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Guillaume PELLETIER, surnom: le Gobloteur[1] (~1598 - 1657)[2][3][4][5] [Carpin #70][6][7]
Père et mère
Fils de Éloy Pelletier et de Françoise Matte, originaire de la paroisse Saint-Pierre de Bresolettes située dans le diocèse de Sées et l'ancienne province du Perche,
Naissance à Bresolette
Guillaume Pelletier est né vers 1598 dans la maison familiale "La Cristerie".[2][3][1][8][9][5]
Des documents de cette époque, en France, numérisés par Mme Pierre Montagne (réf.), révèlent que plusieurs Pelletier vivaient à Bresolette à la même époque, parmi lesquels Mathieu, Jean et Laurent. De connaissance, Éloy n'eu qu'un seul autre fils, Antoine Pelletier (1617-1647) dont nous apprenons l'existence par des documents au Canada, lequel a traversé l'Atlantique jusqu'en Nouvelle-France avec Guillaume. Antoine était plus jeune que son frère, se mariant au Canada en 1647, tandis que Guillaume arriva dans la colonie accompagné de son épouse.
Mariage à Tourouvre
le 12 février 1619, dans l'église Saint-Aubin de Tourouvre, Guillaume Pelletier âgé de ~ 20 ans, épouse [[Mabille-1|Michelle Mabille] âgée de 26 ans, fille de Guillaume Mabille et d'Étiennette Monhé, [10][2][3][1] Le couple s’installe dans la paroisse de Tourouvre aux lieux nommés la Gaserie plus tard la Babonnière.[1][5][11]
Ses enfants
Après les recherches du Père Archange Godbout, Mme Pierre Montagne n'a trouvé dans les archives de Tourouvre que trois enfants nés de Guillaume Pelletier et de Michelle Mabille : Claude, né le 11 février 1622, nommé en l'honneur de son parrain, Claude Mabille, frère de sa mère ; Guillaume, né le 26 février 1624 ; et Jean, né le 12 juin 1627, dont les parrains et marraines étaient Jehan Loyseau et Michelle Bahère, épouse de Claude Mabille. Outre ces trois enfants, Mgr Tanguay mentionne une fille, Marie, qui aurait épousé Julien Perreault en 1647. Les deux aînés, Claude et Guillaume, seraient décédés en bas âge ; nous n'en trouvons plus aucune mention dans les archives. De plus, selon P.-A, Godbout, au moment de leur émigration de France, Guillaume et sa femme n'avaient qu'un seul enfant avec eux, leur fils cadet, Jean.
Marchand charbonnier
Il exerce le métier de marchand charbonnier, Éloi, le prénom de son père, étant le saint patron des forgerons et des métallurgistes.[1]
Comme son père Éloy, Guillaume est marchand de charbon de bois. Un acte daté de 1630 atteste de ce fait : « Macé Guyot… cède à Jehan Maunoury et à Guillaume Pelletier, marchands de charbon, demeurant dit Tourouvre, 106 cordes de bois dans le but de faire du charbon. En échange, Maunoury et Pelletier livreront 175 charbonnières et paieront 4 pièces d'or. Il se peut cependant que Guillaume ait eu plus d'un emploi. D'après le Journal des Jésuites de 1646, nous savons qu'il est "un bûcheron, un scieur, un charpentier, un charbonnier, etc." Comme on peut le voir, Guillaume avait tellement de métiers liés au bois que le rédacteur du Journal n'a même pas complété la liste !
Migration en Nouvelle-France
Il migre au Canada avec son épouse et leurs deux fils Jean et Guillaume en 1641 et il est mentionné pour la première fois au Canada le 5 octobre 1642 lors d'une reconnaissance à Tadoussac.[1][12][13][5]
Malgré le fait qu'aucun document écrit atteste explicitement comment et pourquoi ces pionniers ont quitté le Perche, il semble évident que Guillaume Pelletier, comme plusieurs de ses compatriotes, est venu au Canada pour répondre à l'appel du sieur Robert Giffard, le premier professionnel de la colonie venu de cette région. Guillaume a vraisemblablement été embauché par l'un des frères Juchereau, soit directement, soit par l'un de leurs représentants ; à l'époque, Noël et Jean Juchereau, associés de Giffard et membres de la Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France, multiplient les voyages entre le Canada et le Perche pour recruter de plus en plus de colons. En leur absence, leur demi-frère, Pierre Juchereau, recrute des colons et signe des contrats en leur nom.
Le 8 mars 1641, Guillaume Pelletier et Michelle Mabille, habitants de La Gazerie, vendent une partie de leur terre à Robert Loyseau et concluent un bail de cinq ans avec Jean Rousseau, leur beau-frère, qui comprend «toutes maisons et tous droits successoraux appartenant à Michelle Mabille ainsi que les droits de feu Guillaume Mabille et Étiennette Monhée, ses père et mère, d'être en la possession dudit Rousseau pendant ledit temps, en considération de quinze livres qu'ils ont déjà reçus dudit Rousseau et dont ils le déchargent. Le contexte de l'acte est clair et on comprend pourquoi les Pelletier ont fait appel à un notaire pour rédiger ces dispositions : ayant liquidé tous leurs biens – maison, droits de succession et titres – ils entendaient partir. Des obligations familiales semblent les avoir empêchés de régler ces affaires plus tôt, mais les parents de Michelle étant décédés, le couple était libre de partir. On peut donc conclure que Guillaume Pelletier, Michelle Mabille et leur fils de quatorze ans, Jean, sont partis pour le Canada au printemps 1641. Si toutefois il s'agit d'une erreur de calcul, elle n'est pas considérable, étant donné qu'un acte notarié du 5 octobre 1642, établit que la famille Pelletier s'était bien établie en Nouvelle-France quelque temps avant cette date. Le frère de Guillaume, Antoine, a probablement accompagné son frère au Canada; on sait qu'Antoine s'est noyé lorsque son canot a chaviré à la chute Montmorency, en 1647.
Le Gobloteur
Guillaume Pelletier avait le surnom, «gobloteur», mais s'il avait ce nom en France ou s'il l'avait mérité au Canada, nous ne le savons pas ; le Journal des Jésuites de 1646 mentionne « le Gobloteur, nommé Guillaume Pelletier ». L'usage de ce mot ne s'est pas perpétué au XXIe siècle, il faut donc consulter l'édition de 1762 du Dictionnaire de Trévoux, dans laquelle on retrouve le mot « gobelotor ». Issu du mot « gobelot » ou « goblet » signifiant chope à boire, « gobelotor » désigne celui qui boit souvent et, par extension, celui qui aime rire et chanter. La version anglaise du Journal des Jésuites traduit « Gobloteur » par « Tippler », ou ivrogne, mais, même si cette traduction nous amène aux mêmes conclusions sur Guillaume, il lui manque les nuances françaises ! Nous préférons plutôt la définition de Trévoux, que l'on retrouve également dans le Dictionnaire général de la langue française au Canada de Bélisle, qui reconnaît le Gobloteur comme un homme heureux qui aime boire, rire et chanter ! Guillaume Pelletier a transmis son surnom à son fils, Jean, qui l'a à son tour transmis à certains de ses descendants. Léon Roy, dans sa « Terre de l'Île d'Orléans », mentionne Jean Pelletier Gobleteux, qui possédait la parcelle numéro cinquante-trois dans la paroisse de Saint-Pierre. Cette terre, cédée plus tard à son fils René, était située entre René Goubleu et Jacques Nolin. Roy commente : « Nous croyons que ce René Goubleu n'était autre que René Pelletier lui-même, fils de Jean Pelletier, surnommé « Gobloteux ». À notre connaissance, « Gobloteur » est introuvable parmi les noms du Québec d'aujourd'hui.
Employé ou Habitant ?
Même si Guillaume n'est pas venu en Nouvelle-France sous contrat, la preuve indique qu'il était à tout le moins un homme de main, ou engagé, commissionné pour trente-six mois de service ; arrivé dans la colonie en 1641, ce n'est qu'à la fin de 1644 qu'il achète une parcelle de terre. Auparavant, le 17 avril de cette année-là, sieur Robert Giffard avait accordé une concession de six arpents de large à Martin Grouvel, qui, cet automne-là, vendit la propriété à Guillaume Pelletier, qui à son tour la donna à son frère Antoine; à la mort d'Antoine en octobre 1647, la propriété des terres revient à Guillaume. Il est facile d'interpréter les actions de Guillaume comme celles d'un engagé qui avait décidé d'investir ses gains dans une propriété. Il semble cependant que même après cette transaction, Guillaume ait poursuivi une activité engagée, puisqu'il a immédiatement donné la terre à son frère, au lieu de s'y installer lui-même. Ce n'est qu'après la mort de son frère en 1647 que Guillaume semble enfin décidé à s'établir sur sa propriété et, sans doute, à l'exploiter lui-même.
À Beauport
En 1647, Guillaume Pelletier reprend possession de sa terre dans le secteur de la chute Montmorency, qu'il avait donnée à son frère Antoine en 1644. La chute n'avait pas favorisé ce jeune Pelletier, et on peut se demander s'il avait osé tenter le sort en amenant son petit canot le plus près possible de la Chute : le 3 octobre 1647, « Antoine Peltier, frère de Guillaume Peltier le Gobloteur, se noie lorsque son canot chavire près de sa maison du Saut de Montmorency ». La perte de son frère fut sans doute difficile à accepter pour Guillaume et plus encore pour Françoise Morin qu'Antoine avait épousée seulement deux mois auparavant, le 17 août 1647 ; le couple n'avait pas eu d'enfants. Le jésuite Barthélemy Vincent a enterré Antoine à Québec le jour de sa mort.
La propriété de Guillaume à Beauport, près de la chute Montmorency, consistait en six arpents le long du fleuve Saint-Laurent; la rivière Montmorency limite sa concession à trente-quatre arpents de profondeur. En effet, en raison de la manière particulière dont sieur Giffard avait choisi de répartir ses concessions, chacune était limitée au sud par le fleuve Saint-Laurent et au nord par la rivière Montorency. Et, comme les deux rivières s'approchaient pour se rencontrer au bout de la seigneurie, la première concession, la plus proche des Chutes, n'avait que vingt arpents de profondeur ; la terre de Guillaume Pelletier était seconde, et ne s'étendait vers l'intérieur que sur trente-quatre arpents; les concessions continuèrent ainsi le long de la ligne jusqu'à la propriété de Jean Langlois, profonde de 116 arpents. Or, Guil-laume ne gardait pas toutes ses terres et en 1655, Jean Mignaux avait en sa possession deux arpents, dont une partie avait été prise sur la terre de Guillaume.
Du temps de Guillaume à Beauport, on en sait peu. En 1646, son fils de dix-neuf ans, Jean, s'est porté volontaire pour le service avec les Jésuites ; il est probablement retourné chez son père l'année suivante. En 1649, Jean épouse la jeune Anne Langlois, après quoi il s'installe sur la propriété de son père à Beauport. En 1654, Anne présente à Guillaume son premier petit-fils, Noël Pelletier, le premier descendant de cette lignée de Pelletier de Tourouvre, né au Canada ; deux ans plus tard, Guillaume voit naître sa première petite-fille, Anne.
Un touche-à-tout
Il est facile de croire qu'au début, Guillaume a travaillé dans la colonie comme artisan, car cela n'aurait été qu'un prolongement de son occupation en France ; ses Bresolettes natales, ne l'oublions pas, se situaient au cœur même d'une région peuplée de « charbonniers, ferronniers et bûcherons ». Bref, même si ce n'est que de gré à gré ou sous seing privé, Guillaume était sans aucun doute un engagé, et l'on peut supposer que c'est en grande partie grâce à ses talents d'ébéniste qu'il a été recruté. A cette époque, tout dans la colonie était encore en construction. Ne parlant que des Jésuites, on voit dans leur Journal qu'ils étaient en train de construire une résidence et une église paroissiale à cette époque ; les Jésuites sont un bel exemple de groupe qui embauche Guillaume Pelletier pour son savoir-faire d'artisan. En tout cas, les prêtres semblent l'avoir particulièrement bien connu puisque leur Journal l'identifie comme « bûcheron, scieur, charpentier, charbonnier, etc.
Un citoyen respecté
Revenant au Journal des Jésuites, nous voyons que le 9 août 1653, Guillaume est nommé syndic adjoint dans la Communauté des Habitants de Beauport ; les prêtres en ont parlé, mentionnant que le groupe relève de leur juridiction. Cette nomination est à la fois un grand honneur pour Guillaume et l'expression de la confiance que lui portent ses concitoyens de Beauport. Ainsi, Guillaume Pelletier n'a pas seulement servi la colonie avec ses compétences magistrales en menuiserie, il a aussi été productif, plus ou moins anonymement, par ses contributions à la Communauté des Habitants, où il s'est donné gratuitement pour faire avancer la vie économique et politique de la jeune colonie. De plus, Guillaume était un membre instruit de sa société et, comme le note Mme Montagne, il avait une « bonne signature », qu'elle a trouvée sur un document parmi les archives de Tourouvre. Enfin, les connaissances et l'expérience de Guillaume en tant qu'ancien marchand de charbon de bois lui permettent sans doute de veiller sur les intérêts de la Communauté, dont la première activité économique est de gérer le commerce des fourrures en Nouvelle-France.
Décès
Quatre ans après sa nomination à la Communauté des Habitants, âgé de ~58 ans, Guillaume Peltier décède à Beauport le 27 novembre 1657 et est inhumé le lendemain à Québec le lendemain (voir image extrait de registre paroissial).[14][2][1][5]
Sa veuve, Michelle Mabille, mourut à Beauport et fut inhumée à Québec huit ans plus tard, le 21 janvier 1665, à l'âge de 73 ans.[1] Au moment de sa mort, Guillaume ne laissa pas une très grande descendance canadienne; son fils, Jean, ne lui avait donné que deux petits-enfants. Cependant, Jean et sa jeune épouse, Anne Langlois, finirent par ajouter sept enfants à leur famille, sans compter deux morts à la naissance; tous ces enfants sauf un sont nés dans la maison de Beauport que Jean a reçue de son père.
Il avait 243 descendants en 1729.[15]
Guillaume PELLETIER dit le Gobloteur (~1598 - 1657)[2][3][1][4][5] [Carpin #70][6][7]
Guillaume Pelletier was born in the former French province of Perche, which borders the provinces of Normandie, Maine, and Beauce.
Birth in Bresolette
It was in Bresolette that Guillaume Pelletier was born in 1598, son of Éloy Pelletier and Françoise Matte. Documents in France from that era, scanned by Mrs. Pierre Montagne (ref.), reveal that several Pelletiers lived in Bresolette at the same time, among whom were Mathieu, Jean, and Laurent.
To our knowledge, Éloy had only one other son, Antoine, whom we learn about from documents in Canada, and who crossed the Atlantic to New France with Guillaume. Antoine was younger than his brother, marrying in Canada in 1647, whereas Guillaume arrived in the colony accompanied by his wife.
Wedding in Tourouvre
It was at the Church of Saint-Aubin, in Tourouvre, that “the marriage of Guillaume Pelletier, of the parish of Bresolette, and Michelle Mabille, daughter of Guillaume of this parish, was celebrated on the twelfth day of the aforementioned month and year” – which is to say, February 1619. [10][2][1]
Coal Merchant
Like his father Éloy, Guillaume was a charcoal merchant. An act dated 1630 testifies to this fact: “Macé Guyot… yields to Jehan Maunoury and to Guillaume Pelletier, coal merchants, living in said Tourouvre, 106 cords of wood for the purpose of making coal. In exchange, Maunoury and Pelletier will deliver 175 coal pipes and will pay 4 gold coins.” It may be, however, that Guillaume had more than one job. From the Jesuit Journal of 1646, we know that he is “a logger, sawyer, carpenter, coalman, etc.” As we can see, Guillaume had so many wood related occupations that the Journal writer did not even complete the list!
His Children
Following the research of Father Archange Godbout, Mrs. Pierre Montagne found no more than three children in the Tourouvre archives born to Guillaume Pelletier and Michelle Mabille: Claude, born February 11, 1622, who was named in honor of his godfather, Claude Mabille, his mother’s brother; Guillaume, born February 26, 1624; and Jean, born June 12, 1627, whose godparents were Jehan Loyseau and Michelle Bahère, wife of Claude Mabille. In addition to these three children, Monsignor Tanguay mentions a daughter, Marie, who apparently married Julien Perreault in 1647. The two eldest children, Claude and Guillaume, apparently died at an early age; we find no further mention of them in the archives. Furthermore, at the time of their emigration from France, Guillaume and his wife only had one child with them, their youngest son, Jean.
The Gobloteur
Guillaume Pelletier had a nickname, “Gobloteur,” but whether he had this name in France or earned it in Canada, we do not know; the Jesuit Journal of 1646 mentions “the Gobloteur, named Guillaume Pelletier.” Use of this byname has not perpetuated to the 21st century, so we must consult the 1762 edition of Trévoux’s Dictionary, in which we find the word “gobelotor.” Coming from the word “gobelot” or “goblet,” meaning drinking mug, “gobelotor” means one who drinks often and, by extension, one who likes to laugh and sing. The English version of the Jesuit Journal translates “Gobloteur” as “Tippler,” or drunkard, but, even if this translation draws us to the same conclusions about Guillaume, it lacks the French nuances! Instead, we prefer the Trévoux definition, found also in Bélisle’s General Dictionary of the French Language in Canada, which recognizes the Gobloteur as a happy man who likes to drink, laugh, and sing! Guillaume Pelletier passed his byname along to his son, Jean, who in turn transmitted it to some of his descendants. Léon Roy, in his “Terre de l’Île d’Orléans,” mentions Jean Pelletier Gobleteux, who owned parcel number fifty-three in the parish of Saint-Pierre. This land, later conveyed to his son, René, was located between René Goubleu and Jacques Nolin. Roy comments, “We believe that this René Goubleu was none other than René Pelletier himself, son of Jean Pelletier, nicknamed “Gobloteux.” To our knowledge, “Gobloteur” is nowhere to be found among the names of Quebec today.
Emigration to Canada
Despite the fact that no written documents attest explicitly to how and why these pioneers left Perche, it seems obvious that Guillaume Pelletier, like many of his compatriots, came to Canada to answer to the call of Lord Robert Giffard, the first professional in the colony to come from that region. Guillaume was most likely hired by one of the Juchereau brothers, either directly or by one of their representatives; at the time, Noël and Jean Juchereau, associates of Giffard and members of the Company of New France, were making an increasing number of trips between Canada and Perche to recruit more and more colonists. In their absence, their half-brother, Pierre Juchereau, recruited settlers and signed contracts on their behalf.
On March 8, 1641, Guillaume Pelletier and Michelle Mabille, residents of La Gazerie, sold a portion of their land to Robert Loyseau, and entered into a five-year lease agreement with Jean Rousseau, their brother-in-law, which included “any houses and all inheritance rights belonging to Michelle Mabille as well as those rights from the late Guillaume Mabille and Étiennette Monhée, her father and mother, to be in the possession of the said Rousseau during the said time, in consideration of fifteen pounds, which they have already received from the said Rousseau and of which payment they discharge him.” The context of the act is clear, and it is obvious why the Pelletiers called upon a notary to draw up these provisions: having liquidated all their assets – house, inheritances rights, and titles – they meant to depart. Familial obligations seem to have kept them from settling these matters sooner, but Michelle’s parents having died, the couple was free to leave. We can thus conclude that Guillaume Pelletier, Michelle Mabille, and their fourteen-year-old son, Jean, left for Canada in the spring of 1641. If, however, this is a miscalculation, it is not considerable, given that a notarial act dated October 5, 1642, establishes that the Pelletier family had indeed settled in New France some time before that date. Guillaume’s brother, Antoine, likely accompanied his brother to Canada; we know that Antoine drowned when his canoe capsized at Montmorency Falls in 1647.
Hired hand or Habitant?
Even if Guillaume did not come to New France under contract, evidence indicates that he was at the very least a hired hand, or engagé, commissioned for thirty-six months of service; having arrived in the colony in 1641, it was not until late 1644 that he purchased a parcel of land. Earlier, on April 17 of that year, Lord Robert Giffard had granted a concession measuring six arpents wide to Martin Grouvel, who, that autumn, sold the property to Guillaume Pelletier, who in turn gave it to his brother, Antoine; when Antoine died in October 1647, ownership of the land transferred back to Guillaume. It is easy to interpret Guillaume’s actions as those of an engagé who had decided to invest his earnings in some property. It seems, however, that even after this transaction, Guillaume continued an as engagé, as he immediately gave the land to his brother, instead of settling there himself. It is only after his brother’s death in 1647 that Guillaume seems to finally decide to establish himself on his property and, undoubtedly, exploit it himself.
A Jack of All Trades
It is easy to believe that, in the beginning, Guillaume worked in the colony as an artisan, as this would have merely been an extension of his occupation in France; his native Bresolettes, let us not forget, was situated in the very heart of an area populated by “coalmen, ironworkers, and loggers.” In short, even if it were only by an oral agreement or under a private contract, Guillaume was undoubtedly an engagé, and it is safe to assume that it was in large part because of his expert woodworking skills that he had been recruited. At that time, everything in the colony was still under construction. Speaking only about the Jesuits, we see in their Journal that they were in the process of building a residence and parish church at that time; the Jesuits are a prime example of a group hiring Guillaume Pelletier for his expertise as an artisan. In any case, the priests seem to have known him particularly well, as their Journal identifies him as a “logger, sawyer, carpenter, coalman, etc.”
In Beauport
In 1647, Guillaume Pelletier reclaimed possession of his land in the area of Montmorency Falls, which he had given to his brother, Antoine, in 1644. The Falls had not favored this younger Pelletier, and one might ask if he had dared tempt fate by getting his little canoe as close to the Falls as possible: on October 3, 1647, “Antoine Peltier, brother of Guillaume Peltier the Gobloteur, drowned when his canoe capsized close to his house in Saut de Montmorency.” The loss of his brother was undoubtedly difficult for Guillaume to accept, and even more so for Françoise Morin, whom Antoine had married only two months before, on August 17; the couple had had no children. Jesuit Barthélemy Vincent buried Antoine in Quebec on day of his death.
Guillaume’s property in Beauport, by the Montmorency Falls, consisted of six arpents along the Saint Lawrence River; the Montmorency River limited his concession to thirty-four arpents in depth. In fact, because of the particular way in which Lord Giffard had chosen to distribute his concessions, each was limited in the south by the Saint Lawrence and in the north by the Montorency River. And, as the two rivers approached to meet at the end of the seigneury, the first concession, closest to the Falls, was only twenty arpents deep; the land of Guillaume Pelletier was second, and only extended inland thirty-four arpents; the concessions continued this way down the line until reaching the property of Jean Langlois, which was 116 arpents deep. Now, Guil-laume did not keep all of his land, and by 1655, Jean Mignaux had in his possession two arpents, part of which had been taken from Guillaume’s land.
About Guillaume’s time at Beauport, we know little. In 1646, his nineteen-year-old son, Jean, volunteered for service with the Jesuits; he probably returned to his father that next year. In 1649, Jean married the young Anne Langlois, after which he settled on his father’s property in Beauport. In 1654, Anne presented Guillaume his first grandson, Noël Pelletier, the first Canadian-born descendant of this line of Pelletiers from Tourouvre; two years later, Guillaume saw the birth of his first granddaughter, Anne.
A Respected Citizen
Again turning to the Jesuit Journal, we see that on August 9, 1653, Guillaume is named assistant trustee in the Communauté des Habitants of Beauport; the priests spoke of it, mentioning that the group falls under their jurisdiction. This nomination is at once a great honor for Guillaume and an expression of the trust his fellow citizens of Beauport have in him. Thus, Guillaume Pelletier not only served the colony with his masterful woodworking skills, he was also productive, more or less anonymously, by his contributions to the Communauté des Habitants, where he gave freely of himself to further the economic life and policies of the young colony. Moreover, Guillaume was an educated member of his society, and, as Mrs. Montagne notes, he had a “good signature,” which she has found on a document among the archives in Tourouvre. Finally, Guillaume’s knowledge and experience as a former charcoal merchant undoubtedly entitled him to supervise the interests of the Communauté, whose foremost economic activity was to manage the fur trade in New France.
His Death
Four years after his appointment to the Communauté des Habitants, Guillaume Pelletier died at his home in Beauport at the age of 59, and on November 28, 1657, he was buried in Quebec.[14][2] His widow, Michelle Mabille, died in Beauport and was buried in Quebec eight years later, on January 21, 1665,[1] at the age of 73. At the time of his death, Guillaume did not leave a very large Canadian progeny; his son, Jean, had only given him two grandchildren. However, Jean and his young wife, Anne Langlois, eventually added seven children to their family, not counting two who died at birth; all but one of these children were born in the house in Beauport that Jean received from his father.
Taken from “Histoire et généalogie de Guillaume Pelletier 1598-1657 et son fils Jean,” by Maurice Pelletier, s.j. (Montreal: Société généalogique Canadienne-Française, 1976; 24 pp). English translation by B.J. Shoja. 2003.[16]
Union avec / with Michelle Mabille:[2][1]
Un excellent relevé biographique publiée sous "Les classiques de La Pelleterie - publication officielle de l'association des Familles Pelletier inc": [18]
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3314227?docsearchtext=dit%20Gobloteur
Book pg 172, electronic pg 174 of 268
Famille Pelletier - Mabille GUILLAUME PELLETIER ,né vers 1598, époux de MICHELLE MABILLE
Text reproduction requested.
J'attend le retour pour finaliser.
Thanks Michelle. (I did not erase your original text)
I am not trying to reverse a decision, just expressing my sincere point of view.
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P > Pelletier > Guillaume Pelletier
Categories: Quebecois Project | Québec, Canada, Nouvelle-France | Migrants du Perche au Canada, Nouvelle-France | Percheron Immigration
Guillaume Pelletier (1598-1657)
Guillaume Pelletier was born in the former French province of Perche, which borders the provinces of Normandie, Maine, and Beauce.
Birth in Bresolette
It was in Bresolette that Guillaume Pelletier was born in 1598, son of Éloy Pelletier and Françoise Matte. Documents in France from that era, scanned by Mrs. Pierre Montagne (ref.), reveal that several Pelletiers lived in Bresolette at the same time, among whom were Mathieu, Jean, and Laurent.
To our knowledge, Éloy had only one other son, Antoine, whom we learn about from documents in Canada, and who crossed the Atlantic to New France with Guillaume. Antoine was younger than his brother, marrying in Canada in 1647, whereas Guillaume arrived in the colony accompanied by his wife.
Wedding in Tourouvre
It was at the Church of Saint-Aubin, in Tourouvre, that “the marriage of Guillaume Pelletier, of the parish of Bresolette, and Michelle Mabille, daughter of Guillaume of this parish, was celebrated on the twelfth day of the aforementioned month and year” – which is to say, February 1619.
Coal Merchant
Like his father Éloy, Guillaume was a charcoal merchant. An act dated 1630 testifies to this fact: “Macé Guyot… yields to Jehan Maunoury and to Guillaume Pelletier, coal merchants, living in said Tourouvre, 106 cords of wood for the purpose of making coal. In exchange, Maunoury and Pelletier will deliver 175 coal pipes and will pay 4 gold coins.” It may be, however, that Guillaume had more than one job. From the Jesuit Journal of 1646, we know that he is “a logger, sawyer, carpenter, coalman, etc.” As we can see, Guillaume had so many wood related occupations that the Journal writer did not even complete the list!
His Children
According to the research of P.-A. Godbout, Mrs. Pierre Montagne found no more than three children in the Tourouvre archives born to Guillaume Pelletier and Michelle Mabille: Claude, born February 11, 1622, who was named in honor of his godfather, Claude Mabille, his mother’s brother; Guillaume, born February 26, 1624; and Jean, born June 12, 1627, whose godparents were Jehan Loyseau and Michelle Bahère, wife of Claude Mabille. In addition to these three children, Monsignor Tanguay mentions a daughter, Marie, who apparently married Julien Perreault in 1647. The two eldest children, Claude and Guillaume, apparently died at an early age; we find no further mention of them in the archives. Furthermore, at the time of their emigration from France, Guillaume and his wife only had one child with them, their youngest son, Jean.
The Gobloteur
Guillaume Pelletier had a nickname, “Gobloteur,” but whether he had this name in France or earned it in Canada, we do not know; the Jesuit Journal of 1646 mentions “the Gobloteur, named Guillaume Pelletier.” Use of this byname has not perpetuated to the 21st century, so we must consult the 1762 edition of Trévoux’s Dictionary, in which we find the word “gobelotor.” Coming from the word “gobelot” or “goblet,” meaning drinking mug, “gobelotor” means one who drinks often and, by extension, one who likes to laugh and sing. The English version of the Jesuit Journal translates “Gobloteur” as “Tippler,” or drunkard, but, even if this translation draws us to the same conclusions about Guillaume, it lacks the French nuances! Instead, we prefer the Trévoux definition, found also in Bélisle’s General Dictionary of the French Language in Canada, which recognizes the Gobloteur as a happy man who likes to drink, laugh, and sing! Guillaume Pelletier passed his byname along to his son, Jean, who in turn transmitted it to some of his descendants. Léon Roy, in his “Terre de l’Île d’Orléans,” mentions Jean Pelletier Gobleteux, who owned parcel number fifty-three in the parish of Saint-Pierre. This land, later conveyed to his son, René, was located between René Goubleu and Jacques Nolin. Roy comments, “We believe that this René Goubleu was none other than René Pelletier himself, son of Jean Pelletier, nicknamed “Gobloteux.” To our knowledge, “Gobloteur” is nowhere to be found among the names of Quebec today.
Emigration in Canada
Despite the fact that no written documents attest explicitly to how and why these pioneers left Perche, it seems obvious that Guillaume Pelletier, like many of his compatriots, came to Canada to answer to the call of Lord Robert Giffard, the first professional in the colony to come from that region. Guillaume was most likely hired by one of the Juchereau brothers, either directly or by one of their representatives; at the time, Noël and Jean Juchereau, associates of Giffard and members of the Company of New France, were making an increasing number of trips between Canada and Perche to recruit more and more colonists. In their absence, their half-brother, Pierre Juchereau, recruited settlers and signed contracts on their behalf.
On March 8, 1641, Guillaume Pelletier and Michelle Mabille, residents of La Gazerie, sold a portion of their land to Robert Loyseau, and entered into a five-year lease agreement with Jean Rousseau, their brother-in-law, which included “any houses and all inheritance rights belonging to Michelle Mabille as well as those rights from the late Guillaume Mabille and Étiennette Monhée, her father and mother, to be in the possession of the said Rousseau during the said time, in consideration of fifteen pounds, which they have already received from the said Rousseau and of which payment they discharge him.” The context of the act is clear, and it is obvious why the Pelletiers called upon a notary to draw up these provisions: having liquidated all their assets – house, inheritances rights, and titles – they meant to depart. Familial obligations seem to have kept them from settling these matters sooner, but Michelle’s parents having died, the couple was free to leave. We can thus conclude that Guillaume Pelletier, Michelle Mabille, and their fourteen-year-old son, Jean, left for Canada in the spring of 1641. If, however, this is a miscalculation, it is not considerable, given that a notarial act dated October 5, 1642, establishes that the Pelletier family had indeed settled in New France some time before that date. Guillaume’s brother, Antoine, likely accompanied his brother to Canada; we know that Antoine drowned when his canoe capsized at Montmorency Falls in 1647.
Hired hand or Habitant?
Even if Guillaume did not come to New France under contract, evidence indicates that he was at the very least a hired hand, or engagé, commissioned for thirty-six months of service; having arrived in the colony in 1641, it was not until late 1644 that he purchased a parcel of land. Earlier, on April 17 of that year, Lord Robert Giffard had granted a concession measuring six arpents wide to Martin Grouvel, who, that autumn, sold the property to Guillaume Pelletier, who in turn gave it to his brother, Antoine; when Antoine died in October 1647, ownership of the land transferred back to Guillaume. It is easy to interpret Guillaume’s actions as those of an engagé who had decided to invest his earnings in some property. It seems, however, that even after this transaction, Guillaume continued an as engagé, as he immediately gave the land to his brother, instead of settling there himself. It is only after his brother’s death in 1647 that Guillaume seems to finally decide to establish himself on his property and, undoubtedly, exploit it himself.
A Jack of All Trades
It is easy to believe that, in the beginning, Guillaume worked in the colony as an artisan, as this would have merely been an extension of his occupation in France; his native Bresolettes, let us not forget, was situated in the very heart of an area populated by “coalmen, ironworkers, and loggers.” In short, even if it were only by an oral agreement or under a private contract, Guillaume was undoubtedly an engagé, and it is safe to assume that it was in large part because of his expert woodworking skills that he had been recruited. At that time, everything in the colony was still under construction. Speaking only about the Jesuits, we see in their Journal that they were in the process of building a residence and parish church at that time; the Jesuits are a prime example of a group hiring Guillaume Pelletier for his expertise as an artisan. In any case, the priests seem to have known him particularly well, as their Journal identifies him as a “logger, sawyer, carpenter, coalman, etc.”
In Beauport
In 1647, Guillaume Pelletier reclaimed possession of his land in the area of Montmorency Falls, which he had given to his brother, Antoine, in 1644. The Falls had not favored this younger Pelletier, and one might ask if he had dared tempt fate by getting his little canoe as close to the Falls as possible: on October 3, 1647, “Antoine Peltier, brother of Guillaume Peltier the Gobloteur, drowned when his canoe capsized close to his house in Saut de Montmorency.” The loss of his brother was undoubtedly difficult for Guillaume to accept, and even more so for Françoise Morin, whom Antoine had married only two months before, on August 17; the couple had had no children. Jesuit Barthélemy Vincent buried Antoine in Quebec on day of his death.
Guillaume’s property in Beauport, by the Montmorency Falls, consisted of six arpents along the Saint Lawrence River; the Montmorency River limited his concession to thirty-four arpents in depth. In fact, because of the particular way in which Lord Giffard had chosen to distribute his concessions, each was limited in the south by the Saint Lawrence and in the north by the Montorency River. And, as the two rivers approached to meet at the end of the seigneury, the first concession, closest to the Falls, was only twenty arpents deep; the land of Guillaume Pelletier was second, and only extended inland thirty-four arpents; the concessions continued this way down the line until reaching the property of Jean Langlois, which was 116 arpents deep. Now, Guil-laume did not keep all of his land, and by 1655, Jean Mignaux had in his possession two arpents, part of which had been taken from Guillaume’s land.
About Guillaume’s time at Beauport, we know little. In 1646, his nineteen-year-old son, Jean, volunteered for service with the Jesuits; he probably returned to his father that next year. In 1649, Jean married the young Anne Langlois, after which he settled on his father’s property in Beauport. In 1654, Anne presented Guillaume his first grandson, Noël Pelletier, the first Canadian-born descendant of this line of Pelletiers from Tourouvre; two years later, Guillaume saw the birth of his first granddaughter, Anne.
A Respected Citizen
Again turning to the Jesuit Journal, we see that on August 9, 1653, Guillaume is named assistant trustee in the Communauté des Habitants of Beauport; the priests spoke of it, mentioning that the group falls under their jurisdiction. This nomination is at once a great honor for Guillaume and an expression of the trust his fellow citizens of Beauport have in him. Thus, Guillaume Pelletier not only served the colony with his masterful woodworking skills, he was also productive, more or less anonymously, by his contributions to the Communauté des Habitants, where he gave freely of himself to further the economic life and policies of the young colony. Moreover, Guillaume was an educated member of his society, and, as Mrs. Montagne notes, he had a “good signature,” which she has found on a document among the archives in Tourouvre. Finally, Guillaume’s knowledge and experience as a former charcoal merchant undoubtedly entitled him to supervise the interests of the Communauté, whose foremost economic activity was to manage the fur trade in New France.
His Death
Four years after his appointment to the Communauté des Habitants, Guillaume Pelletier died at his home in Beauport at the age of 59, and on November 28, 1657, he was buried in Quebec. His widow, Michelle Mabille, died in Beauport and was buried in Quebec eight years later, on January 21, 1665, at the age of 73. At the time of his death, Guillaume did not leave a very large Canadian progeny; his son, Jean, had only given him two grandchildren. However, Jean and his young wife, Anne Langlois, eventually added seven children to their family, not counting two who died at birth; all but one of these children were born in the house in Beauport that Jean received from his father.
Taken from “Histoire et généalogie de Guillaume Pelletier 1598-1657 et son fils Jean,” by Maurice Pelletier, s.j. (Montreal: Société généalogique Canadienne-Française, 1976; 24 pp). English translation by B.J. Shoja. 2003