Baker
Learn about the occupation of the "boulanger" or baker in New France and Canada.
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Le Boulanger | The Baker
"The Baker" (circa 1681 oil-on-canvas painting by Job Adriaensz Berckheyde, Wikimedia Commons).
In New France, the boulanger, or baker, specialized in bread-making. Bread, along with vegetables, was a staple of all inhabitants at the time - it was either eaten in soups and stews, or as is. Given bread's importance, the baker was one of the first craftsmen to be established at the beginning of the colony. Due to the geographic reach of the seigneuries, and the very small population at the time, the seigneurs of New France chose not to build common ovens. This made the baker's job even more important. He worked mainly in the city and had to be able to meet the demand at all times.
Bakers would task experienced craftsmen with building their bread ovens. Eventually, in addition to baking bread (the oven took a whole day to cool), other dishes were cooked: pies, brioches, and even cakes. The oven could also serve as a smoking room - it disinfected the feathers used to make pillows, mattresses and other cushions.
The French word Boulanger and the English word Baker (and its female equivalent Baxster), are both occupational surnames that survive today. Variations in other languages include Becker (German) and Piekarz (Polish).
"The Baker” (painting appearing in Was willst du Werden? Bilder aus dem Handwerkerleben, Berlin (1880), Banque d'images en univers social, http://images.recitus.qc.ca).
French bakery ("Boulangers à la fabrication du pain", 15th-century painting by Jean Colombe, France Archives, https://francearchives.fr).
Men who had this occupation: Jean Aubray, Pierre Auriault, Pierre Babin, Pierre Bardet dit Lapierre, Pierre Bédard, François Benjoux, François Bleau/Blot, Pierre Bonnet, Julien Boissy dit Lagrillade, Louis Boissy dit Lagrillade, Jacques Boiteau, Louis Bouchard, Paul Bouchard, René Bouchard, René Boucheau, Jean-Baptiste Boutet, Michel Bouvet, Jean Bruslé, Jacques Cachelièvre, Jean Cailla(t) dit Petit-Jean, Jean Cailliot, Guillaume Caseneuve dit Toulouze, André Cassan dit Legascon, Pierre Chalon, Pierre Chalou(x), Alexis Charland, André Charly, Maximilien Chefdeville dit Lagarenne, Pierre-Joseph Cheval, Jean Chon dit Cambray, James Clearihue, Ignace Cliche, Jean Cot(t)on, Jean Baptiste Courtin, Louis Courtin, Jean Baptiste Couture, Jacques Crémazie, Laurent Croze dit Provençal, Augustin Cuvillier, Jean Dagert/Dagest, Paul David, Jacques de Faye, Philippe-Prosper de Lachesnaye, Michel de Laroche dit Lafontaine, Pierre Delinel, Charles Demers dit Dessermons, Nicolas Doyon, Thomas Doyon, Jean Duchateau [Van de Casteel] dit Courtrai, Toussaint Dumareuil dit Lafranchise, Jean Dupont, Louis Falardeau, Paul Fleurot/Fleureau, François Fleury, Jacques Fréchet, Antoine Fruitier, Jean-Baptiste Galarneau, James Galbraith, David Gardner, Édouard Gaudet, Antoine Gentesse, Charles Gervaise, Louis Gervaise, René Grajon, Etienne Grandpré, Jean Groton dit Lafleur, Jacques Guénet, Etienne Guérin, Pierre Guignon, Pierre Guillet dit Tourangeau, Jean Harel/Relle, Jean Hausman dit Ménager, Jacques Hubert, Charles Jacques, François Jean/Jehan dit Lamarche, Maurice Jean dit Maurice, Jean Joly, Pierre Joly, Pierre Labrecque dit Lavallée, Pierre Lachaume, Pierre Lahaye, Etienne Land(e)ron, Jacques Langlois, Michel Laroche dit Lafontaine, Hyacinthe Latrémouille, Jean Lefebvre, Jean-Baptiste Lemaître dit Jugon, Jean-Marie Liberge, Etienne Loisy dit Desrochers, Pierre Martel, Gabriel Messayé, Claude Miot Bourbonnais, Jean Moignard, Simon Moreau, Christophe Narme, Michel Pampalon dit Labranche, Louis Pa(s)caud, Antoine Pasquier, François Patoil(l)e dit Desrosiers, Charles Pelissier, François Pélisson dit Lafleur, Pierre Pernet, Florentin Perthuis, Nicolas Perthuis, Antoine Poudret (Sr. and Jr.), Etienne Poudret, Jean Baptiste Prat/Duprat, Louis Prat, Mathurin Prieur, James Proudfoot, Jacques Quenneville, Michel Racine, Charles Raymoneau/Remoneaux, René Rivard dit Toulouse, François Roger, Jacques Saint-Hubert, René Senard, Jean Sonaillon, Pierre Thuot dit Duval, Annet Tournaire, Charles Trépanier/Trépagny, Joseph Trudel, Jean Truillier dit Lacombe, Barthélémy Tur(r)ier, Jacques Vadeau dit Saint-Jacques, Antoine Vic/Vicque dit Saint-Germain, François Vincent, Gervais Voyer, Pierre Gervais Voyer, Robert Voyer, Jacob Walter
Women who had this occupation: Marguerite Amiot, Marie-Marguerite Maranda, Thérèse Lessard
Sources:
André Lachance, Vivre à la ville en Nouvelle-France (Outremont, Québec: Éditions Libre Expression, 2004), 135.
Pascale Girard, "Les métiers en Nouvelle-France", Semaine nationale de la Généalogie (2014); online article, Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie (http://www.semainegenealogie.com/extra/articles/182-les-metiers-en-nouvelle-france).