Jean Bernard and Marie DeBure.

Marie DeBure.

Marie, born about 1647, was the daughter of Vincent DeBure and Suzanne Golin. She had a sister Suzanne who was born about 1636 and brother François born 29 March 1640 and baptized in Saint-Saveur in Rouen. The girls left France and first appear in Canadian records in 1665. Suzanne made the trip with her husband Louis Lefebvre dit Batanville, a brewer, and their four year old daughter Angelique. Marie joined the ranks of the Filles du roi since her parents had died and thus were unable to provide her with a dowry to marry.

They sailed aboard le St Jean-Baptiste de Dieppe and arrived in Québec 18 June 1665. There were 90 young women seeking a good match, including our ancestors Jeanne Servignan and Perrine LaPierre, and 30 men who contracted to perform various services.

In the new world, with money and goods from the King in hand a marriage was made with Gilles Énard on 6 October 1665 in ville de Québec. He came in to the service of the Jesuits in September 1646 at the age of 10. They did well by him, giving him a concession of land in January 1652 at Sillery. He ultimately sold that parcel and he and Marie settled in Charlesbourg or Notre-Dame-des-Anges. The notary Duquet tells of his sad fate when on 12 September 1666 he declared Gilles had died before the 22 August baptism of his daughter Marie. The baby died within weeks.

Jean Bernard dit Hanse.

Jean's parents were Jean Bernard and Catherine of Sainte-Croix, Thionville, Lorraine. He is found listed among those being confirmed in ville de Québec on 1 May 1666. He soon met the young widow, Marie DeBure. Her sister had settled in Québec with her husband and child and no doubt took her in after her she lost her own husband and child in September. But the frontier did not always allow for long periods of mourning and she signed a contract with Jean Bernard on 3 December 1666. They were married on the 27th and settled in the village of Saint-Bernard at Charlesbourg.

Recensement.

The 1667 census records one bestiaux with 6 arpens of land being worked. The couple would have nine children including our ancestor Angélique Bernard born 29 August 1672.

In the 1681 census of the village St-Bernard at Charlesbourg: Jean Bernard 43, bestiaux: 2 cavalles; terres en valeur: 10 arpens, Marie Debure 34, enfans: Louis 13, Nicolas 11, ANGÉLIQUE 9, Charles 8, Jean 4, Pierre 2

Angélique.

Their daughter Angélique Bernard had an arrangement with the cabinet-maker Pierre Riviere, but that was annulled on 19 February 1689 when she was still 16. He ultimately had six wives, two died, three marriages were annulled (Angélique was number 3). He remarried in June of that year but she died within 6 months. Two children were born during his last marriage, though only one son survived. Angélique would find a better match in the coming years.

A Cold Winter.

Voltaire would later refer to Canada pejoratively as quelques arpents de neige. It was into the cold winter that Jean traveled, perhaps hunting for food for his family, perhaps trapping for furs. The record in the church at Champlain states that on the 15th of February 1698 the 60 year old Jean Bernard was trouvé mort gelé - found frozen to death on lake Saint-Pierre. Those who discovered him brought him to Québec to care for him, but it was too late to save his life.

Marie died two years later on 11 October 1700 in Hôtel-Dieu-de-Québec. She was 53.