Xainte Dupont – Who Was Zacharie Cloutier’s Wife?

Xainte Dupont is best known for being Zacharie Cloutier‘s wife; however, there is more to her story than that. She is also one of my ancestors on my mother’s side. I have three connections in my family tree to her and Zacharie Cloutier. If you want to know more about this French pioneer, check out these things you didn’t know about Xainte Dupont: 

Xainte Dupont’s Early Life

Marie-Xainte Dupnt (also spelled Sainte) was born around 1596 in Saint-Jean-de-Mortagne, Perche, France, to Paul-Michel Dupont and Perrine Rousseau. She reportedly had three siblings: Renée Dupont, Guillaume Dupont and a young sister who died the same year she was born. 

First Marriage

Dupont reportedly married Michel Lermusier in 1612 when she was just 15 years old. The two did not have any children together and, sadly, Lermusier died not long after he and Xainte were married; however, there is no record of when he died.

Xainte Dupont’s Marriage to Zacharie Cloutier 

Xainte Dupont married Zacharie Cloutier on July 18, 1616, in St-Jean in Mortagne-au-Perche, France. He was 26 years old and she was 20. They had six children: Zacharie Cloutier Jr., Jean Cloutier, Sainte Cloutier, Anne Cloutier, Charles Cloutier and Marie Louise Cloutier. 

In 1634, Zacharie Cloutier signed a contract with Robert Giffard de Moncel to move to New France with Xainte Dupont and their children. Cloutier and Dupont helped establish a new settlement at Beauport, a community near Quebec City. 

Xainte Dupont’s Children

Dupont and Cloutier had six children in total. Although they were all born in Perche, France, most of them spent the remainder of their lives in New France. 

Zacharie Cloutier Jr.

Zacharie Cloutier Jr., born in 1617, was the eldest child and followed his father’s path as a carpenter. Both father and son signed contracts with Robert Giffard to settle in New France when Zacharie Jr. was just 16.

In 1648, at 31, Zacharie Jr. became a clerk of the Community of Residents. That same year, he married Madeleine Émard in La Rochelle, France. They had eight children: Barbe Delphine Cloutier, René Cloutier, Sainte Cloutier, Geneviève Cloutier, Marie Madeleine Cloutier, Marie Cloutier, Charles Cloutier and Pierre Cloutier. 

Interestingly, Zacharie Jr.’s wife’s maternal lineage, the Bineau family, is linked to a rare genetic disorder that mostly affects French Canadians called oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. This disorder, affecting about one in 1,000 individuals, typically emerges in adulthood, between 40 to 50 years, causing muscle weakness around the eyes and throat. Symptoms may include drooping eyelids and difficulty swallowing.

Jean Cloutier

Jean Cloutier was born in 1620. Like his father and brother, he was also a carpenter. 

He married Marie Martin, daughter of French Canadian pioneers Abraham Martin and Marguerite Langlois, in 1648. He was 27 while Marie was only 12 years old. They had fourteen children: Anonyme Cloutier, Jean Cloutier, Marie Cloutier, Marguerite Cloutier, Louise Cloutier, Anne Cloutier, Sainte Cloutier, Joseph Cloutier, Pierre-Paul Cloutier, Pierre Cloutier, Françoise Cloutier, Angélique-Geneviève Cloutier, Agnès Cloutier, and Marie-Madeleine Cloutier. 

Jean Cloutier settled in Château-Richer and is considered one of the “builders” of the French community. His descendants kept his ancestral home for nearly three centuries, which still stands today.

Saint Cloutier

Sainte Cloutier, born in 1622, was the only child of Zacharie Cloutier and Xainte Dupont to die during childhood. She died in France in 1632 at the age of 10, two years before the family moved to New France. 

Anne Cloutier

Anne Cloutier was born in 1626. She married Robert Drouin in 1637 in New France. The marriage contract was drawn up in 1636 when Anne was only 10 years old and he was 29 years old. It’s considered the oldest marriage contract in Canada. According to the marriage contract, the couple would only be allowed non-conjugal visits for the first two years. 

Cloutier and Robert Druin had six children, but only two of them survived childhood — Geneviève Drouin and Jeanne Drouin. When Anne Cloutier died in 1648 at the age of 33, her two children with Drouin went to live with her parents because they did not approve of Drouin’s new wife. 

Charles Cloutier

Charles Cloutier, born in 1629, is also listed as a carpenter. In 1659, he married Louise Morin, daughter of Noël Morin and Hélène Desportes. Charles was 30 while Louise was just 15. They had 12 children: Élisabeth-Ursule Cloutier, Marie-Madeleine Cloutier, Marie-Anne Cloutier, Jeanne Cloutier, Charlotte Cloutier, Louise Cloutier, Charles Cloutier, Hélène Cloutier, Marie Cloutier, Jean-Baptiste Cloutier, Zacharie Cloutier and Augustin Cloutier.

Like his brothers, Cloutier also lived in Château-Richer with his family where he owned land. Out of these 12 children, 10 got married and established their own families, helping the Cloutier family to expand over numerous generations.

Marie Louise Cloutier

Marie Louise Cloutier was born in 1632. She married Francois Marguerie, Sieur de La Haye, in 1645 when she was 13 years old and he was 33. They lived in Trois-Rivières until Marguerie unexpectedly died in a canoe accident in 1648. That same year, Cloutier married Jean Mignot. They lived on her parent’s land in Beauport where Mignot was a farmer. Cloutier and Mignot had 12 children together: Jean-Aubin Mignot, Marie-Thérèse Mignot, Marie-Sainte Mignot, Marie-Madeleine Mignot, Françoise Mignot, Jeanne Mignot, Charles Mignot, Louis Mignot, Nicolas Mignot, Jean-Baptiste Mignot, Marie Charlotte Mignot and Marie-Charlotte Mignot. 

Following Jean Mignot’s death, Marie Louise Cloutier married for a third time in her 50s. His name was Jean Mataut and he was also in his 50s. They had no children together.

Later Life

Although Xainte Dupont and her family initially settled in Beauport, they sold the property to Nicolas Dupont de Neuville in 1670 and then relocated to Château-Richer. Dupont and Cloutier spent the rest of their lives there. In 1677, Cloutier died. Three years later, Dupont died and was buried next to her husband in Château-Richer.

Xainte Dupont’s Royal Connection

Xainte Dupont is reportedly a descendant of Charlemagne, a medieval ruler who became the first Holy Roman Emperor. He was born around 747 and died in 814 and was the king of the Franks from 768 and the Lombards from 774. 

I haven’t seen this connection in my family tree; however, this is noted on Xainte Dupont’s profile on Geni. It says that she is the 24th great-granddaughter of Charlemagne and that her “line passes through Albert III, comte de Namur, in a path different from that of Augustin Chamberland.” 

Famous Descendants 

Xainte Dupont has many famous descendants, including Justin Trudeau, Angelina Jolie, Jim Carrey, Madonna, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Celine Dion, Ricky Gervais, Ryan Gosling, Jack Kerouac, Beyonce, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Chris Pratt, Alex Trebek, Justin Bieber, Shania Twain, and Derek and Julianne Hough.

My Connection to Xainte Dupont

I am related to Xainte Dupont in a couple of ways through my mother.

Connection One

1. Zacharie Cloutier (1580-1677)  and Xainte Dupont (1596 – 1680)
2. Louise Cloutier (1632 – 1699) and Jean Migneault (1622 – bef. 1681)
3. Sainte Mignot (1653 – 1736) and Jean Grondin (1640 – 1714)
4. Sébastien Grondin (1687 – 1749) and Marie Anne Pinel (1694 – 1761)
5. Jean Baptiste Grondin (1713 – 1775) and Geneviève Ouellet (1714 – 1761)
6. Joseph Grondin (1742 – 1815) and Marie-Anne Jacques (1754 – 1822)
7. Charles Grondin (1780 – bef. 1818) and Francoise Beneteau (1775 – 1812) 
8. Charles Grondin (1807 – 1881) and Susanne Renaud) (1811 – 1893)
9. Charles Alexander Grondin (1853 – 1922) and Elizabeth Metivier (1860 – 1931)
10. Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973) and Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966)
11. Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
12. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Connection Two

1. Zacharie Cloutier (1580-1677)  and Xainte Dupont (1596 – 1680)
2. Charles Cloutier (1629 – 1709) and Louyse Morin (1643 – 1713)
3. Marie Cloutier (1679 – 1744) and Joseph Gagnon (abt. 1677 – 1745)
4. François Gagnon (1711 – 1757) and Marie Thecle Deblois (1716 – 1748)
5. Marie Francoise Gagnon (1742 – 1745) and Pierre François Labaleine Bénéteau (1745 – 1803)
6. Francoise Beneteau (1775) and Charles Grondin (1780 – bef. 1818)
7. Charles Grondin (1807 – 1881) and Susanne Renaud 1811 – 1893)
8. Alexander Grondin (1853 – 1922) and Elizabeth Metivier(1860 – 1931)
9. Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973) and Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966) and) 
10. Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
11. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Are you related to Xainte Dupont? Let me know!

Do you want to know more about the earliest settlers in New France? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.