History in New France (Canada)

 

Parish of St-Francois-Xavier, Francois-du-Lac, Quebec

 

Both Francois and his second wife, Louise Esnard, died at St-Francois-du-Lac between 1708 and 1716.  Some of their children (Nicholas, Francois, and Pierre) lived in this area and are mentioned in the history of the parish.  Following is a brief history of this parish with those places which mention our Bibaud/Bibeau ancestors.

 

Sources:

www.memoireduquebec.com/wiki/index.php?title=Saint-Fran%C3%A7ois-du-Lac_(municipalit%C3%A9_de_village).

 

Historically, the village of Saint-Francois-du-Lac has been referred to as St-Francois, St-Francois-des-Pres, and St-Francois-Xavier.

 

1687:  Construction of Fort Saint-Francois (or Fort Crevier), a wooden fortified fort, as protection against the Iroquois.  It was located on the Domaine de Crevier which belonged to Jean Crevier, the Seigneur of Saint-Francois.  It was thought to have been located near the riverside, near the residence Crevier-Blazon, but has long been covered by water due to the changing course of the river (see the map further on in this section).

 

1687:  Foundation of the mission Saint-Francois by the Recollets and the Jesuits.  Church registers begin.  

 

1688:  Construction of the first mission chapel within Fort Crevier.

 

1689-1693:  Fort Crevier is raided by the Iroquois and suffers significant damage.  The first chapel is burned.

 

1698:  Construction of the second mission chapel, probably in the same place as the first. 

 

1712: Joseph Crevier, seigneur of Saint-Francois, ceded land from his seigneurie to Francois Bibaud (son of Francois Bibeau and Louise Esnard).  Bibaud was born in Canada.  His grandson was (Michel) Bibaud the historian.  Source: p.90, Histoire de Saint-Francois-du-Lac,

http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/PageView?id=20886731f2d13114&display=24420+0094

 

1712-1716:  Francois and his second wife Louise Esnard die and were presumably buried at the cemetery of the second mission chapel within Fort Crevier.

 

14 November 1714:  Foundation of the parish of St.Francois-Xavier.  The parish boundaries cover the approximately territory of the modern day parishes of St. Francois-du-Lac and St-Thomas-de-Pierreville which are separated by the St. Francois River. 

 

1715: Beginning of the parish registers of Saint-François-Xavier.

 

1717-1718:  Construction of the first church of the new parish Saint-Francois-Xavier (the third place of worship).  Built of wood on land ceded by Joseph Crevier.  Those buried under the old chapel were transferred here. 

 

According to the History of Saint-Francois-du-Lac by Thomas Charland, page 177:

 

Paragraph 1:  Shortly after the arrival of Monsieur Dugast (the priest), there were discussions about rebuilding the church.  They added a presbytere, a cemetery, a courtyard, a garden for the priest, and in case of war, a fort for the refuge of the inhabitants.  The Seigneur Joseph Crevier and his wife, Marie-Angelique LaBoulanger, offered to give to the church the necessary land if the church would give a low mass for them each year without charge on the day after St. Martin (12 November) in order to obtain from God a good death, and after their decease for peace of their souls, as long as the church remained on the same land.  Meanshile, the Seigneur Crevier died, but on 5 September 1717, his wife signed the contract passed before the notary Normandin, in the presence of Nicolas and Pierre Bibaud and Louis Arel. 

 

NOTE:  Nicolas and Pierre Bibaud are probably the sons of Francois and Louise (Esnard) Bibeau.  They would have been age 26 and 32, respectively, at that time.

 

Paragraph 2:  The land ceded was inside the Ile du Fort.  It was an arpent and a half of frontage on the grand channel, and a depth that went just to the channel Tardiff, that is 15 arpents total.  It was the southern part of this land marked “St Cerny” on the map of Gedeon de Catalogne that came from the Seigneur.

 

Source: National Library and Archives, Quebec, www.banq.qc.ca – showing probable location of the first church of the new parish Saint-Francois-Xavier (the third place of worship) constructed in 1717.

 

Source:  Google Earth, modern day map of area around Pierreville and Saint-Francois-du-Lac.

 

Paragraph 3:  The priest and his parishes put themselves to work and the following autumn, 1718, they had built a new church in wood, the third place of worship.  The 14 November 1718 they transfer the bodies of several people who had been interred under the second church dating from 1698 (see list of names).  The 5 March1721 the public prosecutor of the king at the Superior Council of Quebec, Monsieur Benoit-Mathieu Collet, recorded “that the parish church of Saint-Francois-Xavier is located near the bank of the Saint-Francois river, at about a “demi-lieue” or so from its mouth, on land consisting of 15 arpents or about …”

 

 

1731-1739:  Construction of the second parish church (the fourth place of worship).  Built in stone about 2 or 3 arpents (1-3 acres) south of the prior church, and closer to the main channel than to the Tardif Channel.  Near the church a new cemetery was created.  In 1735 some bones from the old cemetery were transferred here.  This would be the parish church until 20 September 1849.  A commemorative plaque placed in the foundations of this stone church contains Pierre Bibaud’s name.  Pierre was a son of Francois Bibaud and his second wife Louise Esnard.

 

According to the History of Saint-Francois-du-Lac by Thomas Charland, page 182:

 

Paragraph 2:  In 1731, they decided to construct a new church, in stone this time, on the same land give in 1717 by the Seigneur Joseph Crevier and his wife Marie-Angelique LaBoulanger.  The first stone was placed by P. Aubery, missionary of the Abenakis, and the abbot Jean-Baptiste Dugast, priest of the parish.  When demolishing the walls of this church, around 1850-1854, Monsieur Louis Caya discovered a plaque of round lead, carrying an inscription dated from 1731 with the names of the missionary, the priest, the Seigneurs and coseigneurs and some inhabitants.  With the aide of parish registers, Monsieur Lassiseraye the priest and Monsieur Henry Vassal, agent of the Abenakis, were able to complete the names belonging to the initials.  The inscription thus read as follows:

 

“1731. Placed by the Reverend Father Aubery of the Jesuits, missionary of the Abenakis and Sokokos Indians. Jean Baptiste, priest.  Assistants:  Joseph Crevier, Seigneur of the place. Seigneurs Jean-Baptiste Crevier, Pierre Babie, Francoi Babie, Jean-Baptiste Jutra, Joseph  Hertel. – Seigneur Jacques Gamelin, Pierre Bibaud, Nicolas Cartier… Etc.“ (see list at top of page 183).

 

NOTE:  Pierre Bibaud was probably the son of Francois and Louise (Esnard) Bibeau.  He would have been 46 at the time.

 

According to the History of Saint-Francois-du-Lac by Thomas Charland, page 183:

 

Paragraph 1:  Many parishioners made strong contributions for the church, but several were less than generous.  Lacking funds to finsh the interior of the church and to construct a clock, the trade unions and church wardens submitted, on 12 May 1736, a request to the subdelegate of the Intendant of Trois-Rivieres, Monsieur de Tonnancour.  It was signed by several people (see list) and asked that a certain number of inhabitants specifically noted be taxed because they had not yet contributed anything or enough for the church.  On 2 June 1736 Monsieur de Tonnancour ordered a shared tax on all inhabitants. Not liking this order, the trade unions and church wardens went to meet the Intendant Hocquart himself at Trois-Rivieres on 13 July. 

 

He then suspended the first order and ordered the trade unions and church wardens to give an account of the money given for the construction and the church, and draw up a budget necessary to complete the church and pay the sums due, and that there should be an assembly of all parish members to discuss with the priest the steps necessary to finish the work.  This decision had good results.  In 1739 the clock tower was constructed. 

 

According to the History of Saint-Francois-du-Lac by Thomas Charland, page 185:

 

Paragraph 2:  The church construction began in 1731 but was not finished until 1739 when the clock was built.  Based on a small sketch on a document from 1752, the church looked like one of the small churches from the Ile d’Orlean, with its stone walls pierced by a few rare windows, the round window on the façade and its pointed roof covered in clapboard.

 

- Sketch of the second church of Saint-Francois-Xavier (fourth place of worship), about 1731-1739

- Cross of the same church, retained and displayed on the land of Louis Caya, rang Ste Anne, Saint-Francois-du-Lac

Source:  History of Saint-Francois-du-Lac by Thomas Charland, page 185

 

 

1833-1839:  Petitions submitted by the parishioners to the diocese and the government, requesting that a new church be built in new location.  There were many problems with the petitions (not enough signatures, duplicate signatures, invalid signatures, etc.)  The inhabitants south of the river St-Francois supported moving the church to a new location on their side of the river, while those on the north side of the river, in Pierreville, did not support the move due to the inconveniences of having to cross the river.  To prevent this, the parishioners of Pierreville petitioned to have the parish separated and a new church built in Pierreville, but to no avail.  The diocese in Quebec would not allow it and would only support the building of a new church in the new location.  The petitioners were represented by eight delegates, one of which was Jacques-Francois Bibaud. 

NOTE:  It is not clear who Jacques-Francois was.

 

1845-1849:  Construction of the third parish church (fifth place of worship).  This is the actual church today, located at 440 rue Notre-Dame.  It is of the the style “Recollet Neoclassical” and designed by the famous architect, Thomas Baillairgé (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/relig/baillarge.htm).  Other items of interest in the church include the organ by Casavant (1891); 4 annonymous paintings from the 18th century, vaults and baptisimal fonts (1856-1861) by the architect and sulptor Thomas Allard from Durham, 3 frescoes in the vault of the choir by Delphis-Adolphe Beaulieu.  Classified as a historical monument in 1957.

 

Church Saint-Francois-Xavier, Saint-Francois-du-Lac, Quebec

 

For additional photos of this church, click here.

 

1850-1854:  P. 119:  Demolision of the old stone church (fourth place of worship).  This church was known as the church on the island, or the lower church.  The burials in the old cemetery were moved in 1854, presumably to the new church cemetery.  The cross of this church was retained and put on display on the land of M. Louis Caya, rang Ste Anne, just off the road 132 going south from Saint-Francois-du-Lac to Yamaska.  See the earlier photo.  There is nothing left showing where this old stone church stood.  

 

1853-1854:  Division of the Parish. Construction of the Church of Saint-Thomas-de-Pierreville.

 

1893-1894:  Division of the Parish. Construction of the Church of Notre-Dame-Des-Sept-Douleurs at Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville (located in vicinity of the mission chapel of 1731).