Houde dit Leclerc
Our ancestor, Louis Houde, arrived with one of the first waves of colonials to settle in New France. Actually, he arrived in Quebec in the summer of 1647, on board a ship belonging to the Company of Hundred Associates (Cent-Associés), and hired by the baron Noël Juchereau. A clearer of land, an agriculturist and a master mason, he quickly became wealthy. A good percentage of present day French speaking Quebecers find this ancestor's descendants in their genealogical tree.
First come, first served. In 1647, he became the proprietor of twelve arpents at Cap-Rouge with Jean Dufour. Soon after this, he turned to land speculation. On January 12, 1655, Louis, born at Madou-en-Perche and 37 years of age, married in the Notre-Dame de Quebec Church, Madeleine Boucher, aged 13 and the daughter of Marin Boucher and Perrine Mallet from Île d'Orléans. On June 27, 1658, he purchased a property with four arpents of frontage in Sainte-Famille on Île d'Orléans, where they settled down to raise their fourteen children.
Then on August 19, 1685, he got itchy feet again. He re-located his whole clan to another property, nine arpents in frontage and forty arpents in depth, a real stronghold, on the banks of the St-Lawrence River at Sainte-Croix-de-Lotbinière that would become the Houde Tree Nursery. We find, subsequently, the following various surnames used: Houde, Houle, Houl, Oule, Hould, Claire, Clair, Leclerc, Leclair, Desruisseaux and Desrochers. Here begins the digression of surnames which became patronymic. This was created to differentiate the various people, usually of the same family and in the same parish. As an example we use the sons of a certain Antoine Trottier. They adopted the surnames and patronymics of Desruisseaux, Beaubien, Desaulniers, Labissonnière, Belcourt, Pombert and Desrivières, and the youngest retained the Trottier patronymic. Welcome to the marvellous world of genealogy...
The grandson of Louis and Madeleine, Gabriel dit Desruisseaux, aged 21 years, wed at Sainte-Foy parish, Jeanne Petitclerc, aged 25 years and the daughter of Pierre and Françoise Paris from Sillery, who we already spoke about (see Petitclerc dit Leclair). Their son, François, in his turn, took the surname Leclerc. They settled in the seigneury of Baie-Sainte-Antoine at Baie-du-Febvre. Gabriel adopted the surname of Clair, or Clerc, and one of his sons, Claude, who had married a Trottier, adopted the Leclerc patronymic himself as well. As in the Petitclerc and Trottier families, the surnames were well known in the Houle household... The majority of Leclerc/Leclair from the Bois-Franc region descend from this branch.
Le petit-fils de Louis et de Madeleine, Gabriel dit Desruisseaux, âgé de 21 ans, épouse à la paroisse de Sainte-Foy, Jeanne Petitclerc, âgée de 25 ans, fille de Pierre et de France Paris de Sillery dont nous avons déjà parlé (voir Petitclerc dit Leclair). Leur fils François prit à son tour le surnom de Leclerc. Ils s’installèrent dans la seigneurie de Baie-Saint-Antoine, à Baie-du-Febvre. Gabriel, adopta le surnom de Clair, ou de Clerc, et un de ses fils Claude qui épousa une Trottier, adopta le patronyme de Leclerc lui aussi. Comme dans la famille Petitclerc et Trottier, on était habitué aux surnoms chez les Houde... La majorité des Leclerc/Leclair de la région des Bois-Francs descendent d’eux.
We greet the members that we know presently and are descendants of this line: Gilles (#022), Stéphane (#082), Jean-Paul (#171), Yvon (#242), Annie (#243), Benoit (#248), Jean-Guy (#251), Léona (#270), Monique (#280), Berthe (#290), Cécile (#307), Thérèse (#381), Hélène (#422), Pierrette (#485), Johanne (#487), Jean-Louis (#508), Rolande (#522), Gilles (#527), Louis (#532), Luc (#533), Michel (#535) et Pierrette (#273) who has accepted the responsibility of this line. Pierrette is the coordinator of the Bois-Franc area and can be contacted at 819-472-6532 or at Pierrette Leclerc.
Writer Gilles P. Leclaire