BLOCK 16

BY

ROBERT J. MORGAN

June 1975

(Fortress of Louisbourg
Report Number H D 25)

LOT A

[PAGE 6:]

(I) OWNERSHIP: THE PARIS FAMILY:

Lot A appears to have received its earliest boundaries in the 1723 alignment of town blocks; it ran along the Rue St. Louis (102 pieds) and along what was later Lots B and C (90 pieds). However, along the Rue d'Orléans, the property extended 120 pieds, or 30 pieds west of its final limit. It then ran north along the governor's garden for approximately 60 pieds [NOTE 16]. Maps drawn in 1723 indicate that this boundary continued to the small plot in front of the powder magazine then turned east for 24 pieds, then north again for 78 pieds [NOTE 17].

The land was slated for concession to Louis Levasseur who had first come from Quebec in 1716 to act as écrivain for the governor at Port Dauphin [NOTE 18]. In 1723 he was serving as controleur and judge of the Admiralty Court [NOTE 19]. There is no record of Levasseur's ever having officially acquired the concession.

What was to be the southern half of Lot A was not conceded until 1725 when Antoine Paris, a habitant-pêcheur and merchant from Plaisance was granted property "dans l'Isle No. 16, qui contient quatre vingt dix pieds sur la rue D'Orleans et soixante pieds sur la rue St. Louis, borné à l'ouest par le jardin Du Roy et au Nord par un terrain non accordé à Louisbourg le 11e 7re 1729." [NOTE 20].

The entire Lot A, encompassing both sublots, was formally registered by the Arrest of 1735:

[PAGE 7:]

autre concession faite ... les 20.8 bre. 1725 et 28 Janier 1727 afeu Antoine Paris habitant d'un terrain dans la dt. Isle No. 16 de 102 pieds de face surla rue St. Louis etde 90 de profondeur le long dela place Royalle faisant en superficie 9180 pieds quarrés, borné au N. par le terrain de Jean Richard et duS. Loppinot borné chacun de 45 pieds de largeur al Est par la rue St. Louis, aus. par la place Royale et a l'0 parleterrain reserve pour le Jardin du Gouvernement Sur unelongueur de 84 pieds et par le terrain dus. de Pensens surune longueur de 18 pieds .... [NOTE 21].

These dimensions did not change for the remainder of Block 16's existence. Lot A remained the property of the Paris family until 1758.

Antoine Paris, the oldest son of Arnaud (Antoine) Paris and Catherine Champagne, was born in the parish of Dempois, in the province of Guinne around 1677 [NOTE 22]. It would appear that around 1685 Paris left France for Plaisance. His name first appears in censuses taken in 1706 and 1711 at Plaisance; he is listed as a habitant with two fishermen in his employ [NOTE 23]. In the 1706 census he is listed "sans grave", which would make him a small fisherman with two matelot-pêcheurs working with him, likely in the same boat, whose livelihood consisted of immediately selling their catch to larger fishermen. In the same year, he married Renée Baucher, daughter of René Baucher and Anne Charlan. Paris seems to have had some success with his fishing enterprise at Plaisance; in 1712 we see him buying a fishing boat for 906 livres [NOTE 24]. He was among the earliest settlers to arrive in Louisbourg and by 1717 he had purchased from De Rouville, a captain of the Compagnies Franches at Port Dauphin, a strip on the north [PAGE 8:] shore of Louisbourg harbour, 15 toises along the water but only 4 toises deep, for 500 livres [NOTE 25].

Meanwhile, Paris was carrying on some trade with Canada; in 1715 his wife and son were there [NOTE 26]. He had also acquired a house in lower town Quebec "sous le Chateau Rue Champlain dans le Cul de Sacq joignant d'un costé Le Sieur lefebvre et l'autre dame Lambert." In 1719 he exchanged this place for a property in Louisbourg with Sieur Lefebvre de Bellefeuille, a Canadian seigneur, who had property along the waterfront in what was to be Block 1 [NOTE 27]. By 1725, besides the house, the Paris property contained a yard, cabanne, garden, flakes and wharves [NOTE 28].

Meanwhile, in 1721, he sold his properties on the north shore to the Commissaire-Ordonnateur Jacques de Mezy, but in 1722 he received land in the Dauphin Fauxbourg and proceeded to build his residence with a garden there. The property included a wharf where fish was brought in the six chaloupes he now owned [NOTE 29].

A piece of bad luck seemed to befall Paris when in 1721 the king ordered the expropriation of land in Block 1, including that belonging to Paris, for the building of royal storehouses. In compensation, however, he was to get twice the amount of land within the town [NOTE 30]. Paris, however, could not get waterfront property in the town and complained that "Messurs. les offers. (officers) se sont emparés et s'emparent des meilleurs places, Et moi pauvre habitant ... Je ne peux cependant obtenir aucun emplacement pr. mes enfants." [NOTE 31]. Such a statement reveals the attitude of a fisherman toward the powerful military personnel whose influence got them the best land grants while they participated in trade and the fishery. Paris was especially bitter since he dried some of his fish in the area of the Isles [PAGE 9:] Michauds, supposedly using property belonging to Captain Jacques de Pensens. De Pensens forced Paris' son, Bernard, to pay him 20 quintals of cod for this favour.

Frustrated that he would not get just compensation for the expropriated land from local officials and that De Pensens actions were injuring the fishery, Paris wrote directly to the Minister of the Marine, the Compte de Maurepas, In keeping with official policy of fostering the fishery, Maurepas came down firmly on Paris' side: he ordered St. Ovide to give Paris three times the amount of land he had lost in Block 1 and to keep De Pensens and all military personnel out of the fishery, even if, he added like De Pensens, they were related to the governor [NOTE 32]. Paris was consequently granted land in Block 16, Lot A. [NOTE 33].

In further compensation, Paris obtained a grant on the Isles Michauds [NOTE 34]. He proceeded to erect a wharf and flakes there for his six chaloupes, a small magasin and a Piquet cabanne to lodge his compagnons-pêcheurs [NOTE 35].

Paris finally extended his property in Block 16, Lot A northward to the property line of the widow Villejouin, bringing his holdings to their fullest extent [NOTE 36]. He divided lot A into two sublots, and after 1725 built a house on each sublot, but maintained his residence in the Dauphin Fauxbourg and rented out his two houses in Block 16.

Besides the fishery and rents, Paris made money from trade. He owned a goelette, the Marie Magdelaine, which he sent on trade to the Antilles and on to Bordeaux, under the captaincy of his son, Bernard. He also owned a batteau, the 25-tonneau Saint Bernard, which presumably took shorter trips [NOTE 37]. He sent the fish caught in his chaloupe by goelette to the Indies where goods were picked up for France; in France goods were [PAGE 10:] loaded for Canada or Isle Royale. Paris had become one of those merchant fishermen who made Louisbourg so valuable to the French Empire at the time; people like this fulfilled the prime purpose of the colony of Isle Royale.

Starting with only two men in 1706, Paris probably had 20 to 30 men working for him when he died 3 November 1731, at age 54. His liquid assets amounted to 21,550 livres his debts to 17,659 livres [NOTE 38]. Most of his debts were relatively small: for chaloupes,, fishing gear or debts to his agent Jean Jung in Bordeaux. The amount of his debt reveals how much a merchant fisherman of moderate means had to risk in order to make money and how perilously marginal were his finances.

On 4 April 1725 his first wife René Bauché died, leaving him with six children. He married Marie Magdelaine Ferret, a native of Quebec, the following August [NOTE 39]. She bore Paris three children [NOTE 40].

[PAGE 11:] [PARIS FAMILY RECONSTITUTION:
(A) -
(1) ANTOINE PARIS (b.c. 1677-d. 1731);
(2) MARIE-RENÉE BAUCHER ((m.c. 1706-d. 1725);
(3) BERNARD PARIS (b.c.1707-d. 1759);
(4) MARIE PARIS (b. 1716);
(5) ANGÉLIQUE PARIS (b. 1717);
(6) GENEVIÈVE PARIS (1719-1743);
(7) MARIE GERVAISE PARIS (1720);
(8) MARIE REINE PARIS (b. 1721);
(9) JOSEPH PARIS (1725-d. before 1731);
(10) ANNE LEBLANC (m. 1758);
(11) JEAN CHARTIER (m. 1741);
(12) FRANÇOIS BAHAUR (m. 1754);
(13) LOUIS DE NEUVILLE (m. 1735);
(14) LAZARE ROUSSIN (m.1754);
(15) GABRIEL BARBADEAU (m. 1743);
(16) JEAN BAPTISTE MOREL (m. 1741);

(B)
(1) ANTOINE PARIS (remarries 1725);
(2) MARIE MAGDELEINE FERRET (d. 1753);
(3) MARIE MAGDELEINE PARIS (1726-1744);
(4) DOMINIQUE PARIS (1728-1732);
(5) ANTHOINE PARIS (b. 1730)].

[PAGE 10:]

After Paris' death it was discovered that he had not properly dissolved the community with his first wife, and that no inventory had been taken which would have divided her goods. When Paris married Marie Magdelaine Ferret their marriage contract followed the usual Custom of Paris, which provided for the equal division of goods after death between widow and offspring. At his death, however, there was confusion as to the division of goods between the widow and the children of each marriage. Moreover, Bernard, the eldest child of the first marriage applied for "emancipation", to be declared of age and thus able to manage his own affairs [NOTE 41]. The whole case had to be decided by the Superior Council in Louisbourg. First, an inventory of all Paris' possessions had to be taken; then a division had to be made between the property he had acquired during [PAGE 12:] his first marriage and what had been acquired during his second marriage. The second family received the largest amount since the most valuable property was acquired during Paris' second marriage. Since Bernard was not emancipated before his father's death, he was included along with his brothers and sisters.

The widow was tuteur of her own two remaining children and received the house in Block 16-A(2) on condition that she pay the outstanding debts of her husband. She also shared in the sale prices of the Marie Magdelaine and a bateau, and the value of moveable goods, totalling 6,222 livres against 6,946 livres owing the first family. She had to use 3,144 livres of her share to pay creditors immediately; the possible rent from the house could be used to pay the remaining debts [NOTE 42]. The widow Paris likely agreed to this arrangement since she was intending to marry Dominique Colongue, the surgeon at Port Toulouse, where they eventually lived. She married Colongue 21 March 1732, four months after her husband died; seven months later they had their first child [NOTE 43]. Their first residence was in the Paris Fauxbourg property, which Bernard Paris, now emancipated, rented to them on behalf of the heirs from the first Family, for six years, beginning in 1733. [NOTE 44].

Dominique Colongue was born in Galan, Auch, and moved to Louisbourg in 1730; he was born around 1704, making him 28 when he married the older widow Paris. The couple moved to Port Toulouse in 1734. He was dead by 1740 [NOTE 45]. The widow Paris bore Colongue two children and died in 1753 at Port Toulouse [NOTE 46].

Of the Paris children, Bernard continued as a ship captain after his father's death. He seems to have kept a paternal eye over his younger brothers and sisters and represented their interests as late as 1757, since [PAGE 13:] his stepmother had failed to pay off the debts of the Paris estate as she had promised [NOTE 47]. When he was not at sea Bernard seems to have lived in the Barrachois property which he sold 19 August 1751 to Nicholas Larcher, a negotiant, on behalf of himself and his brothers and sisters [NOTE 48]. He then moved to the Block 16-A(l) property where he was living in 1758.

The last years of Bernard Paris' life are of some interest. He remained a bachelor until he married a cousin, Marie Anne LeBlanc of Louisbourg [NOTE 49] just before the second siege. One of his houses, perhaps in Block 16-A(2), was rented for 1,000 livres per annum to officers of the Artois Battalion in 1757 , but his own residence in Block 16-A(l) was destroyed by mortar bombs during the siege. The material from the house was sold to the government for 10,000 livres in order to build cover for the troops [NOTE 50].

While Bernard Paris was making a tidy sum for the material of his house, his wife was giving the names of St. Lawrence River pilots to the British who were preparing for the attack on Quebec. For this service she received 300 livres, one of the highest amounts paid to French informants [NOTE 51]. When Bernard Paris died the next year, his wife must have been left quite comfortably.

The remaining children of Antoine Paris also led relatively comfortable lives. The second child of the first marriage, Marie, was 15 at her father's death in 1731. She and her three sisters worked as coutourières during this period, maintaining their household in 16-A(l) while Bernard was at sea [NOTE 52]. Marie was married twice, first to a carpenter, Jean Chartier, in September 1741 [NOTE 53], then to François Bahaur, a merchant, in 1754 [NOTE 54].

[PAGE 14:]

The next child, Angelique, who was 14 when her father died, married Louis Floyd Adam de Neuville, huissier of the Superior Council in 1735; he died before 1743, and she married Lazare Mathieu Roussin in 1754. [NOTE 55].

Genevieve died unmarried at the age of 22 [NOTE 56], but her sister, Marie Gervaise, married Gabriel Barbadeau, a surgeon first at Port Toulouse and later at Isle St, Jean, in September 1743 [NOTE 57].

The youngest child of Antoine Paris' first marriage, Marie Reine, married Jean Baptiste Morel, a Louisbourg marchand-negoçiant born at St. Didier, Archbishopric of Lyon, who had first organized his business in Martinique. They lived in Block 19, Lot B until 1745 when they went to La Rochelle, conducting their business from there with Bernard Paris as their Louisbourg agent. There are no records of the couple's having children but they raised Anthoine, the youngest child of Antoine Paris' second marriage, and took him to La Rochelle with them [NOTE 58].

Of the second family only Anthoine was alive in 1758, Magdelaine having died at the age of 19 in 17410, and Dominique at the age of four in 1732 [NOTE 59].

(II) TENANTS IN BLOCK 16, LOT A(1):

During most of its existence., Block 16, Lot A, though owned by the Paris family, was rented. The Lot will be referred to as 16 A (l) and 16A (2), since each sublot contained buildings with different inhabitants.

Block 16-A(l) was on the corner of the Rue d'Orleans and the Rue Saint Louis, north of the Place d'Armes or parade ground. Paris came into possession of the property in August, 1725 and built a charpente house there by 1727.

[PAGE 15:]

Pierre D'harischery (Dariguay) was the first tenant in the house, renting the property 1 April 1727 for a period of three years at 340 livres per year. D'harischery was a master shoemaker, and lived in the house only one year. [NOTE 60].

On April 1728 Paris rented the property to Jean Gayon dit Préville, again for 340 livres per year, There was no difficulty in breaking the lease probably because D'harischery's wife, Anne Not, was the niece of Préville's wife Jeanne Bauché, who in turn was the sister of Genevieve Baucher who was married to Thomas Paris, brother of Antoine Paris [NOTE 61]. This case provides a perfect example of the influence of family connections in running daily affairs in Louisbourg.

Préville had previously occupied other Paris property; in 1725 he was living in the Block 1 property just before it was demolished [NOTE 62]. The Block 16 lease ran from 1 April 1728 to 1 April 1731 and the widow Préville, whose niece and a servant lived with her, renewed the lease in 1731 for three more years, her husband having died before April 1730. [NOTE 63]. Préville had operated an auberge or, the south-west barrachois [NOTE 64]. He also acquired property in Block 36, Lot D, in 1728 [NOTE 65]. His widow was still running the auberge in 1734, but not in 1744. She probably could afford to give up the auberge since she was receiving rent from her house in Block 34 and had married Thibault Plazante (Lafonet), a sergeant in Captain Dailleboust's company [NOTE 66].

In February 1734 the widow Préville's lease expired and Jean Seigneur, the tutor of the first Paris family, and Bernard Paris decided to divide the house into two apartments. The three-year lease, signed by the prospective tenant, Joseph Dallemand, a merchant, stipulated that he would [PAGE 16:] rent only the northern half of the house with access to the well in the yard and a lean-to north of the house. The rent charged was 20O livres per year [NOTE 67].

Dallemand remained in the house until he died in the early fall of 1738. He ran his shop there, selling mainly yard goods, clothing, shoes and kitchenware. The sale of goods amounted to a modest 1,928 livres. His debts were paid from this amount, among them 193 livres 12 sols owing John Seigneur for the rent of the Paris property and 20 squares of glass [NOTE 68]. Dallemand left no family or relations: the procureur général ran the sale but no statement was made as to where the money from the estate was to go. (Two references to criminals who died without family reveal that their property reverted to the king; perhaps this was the case with the Dallemand estate) [NOTE 69].

It is probable that while Dallemand occupied the northern half, the eldest Paris children occupied the southern half of the house. In 1734 the widow Paris, Magdelaine Ferret, moved to Port Toulouse with her husband, presumably accompanied by her own children. In the same year the Barrachois property was rented, leaving the southern half of the house in 16A(l) as the only Paris residence available for the family [NOTE 70]. This view is strengthened by a letter from St. Ovide de Brouillon to M. Jung,, a creditor of the Paris family, mentioning that the family had a house in Louisbourg in which there were four orphan daughters to feed and protect [NOTE 71].

After the death of Dallemand in 1738 there is no record of the northern half of the house being rented. It is possible that Bernard Paris and the four girls occupied the entire house. The family lived [PAGE 17:] there until 6 November 1741 when Jean Seigneur rented it on behalf of the children of the first marriage to Germain Maujot dit St. Germain [NOTE 72]. The rent of 400 livres per year for two years and 450 livres for the third year indicates that the entire house was rented. Joseph Dallemand had paid 200 livres for part of the house.

Seigneur may have decided to let out the house since Marie Paris had married in September, 1741 and Marie Reine was to marry on 26 November. This left two daughters, Genevieve (died 1743) and Marie Gervais (married 1743), besides Bernard. There is no record of the girls' lodgings in Louisbourg after 1741.

Unfortunately, very little is known of Maujot. He was a merchant innkeeper who had previously lived on the Rue Toulouse [NOTE 73]. Proulx in his Aubergistes et Cabaretiers de Louisbourg, p. 8, places Maujot in this location in Block 2, and other sources definitely list him as an aubergiste on the Rue Toulouse [NOTE 74]. There is no record of Maujot's having married, though he was godfather to numerous people [NOTE 75]. When he rented on the Rue Toulouse, Maujot had called his auberge the "Hautel de la Marine [NOTE 76]. It is possible that this name was used to designate his new inn in 16A(l); it is also possible that Maujot sold merchandise at his auberge, since he is designated as a merchant-innkeeper in his rental agreement with Jean Seigneur in 1741. He definitely participated in commerce, particularly in his earlier days [NOTE 77]. Maujot probably lived in the house in Block 16 until the first siege, but he did not return to Louisbourg after the withdrawal of the British.

It is not known if the buildings were damaged during the siege, and Bastide's map of 1746 does not show any repairs having been made to the house [NOTE 78].

[PAGE 18:]

The Paris family returned to Isle Royale after the withdrawal of the English in 1749. Bernard continued as ship captain, trading and acting for his sister and her husband Jean Morel in La Rochelle [NOTE 79]. The property in the Dauphin Fauxbourg had been at least partly destroyed by the New Englanders, so he decided to sell it to Nicholas Larché [Larcher], a negoçiant, for 3,000 livres [NOTE 80]. Now that his sisters were settled he was relatively free and when in Louisbourg lived in his house in 16A(l) [NOTE 81].

In 1756 Bernard again rented out part of the property to Jean Baptiste, an Indian and his wife Marguerite Rose, a negress, for 50 livres per month for the period 10 April to the following September. He himself lived in the southern part of the house [NOTE 82]. Little is known of jean Baptiste; he was probably the Jean Pierre Laurent mentioned in the act of marriage with Marguerite Rose, 27 November 1755 [NOTE 83]. Marguerite Rose had been a slave from Guinea, belonging to Paris' neighbour, Jean Chrysostome Loppinot. However, both she and her husband were free when they rented out the Paris house in 1756. The newlyweds stayed on in the house until August 1757 when Marguerite Rose died at around 40 years of age. [NOTE 84].

Meanwhile, after a life of bachelorhood, Bernard Paris finally decided to marry his third cousin Marie Anne LeBlanc, in May 1758 [NOTE 85]. They continued to live in the house, but the siege two months later destroyed their home, and Paris was dead within a year.

(III) STRUCTURES IN BLOCK 16, LOT A(l):

Sublot A(1) measured 50 pieds along the Rue St. Louis by 90 pieds along the Rue d'Orleans. The house was one and one-half storeys high and of charpente construction. As first constructed it had one main door, facing the Rue St. Louis, and two large contiguous chambres on the bottom [PAGE 19:] floor with a double fireplace, probably back-to-back, one for each room [NOTE 86]. The chambres were separated by board partitions (cloisons de Planches) and were further subdivided into cabinets [NOTE 87].

In 1734 the house was divided into two apartments, and a detailed description was given. In the downstairs northern half of the house was a large chambre with a fireplace which was back-to-back with the chambre to the south. The room had four glazed windows, two facing the Rue St. Louis and two facing the yard. Upstairs was a room which could be used as an attic, chambre, or a storeroom, The house had a small attached wood shed along its northern wail., contiguous with the downstairs chambre [NOTE 88].

Before the house was rented a private entrance had to be added for its north apartment, and Jean Seigneur, tuteur for the first Paris family, agreed to block off the passage between the two chambres so that the door on the Rue St. Louis would allow admittance only to the south apartment. The north apartment was entered by a small boarded vestibule, (tambour) which was to be added on the Rue St. Louis by converting a window into a door at the northern end of the house. The porch would have two doors the outside one closing with a key, the interior one with a latch (loquet) [NOTE 88a].

There was only one back or west door, leading to the yard, and both apartments shared it, though in 1734 the tenant Dallemand's use of the door was restricted to going to the well and the lean-to where firewood was stored for his own use.

There is no description of the southern half of the house, though the 1741 rental agreement between Jean Seigneur and Maujot mentions that the house overlooked the Rue d'Orleans and the Rue St. Louis ("donnant sur la Rue St. Louis et sur la Rue D'Orleans") [NOTE 89]. This would indicate [PAGE 20:] the presence of windows along the Rue d'Orleans. Moreover, in 1756 when Bernard Paris rented the northern part of the house to Jean Baptiste and Marguerite Rose he stipulated that he would keep for himself "le petit appartement qui Est au Sud dela Susde Maison". This might indicate that the southern apartment was smaller than the northern one [NOTE 90].

In 1758 when the house was hit by British bombs, the materials were salvaged to build a shelter for the wounded of the fleet ("les blessés de l'escadre") and to build a house for ships' officers [NOTE 91]. A description of the house was made thus:

une maison de charpente à deux étages de cinquante pieds de longueur sur vingt huit delarger ... située sur ledit terrain rue d'orleans faisant face a laplace d'armes, la ditte maison à deux Etages - construite en gros bois de charpente Et piquets, planches et Madriers Et cloisons; deux cheminées En briques a quatre feux chacune; couvertures En planches et bardaux, chassis et vitres, le tout aneuf dans l'etat qu'il se trouve [NOTE 92].

This document indicates that many changes had been made to the house since 1741. As described in 1734 the house was only one and one-half storeys high as opposed to two floors in 1758; in 1734 the house faced the Rue St. Louis, but in the 1758 document it is "faisant face à la place d'armes" on the Rue d'Orleans, suggesting a change in entrance. Moreover, two fireplaces are described in 1758; previously only one fire-place common to both sides of the house was mentioned.

It is difficult to know if the house was reconstructed by the British or by Bernard Paris, but all the building materials were described as new [PAGE 21:] in 1758, which might indicate that Paris himself had rebuilt the 35-year old house.

The only description of the interior of the house after 1745 suggests that it had not changed much since 1741. When Rose died, an inventory of her goods outlined the layout of the bottom floor: a chambre with a window overlooking the yard joined by a door to another chambre looking over the Rue St. Louis [NOTE 93]. Since Paris occupied the apartment at the south of the house, this describes the north apartment, and its layout is roughly like that of the house before 1745.

The only other feature of the house for which we have a clue is the roof. Map 1730-2 shows 16A(l) with a hip roof at the south end while Map N.D. 24 and N.D. 89 show hips on both the north and south ends.

Besides the houses, the property was described as having a piquet fence. In 1728 the part of the lot behind the house was enclosed by such a fence [NOTE 94]. In 1741 Joseph Dallemand agreed to build a substantial piquet fence between 16A(l) and 16A(2) "comme La palissade qui donne sur la place", that is, resembling the military palisade overlooking the Place d'Armes [NOTE 95]. In 1756 the renters agreed to erect "La palissade du côte du sud ... affen de la Clore", the palisade fence to the south (Rue d'Orleans) ... in order to enclose it (the garden). Bernard Paris gave them the piquets for the job [NOTE 96]. Map 1731-3 shows a fence encircling the whole property except the house, with the yard separated by another fence from a garden at the west end of the lot. In this map, the fence separating the sublots is unbroken by a gateway. This could not have been the case by 1734 for Dallemand could not have reached the attached woodshed at the north side of the house without going through the 16A(2) property.

[PAGE 23:]

The other features of the property were a well and garden. In the 1734 rental agreement with Joseph Dallemand a well was mentioned as being located in the yard [NOTE 97]. A garden is stipulated separately from the yard (cour) in the rental agreements in 1728, 1741, 1756 and is shown in Map 1731-3.

(IV) TENANTS IN BLOCK 16, Lot A(2):

Lot A(2), like its neighbouring sublot, remained the property of the Paris family until the final fall of Louisbourg. It touched on every lot in the block: on the south Lot 16A(l), on the east the Rue St. Louis, on the north lots B and C, and on the west Lots D and E. It is possible that the house in 16A(2) was constructed after that in 16A(l), for Map 1724-2 shows a house in the latter location but not in 16A(2). Moreover, Paris obtained that section of the lot later and the house located there was rented out later than its neighbour.

Antoine Paris rented the property first to Abraham Tabois, a ship merchant in 1732 [NOTE 98]. There are no records of Tabois' family or connections; records referring to him begin in 1729 and he died in 1732 leaving Messrs. Fautoux and Descout to represent his interests. He was described as a "marchand françois" meaning that his family and property were back in France [NOTE 99].

Tabois apparently lived aboard ship or at an Inn when in Louisbourg,, since he used this house for one year as a magasin-boutique, leaving his servant, Thomas Eaton, an Irishman, to sleep in the attic and guard the place [NOTE 100]. He died in April 1732 and seals were put on the house, containing the goods off a ship, le Rondeau, which he was managing [NOTE 101]. The goods in [PAGE 24:] the house were put under the care of Dominique Colongue, the new husband of the widow Paris who now had ownership and the right to rent the house in order to pay off the debts of her former husband's estate [NOTE 102] Colongue was to return the merchandise to the rightful owners, presumably when le Rondeau called in to Louisbourg again. The only exceptions were two anchors found in the kitchen which had been the property of Tabois [NOTE 103].

Le Rondeau was back in Louisbourg the following October, but while loading was underway the magasin was robbed. The robbery and its attendant circumstances give us a few insights into Louisbourg life. While the goods were being moved night fell. and Jean Mercier, the ship's cooper, and Thomas Eaton, were stationed in the attic to guard the merchandise. On the morning of 9 October, Mercier rose at 6 A.M., came down to the magasin, did some work and went out into the yard to relieve himself, apparently in the open. He saw their neighbour, the niece of the widow Préville and their servant, picking up the gate that opened between the yards and speculated that the wind had blown it down. He entering the shop he noticed a back window open with the lower glass smashed. The evidence eventually led to the imprisonment of Mercier since no damage had been done to the outside of the shutter in forcing it open; the shutter had to be opened from the inside and only someone with plenty of time and knowledge of the inside of the window could have done so [NOTE 104]. Apart from the robbery it is interesting to note the time when people arose, how merchandise was guarded, and the bowel habits of a certain class; the accompanying description of the house will appear below.

It is uncertain if the house was rented in 1733, but it was remodeled, and in 1734 Jean Seigneur, acting on behalf of Dominique Colongue, now at [PAGE 26:] Port Toulouse, rented the property to Nicholas Deschamps, an aubergiste, for three years beginning in December [NOTE 105]

[PAGE 25:]

(C) - [DESCHAMPS FAMILY RECONSTITUTION:

(1) NICHOLAS DESCHAMPS;
(2) MARIE MAGDELAINE ISABEL;
(3) NICHOLAS DESCHAMPS (b. 1733);
(4) CLAUDE JACQUE DESCHAMPS (1738);
(5) NICOLAS DESCHAMPS (1738)]

[PAGE 26:]

Deschamps was around 36 years old when he rented the sublot [NOTE 106]. He was married to Marie Magdelaine Isabel, who was two years his junior, perhaps before coming to Louisbourg. Three children are recorded to them, Nicolas born in 1733, and twins Nicolas and Claude Jacque (sic) in November 1738. Claude Jacque died a month later and the renaming of a second boy Nicolas could mean that the first child had died as well [NOTE 107].

Deschamps continued in the house, running it as an inn until at least 1744 and probably until the first siege [NOTE 108]. The final reference to Deschamps is dated 8 November 1745 when he wrote from France to François Bigot asking for protection against his creditors [NOTE 109]. There is no record of Deschamps' returning to Louisbourg, but his widow bought property in Block 15 in 1756 [NOTE 110].

After the English occupation of Louisbourg, Magdelaine Ferret, still living at Port Toulouse, again rented the property to Perrine Bonnu, the wife of Jean Barré who was probably at sea at the time. Though the official transaction took place 28 May 1751 and was to extend for seven years and four months, the couple had rented the house since 28 July 1749 without notarial sanction [NOTE 111].

Jean Barré was a native of Saintes, Saintonge, the son of Leonard Barré and Marie Audoint. He served as a ship captain for the Rodrigue family on a trip to Martinique in 1743, and in 1751 was master and owner of his own ship, the Laure Isabelle, sailing between Louisbourg and his establishment at Gaspé. This probably kept him at sea a good deal of the time [NOTE 112]. His wife, Perrine Bonnier (Bonnu), was the daughter of Bertrand [PAGE 27:] and Olive Bonnier of Saint Malo, Brittany, and widow of Jacques Chantrel when she married Barré in 1743 at the age of 26 [NOTE 113].

The parish records reveal only one child, a daughter, Anne Perine, born 3 July 1744. [NOTE 114]. However, according to the census of 1749 the Barré household consisted of Jean Barré, Perrine Bonnier, a son Jean and the wife's sister, Jeanne Bonnier [NOTE 115]. Barré's wife died in July 1754; he followed her 23 November 1757 leaving a child under the care of his sister-in-law who was still living with them at the time [NOTE 116].

When the Barré family moved into the house in 16A(2), it was still owned by Antoine Paris' widow, Magdelaine Ferret, who rented it at 350 livres per year [NOTE 117]. She died in 1753 and the house became the property of the surviving family, represented by Bernard Paris. Very little care seems to have been taken of the house, for in the fall of 1756, Jean Barré was complaining that it was unfit for human habitation [NOTE 118]. The first icy blasts of December convinced him that he must leave. He paid the back rent and was released from his rental contract [NOTE 119]. He moved to a house owned by Claude Perrin in Block 19, Lot C, where he died 12 November 1757 [NOTE 120]. There is no record of repairs being made to the house but in December, 1757 Paris rented out the house to officers of the Artois battalion stationed in Louisbourg for 1,000 livres per annum [NOTE 121]. No other reference is made to the house, but since it does not appear on plans after 1758 we can assume it was destroyed during the siege.

(V) STRUCTURES IN BLOCK 26, LOT A(2):

Lot A(2) measured 40 pieds along the Rue St. Louis by 90 pieds. The lot contained a charpente house with a double fireplace, facing the Rue St. Louis [NOTE 122]. The first detailed description of the house is given in 1732 during an investigation after the robbery of Abraham Tabois.

[PAGE 28:]

On entering the front door there was a chambre to the south divided into at least two cabinets. There was a door to the left which locked, leading into the first cabinet which had a fireplace. To the right of the door of the cabinet were shelves where Tabois stored cloth. There was another cabinet, presumably at the extreme west end of the house, next to the first cabinet where Tabois' bed was found. The part of the house called the magasin was a chambre to the right of the front door. The back door of the house must have led off this room since Mercier went through this door to relieve himself in the yard; he had no key to the cabinets, the only other rooms which might lead out to the yard. There was a window next to the front door and a shuttered one for the cabinet, which was robbed, on the south side of the back door overlooking the yard [NOTE 123].

The house is further described as having a double fireplace, and it was again described in April 1732 when seals were placed after the death of Antoine Paris. The attendant documents reveal that the attic had dormer windows (lucarnes) which locked with hooks and eyes (crochets); the attic was entered by a trap door and the cabinet "du côté de la cheminée dans lequel il y a des merchandises du Sieur Tabois" had a shuttered window [NOTE 124].

In 1734 the house was rented to Nicholas Deschamps; it was described as having a double fireplace which separated the house into two "appartement", with large rooms, one to the north and the other to the south. The latter was divided into three cabinets with board partitions ("cloisons de planches"), all locked by key [NOTE 125].

[PAGE 29:]

By 1756 the house had deteriorated considerably. The attic still had shutters, but the various wood partitions and doors were in poor condition [NOTE 126].

Besides the house no other buildings were ever described, but an interval between Lots 16A(l) and 16A(2) is mentioned once in the Paris inventory as having a picket fence and a gate. The same feature is mentioned again after the Tabois robbery, and in the 1741 rental agreement of Lot 16A(l) [NOTE 127]. Unlike 16A(2), this sublot is never mentioned as having a garden, though a yard (cour) is noted [NOTE 128].

ENDNOTES
I. [PAGE 224:]

[NOTE 16:] A.F.L., plans 723-1, 723-2, 723-3 and 723-4;
[NOTE 17:] Ibid;
[NOTE 18:] A.N., Colonies, C11C, Vol. 9, fols. 207v., 210, Extrait de Registre des Concessions données à Louisbourg [17231;
[NOTE 19:] Ibid., C11A, Vol. 3., fol. 238, 1723;
[NOTE 20:] Ibid., E., Vol. 328, dossiers personnels, Antoine Paris;
[NOTE 21:] Ibid., C11C, Vol. 12, fol. 102, 5 avril 1735; A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl, Vol. 466, fols. 14-14a., Registre des Concessions, 1 septembre 1735;
[NOTE 22:] A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl, Vol. 406, fol. 32; Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fol. 96, 5 juillet 1725; Ibid., fol. 93, [15 mai 1706];
[NOTE 23:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 467, Recensement des Familles de la Colonie de Plaisance, Isle de Terre Neuve en 106, Recensement du nombre d'habitants et matelots pecheurs hivernant a plaisance en aage [sic] de porter les armes compris les chasseurs ou Coureurs du bois, 27 octobre 1711;
[NOTE 24:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2055, (Greffe de Terre Neuve), No. 13, 11 avril 1712;
[NOTE 25:] Ibid., G1, Vol. 406, fol. 172v., 23 décembre 1717; Ibid., G3, Carton 2056-3. pièces 4-5, 6 fevrier 1717;
[NOTE 26:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 466, pièce 51, 1715;
[NOTE 27:] Jean François Lefebvre de Bellefeuille (1670-c.1744) settled near Plaisance around the beginning of the 18th century and ran a small fishery there. He probably went to Isle Royale around 1713 and then to a seigneurie in the Gaspé. He thus had plenty of opportunity to meet Paris both at Plaisance and Louisbourg. (David Lee, "Lefebvre de Bellefeuille, Jean François", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. 3, Toronto: University Press 1974. pp. 371-372);

[PAGE 225:]

[NOTE 28:] A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl, Vol. 466, pièce 83, fol. 13, 20 août 1725;
[NOTE 29:] Ibid., fol. 32v;
[NOTE 30:] A.N., Colonies, C11C, Vol. 16, fol. 15., ordonnanance du Roy, 31 mai 1723;
[NOTE 31:] Ibid., E, vol. 328, Paris to Roudot, 12 octobre 1725;
[NOTE 32:] Ibid., B, Vol. 47, fols. 245-247, 28 mars 1724;
[NOTE 33:] A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl, Vol. 466, pièce 83, fol. 13, 20 août 1725;
[NOTE 34:] Ibid., fols. 14-15, 12 décembre 1724;
[NOTE 35:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fols. 77-77v., 20 fevrier 1732;
[NOTE 36:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 466, pièce 83, fol. 21, 28 janvier 1727; A.N., Colonies, C11B, Vol. 8, fols. 8-20v., 28 novembre 1726;
[NOTE 37:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G2, Vol. 203, pièce 371, 13 mai 1733;
[NOTE 38:] Ibid;
[NOTE 39:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 406, Reg. 11, fol. 5, 12 août 1725; Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fol. 96, 5 juillet 1725;
[NOTE 40:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 180, fols. 560-590, Ibid., Gl, Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 32, 4 novembre 1731;
[NOTE 41:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fols. 50-51, 13 fevrier 1732;
[NOTE 42:] Ibid., Vol. 203, pièce 371, 13 mai 1733;
[NOTE 43:] Ibid., G1, Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 35, 21 mars 1732; Ibid., fol. 39, 6 octobre 1732;
[NOTE 44:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2038, No. 86, 4 avril 1733;
[NOTE 45:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 197, pièce 153, fols. 8-8v., 29 juillet 1740; Ibid., Gl, Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 65v., 14 mai 1737; Ibid., fol. 35, 21 mars 1732; Ibid., G2, Vol. 182, fols. 803-913, juillet 1733;
[NOTE 46:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 203, pièce 371, 9 novembre 1757;
[NOTE 47:] Ibid.; [PAGE 226:]
[NOTE 48:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2047-1, No. 172, 19 août 1751;
[NOTE 49:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 409, Reg. II, fol. 44, 25 mai 1758;
[NOTE 50:] A.N., Marine, C7, Vol. 235, 4 juillet 1758;
[NOTE 51:] P.R.O., Admiralty 2., Vol. 227., fols. 98-99, [n.d.]; Ibid., Vol. 225, fols. 372-373 [n.d.];
[NOTE 52:] A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl., vol. 466, fol. 69, Recensement de l'Isle Royale, 1734, n.p.;
[NOTE 53:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2046-2., No 57, 20 septembre 1741;
[NOTE 54:] Ibid., Carton 2043., No. 12, 24 septembre 1754;
[NOTE 55:] Ibid., Carton 2039, No. 67, 21 février 1735; Ibid., Gl, Vol. 409, Reg. I, fol. 31, 9 septembre 1754;
[NOTE 56:] Ibid. Vol. 407, Reg II, fol. 17v., 30 mai 1743;
[NOTE 57:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2047-1., No. 16, 18 septembre 1743;
[NOTE 58:] Ibid., Carton 2046-2. No, 26., 26 novembre 1741; Ibid., Carton 2058, No. 679 14 décembre 1726; Ibid., Carton 2047-2., No. 103,, 31 décembre 1744; Ibid., G2. Vol. 208, fol. 474., pièce 55, 4 décembre 1738; Ibid., Vol. 203, fol. 371, 9 novembre 1757;
[NOTE 59:] Ibid., Gl., Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 38v., 10 septembre 1732; Ibid., Vol. 407, Reg. 11, fol. 37v., 6 août 1744;
[NOTE 60:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2058, No. 1, 1 avril 1727;
[NOTE 61:] Ibid., Carton 2058,, No. 31, 22 octobre 1725; Ibid., G1, Vol. 21, fol. 10, décembre 1724;
[NOTE 62:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2058, No. 41, 29 novembre 1725;
[NOTE 63:] Ibid., Carton 2038-1. No. 10, 10 avril, 1731;
[NOTE 64:] Gilles Proulx, Aubergistes et Cabaretiers de Louisbourg, 1713-1758, août 1972, pp. 8, 22; A.N., Outre- Mer, G3, Carton 2038, No. 10, 10 avril 1731; [PAGE 227:]
[NOTE 65:] A.N. Colonies, C11C, Vol. 12, fol. 109, 5 avril 1735;
[NOTE 66:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2046-1, No. 173, 19 novembre 1739; Ibid., Gl, Vol. 407, Reg. 1, fols. 73v.-74, 16 juillet 1741;
[NOTE 67:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2039-1. No. 13, 8 février 1734;
[NOTE 68:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 185., fols. 218-294, 12 novembre 1738; Ibid., fol. 248., 28 septembre 1738;
[NOTE 69:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 193, Reg. II, 4 novembre 1754; Ibid., 5 novembre 1754;
[NOTE 70:] Ibid., G3,, Carton 2039-1. No. 10, 25 octobre 1734;
[NOTE 71:] A.N., Colonies, C11B. Vol. 18, fols. 20-23v., 5 novembre 1736;
[NOTE 72:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2046-2. No. 64, 7 novembre 1741;
[NOTE 73:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 182., fols. 661-69l, 9 novembre 1733;
[NOTE 74:] A.C.M., B, Vol. 269, fols. 5- 5v., 12 juillet 1732; Ibid., fol. 19., 25 octobre 1735;
[NOTE 75:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2046-1. No. 91, 14 octobre 1738; Ibid., Carton 2039-1., No. 54, 18 mai 1734;
[NOTE 76:] A.C.M., B, Vol. 269, fol. 19, 25 octobre 1735;
[NOTE 77:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2046-1, No. 91, 14 octobre 1738; Ibid., Carton 2039-1,, No- 54, 18 mai 1734;
[NOTE 78:] A.F.L., plan 746-8a, parts 1 and 2;
[NOTE 79:] A.N., Outre- Mer,, G2. Vol. 204, dossier 470., fols. 65v.-66v., 6 septembre 1751; A.C.M., B., Vol. 1620, p. 26, mai-octobre 1754; Outre-Mer, G3,Carton 2047-1. No. 172,, 19 août 1751;
[NOTE 80:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2047-1. No. 172, 19 août 1751;
[NOTE 81:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 203, pièce 369, 11-12 août 1755; Ibid., pièce 371, 22 août 1755-15 août 1758;
[NOTE 82:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 212, dossier 552, pièce 22 [1756];

[PAGE 228:]

[NOTE 83:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 409, Reg. I, fol. 77v., 27 novembre 1755;
[NOTE 84:] Ibid., Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 63, 27 septembre 1736; Ibid., Vol.409, Reg. Il, fol. 25v., 28 août 1757;
[NOTE 85:] Ibid.5 Vol. 409, Reg. II, fol. 44, 25 mai 1758;
[NOTE 86:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2058, No. 6, 14 avril 1728; Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fol. 76v., 20 fevrier 1732; Ibid., G3,, Carton 2039-1@ No. 13, 8 fevrier 1734;
[NOTE 87:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2058, No. 6, 14 avril 1728;
[NOTE 88:] Ibid., Carton 2039-1, No. 13, 8 fevrier 1734;
[NOTE 88a:] Ibid;
[NOTE 89:] Ibid., Carton 2046-2, No. 64, 7 novembre 1741;
[NOTE 90:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 212, dossier 552, pièce 22 [1756];
[NOTE 91:] A.N., Marine, C7, Vol. 235, 4 juillet 1758;
[NOTE 92:] Ibid;
[NOTE 93:] A.N., Outre- Mer, G2, Vol. 212, dossier 552, pièce 12, 27 août 1757;
[NOTE 94:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2058, No. 6, 14 avril 1728;
[NOTE 95:] Ibid., Carton 2046-2, No. 64, 7 novembre 1741;
[NOTE 96:] Ibid; G2, Vol. 212, dossier 552, pièce 22 [1756];
[NOTE 97:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2039-1, No. 13, 8 fevrier 1734;
[NOTE 98:] Ibid., Carton 2038, No. 705 26 avril 1732;
[NOTE 99:] Ibid., No. 98, 26 avril 1732;
[NOTE 100:] Ibid, G2, Vol. 181, fols. 489-499, 9 octobre 1732;
[NOTE 101:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2038, No. 98, 26 avril 1732;
[NOTE 102:] Ibid., G2; Vol. 184, fols. 114-115, 23 mars 1733;
[NOTE 103:] Ibid;
[NOTE 104:] Ibid., Vol. 181, fols. 489-499, 9 octobre 1732; Ibid., Vol. 184, fol. 105, 20 octobre 1732; [PAGE 229:]
[NOTE 105:] Ibid., G3,, Carton 2039-1. No. 9, 5 novembre 1734;
[NOTE 106:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 186, fols. 259-259v., 25 octobre 1740;
[NOTE 107:] Ibid., Gl, Vol. 406, Reg. IV, fol. 48, 30 septembre 1733; Ibid., Vol. 407; Reg. I. fols. 18, 19v., 23 novembre, 16 décembre 1738;
[NOTE 108:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 197, fols. 8- 8v., 29 juillet 1740; Ibid., Vol. 186, fols, 259-259v., 25 octobre 1740; Ibid., Vol. 199, 1744-1745;
[NOTE 109:] A.N., Colonies, B, Vol. 82-2., p. 398, 8 novembre 1745;
[NOTE 110:] A.N., Outre-Mer, G2., Vol., 205, dossier 393., 25 mai 1756; Ibid., Vol. 206-2, dossier 407, fols. 43v.-46, 24 mai 1756;
[NOTE 111:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2047-1,. No. 159., 28 mai 1751; Ibid., G2. Vol. 204, dossier 470, fols. 66v.-67, 10 septembre 1751;
[NOTE 112:] A.C.M., B, Vol. 6114., fol. 40, p. 11; Ibid, Vol. 6116, fol. 30v., p. 15; A.N., Outre-Mer, G3, Carton 2041, 1 août 1753;
[NOTE 113:] A.N., Outre-Mer, Gl. Vol. 407., Reg. II, 18 novembre 1743; Ibid., Vol. 409, Reg. l, 24 Juillet 1754;
[NOTE 114:] Ibid., Vol. 407., Reg. II, fol. 36, 3 juillet 1744;
[NOTE 115:] Ibid., Vol. 466, pièce 76, p. 638;
[NOTE 116:] Ibid.. G2, Vol. 209, fol. 5(l), pièce 4, 23 novembre 1757;
[NOTE 117:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2047-7, No. 159, 28 mai 1751;
[NOTE 118:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 206, dossier 41-2. 26 novembre 1756;
[NOTE 119:] Ibid., Vol. 206-2, dossier 419., fols. 36v.-37v., 6 décembre 1756;
[NOTE 120:] Ibid., Vol. 209, dossier 511, pièce 4., 23 novembre 1757; Ibid., pièce 1. 13 novembre 1757;
[NOTE 121:] A.N., Colonies, C11C. Vol. 14,, fol. 118, 16 décembre 1757;
[NOTE 122:] A.N., Outre- Mer, G2, Vol. 181, fols. 76v.-77, 20 fevrier 1732;
[NOTE 123:] Ibid., fols. 59-63, 20 fevrier 1732;

[PAGE 230:]

[NOTE 124:] Ibid., G3,, Carton 2038, No. 98; 26 avril 1732;
[NOTE 125:] Ibid., Carton 2039-1, No. 9, 5 novembre 1734;
[NOTE 126:] Ibid., G2, Vol. 206, dossier 412, 26 novembre 1756;
[NOTE 127:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2046-2) No. 20, 7 novembre 1741; Ibid., G2, Vol. 181 fols. 59-93, 20 fevrier 1732; Ibid., fols. 489-499,9 octobre 1732;
[NOTE 128:] Ibid., G3, Carton 2039-1. No- 9, 5 novembre 1739; Ibid., G2, Vol. 181, fols. 489-499, 9 octobre 1732.