Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

Born

18 May 1629 , Québec, Canada, New France

Died

abt. 1678 , Montmagny, Canada, New France

Parents & Family of Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

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Parents

Guillaume COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY Marie-Guillemette HÉBERT

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Born: 18 May 1629 in Québec, Canada, New France

Father: Guillaume COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

Mother: Marie-Guillemette HÉBERT

Paternal grandparents: André COUILLARD , Jehanne BASSET

Maternal grandparents: Louis HÉBERT , Marie ROLLET

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

Louis married Geneviève DESPRÉS 29 April 1653 in Québec, Canada, New France . The couple had (at least) 6 children.
Geneviève DESPRÉS was born abt. 1639 in Paris, France. Geneviève died 11 May 1706 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City).

Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY died abt. 1678 in Montmagny, Canada, New France .
Details of the family tree of Louis appear below.

WORK & OCCUPATION

Occupation

Recorded occupation: Seigneur de L'espinay

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.

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

Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY was a seigneur.
Seigneurs were the most important colonists, as they were usually in the military or aristocracy prior to being a settler. These seigneurs then were charged with the task of subdividing large parcels of land into five by 15 kilometer concessions, then renting this land to a habitant. Under regulations set up by the French government in France, the seigneur could also set up a court of law, set up a mill on his land and organize a commune.

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

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

The Definitive Guide for Researching Your French-Canadian Ancestors in 2025

Spouse & Children of Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

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Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY married

Geneviève DESPRÉS
Marriage date: 29 April 1653
Marriage place: Québec, Canada, New France

See marriage record for Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY and Geneviève DESPRÉS

Marriage notes:

Notre-Dame

Children of Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY and Geneviève DESPRÉS

Jeanne COUILLARD

Born: 3 June 1654, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 12 July 1702, Québec, Canada, New France

Married: Paul DUPUIS 22 October 1668 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Charles COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

Born: 6 December 1655, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 17 June 1656, Québec, Canada, New France

Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD

Born: 2 May 1657, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 8 March 1735, Québec, Canada, New France

Married: Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) 23 October 1680 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis COUILLARD

Born: 29 November 1658, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 15 May 1728, Saint-Pierre-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Canada, New France

Married: Marie FORTIN 4 May 1688 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Married: Marguerite BELANGER 7 November 1712 Place: L'Islet, Québec, Canada (L'Islet-sur-Mer) (Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours)

Married: Marguerite FORTIN 21 June 1716 Place: Montmagny, Québec, Canada (Saint-Thomas) (Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire)

Married: Louise NOLIN 31 January 1719 Place: Montmagny, Québec, Canada (Saint-Thomas) (Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire)

Geneviève COUILLARD

Born: 24 October 1660, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 8 September 1720, Montmagny, Canada, New France

Married: Pierre DENIS 27 September 1686 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jacques COUILLARD

Born: 5 June 1665, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 23 August 1737, Montmagny, Canada, New France

Married: Elisabeth LEMIEUX 21 January 1691 Place: Montmagny, Québec, Canada (Saint-Thomas) (Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire)

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Records about Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY and family appear alongside historical events from the same years. Each item is labeled so you can quickly tell family records from historical context.

Birth — 1629
18 May 1629
Québec, Canada, New France

Baptism
Louys Couillart
18 May 1629
Notre-Dame-de-Québec
Familysearch.org. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection) (Mormon Genealogy Records).
The French In North America: 1500-1783

Biography
COUILLARD DE LESPINAY, LOUIS, fisherman, hunter, and seigneur; b. 1629, third child and eldest son of Guillaume Couillard and Guillemette Hébert, baptized 18 May 1629 at Quebec just two months before its capture by the Kirkes; d. 1678.

He received some education from the Jesuits but early showed a liking for movement and adventure. At 17, with four lively companions of about his own age – all rascals (“tous fripons”) comments the Journal des Jésuites – he made a voyage to Old France. Never daunted by danger, he had many narrow escapes and repeatedly turned up safe and sound after rumours of his capture or death. At the age of 21 he formed an association with seven other young men, for hunting seals, an occupation which entailed months of extreme hardships on the shores of the gulf.

On 29 April 1653, he married Geneviève Després in the parish of Notre-Dame de Québec. The following year he bought half the seigneury of the Rivière-du-Sud about 30 miles below Quebec on the south...Read full story

Dictionary of Canadian Biography (www.biographi.ca)

1629 Baptism

Familysearch.org. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection) (Mormon Genealogy Records).
The French In North America: 1500-1783

1643 - May 14 - Louis XIV becomes King of France

1653 Marriage / Partner
Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY and Geneviève DESPRÉS 29 April 1653, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

He was 23 years old.

1654 Birth of Child
Jeanne COUILLARD was born 3 June 1654, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 25 years old.

1655 Birth of Child
Charles COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY was born 6 December 1655, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 26 years old.

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

1657 Birth of Child
Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD was born 2 May 1657, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 27 years old.

1658 Birth of Child
Louis COUILLARD was born 29 November 1658, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 29 years old.

1660 Birth of Child
Geneviève COUILLARD was born 24 October 1660, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 31 years old.

1665 Birth of Child
Jacques COUILLARD was born 5 June 1665, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 36 years old.

1666 - Isaac Newton discovers gravity

1666 Quebec

Louis Couillard Sr. de Lespinay .............34 bourgeois
Geneviefve Desprez ..........................27 sa femme
Jeanne Couillard ............................12 fille
Jean baptiste Couillard ......................8 fils
Louis Couillard ..............................7 fils
Geneviefve Couillard .........................6 fille
Jacques Couillard ............................1 fils
Et pierre Cretel ............................25 Cordonnier Engaigé
The first census of New France (1666)
The French In North America: 1500-1783

1668 Marriage of Child
Jeanne COUILLARD married 22 October 1668, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City) to Paul DUPUIS

RECORD HISTORY

Record added: 8/28/2010 3:52:56 PM
Last updated: 7/31/2026 2:29:44 PM

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