Rene Lepage of Holy-Claire

Rene Lepage of Holy-Claire (born the April 10th 1656 with Ouanne, Burgundy - died the August 4th 1718 with Rimouski, Quebec) is the Seigneur - founder of the town of Rimouski to the Quebec.

The origin

Born in the small village from Ouanne, close to Auxerre in Burgundy, Rene Lepage emigrates in News-France, with his mother Reine Loury and his aunt Constance Lepage, between 1670 and 1674. It joined there his/her German father and his uncle Louis, installed on batches of the current parish of St-François, with the north-eastern point of the island of Orleans, close to Quebec. June 10th, 1686, Rene Lepage links its intended for Marie-madeleine Gagnon, 15 years old, of whom it will have 17 children!

The acquisition of Rimouski

Like several of his fellow-citizens, Rene dreams to build a stronghold worthy of this name for his family. With this intention, it leaves the island of Orleans to go to live on the coast. March 17th, 1693, the Governor of News-France, Louis de Buade, Count de Frontenac, concedes to him in commoner's condition a ground located behind the Fief of Espinay at the river of the South, which it makes call Holy-Claire. It is as from this moment that he adds this particle to his name, as it was the fashion at the time, even without ennoblement.

Too much far away from the River the St. Lawrence, it gives up this project of colonization the following year. Indeed, on July 10th, 1694, Rene Lepage of Co.-Claire exchanges her ground of the island of Orleans (bequeathed by his/her Germain father) to Augustin Rouer of Cardonnière, wire of a merchant of Quebec, for the Seigniory of Rimouski. This last, owner of the concession since 1688 does not intend obviously to leave the area of Quebec to go to settle so far.

The expansion of the Seigniory

They is two years later that Rene comes to install his family with Rimouski. His wife, Marie-madeleine Gagnon, 15 years her junior, follows it with her the first 4 children: Pierre of St-Barnabe, born in 1687 and which will succeed to him; Marie, born in 1689; Louis of Co.-Claire, born in 1690, which will be ordered priest and will become the future Lord of Terrebonne; the finally Guillaume, youngest, who will die in low age in 1701, towards the 10 years age.

In 1696, they are the first inhabitants of this seigniory, with some other parents. In order to leave in heritage advantageous grounds to his children, Rene thus acquires, with other close relatives, Pierre Lessard and Gabriel Thibierge inter alia, other pieces of seigniories, extending from Large-Mongrel, the Handle-with-Hulls, Point-with-Father, St-Barnabe until the Hastened Rivière. All these transactions are supplemented about 1701. One thus realizes that Lepage of Co.-Claire did not want to waste time to establish its family durably. It is thus, at this date, the Lord of a territory of more than 50 km of face on the littoral of the Fleuve the St. Lawrence.

The heritage

Children of Rene Lepage, four girls will become nuns, her oldest son, Pierre of St-Barnabe, will take again the seigniory and will clear it with the profit of its family. Its second boy, Louis, priest and canon, were born in St-François from the island from Orleans. It will acquerra the seigniory of Terrebonne on September 2nd, 1720. Quickly, it made build along the Rivière of the Thousand-Islands, a church with presbytery and, especially, four mills with flour and a mill with saw, which will be the departure of an important industrial center of the News-France, after those of Quebec and Montreal.

The descendants of Rene Lepage have finally essaiemés a little everywhere in North America, of the Canada until the south-west of the the United States for more than 320 years…

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