THE DUPUIS FAMILY

The name "Dupuis" is encountered frequently in France. Some of these families settled in Canada. Your ancestor is Francois Dupuis.

FRANCOIS DUPUIS

Francois Dupuis was the son of Francois Dupuis and Marguerite Resneau originally from St. Laurent sur Gorre, district of Rocheouard, Diocese of Limoges in Limousin. Limoges is known for the fine porcelain that they still manufacture today.

We do not know the date that Francois arrivedin New France. He probably arrived in the country in 1667, three years before his marriage. He must have made the crossing as a contracted laborer (engage).

On 14 September 1670 he signed a marriage contract prepared by the notary Duquet and on the 6th of October he married Georgette Richer at Quebec. He was then living in the "seigneurie" of MAUR, today known as St. Augustin de Portneuf. This parish was not established until 1691, prior to that it was serviced by visiting missionaries. In the census of July 1681, the family was still living in the seigneurie de Maur, Francois was listed as 44 years old and Georgette as 34 years old. The same year the family moved to La Prairie where Francois probably worked as a day laborer. On 24 December 1684 Francois settled near the village on a farm of 100 acres in the district called St. Jean, bordering on the St. Jacques River. The contract for the concession by the seigneurs, prepared by the notary Maugue, was signed on 4 September 1693.

(Children of Francois Dupuis and Georgette Richer)

Rene, born and baptized at Quebec on 26 June 1671.

Moise, born on 10 July 1673, baptized at Quebec on the 18th.

Marie-Anne, born at Maur on 19 August 1675, baptized at Quebec on the 26th.

Angelique, born at Maur on 23 April 1677, baptized at Quebec on the 28th, died and was buried on 30 October 1684 at La Prairie.

Marie-Anne, born and baptized on 27 June 1679 at Quebec. On 7 November 1695 she married Pierre Brion, the baker, at La Prairie.

Marguerite, born on the 3rd and baptized on the 4th of February 1682. Died and was buried at La Prairie on 20 October 1684.

Claude baptized at La Prairie on 10 September 1684.

Of the seven children, three founded families of their own. Between 1695 and 1760, covering four generations, there were at least forty alliances with the Dupuis family. On four occasions the Dupuis family allied themselves with the Guerin family, and three times each with the families Robidou, Pinsonneau and Roy.

Having become a widower in January 1700, the octogenarian Francois Dupuis went to Montreal and on 2 June 1707 he signed his remarkable will prepared by the notary Michel Lepailleur. (This will is described later, Ed.) I have not been able to find the date of his death nor where he was buried.

LES ENGAGES ( The contract laborers)

La Rochelle was the principal seaport where the emigrants left for New France. For the crossing, which could last two or three months, the ship's captains charged 50 pounds for the round trip, and usually in advance. For many of the young men who were seeking adventure, their only recourse was to sign a contract to work for free for three years in the colony or to enlist as a soldier.

In New France, the lords (seigneurs) and the large business owners were looking for cheap labor. In order to make their concessions more valuable; the beneficiaries of the fiefs needed men to clear the forests and to till the land. The workers, for the most part, could not be recruited in the colony. Therefore it was necessary to bring them over from France by paying for their passage.

These workers were called "engages". They contracted their labor for a period of three years. Nevertheless they fulfilled their contracts, they acclimated themselves and they took advantage of the schooling the colony provided. After the expiration of their contracts they found employment on the farms or in commerce earning ten cents a day and board. In this way they amassed the funds which would permit them to establish themselves in their chosen endeavors. Pierre Boucher in his "History…" states that the majority of the people living in the colony came to New France as "engages" and after having served for three years they set out to work to establish themselves. Usually within a year they married and within four or five years they were well situated.

LA TRAITE DES FOURRURES (THE FUR TRADE)

To acquire the beaver at a good price it was necessary to join the Indian tribes in the deepest forest, west of Lake Superior or south of Lake Michigan. An absence of two to three years did not cool off the enthusiasm of the fur traders. This errant life had many charms. The voyageurs were free from all constraints and had aspirations of an easy profit. But what a life! At all the "portages" (overland trails, ed.) one had to carry his canoe and his merchandise on his shoulders. On the Great Lakes one was constantly in peril. And finally, one had to adjust to the constant hunger. When game was scarce, one was reduced to eating roots. Those who went were of necessity the most rigorous and most energetic. It was easier to cultivate the land and defend the colony. In the census of 1681, in a country where, by royal decree, even the adolescents were required to marry in order to increase the population as quickly as possible, there were but 1475 married men and 65 widowers. However, there were 800 fur traders.

Almost all the families of La Prairie, at one time or another, sent one of their sons to the high country, but their participation was very unequal. The record belongs to the members of the Deneau family who between 1683 and 1759 made no less than 69 voyages. In this same period, the Dupuis' made 28. Rene Dupuis received his passport as "engage pour l'ouest" on 3 June 1695. In 1707, his father Francois disinherited him in favor of his wife and children because "by his enterprises as voyageur, in which he was unlucky, he found himself burdened with debt".

The second son of Francois, Moise Dupuis, like some other inhabitants of La Prairie at the time, became a smuggler and went to settle in Corlar, today known as Schenectady, N. Y., where he married a Dutch girl of the Calvinist religion. In the autumn of 1689, at the time when the panic was at its height, the Count de Frontenac, at 67 years of age, returned to Canada to defend New France against the attacks of the Iroquois federation and the English colonies. Finally, at the signing of the treaty of Ryswick (1697) between Great Britain and France, peace returned to New France to last for two generations. In 1699, many of the families from La Prairie returned from the Dutch country, among them was Moise Dupuis. Here he had his wife and his daughter baptized and his marriage validated. The couple settled in the St. Joseph district, had nine children and was counted among the well to do citizens of La Prairie.

Barbe, the youngest daughter of Moise and Marie Louis, born and baptized at La Prairie on 12 June 1715, signed a marriage contract, prepared by the notary Francois Lepailleur, on 16 November 1733 with Paul Leriger, son of the chevalier Clement Leriger, lord of La Plante. The father of the groom was the only individual of the seigneurie, who with his sons, claimed nobility and used his title of sir knight. The future bride was the daughter of a country farmer in the eyes of the seigneurie. The marriage contract contains a clause that markedly points out the unequalness of the social status of the participants. In effect, the father of the bride contracted to give his son-in-law a considerable sum (1400 pounds) in "consideration of honor" to assure the marriage of his daughter who also renounced her social group and ascended to the rank of the notables.

LE TESTAMENT DE FRANCOIS DUPUIS (THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF FRANCOIS DUPUIS)

On 2 June 1707, Francois Dupuis consulted the notary Michel Lepailleur at Montreal and made his final declarations. He wanted to be buried in the new stone church at La Prairie and bequeathed 150 pounds for his mass, his internment and for masses to be said at the Recollets in Montreal. He decreed that upon his death, his farm of 100 acres located in the St. Joseph district should be divided equally amongst his three children, Rene, Moise and Marie-Ann. The will contains two clauses which declare the intent of the testator and underlines the uniqueness of the document. First, the father (Francois) gives to the children of his eldest son, Rene and Angelique Marie, his wife, all his personal furniture and his livestock "to assure their support and subsistence" and second, "it is understood that Rene Dupuis by his enterprises as a voyageur in which he has had misfortune and finds himself burdened with debt… and to prevent the dissipation of the bequest he is to receive, and to preserve the said bequest for the family and for the advantage of the aforesaid children… it is ordered that the said Rene Dupuis cannot dispose, sell, alienate nor contract away any of these bequests…".

Curiously there does not exist any other example where a father, anxious about his sons enterprises in the high country and concerned about protecting his patrimony, only allows him the use of a well-situated farm, bordering the river St. Jacques, a short distance from the village and the fort. Francois Dupuis owned two adjoining farms with two houses well situated between the St. Jean road and the St. Jacques River.

GEORGETTE RICHER

Georgette Richer, daughter of Jean Richer and the deceased Leonarde Bornay, was originally from the parish of St.-Ursin de Chailly-sur-Armancon, in the district of Beaune, Bourgogne (Cote d'Or); she arrived in Quebec in 1670 and was a "fille du Roi".

On 14 September she signed a marriage contract, prepared by the notary Duquet, with Francois Dupuis. The marriage was blessed at Quebec on 6 October 1670. The couple would have seven children, although only three survived.

FILLE DU ROI (Daughter of the King)

In 1660, in New France, there were six men for each woman. From 1663 to 1673, the state recruited and transported 800 women to New France, these were called the daughters of the King because the king paid for their transport and living expenses. They received between two to three hundred pounds as a dowry. A certain privileged few also received a cow, farm tools and seed. The recruiters had to ensure that the girls were not previously married and received a premium for each girl that they persuaded to partake of this adventure. They usually recruited orphans or girls from poor families who despaired of making a good marriage in France.

Once under contract, they were conducted to a seaport, maybe Dieppe, or La Rochelle, where they embarked on ships headed for Canada. A woman was placed in charge of their well being during the trip, which lasted two or three months, on a ship of few comforts where they were in contact with the other passengers; sailors, engages, and soldiers. Considering the amount of his own money that the king, Louis XIV, was investing in this enterprise to populate New France, he wanted to be assured that the girls arrived at their destination without being pregnant.

Usually, the majority of these girls chose husbands within days of their arrival; we would think that the girls made the choice themselves since there were fewer women than men and they could permit themselves to choose the most advantageous partner. The girls would of course want to know if their future spouse possessed a comfortable house. They understood that the life that awaited them was one of exceptional primitiveness. However, their most elementary requirements were their prime concern. The prospects however were after all better than that back in France where their needs were often not met.