GUILLAUME COUTURE (COUSTURE) (1617 – 1701)

and

ANNE ESMARD (ÉMARD, AYMARD) (1627-1700)

Guillaume Couture (Cousture) is one of our great Quebec ancestors who survived Indian torture and became a hero helping stop an English invasion. He's another of the interesting founders of Quebec, also a 7th Great Grandfather to the generation of Vernon, Lila, Edward, Valoie, and Colleen. As you can see he was a linguist, peacemaker, and judge. He also happened to survive terrible torture and prevent an English naval invasion.

Now to our story.......

Guillaume Couture was born in 1617 in the Parish of Saint Goddard in Rouen, the capital of Normandy. His late father, also named Guillaume, taught his son to be a carpenter like himself. His mother was Madeleine Mallet and he had a sister Marie. Sometime before 1640 Guilllaume left home and hearth and emigrated to Canada.

In 1640 Master Carpenter Couture found his vocation as a "donne," or lay missionary, on the staff of the Jesuit Fathers for the Huron missions in New France. However, he was obliged to renounce his worldly possesions. So while at Quebec on 26 June, 1641, before the Notary Martial Piraube, he made an irrovocable gift to his family back in France of "that two-thirds of his father's inheritance left to him, in the parish of Haye Aubray in Normandie."

From this time on, the good Guillaume labored among the Hurons. Father Jogues, on his return to Quebec in 1642 after six years among the Indians, mentioned Couture as one of his traveling companions. We may appreciate some of the difficulties inherent in such traveling when we think of the impenetrable forests, the fragile canoes, the numberless portages, the voracious mosquitoes, not to mention the ever-menacing Iroquois. Up until this time however, Guillaume had not met any Iroquois. Before long his luck would run out.

After 15 days in Quebec, a little band of 40 men went up river to Trois-Rivieres for a few days, outfitting for the return trip to the missions. They set out on the first day of August in 1642. After traveling 30 miles, paddling up river against the current, they made camp near Lake Saint-Pierre. The second day out they were attacked by an Iroquois hunting party and straight away the Hurons in the party took off.

"Another Frenchman named Guillaume Couture, seeing the Hurons run away, escaped with them and since he was swift, he was soon beyond capture by the enemy: but remorse seized him for having forsaken his Father (Jogues) and his comrade (Surgeon Rene Goupil, now a canonized Saint). He stopped short, deliberating with himself whether he should go on or go back. He about-faced to return and immediately was confronted by five Iroquois. One of them, a Mohawk Chief, aimed at him with his arquebus. The gun misfired, but the Frenchman in his turn did not miss the Indian - he shot him stone dead on the spot. The other 4 Indians fell on him with the rage of demons. Having stripped him bare as your hand, they bruised him with heavy blows of their clubs. Then they tore out his fingernails with their teeth - crushing the bleeding ends in order to cause him more pain. Then they pierced one of his hands with a javelin and led him, tied and bound in this sad plight to the place where we were."

The trip into Iroquois territory took 13 days, a true "Way of the Cross." As for himself, Guillaume "suffered almost insupportable torment: hunger, stifling heat, the pain of our wounds, which for not being dressed, became putrid even to breeding worms. Then we encountered a party of 200 Iroquois braves returning from a hunt. They were gleeful on seeing us and formed two facing lines of 100 on a side, armed themselves with sticks of thorns and made us pass all naked between them down a road of fury and anguish where they let go upon us with numerous strong blows."

After arriving at their village and being subjected to repeated indignities, "one of these barbarians, having noted that Guillaume Couture, whose hands were torn apart, had not yet lost any of his fingers, siezed one of his hands and tried to cut off an index finger with a dull knife, and as he could not succeed therein, he twisted it and in tearing at it, he pulled sinew out of the arm, to the length of a span."

Finally the prisoners were allowed to live and their tortures stopped because the Mohawks believed that they could be useful in trade for making peace. Father Jogues and Rene Goupil were kept in a small distant camp but the Indians sent Guillaume to a larger village. Here this courageous young man was adopted by an old squaw who had lost her brave in battle. Thus he was protected and treated as a member of the tribe. One can sum up this period of disruption in the life of Guillaume Couture thusly: "Vigorous, active, indefatable, able to stand the worst misery, yet always content, habituated in all the arts dear to the savages, excellent shot, swift runner, capable of traveling the woods or paddling a canoe, this Norman, intrepid as are all Normans, was not slow to emulate the spirit of his new companions. He conformed to their ways, learned their language so much and so well that they ended up by admitting him into the councils of the nation. While his friends deplored their lot, Couture was enthroned in dignity in the midst of the Indian Sachems."

In the spring of 1645, after three years of captivity, Couture saw the arrival of an Indian who had been captured but sent back by the French Governor Charles Huault de Montmagny. This Iroquois brought a message that Ononthio was desirous of negotiating a peace. (Editor's Note: Ononthio was the name the aborigines gave Governor Montmagny, who awed by his imposing stature and dignity, called him Ononthio meaning "High Mountain" --also a translation of his name, Montmagny, Mons magnus). Two Mohawk delegates were sent back with Guillaume Couture to Trois-Rivieres to parlay. As for his homecoming, "As soon as he was recognized everyone threw their arms around him, looking on him as a man resurrected from the dead . . ."

Guillaume, now a free man, returned with the emissaries in order to make a peace treaty acceptable to the Mohawk tribe. Returning in the spring of 1646 he was celebrated everywhere as the artisan of peace. However, he would not be content until he had revisited the Huron missions and so he went back to them with Father Pijart.

Evidently the good Guillaume had learned the Indian dialects during his trips and his captivity. He was a precise interpreter, a faithful companion to the missionaries, and a powerful ambassador of the young colony accredited to the American Indians. In 1646, the Jesuit Father Buteux put on a festival in honor of Couture at Trois-Rivieres, and gave him the Indian name of Achirra, to their great delight.

The government of that time was forever calling on the services of Couture: in 1657, in 1661, in 1663 and in 1666 they sent him in Albany, New Netherlands. In 1665 Guillaume accompanied Father Henri Nouvel to the territory of the Papinachois, along the north coast. Then on another expedition with some missionaries he was shipwrecked not far from a point of land nearby Rimouski, called the Pointe-au-Pere.

FATHER OF A PEOPLE

Guillaume Couture asked to be relieved of his vows as a lay missionary and subsequently, on April 26, 1646, the Journal of the Jesuits mentioned that the Council of the Order announced that it had unanimously approved of Guillaume's marriage. It was on November 28, 1649 that he married Anne Esmard (her surname is also commonly spelled Émard and Aymard). She was baptized on October 22, 1627, in Saint Andre de Noirt, Poitou. Anne was the daughter of the late Jean and Marie Bineau. Anne had two sisters in Canada: Barbe, wife of Gilles Michel dit Taillon, and after him, of Oliver Letardif; and Madeleine, wife of Zacharie Cloutier. The wedding of Guillaume and Anne took place in the house of Couture, at Pointe Levy, in the presence of Father Jean LeSeur, Chaplain of the Hospitalliers of Quebec. The couple engendered ten children: 6 boys and 4 girls. Reproduced here is the listing from Jetté:

THE RESPECTED CITIZEN

On May 15, 1647, Guillaume Couture was granted a concession of 5 arpents of river frontage by 40 arpents deep. He cleared and settled this land at Pointe levy and it became the ancestral home. His first neighbor was Francois Bissot; their property was separated by a brook. The Jesuits haad some land nearby to the east on which was built a modest shelter called the "Cabin of the Fathers." The first Mass was probably celebrated there on April 12, 1648 by Father Pierre Bailloquet. Then in 1667, they built a beautiful church on the land of Bissot, where the first priest in residence was the Abbot Philippe Boucher. It was known as Saint Joseph up until 1690. The second neighbor of Guillaume, about 1651, was Charles Cadieu dit Courville, the fellow who operated an eel fishery.

Guillaume also had a lot on which he built a house of 24 feet frontage by 40 feet deep, in the Rue Sous-le-Fort in the lower town of Quebec City, on the Place Royale. The census of 1667 tells us that he had 20 arpents under cultivation and 6 animals. During his long absences hit tenant farmer Guillaume Durand looked after things for him.

As it was necessary to rally to the defense of the colony when called upon to do so, about 1666 our Guillaume was named a Captain of Militia on the Lauzon coast, a very important responsibility at that time. In 1681 he had four field cannon in his force and it was reported that in 1690, at the age of 73, the Captain and his men opposed the advance of Phipps and his troops along the Lauzon coast. This Captain of Militia, because he could also read and write, was required to carry out the orders and proclamations of the Governor, command the troops, preside over census enumerations and convene citizen assemblies.

Moreover, Guillaume as Chief Magistrate of the same territory up until his death. We know that our ancestors were quite capable of committing misdemeanors and it was the duty of the Magistrate to reconcile problems and differences before they went up to the Sovereign Council. The Magistrate became, in most of the litigations, judge, prosecutor, jury and arbiter. He even performed the duty of what today would be called the coroner.

TO THEIR GLORY

It was the mother who was the first to go. Anne Esmard was buried at Levis on November 18, 1700. Then the patriarch Couture entered the hospital of Quebec on March 31, 1701, where he died the following 4th of April. The Notary Lepailleur took an inventory of his belongings on November 14th that same year.

Let us not forget that Guillaume Couture, in spite of all the service he rendered to the colony of New France, did not ask for nor did he receive any title of nobility or special privilege. He had only that given by the King of France to all those who had 10 or more children - a family allowance of 300 livres annually, and even that ended in 1681. During his lifetime Guillaume thought only of others; the indigenous, the French, his children. He had but on goal: Peace and Charity.

In 1947 a great celebration marked the 300th anniversary of Guillaume Couture at Pointe Levy. On this occasion the "Biography of Heroes", by Joseph-Edmond Roy was republished.

In addition to the surnames of Bellerive and Lamond, the family names of Crevier, De la Cressonniere and Lafrensnaie were adopted by some descendants of our ancestor.

More photos of the memorial statue of Guillaume Couture in Levis, Québec, Canada

From "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. LaForest

-----------------------------
Another source for GUILLAUME COUSTURE says: The name "Couture" or "Seams" in old French means a plowed field, a cultivated and sown ground. In the same way, a "couturier" or "dressmaker" is like a "cultivateur" or "farmer."

All the Couture family of America descend from Guillaume Cousture, who arrived in New-France about 1640. Guillaume Cousture was baptized on January 14, 1618, son of Guillaume Cousture and Madeleine Mallet, originating from the Saint-Godard parish of Rouen, in Normandy, now the current department of Seine-Maritime. Guillaume as a young person chooses work for the Jesuits. As others do at the time, he offers his services to the Jesuits in exchange of a lodging and food. It is the beginning of an adventurous life where he comes very close on several occasions to a premature death. By1641, Cousture had learned several Indian dialects, which makes him an essential asset for the young colony. Moreover, his talents as a carpenter are very appreciated. He builds a vault in a mission named "Sainte-Marie", close to the Georgienne bay ("baie Georgienne").

Cousture leaves Three-Rivers (Trois-Rivières) to take part in an expedition to the Huron ("la Huronie) in 1642, in the company of the Catholic priests Isaac Jogues and René Goupil and 19 Huron Indians. Near lake Saint-Pierre (lac Saint-Pierre), the small troop is attacked by a group of approximately 80 Iroquois. There is combat. The battle is lost even though Cousture mortally shoots one of the chiefs with his arquebus (editor's note: An arquebus is a smoothbore firearm of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was usually fired by a matchlock, and was ordinarily somewhat smaller than the military muskets of the time).

As reprisals, the Iroquois catch some of the French and Huron and proceed to torture them. Jogues, the Catholic priest, recounts some of the maltreatments which Cousture was subjected to. "Cousture, who in the combat had killed one their chiefs, is exposed to all their fury. They stripped him and beat him with blows of sticks. They tore off his nails, crushed his fingers with their teeth and passed a sword through his hand. A savage removes even half of his right index finger. The pain is all the more severe as the savage was using, not a knife, but a piece of shell. As the torturer could not cut the nerve easily, and the shell was slipping, he twisted it and tears while cutting with such violence that the nerve emerges out of the arm the length of a palm. The arm swelled prodigiously to the elbow."

Then Cousture is sent to another village and put in adoption to a family (possibly the family of the man which he had killed). The two Jesuits underwent other atrocious tortures and Goupil is casually assassinated by an axe blow because he made the sign of the cross on the head of an Iroquois child. Jogues is also later killed along with several other Jesuits, including father Jean de Brébeuf. These good men, with unshakeable faith, are known today under the name of "Canadian Martyr Saints" (Saints Martyrs Canadiens").

As for Cousture, he is adopted by an Iroquois widow who treats him like a member of the tribe. He learns the language and the habits of these people and becomes so appreciated that he soon sits on the tribe's council. After three years in captivity, the brave Norman ("le valeureux Normand") goes to Three-Rivers (Trois-Rivières) with two deputies to sign a peace treaty between the two people. At first they didn't know Cousture who after all had been captured by the Iroquois and was believed dead, but "As soon as they recognized him, each one rushes to embrace him ("chacun se jette à son col"), a man back from the dead."

In 1647, Cousture is established in Lauzon, where today you can find his statue. Cousture marries Anne Aymard or Esmard on November 18, 1649, in his home in Point Lévy ("Pointe Lévy"). She originated in Niort, Poitou, France, the daughter of Jean Aymard or Esmard and Marie Buneau. She is the sister of Madeleine Esmard married to Zacharie Cloutier's son, and of Barbe Esmard married to Olivier LeTardif. This marriage gives ten children. Cousture, whose experiment among the Amerindians proved very useful, is named (about 1666) the captain of militia for the coast of Lauzon.

It is recounted that when he was 73 years old, the captain and his men prevent the unloading of troops loyal to British Admiral William Phipps at the coast of Lauzon. (Editor's Note: Sir William Phipps, a former ship's carpenter with 20 brothers and five sisters who struck it rich by raising a Spanish ship laden with treasure and by marrying a wealthy widow, became governor of Massachusetts. Acting to protect English interests, he sought to drive the French from Quebec. In 1690, as an admiral in the British Navy, Phipps set course for the famed fortress with 2,200 soldiers and sailors on 30 vessels. However, his expedition proved a failure).

Cousture is finally named judge seneschal ("juge sénéchal" or chief administrative judge), a post which he occupies until his death on April 4, 1701.

Of the six sons of Guillaume Cousture, Guillaume is the only one who preserves the original surname (from which the "s" is disappeared today). Jean-Baptist, the elder one, becomes the ancestor of the Lamonde family. Charles takes the name of Lafrenaye, Eustace takes that of Bellerive and Joseph-Odger that of Cressonnière. Joseph-Odger Cousture marries Jeanne-Marie Huard in 1695, daughter of Jean Huard and Anne-Marie Amiot. Their daughter, Louise Couture becomes Pierre Bourassa's wife in 1733.

Anne Esmard is buried on January 15, 1700, at Lévis Point ("la Pointe de Lévis"). Guillaume followed a little later, but before November 14, 1701.

The above is a translation of GUILLAUME COUSTURE. SOURCE: http://membres.lycos.fr/ancetre/cousture.htm

Le nom "couture" en ancien français est un champ labouré, une terre cultivée et ensemencée. De la même façon, un "couturier" est un cultivateur.

Toute la famille Couture d'Amérique est issue de Guillaume Cousture, arrivé en Nouvelle-France vers 1640. Guillaume Cousture est baptisé le 14 janvier 1618, fils de Guillaume Cousture et de Madeleine Mallet, originaire de la paroisse Saint-Godard de Rouen, en Normandie, département actuel de la Seine-Maritime. Le jeune Guillaume choisit de se mettre au service des Jésuites. Comme plusieurs le font à l'époque, il offre ses services aux Jésuites en échange d'un hébergement et de nourriture. C'est le début d'une vie aventureuse où il frôle plusieurs fois la mort. Dès 1641, Cousture a apprit plusieurs dialectes indiens, ce qui lui donne un atout indispensable pour la jeune colonie. De plus, ses talents de charpentier sont très appréciés. Il construit une chapelle dans une mission nommée " Sainte-Marie ", près de la baie Georgienne.

Cousture quitte Trois-Rivières, pour une expédition vers la Huronie en 1642, en compagnie des pères Isaac Jogues et René Goupil et de 19 indiens Hurons. Aux environs du lac Saint-Pierre, la petite troupe est attaquée par un groupe d'environ 80 Iroquois. Il y a combat, Cousture atteint mortellement l'un des chefs avec son arquebuse, mais la bataille est quand même perdue.

En guise de représailles, les Iroquois s'en prennent aux Français et aux Hurons et les torturent. Le père Jogues raconte les sévices que subit alors Cousture. " Cousture, qui dans le combat avait tué un de leurs chefs, est exposé à toute leur fureur. Ils le déshabillèrent et le meurtrirent à coups de bâtons. Ils lui arrachèrent les ongles, lui broyèrent les doigts avec leurs dents et lui passèrent une épée à travers la main. Un sauvage lui enlève même la moitié de l'index droit. La douleur est d'autant plus grande que le sauvage se servit, non d'un couteau, mais d'un morceau de coquillage. Comme il ne pouvait couper le nerf trop dur et trop glissant, il le tordit et lui arrache en tirant avec une telle violence que le nerf surgit hors du bras de la longueur d'une palme. Le bras enfla prodigieusement jusqu'au coude. "

Puis Cousture est envoyé dans un autre village et mis en adoption dans une famille (possiblement la famille de l'homme qu'il avait tué). Les deux Jésuites subirent d'autres tortures atroces et Goupil est lâchement assassiné d'un coup de hache parce qu'il a fait le signe de la croix sur la tête d'un enfant iroquois. Jogues est également tué plus tard comme plusieurs autres Jésuites dont le Père Jean de Brébeuf. Ces braves hommes, à la foi inébranlable, sont aujourd'hui connus sous le nom de " Saints Martyrs Canadiens ".

Quant à Cousture, il est adopté par une veuve iroquoise qui le traite comme un membre de la tribu. Il apprend la langue et les coutumes de ces gens et devient un membre si apprécié qu'il siège bientôt au conseil de bande. Après trois ans de captivité, le valeureux Normand se rend à Trois-Rivières avec deux délégués, pour signer la paix entre les deux peuples. On hésite à reconnaître Cousture qui est vêtu à l'iroquoise et qu'on croyait mort, mais " Sitôt qu'il est reconnu, chacun se jette à son col, en le regardant comme un homme ressuscité. "

En 1647, Cousture s'établit à Lauzon, où veille aujourd'hui sa statue. Il épouse, le 18 novembre 1649, dans sa maison de Pointe Lévy, Anne Aymard ou Esmard, originaire de Niort, dans le Poitou, fille de Jean et de Marie Buneau. Elle est la sœur de Madeleine Esmard mariée à Zacharie Cloutier fils, et de Barbe Esmard mariée à Olivier LeTardif. Ce mariage donne dix enfants. Cousture, dont l'expérience parmi les Amérindiens est très utile. Il est nommé vers 1666, capitaine de milice de la côte de Lauzon. On raconte qu'alors âgé de 73 ans, le capitaine et ses hommes empêchent le débarquement des troupes de Phipps à la côte de Lauzon. Cousture est finalement nommé juge sénéchal, poste qu'il occupe jusqu'à sa mort le 4 avril 1701.

Des six fils de Guillaume Cousture, Guillaume est le seul qui conserve le nom de famille original (dont le "s" est aujourd'hui disparu). Jean-Baptiste, l'aîné, devient l'ancêtre de la famille Lamonde. Charles prend le nom de Lafrenaye, Eustache prend celui de Bellerive et Joseph-Odger celui de La Cressonnière. Ce dernier est celui qui nous lie à Guillaume Cousture, dans cette généalogie. Joseph-Odger Cousture épouse en 1695, Jeanne-Marie Huard, fille de l’ancêtre Jean Huard et d’Anne-Marie Amiot. Leur fille, Louise Couture épouse en 1733, Pierre Bourassa.

Anne Esmard est inhumée le 15 janvier 1700, à la Pointe de Lévis. Guillaume l’a suivit un peu plus tard, mais, avant le 14 novembre 1701.

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http://membres.lycos.fr/ancetre/cousture.htm
Guillaume Couture (Guillaume & Madeleine Malet)

de St-Godard de Rouen, Normandie, France; 51 ans au rec.67, à Lauzon, capitaine de milice; 64 ans au rec.81, à Lauzon, charpentier; arrivé 26-06-1641, donné des Jésuites, puis interprète; juge sénéchal de la côte de Lauzon 26-11-1673 à 1678 et 1682 à sa mort
d 04-04-1701 Hôtel-Dieu Québec (94 ans)
m Lauzon 16-11-1649 Québec (ct 18-11-1649 Audouart)
Anne Émard (Jean & Marie Bineau)
b 22-10-1627 St-André de Niort, Poitou, France
d 17 s 18-01-1700 Lauzon
Enfants:
Jean-Baptiste
n 06 b 14-11-1650 Québec
Anne
n 22-01 b 10-04-1652 Québec
Louis
n 29-08 b 05-09-1654 Québec
d après rec.81
Marguerite
n 29-02 b 07-05-1656 Québec
d s 28-03-1690 Québec
m ct 19-02-1680 Duquet
Jean Marsolet de Bellechasse (Nicolas & Marie Barbier)
Marie
n 18 b 20-06-1658 Québec
d 22-07-1702 Hôtel-Dieu Québec
m 12-09-1678 Québec (ct 07-09-1678 Becquet)
François Vessier dit Laverdure (Léonard & Marie Haubert)
de Mezel, Auvergne, France; 27 ans au rec.66, à Montréal, domestique de Pierre Picoté; 36 ans au rec.81, à la basse ville Québec; confirmé mai 1664 Montréal; pâtissier et cuisinier
d 06 basse ville s 07-06-1683 Québec (46 ans)
m 28-06-1683 Québec
Claude Bourget (Jean & Marie Gobillon)
de Blois, Orléanais, France; 25 ans au rec.81, à la basse ville Québec, domestique de Claude Aubert; 30 ans en 1683; 63 ans au rec.16, à la basse ville Québec; pâtissier et cuisinier
d 16 s 17-10-1720 Québec (75 ans)
Charles
n 29-11-1659 b 16-06-1660 Québec
Guillaume
n 11 b 12-10-1662 Québec
Louise
n 19-03 b 01-03-1665 Québec
Eustache
n 24 b 25-03-1667 Québec
Joseph-Auger
dit La Cressonnière
n 27 b 29-07-1670 Québec
m 13-06-1695 Lauzon (ct 12-06-1695 Métru)
Jeanne-Marie Huard (Jean & Anne-Marie Amiot)
n Lauzon b 06-08-1674 Québec

Links :

Click on the links for an excellent site about Guillaume Couture (in French) with photos and reproductions of important historical documents. For a direct connection to the more important records click on the graphic to the right:

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