Centre de Poitiers. Vue du centre historique prise depuis le quartier des Dunes : église Sainte-Radegonde, cathédrale Saint-Pierre, palais de Justice. Par Luca Aless — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95459402

I told you that I was cleaning up my tree, right? Here’s an example of a cold case that was rather simple to classify. But let’s get to the point. The fact that I (off the record) nicknamed Duchesneau or Chesneau “Inconnu”—that’s how I call my ancestors with unknown first names until I know better—only proves that I didn’t search very hard for new clues about this 8th-great-grandfather on the paternal side of my grandmother Charbonneau.

For one thing, the marriage record from the parish of Charlesbourg for his son René didn’t provide the father’s first name. Though I admit I didn’t even check in the René Jetté’s dictionary. Yet, a marriage contract was mentioned for René and Marie-Jeanne Guérin in 1695. When finally looking up on the Fichier Origine website, not only did I learn that my “Inconnu”‘s first name was Pierre, but that a marriage contract dated February 10, 1634, with Charlotte Roy was found with Notary Daniel Chesneau, in Poitiers, France.

Thanks to this marriage contract, I happen to get some names for the previous generation. On the paternal side, we have Olivier Chesneau, royal notary in Poitiers, and Magdeleine Massot. On the maternal side, we have Pierre Roy, royal sergeant, and Marie Delafond.

The parish register of Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Poitiers reveals its secrets: Charlotte Roy was baptized there on April 6, 1616, as well as two children from her and Pierre, in 1645 and 1648.

As for René, who arrived in New France around 1690, he was a soldier in the Navy’s troops, for the Company La Groix. He was born about 1660 and from the parish of Saint-Martin of Fleuré (Vienne). Besides, a commemorative plaque can be seen on the walls of Saint-Martin church in Fleuré. It was apposed in 1993, by the Association of the descendants of René Duchesneau.