David LeMessier
Seventh generation known:
David was born in Vascoeuil around 1612. Information on hand would suggest that he was the youngest child known from the family of Jehan. This is the impression left by the information on his brother and sisters feel in the censuses and the register of St-Denis-le-Thiboult. With the marriage of his father and the age of her son Michel, it is possible to determine birth and marriage. Around 1639, he married Marguerite Barc, presumably in St-Denis-le-Thiboult. Several Barc remain there.
The couple's first child, Michel was born around 1640 and married in 1658. With this son born in 1640, 1639 is a logical date for the wedding of David and Margaret Barc. Aged about twenty-seven years at his wedding, David is born around 1612. It is the marriage contract of Michel that his parents are identified. Only the spelling has changed. The LeMessier became Messier in Canada and the mother of our ancestor, Marguerite Barc, took over the "c" lost in the Atlantic crossing.
With this information on his parents, a second track we easily identify ancestors of David. The sobriquet "Blondelet" was attached to the name of David and his brother Jacques. In addition, David has always remained in the hamlet of Villers.
On March 25, 1643, we find the first mention of David. In an IOU, it is identified as the brother of Jacques and Isabeau (Elizabeth), wife of Guillaume Thierry. In addition, It says that he remains in the hamlet of Villers in Vascoeuil. Antoine Primot witnesses the act. At the bottom, David, Jacques and Guillaume Thierry make a mark; they declare cannot sign.
The research identified seven children of David and Margaret Barc: Michel, Jean, Madeleine, Jacques, Pierre, Marie and Catherine. No date of birth of the children was found in St-Denis-le-Thiboult. Records Vascoeuil, residence of David, are damaged as to render it almost impossible for consultation.
David is identified as man of the day, that is to say, a day, a man without a job. When, in 1649, his brother Jacques wants to leave with the couple Primot, David, probably to give a better future for his son and to alleviate the financial needs of his family, lets Michel go to Ville-Marie. Poverty was high at that time.
Ten years later, in 1659, his brother Jacques returns to take care of the estate of his father. David receives the news of the marriage of Michel and his living conditions. Before that, David decided to give him a second son, Jacques; they leave for Ville-Marie in spring 1660.
After the departure of Jacques, the house begins to empty. In 1662, it was the death of his daughter Catherine. Then, it is the marriage of his children: Jean, 1664, Madeleine, 1672, Marie, 1674 and Pierre in 1675.
Vascoeuil, the church of St. Martial, rear view
Vascoeuil, inside the church, the recumbent figure of Hugh of St. Jovian
At the death of their father in 1658, David and Jacques share the father's house. Between brothers, sharing is done in a friendly manner. However, in 1672, Jacques sold his share to a stranger; things get complicated. We have to give legal status to the separation. On July 25, 1673, David goes to the notary with Bernard Thorin, the new owner of the portion of Jacques. They should specify which part of the house will belong to everyone. After that, they have to establish who will be the owner of the fruit trees located on the line of the land. They agree that each will keep the fruits that fall on their ground.
On May 3, 1674, David sold to his son Pierre Ranette the home inherited from his father. Pierre Ranette kept the house during nineteen years. On May 18, 1693, following the death of his wife Marie LeMessier, the house is sold to Aubin Barc, master mason. It is possible that this Aubin Barc is the nephew of Margaret. His brother Aubin, husband of Marion Crescent, is the father of a boy born on May 19, 1651, also named Aubin.
When sharing the house, David said to remain in Villers. On June 2, 1674, the parish priest of St-Denis-le-Thiboult written to the priest of Vascoeuil about the future marriage of Marie LeMessier, daughter of David. It is mentioned that David remains in Vascoeuil. On May 26, 1675, the marriage contract of his son Pierre with Michelle Mallet, he says that he lives at Elbeuf-sur-Andelle town nearby of St-Denis-le-Thiboult. The following year, at the death of his wife, Marguerite Barc, he states remaining in the hamlet of Faussé in St-Denis-le-Thiboult, in front of the village of Villers. We note that after the sale of his house, he moved frequently.
At about sixty-three, David is alone with his wife. Unfortunately for them, the couple's life that awaited them will be short. Ten months after the marriage of their youngest child, his wife Marguerite Barc, died on March 25, 1676. She was buried the next day in St-Denis-le-Thiboult. Records indicate she is aged about fifty years old. I doubt the authenticity of the age registered. Michel, the eldest of the couple, was born around 1640, She would be a wife of only thirteen at her wedding. With no document to guide me, I prefer to believe that she was rather aged about sixty years.
About the death of David in Vascoeuil, the registers are damaged. It is almost impossible consult them. It is an act of register leads us to believe that David, who died on december 27, 1687, is the father of our ancestor. David's name was very rare at that time. The genealogist in charge of my researches has seen fit to identify him as the father of our ancestor.