FRANCOIS TÉTTU

 

Married to Charlotte Bonenfant. — Twice heir. - What a man it was. - His wife. — lyes eighteen children. — Their pro- factions.— Testaments. — Act of faith and homage. — The ser- boasts Sale. — Golden weddings and diamond weddings.

 

My grandfather, François Têtu, was born in St-Thomas; b. on October 19, 1772. His father was Félix Têtu I, his mother Marie-Madeleine Vallée

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On July 12, 1793, he married, at Rivière Ouelle, Charlotte Bonenfant aged fourteen and eleven months €t daughter of Jean-Baptiste Bonenfant and Marie Côté; this was Mr. Bernard Panet, the parish priest, who blessed the marriage. At that time, Father Bonenfant was retired Business. Present at the ceremony: Félix Têtu, the father of the husband, his brothers Félix, Jean-Baptiste and Etienne- ne, his sister Marie-Angélique, his half-brothers Charles and Louis Belanger; the wife's uncles, Philippe and Louis Côté, his brother-in-law Louis Gagnon, master cantor, Jacques Perrault, lord, friend of Father Bonenfant, as well than his wife Thérèse-Esther Haussman; Antoine Be- sançon and Louise Panet (i), his wife, François Dam- bourgès, friend of the husband, and Pierre Casgrain, brother-in-law of the wife.

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The newlyweds stayed in the house of the Father Bonenfant, which, as I will say elsewhere, was south of the church, on the banks of the Rivière-Ouelle. It is now the property of Nathanaël Dubé. On October 21 of the same year, 1793, Mr. Bonenfant and his wife donated their property to their sons-in-law and daughter, by a deed passed before the notary Lelièvre and signed by Father Félix Têtu, J.-B. Bonenfant senior, and J.-B. Bonenfant son, Marie Côté, Frs Têtu, Charlotte Bonenfant, François Boucher and Bernard Panet, priest. These last two had been called as witnesses to this important aunt transaction. Here is the summary:

 

(i) She was Bishop Panet's sister. She was married at the Rivière- Ouelle on February 13, 1787. Twenty-one signatures in the act in the registers.

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Were present MJ-B. Bonenfant, former merchant, . . and Dame Marie Côté. . which considering that they are of an advanced age and cannot comfortably reduce their business, nor cultivate the goods that it has pleased God give them, and moreover would like to witness their affection and friendship towards Mr. François Têtu and Dame Charlotte Bonenfant, their daughter and son-in-law, and the compensate for the care and services that they have until present free of charge returned the said Mr. and Mrs. Têtu, they have hereby donated .... Here is the enumeration- ration of goods thus donated:

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I ° Location of nine to ten arpents in area on which the donor house was built; the said house being comprised of:

 

2° A ground circuit at the place called the point of Madame Boisvert, triangular in shape; this circuit was to be part of what is called the Domain. He was bounded to the N.-E. and SW at Rivière-Ouelle and S.-E. to Louis Gagnon, (i)

 

3° A land of four arpents in frontage by sixteen in depth south of Rivière-Ouelle.

 

4° An arpent of frontage bounded to the north by the river Saint-Laurent and falling to the south on the estate.

 

5° Another land of nine poles and six feet on a depth which is not clearly designated, the- which must have been at the top of the river.

 

(i) Mr. François Têtu sold this property as well as the Bon- Child and Salmon Fishing to Mr. Pierre Casgrain, September 8, 1802. Study by Boisseau.

 

6° A salmon fishery, located at the place called PAnse to moose^ the donors reserving the usufruct of the called fishing.

 

7° The sixth of a sixth, in land and fishing at porpoise, at Pointe de la Rivière-Ouelle, plus a fourteenth of a sixth, plus half of a small part and half of another small part.

 

8° Furniture, linen, silverware, etc., etc.  The donees had to pay a life annuity in return, consisting of wheat, oats, coffee, wine, rum, pork, mutton, etc., etc. In addition, they obliged themselves to give each year six bushels of wheat and the sum of thirty-six pounds to Miss Josephte Beaupré, nicknamed Godmother^ excellent and faithful servant of M. Bonenfant. His penny come is still alive in the family. After death of Father Bonenfant, she lived with his widow, Marie Côté, then with Mr. Pierre Casgrain, married to Marie Bon- child. She died on February 23, 1839, at my uncle Charles Têtu, at the age of eighty.

 

Mr. Frs Têtu and his wife therefore remained at Rivière- Ouelle until the death of Mr. Bonenfant, which happened the TO August 1797. ' i v- - '

 

So they went to fix their final residence at Saint- Thomas, in the house of Father Félix Têtu. Francois, my grandfather, was obviously a privileged person, because this it was he who inherited the paternal house; and likewise that his stepfather Bonenfant had given him his goods even during his lifetime, his father and his mother acted in the same way with regard to him, by a gift dated '' of July 25, 1797 (i); so that he immediately found himself in possession of a pretty fortune, without any charge other than to take care of his parents, during their lifetime, and of their pay the trifle of three hundred francs in all. Like we have seen, M. Félix Têtu died in 181 3, and his wife had preceded him, in 1811.

 

François Têtu was a six-foot man, with a unusual physical strength, with a character of a great sweetness which was reflected in an obvious way on his good and loyal face. Heart of gold, his charity for the poor was almost boundless. Also the poor knew it well and they were always welcome at him. If Mr. Têtu passed one on the way, he quickly did it. knows how to get into his car, and often he greedy said in a friendly way, reproaching them for not wearing fairly large pockets and not knowing how to beg. Cultiva- an intelligent man, Mr. Têtu knew how to make use of the assets he was the happy heir. Let us add that his wife, Charlotte Bonenfant, helped her a lot in the good administration ration of his temporal affairs. She was a rare intelligence, (2) of great firmness of character, and sa- will keep a house with economy, ease and cleanliness. Her husband, left to himself, might have pushed the kindness and generosity too far; more energetic than him and more prudent, it made up marvelously well for

 

(i) Boisseau's graft. We see by this act that at that time François Têtu still lived at Rivière-Ouelle.

 

(2) She had studied for a year with her sister Marie at the convent of Saint-Fran- hear. - ^what he could miss on this side.

 

The following lines boasts that I borrow from the Family Memoirs, written by Father Casgrain, will make it better known:

 

"I regret that I can only say a word in passing of this admirable family, the true type of Canadian households. dians, worthy of being proposed as a model. Enjoying a beautiful rural property and of an unblemished name, Mr. and Mrs. Stubborn have almost reached the limits of old age, respected, honored and loved by all, after seeing their large generation raise large families themselves miles who occupy the most honorable positions in the different classes of society. Who of us does not remembers, or at least has heard of our great-aunt Têtu, this mother of a family so admirable and so admired, of such great sense, of such high wisdom, unfailing Christian, who could not be seen acting or hear speak without thinking of the strong woman of the E- writing?"

 

As I myself knew my grandmother very well Tetu, I can guarantee the perfect accuracy of this praise. Ex fructibits eoriim cognoscetis eos. For the rest, it suffices to judge Mr. and Mrs. François Têtu for having known their children and to have seen what an excellent education tion they had been able to give them. These children, they were eighteen, thirteen boys and five girls, only one died in infancy. I immediately give their names with the date of their baptism and their burial:

 

1° Jean-/ra«f<5>w, b. on June 8, 1795, at Rivière-Ouel- the. Godfather, J. - B. Bonenfant, and godmother, Josephté 'IB^'T'" Stubborn family 97 Bowsprit. Died in Saint-Hyacinthe, November 13, 1851.

 

2°]oseph'Fé/îx, h. on March 19, 1797, at Rivière-Ouel- ie. Godfather, Joseph Sedilot dit Montrenil, godmother, Marie Cote. Died at Saint-Jean Port-Joly, December 20 ber 1858.

 

3° Vital, b. on February 15, 1799 in Saint-Thomas (i). Died in Quebec, December 2, 1883.^

 

4° Charlotte- Crww^, b. January 19, 1801. Died at Sainte-Thomas, on December 27, 1878.

 

5° Charles-Hilahey b. June 26, 1802. Died at Ri- Yière-Ouelle, December 9, 1863.

 

6° Prudence called Prtident^ b. March 11, 1804. Died in Saint-Thomas, on November 29, 1892,

 

7° Thomas, b. August 23, 1805. Died at Saint-Giles, April 8, 1868.

 

8*» Henri David, b. July 15, 1807. Died in Saint- Roch-des-Aulnaies, April 30, 1875.

 

9° George, b. January 6, 1809. Died drowned in the Rivière-Ouelle, May 6, 1829.

 

10° Magloire, b. April 12, 1810. Died at Saint- Thomas, November 3, 1860.

 

11° Laurent, b. August 11, 181 1. Died in Quebec, July 27, 1885.

 

12° Marie-Félicite, b. December 14, 1812. Died at Saint-Pierre, June 16, 1836.

 

(i) All other children after him were also baptized at St. Thomas. 

 

13° Nazaire, b. October 17, 1814. Died at Trois- Pistols, February 16, 1891.

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14° Nathalie, b. May 15, 1816. Died at Saint- Thomas, March 21, 1897.

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15° Marie-Vitaline, b. November 3, 1817. Died in St. Thomas, March 28, 1897.

 

16° Cirice, b. December 27, 18 18. Died in Montreal, January 3, 1890.

 

17° Anonymous, s. February 9, 1820.

 

18° Lnder called Liidger^ b. November 10, 1821. Died at Rivière-Ouelle, May 5, 1879.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Têtu did not omit any trouble or any sacrifice to elevate their many Christian children children and to provide them with advantageous positions. Four did their classical studies: François, Vital, David and Ludger. There were among them: a priest, a no- silence, a doctor, five merchants and four farmers. Almost all tall, all intelligent and ins- truits, they certainly made up one of the most beautiful Canadian families. The four daughters, one of whom married, was also of an intelligence beyond the average and distinguished themselves like their mother by their practical spirit and by their Christian virtues. Mr. and Madame Têtu made their will in 1850. According to what I could see, they would have given ^1,000.00 to each of their children, and taking into account the lands, etc., born to Nathalie and Vitaline, their fortune rose in all to the sum of ^20,000.00. They had since sold the property they owned at Rivière-Ouelle for a long time.

 

Mr. François Têtu did the rest during his long career. behind a very large number of transactions, purchases, sales, exchanges, etc. This is how, among other things, he bought in 1819, from François Vaillancourt de Cacouna, a magnificent land, located very close to the church of Saint- André, and who had six arpents of frontage by forty of depth, for the establishment of his son Félix. When he died he had long been a lieutenant- colonel of militia and lord of the Saint-Luc fief. I have under eyes the act of faith and homage paid by him in this quality to Antoine-G. Coiiillard^ Ecr et al^ Proprietary of the seigniory of Rivière-du-Sud.

 

"Has moved, says this act, to the seigniorial manor of Marie-Angélique Chaussegros de Léri, widow of Jean- Baptiste Couillard, Ecr, lady in part of the seigneury of Rivière-du-Sud, and Antoine-Gaspard Couillard, Ecr, original lord of the aforesaid lordship and fief Lepinay. . . and at the main gate and entrance of the said mansion, knocked there and asked the said widowed lady Couillard and to my said sieur Antoine Gaspard Couillard, which have just occurred, the said sieur François Têtu being on vassal duty, without sword or spur, bareheaded €t one knee on the ground, told them that he trusted them and homage because of his land and seigneury of Saint-Luc, that he is bound to return to them the rights and royalties tumées ... the Saint-Luc fief being landlocked in the said seigniory of Rivière-du-Sud "

 

• M. Têtu had to pay twenty pounds to the lords for the various purchases he had to make to become a property owner of this fief. The sellers had been Bernard Bonneau dit la Bécasse, Meunier widow of the late Joseph Dainour, Louvier de Courberon and Joseph Rémy Vallièrc of Saint-Real. A last part hii came from his father Felix Têtu.

 

Mr. Frs Têtu died on February 21, 1857, after a short illness, at the age of eighty-four and four months, having preserved until the end the use of all your faculties, and after having received the sacraments of the Church. It was im good christian in all the strength of the term. He was the friend and the right arm of the priest, Mr. Beaubien who loved him very much, and who, even long after the death of my grandfather, spoke of him with the most high praise. For many years, Mr. Têtu dined invariably at the parsonage on Sundays, and he was always welcome at the table of his worthy and venerable priest. His wife survived him twelve years and died on January 28, 1869. She was born in Quebec on August 19 1778. The following obituary which we reproduce from diaries of the time, complete this short biography, recalling the joyful celebrations of golden weddings and nuptials of diamond with which these venerable spouses were favored and so worthy of each other.

 

OBITUARY

 

He has just passed away in Saint-Thomas, county of Mont- magny, at the age of ninety-one, an existence very beautiful and very admirable, one of those existences  law viable and of which this befitting offers few examples. Mrs. widow François Têtu" left this earth to go to join his worthy and virtuous companion in exile, who preceded for twelve years in a better life, at the age eighty-four years old. This venerable lady has had the satisfaction of celebrating his 50th year of marriage, twenty-six years ago. She then saw beside her ten- seven children and more than fifty grandchildren. Ten years later, another beautiful circumstance, his 60th, called at the party, as well as her husband, a larger family. There were then no less than sixteen children and four twenty-six grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

Notwithstanding complete blindness, which she suffered the last fifteen years of its existence, its sweet gaiety, his unalterable mood and his angelic resignation did not contradict themselves for a single moment. He was all- song to see this venerable blind man blessing his name happy children before going ahead of them to heaven and exhorting them to follow, without ever deviating from it, the straight path that she had taught them so well. She was a good wife, good- a mother, a woman of rare intelligence and of great youth. ment. Her sublime charity towards the poor whom she persisted unceasingly, testified of his sensitive heart and beneficial. So she was always blessed by God, she and her children.

 

 Filled with spirit, her protrusions many and chosen added a further charm to his conversation and the justice depth of his memory caused astonishment and admiration of his knowledge. His manners were imprinted r  of nobility and dignity. Everything about her attracted respect and reverence. On the decline of his admirable life, she retained all the faculties of mature age. Her death was only a passage to the true light. This died, arrived at ninety years and five months, was beautiful and calm as her life. She leaves eight children and one hundred and ten grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

His service was sung at Saint-Thomas de Montma- gny, last Tuesday, in the middle of a huge contest of relatives and friends. RIP

 

Mr. and Mrs. Têtu had had the good fortune to protect and take in a poor child of Saint-Tho- but, and this act of charity was rewarded a hundredfold; because this child +\it of a great help to them during All their life. With fidelity and devotion without bounds for her benefactors, she was like a second mother to all their children, we called her mother Dirty. What a holy person! When she died on the 7th April 1878, I made a point of going to sing his service in St. Thomas; my father and my uncles Vital, Laurent and Nazaire attended. The next day I published the ne- following timeline:

 

DEATH of a faithful SERVANT Tuesday, the 9th of the current, in Saint-Thomas de Mont- magny, we were driving to his final resting place, a woman little known to the world, but well known to God, and who practiced for a long life virtues that  were admired by the angels, and by the few people nes who had the advantage of living with her. Born at Saint-Thomas, of less fortunate parents, Thérèse Mcintyre entered at the age of nine the home of M. François Têtu, a rich tor of this parish, and for seventy and eighteen years, she served her family with unfailing devotion. ever and with a fidelity that we encounter today very few examples. She helped Mr. and Mrs. Têtu to raise the seventeen (i) children whom God had given them- born and she was a second mother to them, sacrificing his forces, often his sleep, and giving them the most beautiful lessons of love of work and love of religion. Married to Mr. Jean-Baptiste Gendron, who lived with she in the service of M. Têtu, she would have the pain of losing him. dre, twenty-five years ago, and since that time she has lived die her masters and many of those she considers would love and whom she loved like her children. Reached a advanced age, she never wanted to accept the rest that offered her the Têtu ladies, whom she had served for so long, and she worked with the same pa- tience and the same humility even in the last years of his life. For only two to three years, the sickness, or rather weakness, tore him away from work and humble functions which she loved so much, and then she sighed more than after death, fearing to be a burden to the family she could no longer serve. God has answered her vows and called her to him in the Sth year of her ■■m l^\ (i)

 

There were 18, but one girl died immediately after birth.

 

To her more than to many others, he must have said: Strong well, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful in small things, I will establish you over the big ones; in- rejoice in your Lord. Euge serve bone^ and fidelis^ quia super pauca fuisti fidelis^ supra multa te constituam^ intra in gaudium Domini tui.

 

I end this short note by reproducing the cor- following correspondence written by the Honorable Etienne-Pas- cal Taché and recounting the celebrations of the golden wedding of Mr. and by Madame Tetu.

 

CORRESPONDENCE -= St. Thomas, July 5, 1843. 

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Mr. Editor, — Yesterday took place, in the school church of this parish, one of those touching ceremonies the exoinple of which one rarely encounters in the course of life: it was on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. François Têtu. Around 9 o'clock in the morning, the school church being adorned with all that is most beautiful in • major holidays, Mr. Têtu accompanied by his wife, Dame Charlotte Bonenfant, and Colonel Félix Têtu, his brother and his best man, approached the balusters to hear a solemn mass sung there by MD-H. Têtu, parish priest of St-Roch and son of the captain Tetu, recommended by the family for this circumstance. tance. It was, Mr. Editor, a spectacle truly admirable and touching to see gathered at the balusters and placed to the right and to the left of this father and this mother darlings, fifteen children, most heads of families, all under the pecuniary report in the greatest ease, and some possessing fortimes above the mediocrity, but above all, enjoying to the last, the esteem and confidence of their fellow citizens through a impeccable conduct. Also Mr. Beaubien, parish priest of the parish, he took the opportunity, in a short but impressive sive speech, to remind the audience of the reward that Providence grants to those who follow its law and bring up their children in fear of the Lord, whose Mr. Têtu and his lady offered an example worthy of serving model to the rest of the parish. In fact, it would be good difficult to find in another family, even in par- running through the district, another example of a similar good prosperity; prosperity due, no doubt, to a good education and to the habits of order, of vail and economy given to his family by this good and virtuous father. Behind the Têtu family was placed the Casg^ain family, nephews and nieces of Mr. and Mrs. Têtu, emulator and rival of the first in relation to the beautiful qualities of the heart, and, like her, before her fortune inside industry and at work. After the Divine Service, all these tender parents, accompanied by several members of the clergy, went to the residence of Captain Têtu, where ^was prepared a sumptuous meal of rich pro- ductions of the two Worlds. Dinner and afternoon having passed in that pure and sweet joy that !'I  going to fail to produce such an opportunity, we didn't want to part without ending such a beautiful day by an act of benevolence, and there was immediately subscribed a very honest sum in favor of the unfortunate victims of the Boucherville fire.

 

Such has been, Mr. Editor, the delightful spectacle of which I was a witness, who moved me to tears, and that it would be good to represent often in the eyes of our Canadian families as an example to emulate.

 

I have the honor to be, Mr. Editor,

 

Your most humble and obedient servant,

 

FTE

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