Gagnon

The name Gagnon comes to the shores of North America courtesy of three brothers; namely Mathurin, Jean, and Pierre. A Robert Gagnon also came to Canada and may possibly be a distant relative of the Gagnon brothers, but that is not certain and he is not included here. While only Jean is in the NOEL direct line, the other brothers have also made contributions to the family. I will deal with the direct line first, then discuss the other members of the family.

Barnabé GAGNON - Françoise CREST

The parents and birth statistics for this couple are unknown; the same can be said for marriage details. What we do know is that the couple bought the family farm on 28 December 1565 from Gervais Roger & Marion Aubert. The location of this parcel of land is described as being "in a little village called 'La Gagnonnière' in the forest of Perche, between Tourouvre and Ventrouze." The ancestral couple not only ran a farm at this location, but also an inn. They had two known children, Olivier and PIERRE. No death information is known for this couple.4

Pierre GAGNON - Renée ROGER

Pierre was the son of Barnabé & Françoise, above. It is assumed that he was born somewhere in Tourouvre, but the date of this event is unknown. He married Renée sometime in 1597; again, we presume this occurred somewhere in Tourouvre. Renée's surname is spelled Royer in some records. The couple were tenants on the farm belonging to Barnabé & Françoise. It is not known if Renée is related to the Roger family that the farm was originally purchased from.4
Pierre and Renée had the following known children:

Mathurin
JEAN
Pierre
Marguerite
Pierre Gagnon died sometime after 16 December 1630 when he witnessed the death record of brother Olivier, and before 10 November 1633, where a notarial act referred to Renée Roger as the widow of Pierre Gagnon.4
By 1647, René was in Canada, where she witnessed the marriage contract of son Mathurin at Château-Richer. I am not sure when Renée Roger died. You don't find too many errors in "Our French Canadian Ancestors", but there seems to be one here. In the same paragraph that details Reneé signing Mathurin's marriage contract in 1647, it states that Renée died sometime between 10 November 1633 and 29 July 1640 at Beaupré. Which can't be true if she witnessed a marriage contract in 1647. A mystery for the ages.....4

Jean GAGNON - Marie Marguerite COCHON

Jean was born on 13 August 1610 in La Gagnonnière, Tourouvre, Perche, France, the second child of Pierre & Renée ROGER. He came to Canada in 1637 with his brothers Mathurin and Pierre. Jean was granted seven arpents of river frontage at Château-Richer in 1640. Like his brother Mathurin, he bought and sold land at Château-Richer for several years, but never gave up his original grant.4
On 29 July 1640, Jean married Marie Marguerite at Beaupré. She was the daughter of Jehan & Marguerite COINTEL, born to them about 1620 in Dieppe, Normandy, France.1,2,4
They had the following children:

Jeanne- Baptized 15 August 1641 at Québec and married Jean Chapleau.4
Renée-Baptized 8 April 1643 at Québec and married Jean Ouimet.4
Marguerite- Baptized 12 February 1645 at Québec. She married Jean Caron.4
Jean- Baptized 5 February 1648 at Québec and married Marie Drouin.4
Étienne- Born 19 September 1650 and baptized 4 October. He died before the 1666 census.4
GERMAIN
Raphaël- Born 18 July 1656 and baptized 2 August at Québec. He died 20 October 1687 without ever marrying and was buried two days later at Château-Richer.4
Marie
Jean Gagnon was buried 2 April 1670 at Château-Richer. "Our French Canadian Ancestors" had no death information for Marie Marguerite Cochon, but family member Bradley Cauchon provided me with a date of death of 26 June 1699 at the Hôtel-Dieu in Québec; the Genealogy of Canada website shows the same. I haven't yet found anything in Drouin or PRDH to support this. I'll keep looking, though!6,7

Germain GAGNON - Jeanne DAVID

Germain was born 1 September 1653 at Château-Richer and baptized on the 12th of that month in Québec. He is the son of Jean & Marie Marguerite COCHON. Jeanne was the daughter of Jacques & Marie GRANDRY; she born 5 November 1669 and was baptized on the 10th at Château-Richer.1,2,3,4
Germain and Jeanne were married 27 July 1688 at Château-Richer. Their daughter was Marguerite.
Jeanne David was buried 11 November 1698, six days after her 29th birthday. Germain lived ten more years but did not remarry. He died 23 November 1708 at Château-Richer and was buried the next day.2,4


Now we come to the remaining children of Pierre GAGNON & Renée ROGER. They will be listed in chronological order.

Eloi Tavernier & Marguerite Gagnon

Eloi came from Saint-Malo de Randdonnai, France; this is all that is known about him. Marguerite was born 5 October 1598 at La Gagnonnière, Tourouvre, Perche, France. The couple married at Ventrouze, France on 3 February 1694 and settled in Saint-Malo.
Eloi and Marguerite made plans to immigrate to Canada in 1642. They sold everything they owned and crossed the pond to New France. No exact date for this is known; but it would have had to have been sometime between the spring of 1642 and the fall of 1643.
The couple's two known daughters were born in Saint-Malo:

Marguerite- Born in 1627, she married stonemason Joseph Macé Gravel, a business associate of her three uncles, on New Year's Day 1644 in Québec's Notre-Dame-des-Anges chapel. Joseph Macé was the son of Joseph & Marguerite Macé, born to them in France about 1616. He came to Canada sometime before 1641. They had 12 children together. Joseph Macé Gravel was buried at Château-Richer cemetery 28 April 1686. Marguerite Tavernier was buried 12 January 1697 at Château-Richer.1,2,4,5
Marie- Born 1632. On 2 May 1657, she married Gilles Bacon, son of Étienne & Madeleine Feron, with whom she had two children. When Gilles died, Marie decided to become a nun and took her vows on 19 October 1669. Marie Tavernier died 2 February 1700 at the Hôtel-Dieu Québec.4
Marguerite Gagnon died 7 December 1677 and was buried the next day at Château-Richer. Although Genealogy of Canada gives a death year of 1651, no record of Eloi Tavernier's death has been located.8

Mathurin Gagnon & Vincente Gaulthier & Françoise Boudeau

Mathurin was born 22 October 1606 in La Gagnonnière, Tourouvre, Perche, France.4
Before he left France for Canada, Mathurin was engaged to one Vincente Gaulthier. Before a marriage could take place, Vincente and Mathurin had a child out of wedlock in 1636. Mathurin took responsibility for the child; and when he immigrated to Canada in 1637 he took the child--a girl named Marthe--with him. There is no mention of Vincente going to Canada. It can only be assumed that she died after--or maybe even during--the birth of Marthe.4
Mathurin was accompanied to Canada not only by his infant daughter, but by his two brothers as well. Mathurin was the best educated of the three; he was also the only one who could write. For this reason, he was the one who kept the accounts of the shop that the trio opened in Québec. In 1643, he was the one who traveled to France for the purpose of buying goods for the shop. In his personal life, he settled at Château-Richer in 1640 on land granted to him; then engaged in the common practice of buying and selling parcels of land; he would do this for the next 30 years or so.4
In 1647, his head was turned by one Françoise Boudeau or Goudeau. The bride was, at age thirteen, only two years older than his daughter! Françoise had been born in France, probably the Roche-Guyon area of Normandy, about 1649, daughter of François & Jeanne Jahan. Her father had died in France and her mother married Jacques Lehoux; sometime after this event, the family came to Canada. Françoise's stepfather was present at the wedding, as he signed the marriage record.2,4
The couple had sixteen children together; there is information for the following 14. All are believed to have been born at Château-Richer:

Anoymous Female- This baby girl was born 2 February 1649, baptized in Québec that day but not named. Did the parents sense that she would not live? If so, they were correct; she died and was buried on the 6th.4
Marie Madeleine- Born 26 June and baptized 4 July 1650 at Québec. She married Jean Picard and had 7 children. Marie Madeleine Gagnon was buried 23 September 1680 at Québec.4
Anonymous Male- Born 18 August 1652 and died the same day.4
Mathurin- Born 23 August 1653; on 7 September he was taken to Québec for baptism. He married Charlotte Cauchon 28 October 1686 at Château-Richer and had a family of 10 children. Mathurin Gagnon fils died sometime between 9 October 1711 - 5 November 1715 at St. Joachim.4
Françoise- Born 15 December 1655 and baptized the same day at Québec. On 21 February 1672, she married Louis Prévost and had 5 children with him. Françoise Gagnon died 30 May 1680 and was buried the following day at Beauport.4
Vincent- Born 27 August 1658 and baptized at Québec 15 September. He chose Anne David as a wife; they were married 12 October 1694 at Château-Richer. Vincent Gagnon lived long enough to have 11 children with his wife, but his death details are not known.4
Marie- Baptized 23 January 1662 at Château-Richer; a church had been built in the hamlet the year before, so no more carrying infants to Québec for the sacrament! Sadly, this little girl was buried 10 February of the same year.4
Marguerite- Born 9 May 1663 and baptized on the 12th at Château-Richer. Her marriage to Vital Caron on 10 February 1686 in Château-Richer produced 9 children. Marguerite Gagnon's death info is unknown.4
François- Born on 1 April 1665 and baptized the next day at Château-Richer. This child was called Jacques by his family. He died 18 November 1687 without marrying or leaving any issue. He was buried two days later.4
Flavien- Born 28 August 1666 and baptized three days later. Some folks put a lot of stock in the numbers 666 and 13, claiming them to be evil and unlucky. You may judge for yourself if this was the case for poor Flavien, who died 9 February 1679 and buried the following day. He was in his thirteenth year.4
Jean- Born 26 March 1669 and baptized the 27th at Château-Richer. He died sometime before the 1681 census.4
Pierre- Born and baptized 3 September 1672 at Château-Richer. His marriage to Hélène Cloutier took place 28 February 1697 at Château-Richer. They had 13 children. Nothing about his death is known.4
Joseph- Born 23 March and baptized the next day at Châteu-Richer, the little fellow died 30 May 1676.4
Joseph- Born about 1675. This Joseph lived to adulthood, married Marie Cloutier, sister to frere Pierre's wife Hélène, on 26 January 1699 in Chateau-Richer and had 14 children with her. No death information on Joseph.
"Our French Canadian Ancestors" claims that nine of Mathurin and Françoise's children went on to marry and have families, but there seems to be information for only seven of those.

Mathurin Gagnon died 20 April 1690 and was buried two days later; both events occurred at Château-Richer. Françoise Boudeau or Goudeau died and was buried 14 September 1696 in the same place as her husband. Interestingly, Françoise's surname is written as Boudeau on her marriage record and Goudeau on her death record.2

Pierre Gagnon - Vincente Desvarieux

Pierre was born in La Gagnonnière, Tourouvre, Perche, France on 14 February 1612 but was baptized three miles away in Ventrouze. He came to Canada in 1637 with his brothers.4
Also like his brothers, he was granted a concession at Château-Richer, located between his brother Mathurin and the younger Jean Cochon. He had six arpents of river frontage. Pierre did not seem to engage in the buying and selling of land as his brothers did. In 1657, he ceded half an arpent of land to Nicolas Lebel; eleven years later it was returned to him. That is the only land transaction known.4
On 14 September 1642, Pierre married Vincente in Québec. She was a fille a marier from St. Vincent d'Aubermail, Caux, Normandy, France. She was born there about 1622 to Jean & Marie Chevalier. She is believed to have come to Canada about 1642. Neither Pierre nor Vincente could sign their marriage record.3,4
The couple had the following children, all of whom were born at Château-Richer but baptized in Québec:

Jean- Baptized 3 May 1643, he is twin to Anne, below. He married Marguerite Racine on 6 November 1667 at Château-Richer, according to "Our French Canadian Ancestors"; the PRDH shows it as an undetermined location. Marguerite is the daughter of Étienne & Marguerite MARTIN; she was born to them in Québec in 1652, possibly in March. That is all I can decipher from the record, which is written in Latin. Jean and Marguerite had two known daughters, Anne and Marguerite; there were also eleven more children. Marguerite Racine was buried 17 December 1695 at Château-Richer. Jean Gagnon was buried in the same place on 27 October 1699.1,2,3,4,8
Anne- Born in May 1643 like her twin Jean, above; but for some reason, Anne was baptized over a month later on 25 June. Anne died sometime before the 1666 census.3,4
Pierre- Born about 1646. In 1669, he married Barbe Fortin, daughter of Julien & Geneviève GAMACHE. Three years before the marriage took place, Barbe was a 12 year old girl desperately ill with pleurisy. Her frantic parents prayed earnestly at Ste-Anne of the Little Cape and the young girl's health was restored. Pierre and Barbe had three known children: Geneviève, Alexandre and Marie Madeleine. They also had eight others. Pierre Gagnon was buried 10 August 1687 at Ste. Anne du Nord, Québec, Canada. Barbe went on to marry Pierre DeLessart. Barbe Fortin was buried as L'Islet on 27 August 1737--at the ripe old age of 82.1,3,4
Jeanne- Baptized 3 August 1648 and died 6 September of the same year. She was buried the next day, probably at Château-Richer.3,4
Pierre-Paul- Baptized 5 September 1649. In 1677, he was ordained a priest in Québec by Monseigneur de Laval. He was the third Canadian and the first Gagnon to enter the priesthood. He died at Beaupré on 6 April 1711.3,4
Joseph- Born 27 December 1651 and baptized 19 February 1652. He died prior to the 1681 census, probably at Château-Richer.3,4
René- Born 18 September 1653 and baptized the next day. He died a few weeks later on 7 October, probably at Château-Richer.3,4
Marie Madeleine- Born 10 February 1655 and baptized on the 12th. She went into the Convent of the Augustines at Québec at the young age of thirteen. When she died in 1677 at the very young age of 22, the nursing sisters at the Hospital of Québec wrote: "Veritably, she was comparable to the angels in her purity, her obedience, her spirit of gentleness and peace, and for her devotion..."3,4
Raphaël- Born 4 April 1658 and baptized 22 July of that year. He died sometime between the 1667-1681 census years, probably at Château-Richer.3,4
Noël- Born 9 February 1660 and baptized the next day. Tanguay's Dictionary notes that he was a "captain"; of what, I am not sure. He married his sister-in-law, Geneviève Fortin, sister to Barbe, on 8 July 1683 at Beaupré. Geneviève was baptized 9 April 1662 at Château-Richer. Of their 10 children, we only know of Marie. Geneviève Fortin contracted smallpox; she died and was buried 21 March 1703 at Château-Richer. Noël went on to marry Barbe Cloutier. Noël Gagnon was buried 25 November 1708 at Château-Richer.1,3,4
Vincente Desvarieux died on 2 January 1695 and was buried the following day at Château-Richer. Pierre Gagnon was buried in the same place on 17 April 1699.


The In-Laws

So far, only a few in-law couples on this page, but they are ever-important! As always, they are listed in alphabetical order of husband's surname. Note that any in-laws mentioned above whose link takes you to another page will not appear here.

Jehan COCHON & Marguerite COINTEREL

Jehan and Marguerite were of the St. Jacques parish of Dieppe. They were married in Dieppe in 1619. The next year their first child and our ancestress, Marie Marguerite, was born
Jean was a fairly well-educated man who wrote beautifully and was sought out by folks in his town for those services.1,6,9
The year 1633 was tumultuous for Jehan. In January, wife Marguerite died while laboring to bring their 5th child into the world--a son named Nicolas, who also died. Jehan quickly married a young woman named Jeanne Abraham that April, and their first child was born in December.6
The family sailed to Canada in 1636 and eventually settled in Château-Richer; where today stands a house at 8124 Avenue Royal that bears a plaque declaring this the original site of the Cochon property.6,9
According to records, a Jeanne Abraham died in St. Jacques, Dieppe, France in 1674. Historian Archange Godbout believes that this is not the same Jeanne Abraham, while other researchers believe that it is. Jehan Cochon died 11 July 1673.6,9
It is worth noting that the 5th generation of Jehan's descendants opted to alter the spelling of the surname, changing it to Cauchon. Others went even farther, changing the name to Aubry or Creton. Why? Because the French word "cochon" means dirty or pig.9

Jacques DAVID & Marie GRANDRY

Jacques was a native of Braquemont, Rouen, France; born there about 1632. His parents were Blaise & Flavie MOREL; nothing more is known about them. He was a sailor and a ship repairman. His arrival date in Canada is not known.3
Marie was a fille à marier from St.-Andre-des-Arts, Paris, France, born there about 1645 to Claude & Jeanne TOUSAIN; nothing else is known about her parents. Her arrival date in the new colony is also unknown.3
The couple married on 29 August 1662 at Château-Richer. The marriage record bears the signature of the groom; the bride's signature is not found. They had two known daughters, JEANNE and Anne.3
Jacques died at Château-Richer sometime before 10 February 1681. Marie was buried 29 June 1729 at Château-Richer.3

Sources:
1. Tanguay's Dictionary
2. The Drouin Collection at Ancestry
3. "Before the King's Daughters: The Filles à Marier" by Peter Gagné
4. "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas Laforest, Volume 1
5. "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas Laforest, Volume 3
6. "Our French Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas Laforest, Volume 17
7. Genealogy of Canada
8. PRDH
9. Bradley Cauchon

This page was updated February 2009.

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