Nicholas Audet dit Lapointe

Very interesting information about my family history................

from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest

Nicholas was born in 1641. He was the son of Innocent Audet and Vincente Riene(Roy), of Saint-Pierre-Maille, in the diocese of Poitiers. The surnames Audet and Lapointe originated, naturally enough, in France. The story is three families of Audets lived in the same area that formed a triangle and to tell one family of Audets from another, "dit Lapointe" was added to the name because they lived at the "point" of the area.

Immigration: 1663
Nicholas came to Canada in 1663 and was confirmed 23 Mar 1664 at Quebec City. He worked for Bishop Laval, first at the Saint Joachim farm near Cape Tourmente in 1666, then as a caretaker at the lordly Chateau of Quebec, in Quebec City. In return for his service, Bishop Laval granted him land on the Ile d'Orleans on 22 Jun 1667.

Nicholas Audet, decided to become a settler on the Ile d'Orleans, just opposite the Beaupre coast. On June 22, 1667  he received a concession from the Bishop "of three arpents of land fronting the Saint Lawrence River and running Southward". His grant was in the Parish of Saint 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 in one year.

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, other than those of notary Paul Vachon, are those of Jean Crete, Master Cartwright, of Paul de Rainville, sheriff of Beauport and of the Bishop of Quebec himself.  Nicholas Audet appears to have been well connected!

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

Having built a house, Nicholas sought to make a home. To this end, he courted Madeleine Despres.

The marriage brought forth twelve children, nine boys and three girls, the elder two died young. All were born in the Parish of Saint Famille except the youngest three who were born at Saint Jean, Ile d'Orleans.

These ten children founded the family line. It is noted that all were married on the island, except Marguerite.
Joachim, the youngest son, moved to Boucherville after the death of his parents.

Nicholas was buried in the cemetery at Saint Jean where his headstone bore the surname Lapointe. His widow passed on her inheritance by donation to her oldest son Joseph. An inventory of the belongings of Nicholas was made by notary Etinne Jacob, on Sept 27, 1706. It recorded seventy-five arpents of usable land, a nearby new house, measuring eighteen by twenty-four feet, a shed and a stable.

I googled Ile d'Orleans to get information for a future trip to the area, a lot of the websites are in French.
I didn't take any language classes in school, now I may have to try and learn some French.  I want to take the RV up there and see the areas that my ancestors lived, and see if I can find the cemetery.