Death of François Séguin dit Ladéroute

Contrary to what had been claimed until now, the recent discovery of documents from the time shows that François Séguin dit Ladéroute, husband of Jeanne Petit, died between November 30, 1700 and October 10, 1701, rather than on 9 May 1704.

Until very recently, it was claimed, on the basis of articles by ethnologist Robert-Lionel Séguin published in 1947, that François Séguin dit Ladéroute, ancestor of the vast majority of Séguin in Canada, had died on May 9, 1704. at the Hôtel-Dieu in Montreal where he was buried the next day. This claim was based on an act of burial stipulating that on that day, a certain "Pierre Séguin dit Ladéroute, inhabitant of Boucherville" had been buried there in the presence of Messire Henri Mériel, priest of the Seminary of Ville-Marie, and of the beadle. Pierre Chantereau. Neither his wife nor any of his family members were mentioned in the act.

Given that we had not found a burial certificate attesting to the death of François Séguin and that no Pierre Séguin living in Boucherville or even in New France had been discovered at that time other than François' son who did not die until 1760, it was concluded that it was an error of the drafter of the act and that it should have read "François" rather than "Pierre".

But now an in-depth study of notarial documents from the time, in particular the marriage contracts of two of François' daughters - Marie-Jeanne and Marie-Madeleine - categorically refutes this claim.

Let us first point out that the last recorded deed which was signed by François dates back to October 30, 1700. It is a lease for the rental of two cows from Sieur de Niverville, recorded at the registry of the notary Marien Tailhandier. Already at this moment, his signature seems more hesitant than usual, but he is still healthy enough to go to the notary in Boucherville to sign the document.



It is from this moment that the situation seems to deteriorate. A few weeks later, on November 20, 1700, he was already too ill to attend the signing of his daughter Marie-Madeleine's marriage contract with Antoine Marie dit Ste-Marie at the notary Pierre Raimbault in Ville-Marie. The contract notes in particular that the bride is represented by "Jeanne Petit, wife of François Séguin, resident of Boucherville, absent for her indisposition".





Less than a year later, on October 10, 1701, his other daughter, Marie-Jeanne, signed a marriage contract with Joseph Robidou in the study of the same notary Pierre Raimbault. In this document, this time, the mother of the bride, Jeanne Petit, is said to be "widower of deffunt François Séguin living inhabitant of Boucherville". The act adds, at the end of the text, that "Charles Patenotre (husband of Françoise, sister of the bride) promised and was obliged to feed said Joseph Robidou and said Jeanne Séguin, future husbands, for a year ... .. ". Also in the marriage certificate, no mention of Francois, the father, but Pierre his brother is present.







Between this date and the month of May 1704 (date when he was supposedly deceased) François is still absent when the marriage contracts of his other children are signed. Thus, on December 30, 1703, in Marie-Madeleine's marriage contract with François Achin (second marriage), it was Charles Patenotre who served as the bride's witness (Adhémar Study). To that of Pierre and Barbe Filion, on February 2, 1704, it was François, brother of the groom, and the latter's wife, Marie-Louise Filion, sister of the bride, who served as their witnesses (Adhémar Study).

Although François Séguin's burial record remains untraceable, the above documents indicate that he died between November 20, 1700 and October 10, 1701, almost three years earlier than he had before. 'here claimed.

There remains one question to be resolved. If Pierre Séguin, who died on May 9, 1704, is not François, what is he? Here again, the parish registers provide us with certain details which could perhaps elucidate the problem. Indeed, they indicate that a certain Pierre Ladéroute served as godfather at the baptisms, in Montreal, of Jacquette-Angélique Demuis on June 13, 1693 and of Pierre Picard, on February 22, 1693.







It cannot be Pierre, son of François, since he was only 10 years old at the time. There is also mention in the registers of Montreal of a certain Pierre Séguin, present at the marriage of François Gloria and Marie Bénard, on October 31, 1695. Nothing indicates that this Pierre Séguin was the son of François who was only 13 years and therefore unlikely to see his name appear as a witness to a marriage certificate.

Article written by Jean-Jacques Séguin #214
In the Séguinière of 1994 Volume 4 Number 2 Page 9