He was the first settler of the family in Quebec, who came to Canada in 1663. He was confirmed on 23 March 1664 at Quebec City. He worked for Bishop Laval, first at the Saint-Joachim farm near Cap-Tourmente in 1666, then as a caretaker at the bishopric and seignorial manor in Quebec City in 1668. In return for his services, Bishop Laval granted him land on the Ile D’Orleans on 22 June 1667. Madeleine Després arrived in 1670 and they were married shortly after her arrival. He could not write as he could not sign his marriage contract. They settled at Sainte-Famille, Ile d’Orleans, then about 1679 moved to St. Jean, Ile d’Orleans, where they both died and were buried.

Nicolas Audet was born, about 1641. He was the son of Innocent Audet and Vincente Riene (Roy), of Saint-Pierre-Maille, in the diocese of Poitiers. The surnames Audet and Lapointe originated, naturally enough, in France. The story is that, three families of Audets lived in the same area that formed a triangle and to tell one family of Audets from another, "dit Lapointe" was added to the same because, they lived at the "point" of this area.

We know that, Nicolas came to Canada before 1664 because, there is a record of his confirmation at Québec on March 23 of that year.

Poitiers is a town in Poitou; that beautiful and bountiful Province of France where wheat is grown, the vine is cultivated and many varieties of fruit are raised. It is wooded country, yet covered by excellent pasture-land . In this province, Charles Martel repulsed the Saracens and Clovis battled the Goths.

Just about all of the colonists, who came from France in the 17th century, started in one of three ways: by working for the government, by working for a religious order, or by working for one of the more prosperous landowners. Nicolas seems to have been taken under the wing of Monseigneur François de Laval, Bishop of Québec. In the census of 1666, we find him working on the farm owned by the Bishop, at Saint-Joachim, nearby Cape Tourmente. Two years later, he was still working for the Bishop, as a porter in the lordly Château of Québec. Confirmation of this comes through an act of Notary Pierre Duquet, which records: "Today, at the entrance gate of the estate, Sieur Jean Madry rang a little bell, in response to which, he was met by Nicolas Audet, porter of the Château. After admitting him, Audet went to inform his master, the Bishop."

For more than four years, Nicolas worked in service for others, earning his way. In preparing for his future, he was counting more on savings than on credit.

THE SETTLER
Nicolas Audet, the porter, decided to become a settler, on the Île d'Orléans, just opposite the Beaupré coast. On 22 June 1667, he received a concession from the Bishop "of three arpents of land fronting the Saint Lawrence River and running Southward......" His grant was in the Parish of Saint-Famille, from which, the Parish of Saint-Jean was later formed. His neighbors were Guy Boivin and Robert Boulay. He hired them "to help him build a house to be finished within one year from this day."

Each year, on the Feast of Saint Martin, the 11th of November, he was required to give 20 sols in seignorial rent for each arpent of river frontage, 12 deniers for "cens" and 3 capons chosen by the Seigneur. It is worth noting that, the signatures on the contract, other than those of notary Paul Vachon, are those of Jean Crete, Master Cartwright, of Paul de Rainville, sheriff of Beauport and of the Bishop of Québec himself. Nicolas Audet appears to have been well connected!

As soon as he could, Nicolas busied himself building his house, with the help of his neighbors. The census of 1681 tells us that by then, he had cleared fifteen arpents of land and had acquired 6 animals.

A KING OF THE HEARTH
Having built a house, Nicolas sought to make a home. To this end, he courted Madeleine Després, a young girl of fourteen years. The betrothed appeared before notary Romain Becquet, at Québec, on 30 August 1670 to arrange a contract of marriage.

The future bride was sponsored by "Dame Anne Gagnier, widow of the late Master Jean Bourdon and Elizabeth Étienne." In accordance with the custom of the time, Madeleine would bring Nicolas a dowry, a considerable one it seems. She had saved or acquired 200 livres but also, she would receive "the sum of 50 livres given her by His Majesty, in consideration of her marriage ." In short, these two were hardly poor in material goods.

This help given Madeleine by the king, signifies that, she was alone in Canada, most likely an orphan. We know that she could write. She penned herself as the daughter of François Després and of Madeleine LeGrand, from the Parish of Saint-Sauveur in Paris. This young lady born about 1656, was one of many generous girls, who came to Canada under the protection of the King of France.

At Sainte-Famille, Île d'Orléans, the following 15th of September, the missionary priest, Father Thomas Morel, blessed their union in the presence of the witnesses Pierre Rondeau and Mathurin Dube. When Pierre and Mathurin were married the year before, each in turn asked Nicolas to stand up for him, now the favor was being returned.

This marriage brought forth twelve children, nine boys and three girls but, the elder two died young. All were born in the Parish of Sainte-Famille except the youngest three who were born at Saint-Jean, Île d'Orléans. These ten children founded the family line. The following information is available on the Audet children:
1) Nicolas, the first to be named after his father, was born and baptized, on 21 September 1671, at Sainte-Famille, Île d'Orléans but, was not alive at the census in 1681.
2) Nicolas, the second to be named after his father, was born, on 13 September 1672 and baptized eight days later, at Sainte-Famille, Île d'Orléans but, was also not alive at the 1681 census.
3) Pierre was baptized, on July 1674, at Sainte-Famille, Île d'Orléans, and married Marie Dumas, on 3 February 1698, at Saint-Jean. Marie was the daughter of François and Marguerite Foy. Pierre and Marie had eight children, four boys and four girls, all baptized at Saint-Jean.
4) Jean-Baptiste was born, on 17 November 1675 and baptized, on 1 December at Sainte-Famille. He married Marie-Louise Godbout, on 16 April 1708, at Saint-Laurent, Île d'Orléans. The contract for this marriage was notarized by Chambalon, on 25 May 1708. Marie-Louise was the daughter of Nicolas and Angelique Lemelin. Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Louise had eleven children, three boys and eight girls, all baptized at Saint-Jean, Île d'Orléans. Jean-Baptiste died an early death on 12 November 1728, and was buried the following day, at Saint-Jean.
5) Madeleine was born, on 18 September 1677 and baptized eleven days later, at Sainte-Famille. She married Jean Pouliot, on 11 February 1697, at Saint-Jean. The contract had been notarized that same day by Chambalon. Jean was the son of Charles and Françoise Meunier. Madeleine and Jean had nine children, five boys and four girls, all baptized at Saint-Laurent, Île d'Orléans.
6) Joseph was probably born in 1678 since, he was reported to be four years old in the 1681 census. He married Jeanne Pouliot, on 5 November 1703, at Saint-Laurent. The contract for this wedding had been notarized, on 25 October by the senior Jacob. Jeanne was the daughter of Charles and Françoise Meunier. Her brother, Jean, had married Joseph's sister, Madeleine, six years earlier. Joseph and Jeanne had six children, four boys and two girls, all born at Saint-Jean.
7) Nicolas was baptized between July and October of 1680, at Saint-Jean. He married Marie-Louise Chabot, daughter of Mathurin and Marie Mesange, on 15 April 1697, at Saint-Laurent. The contract had been notarized by Chambalon, on 12 February, one day after he notarized the marriage contract for Madeleine and Jean Pouliot. Marie-Louise was the widow of Antoine Pouliot, the brother of Jean, who she had married, on 30 January 1696, also at Saint-Laurent. Antoine died without children, but Marie-Louise and second husband, Nicolas Audet, had nine children, two boys and seven girls, all born at Saint-Laurent.
8) Marie was born, on 28 August 1682 and baptized seven days later, at Saint-Jean. She married Maurice Crepeau, son of Maurice senior and of Marguerite Laverdure, on 6 February 1702, at Saint-Jean. The contract had been notarized, on 27 January by LePailleur. Marie and Maurice had twelve children, seven boys and five girls, all but one was baptized, at Saint-Pierre. The next to the youngest was baptized at L'Ange-Gardien.
9) François was born, on 10 April 1684 and baptized two days later, at Saint-Jean. He married Marguerite Bernard, daughter of Andre and Marie Giton, on 3 June 1709, at Saint-Laurent. The contract was notarized by Chambalon, on 24 May. By 1730, Francois and Marguerite had nine children, six boys and three girls, all baptized at Saint-Laurent.
10) Marguerite was born, on 10 December 1686 and baptized the following day, at Saint-Jean. She married Louis Émery dit Coderre, son of Louis senior and of Marie-Madeleine LeClerc, on 26 August 1722 , at Boucherville. The contract had been notarized three days earlier by Tailhandier. By 1725, Marguerite and Louis had two children, a boy and a girl, both baptized at Saint-Sulpice.
11) Innocent was baptized, on 16 April 1689, at Saint-Jean. He married Geneviève Lemelin, daughter of Louis and Marie-Anne Delomay, on 12 November 1710, at Saint-Laurent. The contract had been notarized by Chambalon, on 15 October. Innocent and Geneviève had thirteen children, seven boys and six girls, all baptized at Saint-Jean.
12) Joachim was born, probably, in 1691. He married Louise Roberge, daughter of Pierre and of Marie LeFrançois, on 23 November 1716, at Saint-Laurent. By 1730, Joachim and Louise had nine children, six boys and three girls. The first two were baptized at Saint-Jean, but the rest were all baptized at Boucherville.
It is noted that all were married, on the island, except Marguerite. She married Louis Émery dit Coderre at Boucherville, on 26 August 1722. It is believed that she followed her brother, Joachim there, after the death of her parents when, he and Louise Roberge moved there with their young family.

In 1689, old Nicolas fell gravely ill, a situation from which, he never fully recovered. He was hospitalized for 19 consecutive days in the heat of the August summer and in September, he spent 26 more days under the care of the nursing sisters, at the Hotel-Dieu in Québec. He had always worked his farm with stubborn tenacity but, no more would he be active.

He had seen the marriage of three of his children, Nicolas, Pierre and Madeleine, but that left seven children at home, to be cared for by the strong arms of his wife, alone. But, he could still plan ahead and on 9 July 1696, he acquired yet another concession. This grant of land was three arpents of river frontage, some distance to the west of his own place. On 2 August 1698, he gave this land to his son Jean-Baptiste.

There were so many things yet to be done but, the bell tolled for Nicolas when he was fifty-nine years old. He was buried, on 10 December 1700 in the cemetery, at Saint-Jean where, his headstone bore the surname Lapointe. His widow passed on her inheritance, by donation to her son Joseph.

An inventory of the belongings of old Nicolas was made by notary Etienne Jacob, on 27 September 1706. It recorded seventy-five arpents of usable land, a nearby new house, measuring eighteen by twenty-four feet, a shed and a stable.

Madeleine Després survived her husband for twelve years, and at her death, children Joachim and Marguerite were still unmarried. She was buried beside him, on 19 December 1712 at the age of fifty-six.

POSTHUMOUS GLORIES
The Audets truly could be called a religious family. For 150 years, they gave hundreds of priests and other religious devotees to the Roman Catholic Church of Canada.

FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS
Adatte, Adote, Adotte, Aude, Audette, Audy, Belhumeur, Cocuret, Debailleul, Hode, Lapoint, Lapointe, O'Day, Oday, Odet, Odette, Oudy, Ouelette, Owdet, Piercot, Pierre-Cot, and Simon.

This biography was taken from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest; Volume 1, Chapter3, Page 23 72


"dit" Names etc. by Rita Elise Plourde

" There are two reasons why there are so many variant spellings of some names.
" First: most of the citizens of the 1600-1800 were illiterate. Of these, a precious few could sign their names.  However, the priests, seminarians, missionaries, monks & nuns were the most educated groups in the citizenry.  Only an elite few were educated beyond what we, today, would consider a basic elementary education.
" Consequently, many of the clerics & notaries, who under the French system of administration were charged with recording "vital statistics" wrote the names as they knew them to be in France, as a precious few of the immigrants/colonists signed them, or as they heard them (phonetically).
" That is why one sees Garau, Garrault, Gareau, Garo, etc... even amongst the sons of a   particular ancestor.  A good example are the descendants of Louis Houde...some of the variant spellings found are: Houd, Houle, Ould, Houde, Hood, etc.
" The second reason for variant spellings is: As the colonists migrated within Nouvelle France/New France & eventually beyond the areas of French-speaking Canada ( ex. to current-day USA, the Caribbean, the West Indies, etc.) recorders of "vital statistics" who were not French speakers, usually spelled names phonetically, or changed  them because they didn't have a clue how to write them. (Ex. Rochefort became Rushfort in the Carolinas, Champagne became Shampang, Thibodeaux became Thibodo, or Tibodo. LeBrun was changed to Brown & Leblanc to White, etc. etc.) 
" The "dit" names have an interesting origin. The English translation of "dit" is "said".  The Colonists of Nouvelle France added "dit" names as distinguishers. A settler might have wanted to differentiate their family from their siblings by taking a "dit" name that described the locale to which they had relocated ( ex: since the Colonists followed the customs of the French feudal system, land was divided amongst the first born sons [primogeniture] . Soon there was not enough land to divide any further.
" Perhaps an adventurous younger son would decide to establish himself, with or without a  family, in another area... say a fertile piece of land near some streams... he might add des ruisseaux (streams/creeks/rivulets) to distinguish himself from his brothers. When he married, or died, his name might be listed as Houde dit DesRuisseaux, or Desruisseau(s).
" The acquiring of a "dit" name might also be the result of a casual adoption, whereby the person wanted to honor the family who had raised them. Another reason was also to distinguish themselves by taking as a "dit" name the town or village in France from which they originated... ex: Huret dit Rochefort.