Contact Us / Contactez nous

         

123 Street Avenue, City Town, 99999

(123) 555-6789

email@address.com

 

You can set your address, phone number, email and site description in the settings tab.
Link to read me page with more information.

The role of "donné" in New France

Was your ancestor a “donné”? Many well-known Frenchmen began their lives in New France by serving a religious order. They were contractors, shoemakers, surgeons, interpreters, or general labourers, just to name a few ways in which they served.

“A Jesuit Preaching to the Indians,” circa 1933 drawing by Charles W. Jefferys (Library and Archives Canada)

The French word “donné” translates to given or gifted. In a religious context, it doesn’t translate well in English, so the French term is used in the following explanation.  

The donné was a layperson who signed a contract to serve a religious order, assisting their missionary work in a variety of ways. For example, he could be a contractor, a shoemaker, a surgeon, an interpreter, or a general labourer. In exchange for his services, the donné would be fed, housed and cared for. He could renounce his role as a donné at any time, or he could eventually join the order. In a way, he was a contracted missionary.

In New France, donnés were contracted by the Jesuits and Récollets missionaries, who were dedicated to the propagation of Catholicism, especially among Indigenous people. These religious orders found the recruitment of donnés to be necessary, as finding missionaries to come to New France proved to be a challenge. The practice of employing donnés continued until about 1727.


Men who were “donnés” to the Jesuits: Jean Amyot, Charles Boivin, Guillaume Boivin, Charles Boquet, Pierre Boucher, Martin Boutet dit Saint-Martin, Médard Chouart des Desgroseillers, Guillaume Couture, Jean de La Lande, François Gendron, Gaspard Goüaut, René Goupil, Jean Guérin, Robert Hache, René Houray dit Grandmont, Eustache Lambert, Jacques Largillier dit le Castor, Robert Le Cocq, Charles Le Moyne, Pierre Charles Lesueur, Jacques Levrier, François Malherbe, Gilles Menard, Joseph Molère, Guillaume Pelletier, Jean Pelletier, Nicolas Perrault/Perrot, Louis Pinard, Christophe Regnaut.

 

Men who were “donnés” to the Récollets: Jean Dansac, Claude Le Roy.

 

Sources: