Michel Boudrot et Michelle Aucoin ~ Known Certainties

There are a number of incertitudes on the origins of Michel Boudrot. Here are the known certainties.

Michel was born in France at the beginning of the 17^th century (1601). Michel was close friends with Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, for he was godfather to his daughter Marie de Menou who was baptized on September 22, 1639. He obviously arrived in Acadia before that date, probably with a group of colonists recruited by Charles de Menou and Martin Le Godelier in LaChaussee, France, in 1632, and who departed from Saint-Martin-de-Ré on July 23, 1632.

In 1639 Michel was a managing agent in Port Royal, Acadia, and although the census of 1671 shows him to be a farmer, he assumed the duties of a magistrate and the census of 1686 shows him to be the lieutenant general of the colony. The following year, on October 5, 1687, he was given a testimonial for services rendered by Charles de Menou and the colonists who arrived in Acadia before 1641. About 1640, Michel married Michelle Aucoin. They had a family of eleven children.

Who was Michelle Aucoin? Michelle was the daughter of Martin Aucoin and Barbe Minguette. She was from LaRochelle, France, according to the most current sources. There are certainties about Martin Aucoin. On November 26, 1630, Jeanne, daughter of Martin and Barbe, was baptized in Sainte-Marguerite's Chapel in LaRochelle. Arnaud Gyon was the godfather and Jeanne Riou was the godmother.

On January 20, 1632, in Saint-Barthélemy-du-Grand Temple Church, Martin Aucoin married Marie Sallé. Arnaud Gyon, godfather of Jeanne Aucoin, was present at their marriage. Apparently Martin lost his wife Barbe Minguette after the birth of their daughter Jeanne.

On November 10, 1632, Jean, son of Martin Aucoin and Marie Sallé, was baptized in the same church.

To this day no other record of these families has been found in the LaRochelle registries.

From these records, it is found that Michelle Aucoin was born about 1620 and that she was the daughter of Martin Aucoin and Barbe Minguette, and that in all likelihood, the family arrived in La Rochelle after the siege of 1627-1628 to repopulate the city which had been devastated by 14 months of war between Catholics and Protestants. It was a war that had brought much suffering and deaths.

Between 1630 and 1632 it is certain that Martin Aucoin, his first wife, Barbe Minguette, his second wife, Marie Sallé, and their children lived in La Rochelle. Martin was a carpenter. They lived in the parish of Saint-Barthélemy and they were Catholic. Marie Sallé was the daughter of Denis Salle and Françoise Arnaud of the parish of Notre-Dame of Cougnes, La Rochelle.

These records were found in the church parish registries of La Rochelle, France.