Jean Migneault dit Châtillon arrived in New France relatively early in its history and married into one of its older pioneer families: the Cloutiers. Remembered as a brave and daring soldier, he lived an adventurous life during the early days of Quebec. As one of my many French Canadian ancestors, I am fascinated by his story. Follow along as I explore his life, his legacy, and his place in the history of New France.
Life in France
Jean Mignot was born April 20, 1622, in Châtillon-sous-Bagneux to Nicolas Mignot and Madeleine de Brie. The town, now known simply as Châtillon, is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. The locality dates back at least to the twelfth century.
Jean’s surname has multiple alternative spellings, including Mignet, Mignot, Migneau, Migneaux, Mignault and Migneault.
Arrival in Quebec
In 1643, Jean Migneault dit Châtillon signed a three-year contract to serve as a soldier in New France for an annual salary of 60 livres. He departed from La Rochelle, reportedly aboard either the La Madeleine d’Olonne or the La Marie de Dieppe. The vessel travelled to Tadoussac before continuing to Quebec, where Mignault initially settled.
Mignot is recorded in the Journal des Jésuites several times throughout his life.
The journal first mentions him on May 4, 1647, when he led a group of Wendat warriors and Frenchmen from Sillery on an expedition against the Haudenosaunee near Montreal.
Mignot appears again in the journal’s January 1648 entries. One account describes an encounter involving Mignault, Louis Couillard, DeLassar and a fourth companion, during which they were all taken prisoner by the Iroquois. Mignot escaped; however, the other three were released the following day.
Other entries from January 1648 describe Mignault preparing to travel into Wendat territory. He was headed to Trois-Rivières with seven Wendat companions and arranged for several personal belongings to be kept in safekeeping before his departure. He also had his arquebus repaired.
On April 24, 1648, the journal records Mignault as setting out for Sainte-Marie, the Jesuit mission in Wendat territory near present-day Midland, Ontario, accompanied by two Indigenous Catholics. The journey followed waterways connecting the St. Lawrence Valley to Georgian Bay and involved canoe travel and numerous portages.
Courtship with an Indigenous Woman
Jean Mignot courted an Indigenous woman given the French name Barbe in 1647. She was living at the Ursuline convent in Quebec City and had been there for about four years. Mignot had begged the mother superior to keep her on until he returned from his military duties and even provided 300 livres, offering one third of that for Barbe in case he didn’t keep his word.
Barbe wasn’t interested in marrying Mignot, however, and she married another Indigenous man as per her parents’ wishes.
Marriage to Marie Louis Cloutier
Migneault signed a marriage contract with Marie-Louise Cloutier on September 23, 1648. He offered a substantial dowry of 600 livres. They married on November 10, 1648, in Beauport. Marie-Louise was the daughter of French Canadian pioneer Zacharie Cloutier and Xainte Dupont. They had arrived in 1634 after Robert Giffard recruited Zacharie.
Marie-Louise had previously been married to François Marguerie in 1645, when she was 13 years old. He drowned in the Saint-Laurent in March 1648.
Migneault and Cloutier had 14 children together: Jean Aubin Mignot, Thérèse Migneaux, Sainte Mignault, Marie Madeleine Mignot, Françoise Mignault, Jeanne Mignot, Charles Mignault, Louis Mignot, Nicolas Mignaux, Jean Baptiste Migneault, Marie Mignaut, Marie Charlotte Mignaux and Marie Charlotte Mignot.
Jean Mignot worked as a farmer on his father-in-law’s land in Beauport, Quebec, clearing some of his property. Records indicate that by 1667, Jean had cleared 16 arpents of Zacharie’s land.
Are you interested in learning more about Marie-Louise? Check out Marie Louise Cloutier – Who Was Zacharie Cloutier’s Youngest Child?
Life in New France
Jean Migneault and Marie-Louise Cloutier lived in the Quebec City area following their marriage. As of 1657, they are recorded as living in Beauport.
Throughout their marriage, Migneault became involved in owning and leasing land. In 1655, he leased his farm to Lesage and François Hébert in Beauport near the Montmorency River in Beauport. Jean also became involved in the purchase of land that formerly belonged to Antoine Pelletier, reportedly paying 1,300 livres for the property.
On October 27, 1661, the Journal des Jésuites recorded that the Mignault house had burned down. The census of 1666 document Mignot and Cloutier as living in Beauport with their six children. The following year’s census recorded that Mignault cultivated 35 arpents of land in the fief of his father-in-law, Zacharie Cloutier and owned another homestead with 16 arpents of cleared land.
The Sainte Mignault Scandal
In 1669, a scandal involving Jean Mignot and Marie Louise Cloutier’s daughter, Sainte Mignot, rocked the family. She had an affair with Jean Fortin dit Mombré, a famous seducer in New France, and became pregnant with his child out of wedlock. In the spring of that year, she gave birth to their daughter, Madeleine Fortin dit Mombré.
Although Sainte was an unmarried mother at just 16, she married Jean Grondin on August 4, 1669, at the Chapel of Beauport in New France. Together, they had 11 children. After their wedding, Jean Grondin gave Jean Mignault a dowry of 300 livres and received two arpents of land to cultivate as he pleased.
Are you a descendant of Mignot and Grondin? Check out Jean Grondin and Sainte Mignot: Early Settlers of the Côte-du-Sud, Quebec.
My Connection to Jean Mignault
I have two connections to Jean Migneault in my family tree through my maternal grandfather.
Connection One
- Marie Louise Cloutier (1632 – 1699) and Jean Mignault (1622 – bef. 1681)
- Antoine Gaboury dit Lemajor (abt. 1635 – bef. 1708) and Jeanne Mignot (1658 – 1713)
- Marguerite Gaboury (1680 – 1749) and Pierre Vallières (1673 – 1726)
- Marguerite Vallières (1708 – 1781) and Pierre Michel D’Autour (1701 – bef. 1742)
- Augustin Dautour (1726 – 1792) and Marie-Geneviève Bergevin (1725 – 1789)
- Françoise Angélique Dautour (1751 – 1813) and Louis Dufour (1749 – 1809)
- Pierre Dufour (abt. 1785 – bef. 1900) and Marie Archange Garand (1792 – abt. 1814)
- Catharine Dufour (1805 – 1912) and Edward Jones (1808 – 1901)
- Elizabeth Jones (1838 – 1931) and Nathan Brush (1836 – 1903)
- Amelia Isabella Brush (1864 – 1935) and Joseph Eli Bondy (1858 -1944)
- Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966) and Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973)
- Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
- Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents
Connection Two
- Marie Louise Cloutier (1632 – 1699) and Jean Mignault (1622 – bef. 1681)
- Saint Mignault (1653 – 1736) and Jean Grondin (1640 – 1714)
- Sébastien Grondin (1687 – 1749) and Marie Anne Pinel (1694 – 1761)
- Jean Baptiste Grondin (1713 – 1775) and Geneviève Ouellet (1714 – 1761)
- Joseph Grondin (1742 – 1815) and Marie-Anne Jacques dit Sansoucy (1754 – 1822)
- Charles Grondin (1780 – bef. 1818) and Françoise Beneteau (1775 – )
- Charles Grondin (1807 – 1881) and Susanne Renaud (1811 – 1893)
- Alexandre Grondin (1853 – 1922) and Mary Elizabeth Matevia (1860 – 1931)
- Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973) and Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966)
- Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
- Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents
Are you interested in New France’s earliest settlers? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.
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