1. ROBERT-

b.c.1577 Pin la Garenne, Mortagne, Perche
m.c.1595 MARIE DUBOIS

Issue-

·  Jean- bpt. 29 May 1597 Mortagne

·  Michel- bpt. 7 Feb. 1600 Mortagne

·  Jacqueline- bpt. 18 May 1601 Mortagne

·  Roberte- bpt. 17 June 1602 Mortagne

·  Barthelemi- bpt. 24 Aug. 1603 Mortagne

·  Rose- bpt. 4 Dec. 1605 Mortagne

·  2I. ROBERT- bpt. 6 Aug. 1607 Mortagne, Perche, m.1. 12 July 1637 Quebec, ANNE CLOUTIER (bpt. 19 Jan. 1626 St. Jean de Mortagne, Perche, bur. 5 Feb. 1648 Quebec), 2. 29 Nov. 1649 Marie Chapelier, bur. 1 June 1685 Chateau Richer

·  Hilaire- bpt. 6 Feb. 1610 St. Barthelemi, Mortagne

·  Marie- bpt. 5 Dec. 1611 Mortagne

2I. ROBERT (ROBERT 1)

bpt. 6 Aug. 1607 Mortagne, Perche
m.1. 12 July 1637 Quebec, ANNE CLOUTIER (bpt. 19 Jan. 1626 St. Jean de Mortagne, Perche, bur. 5 Feb. 1648 Quebec), d. of Zacharie Cloutier and Sainte Dupont
2. 29 Nov. 1649 Marie Chapelier
bur. 1 June 1685 Chateau Richer

Aoust 1607 Le 6e jour du dit mois et an fut baptisé robert fils de robert droyn et de Marie du boys, les parrains Robert Roy et Thomas Leguy la marainne Jehanne fille de Denys moyne par moy subzsigné Thibault

Robert was born in the parish of Saint-Barthelemy in a small town of no distinction, Pin-la-Garenne, a Community in the Department of the Orne, District of Mortagne, Canton of Pervencheres in the ancient and honorable Province of Perche. He was baptized on August 6, 1607, the son of Robert and Marie Dubois and grew up in a stone house, which still exists, the Tuileries. There is no relationship between this small modest stone house and the royal playhouse at Versailles exept the name; derived from the ornamental tile and brick used to decorate the walls and chimneys of homes of that period. The current owners are delighted to have descendants of Robert come to visit and they will have you sign their guest book.

"The Tuileries" Before and After Renovations

In 1634, Seigneur Robert Giffard recruited many Percherons for the unknown life in Canada. Among these were the families of Cloutier, Boucher, Giroux and others. A year later, in 1635, Robert Drouin joined with François Aubert, Philippe Amyot, Jean Côté and Mathurin Grouvel who left from the port of Dieppe and sailed out to the colony. The conditions of employment, which Robert accepted, were undoubtedly established the year before by Robert Giffard and Zacharie Cloutier before their departure.

Robert Drouin disembarked at Québec in the summer of 1635. According to the historian Benjamin Sulte, he was among the first to clear land in New France. We find him living in Giffard's seigneurie, in the home of Zacharie Cloutier, making bricks. He contributed to the building of houses and out buildings of those first settlers who could not live indefinitely in the makeshift shelters near the manor house of the seigneur.

As the friendship of the 29 year old Robert and the Cloutier family grew stronger, he sought the hand in marriage of the 10 year old daughter of his employer. Anne Cloutier was born in Perche on 19 Jan. 1626. She was the daughter of Zacharie and Sainte Dupont. The Notary Jean Guyon came to write the first marriage contract in Canada. It was done in the house of Seigneur Giffard before the principals concerned and a number of witnesses. The marriage was to take place as soon as possible, however, the newlyweds were to continue to live in the Cloutier home for a period of three years and the bride agreed to be "conseillee " by her parents. In this expression, one may observe the prudence of the parents who indicated the desire that their child not be confronted with marital responsibilities too soon.

Their marriage was celebrated, on 12 July 1637, in the church of Notre-Dame de Québec but, their first child, Agnes, was not born until January 25, 1641, well after those years of parental surveillance.

A contract from Notary Piraude, dated 25 Mar. 1640, tells us that Robert sold 7000 bricks to the nursing order of the Dames Hospitalieres. He contracted to deliver them about the 15th of the following June "on the shore of the river near Beauport just opposite his workyard " for a price of "two poinsons of wheat." A poinson is a measure of volume, equivalent to 39 Imperial gallons.

On 14 Oct. 1645, Robert promised to "lease to Grouvel 200 bricks." During this period, Robert was always busy with many other activities. He made planks, dry-docked the launch of Grouvel and sowed the fields of his friends. In spite of all this, Robert never abandoned his trade as a brickmaker. As proof, on 27 July 1682, on the occasion of his son's Etienne's marriage, he invited Etienne to come around in his spare time to "make some bricks." The boy would get to keep half the profits.

In 1641, the surveyor, Jean Bourdon, drew a map of the Beaupré Coast on which we can locate the land of Robert Drouin. It was situated between the properties of Jacques Boissel and Claude Estienne, to the west of Rivière-aux-Chiens. By that time, Robert had cleared a plot of land and put a small cabin on it. The couple must also have established a home at Beauport. In 1642, Robert and some people of Beauport were accused of having plotted to kill Jacques Bourguignon, who sued them in the Criminal Court of Québec. The affair was not prosecuted. On 17 Apr. 1646, a land grant was made by Olivier Le Tardif in favor of Drouin and signed by Notary Morel. This land was 6 arpents of frontage by 126 in depth.

The Drouins had daughters. Agnes, who died in 1641, Geneviève and Jeanne. Genevieve had Jean Gagnon for a godfather and had been privately baptized by Mathurin Gagnon, family friends, who lived at Château-Richer.

In 1648 Anne Cloutier died at Chandeleur and was buried at Québec on 4 Feb. The Jesuit Journal tells us about the arrival of the body at the Hospital of Québec, where vespers were said before the interment. The question arises: how did they transport the body from Château-Richer to Québec in the dead of winter? This Anne Cloutier who was a native of Mortagne, in Perche, had arrived in Canada on the 4th of June 1634, exactly 100 years, to the day, after Jacques Cartier.

Robert then decided to leave the area. He gave his in-laws temporary custody of his two orphan daughters, Geneviève and Jeanne. He rented his land to Julien Perrault, who agreed to allow an arpent of land to return to nature each year but to take good care of the two cows, the heifer, the ox and the four pigs.

On 26 Nov. 1649 Robert signed his second marriage contract with Marie Chapelier, widow of Pierre Petit, a native of Compte-Robert-en-Brie, and daughter of Jean and Marguerite Dodier. Drouin promised to "take a residence close to Quebec." The following Monday, on 29 Nov., the ceremony took place at Notre Dame de Québec. The marriage contract was a bit complicated and was subsequently adjusted on 25 July 1664.

Marie Chapelier had a cousin, one Robert Hache, a clerk in a store in Québec in 1649, who was present at the signing of her marriage contract. This Jesuit layman had lived at Trois-Rivières. Could it have been he, who gave his cousin the idea of going to live at the Cap de la Madeleine? The Drouins had a daughter, Marie, who was baptized at Trois-Rivières in the autumn of 1650. Old Zacharie Cloutier did not trust stepmother Chapelier, "He feared that the said children were mistreated by this new woman." Therefore, he took custody of his two grandchildren during the time his son-in-law lived at Trois-Rivières.

On June 6, 1651, the Jesuits granted a plot of land to the Drouin couple, not far from that of Sebastien Dodier, a relative of Marie Chapelier. This grant of 2 arpents in frontage on the river to a depth of 20 arpents was located on the Cap between the properties of Jean Lanqueteau and Jean Poisson.

While Robert was busy making bricks he also dabbled in the fur trade. He was seen selling a certain quantity of pelts at the Trois-Rivières market. He may have received them in payment for bricks. On 18 Sept. 1650, Marie, their first child, was baptized at this second home of the Drouins but, by January of 1652, they were back in Québec where Nicolas was baptized in a private ceremony at Québec. The boy had already been conditionally baptized on January 8 by Nicolas Giffard.

Father Paul Ragueneau, S.J., baptized Marguerite Drouin on 27 Dec. 1655 at the home of Étienne Racine, a resident of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. Thus, we see that the family had returned to the Rivière-aux-Chiens, no doubt back to the land of 1641. But their return to Sainte-Anne parish was not all happy. The Cloutiers did not like Marie Chapelier so, out of concern for their granddaughters, Geneviève and Jeanne, they were able to obtain permanent custody.

Robert and Marie loved their children very much and did all they could to help them, especially on the occasion of their marriages. For instance, when daughter Marie married, they gave her a milk cow, some clothing, some linens and dishes, plus 100 livres in cash. The Drouins also boarded Geneviève and Marguerite with the Ursuline nuns at Québec.

In 1667, Robert owned 6 head of cattle and 10 arpents of cleared land. He sold a half arpent of his river frontage in 1668 to François Lacroix for 100 livres. The next year, he granted a slice off the back section of his land, 2 arpents, 3.5 perches, to Francois Branliac. Enough land still remained for his sons, Nicolas and Étienne. In 1681, Robert Drouin was yet himself cultivating 20 arpents of land. On October 4 of that year, he accepted the 14 year old Charles Balarneau for a three year indenture.

The good Sainte-Anne did something special to recognize the faith of the founding Drouin family. Nicolas, Robert's 12 year old son, "being afflicted by a falling sickness (epilepsy), and who was in danger of dying in a fire or in the water and who often fell down as if dead wherever he found himself, vowed to Sainte-Anne and started a novena in her honor ... and (as a result) recovered his health," on the feast of Sainte-Anne, July 26, 1662. His recovery was complete. "He continued all the years with his parents, to give thanks to Sainte-Anne, on her feast day, at the church of the little cape."

Drouin Homestead- Riviere de Chien

In 1664, Madame Drouin made an offering of a livre to the church of Sainte-Anne. That same year their daughter, Marie, married, on November 28, 1662 at Château-Richer to Nicolas Lebel, son of Clement and Françoise Lagnel, drowned at Rivière-aux-Chiens " coming to Sainte-Anne to hear the Holy Mass ... and with the intention of making her devotions." She was buried at Château-Richer on May 2, 1664.

Robert Drouin at age 77, father of fourteen children, died, on 1 June 1685, at Château-Richer " after having received the sacraments of penance, holy eucharist and extreme unction." Father Guillaume Gauthier presided at the funeral. On the 11, 16 and 17th of June, an inventory was made of his possessions, by the Notary Étienne Jacob. An inventory of his estate revealed goods worth 732 livres. However, after deducting 8 livres for funeral costs, 15 for the church at Château-Richer, 9 livres for the cost of the inventory, 65 livres of dower and 266 livres for half of the selling price of the house (which went to Marie), there was only 152 livres to divide among five inheritors, who brought many suits and appeals before the courts dealing with the inheritance. But Robert Drouin's real legacy is in his contribution to the French-Canadian race. It is almost impossible to trace any French-Canadian genealogy without encountering Robert Drouin among the earliest ancestors. That would seem... to be his greatest claim to fame.

His widow, Marie Chapelier, is without a doubt, the woman listed at the Hôtel-Dieu Québec under the name of Marie Chapeliez. She died, on 15 Mar. 1697 at the Hôtel-Dieu and was buried three days later.

Issue- First three children by Anne, last eight by Marie

·  I. Agnes- bpt. 21 Jan., bur. 8 Nov. 1641 Quebec

·  II. Genevieve- bpt. 19 Oct. 1643 Quebec, m. 24 Apr. 1656 Notre Dame de Quebec (contract 27 Feb.- Notarie Badeau), Romain Trepagnier (bpt. 19 Apr. 1627 St. Pierre de Muchedent, Dieppe, Normandie, bur. 21 Mar. 1702 Chateau Richer), bur. 4 Oct. 1710 Chateau Richer

·  3III. JEANNE- bpt. 2 May 1647 Quebec (Jeanne was baptized by Father Jean Le Sueur, "in the house of Robert Drouin" at Rivière-aux-Chiens), m. 10 Nov. 1659 Quebec, PIERRE MAHEU (bpt. 23 Dec. 1630 Mortagne, Perche, bur. 3 May 1717 Notre Dame de la Misericorde, Beauport), bur. 23 June 1732 Beauport

·  IV. Marie- bpt. 18 Sept. 1650 Trois Rivieres, m. 28 Nov. 1662 Chateau Richer (contract 27 Nov.- Notary Aubert), Nicolas Lebel (m.2. 2 Apr. 1665 Chateau Richer, Therese Migneault (bpt. 15 Sept. 1651 Quebec, m.2. 6 Feb. 1679 Beaupre, Rene Ouellet (b.c.1635 Paris, m.1. 8 Mary 1666 Quebec, Anne Rivet (b.c.1642 Alencon, Normandie, bur. 7 Apr. 1675 Chateau Richer), bur. 15 Jan. 1722 La Pocatiere), bur. 5 Dec. 1728 Kamouraska) , d.s.p., bur. 2 May 1664 Chateau Richer. Poor Marie drowned in the Riviere des Chiens on her way to Ste. Anne's to pray.

·  V. Nicolas- bpt. 1 Feb. 1652 Quebec, m. 6 Nov. 1674 Quebec (contract 31 Oct.- Notarie Becquet), Marie Loignon (bur. 12 Sept. 1717 Ste. Famille, IO), bur. 5 Oct. 1723 Ste. Famille, IO

·  VI. Pierre- bpt. 1 Nov. 1653 Quebec, d.c.1666

·  VII. Marguerite- bpt. 27 Dec. 1655 Quebec, m.1. 26 Oct. 1670 Chateau Richer (contract 25 Nov.- Notarie Auber), Jean Gagnon (bpt. 5 Feb. 1648 Quebec, bur. 7 Dec. 1687 Chateau Richer), 2. 19 Apr. 1689 Chateau Richer, Antoine Darde (b.c.1640 Tourraine), bur. 2 June 1692 Chateau Richer

·  VIII. Etienne- m.1. 3 Nov. 1682 Ste. Famille, I.O. (contract 27 July 1682- Notarie Duquet), Marie Catherine Loignon (bpt. 27 Mar. 1669 Ste. Famille, IO, bur. 13 Mar. 1703 Chateau Richer), 2. 13 Apr. 1711 Ste. Anne de Beaupre (contract 10 Apr.- Notarie Vachon), Jeanne Barrette (m.1. 21 Jan. 1688 Beaupre, Martin Poulin (bpt. 17 Oct. 1648 Quebec, bur. 16 Jan. 1710 Beaupre)), bur. 19 Sept. 1732 Ste. Famille, IO.

·  IX. Catherine- bpt. 5 Jan. 1660 Quebec, m.1. 24 Nov. 1676 Chateau Richer (contract 20 Oct.- Notarie Vachon), Michel Roulois (bpt. 5 Jan. 1655 Quebec, bur. 16 Feb. 1686 Chateau Richer), 2. 17 Nov. 1688 Chateau Richer, Guillaume Simon (bpt. 23 Sept. 1664 Quebec, bur. 16 Mar. 1712 Chateau Richer), bur. 26 Mar. 1734 Chateau Richer

·  X. Jean Baptiste- bpt. 14 Feb. 1662 Chateau Richer, d. before 1681

·  XI. Marie Madeleine- bpt. 27 Nov. 1664 Chateau Richer, bur. 3 Feb. 1665 Chateau Richer

Ref:

Parish registers for Chateau Richer, Ste. Anne de Beaupre, Ste. Famille, Beauport, Kamourska, Notre Dame de Quebec
Dictionary of Canadian Biography- Honorious Provost- vol 1. p. 281
Our French-Canadian Ancestors- Thomas J. Laforest- Vol. 2, Ch. 9-P. 77

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