Antoine ROY dit DESJARDINS
Biography



Antoine ROY dit DESJARDINS — (1635 - 1684)

French-Canadian pioneer Antoine Roy passed away on July 10th, 1684, at Lachine, Québec. The description in the attached image states simply that he had one child, Pierre (with wife Marie Major) and that he died on July 10th, 1684.

But his story is most interesting. He arrived in New France as a soldier in the Carignan-Salières Regiment. At the end of his tour of duty he decided to remain in Québec, returning to his occupation of cooper (Fr. tonnelier) and marrying fille-du-roi Marie Major.

Over the years, Antoine was chronically in debt. He was imprisoned more than once for failing to repay creditors. When he wed Marie in 1668 he made no mention of having been married with two children in France. Did Antoine abandon his family in France to make a new life in Québec?

And Antoine did not just "die" at Lachine: he was murdered by an enraged husband, Julien Talua, who found Antoine in bed with his wife Anne. There are suggestions that Antoine's liaison with Anne had been on-going.

Although Antoine and wife Marie had only one child, their son Pierre had almost twenty children with three different wives. They're the ancestors of a great number of descendants who take either Roy or Desjardins as surname. NHL coach (and former goaltender) Patrick Roy is one their notable descendants.

Perhaps ironically, considering Antoine's problems with debt, the Desjardins name lives on as one of the largest financial institutions in Québec, originally Caisses populaires Desjardins. Co-founders Alphonse Desjardins and wife Dorimène Roy Desjardins were distant cousins, both descended from Antoine.

It should be noted that the surname Roy was common in New France. No fewer than four soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment had the name: Michel Roy dit Châtellerault, Siméon Roy dit Audy, Jean Roy dit Lapensée and Antoine.

[Sources: PRDH; Fichier-Origine; Les anciennes familles du Québec, Brasserie Labatt limitée, La Brasserie, Québec, p. 65; Antoine's story can be found at WikiTree with his ID "Roy-302"]

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