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Toussaint Giroux & Marie Godard

Discover the fascinating story of Toussaint Giroux, a 17th-century French settler who built a life in New France. From his early years in Perche, Normandy, to his land concessions, family struggles, and survival in a growing colony, this detailed genealogy traces his journey through historical records. Learn about his contributions to Beauport, his rare marital separation, and his legacy in Canada.

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 Toussaint Giroux & Marie Godard

 

A young orphan from Normandy, Toussaint Giroux left France at just 16 to seek a new life in New France. He built a home in Beauport, worked the land, and raised a family—only to see his marriage unravel in a rare 17th-century separation. His story is one of resilience, survival, and legacy.

 

Toussaint Giroux, son of Jean Giroux and Marguerite Quilleron (or Cuilleron), was baptized on November 2, 1633, in the parish of Saint-Martin in Réveillon, Perche, Normandie, France. His father was a tisserand (weaver). His godparents were Zacharie Maheult [Maheu] and Marguerite Launay.

1633 baptism of Toussaint Giroux (Archives départementales de l'Orne)

Réveillon, located about 140 kilometers west of Paris in today’s Orne department, is a small rural village with a population of less than 400, known as Réveillonnais.  

Location of Réveillon in France (Mapcarta)

The origins of the church of Saint-Martin date back to the 12th century. The Romanesque portal in the west gable of the building is from this period and was part of the original church. The church was rebuilt in the late 15th or early 16th century, which is evident in the bell tower with its corner buttresses topped with pinnacles. Over the centuries, the church has undergone various modifications and restorations, reflecting changes in religious architecture in the region.

The church of Saint-Martin in Réveillon (photo by Pucesurvitaminee, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0)

Plaque honouring Toussaint Giroux inside the church of Saint-Martin in Réveillon (Association Perche-Canada; shared with permission)

Leaving France Behind

1654 land concession to Toussaint Giroux (FamilySearch)

Toussaint lost his father on January 10, 1641, when he was only seven years old. By this time, it is believed that he had also lost all of his siblings. Nine years later, in 1650, at the age of 16, Toussaint decided to leave his home country and embark on the adventure of New France with his godfather Zacharie Maheu and Maheu's son, René. He likely agreed to a three-year indenture, probably in the service of Robert Giffard.  

Toussaint appeared in the Canadian public record for the first time on June 20, 1654. On that day, he, his godfather Zacharie Maheu, and René Maheu received a land concession from seigneur Robert Giffard in Beauport, measuring about 50 arpents. In return, the men were to pay Giffard 25 sols in rente, one sol for cens, and a fat hen annually on Christmas Day. 

Marriage & Family

Marie Godard was born around 1638 in France. Her exact origins and parents’ names are unknown.  According to genealogist Peter Gagné, Marie was “probably originally from the countryside around Mortagne [and] would have come to Canada in the service of Madame Giffard, who, on several locations, showed her particular marks of kindness.” Marie was a Fille à marier.

Toussaint and Marie were married on September 29, 1654, in the home of Robert Giffard in Beauport. Toussaint was 20 years old, while Marie was about 16. Although they had previously signed a marriage contract before notary François Badeau, the document no longer exists.

1654 marriage of Toussaint Giroux and Marie Godard (Généalogie Québec)

The couple had at least 12 children:

  1. Charles (1655–1655)

  2. Raphaël (1656–1715)

  3. Charles (1658–1708)

  4. Toussaint (1660–1660)

  5. Michel (1661–1715)

  6. Toussaint (1663–1663)

  7. Jean (1664–1733)

  8. Marie (1666–1711)

  9. Jean Baptiste (1668–bef. 1681)

  10. Marie Madeleine (1669–1751)

  11. Toussaint (1672–1750)

  12. Monique (ca. 1679–1727)

A Home in Beauport

Since Toussaint and Marie were married in the home of Robert Giffard, and their first three children were born in his manor house, it is likely that the couple worked for Giffard and lived either in his home or in one of its outbuildings.

“Manor of Robert Giffard, first seigneur of Beauport—Montcalm’s headquarters in 1759,” drawing appearing in L’Opinion publique in 1881 (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

1665 land concession to Toussaint Giroux (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

On October 14, 1658, master wheelwright Jean Creste (or Crête) sold Toussaint a plot of land in the village of Fargy, within the seigneurie of Beauport. The plot measured 42 perches (seven perches long by six perches wide). Toussaint agreed to clear the land and build a home on it, which would become the Giroux family’s residence.

In 1660, Toussaint appeared on a list of 65 people who received the sacrament of Confirmation at the church of Notre-Dame in Québec from François de Montmorency-Laval, “Monsignor the Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop of Petrée, Apostolic Vicar in the whole of New France.”

On October 5, 1665, seigneur Charles de Lauson granted Toussaint and his friend Michel Baugy [Baugis] a land concession in Mont-Saint-Michel, within the seigneurie of Lauson. The land measured four arpents of frontage along the St. Lawrence River by 40 arpents deep, an ideal location for catching fish and eels. In return, Toussaint and Baugis were required to give the seigneur 4 livres in rente, 12 deniers in cens annually on the feast day of Saint-Remy, two live capons, and one-eleventh of all fish caught. They were expected to use their own boat, tools, and equipment, and to salt the fish before giving it to the seigneur.

In 1666, Toussaint and Marie were recorded in the New France census living in the town of Fargy in Beauport with their four children. Like his father in France, Toussaint was recorded as a tisserand de toille (a cloth or linen weaver).

1666 census for the Giroux family (Library and Archives Canada)

In 1667, another census was taken. Toussaint and Marie were still living in Beauport with their five children, and a 21-year-old domestic servant named Jacques Savaria. They owned 16 arpents of land under cultivation and two head of livestock.

1667 census for the Giroux family (Library and Archives Canada)

Land Transactions and Agreements

Between 1669 and 1676, Toussaint and Marie were named in numerous notarial documents, mostly pertaining to land:

Marie Godard’s signature in 1669

  • December 3, 1669: Toussaint and Marie, and Michel Baugy [Baugis] and his wife Madeleine Dubois, sold their land concession (granted in 1665 for fishing purposes) to Jean Drouard. In exchange, Drouard promised to provide the sellers with 9,000 eels over a period of three years. Toussaint was unable to sign his name, but Marie could.

  •  August 20, 1670: Toussaint received a land concession from seigneur Joseph Giffard (son of Robert) in the village of Saint-Joseph, bordering the village of Saint-Michel, in the seigneurie of Beauport. On each feast day of Saint-Martin, Toussaint promised to pay the seigneur [three?] livres in rente.

  •  September 15, 1670: Toussaint received a land concession from seigneur Joseph Giffard located in the village of Saint-Joseph “on the line that separates the village of Fargy.” The land measured about three arpents of frontage. In return, Toussaint agreed to pay the seigneur 50 sols every Christmas day.

  •  October 22, 1670: Toussaint and Marie sold a house, small garden and a small pasture in the hamlet of Bignon, in Réveillon, France, to Charles Turgeon, for 300 livres. Toussaint had recently inherited this property, measuring about two arpents in total, from his late parents.

  •  November 14, 1671: Toussaint and Marie sold their land concession received the prior year in the village of Saint-Joseph to merchant-butcher Pierre Parent for 17 livres.

  •  March 27, 1672: Toussaint purchased a land concession in the village of Saint-Michel in the seigneurie of Beauport from seigneur Joseph Giffard and his wife Marie Thérèse Nau for 120 livres. The land measured three arpents of frontage, facing the river. Toussaint promised to pay the seigneur three livres in rente, 15 sols in cens, along with three live capons annually on the feast day of Saint-Martin.

  •  June 14, 1676: a group of 12 men from the village of Fargy, including Toussaint, donated six arpents of land located near the village of Beauport to the parish council of La-Nativité-de-Notre-Dame-de-Beauport. The land would be the future home of a church, cemetery, presbytery and garden.

In November 1681, a census of New France recorded Toussaint and Marie still living in Beauport with their eight children. The family owned 53 arpents of cultivated land, a considerable amount. They also owned three guns, eleven head of livestock, and one mare.

1681 census for the Giroux family (Library and Archives Canada)

Death of Marie Godard

Marie Godard died at the age of about 46 on November 21, 1684. She was buried the following day in the parish cemetery of La-Nativité-de-Notre-Dame in Beauport, “after receiving the sacrament of penance and viaticum and having led a good life.”

1684 burial of Marie Godard (Généalogie Québec)

As was customary, Toussaint enlisted the services of a notary to draft an inventory of his goods on November 30, 1685. In addition to household items like utensils, dishes, cooking pots, linens, and furniture, Toussaint owned four oxen, two cows, two calves, eight pigs, and 1,100 sheaves of wheat.

Extract of the 1685 inventory (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

The After-Death Inventory

The Coutume de Paris (custom of Paris) governed the transmission of family property in New France. When a couple married, with or without a contract, they were subject to the “community of goods.” All property acquired during the union by the spouses was part of this community. After the death of the parents (assuming the couple had children), the property of the community was divided in equal parts between all the children, sons and daughters. When the community was dissolved by the death of one of the spouses, the survivor was entitled to his or her half, the other half being divided equally between the children. When the survivor died, the children divided their share of the community. Inventories were drawn up after a death in order to itemize all the goods within a community.

Toussaint’s Second Marriage

On October 26, 1686, notary Claude Auber drew up a marriage contract between 52-year-old Toussaint and Thérèse Leblanc, the 35-year-old widow of master surgeon Pierre Vallée (or Lavallée). The contract followed the norms of the Coutume de Paris. Toussaint endowed his future wife with a customary dower of 500 livres. The dower was the share of property reserved by the husband for his wife in the event that she should survive him. Neither the bride nor groom could sign the marriage contract.

Toussaint and Thérèse were married three days later on October 29, 1686, in the parish of La-Nativité-de-Notre-Dame in Beauport. The couple had one child, Marie Angélique, born in 1688.

The marriage between Toussaint and Thérèse unravelled within the first five years. By 1691, they had agreed to a séparation de corps et de biens (a separation of goods and body), “because of the great dissension and the bad marriage which they have made and continue to make, causing a public scandal, and to avoid greater harm which hatred has caused between them, and to ensure their salvation and avoid sin, after having taken council of their friends […], they resolved to make this separation […].” Notary Paul Vachon drafted an agreement detailing the division of their farm animals. Toussaint took custody of their daughter, and Thérèse promised not to request anything more from Toussaint beyond matrimonial property claims. Such a separation was rare in New France.

 

Separations in New France

In 17th-century New France, a séparation de corps et de biens (a separation of goods and body) was relatively rare compared to France. This legal arrangement allowed married couples to legally separate without dissolving the marriage, typically due to financial disagreements or instances of spousal abuse. Under the Coutume de Paris, the legal code used in New France, such separations were allowed but involved a rigorous legal process overseen by the Conseil Souverain, the colony's highest court.

Few cases of séparations de corps et de biens were formally pursued in New France, as the population was relatively small, and society placed high value on familial unity. However, records from the Conseil Souverain do indicate that separations were granted in specific cases, often initiated by women seeking protection of their dowries or to prevent irresponsible husbands from mismanaging family assets. The rarity also reflects the limited economic independence for women at the time and the social pressure against marital separation. Cases that did go to court provide insight into the economic agency some women exercised to protect their interests and the legal recourse available when marriages became untenable.

Toussaint’s Last Years

By the following summer, Toussaint’s health had declined. He stayed at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital for a month, from July 1 to 31, 1692.

1692 entry in the Hôtel-Dieu register for Toussaint Giroux (Ancestry)

Drawing of the Hôtel-Dieu in Québec (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

On April 15, 1700, Toussaint enlisted the services of notary Jean Robert Duprac. On that day, Duprac drafted an agreement between Toussaint and his son Raphaël and daughter-in-law Madeleine Vachon. Toussaint, describing himself as “caduque et fort âgé” (decrepit and quite old), transferred all his goods and some of his land to them. In return, Raphaël and Madeleine agreed to care for Toussaint in sickness and in health.

 

Donations

In Québec, the practice of making donations entre vifs (between living persons) was quite common, especially as individuals aged or experienced a decline in health. This type of donation involved transferring control of one's possessions to another person, typically one of their children, who would then take on the responsibility of caring for them.

The donation process was formalized through a notary, who documented the agreement in detail. This notarized document specified the rights and responsibilities of both parties, outlining exactly what the parent was giving to the child and what the child was expected to provide in return. The assets included in these donations often comprised land, a house or farm, and livestock. In exchange for receiving these assets, the child might be required to pay off any outstanding debts and ensure that the parent was properly housed, fed, clothed, and otherwise cared for until their death.  

Over a decade later, on April 24, 1711, the same notary drafted a deed of sale from Toussaint to his grandson Raphaël Giroux at Raphaël’s home in Beauport. Toussaint sold him his land in the village of Saint-Michel, a plot measuring one and a half arpents of frontage by 25 arpents deep. Raphaël paid his grandfather 950 livres for the land and agreed to pay all future cens and rentes to the seigneur. He also promised to care for Toussaint until his death, ensure his burial, and afterward, pay each of Toussaint’s children 106 livres and five sols.

Toussaint’s estranged wife attempted to block the sale, but it was upheld by the Conseil Souverain on June 1, 1711.

 Death of Toussaint Giroux

Toussaint Giroux died at the age of 81 on February 15, 1715, just five days after the death of his son Raphaël. He was buried the next day in the parish cemetery of La-Nativité-de-Notre-Dame in Beauport. It is possible that they died from the measles epidemic that devastated New France in 1714 and 1715. Raphaël’s wife, Madeleine, and his brother Michel also died later in 1715.

1715 burials of Raphaël and Toussaint Giroux (Généalogie Québec)

 
 
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