Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD

Born

2 May 1657 , Québec, Canada, New France

Died

8 March 1735 , Québec, Canada, New France

Parents & Family of Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD

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Parents

Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY Geneviève DESPRÉS

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Born: 2 May 1657 in Québec, Canada, New France

Father: Louis COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY

Mother: Geneviève DESPRÉS

Paternal grandparents: Guillaume COUILLARD DE L'ESPINAY , Marie-Guillemette HÉBERT

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

Jean-Baptiste married Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) 23 October 1680 in Québec, Canada, New France . Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) was born 28 November 1645 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City). Geneviève died 21 April 1724 in Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City). Geneviève was the child of François CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) and Eleonore GRANDMAISON.

Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD died 8 March 1735 in Québec, Canada, New France .
Details of the family tree of Jean-Baptiste appear below.

WORK & OCCUPATION

Occupation

Recorded occupation: ensign, captain of the guards of the tax-farm, attorney of the provost court, lieutenant-general of the admiralty court, 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

Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD 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 Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD

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Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD married

Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY)
Marriage date: 23 October 1680
Marriage place: Québec, Canada, New France
Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) was the child of François CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) and Eleonore GRANDMAISON

Marriage notes:

Notre-Dame

Children of Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD and Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY)

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Birth — 1657
2 May 1657
Québec, Canada, New France

Baptism
Jean Bapt. Couillard
2 May 1657
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, JEAN-BAPTISTE (Lépinay, L’Épine, L’Espinay), ensign, captain of the guards of the tax-farm, attorney of the provost court, lieutenant-general of the admiralty court, seigneur; son of Louis Couillard* de Lespinay and Geneviève Després; baptized at Quebec 2 May 1657; buried 8 March 1735 at Quebec.

Jean-Baptiste Couillard de Lespinay, the eldest son of the first seigneur of Rivière-du-Sud, had a double career as administrator and seigneur. On 24 Oct. 1680 he married Geneviève de Chavigny, widow of Charles Amiot*. From her first marriage she had had one son, Charles-Joseph Amiot de Vincelotte, who was to have numerous conflicts with his step-father.

On 15 May 1691, after serving as ensign and captain of the guards of the tax-farm, Couillard de Lespinay received from Buade* de Frontenac a commission as captain of the port of Quebec. Curiously enough, neither the king, Louis XIV, nor the admiral of France confirmed this appointment, so that in 1702 a report...Read full story

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

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

1680 Marriage / Partner
Jean-Baptiste COUILLARD and Geneviève CHAVIGNY (CHANVIGNY) 23 October 1680, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City)

He was 23 years old.

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

1715 - September 1 - Louis XV becomes King of France