Jean Ménard

Life and times

General historical context. This section describes the times and places this person lived in. It is not documented fact about them; “likely” means just that.

Places

1. Beauport, New France and Province of Quebec, Canada 1684-1770

What was happening

• 1690 Battle of Quebec and Phips's Assault on Beauport Shore · Beauport, New France
  As a young child living in Beauport, Jean would have likely witnessed terrifying cannonades and local militia mobilizations when Sir William Phips landed New England troops directly on the Beauport flats before being repulsed. Source
• 1701 The Great Peace of Montreal · Montreal and New France
  As a young man coming of age, Jean would have likely felt immense relief as decades of devastating Iroquois warfare came to an end, opening safer travel and farming along the St. Lawrence River. Source
• 1711 The Walker Expedition Threatens New France · Quebec and St. Lawrence River, New France
  Shortly before his marriage, Jean would have likely stood watch with the Beauport militia as Quebec prepared for a massive British amphibious assault, which collapsed when the British fleet shipwrecked in the St. Lawrence Gulf. Source
• 1744 King George's War and Naval Blockades · New France
  Supporting his large family on their Beauport farm, Jean would have likely struggled with severe inflation and shortages of European manufactured goods caused by British naval blockades during King George's War. Source
• 1759 Battle of Beauport and the Siege of Quebec · Beauport, New France
  Living directly on the frontline of the Seven Years' War, Jean would have likely seen his farmstead damaged or occupied by Montcalm's entrenchments during the Battle of Beauport and British naval bombardment. Source
• 1763 Treaty of Paris and Establishment of the Province of Quebec · Province of Quebec, Canada
  In his old age, Jean would have likely experienced the monumental shift from French colonial governance to British imperial authority as New France was officially ceded under the Treaty of Paris. Source

In context

Jean Ménard lived a long life of eighty-six years entirely in the historic parish of Beauport, spanning the height and the ultimate fall of New France. Born in Beauport in May 1684 to pioneer Jacques Ménard dit Deslauriers and Marie-Madeleine Royer, Jean grew up in a fortified seigneurial settlement exposed to frontier warfare. As a boy, he witnessed the panic and defense of the Beauport coast during Sir William Phips's 1690 siege of Quebec. In January 1712, he married Françoise Vachon in Beauport, and together they raised a large family while farming the fertile flats along the St. Lawrence River. Jean lived through the prolonged peace that followed the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, witnessing the gradual expansion of local agriculture and river trade. His later years were upended by the Seven Years' War, when French entrenchments and the 1759 Battle of Beauport brought heavy bombardment and military occupation directly to his community. Surviving the transition to British rule following the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Jean lived to see his children and grandchildren adapt to the new regime before dying in Beauport in December 1770.