The Origin of the Names of Our Seigneury

The origin of the names of our seigneury

In 1672, the comte de Frontenac and the intendant Duchesneau granted Romain Becquet, a notary of Québec, a vast stretch of land between the seigneuries (seigneurie: a landed estate held under the French seigneurial regime) of Gentilly and Deschaillons; but through negligence, and for having failed to bring it into cultivation, he lost it in 1683. His daughters, Marie-Louise and Catherine Angélique, managed to recover the titles to it, but showed no more interest than he had. Gilles Masson (1630-1716), who was then living at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, seized the opportunity to style himself « seigneur de la Côte et de la Seigneurie de Saint-Pierre » and to grant lands he knew to be unoccupied. Why the name Saint-Pierre? It is thought to have come from the name of his son Pierre, born on 26 July 1673, to whom he in fact granted a parcel of land in 1703 in this seigneury of Saint-Pierre. Later the village of Saint-Pierre would take up the name, as would the parish church of the settlement, Saint-Pierre apôtre.

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The village of Sainte-Cécile de Lévrard was named in honour of Cécile Thomur, wife of Charles Lévrard; he was the son of Louis Lévrard and of Catherine-Angélique Becquet

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Sainte-Sophie de Lévrard recalls the given name of Sophie Charlotte Young, wife of Joseph-Ovide Tousignant, the last seigneur to hold the title, who gave one of her parcels of land to the parish corporation. It should be noted that the first name given to the mission was Saint-Placide, in 1856, in honour of Placide Neault, who was deeply involved in the development of the area. Later, in 1874, came the canonical erection of the parish, followed in 1875 by the incorporation of the municipality of Sainte-Sophie.

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We have two origins for the name cap Saint-Claude, the part of the village of Saint-Pierre les Becquets where the church, the presbytery and the manor house stand.

A first version suggests that René Pinot (Pineau), one of the first settlers, had a son named Claude, hence the name cap Saint-Claude.

A second explanation, more plausible, holds that the reason is Claude Volant de Saint-Claude, a missionary born in November 1654, son of Ignace Volant and Françoise Radisson; she was the sister of Pierre Esprit Radisson. Claude Volant and his twin brother Pierre studied at the Séminaire de Québec and were ordained priests by Bishop de Laval. As a missionary, Claude Volant de Saint-Claude served the whole south shore of the river, from Sorel to Lotbinière, including the Lévrard-Becquet seigneury.

We have just seen the origin of the names of our three villages and of certain geographical features; the origin of the names of the rangs (rang: a concession road, and the row of farm lots strung along it) rests on essentially the same principles.

Leaving aside the name of the first rang, called “Marie-Victorin” after the provincial highway that runs from Montréal to Lévis and carries the number 132, the other roads parallel to the river were named to honour a local figure. Since it might have seemed presumptuous to attach one’s own given name to a public place, “sanctifying” the name made the practice entirely acceptable.

Brother Marie-Victorin (born Conrad Kirouac on 3 April 1885 at Kingsey Falls, Québec, and died on 15 July 1944) was a religious of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a botanist, an intellectual and a writer, best known for his important work in botany.

When the second rang of the seigneury was named, it was naturally given the name Saint-Charles, after Charles Lévrard (1716-1786), son of Louis and of Catherine-Angélique Becquet, daughter of the first seigneur.

Cécile Thomur de Lasource (1710-1780), wife of Charles Lévrard, left her given name to the third rang, and to the village that would later grow up there: Sainte-Cécile

The fourth rang, Saint-François-Xavier, was so named in honour of Charles-François-Xavier Tarieu de Lanaudière (1710-1776), who became seigneur in 1769 after buying the seigneury from Charles Lévrard.

Antoine-Ovide Tarieu de Lanaudière (1772-1838), one of the co-seigneurs, son of the aforementioned Charles-François Tarieu de Lanaudière and of Catherine Lemoyne, left his second given name to the fifth rang, Saint-Ovide, and his first to the sixth rang, Saint-Antoine.

The seventh rang, Sainte-Agathe, honours Agathe Tarieu de Lanaudière, his sister, co-seigneuresse (1774-1838).

The rang Saint-Jacques, the eighth, takes its origin from Jacques-Raymond Baby (-1870), brother of François, whose mother was Marie-Anne de Lanaudière. He married Adélaïde Moras (se) in 1827.

Finally, the ninth rang, Sainte-Adélaïde, recalls Adélaïde Moras (1803-1878), wife of Jacques-Raymond Baby.

We have not yet found the dates on which these names were attached to the roads they identify, but we have not given up hope; any information on the subject would be welcome. We are currently researching the names of the other roads, lanes, streets and places in the area: the route Paquin, the plage Laurentienne, the rue Saratoga, and so on. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Alain Manset, Société d’histoire et de généalogie Lévrard-Becquet (Lévrard-Becquet Historical and Genealogical Society).