[kenmenard.FTW]
[menardfam.FTW]
The following was researched by Rev. Ronald A Glaude.
DISCOVERY: In 1634, Jacques Cartier, on orders from the king ofFrance,'to
discover certain islands and lands where it is said that a greatquantityof
gold and other precious things are to be found', discovered Canada.In1541,
Cartier returned with five ships and a large number of colonists.However,
discouraged by repeated Indian attacks, harsh winters and failure to finda
route to Asia, the colony withdrew two years later. Forty years later the
French returned - this time to stay.
Life in Canada was extremely demanding and by 1642 there were only three
permanent settlements: Quebec, Trois Rivieres and Montreal. For years,the
settlers lived in fear brought about by continuing and ruthless raidsbythe
Iroquois. In desperation, and fearing for the survival of the colony, the
Intendant, Jean Talon, called on the King to send soldiers to conduct a
punitive campaign against the Indians.
On 18 June 1665, the Marquis de Tracy and two hundred splendidly dressed
officers and men of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment disembarked at Quebec.
Jean Laspron dit Lacharite, a soldier in the Company deLaFouille,hadarrived
in Canada.
SETTLEMENT: By 1666 the Indians had been thoroughlybeaten.However,fearing
new outbreaks of violence, Jean Talon once again petitioned theKingtodisband
the Regiment in Quebec. The King assented and granted the officers
seigneuries. About four hundred of the rank and file decided to stay.
Marriage in Canada was forbidden unless you had spent three years in the
country. On the other hand males outnumbered females two to one and sothe
question of marriage was academic. This problem evaporated when the King
despatched 'les filles du roi' or literally the kings girls. On 7 October
1669, four years and five months after arriving in Canada, Jean Lasprondit
Lacharite married Anne-Michelle Renaud in Quebec.Anne-Michelle,daughterof
Jean Renaud and Catherine de Saint Amour, was born in St.Pierre,districtof
Saumur, diocese of Angers, Province of Anjou at the confluence oftheMaineand
Loire Rivers. Previously married, her contract was annulled on23September
1669.
Jean and Anne-Michelle began farming along the River Nicolet, south of
Nicolet, south from Trois-Rivieres across the St.LawrenceRiver.Betweenthem
they produced seven offsprings:
THE TREE:
*Marie-Anne born about 1670, drowned on 31 May and was buried4June1684.
*Jean-Baptiste was baptized at Trois-Rivieres on 31 July 1673.
*Marguerite born 30 May 1676.
*Claude born 21 June 1679.
*Marie-Madeleine born 25 July 1683.
*Marie, twin sister of Marie-Madeleine born 25 July 1683.
*Maurice born 26 August 1685.
Both Marie and Marie-Madeleine died several days later on4August1683, at
Trois-Rivieres.
THE ROOTS: Jean Laspron dit Lacharite, son of Jean Laspron andMarguerite
DeLaby, was born in the town of LaCharite-sur-Loire, district of
Cosnesur-Loire, archbishopric Auxerre, Bourgogne (Nivere) about 1638.Aswas
the custom in his time, Jean adopted the name of the town fromwhencehecame,
hence the dit-LaCharite.
THE NAME: Lacharite-sur-Loire. The priory of LaCharite, thus called on
account of the liberality with which it helped paupers, is situatedontheroad
from Paris to Lyon, on the bank of the Loire River. The priorydatesbackfrom
the eleventh century.
It is a small village of 6,500 people situated 200 km south of Paris.The
village is dominated by the Church of Notre-Dame, parts of which were
constructed in the eleventh century. The church andsurroundingbuildingsare
currently being restored to their former splendor. During the fifteenth
century, Lacharite was a very important bridgehead in abattlebetweenwaring
lords from neighboring provinces. The Loire River at LaChariteisspannedby
an enormous, ten arch stone bridge built in the sixteenth century.