Zacharie Cloutier
| Zacharie Cloutier | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1590 Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Mortagne-au-Perche, France |
| Died | September 17, 1677 (aged 85 or 86) Château-Richer, New France |
| Occupation | carpenter, colonist |
| Spouse(s) | Xainte Dupont |
| Children | Zacharie Jean Xainte Anne Charles Louise |
| Parent(s) | Denis Cloutier and Renée Brière |
Zacharie Cloutier (c. 1590 – September 17, 1677) was a French carpenter who, in 1634, immigrated to New France in the first wave of the Percheron Immigration from the former province of Perche, to an area that, today, is part of Quebec, Canada. He settled in Beauport and founded one of the foremost families of Quebec.
Many sources state that Zacharie Cloutier was born about 1590 in the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Mortagne-au-Perche, France. Cloutier was one of several children of Denis Cloutier and his first wife Renée Brière.
The notary Mathurin Roussel of Mortagne called Cloutier the "family peacemaker," describing how Cloutier helped his father and brother solve a dispute involving inheritance. In the parish of his birth, Cloutier wedded Xainte (aka Sainte) Dupont, on July 18, 1616. Xainte had been born around 1595 in Mortagne to Paul-Michel and Perrine Dupont, and was the widow of Michel Lermusier.
In 1619 Henri II de Montmorency purchased the New France colony from his brother-in-law Henry II of Bourbon. Included amongst the laborers hired to assist Samuel de Champlain in “inhabiting, clearing, cultivating and planting” New France were the names of Zacharie and his father Denis. This group was not a group of settlers, but a group of laborers, who would return to France once their work had been completed. Several years later, however, Cloutier returned to Canada to help establish a new settlement at Beauport.
Cloutier was one of the first Frenchmen recruited by Robert Giffard de Moncel to expand the colony of New France by settling the Beauport area near Quebec City. Cloutier arrived in 1634 (at the age of about 44) and either arrived with or was soon followed by his family. This was an important addition to the colony's population which numbered about 100 prior to his arrival. Cloutier worked with fellow immigrant Jean Guyon du Buisson to construct Giffard's manor house (the oldest house in Canada) and other colonial buildings.
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