More details about the lineage of Antoine Lafreniere prior to the 1800's

This posting will briefly describe the lineage of Antoine Lafreniere prior to the 1800's based on my research using electronic parish databases and other primary sources. This information does not correlate with the research conducted by Doreen Livingston in the 1980's regarding Antoine Lafraniere's birthparents and his ancestors. Although I sincerely appreciate Doreen's hard work and analysis, there is a 30 year gap in her research from approximately 1755 to 1781 which troubles me. Please consider this posting as an attempt to fill the gap and to compliment to Doreen's research. I believe the data here to be accurate and true. 

Antoine's parents were:

• Antoine Charles Lupin Lafreniere (born January 10, 1762 in Maskinonge, QC)
• Marie Josephe Banhiac Lamontagne Beaulieu (born June 4, 1766 in Louisville, QC)

Antoine Charles was a "terrien", which I believe means farmer.  He wed Marie Josephe on February 21, 1791 in Riviere-du-Loop (more commonly known as Louisville). Please see the map below for its location.

Quebec parishes

Below is a list of Antoine's siblings (Antoine is listed as the last child born to Antoine Charles and Marie Josephe as the University of Montreal Montreal's PRDH database only contains the parish records for children born up to and including 1799):

Antoine's father, Joseph Lupien Lafreniere, was born in 1722 while his mother, Marie Anne Dupuy, was born in 1725. Both of his parents were born in Maskinonge, Q.C. where they later married on 9 November 1750 at St.Joseph's Parish.

According to the PRDH, the children of Joseph Lupien Lafreniere and Marie-Anne Dupuy were:

1. Marie Anne born before 1750, and married Joseph Vital Vidal Caron on 22 January 1771 in Riviere-du-Loop, QC.
2. Joseph born 17 September 1751 in Maskinonge, QC and married Marie Louise Lemire Gaucher on 8 January 1776 in Riviere-du-Loop, QC.
3. Jean-Baptiste born 14 Aug 1754, Maskinonge, QC, married Marie Josephe Marchand on 1 February 1779 in Berthier-en-Haut, and died in 1835.
4. Marie Charlotte born 19 February 1757 and died less than three years later on 8 January 1760 in Maskinonge, QC.
5. Marie Louise born 6 October 1760 in Maskinonge, QC, married Louis Lemire Gaucher on 25 June 1781 in Riviere-du-Loop, QC and died 5 March 1799 in Maskinonge, QC.
6. Antoine born 15 November 1761 in Maskinonge, QC and wed Marie Louise Marguerite Voligny on 5 February 1787 at the same parish.
7. Marguerite born 3 Aug 1765, Maskinonge, QC and wed Louis Paille Paillard on 28 January 1783 at the same parish.

Joseph Lupien Lafreniere's parents were Joseph Lupien LaFreniere Baron, a farmer, and Marie-Anne Lemire Gaucher (this was Baron's first marriage). They wed on 15 October 1721 and had the following children:

1. Joseph born before 1722, married Marie Anne Dupuy on 9 November 1750, and died 18 January 1790.
2. Marie Madeleine born 7 June 1729 in Maskinonge, QC, wed Joseph Petit Bruneau on 15 February 1752 and sadly died two years later on 3 November 1754 in Maskinonge, QC.
3. Anonyme (French for anonymous) born and died 12 December 1731.
4. Marie Marguerite born 20 April 1733 in Maskinonge, QC, and wed Jean Baptiste Dupuy on 23 April 1758.
5. Antoine born prior to 1737, and married Marie Judith Bergeron on 11 February 1765 in Riviere-du-Loop,QC.
6. Marie Anne birthdate unknown; wed Louis Leclerc on 24 April 1747.

When he became a widow, Joseph Lupien Lafreniere Baron remarried on 9 February 1741 to Marie Madeleine Sicard Carufel. They had ten children, thus Joseph fathered 16 children!

There is an interesting notation on Joseph Lupien Lafreniere Baron's birth records: iilegitimate. His mother was Marie Marthe Chauvin (born 1662; died 1728). Her first husband was Nicolas Baron Lupien of France whom she wed in 16 November 1676 in Montreal. According to the 1681 census, Nicolas had a gun, nine head of cattle and 6 acres of land. Nicolas and Marie had 5 children between 1683 and 1698, Nicolas died in May 1698 in Quebec.

As a widow, Marie gave birth to Joseph Lupien Lafreniere Baron was born three years later. Thus, his birth records refer to him as an illegitimate child of Andre Ethier and Marie Marthe Chauvin born on 3 May 1701 and baptized in Pointe-aux-Trembles (this parish is located close to Montreal). Although Joseph was born after Nicolas Baron Lupien died, Marie probably granted him the family name in order to avoid the negative stigma of having a child out of wedlock.

There is a rumour that Joseph Lupien Lafreniere Baron and his half-siblings were one of 5 founding families of Maskinongé, QC. [I am searching for data to confirm this claim]. Maskinongé is loosely translated from the Algonquian language as "mishapen pike" due to the odd-shaped pike found its lakes and rivers nearby.

I was not able to locate data regarding Joseph's birthfather, Andre Ethier, but Nicolas Lupien Baron's past is somewhat disappointing. With the distinguished name of "Baron", I thought perhaps royalty may have been involved. It is disappointing, but that does not appear to be true. Nicolas was born to Lupien Baron and Jeanne Tierson. Nicolas was born 17 June 1645 in the township of Villenaux, in the district of Nogent sur Seine, and the region of Champagne in France. His father was a master butcher. While Lupien and Jeanne remained in France, Nicolas travelled to New France in 1676 to begin a new life in Boucherville, QC.  It is believed that he carried on the family trade of butcher.

And it is here that the path of documentation grows cold. Please accept this posting as my translation of the heritage of Antoine Lafreniere prior to 1800. Based on my primary sources, I believe this is a viable and realistic review of his ancestors. I will never deny or disgrace any previous versions of our ancestry. I know how much time and effort is dedicated to finding the truth, and that is my only interest.

Next time: Livingston Relations Alive and Well Today

Next time: Ulric Livingston -- this will take one month of research to post