Page 56 - Fortier Family History

added to this site according to the act. For a few years, Roch-Xavier will rent this before buying it a few years later. What would have attracted our ancestor in Gaspésie? According to the family tradition, a certain priest, Jean-Louis Allain, would have promised him land if Roch Xavier came to settle in Gaspésie to become a tanner. It is said that the area needed people specialized for this job in those years. It is indeed what one can read in a deed of 1863. Roch-Xavier would have claimed this ground after the death of the priest. This land would have been promised to him in 1858 or 1859.. In the years that follow, Roch Xavier will buy several properties. He will buy the land of his tannery below the bridge, a small land in the second row and another on the main street (road 132). Roch-Xavier would even have land around the city of Pabos to expand his tannery business. With the construction of the first «Robitaille bridge» that crossed the Leblanc Creek in 1880, Roch-Xavier and his son Pierre would have moved their tannery on the main road to finally become a merchant. We can only conclude that Roch-Xavier was comfortable financially. He will give some of his possessions to his only son Pierre in 1881. According to the censuses, the father and the son would have always been neighbor. The present Bigaouette family still lives there today (2020). The status of Roch-Xavier changes with the years according to the acts of the notaries, in addition to being fisherman and a tanner, he became a keeper of the peace in 1868 for a long time. Being a keeper of the peace was a function that related to justice. He was appointed by the state to receive civil and criminal complaints from surrounding localities. He was the judge and arbiter of the conflict, a kind of mediator. Later, in 1882, he introduced himself as a merchant and tanner in addition to wearing the title '' Esquire ''. Having multiple possessions affects its social status. This leaves us to believe that he was part of the elite of the city of Caplan. If we look at the censuses, the Bigaouette family is one of the few families to know how to read and write. Roch Xavier would certainly hit the imagination of the city of Saint-Charles-de-Caplan. In the centennial book of the city, we can see a map with the sites that have already existed and we can see the tannery of Roch Xavier located on Leblanc creek. The family has his obituary, but it has several errors. Appearing on the card is “Pierre Xavier Bicaouette”. In addition to the fact that the family name is incorrectly written, his name is not Pierre, but Roch. As can be seen, Roch-Xavier died in December, 1909. As mentioned before, Roch-Xavier's only son was Pierre (pictured left), born in Saint-Roch-de-Québec in 1845. He would have come with his father to Gaspésie to help him with the tannery and the store business. He married Marie-Anne Bujold in Bonaventure in 1866 and established in the second row of Caplan shortly thereafter. They would have moved to the main road when his father sold him his possessions and bequeathed debts a few months before his death. We have photos of Peter and his wife in possession. Before having them, it was Anne Marie Bigaouette who owned them. The photos have always been in the family house until the day she gives them to André. Reading in a notary act, I noticed that the family had four portraits, so there are two that have disappeared. There is also Pierre's photo with those of the other mayors in Caplan City Hall. But it is the same picture as shown on the left. Pierre was the owner of his father's old store on the road and several tanneries in the cities of Pabos and Gaspé. According to the city of Caplan, he would have been mayor of the municipality twice, from 1898 to 1899 and during the year 1927. There is an error: he would not have done his second term because he would have died in 1921. I believe it is rather his son, Wilbrod or Napoleon who owns Pierre as first or middle name. We'll talk about it again later. During his first term, Pierre would have repaired the road leading to Saint Alphonse with the help of Pierre Thomas dit Bigaouette 1820-1909