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Jacques Lussier & Catherine Clérice

Discover the story of Jacques Lussier and Catherine Clérice, a pioneering couple in 17th-century New France whose descendants include all North Americans bearing the Lussier surname. From their Parisian roots to their life in Varennes, explore their role in the early settlement of Québec, land ownership under the seigneurial system, and their legacy as founding ancestors of the Lussier family.

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Jacques Lussier & Catherine Clérice

From Paris to the St. Lawrence: A Founding Family of Varennes

 

Location of Paris in France (Mapcarta)

Jacques Lussier (or Lhuissier), son of Jacques Lussier (or Lhuissier) and Marguerite Darmine, was born about 1646 in the parish of Saint-Eustache in Paris, France.  

[Jacques’s surname appears in a variety of phonetic forms in genealogical records: Lussyé, Lhuyssier, Lhuyssié, Lhuissier, Lhussier, Luissier, Lucier, etc.]

Parish of Saint-Eustache

The parish of Saint-Eustache traces its origins to a small chapel built in 1213 near the old city wall of Paris. Elevated to parish status after receiving relics of Saint Eustace, it grew with the surrounding population. Construction of the present church began in 1532 under King François I, and despite spanning over a century, the building presents a remarkable architectural unity. Though later modified and damaged during the French Revolution, the church has remained an iconic part of the Paris landscape, undergoing major restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Church of Saint-Eustache, 18th-century drawing (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Map of the of Saint-Eustache neighbourhood in Paris, 18th century (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Arrival in New France

According to Abbot Pierre-Eucher Théorêt, Jacques agreed to a three-year contract to work for Pierre Boucher in Paris in the 1660s. Boucher, governor of Trois-Rivières from 1653 to 1667, later settled in the seigneurie des Îles Percées (later Boucherville). Researchers speculate that Jacques followed his former employer to New France, arriving about 1666 for another three-year contract. His first appearance in Canadian records dates to 1669, by which time he would have been free to marry.

First Marriage to a Fille du Roi

On September 22, 1669, notary Romain Becquet drew up a marriage contract between Jacques and Fille du roi Charlotte Lamarche, also from Paris. Jacques, then about 23, was described as an habitant of Boucherville. The contract followed the Coutume de Paris. The prefix dower—the portion of property reserved for the wife if she outlived her husband—was set at 300 livres. Charlotte contributed goods valued at 300 livres, plus the King’s gift of 50 livres.

The Coutume de Paris (Custom of Paris) governed the transmission of family property in New France. Whether or not a couple had a marriage contract, they were subject to the “community of goods,” meaning all property acquired during the marriage became part of the community. Upon the death of the parents, the community property was divided equally among all children, both sons and daughters. If one spouse died, the surviving spouse retained half of the community property, while the other half was shared among the children. When the surviving spouse passed away, their share was also divided equally among the children. After-death inventories were essential for listing all assets within the community to ensure proper division.

The couple married on September 30, 1669, in the parish church of Notre-Dame in Québec. Their witnesses were fellow Parisians Jean Lerouge (a mason) and Toussaint Dubaut (a shoemaker), as well as Adrien Michelon.

On July 13, 1670, Jacques hired Jacques Ménard dit Lafontaine to build a house measuring twenty feet long by sixteen feet wide, with four windows and a chimney. Jacques supplied the materials, and Ménard agreed to finish the work within five weeks.  

Jacques and Charlotte settled in Varennes. They had only one child, Marie, before Charlotte died in February 1671 from complications related to childbirth.

Catherine Clérice, daughter of Pierre Clérice and Marie Lefebvre, was born about 1653 in the parish of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France.

 

Parish of Saint-Sulpice

Originally a rural chapel linked to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Sulpice grew in importance as the Saint-Germain district urbanized in the 17th century. In 1642, Jean-Jacques Olier—a major figure of the Catholic Counter-Reformation—initiated the construction of a new and much larger church to serve the growing population. The foundation stone was laid in 1646 by Queen Regent Anne of Austria and the young Louis XIV. Designed in a restrained yet monumental French classical style, Saint-Sulpice eventually became the largest church in Paris. Despite construction delays and financial challenges, it was consecrated in 1745.

The church played a central role in the religious and intellectual life of the city. It houses one of France’s most renowned pipe organs, a scientific gnomon from the Enlightenment era, and remarkable 19th-century frescoes by Delacroix. Though heavily damaged during the French Revolution, Saint-Sulpice was gradually restored in the 19th century and remains today a prominent symbol of French religious classicism.

Church of Saint-Sulpice, 18th-century drawing by Jean Baptiste Lallemand (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

A Fille du roi, Catherine left her home country in 1671 and sailed to New France.

"The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec," watercolour by Charles W. Jefferys (Wikimedia Commons)

Marriage and Family

On October 11, 1671, notary Romain Becquet drew up a marriage contract between Jacques and Catherine at the home of Anne Gasnier in Québec. Jacques was about 25 years old; Catherine, about 18. The contract followed the standards of the Coutume de Paris. The prefix dower was set at 200 livres. Catherine brought 200 livres’ worth of goods to the marriage, along with the King’s gift of 50 livres. Neither the bride nor the groom was able to sign the marriage contract.

Jacques and Catherine were married on October 12, 1671, in the parish of Notre-Dame in Québec. The groom was recorded as a resident of Boucherville. Their witnesses were Toussaint Dubaut, Louis Denys and René Dumast.

1671 Marriage of Jacques Lussier and Catherine Clérice (Généalogie Québec)

The couple settled in Varennes and had at least twelve children:

  1. [anonymous] (1672–1672)

  2. Christophe (1673–1752)

  3. Pierre (1675–1720)

  4. Catherine (1677–1719)

  5. Jacques (1678–1744)

  6. François (1680–1680)

  7. Marie Madeleine (1681–1759)

  8. Marie Marguerite (1683–1748)

  9. Jean Baptiste Isaac (1685–1708)

  10. Jean (1687–1687)

  11. Marie Louise (1689–1764)

  12. Marie Jeanne (1692–1749)

Life in Varennes

Following his second marriage, Jacques’s name appears in several deeds drawn up by notary Thomas Frérot de Lachesnaye:

  • March 24, 1671 — Jacques, residing “on the land of Mr. de Varennes,” hired a man named Jean Pierre for two months of unspecified work. Payment was set at 18 minots of wheat after the harvest. [A minot was a measure once used for dry matter (seeds and flour), and which contained half of a mine. A mine corresponded to approximately 78.73 litres.]

  • May 15, 1672 — An agreement was signed between Jacques and carpenter Pierre Chaperon. The latter agreed to provide Jacques with four days’ ploughing with oxen and five pounds of butter, on condition that the Lussier family spend the month of June weeding Chaperon’s large cornfield.

  • December 3, 1674 — Jacques leased a cow from Pierre Chaperon.

  • September 8, 1675 — Jacques sold a plot of 60 square arpents in the seigneurie of Tremblay to Étienne Charles dit Lajeunesse for an annual payment of 15 minots of wheat and three minots of peas for ten years.

Jacques and Catherine were enumerated in the 1681 census of New France, living in Varennes with their five children. They owned nine arpents of “valuable” land (cleared or under cultivation), five head of cattle and no guns.

1681 census for the “Lhuissier” family (Library and Archives Canada)

The Lussier family grew wheat on their land. On May 24, 1688, Jacques gave Étienne Charles dit Lajeunesse a receipt for 150 minots of wheat he had sold him. The notarial record identifies Jacques as an habitant and militia captain on the côte du Cap de Varennes. The title capitaine de milice also appears on the 1690 marriage contract of his daughter Catherine.

Artificial intelligence image created by the author with ChatGPT (June 2025)

On February 9, 1689, seigneur René Gauthier de Varennes sold Jacques a plot and habitation in the seigneurie of Varennes for 600 livres. The land measured two arpents of frontage by [thirty?] arpents in depth. Jacques agreed to pay the seigneurial rente of three livres, three live capons and four days of labour per year.

On May 20, 1690, notary Michel Moreau drew up an agreement between Jacques and fellow Varennes habitant Jean Gautier, and the seigneuresse of Varennes, Marie Boucher. She agreed to lease the two men a small island in the seigneurie for farming, in exchange for 120 livres. 

A few years later, on November 3, 1692, another notarial deed was recorded by Antoine Adhémar de Saint-Martin, concerning a dispute among residents of the fort at Cap de Varennes over the land each owned within the fort. The residents agreed to “clear their land, clean it up and seed it.” They also agreed to assist Louis Ledoux and Julien Guillou de Lamour in doing the same, provided the latter supplied the seed. After a three-year period, Ledoux and Guillou would become the landowners, and the other residents, including Jacques, would be released from further obligations.

Jacques continued to grow and sell wheat. On January 15, 1694, he agreed to deliver 64 minots of wheat to Jean Brunet dit Lasablonnière in the seigneurie of Longueuil for 3 livres and 15 sols per minot.

Later that year, on July 7, Jacques and fellow residents of Cap de Varennes, Paul Petit and Jacques Chauvin, leased an island called Grand Isle au Foin in the seigneurie of Varennes from Marie Boucher for farming purposes. The lease also included hunting and fishing rights around the island. The men agreed to pay the seigneuresse 150 livres annually.

Jacques was a successful farmer. With his revenues, he was able to lend money to fellow colonists:

  • On May 12, 1697, he loaned 400 livres to Jean Ménard dit Bellerose.

  • On May 27, 1697, he loaned 400 livres to Jean Petit dit Boismorel.

  • On January 24, 1699, he loaned 450 livres to his daughter Catherine and son-in-law Jacques David.

  • On December 4, 1709, he loaned 200 livres to René Gauthier

On June 6, 1707, Jacques received a concession of an island from François Desjordy, seigneur of the Îles Bouchard. The island was located “above Île Marie” and comprised 102 and a half arpents. Jacques agreed to pay [one?] sol in cens, 102 sols and six deniers in rente, plus five capons (or 30 sols each) annually.

On January 9, 1712, Jacques received another land concession in the seigneurie of Verchères from Marie Perrot. The land measured three arpents of frontage by 30 arpents in depth, for a total of 90 arpents.

Accidental Death of Jacques Lussier

Around the autumn of 1712, Jacques Lussier drowned in the St. Lawrence River. His body was recovered in Sorel. On June 12, 1713, he was buried in the Saint-Pierre parish cemetery in Sorel. His son Christophe and son-in-law Antoine Foisy attended the burial.

1713 Burial of Jacques Lussier (Généalogie Québec)

As was customary after the death of a parent, a guardianship election was held for the minor Lussier children. Their mother, Catherine, was named guardian, while Paul Laporte (husband of the late Marie Lussier, daughter of Jacques and his first wife Charlotte Lamarche) was named substitute guardian. At the same time, Catherine transferred to her children the land on the Îles Bouchard, including its buildings, livestock, and agricultural tools. The deed was registered on March 15, 1713.  

On March 16, 1713, notary Antoine Adhémar prepared an inventory of the community of goods shared by Catherine and her late husband. The ten-page document listed all their possessions, including movable and immovable property. The inventory included kitchen utensils, cookware, dinnerware, chests, furniture, clothing, linens, and the parcels of land Jacques owned. On the land at Varennes, measuring four arpents by thirty, were two oxen, four milk cows, three calves, and three horses. The record also noted debts owed to Jacques and his cash assets, totalling 2,800 livres (equivalent to about CAD $60,000 today).

Two days later, on March 18, the Lussier family gathered before notary Adhémar to divide and sell the couple’s possessions. Catherine retained the family home and all items necessary for her daily life.

Death of Catherine Clérice

Catherine Clérice died at about 62 years of age on March 1, 1715. She was buried the following day in the Sainte-Anne parish cemetery in Varennes. [The burial record indicates that she was 68.]

1715 Burial of Catherine Clérice (Généalogie Québec)

The Lussier Legacy

Jacques Lussier and Catherine Clérice lived through the early decades of French settlement in the St. Lawrence Valley, contributing to the development of Varennes as both farmers and landholders. Through hard work and strategic acquisitions, they built a modest but prosperous life for their large family. Following Jacques’s untimely death by drowning in 1712, Catherine ensured the orderly transfer of their estate to the next generation. Their legacy endures: all individuals bearing the Lussier surname in North America today descend from this couple.

 
 
Jacques Lussier & Catherine Clérice (article in PDF format)
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