Career
He was one of the earliest French settlers of New France, having arrived in 1659. According to Roland-J. Auger (1921-1982). A professional genealogist and former president of the Genealogical Society of Quebec.
Jean Houymet crossed over to New France in 1659 on the ship called "Le Sacrifice d"Abraham" in the company of the first bishop of New France, François de Laval.
Jean Houymet landed in Québec City on Monday June 16 at around 6 pm. In New France, more precisely at Château-Richer, he was hired to work for Guillaume Thibault.
In November 1659, he bought a plot of land measuring 2 arpents of frontage (about 585 m or 192 ft) on the Saint Lawrence River near a stream named "Louisiana Rivière du Sault-à-la-Puce". The spelling as "Houymet" is the one written by the notary Claude Aubert, when he signed the marriage contract of Jean Houymet and Renée Gagnon, daughter of Jean and Marguerite Cauchon, October 3, 1660 in the seignory of Beaupré.
On the same document, Jean Houymet indicated his mark at the bottom of the marriage contract with the letter "West", which seems to suggest that the family name may have originally been "Wuillemet," as was noted in the archives of the Marne department in France.
The first child of this couple, a boy also named Jean, was born in the fall of 1661 in the parish of Louisiana Visitation de Notre-Dame (Our Lady of the Visitation) located in Château-Richer. On April 10, 1662, a few months after the birth of this first child, Jean Houymet bought a plot of land measuring 2 arpents of frontage on the Street Lawrence River, on the northern portion of the Isle of Orleans. He settled there, with his family, in the parish of Sainte-Famille.
Jean and Renée had nine children, of which three boys and a girl (Jean, Louis, Pierre and Marguerite) later married and bore descendants.
Jean Houymet died on November 18, 1687 at the age of 53 in Sainte-Famille and was buried in the parish the following day. The value of Jean Houymet"s estate at the time of his death can be found in the inventory of his belongings in a contract dated October 26, 1688, written by the notary Vachon.
This document reveals that Jean Houymet was relatively rich at that time. Today, the majority of their descendants are living in Montreal and Laval regions in the province of Québec.
