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View Tree for Nicolas LeRoyNicolas LeRoy (b. 25 May 1639, d. 1690)

Nicolas LeRoy (son of Louis LeRoy and Jeanne LeMaitre) was born 25 May 1639 in St Remi, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France, and died 1690 in La Durantaye. He married Jeanne Lelievre on Feb 1658 in Dieppe, Rouen, Normandy, France, daughter of Guillaume Lelievre and Marie Millet.

 Includes NotesNotes for Nicolas LeRoy:
IMMIGRATION: 1661
Alt name: Leroy or Le Roy

NICOLAS ROY from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest

Nicolas Roy, son of Louis and Anne Le Maitre, was baptized at Saint-Remi de Dieppe, Normandy, on May 25, 1639. He married Jeanne Lelievre on November 26, 1658, while still very young. Their son, Louis, was baptized, at Saint-Remi.

A FAMILY ON THE MOVE
Why did Nicolas Roy/Leroy come to Canada? Was it because his father was dead and he had to support his mother? His father-in-law, Guillaume Lelievre, widower, went to New France, sometime after 1656. The good word that he sent back invited Nicolas to emigrate. So, together, the family decided to move to a new country. There were five of them in all; Nicolas, his wife Jeanne, his mother, Anne Lemaitre, a son, Louis and baby Nicolas.

We are able to fix precisely the date of arrival of this family in New France because of the following document taken from the archives of France: "On Friday, the 17th of June, 1661, before Michel Manichet, Royal Notary, in the Vicomte, of Argues and Antoine Le Marchal, Notary of Dieppe, was present, Nicolas Leroy, citizen of Dieppe, who promises, by these preseents, to pay or to have paid, to the Honorable Jean Gloria, merchant of the said Dieppe, a loan made in order to voyage to Canada on the ship commanded by Captain Poullet, of this city. Eight days after his arrival at the said place will be paid the sum of fifty livres for the passage by the said Leroy, who admits to have received payment from the said Gloria. If there should be delay or refusal of said payment in the amount at the time aforesaid, the said Gloria may dispose of the matter, as he may best see fit. Made and Done, to which, the said Leroy pledges himself and his belongings, in the presence of Guillaume Loy and Jacques Ledoyen, of said Dieppe. Loy with initials. J. Gloria; Nicolas Leroy". The reader of this authentic text is led to believe that the Leroys left their homeland in June 1661.

The genealogist, Michel Langlois, has confirmed this from the "Journal of the Jesuits". "Nicolas Le Roy arrived in the country on August 22, 1661, aboard the ship LAURENT POULLET".

At Quebec, Nicolas, his wife, Jeanne Lelievre, his mother, Anne Le Maitre and their children, Louis and Nicolas, were warmly received by Guillaume Lelievre who was already well acclimated to the region. Guillaume Lelievre had remarried, on August 21, 1660, at Quebec, to Margueite Meillet, the daughter of Louis and Jeanne Robin and widow of Pierre Brincoste and mother of two girls. It was a grand reunion for the two families, now united in Canada.

THE FAMILY SETTLES DOWN
Nicolas did not lose any time finding work to his liking in the Seigneurie of Beaupre. On October 6, 1663, he received a concession from the widow Couillard, Guillaumette Hebert. The same year, on November 7th at Quebec, Grandmother Leroy, Anne Lemaitre, married Adrien Blanquet, a widower and the son of Andre and Perrette Caperon, a weaver by trade. And, on June 8, 1664, in the presence of Notary Pierre Duquet, officially acquired his land of two arpents in width, by a mile in depth. It lead to the east of the falls of Montmorency, today called Boischatal. A cabin was built and the Leroy family lived on this farm perhaps up until 1679. Jacques Martelle and Rene Brisson had each owned one arpent of this property until 1679.

Nicolas and Jeanne had eight more children born in New France to go with the two boys born, in France.
1) Louis was baptized on November 26, 1658 at Saint-Remi de Dieppe, Normandy. He married Marie Ledran, daughter of Toussaint and Louise Menacier on May 26, 1682 at Lauzon. They had eleven children, three boys and eight girls. Louis died on June 5, 1705, at Hotel-Dieu of Quebec.
2) Nicolas was baptized on March 24, 1661 at Saint-Remi de Dieppe in Normandy. He married Marie-Madeleine Leblond, the daughter of Nicolas and Marguerite Leclerc, on November 18, 1686 at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans. They had ten children, five boys and five girls. Marie-Madeleine died on February 4, 1722, at Saint-Vallier. Nicolas married for a second time on April 18, 1723 at Quebec to Marie-Renee Riviere, daughter of Francois and Marie-Madeleine Fontaine. This couple was not married until April 20, 1699 at Quebec. Nicolas and Marie-Renee had a single daughter, Ursule-Agnes. Nicolas served as a lieutenant of the militia in 1727. He died and was buried on February 4, 1727, at Saint-Vallier.
3) Noel was born probably in late 1662, since he was reported to be three years old in the census of 1666, five years old in the census of 1667 and twenty years old, in the census of 1681. He married Jeanne-Therese Casse, the daughter of Antoine and Francoise Pilois, on April 27, 1690 at Lauzon. They had three children, a boy and two girls. Jeanne-Therese died, on August 25, 1699 at Durantaye. Noel married for a second time to Marguerite Raboin, the daughter of Jean and Marguerite Leclerc, on April 27, 1700 at Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orleans. Noel and Marguerite had twelve children, eight boys and four girls.
4) Marie-Jeanne was born on August 15, 1664 and baptized two days later at Quebec. She married Jean Gaudreau, son of Jean and Marie Rouer, on July 31, 1679 at Quebec. They had three children, two boys and a girl. Jean died, on April 24, 1685 at Cap-Saint-Ignace. Marie-Jeanne married for a second time to Jean Fournier, the son of Guillaume and Francoise Hebert, in 1687 at Cap-Saint-Ignace. Marie-Jeanne and Jean Fournier had ten children, six boys and four girls, all baptized at Cap-Saint-Ignace.
5) Guillaume was probably born in 1666, since he was reported as being two years old in the census of 1681. He married Angelique Bazin, the daughter of Pierre and Marguerite Leblanc, in 1689 at La Durantaye. They had thirteen children, seven boys and six girls. The first five were baptized at La Durantaye and the last seven at Beaumont.
6) Anne was born on February 6, 1668 and baptized three days later at Chateau-Richer. She died on July 6, 1670 at L'Ange-Gardien and was buried two days later, at Chateau-Richer. She had been killed in a fire at home.
7) Jean (1) born October 12, 1669 at L'Ange-Gardien and baptized,four days later at Chateau-Richer. He also died on July 6, 1670 in the same fire that had claimed his sister, Anne. He was also buried two days later at Chateau-Richer.
8) Marie-Elisabeth was born on May 18, 1671 and baptized six days later at L'Ange-Gardien. She married Zacharie Turgeon, the son of Charles and Pasquiere Lefebvre, on October 24, 1691 at Beauport. They had thirteen children, six boys and seven girls.
9) Jean (2) was born on July 8, 1674 and baptized seven days later at L'Ange-Gardien. He married Catherine Nadeau, daughter of Ozanie-Joseph and Marguerite Abraham, on April 29, 1694 at Saint-Laurent, Ile d'Orleans. They had twelve children, six boys and six girls.
10) Jean-Baptiste was born at La Durante and baptized on October 20, 1678 at Quebec. He married Marguerite Bazin, the daughter of Pierre and Marguerite Leblanc and sister to Angelique, who had married Guillaume on November 17, 1698 at La Durantaye. Marguerite died, in childbirth while giving Jean-Baptiste his first son, Jean. Jean-Baptiste married for a second time to Claire Catrin, the daughter of Nicolas and Francoise Delaunay, on October 17, 1701 at La Durantaye. This couple had twelve children, eight boys and four girls.

Nicolas had conquered the land. The census of 1666 mentions the name of Jean Briere as his farmhand. Nicolas also had an employee who made money for him, a sort of fishwarden. It's just today that Canadians are poachers! In 1667, Nicolas owned four animals and seven arpents, of workable land.

SOME SHOCKING EVENTS
If ever there was a couple who did not give trouble to others, it was Nicolas Leroy and his wife, Jeanne Lelievre. But, one day, against his heart, he had to seek recourse in justice. It was 1669.

A single man, by the name of Jacques Nourry, lived in the region from the fall of 1651. He came from Feings, in France and was known as Pierre Maheux. In 1660, Charles Legardeur of Tilly leased Nourry a place in the suburbs of Quebec for five years. Then, in 1664, Jacques acquired a property measuring two arpents in frontage, not far from the Montmorency cataract on the Beaupre Coast. His neighbor was Charles Garnier. The farms of Nourry and that of Leroy, were about fifteen arpents apart. The census of 1667 tells us that Jacques Nourry, age twenty-nine years old, had six arpents under cultivation. One day, in the summer of 1669, Nourry encountered Marie, the little five year old daughter of Nicolas and Jeanne. Nourry violated Marie but the matter did not stop there.

On August 9th, the Leroy parents, deeply hurt, swore out a warrant in the name of the girl. Three doctors gave their opinion during a confrontation between the violator and his victim. The next day, the Assistant Attorney General gave his summary to the Sovereign Council. The 12th day of the month, exemplary justice dictated: "The Sovereign Council has decided and does declare that the said, Jacques Nourry, is guilty of the act and convicts him of having violated the said, Marie Leroy and in reparation, does condemn him to be hanged and strangled on the gallows; then his body taken to a public place, where his head shall be severed and placed on a post; this to give thought to those who would avoid marriage. Three hundred livres in civil damages to be given to the said Marie Leroy, also another one hundred livres in damages; a third to go to the hospital and two thirds to the council for the court costs. The remainder of his estate to be confiscated by the Lord of the High Court of Beaupre. Made and done, by the Court at Quebec, the 12th of August 1669".

On September 7th, the authorities awarded the farm of Nourry to Charles Garnier. As for Marie Leroy, baptized at Quebec on August 15, 1664 and the goddaughter of Michele Nau, the wife of Sieur Joseph Giffard, the Marquis of Beauport, she grew up quite normally. She became the wife of Jean Gaudreau on July 31, 1679. She was the mother of three children by Gaudreau who died sometime before April 24, 1685, at Cap-Saint-Ignace. Marie had ten children by her second husband, Jean Fournier. They were married about 1687 at Cap-Saint-Ignace.

ON THE SOUTH SIDE
Some events that happen in the life of a family cause a loathing for the environment surrounding the circumstances. Thus it seems that the Leroys were searching for an occasion to change location. On August 13, 1676, Nicolas Leroy was godfather to Anne Catherine Molleur dit Lallemond, the daughter of Pierre and Jeanne Gueneville, at La Durantaye. Good-bye to the Beaupre Coast, the friends and the neighbors! Nicolas and Jeanne, with seven children, took to the river and sailed around the Ile d'Orleans in the direction of the vast domain of their Seigneur Olivier Morel de la Durantaye, within the boundaries of Beaumont. The 1st of August, 1681, he and his wife were confirmed by Msgr. de Laval. The first year there, this colonist owned eight animals, twenty arpents, of usable land and a gun. His two elder sons had their own land alongside that of their father. Inevitably, one after the other, the children left the nest as the other side of life approached.

Nicolas died between April 1690 and October 1691. As for Jeanne Lelievre, she married for a second time on February 8, 1695, to Francois Molinet whose origins remain a mystery. Jeanne lived on for a number of years and was buried on January 11, 1728, at Saint-Vallier. They had no children.

Many descendants of Nicolas and Jeanne have brought honor to Church and Country. The spirit of work and of research seems to characterize the honorable and grand family of Roy.

FAMILY NAME VARIATIONS
Some descendants of Nicolas Leroy used the surname Lert and others adopted the name of Roy. From the family name Roy, the following thirty names evolved; Audy, Chatellereau, Dagenais, De La Barre, De La Potherie, DeMarau, DeMonte-a-Peine, Desjardins, De St. Lambert, Duroy, La Cerene, Laliberte, Lapensee, Larose, Lasseigne, Lauzier, Lepage, LeRoy, L'Eveille, Libois, Louvois, Poitevin, Portelance, Portelas, Roiroux, Royhart, Sauvage, St. Amour, St. Louis and Tintamarre.

This biography was taken from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest; Volume 1- Chapter 14- Page 135 [3-4-98, James Gagne http://www.jamesgagne.net/contents.html]

More About Nicolas LeRoy and Jeanne Lelievre:
Marriage: Feb 1658, Dieppe, Rouen, Normandy, France.

Children of Nicolas LeRoy and Jeanne Lelievre are:
  1. +Guillaume Roy, b. 1667, Château-Richer, Montmorency, Québec, Canada, d. 04 Apr 1743, Quebec, PQ.
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