Robert Giffard

Notes

• Location info: Perche, France (birth, marriage), Québec (death), Beauport (burial)
  • NOTE about place of birth: This source gives Autheil. This other source gives Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Mortagne. We have also seen paroisse Notre-Dame. We will use the former until we find a definitive source.
• NOTE about parents: These sources (1) and (2) give Guillaume Giffard and Louise Viron. This other source gives Marc Giffard and Jeanne Poignant. To be investigated.
• Première inhumation le 14 avril 1668 à l'Hôtel-Dieu. Le 31 décembre 1705, son corps est transporté de l'Hôtel-Dieu à la Cathédrale pour Libéra, puis à Beauport, où il est enterré.
• Pionnier de la Nouvelle-France. Arrive au Québec le 4 juin 1634 à bord du « Navire de Neslé » avec sa femme et deux enfants, Marie et Charles.
  • Il vint au Québec aussi avant 1634. À chercher plus d'information.
• Il était chirurgien, apothicaire et entrepreneur
• Embaucheur important de pionniers pour la Nouvelle-France.
• Membre fondateur de la Companie des Cent-Associés
• Fondateur de la ville de Beauport. Propriétaire de la seigneurie de Beauport. Il obtiendra deux autres seigneuries : Saint-Gabriel, à Québec, en 1647, et Mille-Vaches, en aval de Tadoussac, en 1653.
• Robert retourne en France le 31 octobre 1646 à l'occasion d'un voyage d'affaire. Son fils Charles l'accompagnait.
• Anoblie en mars 1658.

More Notes

Is birthdate year 1598 or 1587? Similar profile same person with different birth year off by 11 years.

[Following up on the comment above] We now have a reliable source posted with this profile that states 1587, in Saint-Jean-Baptisted in Mortagne, Perche. We will use these values until better sources state differently.

Also "Montcel" is a placename of where he is from in the Rhone-Alps Savoy area. It is not a last name. Giffard is his last name, from Montcel. FYI. Yes, there have been contractions of the name to "Moncel" so both spellings may be in order.

[Following up on the comment above] Montcel is a place name and it was a common tradition of the time to include a meaningful place name as part of one's last name. When reliable sources show that a person's last name included a place name, we should include it (with the source). For Robert, the sources we have show that he was "Giffard de Moncel". "Montcel" is an other spelling and it as been added to the nickname field.

Physician, born in Notre Dame de Mortagne, Perche, France. [Note: A source posted with this profile states "parish Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Mortagne (Perche)". Considering that people are rarely born inside a church itself, "Notre-Dame" must mean where Robert was baptized.]

Arrived on June 4, 1634 with his entire family.

Robert made several trips to Québec (e.g. 1627, 1628) before immigrating with his family in 1634. Established at Beauport, less than two leagues from Quebec, Giffard was the first colonizing seigneur in New France. The company [Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France] granted him on 15 January [1634] one of the first seigneuries [Beauport] in Canada.

Le 31 décembre 1705, son corps est transporté de l'Hôtel-Dieu à la Cathédrale pour Libéra, puis à Beauport où il est enterré.