order announced that it had unanimously approved of Guillaume's marriage. It was on November 28, 1649 that he married Anne Esmard. She was baptized on October 22, 1627, in Saint André de Noirt, Poitou. Anne was the daughter of the late Jean and Marie Bineau. Anne had two sisters in Canada: Barbe, wife of Gilles Michel dit Taillon, and after him, of Oliver Letardif; and Madeleine, wife of Zacharie Cloutier. The wedding of Guillaume and Anne took place in the house of Couture, at Pointe Levy, in the presence of Father Jean LeSeur, Chaplain of the Hospital-liers of Québec. The couple engendered ten children: 6 boys and 4 girls.
THE RESPECTED CITIZEN
On May 15, 1647, Guillaume Couture was granted a concesson, 5 arpents of river frontage by 40 arpents deep. He cleared and settled this land at Pointe levy and it became the ancestral home. His first neighbor was François Bissot; their property was separated by a brook. The Jesuits haad some land nearby to the east on which was built a modest shelter called the "Cabin of the Fathers." The first Mass was probably celebrated there on April 12, 1648 by Father Pierre Bailloquet. Then in 1667, they built a beautiful church on the land of Bissot, where the first priest in residence was the Abbot Philippe Boucher. It was known as Saint Joseph up until 1690. The second neighbor of Guillaume, about 1651, was Charles Cadieu dit Courville, the fellow who operated an eel fishery.
Guillaume also had a lot on which he built a house of 24 feet frontage by 40 feet deep, in the Rue Sous-le-Fort in the lower town of Québec City, on the Place Royale.
The census of 1667 tells us that he had 20 arpents under cultivation and 6 animals. During his long absences hit tenant farmer Guillaume Durand looked after things for him.
As it was necessary to rally to the dfense of the colony when called upon to do so, about 1666 our Guillaume was named a Captain of Militia on the Lauzon coast, a very important responsibility at that time. In 1681 he had four field cannon in his force and it was reported that in 1690, at the age of 73, the Captain and his men opposed the advance of Phipps and his troops along the Lauzon coast. This Captain of Militia, because he could also read and write, was required to carry out the orders and proclamations of the Governor, command the troops, preside over census enumerations and convene citizen assemblies.
Moreover, Guillaume as Chief Magistrate of the same territory up until his death. We know that our ancestors were quite capable of committing misdemeanors and it was the duty of the Magistrate to reconcile problems and differences before they went up to the Sovereign Council. The Magistrate became, in most of the litigations, judge, prosecutor, jury and arbiter. He even performed the duty of what today would be called the coroner.
TO THEIR GLORY
It was the mother who was the first to go. Anne Esmard was bured at Levis on November 18, 1700. Then the patriarch Couture entered the hospital of Québec on March 31, 1701, where he died the following 4th of April. The Notary Lepailleur took an inventory of his belongings on November 14th that same year.
Let us not forget that Guillaume Couture, in spite of all the service he rendered to the colony of New France, did not ask for nor did he receive any title of nobility or special privilege. He had only that given by the King of France to all those who had 10 or more children - a family allowance of 300 livres annually, and even that ended in 1681. During his lifetime Guillaume thought only of others; the indigenous, the French, his children. He had but on goal: Peace and Charity.
In 1947 a great celebration marked the 300th anniversary of Guillaume Couture at Pointe Levy. On this occasion the "Biography of Heroes", by Joseph-Edmond Roy was republished.
In addition to the surnames of Bellerive and Lamond, the family names of Crevier, De la Cressonniere and Lafrensnaie were adopted by some descendants of our ancestor.
From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest
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Guillaume Couture's Timeline
| 1618 |
January 14, 1618
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Paroisse Saint-Godard, Rouen, Normandie, France
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January 14, 1618
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Église Saint-Godard, Rouen, Normandie, France
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| 1650 |
November 6, 1650
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Levis, Québec, Canada
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| 1652 |
January 21, 1652
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Paroisse Notre Dame, Québec
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| 1654 |
August 29, 1654
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Quebec, Quebec, Canada
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| 1656 |
February 29, 1656
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Notre-Dame De Québec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
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| 1658 |
June 18, 1658
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Quebec, Quebec, Canada
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| 1659 |
November 29, 1659
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Paroisse Notre Dame, Québec, Canada, Nouvelle-France, Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
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| 1662 |
October 11, 1662
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St Joseph, Levis, Quebec, Canada
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