First Settlers of Quebec
In 1605 explorer Samuel de Champlain established the first European settlement at Port Royal (Nova Scotia); the colony would become known as Acadia. About 3 years later on July 3, 1608, L’Habitation (Quebec City) was founded by Champlain. Up until his death in 1635, Champlain was deeply involved with the growth and administration of Quebec City and the surrounding areas. Although he could probably be noted as a first settler of Quebec, he does not hold that distinction. That honor was given to 47 French colonists and their wives.
A.—The Warehouse. B.—Pigeon-loft. C.—Detached Buildings where we keep our arms and for Lodging our Workmen. D.—Another Detached Building for the Workmen. E.—Sun-dial. F.—Another Detached Building where is the Smithy and where the Workmen are Lodged. G.—Galleries all around the Lodgings. H.—The Sieur de Champlain’s Lodgings. I.—The door of the Settlement with a Draw-bridge. L Promenade around the Settlement ten feet in width to the edge of the Moat. M.—Moat the whole way around the Settlement. O.—The Sieur de Champlain’s Garden. P.—The Kitchen. Q.—Space in front of the Settlement on the Shore of the River. R.—The great River St. Lawrence.
Of the 94 colonists considered first settlers, 40 are my direct ancestors. The first of these settlers to arrive were Louis Hebert and Marie Rollet (my 12th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family); they arrived in New France in August of 1617.
The year 1618 saw the arrival of 11 more direct ancestors: Guillaume Couillard and Marie Guillemette Hebert (my 11th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family), Abraham Martin and Marguerite Langlois (my 11th & 12th great-grandparents on both sides of the family), Pierre Desportes and Francoise Langlois (my 11th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family), Jean Nicolet (my 10th great-grandfather on the Vadnais side of the family), Noel Morin and Helene Desportes (my 10th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family) and Noel Langlois and Francoise Garnier (my 9th & 10th great-grandparents on both sides of the family).
It was not until 1635 that the next wave of first settlers arrived. They included: Jean Guyon and Mathurine Robin (my 10th & 11th great-grandparents on both sides of the family), Zacharie Cloutier and Xaintes Dupont (my 10th, 11th & 12th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family), Gaspard Boucher and Nicole Lemaire (my 10th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family), Philippe Amiot and Anne Couvent (my 10th & 11th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family), Marin Boucher & Perrine Malet (he is my 9th & 10th great-grandfather and she is my 10th great-grandmother on both sides of the family), Sebastien Dodier and Marie Bonhomme (my 10th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family), Guillaume Isabelle and Catherine Dodier (my 9th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family) and Robert Drouin (my 9th great-grandfather on the Vadnais side of the family).
The final group of first settlers arrived in 1638. Direct ancestors that arrived that year included: Robert Caron and Marie Crevet (my 10th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family), Francois Belanger and Marie Gagnon (my 10th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family), Claude Poulin and Jeanne Mercier (my 8th and 12th great-grandparents on both sides of the family), Jacques Hertel and Marguerite Marguerie (my 8th, 10th and 11th great-grandparents on both sides of the family), Antoine Brassard and Francoise Mery (my 11th great-grandparents on the Peltier side of the family) and Etienne Racine and Marguerite Martin (my 10th great-grandparents on the Vadnais side of the family).
I’ll write about many of these first settler ancestors at a later time.
The first settlers of Quebec are memorialized on the Louis Hebert monument in Montmorency Park in Quebec City. The park is located on a section of Louis Hebert’s and Marie Rollet’s land, which was a part of the first farm in New France.
It reads: “THE FIRST SETTLERS OF QUEBEC. They have been in trouble: let them be in the spotlight.”
Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cindy
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