Jean BOURASSA

(b. 1 April 1634 , Bazoges-en-Paillers, Vendée, France d. 20 January 1718 , Lauzon, Lévis, Canada, New France )

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Jean BOURASSA was born 1 April 1634 in Bazoges-en-Paillers, Vendée, France

Jean BOURASSA was the child of ? and ?

Jean was an immigrant to Canada, arriving by 1665.

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

Jean married Perrette-Marie VALLEE 20 October 1665 in Québec, Canada, New France . The couple had (at least) 4 children. Perrette-Marie VALLEE was born 3 July 1644 in St-Sulpice, Chalons en Champagne, Marne, France. Perrette-Marie died 5 May 1676 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City).

Jean married (2) Catherine POITEVIN 4 November 1676 in Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Canada, New France . The couple had (at least) 4 children. Catherine POITEVIN was born abt. 1641 in Paris, France. Catherine died abt. 1687

Jean BOURASSA died 20 January 1718 in Lauzon, Lévis, Canada, New France .

Occupation: habitant

Details of the family tree of Jean appear below.

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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 MacDonald for providing this information.

Québec Généalogie - The Seigneurial System (1627 - 1854)
The seigneurial system was a form of land settlement modeled on the French feudal system. It began in New France in 1627 with the formation of the Compagnie des Cent-Associés (or Company of 100 Associates), which was initially responsible for handing out land grants and seigneurial rights. The land was divided into five by 15 kilometer plots, usually along major rivers like the St. Lawrence. They were then further subdivided into narrow, but long lots for settlement. These lots were usually long enough to be suitable for faming, and they provided everyone who lived on them with equal access to neighbouring farms and the river. There were three main groups of people who lived off the land in this system: Seigneurs, Habitants and Engagés

Jean BOURASSA was a habitant.
Habitants were usually farmers or labourers who were initially brought over from France to live on this land. They had to pay rent and taxes to the seigneur, though they co-owned the land with the seigneur, and even had to work entirely for the benefit of the seigneur a few days each year.

Source: Canada in the Making (www.canadiana.ca/citm/index_e.html)

Habitants played an essential role in creating a permanent, settled population along the St. Lawrence River. But it was not an easy life...

Habitants had to clear the land, build a homestead, and plant and harvest a crop. The first task was never-ending, while the last one was annual. Building and repairing the house and barn were continual tasks. So were cutting and hauling firewood. The habitants had to be largely self-reliant in looking after all routine tasks such as cooking, baking, making furniture, and repairing tools. They had to attend to the educational and medical needs of the family. They had to endure the harsh physical climate and rough terrain, largely unaided by government support. The habitants had to pay taxes to the seigneurs and the church.

Canada: The Story of Our Heritage by Elspeth Deir, John Fielding, Nick Brune, Peter Grant, Stephanie Smith Abram; McGraw-Hill Ryerson School, 2000

Spouse(s) / Partner(s) and Child(ren) of Jean BOURASSA

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Jean BOURASSA married

Perrette-Marie VALLEE-- Date: 20 October 1665 Place: Québec, Canada, New France

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Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, Quebec, Canada

"...on 5 October 1665, before Notary Pierre Duquet, Jean, son of the late Jacques Bourasseau and of Francois Fauchard, from Saint-Fulgent, diocese of Lucon, promised to marry Perrette Vallee, daughter of Nicolas and of Madeleine Major, from Chalons in Champagne... Fifteen days later, ancestor Jean married the beautiful girl from Champagne before God and man."

Thomas J. Laforest
Our French-Canadian Ancestors : Volume VIII, Page 42

Children of Jean BOURASSA and Perrette-Marie VALLEE:

François BOURASSA (b.13 April 1667, Québec, Canada, New France d. abt. 1681, Lauzon, Lévis, Canada, New France )

Pierre BOURASSA (b.11 February 1669, Québec, Canada, New France d. , )

Jean BOURASSA (b.24 May 1671, Québec, Canada, New France d. 5 June 1746, Lauzon, Lévis, Canada, New France )
m. Françoise METHOT 10 November 1698 in Saint-Nicolas, Lévis, Québec, Canada

Marie-Madeleine BOURASSA (b.13 September 1673, Lauzon, Lévis, Canada, New France d. 9 March 1742, Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Canada, New France)
m. Jean-François DUSSAULT dit LAFLEUR 8 January 1692 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy)
m. Jean-Baptiste BERGERON 18 May 1719 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy)

Jean BOURASSA married

Catherine POITEVIN-- Date: 4 November 1676 Place: Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Canada, New France

View marriage record
He is listed as the widower of Marie Vallee

"A man usually does not remain single with so many young children to raise without trying to find them a new mother. That is just what Jean died on 5 November of the same year in Quebec, when he married another King's daughter, Catherine Poitevin. She was the daughter of Guillaume and of Francoise Macre, from the parish of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs in Paris. The contract had been made by notary Rageot on 25 October."

Thomas J. Laforest
Our French-Canadian Ancestors : Volume VIII, Page 43

Children of Jean BOURASSA and Catherine POITEVIN:

René BOURASSA (b.27 April 1678, Québec, Canada, New France d. 29 September 1678, Québec, Canada, New France )

Marie-Anne BOURASSA (b.abt. 1680, , Québec Province, Canada d. 5 November 1733, Berthier-sur-Mer, Canada, New France )
m. Pierre BOUCHARD 29 October 1699 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)
m. Louis BOSSE abt. 1726 in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Québec, Canada

Marie-Jeanne BOURASSA (b.1 July 1682, Cap-St-Ignace, Canada, New France d. abt. 1720, )
m. Louis MARCHAND 5 October 1701 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy)

François BOURASSA (b.2 May 1687, Québec, Canada, New France d. 26 February 1777, Lauzon, Lévis, Province of Québec, Canada )
m. Marguerite JOURDAIN 12 June 1714 in Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy)

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Exploring the Ancestry of Jean BOURASSA: Events, Pictures, and Documents

1634 Birth
1 April 1634
Bazoges-en-Paillers, Vendée, France

Jean BOURASSA - Title Historire de la seigneurie de Lauzon, Volume 1 Historire de la Seigneurie de Lauzon, Joseph-Edmond Roy Author Joseph-Edmond Roy Published 189

Title Historire de la seigneurie de Lauzon, Volume 1
Historire de la Seigneurie de Lauzon, Joseph-Edmond Roy
Author Joseph-Edmond Roy
Published 1897
Original from Columbia University
Digitized Dec 7, 2009

1656 - The pendulum clock is invented (Christiaan Huygens, Netherlands)

'...our ancestor, Jean Bourasseau, then a young man of 23, went to the port town of La Rochelle to sign up for work in New France. On 5 April 1657... he agreed to a three year contract at a salary of 90 livres a year... Once his period of servitude was ended, Jean became a farmer.'

Thomas J. Laforest
Our French-Canadian Ancestors : Volume VIII, Pages 41-42

1665 Marriage / Partner
Jean BOURASSA and Perrette-Marie VALLEE 20 October 1665, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

He was 31 years old.

Source: Les Vieilles Families D'Yamahiche, Vingt-Cinq Genealogies by F. L. Desaulniers, Montreal, 1900

1666 - Isaac Newton discovers gravity

1667 Birth of Child
François BOURASSA was born 13 April 1667, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean was 33 years old.

1669 Birth of Child
Pierre BOURASSA was born 11 February 1669, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean was 34 years old.

1671 Birth of Child
Jean BOURASSA was born 24 May 1671, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean was 37 years old.

1673 Birth of Child
Marie-Madeleine BOURASSA was born 13 September 1673, Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy)

Jean was 39 years old.

1676 Marriage / Partner
Jean BOURASSA and Catherine POITEVIN 4 November 1676, Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada

He was 42 years old.

1676 Death of Spouse/Partner
Perrette-Marie VALLEE died 5 May 1676, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

1678 Birth of Child
René BOURASSA was born 27 April 1678, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean was 44 years old.

1681 Census - Lauzon
'Jean was 50 years old and his wife was 40, so it was written. Their children were Francois, Pierre, Jeanne, Jean, Marc, Madeleine, Catherine and Marie-Anne. In actual fact, Marc and Catherine were those of Isabel. The family owned a gun, three head of cattle and worked fifteen arpents of land.'

Thomas J. Laforest
Our French-Canadian Ancestors : Volume VIII, Page 44

1682 Birth of Child
Marie-Jeanne BOURASSA was born 1 July 1682, Cap-St-Ignace, Québec, Canada (Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola)

Jean was 48 years old.

1687 Birth of Child
François BOURASSA was born 2 May 1687, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean was 53 years old.

1692 Marriage of Child
Marie-Madeleine BOURASSA married 8 January 1692 , Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy) to Jean-François DUSSAULT dit LAFLEUR

1698 - The steam engine is invented (Thomas Savery, England)

1698 Marriage of Child
Jean BOURASSA married 10 November 1698, Saint-Nicolas, Lévis, Québec, Canada to Françoise METHOT

1699 Marriage of Child
Marie-Anne BOURASSA married 29 October 1699, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City) to Pierre BOUCHARD

1701 Marriage of Child
Marie-Jeanne BOURASSA married 5 October 1701, Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy) to Louis MARCHAND

1714 Marriage of Child
François BOURASSA married 12 June 1714, Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy) to Marguerite JOURDAIN