Our History

Nicolas Audet was baptized 12 July 1637 in the parish church of St-Pierre in Maulais, France. Today, this parish is part of the commune of Taizé, in the district of Thouars in the department of Deux-Sèvres. The son of Innocent Audet and Vincende Roy, he arrived in Canada around 1663 at the age of 26. Monsignor Laval performed his confirmation 23 March 1664. In the 1666 census, he is found working on Monsignor Laval's farm in St-Joachim, Cap Tourmente. He is already using the surname Lapointe.

On 22 June 1667, Monsignor Laval, as Lord of Beaupré and île d'Orléans, grants him a concession of land, consisting of three acres (arpents) of frontage along the Saint Lawrence River on the south side of the Island. Notwithstanding his obligation to get established on his land during the year, we find that on 13 October 1668, he is working as a porter at Monsignor Laval's Episcopal residence in Québec.

Magdeleine Després was born around 1655. Her parents, François and Magdeleine Le Grand, are from the parish of Saint-Sauveur de Paris. She is part of the so-called, Daughters of the King, recruited in France by Anne Gasnier in 1668-1669, as per Intendant Talon's wishes. It is therefore, during the afternoon of 30 August 1670, in the presence of Anne Gasnier and Élisabeth Estienne, who sign as witnesses, that Magdeleine who is 14 years old, accepts and promises to marry Nicolas by signing a marriage contract before notary, Romain Becquet. It is father Thomas Morel that celebrated their marriage 15 September 1670 in the parish church of Ste-Famille, île d'Orléans.

From the 1681 census, they owned about 15 acres of land ready for cultivation, six horned animals and a gun. An inventory performed 27 September 1706 by notary, Étienne Jacob, describes their total worth as being that of; seventy five acres of land, a house of 24 feet long by 18 feet wide finished in rough beams, including two full length rooms, two chimneys, a cellar and loft, and a barn and stable finished in planks.

Nicolas was buried 10 December 1700 in the cemetery of St-Jean, île d'Orléans. Magdeleine survives him by 12 years. Their farm carries the lot numbers 192 and 193 in the cadastral map of the parish of St-Jean, île d’Orléans.

Here are the children of our ancestors as published by Guy Saint-Hilaire in his 1986 publication called "Les Lapointe des Bergeronnes". Nicolas' farm was part of the parish of St-Famille, île d'Orléans until 1680, date at which the parish of St-Jean was created.

• Nicolas, born in 1671, died very young.
• Nicolas, born in 1672, married Marie-Louise Chabot, already a widow at 16 years old, in 1697, in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans. They have nine children. They are the ancestors of well known persons such as, Renaude Lapointe and Ernest Lapointe. Nicolas died in 1751 in St-François-du-Sud (Montmagny). Marie-Louise died in 1756.
• Pierre, born in 1674, married Marie Dumas in 1698 in St-Jean, île d'Orléans.
• Jean-Baptiste, born in 1675, married Marie-Louise Godbout in 1708 in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans. In 1698, his father donates him land located in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans. The family estate is then perpetuated from father to son. In 1979, while celebrating four parish tricentennials and family reunions on the island, some of their descendants got together to install a commemorative plaque in the local church.
• Madeleine, born in 1677, married Jean Pouliot in 1697 in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans.
• Joseph, here is the son who was baptized 27 October 1680 and whose name has disappeared from the registers. Certain genealogists have deducted that he was a third Nicolas, others say he was Joachim. For them, the second Nicolas would have died very young and Joseph would have been born in 1679, or in 1681. The choice of Joseph born in 1680 was the one retained by Guy Saint-Hilaire, who himself is a descendant on his mother's side. Joseph inherited the family estate and married Jeanne Pouliot in 1703 in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans. They are the ancestors of a long line of Lapointes located mainly in the Saguenay and Lac St-Jean areas.
• Marie, born in 1682, married Maurice Crépeau in 1702 in St-Jean, île d'Orléans.
• François, born in 1684, married Marguerite Bernard in 1709 in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans. A large part of their lineage is located in the Eastern Townships. The name is shared between Audet and Lapointe.
• Marguerite, born in 1686, married Louis Émery (Coderre) in 1722 in Boucherville, where she had accompanied the family of her brother Joachim. She lived the rest of her life in L'Assomption.
• Innocent, born in 1689, married Geneviève Lemelin in 1710 in St-Laurent, île d'Orléans.
• Joachim, born around 1691, married Louise-Hyacinthe Roberge in 1716, in St-Laurent, Île d'Orléans. They settled in Boucherville.

Late Gaston Audet-Lapointe
Raymond Audette
Late Alicia Dufour
Late André Lapointe
Late Paul J. Audette
Late Gilles LeBel
André Audette
Late Darcy Audet

AUDET ET VINCIT

"Il risque et réussit"

"He dares and he succeeds"

On the sunny sunday of September 23rd 2007 the first commemorative plaque  to pay hommage to our ancestors Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe and his wife Magdeleine Després was unveiled.

The "Parc des Ancêtres" is located near the Ste-Famille Parish Church and is under the responsibility of the "Fondation François-Lamy". The park pays hommage to ancestors of families which originaly established themselves on the Île d'Orléans island.

Mr. Alex Blouin, president of the Fondation François-Lamy gave ADNAL a warm welcome and we proceeded with the unveiling of the plaque.

Were present :  Gaston Audet-Lapointe, ADNAL founding president, Gilles LeBel, ADNAL honorary member who has actively participated at the Association foundation, , Louise Lapointe, ADNAL President, Robert Audet, one member of monument commitee and his wife Ann Costigan-Audet who is the official ADNAL translator.

During your next visit to Île d'Orléans island, we invite you to pay a visit to the "Parc des Ancêtres" park.  You will be proud of the hommage given to our ancestors Nicolas and Magdeleine.

Louise Lapointe, president.

Its with a lot of pride and emotion that the permanent commemorative plaque of our ancestor Nicolas  was inaugurated on October 3rd, 2008.

• Jean-Denis Lapointe : Project Manager
• Robert Audet : Project Collaborator
• Gaston Audet-Lapointe and Guy Saint-Hilaire : Text
• Jean-Denis and Lyette Lapointe : Plaque puchase and engraving
• Jean-Denis Lapointe : Site planning and Installation
• Daniel Blais : Collaboration for Property Transfer

Nicolas and Magdeleine have returned to a part of the land where they lived with their family until their death.  According to many residents on Île-d'Orléans, this the most beautiful commemorative monument on the island.  We have every reason to be proud of this!

An excerpt from the ADNAL 2007-2008 annual report

The idea of a trip to France was among the early objectives of the Association of the Descendants of Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe, but it was only during the annual reunion of 8-9 September, 2007, in Lac-Etchemin, that we began promoting it. The following 'Nicolas and Magdeleine' newsletters then continued to cover it and invited interested parties to submit their name.  At the end of July 2008, the advertising leaflet from the 'Groupe Voyages Québec' travel agency, giving details, prices and conditions of the trip was ready and was sent to the hundred or so people who previously gave their name, first to members of the ADNAL and then to all others, inviting them to register officially.  At the end of September 2008, all 45 seats were already reserved.  As planned, the trip departed from the Trudeau Airport in Montreal on May 8, 2009, and returned the following May 21st.

This trip, which represented the major activity of the year for the ADNAL, replaced the 2009 annual gatherings of members that had been held since 2003.  Almost all of the directors and several members of the ADNAL, totalling 45 persons, have taken part.  During 14 days, all parts of the trip on French soil were made in the company of a highly accomplished French guide, bringing participants to visit, among other, Chartres, the Perche region (Tourouvre, Mortagne), Lower Normandy (d-day beaches), Brittany (Mont-St-Michel and St Malo), the Aunis region (La Rochelle), Poitou (Maulais, Maranzais, and Angles), the castles of the Loire and Paris.  However, the highlight of the trip was our visit of Maulais on May 16, the place of origin of our french ancestor Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe, who came to New France in 1663.  Enchanted by his stay in Quebec and his meeting with our members in the Lac-Beauport area in the fall of 2008, the Mayor of Maulais welcomed our delegation of descendants of the ancestor Nicolas with open arms and we were exceptionally well received.

It is hoped that this trip will enhance the ties between the North American descendants of the ancestor Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe and his place of origin in France.  We find echoes of this trip in one of the 'Nicolas and Magdeleine' newsletters ... and in the the 'News' section of our website. 

Guy St-Hilaire