MICHEL LAVOIE
(6 March 1700 – 8 April 1779)
Famed Royal Notary of Québec and husband to
Marie-Josèphte Fillion (1703-1774)
By the second generation of the Lavoie family’s arrival in
New France, René Lavoie (husband
of Marguerite Bouchard) was already a notary. We know René worked for the
Seminary of Quebec (Séminaire de Québec) and his
children received educations there. For example, their son Claude was ordained
a priest in Québec on 7 April 1715, but died prematurely on
13 February 1717.
Claude’s younger brother Michel Lavoie (born 6 March 1700) also was educated there but rather than entering the priesthood became famed for his work as a Royal Notary. He married Marie-Joseph Filion (Marie-Josèphte Fillion) in 1724 and together they had ten children.
On December 30, 1737, Michel was appointed royal notary for all the parishes located between Petite-Rivière-Saint-François and Malbaie, including l'Ile-aux-Coudres. Making the appointment was Gilles Hocquart, Knight, Counselor to the King, and Intendant of Justice, Police and Finances in New France and Louisiana.
Taking up the occupation in the spring of 1738, Michel became the first official notary of this region. Until his nomination, people had asked the priests in particular to write out their marriage contracts. At the time he was selected as notary, Michel lived in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François which belonged to the bailliage of Beaupré. A bailliage a local unit operating within a designated geographical area over which it has jurisdiction and responsibility.
As a notary, he did not have the right to charge for acts which involved members of his family or his wife’s relations. He was not really concerned about being paid for such services and we can see he was happy to voluntarily write up various contracts for family members. Here are some examples:
31 October 1744, concession by Joseph de
LaVoye with the Éboulements;
16 January 1745, marriage contract of Joseph de La Voye
et Marie-Charlotte Gagnon;
1751, marriage contract of Augustin
Boivin and Marie-Josette
de La Voye;
27 March 1752, procuration of Charlotte de La
Voye by Michel de La Voye;
16 September 1753, sale by Joseph Joseph de La
Voye with René de La Voye;
9 January 1754, marriage contract of Augustin
Girard and Françoise de La Voye;
1 September 1755, sale by Augustin de La
Voye with Louis Tremblay;
24 January 1756, procuration of Louis Gilbert by
Michel de La Voye;
17 November 1756, marriage contract of Pierre de La Voye
and Françoise Tremblay;
30 March 1758, sale by Marie La Voye with Joseph
La Voye;
20 April 1761, marriage contract of Étienne Gagnon
and Marie-Madeleine La Voye.
NOTE: “PROCURATION (Lat. procurare, to take care of), the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency. The word is applied to the authority or power delegated to a procurator, or agent, as well as to the exercise of such authority expressed frequently by procuration (per procurationem), or shortly per pro., or simply p.p. In ecclesiastical law, procuration is the providing necessaries for bishops and archdeacons during their visitations of parochial churches in their dioceses. Procuration at first took the form of meat, drink, provender, and other accommodation, but it was gradually compounded for a certain sum of money. Procuration is merely an ecclesiastical due, and is suable only in a spiritual court. In those dioceses where the bishops estates have vested in the ecclesiastical commissioners procurations are payable to the commissioners who, however, have abandoned their collection (Phillimore, Ecc. Law, 2nd ed., 1895, pp. 1051, 1060). Procuration is also used specifically for the negotiation of a loan by an agent for his client, whether by mortgage or otherwise, and the sum of money or commission paid for negotiating it is frequently termed procuration fee.” SOURCE: http://51.1911encyclopedia.org/P/PR/PROCURATION.htm
It will be noticed that the name Lavoie at that time was written de La Voye, De LaVoye, La Voye, etc. The orthography of the names was not fixed and they were written as that came. As notary, Michel Lavoie signed Lavoye. Beyond his occupation as a notary, he was also active in construction. For example, Michel is among the builders of the church at Tadoussac. He died at 80 years of age on April 8, 1779. His notarial records are preserved in the Québec National Archives (Archives nationales du Québec) at Sainte-Foy, online at http://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca/.
The surname Lavoie is commonly assumed to be French in origin, but researchers now think there is a good possibility that Lavoie were in the beginning German. One reason is the lack of documentation regarding Lavoie in France, particularly in Rouen, the place of origin of René de la Voye. Be that as it may, Lavoie family members for a long time bore the name De la Voye (meaning “of Voye” to designate those who lived close to the road or the way “de la voie”). This comes from the fact that the Romans built many sturdy roads in France which were called ways (“des voies”). A family which lived close to this way could well be designated as the family of the voye. Thus the name was created.
Taking into account the inexact orthography of the time, variances in writing the first name and surname of a person were common. For example, the name of René de la Voye (husband of Anne Godin) was found as follows: René de la Voye, Réné de la Voye, René delavoye, René de Lavoye et René La voie. The name of his son (also René de la Voye) is found as follows: René de la Voye and Renay de la Voye. So it is difficult to accurately determine when the prefix “de” (or "of") was first abandoned in the use of an individual’s name. It is commonly believed that this practice began with Jacques (son of René de la Voye and Anne Godin) about the middle of the 18th century. The spelling of the name then changed little-by-little from Lavoye to Lavoie. On the other hand, it would seem that certain family branches preserved this prefix. Even today, one can find individuals with the surname Delavoye.
Name: Michel LAVOIE or DELAVOYE
Sex: M
Birth: 6 MAR 1700 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
Christening: 8 MAR 1700 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
Death: 8 APR 1779 in Petite-Rivière, Charlevoix, Québec
Burial: 15 APR 1779 in Petite-Rivière, Charlevoix, Québec
Notes:
BIRTH-CHRISTENING: SS Peter and Paul parish records; Baie-Saint-Paul;
1681-1763; FHL film1293159
BIRTH-PARENTS-CHRISTENING-SPOUSE-DEATH: L'Abbey Cyprien Tanguay, Dictionnaire
Genelaogique Des Familles Canadiennes, 1608-1800; Volume 3, page 504.
MARRIAGE: Inventaire des contrats de mariages au greffe de Charlevoix
accompagne de documents precieux se rapportant a l'historie de Charlevoix et
du Saguenay, Frere Eloi-Gerard B.A.B.P.; Publications de la Societe Historique
du Saguenay; No. 8; FHL film 924469. Place of marriage not given.
Drouin lists the marriage as 10 May 1724 at Baie-Saint-Paul.
Genealogy des Familles des Comtes de Montmagny, L'Islet, and Bellechasse,
Talbot; v. 6-10; page 244; item 3; gives date of marriage contract with
Notaire Barbel as November 7, 1724.
1984 IGI gives the place of marriage as Baie-Sainte-Paul; however, I could not
find this marriage in either the index or the registers.
DEATH-BURIAL: St. François Xavier parish records; Petite-Rivière, Charlevoix,
Québec; FHL 1293413
Father: René de LaVoye b: 3 APR 1657 in Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, Québec, Canada
Mother: Marguerite Bouchard b: 21 OCT 1665 in Chateau Richer, Montmorency,
Québec
Marriage 1 Marie-Josèphte Fillion b: 1703 in Petite-Rivière, Charlevoix,
Québec
Married: 10 MAY 1724 in Baie Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
Married: 1724 in Petite-Rivière, Charlevoix, Québec
Sealing Spouse: 3 FEB 1970 in OK
Sealing Spouse: 18 JAN 1979 in WASHI
Children
Michel de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 14 AUG 1725 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix,
Québec
René de LaVoye or Lavoie b: MAR 1727 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
Pierre de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 30 AUG 1728 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix,
Québec
Marguerite de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 10 FEB 1730 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix,
Québec
Honoré-Joseph Marie de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 20 AUG 1731 in Baie Saint-Paul,
Charlevoix, Québec
Jean de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 27 FEB 1733 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
Marie-Josèphte Magdeleine de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 3 NOV 1734 in Québec
Madeleine de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 28 DEC 1736 in Petite-Rivière Saint-François,
Charlevoix, Québec
Marguerite-Geneviève de LaVoye or Lavoie b: 18 MAR 1738 in Petite-Rivière,
Charlevoix, Québec
Emérence (Emerencienne) de LaVoye or Lavoie b: JAN 1740 in Baie-Saint-Paul,
Charlevoix, Québec
A French version of much of this information is available at
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2443/l_notair.html
and
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2443/l_origin.html.
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