Nicolas BÉLANGER
Biography

"Nicolas Bélanger was a native of Saint-Thomas-de- Touques in the diocese of Lisieux in Normandy. About 1659, Nicolas Bélanger came to Canada to settle on the coast of Beauport.

On November 12 of that year, he entered into a marriage contract with Marie de Rainville, daughter of Paul and Rolline Poète. The marriage took place on January 12, 1660. The couple settled at Beauport and would pass the rest of their lives there.

The following year, he purchased, from Paul de Rainville, a farm of 1 arpent frontage near the village of Gargy. Another grant was obtained from Joseph Giffard, seigneur of Beauport, contracted the notary Vachon. The seigneur granted a farm of one arpent. From an inventory of his possessions, it seems that Nicolas Bélanger had a much larger farm in the village of Saint-Michel at Beauport. This one was four arpents of frontage.

It is interesting to note that the census of 1666 designates Nicolas Bélanger as "salt merchant". In the census of 1681, he was noted as having forty-one arpents of land which makes him one of the more prosperous settlers of Beauport.

A strange notation states that Nicolas Bélanger occasionally used the surname of "Catherine" and the first name of "Michel"; this name however does not seem to have been transmitted to his descendants.

Nicolas Bélanger and his cousin François Bélanger are the ancestors of nearly all the Bélanger families in Canada. Most descendants of Nicolas have settled around Québec although certain branches have migrated across the country. "

Source: www.leveillee.net/ ancestry/ histnotes.htm



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