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Ancestor is complete! immigrant flag male ancestor  Jacques  MENARD dit LAFONTAINE

Born
abt. 1624 ,  Mervent, Poitou, France
Died
14 January 1707 ,  Boucherville, Canada, New France
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Parents & Family of Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE

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Parents
Jean MENARDAnne SAVINELLE
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Born: abt. 1624 in Mervent, Poitou, France

Father: Jean MENARD
Mother: Anne SAVINELLE

Jacques was an immigrant to Canada, arriving by 1657.
Immigration to New France: Shaping the Roots of Canada


Spouse(s)/Partner(s) and Child(ren):

Jacques  married  Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER) 19 November 1657 in Trois-Rivières, Canada, New France .  The couple had (at least) 13 children.
Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER)  was born 6 January 1640 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France.  Catherine died 31 March 1694 in Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville).  Catherine was the child of Jean FORESTIER (FORTIER) and Julienne COEFFES.

Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE died 14 January 1707 in Boucherville, Canada, New France .



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Did You Know? Québec Généalogie - Over time, Québec has gone through a series of name changes
From its inception in the early 1600s until 1760, it was called Canada, New France.
1760 to 1763, it was simply Canada
1763 to 1791 - Province of Québec
1791 to 1867 - Lower Canada
1867 to present - Québec, Canada.

Thanks to Micheline Gadbois MacDonald for providing this information.
Did You Know? Québec Généalogie - What is a 'dit/dite' name?  When the first settlers came to Québec from France it was a custom to add a 'dit' nickname to the surname. 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. 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. This custom ended around 1900 when people began using only one name, either the 'dit' nickname or their original surname.

Source: American-French Genealogical Society, Woonsocket, Rhode Island (www.afgs.org/ditnames/index1.html)
RELATED READING

Historical context and research guides selected from this person's time and place.

A Glimpse into 17th-Century New France: Life of the Average Man

Spouse & Children of Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE

Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE married Ancestor is complete!immigrant Fille a Marier flag female ancestor Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER)
Marriage date: 19 November 1657
Marriage place: Trois-Rivières, Canada, New France
View ImageSee marriage record for Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE and Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER)
Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER) was the child of Jean FORESTIER (FORTIER) and Julienne COEFFES

Marriage notes:
marriage found at Immaculee Conception, Trois Rivieres in Drouin Collection
Jacques Menard and Catherine Fortier
He is the son of Joannis Menard and Auare Lavinelle
She is the daughter of Joannis Fortier and Juliannae Coifus


So Many Children! French-Canadian Family Size in the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries

Children of Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE and Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER)



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Life & Records

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Biography
MÉNARD - variant of Magnard, from the Germanic name 'Magenhard', which means 'robust-seasoned'.

Jacques Ménard dit Fontaine, son of Jean Ménard and Anne Savinelle, was born around 1628 in Mervent, Fontenay-le-Comte, in Vendée. He married Catherine Forestier, daughter of Jean and Julienne Coiffes in Trois-Rivières in 1657. They had 13 children. He was a locksmith, servant, wheelwright and militia captain. In the census of 1681, he lived in Boucherville and owned 2 guns, 5 cattle and 7 acres of land in value. He died there in 1707.
Source / record details
French-Canadian Ancestry on Facebook
Invention 1656 - The pendulum clock is invented (Christiaan Huygens, Netherlands)
marriage1657 Marriage / Partner
Jacques MENARD dit LAFONTAINE and Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER) 19 November 1657, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1658 Birth of Child
Marguerite MENARD was born 4 September 1658, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1659 Birth of Child
Marie-Louise MENARD dite LAFONTAINE was born 7 September 1659, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1660 Birth of Child
Jean-Baptiste MENARD was born 27 November 1660, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1662 Birth of Child
Louis MENARD was born 28 July 1662, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1664 Birth of Child
Maurice MENARD dit LAFONTAINE was born 6 June 1664, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
Invention 1666 - Isaac Newton discovers gravity
1666 Birth of Child
Jean MENARD dit BELLEROSE was born 16 March 1666, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1668 Birth of Child
Marguerite MENARD was born 22 January 1668, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1669 Birth of Child
Jeanne-Françoise MENARD was born 24 May 1669, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada (Three Rivers)
1671 Birth of Child
Marie-Anne MÉNARD was born 1 April 1671 , Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
marriage1672 Marriage of Child
Marie-Louise MENARD dite LAFONTAINE married 8 February 1672, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Jacques BOURDON
1673 Birth of Child
Marie-Catherine MENARD was born 27 September 1673, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
1675 Birth of Child
Marie-Madeleine MENARD was born 17 January 1675, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
1676 Birth of Child
Thérèse MENARD was born 2 October 1676, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
1678 Birth of Child
Jacques MENARD was born 17 August 1678, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul)
1681 Canadian Census Seigneurie du Boucherville
Jacques Menard (dit Lafontaine), charron, 52
Catherine Forestier, sa femme, 46
enfants:
Jean, 22
Louis, 19
Maurice, 18
Jean, 16
Marguerite, 14
Jeanne, 12
Anne, 9
Catherine, 6
Therese, 5
Jacques, 3

Source: Histoire des Canadiens-Francais 1608-1880 by Benjamin Sulte, Montreal, 1882
marriage1681 Marriage of Child
Jean-Baptiste MENARD married 14 October 1681, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Marguerite-Louise ETIENNE
marriage1681 Marriage of Child
Marguerite MENARD married 14 October 1681, Boucherville, Canada, New France to François LANCTÔT
1685 Death of Child
Jacques MENARD died 6 July 1685, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
marriage1686 Marriage of Child
Jeanne-Françoise MENARD married 25 November 1686, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Étienne DEMERS (DUMAIS)
marriage1688 Marriage of Child
Marie-Anne MÉNARD married 15 November 1688, Boucherville, Canada, New France to François BRUNET dit BELHUMEUR
marriage1690 Marriage of Child
Jean MENARD dit BELLEROSE married 13 March 1690, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Marie-Elisabeth VALIQUET dite LAVERDURE (VALIQUETTE)
marriage1691 Marriage of Child
Louis MENARD married 12 December 1691 , Boucherville, Canada, New France to Marie-Anne FEVRIER
1694 Death of Spouse/Partner
Catherine FORESTIER (FORTIER) died 31 March 1694, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
marriage1697 Marriage of Child
Marguerite MENARD married 11 February 1697, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Pierre CADIEUX
marriage1697 Marriage of Child
Thérèse MENARD married 11 February 1697 , Boucherville, Canada, New France to Jean-Baptiste DENEAU (DENIAU) (DAIGNEAU)
Invention 1698 - The steam engine is invented (Thomas Savery, England)
marriage1699 Marriage of Child
Marie-Catherine MENARD married 1 February 1699, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Jacques RIVIERE (LARIVIERE)
1699 Death of Child
Marguerite MENARD died 3 April 1699, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville)
1702 Death of Child
Jean MENARD dit BELLEROSE died 7 May 1702, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul)
marriage1706 Marriage of Child
Jeanne-Françoise MENARD married 6 December 1706, Boucherville, Canada, New France to Jean-Baptiste LACHAISE dit LAVIGNE
1707 Death
Jacques Menard

Death record found at Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville, Quebec
Source / record details
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Last updated 12/9/2025 10:17:23 AM
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