Research on Mathieu D’Amours

Lately, I’ve pondered time and the short amount we might enjoy. One thing I’ve heard is that we have two deaths: our natural end when the heart stops beating and brain function ceases, and then the last time our name is mentioned. I’d like to move back the second death of my ancestors. So I’m beginning to speak their names again.

The first shall be Mathieu D’Amours. My 9th-great-grandfather boarded a French ship bound for Quebec. Arriving in 1651, he went on to marry, have fifteen children, protect the citizens of Nouvelle France as a major, and serve on the Souvereign Council for twelve years. Mathieu lived for 78 years. 

I know a fair amount about Mathieu’s adult life—from his early thirties until his death in 1695. His childhood, however, is a mystery to me, and those first three decades are what I want to uncover most.

I’m trying to learn who my ancestors really were—not just dates on a tree, but the choices they made, the personalities that drove them. We’re all the protagonists of our own stories, but those stories were shaped by people who came before us. I want to understand how.

This winter, I’ll return to Quebec with a sharper purpose. In summer, I’ll travel to Paris. My hope is to walk the streets where Mathieu and his family lived and maybe feel a small connection across the centuries. I’m hoping to speak with experts on Parisian nobility and on the early decades of New France.

After Mathieu D’Amours, I’ll be exploring ancestors from Ireland and Italy.

If anyone is in contact with experts about Quebec or Paris in the 1600s, I’d appreciate a connection. 

A few questions:

• What was Paris life like growing up in the early 1600s? Specifically for the youngest son of a royal counselor. 
• What work did Mathieu do before departing for the New World?
• How did he spend his free time?
• How did Mathieu interact with his family, especially his grandchildren?

My first trip to Quebec