While isolated in its location far to the northeast of Quebec along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, Rivière Ouelle had not been immune from epidemics. In 1688, nine people had died, and in 1699 the epidemic that took the lives of Jeanne’s husband Robert Levesque and of her last Lecanteur son also took nine other lives.
Four years later yet another epidemic spread through New France. There were six deaths in Rivière Ouelle between April 1703 and the end of that year. [⇒]
The reasons why Jeanne decided to marry Jean Baptiste Francois Deschamps de la Bouteillerie and why he waited 20 years to marry again are lost to history. I’ve asked around for opinions and have come up with some explanations.
Possible reasons for Deschamps’ long celibacy range from [⇒]
Jeanne remained single for 18 months after Robert died. On April 5, 1701, she married Jean-Baptiste François Deschamps, Seigneur of la Bouteillerie. There was no contract of marriage. No documents have been found to explain why they decided to marry or why he had waited 20 years to marry again, longer than just about all the other men of his class. [⇒]
Jean-Baptiste Francois Deschamps de la Bouteillerie was an unusual man – at least as far as I have been able to tell. When he arrived in Quebec, Intendant Talon mentioned how his arrival should give the King hope for the future of the colony. Deschamps also merited mention by Professor Cole Harris in his definitive history of the seigneurial system in early Canada. Harris specifically referred to Deschamps who chose to live on the land and take an active role in colonizing his grant, as an exception, compared to the majority of seigneurs. [⇒]
Jean-Baptiste François Deschamps de la Bouteillerie was buried on December 16, 1703 beneath the seigneurial pew in the church in Rivière-Ouelle. Today, the gravestone in his honor marks the location in the current cemetery of that special pew or somewhere close to it, based on recent archeological findings. It is close to the stone that indicates the actual site of the first church. Deschamps’ gravestone does not date from his death. [⇒]
