Nicolas AUDET dit LAPOINTE
Biography

Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe

Nicolas Audet, born about 1641, was the son of Innocent Audet and Vincente Riene (Roy), of Saint-Pierre- Maille, in the Diocese of Poitiers. We know that he came to Canada before 1664 because there is a record of his confirmation at Quebec on 23 March of that year. Poitiers is a town in Poitou; that beautiful and bountiful province of France where wheat is grown, the vine is cultivated and many varieties of fruit are raised. It is wooded country, yet covered by excellent pastureland; in this province Charles Martel repulsed the Saracins and Clovis battled the Goths.

Just about all of the colonists who came from France in the 17th century started in one of three ways: by working for the government, by working for a religious order, or by working for one of the more prosperous landowners. Nicolas seems to have been taken under the wing of Monseigneur Francois de Laval, Bishop of Quebec. In the census of 1666 we find him working on the farm owned by the Bishop, at Saint-Joachim nearby Cape Tourmente. Two years later, he was still working for the Bishop as a porter in the lordly Chateau of Quebec. Confirmation of this comes through an act of the Notary Pierre Duquet, dated 13 October 1668, which records: 'Today, at the entrance gate of the estate, Sieur Jean Madry rang a little bell, in response to which he was met by Nicolas Audet, porter of the Chateau. After admitting him, Audet went to inform his master, the Bishop."

For more than four years Nicolas worked in service for others, earning his way. In preparing for his future he was counting more on savings than on credit.

THE SETTLER

Nicolas Audet, the porter, decided to become a settler on the He d'Orleans, just opposite the Beaupre coast. On 22 June 1667, he received a concession from his Bishop, "of three arpents of land fronting on the Saint Lawrence River and running southward ..." His grant was in the parish of Sainte-Famille, from which the parish of Saint-Jean was later formed. His neighbors were Guy Boivin and Robert Boulay. He hired them "to help him build a house to be finished within one year from this day."

Each year, on the Feast of Saint Martin, the 11th of November, he was required to give 20 sols in seigneurial rent for each arpent of river frontage, 12 deniers for "cens" and 3 capons chosen by the Seigneur. It is worth noting that the signatures on the contract for the land, other than that of the Notary Paul Vachon, are those of: Jean Crete, Master Cartwright; of Paul de Rainville, Sheriff of Beauport and, of the Bishop of Quebec himself. Nicolas Audet appears to have been well connected!

As soon as he could, Nicolas busied himself building his house with the help of his neighbors. The census of 1681 tells us that by then he had cleared 15 arpents of land and had acquired 6 animals.

A KING OF THE HEARTH

Having built a house, Nicolas sought to make it a home. To this end, he courted Magdeleine Despres, a young girl of fourteen years. These two betrothed appeared before the Notary Romain Becquet at Quebec, 30 August 1670, to arrange a contract of marriage. The future bride was sponsored by "Dame Anne Gagnier, widow of the late Master Jean Bourdon and by Madamoiselle Elizabeth Etienne." In accordance with the custom of the time, Magdeleine would bring Nicolas a dowry, a considerable one it seems. She had saved or acquired 200 livres, but also she would receive "the sum of 50 livres given her by His Majesty, in consideration of her marriage." In short, these two were hardly poor in material goods. This help given Magdeleine by the King signifies that she was alone in Canada, most likely an orphan. We know that she could write; she penned herself as the daughter of Francois Despres and of Magdeleine Le Grand from the Parish of Saint-Sauveur in Paris. This young lady, born about 1656, was one of many generous girls who came to Canada under the protection of the King of France.

At Sainte-Famille the following September 15th, the missionary priest Father Thomas Morel, blessed their union in the presence of the witnesses Pierre Rondeau and Mathurin Dube. When Pierre and Mathurin were married the year before, each in turn had asked Nicolas to stand up for him, now the favor was being returned.

This marriage brought forth twelve children: 9 boys and 3 girls, but the elder two died young. All were born in the Parish of Sainte-Famille except the youngest three who were born at Saint-Jean. These ten children founded the family line: they were all married on the Island except Marguerite. She married Louis-Emery Coderre at Boucher- ville on 26 August 1722. It is believed that she followed her brother Joachim there, after the death of her parents, when he married Louise Roberge.

In 1689 old Nicolas fell gravely ill, a situation from which he never fully recovered. He was hospitalized for 19 consecutive days in the heat of the August summer and in September he spent 26 more days under the care of the nursing sisters at the Hotel-Dieu in Quebec. Heretofore he had always worked his farm with a stubborn tenacity, but no more would he be active.

He had seen to the marriage of three of his children: Nicolas, Pierre and Madeleine, but that still left seven children at home, to be cared for by the strong arms of his wife alone. But he could still plan ahead and, on 9 July 1696, he acquired yet another concession. This grant of land was of 3 arpents in river frontage some distance to the west of his own place. On 2 August 1698, he gave this land to his son Jean-Baptiste.

There were so many things yet to be done, but the bell tolled for Nicolas when he was 59 years old. He was buried on 10 December 1700 in the cemetery at Sain-Jean, where his headstone bore the surname Lapointe. His widow passed on her inheritance by donation to her son Joseph on 1 October 1703. An inventory ofthe belongings of old Nicolas was made by Notary Etienne Jacob on 27 September 1706. It recorded 75 arpents of usable land, a nearly new house measuring 18 X 24 feet, a shed and a stable.

Magdeleine Despres survived her husband for twelve years and at her death children Joachim and Madeleine were still unmarried. She was buried beside him, on 19 December 1712, at the age of 56.

POSTHUMOUS GLORIES

The Audet's truly could be called a religious family. For 150 years they gave hundreds of priests and other religious, to the Roman Catholic Church of Canada. One example is that of His Excellency Monseigneur Lionel Audet, son of Louis Audet, cartwright, and Eugenie Turcotte. The Mon- seigneur was born at Saint-Marie de Beauce, laureated a Doctor of Theology, then consecrated a Bishop on 1 May 1952. He is still the Auxilliary Bishop of Quebec a quarter- century later.

The first French-Canadian to be appointed to the Court of the Exchequer was the Honorable Judge Arthur Audette. As of 4 April 1972, he was the youngest Judge so appointed.

The legendary Alexis "Le Trotteur," was born on 4 June 1860 at La Malbaie. His parents were Francois Audet dit Lapointe and Delphine Tremblay. He, too, was a descend- ant of the Old Ancestor Nicolas Audet. The following variations of the family name have sprung from descendants of Our Ancestor: Audette, Bailleul de Pierre-Cot, Hode, Lapointe, Odet and Simon.

Laforest, Thomas J., Our French Canadian Ancestors, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, 1984

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