A 1781 map of land concessions for Pointe Claire show that five sons of Claude Daoust and Ursule Jamme dit Carrière had lots here. A few years later several had moved to St Benoit in the county of Deux Montagnes, north of Laval. Many young men from well-established parishes, like Pointe Claire, had left seeking new lands. Claude's sons had land already and yet they left. Looking at the history of the late 1700s, one quickly realizes that they were turbulent times. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction, dissent and even rebellion; increased taxes and an increased population in Pointe Claire made people there want to try somewhere else in hopes of a better life.
The present day Parish of St Benoit was part of the old "Seigneurie du Lac des Deux Montagnes" founded in 1717. It was located north west of the island of Laval, to the west of the "Seigneurie des Milles Isles". Like the island of Montreal, the seigneurs were the Fathers of the Sulpicians Order.
Initially the Order concentrated on distributing land concessions on the island but by the time of the Conquest much of the land had been allocated. Their northern seigneury was then opened up. The first land concession in this area was granted on April 28, 1780 on Rang St Etienne. During the following years many land grants were issued with much of the clearing of underbrush accomplished by burning. The area came to be called " Le Grand Brulé". By the late 1700s many land concessions had been allotted.
On October 12, 1796 land was purchased to build a church, a presbytery and a cemetery. The notary was P.R. Gagnier. On March 16, 1796 the area known as
the "Grand Brulé" came to be called St Benoit. In November 1799, the first curé arrived to occupy the new presbytery-chapel. He was a Sulpician by the name of Jean-Louis Sauvage de Chantillonet 1799-1800. The first civil act dates to November 9, 1799. St. Benoit had become the official parish of the Seigneury.
On May 11, 1822 a notarized act by J. Girouard listed the steps involved in the building of a "real" church. The long document gave the dimensions of the new church, the expenses etc. The cost of the construction was to be paid up over ten years with the parishioners making 12 payments (one every ten months). The amount of the payments from each family was based on how much land each possessed. The list today is great for letting us know the names of the parishioners and where everyone was located and who lived in the village.
Augustin Daoust is not listed here as a landowner in 1822; he had bought land here in 1803 and sold it at a profit later that same year. Then in 1808 he bought another property (sold in 1810). His church wedding record to Marie Louise Charbonneau is dated September 26, 1808; it is stated here that he was from the parish of St Benoit. His first two sons were baptized here. On July 28th 1815, he received a donation of land from Joseph Charbonneau and Marie Chartrand, his in-laws. It was part of the inheritance of his wife, Marie Louise. The land was located in neighboring St Eustache.
The Census of 1831 showed a St. Benoit population that was essentially francophone. Many of the new comers were from older parishes where new land was scarce. The estimated population at the time of the census was 4,662. Very few lived in the actual village. Most were farmers; most had big families - 50% of the population was under 15 years of age.
The Census of St Eustache for 1825 and 1831 shows us that Augustin, the son of Claude and Ursule Jamme de Carrière was now living on Cote St Louis. He was living on the northern section of this road that in 1840 would be amalgamated into the new parish of St Augustin. In the Census of 1842 he can't be found in either parish; the marriage record of his son, Augustin to Olive Graton in 1842 stated that he had passed away. He'd died in 1832, at the age of 52.
The Census of St Eustache for 1825 gives us the following information for Augustin Daoust; He resides on Cote St Louis and has four living in the house.
The Census of St Eustache for 1831 gives us a much more complete picture of Augustin Daoust and his family:
Nord de la petite rivière
Monte des Bisette
Cote St Louis Continuation
Augustin Daoust - cultivateur
Total # in family - 5
# of children under 5 - 1 (Rosalie is about 3)
# of children between 5 and 14 - 1 (Augustin is 9)
Males not married between 14 and 18 - 1 (Claude is 17, Joseph their first son had died shortly after birth).
Males 30 and above and under 60 married - 1 (Augustin is 52)
Females 14 and above and under 45 - 1 (Marie Louise Charbonneau is 45 that year)
# of Catholics - 5
# of acres occupied by family - 90
# of acres cultivated - 76
# of minots of wheat - 200
# of minots of peas - 19
# of minots of oats - 60
# of minots of barley - 20
# of minots of potatoes - 200
# of horned beasts (cattle) - 14
# of horses - 3
# of sheep - 17
# of pigs 7
Augustin, as previously stated, had died in 1832 when he was 52 years old. His wife, Marie Louise Charbonneau was left a widow at 46 with children to support: Claude was 18, old enough to strike out on his own had married Emilie
Touchette on July 23rd 1832, a couple of months before his father's passing. The other two children were young: Augustin was 10 and his sister, Rosianne was 4.
Why did Augustin die so young? The answer may lie in one of the major events of the time. In the single season of 1831, fifty thousand men, women and children had arrived in the ports of Quebec and Montreal. Some were well-to-do but thousands were famine-ridden, destitute Irish immigrants. Many were also from the slums of English cities. With them came the threat of Asiatic cholera that was on the rise in India and sweeping across Europe. There was fear it would strike Canada. In 1832, a quarantine station was set up on Grosse Ile. On June 13, 1832 it was publicly announced in Quebec City that there had been 94 cases of cholera in the past 24 hours and that 23 had died. On June 15 there
were 1,204 cases and 230 dead.
The disease was in Montreal within one day of the outbreak in Quebec City. On the 26 of June, 3,384 cases were reported with 947 deaths. By August, of the 52,000 arrivals at Grosse Ile, 24,000 had landed sick. The ascertained deaths from cholera in 1832 were about 3,800 in Quebec City and about 4,000 in Montreal. By the middle of September the epidemic seemed to have died down in Montreal and Quebec. It was to return two years later in 1834. Augustin Daoust died on September 15, 1832 - a victim of the cholera epidemic?
A note on Augustin's wife: Marie Louise was a direct descendant of Olivier Charbonneau and Marie Garnier. Olivier signed a contract in La Rochelle on June 16 1659 with the notary Demontreau. In the document, he promised to pay back a debt of 175 livres to Jeanne Mance for the passage to New France. She signed the notarized act. They (Olivier, Marie and their daughter, Anne) crossed the Atlantic abord the Saint André. On the ship was Marguerite Bourgeois, the aunt of Marie! They arrived in Montreal on September 20, 1660. He is listed among the first pioneers of Montreal. The baptisms of four of his children were recorded in the first register of Notre Dame (Joseph 1660, Jean 1662, Elisabeth 1664, Michel 1666). He was granted a land concession beside one owned by Marguerite Bourgeois and the Congregation of Notre Dame. By 1668, he owned with Pierre Dagenais, a water mill on the Saint Lawrence River at Pointe aux Trembles. On January 22nd 1675, Olivier Charbonneau and his son-in-law Guillaume Lebel obtained the first land concession granted on the Isle de Jesus (Laval). He passed away in Rivière des Prairies and was buried there on November 20th, 1687.
A year after the death of her husband, Marie Louise Charbonneau remarried. On May 20th 1833 in the parish of St Eustache, she married Pierre Charles Lajeunesse the son of the deceased Louis Charles Lajeunesse, farmer and Louise Boileau of St Benoit. Among the guest were Michel Charbonneau, the brother of the bride and her son, Claude Daoust 19 years of age.
In 1842, her son Augustin married Olive Gratton. She was present at the wedding with her husband, Pierre Charles Lajeunesse. It is mentioned that they are from the parish of St Augustin.
In 1849, her daughter, Rosianne married Oliver Meloche. Marie Louise is there with Pierre. They are residents of St Augustin.
Marie Louise Charbonneau passed away on November 1st, 1869. She was buried in the cemetery of St Augustin on November 3rd.
Pierre Charles Lajeunesse died on October 9th, 1873 at the age of 73 years and 7 months. He also lies in St Augustin.
AUGUSTIN DAOUST (1779 -1832),
was born and raised in Pointe Claire. Later he moved north of Montreal to St Benoit then St Augustin (still St Eustache during his lifetime). This is a record of events in his life through existing church records, censuses and notarized acts. It is a work in progress!
October 23, 1779 St. Genevieve de Pierrefonds
Born on this day.
Godfather: Toussaint Damour
Godmother: Catherine Langevin
February 14, 1789 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Marriage contract of Joseph Charbonneau son of the late Joseph and Marie Louise Valiquet and Marie Chartran daughter of Paul and Marie Laporte.
These are the parents of Marie Louise Charbonneau who was born November 18, 1790. She later married Augustin Daoust.
February 19, 1803 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Sale of a land concession located in St Benoit in the "Seigneurie du lac des Deux Montagnes" by Jean Laroche of the parish and seigneury of d'Augenteuil to Augustin Daoust, son of Claude Daoust resident of the parish of Ste Geneviève.
This land was three by about thirty arpens of riverfront property. It was located south-east of Cote St Vincent. It was between land concessions belonging to Paul Ménard and Jean Baptiste Couvrette. The buying price was seven hundred and ten "livres".
December 5, 1803 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Sale of a land concession located in St Benoit and purchased in February of the same year by Augustin Daoust, bachelor, resident of the parish of Ste Geneviève to Jean-Baptiste Leblond dit Casseau, resident of Ste Anne.
Sale price was eight hundred and forty "livres"
January 2, 1808 Pointe Claire (District of Montreal)
Thibaudeau, L.:
Sale of a land concession by Luc Lalonde resident of Cote St Vincent in the parish of St Benoit to Augustin Daoust, resident of Cap St Jacques in the parish of Ste Geneviève. This is the year of Augustin's marriage to Marie Louise Charbonneau.
Augustin is acquiring a piece of land three by about thirty arpens (riverfront) on Cote St Vincent in St Benoit. It is between the lands of Antoine Lefrevre and Joachim Ledouceur. The land has a house and stable on it. The sale price was 1200 livres.
September 26, 1808, St Eustache
Augustin Daoust of the parish of St Benoit, 28 year old son of Claude and Ursule Jamme dit Carriere residents of Ste Geneviève married Marie Louise Charbonneau, 18 year old minor daughter of Joseph and Marie Chartrand of St Eustache.
April 7, 1810 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Sale of a land concession located on Cote St Vincent in St Benoit by Augustin Daoust, in the presense of Marie Louise Charbonneau, his wife residing on the Petit Brulé in St Benoit to Augustin Taillefer, resident of Cote St Louis.
It is stated that Marie Louise Charbonneau is not of legal age. The land is between those of Louis Leblond and Antoine Lefevre.
July 28, 1815 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Donation of a land concession by Joseph and Marie Charbonneau, who are both elderly, to their son-in-law Augustin Daoust and their daughter Marie Louise Charbonneau.
The land is located on the Cote St. Louis and is four arpens of riverfront property by twenty-two arpens. It begins at the end of the Petit Brulé and ends at the Cote St. Augustin. At the north-east corner, it reaches the land of Joseph Proult dit Clément and on the other side it borders the land of Jean Marie Label. On the land, itself, there is a wooden house and a barn. Also included is a seventeen-year-old red horse, twelve sheep, four lambs, a four-year-old cow, an iron stove, etc
August 31, 1815 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Gagnier, P.R.:
Last will and testament of Joseph Charbonneau. It includes one-half of a land concession described above (28/07/1815) to their daughter Marie Louise Charbonneau and her husband Augustin Daoust
November 23,1824 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
MacKay, S.:
Transfer of six hundred and thirty seven 'livres' from Joseph Charbonneau, son to Augustin Daoust.
This is owed to Augustin Daoust by his father-in-law, Joseph Charbonneau, father as part of a succession.
February 22, 1831 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Berthelot, J.A.:
Receipt for 563 livres for the balance of 583 livres owed to Augustin Daoust by Joseph Charbonneau
October 10, 1850 St Eustache (District of Montreal)
Labelle, J:
Obligation by Joseph Daout to Pierre Charles Lajeunesse (second husband of Marie Louise Charbonneau, widow of Augustin Daout).
