2I. JEAN (LOUIS 1)
bpt. 27 Dec. 1640 St. Jean Montaigu, Vienne
m. 28 Oct. 1669 Ste. Famille, IO, NICOLE SAULNIER (bpt. 1651 St. Christophe, Paris, bur. 3 Nov. 1714 St. Jean, IO), d. of Pierre Saulnier and Jeanne Chevillard
bur. 28 Feb. 1705 St. Jean, IO
Soldat de Regiment Carignan-Salières
Jean was a member of the Regiment de Carignan-Saliere and sailed on 13 May 1665 from LaRochelle on the ship La Paix arriving in Nouvelle France on 18 Aug. 1665.
The Carignan-Sali�res Regiment was a Piedmont French military unit formed by merging the Carignan Regiment and the Sali�res Regiment in 1659. The regiment began their existence in combat against the Ottoman Empire before being reorganized to consist of twenty-four companies before being sent to Canada in 1665. They were led by the new Governor, Daniel de R�my de Courcelle, and Lieutenant General Alexander de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy. Approximately 1200 men (Piedmont, Savoiard and Ligurian) arrived in the middle of 1665. They were welcomed as saviors, particularly by Marie de l'Incarnation (Guyart), head of a local convent, who wrote of their arrival:
The ships have all arrived, bringing us the rest of the army, along with the most eminent persons whom the king has sent to the aid of the country. They feared they would all perish in the storms they braved on their voyage...we are helping them to understand that this is a holy war, where the only things that matter are the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
Their service in New France began when a third of them were ordered to build new forts along the Richelieu River, the principal route of the Iroquois marauders. The leader of the men, the Marquis de Sali�res, recognized that little could be accomplished without more carpenters, skilled craftsman, or basic necessities such as shoes and cooking equipment. After building 3 forts and preparing to stay over in them throughout the winter, orders came from Governor de Courcelle that the men must make an offensive against the Iroquois. De Sali�res thought this was quite impossible, stating in his memoirs that:
When I understood and saw the state our soldiers were in for this enterprise, I saw all things ill disposed, the soldiers having no snowshoes, very few axes, a single blanket, no equipment for the ice and having only one pair of moccasins and stockings. When I saw all this, I said to the captains that it would require one of God's miracles for any good to come of this. Some of them replied that M. le gouverneur did as he pleased and took advice from no one.
During the expedition, not one Iroquois was found, and many of the men died due to the harsh conditions. This bitter setback was countered by the events which followed in the autumn of 1666. The regiment was ordered to continue into the territory of the Iroquois, and they found their fortifications abandoned. It turned out that the Iroquois had suffered greatly under a smallpox epidemic, and wished to engage in peace talks with the French. A treaty was signed that succeeded in keeping peace for twenty years.
Despite the lack of an Iroquois threat, King Louis XIV decided that it was better to offer the men of the regiment an opportunity to stay in New France to help increase the population. This offer was particularly beneficial to such men as Pierre de Saurel, Antoine P�caudy de Contrec�ur, and Fran�ois Jarret de Verch�res, who were granted large seigneuries in New France. Most of the leaders of the regiment still have their names as towns or cities in Canada today.
Although the majority of the regiment returned to France in 1668, about 450 remained behind to settle in Canada. These men were highly encouraged to marry, and most of them did, to newly arriving women for the colony, known as Filles du Roi. After various renamings, the regiment was split in 1794.
Shortly after his arrival Jean was discharged from his military duties and by the 1666 census he is listed as a farmer living on Ile d'Orleans. At this time he purchased a piece of land in St. Laurent parish under contract signed by notary Romain Becquet. On 2 June 1667 Mgr Laval granted him a new parcel of land at St. Jean were he settled. Jean was listed on the Villeneuve map of 1689 and was the owner of lot number 20 with 3 arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence River.(1) He lived in Ste. Famille before being granted a piece of land in 1691 in St. Jean.(2)
Nicole was born in the parish of St. Christophe in Paris which was located next to Notre Dame de Paris. She was an orphan and found her way to La Salpetriere, one of several Hopitals in Paris where many many helpless and needy young girls found refuge. These Hopitals were a vast recruiting pool from which many Filles du Roi were sent to New France. Nicole Saulnier was one of 132 women who landed in Quebec on 30 June 1669 having sailed from Dieppe several weeks earlier.
Jean and Nicole's marriage contract was signed by notary Romain Becquet on 7 Oct. 1669 before eight witnesses among whom were Barbe de Boulogne, widow of Louis D'Ailleboust, Governor of New France; and Anne Gasnier, widow of Jean Bourdon, the King's Public Attorney and first engineer of the colony. These two ladies were very active in recruiting the Filles du Roi.
After Jean's death, Nicole lived with her son Mathurin on the family farm in St. Jean. After Mathurin's death on 14 Oct. 1709 Nicole transfered the land to her son Jean as recorded by notary Louis Chambalon. Issue-
