Another epidemic in New France in 1699 did not leave Rivière Ouelle untouched. By the end of the year eleven people had died. Among the dead was Robert Levesque, Jeanne’s husband of twenty years, on September 11, 1699 less than two weeks after his 57th birthday. Twenty five days later, Charles, Jeanne’s second son with Guillaume and the last to survive their father, died at the age of 24.
Jeanne was now a widow, for the second time. She was 56 years old. [⇒]
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. [⇒]
