(NOTE: Three articles have been found on Mathurin's history. All are tanslations from the original French versions.)
Mathurin Gauthier
(c. 1643 - 1711)
by Robert Prévost
"A Briton, Mathurin Gauthier was the most prolific of the ancestors, bearing this name, to have founded a family in New France in the 17th century. Originally from Legé, a commune in the department of Loire-Atlantique, close to Nantes, he was the son of Pierre and Anne Lemaistre. Around 1671, he married, at île Sainte-Thérèse, a young girl of unknown origin, Nicole Philippeau, a King's daughter, and it is there that the couple established itself.
(Note by Jean-Pierre: I do not have the date of Prévost's text but Nicole was not unknown nor a King's daughter, her parents were Charles + Catherine BOUTET. Nicole was born in Quebec in 1655.)
Île Sainte-Thérèse is situated in the le Saint-Laurent river, facing Boucherville and Varennes. As soon as 1681, nearly 20 couples were settled there, and it is there that the 17 children of the couple were born, without infant mortality, since 5 of their sons and eight of their daughters founded families of their own. The settlers lived in relative security, since a fort was built in 1665 by the soldiers of the Carignan regiment. In 1672, the island was conceded to Michel-Sidrac Dugué de Boisbriand, and Mathurin Gauthier was one of the first tenants.
One of the five married sons, Lambert, did not have descendants, but the other 4 had some 40 children. Louis was married twice; the first in 1701 with Marguerite Ménard (8 children) and the other in 1717 with Marie-Marguerite Benoît (5 children). Charles, who married Barbe Gournay, also in 1701, has a large family (14 children). In 1718, Pierre married Marie-Anne Prévost (8 children), and in 1720, Jean married Thérèse Moreau (5 children). The daughters married settlers bearing the patronyme Chaput, Millet, Raynaud, Langlois, Cusson, Vaillant and Janson. They had some 60 children. So this means some 100 grandsons and granddaughters for the Gauthier/Philippeau couple!"
From "Portraits de familles pionnières"(Portraits of Pioneer Families) by Robert Prévost.
Mathurin Gauthier
(c. 1643 - 1711)
by Michel Langlois
"Mathurin Gauthier dit LandrevilleSon of Pierre Gauthier and Anne Lemaistre, of the parish of Éry, bishopric of Nantes in Brittany, we do not know the exact date of his marriage. He married, around 1671, Nicole Philippeau, of unknown origin. from their union 17 children are born. It is only at the marriage of their daughter Marie-Anne with Jacques Gaudry, before the notary Frérot, on 30 June 1703, that we learn his filliation and place of origin.
He establishes himself at Île Sainte-Thérèse. He buys land from Pierre Rivière, before the notary Basset, (act is lost) on 13 December 1678. At the 1681 census, he owns a gun, 4 horned beasts and 9 acres of arable land. He dopes business with the merchant Charles de Couagne to whom he owes, on 15 January 1696, the sum of 227 "livres" 19 "sols" and 2 "deniers" for merchandise. On 26 March 1689, Jacques Bizard and Isabelle Moyen, widow of Lambert Close, rent from him for 2 years, in consideration of 40 bushels of wheat and 60 bushels of green peas, land and buildings in the seigneurie of Île Sainte-Thérèse belonging to the estate of Sidrac Dugué de Boisbriant. Anxious to pay his debts, on 8 October 1690, he obtains a release for all that he owes to the sieur Couagne. On 11 December 1695, he buys land of 3 acres frontage by 15 in depth and the house sitting on it belonging to Jacques Périneau in Île Sainte-Thérèse. He obtains all for 500 "livres". He receives another concession in Île Sainte-Thérèse, on 16 December 1697. His account with Louis Leconte Dupré, on 7 March 1701, shows he owes 834 "livres" 17 "sols" and 3 "deniers". he obtains a final release on 2 May 1710. he dies in Varennes on 8 September 1711 and is buried there on the following day. His widow dies in Varennes on 11 May 1716. The notary Jean-Baptiste Adhémar proceeds with an inventory of their goods on the following 19th of October.
ANQ GN Bourgine 15-01-1686; Maugue 26-03-1689; Adhémar A. 11-12-1695; 07-03-1701; Frérot 30-06-1703; Adhémar J.B. 19-10-1716".Text translated by Jean-Pierre from an extract of "Dictionnaire Biographique des Ancêtres québécois" Tome II, Michel Langlois, ISBN 2-9800305-4-6, ISBN 2-9800305-6-2.
Mathurin Gauthier
(c. 1643 - 1711)
by Raoul Raymond
"Gauthier-LandrevilleMathurin Gauthier dit Landreville is the first ancestor of this family line in Canada. he is of unknown origin. However, one can see a possible assumption. in the department of Aube (France) a parish by the name of Landreville exists. This parish sits South-West of Troyes, in the Champagne region. Since there is no other parish by that name in France, one can suppose with some degree of accuracy, that Mathurin Gauthier originated from that place. Around 1670, there already were many persons named Gauthier in Canada. To distinguish Mathurin Gauthier from the others, people may have attributed the "Landreville" surname based on his town of origin.
The date and place of his marriage with Nicole Philippeau is unknown. He must have contracted his marriage in the Montreal around 1671, because his eldest daughter was baptized in Montreal 28 June 1672. They had 17 children, and 5 sons who married. This ancestor lived in Montreal, Pointe-aux-Trembles et Varennes. He died there in 1711, at the age of 68.
Raoul Raymond (63)"
Translated by Jean-Pierre from an extract of vol 15, p.48 in "Mémoires de la Société de Généalogie canadienne-française.
