Jacques Goulet
Encyclopedia
Jacques Goulet was an early pioneer in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 (now Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

), a miller and the ancestor of virtually all of the Goulets in North America.

Early Life

Thomas Goulet, the father of Jacques Goulet, lived in Normandel
Normandel
Normandel is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 as early as 1612. The baptismal records of Saint-Maurice-lès-Charencey
Saint-Maurice-lès-Charencey
Saint-Maurice-lès-Charencey is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.-References:*...

, a community two miles east of Normandel
Normandel
Normandel is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France....

, document the birth of René Goulet on May 30, 1613 to Charles Goullet and his wife Suzanne. It is likely that Charles Goullet is the brother of Thomas Goulet.

Thomas also a (wheat) miller, married Antoinette Feillard on April 28, 1613 at St-Firmin Church in Normandel
Normandel
Normandel is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France....

.

The notarial records of the region document that on April 6, 1615, Thomas Goulet (sic) purchased a gray horse from Robert Giguère
Robert Giguère
Robert Giguère dit Despins was an early pioneer in New France, one of the founders of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec and the progenitor of virtually all the Giguères in North America.-Early life:...

, a merchant from Tourouvre
Tourouvre
Tourouvre is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.-Heraldry:...

, for 25 livres. Eleven days later, Jacques was born in Normandel
Normandel
Normandel is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France....

 on April 17, 1615. Jacques, the eldest of three children, had two sisters Louise born on January 17, 1619 and Yvonne, born on May 25, 1622.

Jacques worked as a miller for Noel Juchereau on his farm, Les Chatelets in L'Hôme-Chamondot
L'Hôme-Chamondot
L'Hôme-Chamondot is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.In 1812 , The Hôme-Chamondot counts 374 inhabitants absorbs common Brotz and its 65 inhabitants.-References:*...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1645. His father Thomas, also worked as a miller in L'Hôme-Chamondot
L'Hôme-Chamondot
L'Hôme-Chamondot is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.In 1812 , The Hôme-Chamondot counts 374 inhabitants absorbs common Brotz and its 65 inhabitants.-References:*...

 in 1632, possibly at the same mill.
Jacques married Marguerite Mulier, the daughter of Jean Mulier and Catherine Chauvin, on November 21, 1645 at St. Pierre Church in La Poterie-au-Perche
La Poterie-au-Perche
La Poterie-au-Perche is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.-References:*...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Immigration to New France

Noel Juchereau, one of the investors in the Company of One Hundred Associates
Company of One Hundred Associates
In 1627 the French government granted the company of 100 associates a monopoly on the fur trade in New france. In return the company was supposed to bring over 4000 French catholics to settle down in new france over the next 15 years. The company allowed the settlers to trade for furs directly with...

, recruited Jacques along with other young Perche workers, to migrate to New France in exchange for land. Jacques never signed a contract of engagement, possibly because he was unable to write.

In the spring of 1646 , Jacques and his wife, Marguerite departed La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 for New France (Québec). They arrived in Québec with 73 other immigrants on one of a fleet of four ships: the 300 ton Cardinal, the 150 ton Saint-Sauveur (or Neuf), the 50 ton Petit Saint-Christrophe and the 250 ton Notre-Dame (destined for Montreal). When Jacques arrived in 1646, there were only around 1000 colonists in Québec.

Life in Québec

Shortly after arriving in Québec, Jacques' wife Marguerite gave birth to their first child, Geneviève, on October 28, 1646. Geneviève died about six weeks later. She was buried on December 14, 1646.

Jacques was employed by Noel Juchereau, until Juchereau died in 1648, soon after returning to France.

In December of 1651, Jacques acquired land with a half arpent
Arpent
An arpent is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman actus. It is used in Quebec as well as in some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana.-Unit of length:...

 of frontage in the cove of St. Michel near Sillery, Quebec City. He later sold the property along with another property with one-and-a-half arpents of land to Simon Legendgre for 200 livres on December 26, 1655.

In Château-Richer, Jacques owned land consisting of six arpents of frontage. He sold this property to partners Jacques Dodier and Pierre Pointel on November 30, 1656. On March 4, 1657, Dodier gave the property back to Jacques who then sold it to Lauzon de la Citière for 860 livres, a significant sum.

On May 30, 1658, Olivier Le Tardiff, seigneur and judge for the Beaupré cost, gave Jacques land previously owned by his son, Pierre, who had died unexpectedly. The land consisted of three arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence river, near the stream Ruisseau des Originaux.

As of 1667, Jacques was farming 15 arpents of land and had five head of cattle. By 1681, he had double the amount of land. He also owned a gun and one of the fewer-than- 100 horses in the entirety of Québec.

From 1673 to 1676, Jacques worked as a miller at the mills of the seigneurie de Beaupré, Château-Richer's wind mill and the water mill of Sault a la Puce. He was also a miller at the water mill at Petit Pré (pictured) until at least 1682.

Children

Jacques and Marguerite had 11 children, of whom five died or were not recorded in subsequent census records because they did not marry.
  • Geneviève: October 28, 1646 - December 14, 1646
  • Nicolas: December 14, 1647 - August 24, 1721; married Sainte Cloutier on November 24, 1672.
  • Jacques: April 9, 1949 - 1666.
  • René: October 27, 1650 - July 28, 1717; married Catherine Leroux on October 29, 1672.
  • Louis: August 26, 1653 - 16; married Marie Godin on July 8, 1682.
  • Charles: 1656 - November 10, 1717; married Marie-Anne Rancin on November 11, 1686.
  • Thomas: March 24, 1660 - February 19, 1728; married Marie-Marguerite-Louise Pancatelin on October 25, 1683.
  • Francois: 1664-1665.
  • Antoine: August 20, 1666 - February 4, 1712; married Madeleine Guyon on February 19, 1692.
  • Joseph: March 27, 1669 - May, 5, 1741; married Jeanne Julien on July 20, 1692.
  • Marguerite: June 27, 1675 - 1680.

Death

Jacques Goulet died November 26, 1688 and was interred in the church cemetery at L'Ange-Gardien two days later. The church records incorrectly record his age as 75, when in fact, according to the original baptismal record from Normandel, France, his age would have been 73.

In 1694, Jacques' estate was inventoried. It consisted of one plow, more than 700 sheaves of wheat, two horses, 10 head of cattle, three pigs, 10 chickens, a stone house, a barn, a stable, 33 arpents of cleared land and various other items.

There is a plaque at the St. Pierre Church in La Poterie-au-Perche that commemorates Jacques and his half sister, Louise. The plaque reads "A Jacques Goulet né le 17 Avril 1615 a Normandel et Louise Goulet née a La Poterie le 26 Juillet 1628 epouse de René Le Tartre partis de La Poterie pour Le Canada. 'Je me souviens
Je me souviens
Je me souviens is the official motto of Quebec, a province of Canada. The motto means "I remember".- Origins :In 1883, Eugène-Étienne Taché, Assistant Commissioner for Crown lands in Quebec and architect of the provincial Parliament building had the motto carved in stone below the coat of arms of...

.'" This translates in english to "To Jacques Goulet born on April 17, 1615 in Normandel and Louise Goulet, born in La Poterie on July 26, 1628, wife of René Le Tarte, left La Poterie for Canada. "I remember."

Name Variations

If France, the name Goulet was frequently alternately spelled Goullet. Other variations include Goulé, Gollet, Goulain and Goulaine.

In Canada and the United States, other name variations have evolved including Goulette, Goulait, Goullet, Desgoulets, Duplessis, Gooely, Gooley, Goula, Goulat, Goulin, Gooler and Mathurin.

Notable Descendants

  • Actor Éric Bernier
  • Artist Joe Fafard
    Joe Fafard
    Joseph Fafard, OC, SOM is a Canadian sculptor.-Biography:Born in Sainte-Marthe, Saskatchewan in 1942 to Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin whose families both date back centuries in Canada. Joe is a descendant of Jacques Goulet. He received a B.S.A from the University of Manitoba in 1966 and a...

  • Métis Leader Elzéar Goulet
    Elzéar Goulet
    Elzéar Goulet was a Métis leader in the Red River Settlement, which later became the province of Manitoba, Canada...

  • Author George R. D. Goulet
    George R. D. Goulet
    George Richard Donald Goulet is a Canadian Métis best-selling author, historian, public speaker, retired lawyer and prostate cancer survivor.-Life:...

  • Politician Maxime Goulet
    Maxime Goulet
    Maxime Goulet was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1878 to 1886 and was the Minister of Agriculture under Conservative Premier John Norquay....

  • Singer Robert Goulet
    Robert Goulet
    Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...

  • Actress Angelina Jolie
    Angelina Jolie
    Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...

  • Prime Minister Louis St Laurent
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