The first known Noel family members are Pierre Noel, born ca 1613 in Poitou, France. He married Elisabeth Augustin (who was born ca 1617 in Poitou, France) ca 1635 in Poitou, France; and had one known son, Francois, whose information follows. Nothing else is known about this couple, who are my 10th great-grandparents.
Francois Noel - Nicole Legrand
my 9th great-grandparents
Francois was born in 1644 in Chire-en-Montreuil, France. His parents saw to it that he had some education, as Francois was able to sign his name with a flourish. Francois immigrated to Quebec, Canada about 1666 or so, the indentured servant of Gabriel Gosselin. He also served in the same capacity for Jacques Roy in the year 1667.
Francois married Nicole Legrand, October 22, 1669 at Ste. Famille, on the Île d'Orléans. Nicole was born in the St. Sulpice parish of Paris, France about 1647, the daughter of Nicolas/Anne Duplessis. Nicole was also somewhat educated; she could sign her name with ease.
Nicole came to Canada in 1669, after the death of her father. She was one of the "Fille du Roi" or "Daughters of the King".
Francois' life is recorded in the series "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Tom Laforest. Nancy Borman, a cousin, has included the details on her Noel/Langlois family website. Click this link to take you directly to that website and the great job Nancy did in exceprting the chapter on Francois Noel.
François and Nicole had much to learn. They had to learn how to get along as a married couple, how to be parents to their 10 children, and how to farm the land in their new home.
They also, apparently, had a bit to learn about being good neighbors. Around 18 February 1673, 4 years after they had been married, François and Nicole spread the ugly rumor that their neighbor, Jeanne Bardé (some sources show her as Anne Bardet), "was a whore"; and even claimed that she had been caught in the act with someone other than her husband. This upset Jeanne and her husband, Jean Paulin; and eight days later, on 26 February, they traveled to Governor Frontenac's palace in Quebec to file a complaint about this slur on their character. Either the Noel's would have to recant their scandalous tale or defend themselves in a lawsuit and pay reparations to the injured parties. François and Nicole made the wise decision to apologize to the Paulin's and the authorities for their bad behavior and take back all the slanderous comments they'd made. By 1677, the families had restored their relationship to the point that François leased some of his frontage land to Jean Paulin.The children of Francois Noel - Nicole Legrand are as follows: Phillipe- my 8th great-grandfather.
Two children were born of this union:Catherine- Born ca 1699. Married Nicolas Diverny dit St. Germain on 17 Oct 1728 in Quebec City. Nicolas was born in 1694, a native of St.-Martin-d'Achere,Paris, France; the son of Jean/Francoise Pellitier. Catherine gave birth to 9 children; 6 survived to adulthood. Catherine was buried 12 Dec 1754 in Quebec City.
Francois- Baptized on 16 June 1701. Nothing else known.Francois Noel died 20 Mar 1703, and was buried the next day in St. Laurent; possibly a victim of a flu epidemic. His widow Catherine Brulon went on to marry Pierre Moreau. She died 19 June 1706 in St. Laurent.
In 1707, François and Nicole decided to take steps to ensure that they would be cared for in their old age. To this end, they had a very detailed will drawn up, which included an "act of donation" to their son Ignace--meaning that he would inherit the bulk of their estate, less a token inheritance to the rest of the children. In return for this, Ignace would house and support his parents until their deaths, including paying for their funerals and masses.
Nicole Legrand died on 5 October 1713 and was buried the next day at St. Laurent. François Noel was also buried at St. Laurent, on 26 May 1725.
Honoring our Ancestors...
It is interesting to notice how our ancestors were not only named for parents and grandparents, but for older siblings that had died before their birth--almost as if the birth of that child was intended to replace the one that was lost. We see the names Francois, Phillipe, Pierre, Jean Baptiste; also Marie, Marguerite, and Madeline. As you navigate this site, you will see many more repeats of the same names. Oddly enough, the only Nicole that I have found thus far in this line is my own daughter, who was born 277 years after the death of Nicole Legrand. Although I didn't know of Nicole Legrand's existence when my daughter was named, I'll still offer up a humble "better late than never!"Sources;
Tanguay's Dictionary
Isle of Orleans Catholic Church Marriages, 1666-1963
"Our French Canadian Ancestors" Volume 19 by Thomas J. LaForest
"King's Daughters and Founding Mothers-The Filles du Roi" by Peter J. Gagne
This page last udpated April 2009 .
Noel Family of Brockton, MA by Jolynn Noel Winland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States LicenseWhat does this mean? .
Email: littleangeljw@yahoo.com
