Julien Mercier and Marie Poulin
Julien Mercier and Marie Poulin
They are the two most prolific Merciers to have stepped foot in North America, who just happen to be my ancestors
I decided to do something a little different this week. This is going to be our publication’s commemorative 100 subscriber milestone post. Thanks to everyone that has supported us this far. It means the world to me! I had someone prompt me to look into my family’s history, and I was pleasantly surprised by how far back I could trace my genealogy.
The surname on my Father’s side is Mercier. Our roots are French. I was able to trace our line of Merciers all the way back to the 1600s when my 10th great-grandfather sailed on the “La Marguerite” across the Atlantic to New France, a trading post in Quebec. He was the first Mercier in our family to have immigrated to North America, and his descendants make up the overwhelming majority of all Merciers who reside in North America today.
Here is his story.
In summary, Julien Mercier was born in Tourouvre, in the County of Perche, on February 27, 1621. He is the son of François Mercier and Roberte Cornilleau and he was baptized on the day of his birth in the church of Saint-Aubin in Tourouvre.
Julien Mercier arrived in Quebec City on August 6, 1647. He married Marie Poulin on January 18, 1654, in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. They had 6 boys and 4 girls.
Five of their sons perpetuated the name of Mercier. Of all the Merciers with roots in New France, Quebec, are the descendants of the couple, Julien and Marie, and are the ones that currently populate America the most, at about 85%. Honoré Mercier (1840-1894), who was Prime Minister of Quebec, is part of this descendants.
On May 31, 1891, in memory of his trip to the land of his ancestor, Honoré Mercier made a donation for the realization of two stained glass windows for the church of Saint-Aubin in Tourouvre. Installed the following year, they perpetuate the memory of Julien's departure and the return of Honoré, his illustrious descendant.
Son of François Mercier and Roberte Cornilleau, Julien (also spelled Jullien and Jullian), the eighth child of the family, was baptized on February 27th, 1621 in the church of Saint-Aubin de Tourouvre, a village located in the Mortagne district of the diocese of Chartres, in Perche, in the Orne Department, France.
In 1627, at the age of 6, he was orphaned and raised by his brother Jean on an estate called “La Grandinière”. From that house, Julien left for New France in 1647.
Two days before his 26th birthday, on February 25, 1647, Julien accepted a three-year contract, made before Maître Choiseau notary, to come and work in New France.
He was still single at the time and he worked as a farm hand — he could not even sign his own name. His contract of engagement linked him to Noël Juchereau, Sieur des Chastelets of Quebec City. His wages were 75 pounds a year, 24 of which was to be paid immediately as a deduction for the first year, possibly for his passage.
He would receive one pair of shoes every year. He would also be fed and the contract included the laundry and ironing of his clothes. Transportation costs in both directions were to be paid by the employer.
In June 1647, he boarded the 70-ton sailing ship “La Marguerite”, owned by Pierre Le Gardeur and Noël Juchereau. He left the port of Aunis near La Rochelle with his companions: Jacques Le Roy, Jacques Poupar, Pierre Aloignon, Jacques Loiseau, Martin Huan, and Pierre Tremblay. The sailing ship arrived in Quebec City on August 6th after a long crossing of the Atlantic that lasted almost two months.
When Julien arrived in New France, the trading posts of Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and Ville-Marie (Montreal) were mere villages. The total immigrant population of New France was less than 2,000. The new colony lived under constant threat from the Iroquois.
At the first official census in 1666, nineteen years after Julien’s arrival, the total population of the colony was 3,418 inhabitants distributed as follows: Quebec City 555, Beaupré 678, Beauport 172, île d'Orléans 471, Sillery 217, Montreal 584 and Trois-Rivières 461.
On October 7, 1652 Julien signed a marriage contract at the Poulin house, before Notary Aubert, with Marie Poulin, daughter of Claude Poulin and Jeanne Mercier. The couple, who had married in Quebec City on August 8, 1639 had returned to France in 1641, but had later come back to Quebec City in 1648. The witnesses were Charles Boivin and Guillaume Pépin.
The contract stipulated that the future father-in-law, a carpenter by trade, was to build Julien a barn 40 feet long by 20 feet wide and 8 feet high below the beams and that Marie would have linens and crockery as needed.
The future wife (Marie) was only 11 years old and consequently, the marriage would not happen until January 18, 1654 "following the publication of the banns on December 28, 1653, and on January 8th, and 11th, 1654; Father Paul Ragueneau, a Jesuit, had the marriage certificate filed at Notre-Dame-de-Québec, writing that he had solemnly married them in the home of Robert Guiguier.”
Marie Poulin, born in Trois-Rivières on January 1, 1641, would be one of the very few ancestors to have been born in New France, then spent her childhood in France, and later found a family in North America.
Marie Jeanne Poulin (1641-1716) was baptized at Trois-Rivières on the first of January, 1641. Marie Jeanne's godfather, Jacques Hertel de la Fresnière, was the owner of two hundred arpents of land at that place since December 16, 1633.
On October 18, 1676, after 22 years of marriage, Julien died at the age of 55. Marie was pregnant with twin girls who were born four months later.
In 1682, after being a widow for almost six years, Marie decided to remarry, with Charles Monmainier, also known as Jouvent. He was her son Jean's father-in-law.
They lived for several years at Ste-Anne de Beaupre, and then they moved to Quebec City where Charles owned a home and property. Charles died July 3, 1716 and Marie Poulin Mercier Monmainier died July 16, 1716.
In 1987, the AMAN (Association des Mercier de l'Amérique du Nord) erected a commemorative plaque in memory of Julien Mercier, Marie Poulin and their children. Located in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, this commemorative plaque was installed on the plot of land that Julien Mercier cleared to settle there.
Here’s an image of their home with the commemorative plaque on the lower right-hand side.
My family are decedents of his son, Jean Mercier, whose wife was named Barbe Monmainier. He is my 9th great-grandfather, and was born in 1667.
7 generations later, my 2nd great-grandfather was born. Joseph Sylvere Emilien Mercier, who was born in Quebec in 1899, moved to New Britain, Connecticut sometime in the 1920’s (my home state) which is when the Mercier’s planted their roots in the States.
Following Emilien is my great Grandfather, Roland Mercier Sr, who served in WWII after becoming a naturalized citizen in Connecticut.
He had 3 sons. My Grandfather Victor, my Uncle Roland Jr., and my Uncle Wayne. Here’s a photo of my grandfather who was a fire fighter for 25 years in Bristol Connecticut. (yes the home of ESPN)
My grandfather had two sons, Todd Mercier and Michael Mercier. My father is Todd, who currently resides in Bristol, Connecticut.
And why I wanted to share all of this information with y’all, is not only because of the intriguing history of my family dating all the way back to 1600s Quebec, but because my wife Ali and I are within a week away from continuing the long line of male Merciers. Our son, who will be named Eli Mercier, is due on November 6th! (Or sooner) We are elated to bring another life into this world after we had our first, Freya Mercier, back in 2020.
This, for me, was a way to pay homage to all that came before me, and to ensure the preservation of my family’s history as we continue to grow the Mercier family tree.
That being said, as we are bringing a new life into this world very soon, I may be absent some of the time while we go through this transitionary period. So please bear with me. But we also hit 100 subscribers today, and I wanted to thank all of you who have supported me and our contributors in this endeavor.
I commend you. Jeremy ! My father Roland Mercier Sr and his Father Emilien and mother Marion would be amazed at what you put together. All these names came alive once more because of your research. You my friend are one of a kind and I for one appreciate your work. Family History is vital to know where your roots came from. My Father Roland Mercier SR had two brothers Ferdinand and Andrew Mercier and I can say the Mercier Family who lived in the Cold Flat on Washington Street in New Britain CT were very close , It was a very tough life for my Grandparents and it was very hard for them to leave their homeland Qubec Canada in hoping for a better life in our great Country. I still can see my Grandfather PEPE singing French Songs sitting in his rocking chair and my MEME laughing with her three sons Roland, Ferdinand and Andy every Sunday Thanks buddy !!!!