Guillaume  COUTURE (COUSTURE)

COUTURE - from Old French 'couture' is a variant of 'culture' which means 'a plowed or cultivated land. Nickname given to the person who cultivates such land, in the north of France. Or, nickname given to one who comes from one of the localities named (La) Couture, in France. Guillaume Couture was baptized on January 14, 1618 in St-Godard, Rouen (Seine-Maritime), France. Son of Guillaume Couture and Madeleine Malet, he married Anne Émard on November 16, 1649 in Pointe de Lévis. Ten children were born from their union. He arrived in the country around 1640. He was given to the Jesuits. In 1642, he was captured by the Iroquois, and escaped death because he was adopted by an Iroquois widow. He learns their language and becomes an interpreter. In 1646, he was relieved of his given vows and could marry. In 1647, he settled in Pointe de Lévis. He is a judge, militia captain, and notary. He died at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec on April 4, 1701.

COUTURE, GUILLAUME (he sometimes signed himself Cousture), carpenter, a donné of the Society of Jesus, discoverer, interpreter, diplomat, judge of the seneschal’s court, first settler at Lévis; b. c. 1616 at Saint-Godard-de-Rouen (province of Normandy), son of Guillaume Couture and Madeleine Mallet; d. 1701.

It is impossible, by reference to existing documents, to determine the year of his arrival in New France. The Jesuits, who in their Relations never tire of praising his devotion and his courage, furnish no information on this point. The years 1639 and 1640 seem the most likely. He may have made the crossing in the spring of 1640 at the same time as René Goupil* and Father René Ménard*, and have undertaken to be an assistant to the Jesuits before he left France. His vocation as a donné may have been inspired by Goupil, who was already one. In an act dated 26 June 1641 at Quebec, in which he bequeathed to his mother and sister the modest amount of landed property left to him in

The story of Anne's husband is rather an interesting one. Originally he came to New France as a young Jesuit priest, who like many other zealots, wanted to put his life on the line in order to convert the Canadian people. So on June 26th, 1640; he handed over all of his wordly possessions, including land that he had inherited from his father; to his mother and sister and joined Father Rene Goupil on his mission to Quebec. Young Guillaume was intelligent and hard-working, and soon proved to be a valuable asset. His carpenter skills were put to good use in the construction of the Mission at Saint-Marie, and his willingness to learn and adapt, made him useful as an interpretor and diplomat.

He would also soon get his chance for martyrdom; when in 1642; after leaving Trois-Rivières with fathers Isaac Jogues and René Goupil; and 19 men from the Huron nation, was attacked by about 80 Iroquois soldiers in the vicinity of lake Saint-Pierre. Cousture would seal his fate when he shot