René Beaudin and Suzanne Vallée.

Marriage.

René, 24, first appears in Canadian records in Beauport, Québec where his marriage to Suzanne Vallée is found. It was a good match, for her grandfather Leonard Leblanc was also a stone mason. The couple married 10 February 1687.

Their first child was baptized in ville de Québec, about 4 miles upriver, in December of that year. The heavy snow that came with winter isolated the settlers who lived in smaller communities so it was common for families to cluster into the larger town in the cold months.

René purchased a boat from Antoine Pascaud on 16 Sep 1689 (notaire Bénigne Basset). Likely he meant to use it to transport stone along the Saint-Laurent. One wonders which of the many buildings in ville de Québec he had a hand in constructing.

The third of six children, our ancestor Guillaume was born 21 July 1691 and baptized in Beauport.

Mont-Louis.

La Compagnie de Mont-Louis was established in 1696 in the Gaspé Peninsula upon Sieur Denis Riverin's return from Paris. He began to recruit tradesmen, preferring those who could perform multiple tasks like masons or carpenters who could also farm. He offered a concession of land to them to induce them to settle in his seigneurie.

René and Suzanne embraced this opportunity and were among the 53 families that appear in the 1699 census. Their land was 21 arpens deep, 3 arpens wide along the Mont-Louis River, with an additional plot in the new town for their home. But alas it was a failed project, and René joined several others in a suit against Riverin to force him to make good on his promises. The settlement was all about abandoned within three years.

la basse ville Québec to La Prairie.

The family, including our 25 year old ancestor Guillaume, returned to Québec where they appear in the 1716 census. They may have moved to La Prairie as early as 1718 where their son Pierre's marriage is found.

Suzanne Vallée was 59 when she died on 8 December 1729 and was buried the following day in La Prairie. René died at the age of 73 and was buried there on 22 January 1737.