Louis JOLLIET

Born

21 September 1645 , Québec, Canada, New France

Died

5 September 1700 , Ile d'Anticostie, Quebec, Canada

Parents & Family of Louis JOLLIET

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Parents

Jean JOLLIET Marie D'ABANCOURT

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Born: 21 September 1645 in Québec, Canada, New France

Father: Jean JOLLIET

Mother: Marie D'ABANCOURT

Maternal grandparents: Adrien D'ABANCOURT dit LACAILLE , Simone D'ORGEVILLE

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

Louis married Claire-Françoise BISSOT 7 October 1675 in Québec, Canada, New France . The couple had (at least) 6 children.
Claire-Françoise BISSOT was born 13 April 1656 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City). Claire-Françoise died 1 March 1710 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City). Claire-Françoise was the child of François BISSOT DE LA RIVIÈRE and Marie COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY.

Louis JOLLIET died 5 September 1700 in Ile d'Anticostie, Quebec, Canada.
Details of the family tree of Louis appear below.

WORK & OCCUPATION

Occupation

Recorded occupation: explorer, discoverer of the Mississippi, cartographer, king’s hydrographer, teacher at the Jesuit college at Quebec, organist, business man, and seigneur

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 JOLLIET 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)

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

Spouse & Children of Louis JOLLIET

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Louis JOLLIET married

Claire-Françoise BISSOT
Marriage date: 7 October 1675
Marriage place: Québec, Canada, New France
Claire-Françoise BISSOT was the child of François BISSOT DE LA RIVIÈRE and Marie COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

Children of Louis JOLLIET and Claire-Françoise BISSOT

Louis JOLLIET D'ANTICOSTI

Born: 11 August 1676, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: abt. 1709, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France

Charles JOLLIET

Born: 12 June 1678, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 23 October 1746, Québec, Canada, New France

Married: Jeanne LEMELIN 7 November 1714 Place: Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada

Francois JOLLIET

Born: 1 October 1679, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: ,

Marie-Genevieve JOLLIET

Born: 12 January 1681, L'Islet, Canada, New France
Died: ,

Married: Jean GRIGNON 30 April 1696 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Jean-Baptiste JOLLIET

Born: 10 May 1683, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 6 September 1733, Québec, Canada, New France

Married: Marie MARS 11 September 1708 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Claire JOLLIET

Born: 6 March 1685, Québec, Canada, New France
Died: 29 April 1760, Montréal, Canada

Married: Joseph FLEURY 11 May 1702 Place: Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

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Birth — 1645
21 September 1645
Québec, Canada, New France

Baptism
Louys Jolliet
21 September 1645
Notre-Dame-de-Quebec
Familysearch.org. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection) (Mormon Genealogy Records).
The French In North America: 1500-1783

Biography
JOLLIET, LOUIS, explorer, discoverer of the Mississippi, cartographer, king’s hydrographer, teacher at the Jesuit college at Quebec, organist, business man, and seigneur; baptized 21 Sept. 1645 at Quebec, son of Jean Jollyet, a wheelwright in the service of the Compagnie des Cent-Associés, and of Marie d’Abancourt; d. 1700 in New France.

Can the historian fail to deplore the ill luck that seems to have dogged the personal papers of Louis Jolliet and the documents concerning him? Various mishaps and regrettable omissions have as it were wantonly contrived to set up zones of silence and obscurity in the career of this great Canadian. The trouble begins even with his birth, of which we know neither the place nor the date. Was he born at Quebec, on the Beaupré shore or in one of the adjoining seigneuries, territories which in 1645 all came within the boundaries of the parish church of Quebec where he was baptized? The certificate of baptism dated 21 Sept. 1645 gives no precise details...Read full story

Dictionary of Canadian Biography, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003

1645 Baptism

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

commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ File:Louis_Jolliet.JPG

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

1666 - Isaac Newton discovers gravity

1675 Marriage / Partner
Louis JOLLIET and Claire-Françoise BISSOT 7 October 1675, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

He was 30 years old.

1676 Birth of Child
Louis JOLLIET D'ANTICOSTI was born 11 August 1676, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 30 years old.

1678 Birth of Child
Charles JOLLIET was born 12 June 1678, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 32 years old.

1679 Birth of Child
Francois JOLLIET was born 1 October 1679, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 34 years old.

1681 Birth of Child
Marie-Genevieve JOLLIET was born 12 January 1681, L'Islet, Québec, Canada (L'Islet-sur-Mer) (Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours)

Louis was 35 years old.

1683 Birth of Child
Jean-Baptiste JOLLIET was born 10 May 1683, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 37 years old.

1685 Birth of Child
Claire JOLLIET was born 6 March 1685, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

Louis was 39 years old.

1696 Marriage of Child
Marie-Genevieve JOLLIET married 30 April 1696, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City) to Jean GRIGNON

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