Régis Roy (1817 - 1897) and wife Philomène Dubé (1828 - 1909)
François Régis Roy was born on 11 May 1817 in St-Henri-de-Lauzon, the son of Pierre Roy and Archange Bouchard. He was baptized the following day; while his father was absent from the ceremony, his godparents were likely relatives, possibly an uncle or grandfather also named François Roy. His godmother was Louise Roi, maybe a distant relative.
Baptism for François Régis Roy, May 12, 1817
By 1834 the Roy family had moved to Rimouski where twins were born to Pierre Roy and Archange Bouchard. Régis would have been 17.
When Régis was almost 19 he purchased two arpents of frontage in the second range of Saint-Germain-de-Rimouski from Joseph Brisebois for the remarkably low price of two pounds on April 24, 1836. This wooded lot required significant "abattis" (land clearing) meaning that he was buying land with lots of trees and the land is not suitable for farming. Such a low price paid for this land may imply that Roy was assuming unstated debts or mortgages attached to the property. But the official transaction for the sale states that the sale is final and includes a "guarantee against all encumbrances," meaning the seller promises the land is free of hidden legal claims or debts. This Joseph Brisebois may have left the Rimouski area shortly after the sale of the land.
Marriage
On September 3, 1844 Régis Roy married Philomène Dubé at the cathédrale St-Germain, Rimouski. Régis was 27 years old and Philomène was 16, a minor. Philomène was originally from the parish of Saint-Simon which is about 30 miles southwest of St-Germain. The marriage banns were read in Saint-Simon even though Philomène now resided in St-Germain. They were married by Cyprien Tanguay, who was a famous Quebec genealogist and priest. Tanguay was ordained in 1843, the year before Régis and Philomène were married. He mostly worked in Rimouski.
Marriage for Régis Roy and Philomène Dubé, September 3, 1844
Tanguay was appointed to Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics Ministry in 1865. He started compiling the genealogy of the Quebec people from the catholic parish registers. He published Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes. There were seven large double column volumes, each containing over six hundred pages. These books were published between 1871 and 1890.
The year before Philomène got married her father, Noël Dubé died. Since she was a minor her uncle Felix Bérubé became her guardian. He was also the guardian for Philomène brothers Noël and Maximien. Philomène's mother, Florence Bérubé, died when she was 7 months old. Her father later married Marie Louise Levesque.
Land Transactions
On September 10, 1849, Régis Roy exchanges his land he bought in 1836 from Joseph Brisebois with land owned by Isaac Mignier dit Legacé. Roy’s land includes a house, barn and stable. It is 2 arpents wide by 40 arpents deep. Mignier’s is exchanging a farm in the 3rd range that is slightly larger (3 arpents wide) than the one Roy gave him. It also includes a house and a stable. The notary notes the trade is "but à but" (end to end). This means the two properties were considered of equal value, so neither man had to pay the other any extra money (retour) to settle the deal.
In November 1849 Régis Roy sells a horse to Godfroy Tremblay. Mr. Tremblay does not pay cash for the horse. He will clear 11 acres of forest over 2 years in exchange for the 3-year old horse. Mr. Tremblay did not finish the work within the two years and Régis Roy hands over his legal claim to Augustin Lavoie, allowing Lavoie to force Tremblay to finish the clearing and collect whatever was owed under that 1849 contract. Lavoie is buying the building materials to build a barn and stable and taking on the responsibility to get the work done. This transaction happens in 1852. Lavoie pays this off three years later in 1855.
Two farmers, Barthélémi and his son Germain Lemieux, take on a debt of 12 Pounds and 20 Shillings from Marie Françoise Lepage in April 1852. To secure the loan, the Lemieuxs have put up their farms as collateral. Germain Lemieux later returns his land to his father. By September 1852, Régis Roy is buying this land from Barthélémi Lemieux that Germain had returned.
The land was originally owned by Pierre Joseph Baquet and was exchanged with the Lemieuxs. The Lemieuxs owed Baquet money since the land was worth more than the land they used for the exchange. In November 1852 Régis Roy pays this debt.
More problems arise from this land purchase. Germain Lemieux owed money to a merchant and this merchant held a mortgage against the property that Régis Roy purchased. The following January, after purchasing the land, Roy pays off this debt so he can clear the title to the land he purchased. A few days later Roy pays off the debt the Lemieuxs owed to Marie Françoise Lepage. Now the Lemieuxs owe the money to Régis Roy. Roy charges interest for this loan.
In January 1855 brothers Régis and Louis exchange land. Régis gets land in St-Germain that Louis had obtained from their father about 15 years ago (1840). Louis gets a smaller piece of land in Saint-Simon that Régis’s wife Philomene Dube had inherited from her father in 1843 (about 12 years ago). Régis lives in St-Germain and Louis lives in Saint-Simon. The brothers considered the exchange equal.
In 1867 Alexandre Gagnon buys a horse from Régis Roy for 15 pounds which he will pay for over three years making 5 pound payments each year. He mortgages a plot of land located in the 5th range of the Seigneury of Rimouski in St. Anaclet. If Gagnon fails to make his payments, the ownership of the land will automatically and permanently transfer to Régis Roy to settle the 15-pound debt. Gagnon could not make the payments and the land was transferred to Roy in 1870.
Good Standing in the Community
His standing in the community was reflected in his appointment as guardian for the minor children of his deceased brother-in-law, Jean St. Laurent. Appoline Dubé, Philomène’s sister, was married to Jean St Laurent. Jean died in 1851. He and Appoline had six children - Philomène, Priscille, Zephirin, Justine, Jean Baptiste and Thomas Theophile. The children were all minors when Jean St Laurent died. In 1855 Appoline married Majoric Canuel.
In his capacity as guardian, Régis oversaw the public auction in 1858 of the St. Laurent estate. The land and home where Jean and Appoline lived was sold to Eusebe Lavoie. An auction was held and Eusebe Lavoie was the highest bidder. The house was small and in poor condition and the barn was old and built out of round logs. This explains why the price may be lower and the purchaser is taking it “as-is”.
Even in his later years, Régis remained a trusted figure, acting as a power of attorney in 1873 for a local boatman, Régis Chamard, to settle a complex inheritance in Quebec City. A boatman, sometimes referred to as a voyageur, transported timber along the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries. Since Chamard was travelling he needed someone to handle the legal settlement involving his mother and the estate of her two husbands who had died.
In the legal document giving Régis power of attorney he is referred to as Esquire and bourgeois. Esquire was a courtesy title to denote status, respectability and a position above the working class. Bourgeois meant that Régis belonged in the upper middle class who held economic or social power.
Roy and Chamard probably knew each other. Chamard was baptized (1825) and married (1857) in Cathédrale St-Germain, Rimouski. Régis Roy was married in the same church in 1844 and lived in that area.
Retirement
The Roy household eventually grew to include twelve children, though several died in infancy. Those who survived to adulthood—include in birth order Clementine, Hortense, Samuel, Théophile, Laura, Delvina and Alfred.
Clementine and her husband moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alfred joined Clementine in Minneapolis. Hortense, Samual and Théophile married and stayed in Rimouski. Both Laura and Delvina married in 1887 and stayed in Rimouski.
Samuel's son Alphonse moved to Rhode Island which is where Alfred eventually settled. Samual's daughter Marion settled in Fall River, Massachusetts. Probably all the rest of Régis and Philomène's grandchildren stayed in Rimouski.
In 1882 Régis Roy gives his farm to his oldest son Samuel in exchange for Samuel to take care of his aging parents. This was a traditional 19th-century French-Canadian way for aging couples to stay in their home and be taken of.
In 1887 Alfred travels from Minneapolis to Rimouski to sign a document accepting a tract of land from his father. The land contains two arpents and two perches in front by approximately twenty-six arpents in depth.
Infographic created by NotebookLM showing the life of Régis Roy
Five months after Régis gave his son Alfred the land, he died. He was 82 years old.
Burial record for Régis Roy December 15, 1897
Philomène died a little over 11 years later in 1909. She was 81 years old.
Burial record for Philomène Dubé, September 17, 1909
Sources
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Ancestry.com. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin., Rimouski (cathedrele St-Germain) 1897 image 41 of 49, burial record of Regis Roy.
Ancestry.com. Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin., Rimouski (cathedrale St-Germain) 1909 image 17 of 73., burial for Philomène Dubé
Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935, Bibliothèque Et Archives Nationales Du Québec; Montreal, QC, Canada; Collection: Fonds Cour Supérieure. District Judiciaire De Rimouski. Cote Cn101. Greffes De Notaires, 1822-1933.; District: Rimouski; Title: Poulin, Alphonse (1868-1896), 9 July 1887, autres cession, No 189, Régis Roy has given land to his son Alfred Roy of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968, R, Rimouski, Cathédrale St-Germain, 1825, image 14 of 30, baptism for Jean François Régis Chamard
Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968, R, Rimouski, Cathédrale St-Germain, 1857, image 11 of 62, marriage of Régis Chamard and Ann Banville
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Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH, Research Programme in Historical Demography) at the Université de Montréal, Couple #112217, Pierre Roy and Marie Archange Bouchard
Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH, Research Programme in Historical Demography) at the Université de Montréal, Couple #142235, Joseph Brisebois and Victoire Blanchet
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Roy, Francis and Philomène Dubé marriage, Institut généalogique Drouin, "Le LAFRANCE," database with images, Généalogie Québec,, Québec/R/Rimouski/Rimouski (cathédrale St-Germain)/1840/1844/, images d1p_17180742.jpg and d1p_17180743.jpg, https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/LAFRANCE/img/acte/382652.