Jean-Baptiste  LEGARDEUR

LEGARDEUR DE REPENTIGNY, JEAN-BAPTISTE (also Legardeur d'Arpentigny), esquire, midshipman, councillor in the Conseil Souverain, son of Pierre Legardeur* de Repentigny and Marie Favery; b. 1632 at Thury-Harcourt in the province of Normandy; d. 9 Sept. 1709 at Montreal.

Legardeur arrived in Canada in 1636 with his parents. At an early age he was associated with the fur trade, and in 1660 was accused by Jean Peronne* Dumesnil of having killed Dumesnil’s son Michel by a kick full in the face, following a dispute over the bartering of furs for alcohol. There was, however, no sequel to this accusation, which, well founded or otherwise, seems to have had no influence on his career. Indeed, on 6 Oct. 1663 he was elected the first mayor of Quebec, although he occupied this office for only one month, because the Conseil Souverain considered it unnecessary. On 2 May 1670 he received from his mother the seigneury of Repentigny, which the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France had granted to her

Jean Baptiste legardeur .....................34 escuyer sieur d'Arpentigny
demoiselle Marguerite Nicolet ...............22 sa femme
pierre Legardeur .............................8 fils
Jean paul legardeur ..........................4 fils
Augustin legardeur ...........................2 fils
Allexandre legardeur ....................3 mois fils
pierre Martin ...............................22 domestique
Et francois tourmente .......................13 aussy domestique

Repentigny was founded in 1670 by Jean-Baptiste Le Gardeur, but in fact the seigneury of Repentigny had existed since April 16, 1647. That year, his father, Pierre Le Gardeur, Sieur de Repentigny, born in Calvados and Admiral de the French fleet in New France, received in Paris the acts of the concession of these lands. Pierre Le Gardeur died in 1648 and it was Jean-Baptiste who settled on his land with his family. In this way, the locality becomes the oldest place of permanent occupation in Lanaudière.