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Guillaume Couture (1617–1700) & Anne Émard (1627–1700)

This record details the lives of Guillaume Couture, a prominent pioneer, interpreter, and first permanent settler of Pointe-de-Lévy, and his wife, Anne Émard, one of the early Filles à marier (Marriageable Girls) in New France.

Anne Émard

Detail Description
Variations Aymart, Esmart, Émar
Parents Jean Aymard and Marie Bineau.
Birth/Baptism Born at Saint-André, Niort, Poitou (Deux-Sèvres), France. Baptized October 22, 1627, at Saint-André, Niort.
Migration Arrived in New France in 1649 with her sisters Barbe and Magdeleine.
Death & Burial Died January 17, 1700, and was buried the next day at Saint-Joseph de la Pointe-de-Lévy, Canada (New France).

Guillaume Couture

Detail Description
Variations Cousture
Parents Guillaume Couture and Madeleine Malet.
Birth/Baptism Born and baptized on January 14, 1617, at Saint-Godard, Rouen, Normandy, France.
Arrival in NF Cited in a notary act on April 3, 1638, suggesting he arrived in New France no later than 1637.
Indigenous Names The Iroquois called him Ihandich and later Achirra or Achina (after 1646).
Professions/Titles Interpreter, Carpenter/Joiner, Donné of the Jesuits, Notary (\<1663), Captain of the Lauzon Coast Militia (1667), Judge-Sénéchal of the Lauzon Coast (1673).

Chronology Highlights

  • \~1640: Began service as a Donné (secular helper) for the Jesuits and worked as an interpreter.
  • 1642: Traveled to the Huron Country (Huronia) with Fathers Charles Raymbaut, René Goupil, and Father Isaac Jogues.
  • August 4, 1642: Captured in an ambush by the Agniers (Mohawk) at Lac Saint-Pierre. During his captivity, half of his right index finger was cut off.
  • August 24, 1642: Adopted by a Mohawk widow. He learned the Iroquois language and was esteemed by the tribe for his "prudence and wisdom."
  • July 1645: Returned to Trois-Rivières. He worked on a peace treaty with the Iroquois following his release.
  • April 26, 1646: Released from his vows as a Donné by Father Hierosme Lalemant.
  • May 15, 1647: Granted land at Pointe-de-Lévis, making him the first permanent settler of the area.
  • 1665–1666: Accompanied Father Henri Nouvel on an expedition to the Papinachois country (Mission St-Barnabé) near Tadoussac.
  • 1666: Sent on a diplomatic mission to New Holland (New York).
  • November 20, 1673: Appointed Judge-Sénéchal (Chief Justice) of the Lauzon Coast.

Marriage & Census Records

Marriage

  • Marriage Contract: Signed November 18, 1649, at Pointe-de-Lévy before Notary Guillaume Audouart. Guillaume gave Anne a feathered bed and a milk cow; Guillaume signed the contract, Anne could not.
  • Religious Ceremony: Held on the same day, November 18, 1649, at Guillaume Couture's house in Pointe-de-Lévi, officiated by Priest Jean Le Sueur.

New France Census Records

Year Location Guillaume's Role Anne's Age Children Count Assets
1667 Côte de Lauzon Captain of the Coast 39 9 6 cattle; 20 arpents (approx. 17 acres) developed land.
1681 Seigneurie de Lauzon Carpenter 52 7 listed 4 guns; 7 cattle; 20 arpents developed land.

Children (10 Total)

Guillaume Couture and Anne Émard had ten children:

Name Born / Baptized Birth/Death Years
1. Jean Baptiste Couture 1650 1650 – 1698
2. Anne Couture 1652 1652 – 1684
3. Louis Couture 1654 1654 – Unknown
4. Marguerite Couture 1656 1656 – 1690
5. Marie Couture 1658 1658 – Unknown
6. Charles Couture dit Lafrenaye 1660 1660 – 1709
7. Guillaume Couture 1662 1662 – 1738
8. Louise Couture 1665 1665 – Unknown
9. Eustache Couture dit Bellerive 1667 1667 – 1733
10. Joseph Odger Cousture de la Cressonnière 1670 1670 – 1733

Credits

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.

Sources

  1. Note: Some sources mistakenly read the name on Anne Émard's marriage contract as Bureau instead of Bineau.
  2. Baptism image Fichier, AD-79
  3. Fichier origine 241452 Anne EMARD / AYMART / AYMARD 2019 Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie//Québec Federation of Genealogical Societies
  4. FamilySearch: Guillaume Audouart, Actes, Dossiers 1-837 (15 Sept. 1634, 1 Feb. 1649 - 23 Nov. 1659); Granite Mountain Record Vault, United States & Canada Film #2371066, Image Group Number (DGS) 8125038, pgs 95-97/2642 (Original Marriage Contract: Cousture - Émard, with final receipt)
  5. Roy 1884a: Le premier colon de Lévis, p. 67, 14, 147, 152
  6. Roy 1897: Histoire de la seigneurie de Lauzon vol. 1, p. 131, 46, 90, 332, 335, 338
  7. FamilySearch, Marriage Guillaume Couture - Anne Émart
  8. Marriage of Guillaume Couture and Anne Emart 1649 Collection Drouin, IGD (Membership)
  9. BAnQ (PDF): Tanguay, Cyprien, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes depuis la fondation de la colonie jusqu'à nos jours; Montréal, 1887 (7 volumes) Vol 1 pg 147 (Couture)
  10. [suspicious link removed] (Couture)
  11. Wikisource: Recensements 1666-1667 Censuses selon Benjamin Sulte Histoire des Canadiens-français, Tome 4, chap. 4
  12. Wikisource Recensement 1681 Census selon Benjamin Sulte Histoire des Canadiens-français, Tome 5, chap. 4
  13. Sépulture / Funeral - FamilySearch
  14. Note: The dit name Lafresnaie is not his but belongs to his son Charles.
  15. PREFEN Notice
  16. Notaries: Jean Guitet 1637-1647, BAnQ.
  17. Relation des Jésuites Vol. 1 p. 14.
  18. Tanguay 1871, vol. 1, p. 118, 143.
  19. Journal des Jésuites p. 19, 39, 44, 46.
  20. PRDH Marriage (Programme de recherche en démographie historique).
  21. PRDH Baptism.
  22. Registre de Sillery (1638-1690) p. 306.
  23. Notariat de la seigneurie de Lauzon