The Robert Drouin Family
Two Marriages, Blended Family, Legal Conflict
ROBERT DROUIN
(c. 1607 - June 2, 1685)
Master Brickmaker
1st Marriage
Anne Cloutier
July 12, 1637 • Notre-Dame, Québec
(1627 - c. 1649)
Agnès Drouin
b. January 25, 1641 • d. 1641
Died in infancy
Geneviève Drouin
b. October 19, 1643 • d. 1710
Marriage: Romain Trépagny, April 24, 1656, Beauport
Note: Still living with Robert & Marie in 1666 census (10 years after marriage)
⚖ Legal Dispute 1694-1696
Note: Still living with Robert & Marie in 1666 census (10 years after marriage)
Jeanne Drouin
b. May 2, 1647 • d. 1732
Marriage: Pierre Maheu, November 10, 1659, Québec
2nd Marriage
Marie Chapelier
November 29, 1649 • Notre-Dame, Québec
(c. 1621 - after 1696)
Marie Drouin
b. September 18, 1650 • d. May 2, 1664
Marriage: Nicolas Lebel, November 22, 1662
Death: Drowned at Rivière-aux-Chiens, age 14
Death: Drowned at Rivière-aux-Chiens, age 14
Nicolas Drouin
b. January 7, 1652 • d. October 5, 1723
Marriage: Marie Loignon, November 6, 1674
Children: 15 (8 boys, 7 girls)
Note: Miraculously cured of epilepsy by Sainte-Anne, age 12
Children: 15 (8 boys, 7 girls)
Note: Miraculously cured of epilepsy by Sainte-Anne, age 12
Pierre Drouin
b. November 30, 1653 • d. c. 1667
Died as child, age ~13
Marguerite Drouin
b. December 23, 1655 • d. June 1, 1692
1st Marriage: Jean Gagnon, October 26, 1670 (8 children)
2nd Marriage: Antoine Darde, April 19, 1689 (2 children)
2nd Marriage: Antoine Darde, April 19, 1689 (2 children)
Étienne Drouin
b. c. 1658 • d. September 13, 1732
1st Marriage: Catherine Loignon, November 3, 1682 (11 children)
2nd Marriage: Jeanne Baret, April 13, 1711
Note: Father Robert gave him special brick-making profit clause
⚖ Allied with mother Marie 1696
2nd Marriage: Jeanne Baret, April 13, 1711
Note: Father Robert gave him special brick-making profit clause
Catherine Drouin
b. January 2, 1660 • d. March 25, 1734
1st Marriage: Michel Roulois, November 24, 1676
2nd Marriage: Guillaume Simon, November 17, 1688
2nd Marriage: Guillaume Simon, November 17, 1688
Jean-Baptiste Drouin
b. February 13, 1662 • d. c. 1681
Died age ~19
Marie-Madeleine Drouin
b. November 26, 1664 • d. February 3, 1665
Died in infancy, age 2 months
The 1694-1696 Legal Conflict
The Blended Family Structure: Robert Drouin married twice—Anne Cloutier (1637) and Marie Chapelier (1649). Geneviève, daughter from the first marriage, married Romain Trépagny in 1656, making Romain Marie's step-son-in-law. After Robert's death in 1685, tensions erupted.
January 16, 1694: Romain Trépagny sued Marie Chapelier in the Prévôté Court. The case escalated to the Conseil Souverain (highest court in New France).
December 12, 1696: Final judgment. Étienne Drouin, son from the second marriage, allied with his mother Marie against his half-sister Geneviève and her husband Romain. This legal battle reveals the complex dynamics of blended families in colonial Québec, where inheritance, property rights, and family loyalty intersected in the highest courts of the land.
January 16, 1694: Romain Trépagny sued Marie Chapelier in the Prévôté Court. The case escalated to the Conseil Souverain (highest court in New France).
December 12, 1696: Final judgment. Étienne Drouin, son from the second marriage, allied with his mother Marie against his half-sister Geneviève and her husband Romain. This legal battle reveals the complex dynamics of blended families in colonial Québec, where inheritance, property rights, and family loyalty intersected in the highest courts of the land.