We do not know exactly the date of arrival of our ancestor Jacques Ériché dit Louveteau in New France, but it was somewhere between 1693 and 1696. We know that he came as a soldier in the colonial troops of the Compagnies franches de la Marine and that he served under the command of captain Jacques Levasseur de Neré, king’s engineer. On this basis, he must have worked to construct Quebec defensive fortification.

We find a first mention of him in New France in 1697 because he was admitted a few times at the Hôtel-Dieu of Quebec, we don’t know why, but it might have been related to a smallpox outbreak which was going on at that time in Quebec. The same year, the treaty of Ryswick is signed, ending the war between Louis XIV and England and Jacques Levasseur de Neré is repatriated to receive care in France. Thus, constructing Quebec fortification became less urgent.

Jacques leaves the Hôtel-Dieu of Quebec for the last time in Décember 1697 and his presence in Montreal on March 31, 1698, is ascertained by his marriage contract signed before notary Antoine Adhémard in the house of Pierre Joffrion, his prospective stepfather. His marriage with Marie Joffrion is celebrated a few days later April 8, 1698. Click here to see this marriage certificate and his transcript.

Why do we find Jacques in Ville-Marie a few months after his leaving from the hospital of Quebec ? How did he knew  his future wife ? What is he doing in Ville-Marie ? Probably we will never have answers to these questions. Starting from what we already know, we can only attempt to speculate.

We know that Pierre Joffrion is in Ville-Marie in 1692 where he is doing masonry work for the Sulpicians. Because he was working on the defensive fortification work in Quebec, Jacques might have been acquainted with his future stepfather because of this occupation.

Pierre Lamoureux dit St-Germain, an important merchant and bourgeois of Ville-Marie, is witness to his marriage, and is accompanied by many members of his family. Another merchant, Pierre de Lestage, is also a witness. The same Pierre Lamoureux will be the godfather of his first dauther in 1699 and the godmother will be Anne Chaspoux, wife of Jean Soumande, another merchant of Ville-Marie. At the christening of Marie Josephe in 1700, Suzanne Decelles, wife of Pierre Lamoureux, will be the godmother. It seems evident that for any reason Jacques has established links with these merchants of Ville-Marie. It is more than likely that he has worked for them in these years 1698 to 1700-1702.

On February 26, 1700, he rented for 4 years a land of two arpents in frontage by twenty deep owned by Antoine Berthelet dit Savoyard and located at Côte Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. The only obligation was to clear some arpents of the land and cultivate the one arpent already cleared.

He will not stay there for the whole rental period. On June 16, 1702, the Sulpicians, who are seigneurs and landlords of the Island of Montreal, conceded to him a strip of land covering an area of 60 arpents at Côte St-Michel. Click here to see a transcrip of the notarial deed.

Jacques and Catherine now have two living children, Marie Anne born in February 1699, future wife of Jean Baptiste Joly, and Jacques Jr born in May 1701. Their second daughter, Marie- Josephe died 3 days after her birth, in june 1700. 

A fourth child, François, will be born a few months later on October 22, 1702. At his baptism, he receives the name of François Riché. He is the first of the two male children of Jacques who will get offspring. François being born only a few months after Jacques obtained his concession at Côte St-Michel, it is unlikely that he is born there.

The thirteen other children to come will most probably be born on this land. Three of them will reach adulthood and will get descendants until our days : (1) Marie Cécile born in 1704 and future wife of Pierre Plouf ; (2) Jean Baptiste, my ancestor, born in 1705 ; (3) Marie Madeleine, future wife of François Marie Libersan, born in 1709. By clicking here, you can view a document describing the family of Jacques and Marie.

On December 8, 1713, with Jean Périneau, a boy aged 12 from Côte St-Michel, Jacques is summoned to testify in a criminal case opposing Jean Chantelou and Jacques Richard. By clicking here, you will read the transcription of a part of this affair. The 22 pages of this file are relatively easy to read ; if you want to test your own ability to decipher french language of the XVIII^th century, just click here and transcribe these pages.