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David Estourneau & Jeanne Baril

Discover the remarkable story of David Estourneau and Jeanne Baril, early settlers of New France. Follow David’s journey from Muron, France, to Québec, where he became one of the colony’s most important millers. Learn about their family’s migration, land holdings on Île-d’Orléans and Beaupré, and the enduring legacy of the Estourneau–Létourneau line in French-Canadian history.

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David Estourneau & Jeanne Baril

At the Heart of the Seigneurie: The Story of a Master Miller and his Family in New France

 

David Estourneau, son of David Estourneau and Jeanne Compain, was born around 1616 in the parish of Saint-Sixte in Muron, Saintonge, France. Little is known about David’s early years in France, though he had two brothers, Jean and Mathurin. He learned the trade of miller from his father at the water-powered mill in a place called Étourneau, about six kilometres south of Surgères.

Location of Muron in France (Mapcarta)

Located approximately 28 kilometres southeast of La Rochelle, Muron is a small village of about 1,300 residents in the department of Charente-Maritime. The church of Saint-Sixte, where David was likely baptized, is a Romanesque structure dating back to the 8th or 9th century. Originally linked to the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d’Angély, it was damaged during the Wars of Religion and later restored. Notable features include a 19th-century bell tower, stained-glass windows, and a 1620 bell bearing fleurs-de-lis. 

David Estourneau had a marriage contract drawn up with his first wife, Sébastienne Guérry, on June 19, 1640, either in Muron or La Rochelle before notary Ballanguay. The couple had at least three children: David, Joslin (Jean), and Marie. Both sons later accompanied their father to New France.

The town hall of Muron (photo by Pierre Bastien, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The church of Saint-Sixte (photo by Patrick Despoix, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Jeanne Baril, daughter of François Baril and Catherine Ligneron, was born around 1635. Her birthplace was either Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes or Surgères, both in Aunis, France.    

Located about six kilometres northeast of Muron, Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes was amalgamated into the commune of Saint-Pierre-la-Noue in 2018. Surgères is located about ten kilometres northeast of Muron. Both are in the present-day department of Charente-Maritime.

Jeanne and David Estourneau were married on July 20, 1654, in the parish of Saint-Pierre in Surgères. The groom was about 38 years old, and the bride about 19. [The details surrounding the death of David’s first wife are unknown.]

1654 marriage of David Estourneau and Jeanne Baril (Archives départementales de la Charente-Maritime)

The couple had at least four children:

  1. Élisabeth (Isabelle) (1655–1708)

  2. Philippe (1657–aft. 1700)

  3. Jacques (abt. 1667–bef. 1747)

  4. Gabriel (1670–1670)

Arrival in New France

The exact date of the Estourneau family’s arrival in New France is unknown, but the first mention of David Estourneau in Canada dates to 1658. It is believed that David and his two eldest sons, David and Jean, left France in May 1658, possibly aboard Le Taureau. He likely intended to establish himself in the colony before sending for the rest of his family. According to author Thomas Laforest, David used his skills as a master baker and pastry chef during the voyage, assisting the cook in feeding the crew and passengers.

No indenture contract has been located for David, but he was likely hired to work in New France for a period of three years, as was common for settlers at the time. He and his sons appear to have worked on a farm in Château-Richer during this period.

On August 24, 1661, with his contract likely fulfilled, David purchased a plot of land in the parish of Sainte-Famille on Île-d’Orléans from François Dupont for 110 livres. The land measured three arpents of frontage along the St. Lawrence River and was located west of the road linking Sainte-Famille to Saint-Jean, at the third brook. David agreed to pay the seigneur 20 sols per arpent of frontage in rente, one sol per arpent in cens, and two live capons annually. Notably, the contract included a warning: the sale came with “no assurance against Iroquois raids,” as Dupont’s neighbour, Ignace Sevestre, had recently been murdered. David and his sons worked the land over the next three years, preparing it for sowing and harvest.  

David’s signature on the 1661 land purchase (FamilySearch)

On February 1, 1664, when David Jr. and Françoise Chapelain had their marriage contract drawn up by notary Claude Auber, the land on Île-d’Orléans was transferred to them by David Sr., on the condition that he be provided with 50 minots of grain per year for two years.

 

Île-d’Orléans (“Entrance to the St. Lawrence River, and Québec City in Canada,” map attributed to cartographer Jean-Baptiste Franquelin, created between 1670 and 1693, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

 

Life on Île-d’Orléans and in Beauport

Just a few weeks later, on March 13, 1664, David received a land concession on the south side of Île-d’Orléans from seigneur Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye, which he accepted in the name of his son Jean. The wooded land measured three arpents of frontage along the St. Lawrence River and was about 10 perches wide. Jean agreed to pay the seigneur 20 sols per arpent of frontage in rente and three live capons annually. This land would later appear as number 22 under the parish of Saint-Paul in the 1689 map of Île-d’Orléans drawn by Robert de Villeneuve, shown below.

“Map of the County of Saint-Laurent (seigneurie of Île-d'Orléans) in New France, measured very accurately (in 1689) by Sieur de Villeneuve” (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

On March 30 of the same year, Aubert de La Chesnaye granted David a plot of wooded land adjoining that of his son Jean. It also measured three arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence River. Like his son, David agreed to pay 20 sols per arpent of frontage in rente and three live capons annually.  

The Estourneau family lands on Île-d’Orléans can also be viewed on the Patrimoine Québec website under plot 39 in Sainte-Famille.

By 1666, David had left Île-d’Orléans and settled in Beauport. That winter, he was recorded living there in the census of New France, along with his wife Jeanne and their two young children, who had recently arrived from France. His occupation was listed as musnier habittant [meunier habitant], or miller habitant. David had taken charge of seigneur Robert Giffard’s flour mill in Beauport in his capacity as master miller.

1666 census for the Estourneau family (Library and Archives Canada)

Move to Château-Richer

In 1667, another census was taken. The Estourneau family had relocated to Château-Richer on the côte de Beaupré, where David continued to work as a miller. In Château-Richer, he did not own land or livestock. René Bane [Bean] was also recorded in the household, working as a domestic servant.

1667 census for the Estourneau family (Library and Archives Canada)

On August 15, 1667, David sold his land on Île-d’Orléans to Antoine Cassé for 200 livres. Cassé assumed responsibility for all future cens and rente payments. In the notarial act drawn up by Claude Auber, David is referred to as the miller of the côte and seigneurie of the Beaupré mills.

The reconstructed Sault à la Puce flour mill (Musée de la civilisation, fonds d'archives du Séminaire de Québec, CC BY-NC 4.0)

The following year, David signed a seven-year rental lease with François de Laval, vicar apostolic of New France, for two mills in the seigneurie of Beaupré: a water mill called Sault à la Puce and a windmill in Château-Richer. The agreement was drafted by notary Gilles Rageot on March 10, 1668. David agreed to pay 900 livres and six live capons in rent annually.

On October 6, 1668, David purchased a land concession in the seigneurie of Beaupré from Michel Bouchart [Bouchard] and Marie Trottin [Trottain] for 60 livres. The plot measured three arpents of frontage along the St. Lawrence River. David agreed to pay the seigneur 20 sols per arpent of frontage in rente, [one?] sol in cens, and three live capons annually.

In 1669 and 1670, David’s name appears in four notarial documents relating to real estate:

  • February 8, 1669: David purchased a house located in the village Château-Richer from Joseph Massé Gravelle for 700 livres. He was recorded as an habitant and miller of the Beaupré mills. The house measured 24 by 20 feet.

  • February 16, 1669: David received a land concession in the seigneurie of Beaupré from Olivier Letardif and Barbe Esmard (or Émard). The land measured 70 feet of frontage.

  • November 18, 1669: David transferred a plot of land to François de Laval, vicar apostolic of New France. He was recorded as a miller from the parish of Château-Richer.

  • January 13, 1670: David exchanged a plot of land in the seigneurie of Beaupré with Nicolas Gamache.

Death of David Estourneau

David Estourneau died at about age 54 on May 13, 1670. He was buried later that evening in the parish cemetery of La Visitation de Notre-Dame in Château-Richer. As was customary at the time, the burial record does not mention a cause of death. David was last recorded in a notarial act on April 21, just three weeks prior. His sudden passing at a relatively young age suggests the possibility of an accident, sudden illness, or contagion— the latter normally being the reason for a quick burial.

1670 burial of David Estourneau (FamilySearch)

On June 28, 1670, a guardianship agreement for the minor children of David and Jeanne was drawn up by notary Paul Vachon. An assembly of friends and family named Jeanne as legal guardian and Barthélémy Verreau as supervisory or substitute guardian.

Two days later, an inventory of the couple’s communauté de biens (community of goods) was drafted by notary Vachon. The 11-page document listed all of their possessions, including the house in Château-Richer and two land concessions, furniture valued at 900 livres, animals valued at 160 livres, liquid assets totalling 260 livres, and debts amounting to 130 livres.

Second Marriage of Jeanne Baril

On October 21, 1670, notary Claude Aubert drew up a marriage contract between Jeanne and René Bean (or Bin) dit Lacroix. The couple married five days later in Château-Richer. Jeanne was about 35 years old. René, aged 24, was originally from Saint-Rémy-sur-Orne in Normandy, France, and worked as a domestic servant for the Estourneau family. The couple had no children.  

1670 marriage of Jeanne Baril and René Bean (or Bin) dit Lacroix (copy, FamilySearch)

On March 21, 1671, René and Jeanne sold a plot of land located in the censive de Beaupré to Bishop François de Laval for 425 livres, in the name and as guardian of Philippe, Jacques, and Élisabeth Estourneau.

Four years later, on March 27, 1675, René and Jeanne sold another plot of land to François de Laval in the name of the minor Estourneau children. The land and house in Château-Richer, initially purchased from Joseph Massé Gravelle in 1669, were sold for 450 livres.

René Bean (or Bin) dit Lacroix died sometime between October 28, 1677, when he received a land concession from François de Laval, and January 12, 1681, when Jeanne remarried.

Third Marriage of Jeanne Baril

On January 1, 1681, notary Michel Roy dit Châtellereault drew up a marriage contract between Jeanne and Julien Bion. The bride had a dowry of 417 livres, which included some pelts, three cows, and a bull. The couple married eleven days later in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade. Jeanne was about 46 years old, and Julien about 50, although the marriage record lists their ages as 42 and 45 respectively. Jacques Létourneau, Jeanne’s son, and Mathurin Texier [Tessier], her son-in-law, attended the ceremony.

1681 marriage of Jeanne Baril and Julien Bion (Généalogie Québec)

On February 17, 1681, Jeanne sold a plot of land to René de Lavoye for 300 livres. She was recorded as a resident of Rivière Sainte-Anne [Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade]. The land measured nine arpents of frontage, facing the St. Lawrence river.

In November 1681, another census of New France was conducted. Jeanne and Julien were enumerated in Sainte-Anne, living with Jeanne’s sons Philippe and Jacques. They owned no arpents of cleared land, one gun, and [three?] head of livestock.

1681 census for the Bion family (Library and Archives Canada)

Jeanne Baril died sometime after November 29, 1699. Her burial record has not been located.

Estourneau and Létourneau Heritage

Close-up of commemorative plaque (Christian Lemire 2005, ©Ministère de la Culture et des Communications)

Two commemorative plaques have been installed in honour of the Estourneau/Létourneau family, both in the village of Sainte-Famille on Île-d’Orléans. One is located near 3360, chemin Royal, and was installed in 1979 by the Association des familles Létourneau d'Amérique.

Location of the first commemorative plaque on chemin Royal (Google Maps)

The second plaque is affixed to the parish church in Sainte-Famille and commemorates the founding families of the village.

Plaque in Sainte-Famille, Île-d’Orléans, dedicated to the Giguère, Prémont, Turcotte and Létourneau families (©The French-Canadian Genealogist)

Church of Sainte-Famille, Île-d’Orléans (©The French-Canadian Genealogist)

The story of David Estourneau and Jeanne Baril reflects the demanding yet foundational experience of many settlers who came to New France in the 17th century. A skilled miller, David played a vital role in the local economy, operating several mills in the seigneuries of Île-d’Orléans and Beaupré. Jeanne ensured the continuity of the family through three marriages and the careful management of their estate after David’s death. Together, they left a lasting legacy—now carried forward by the Létourneau name—that remains visible in the historical and cultural landscape of Québec and Canada.

 
 
David Estourneau & Jeanne Baril (article in PDF format)
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