By Paul Carrier
As a genealogy buff, I discovered many years ago that my 9th-generation grandfather on my mother's side of the family, Jacques Archambault (1605-1688), was one of the first settlers of Montréal. But I didn't realize until recently that there's a plaque on a building in Montréal honoring him. (Every once in a while, the Internet proves its worth.)
Jacques and his wife, Françoise Tourault, were born in France, and were married there in 1629. They had seven children in France (five girls and two boys, one of whom died in France), before the family immigrated to New France, as the French colony in Canada was known. The family settled in Québec City, but later moved to Montréal.
Jacques, who seems to have made his living by finding sources of water and digging wells, led an eventful life, as the following incident demonstrates. In the spring of 1651, Jacques and Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil barely escaped an Iroquois massacre at Montréal in which only one other person survived - Jean Chicot, who was scalped, but lived.
Jacques and his wife had 66 grandchildren. He was the only Archambault to settle in New France, making Jacques and Françoise the pioneer ancestors of all the Archambaults (and Archambeaults and Archambeaus) in North America, including my mother's father, Wilbrod Archambeault.
Jacques, who seems to have made his living by finding sources of water and digging wells, led an eventful life, as the following incident demonstrates. In the spring of 1651, Jacques and Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil barely escaped an Iroquois massacre at Montréal in which only one other person survived - Jean Chicot, who was scalped, but lived.
Jacques and his wife had 66 grandchildren. He was the only Archambault to settle in New France, making Jacques and Françoise the pioneer ancestors of all the Archambaults (and Archambeaults and Archambeaus) in North America, including my mother's father, Wilbrod Archambeault.
Translation: On September 18, 1651, Monsieur de Maisonneuve, founder of Montréal, granted this site to Jacques Archambault, one of the pioneers of this city and our common ancestor. The Archambaults of America. May 30, 1992.
