Individual Details

The Foundations of the Allaire Family in the New World

Chapter I: Roots in the Soil of Poitou
The story of the Allaire family in North America began in the ancient province of Poitou, France, nestled within the quiet stone-built hamlet of Saint-Philbert-du-Pont-Charrault (now part of Chantonnay, Vendée). It was here that Sébastien Allaire, son of Guillaume, married Perrine Fleurisson on January 24, 1629.
Living in a modest stone home, the couple raised a Catholic family during a time of simmering peace. Two of their sons would grow up to alter the course of their lineage forever: Jean Allaire, baptized on September 19, 1632, and Charles Allaire, baptized on August 2, 1637. As young men in their twenties, the brothers looked beyond the borders of their ancestral farm. Driven not by religious persecution, but by a bold ambition to carve out a prosperous future, they turned their eyes toward the untamed frontiers of New France.
Chapter II: Crossing the Atlantic Aboard Le Taureau
In May 1658, Jean and Charles walked into the bustling Atlantic port city of La Rochelle. On May 14, they formally signed three-year contracts before notary Abel Cherbonnier to become trente-six-mois (thirty-six-monthers)—indentured laborers bound for the French colony. A wealthy merchant named François Perron backed their voyage, advancing Charles 35 livres and promising him a yearly wage of 75 livres, while the older and more experienced Jean secured 81 livres per year. François Perron fed the young men throughout May as they waited for the spring storms to clear.
On May 28, 1658, the Allaire brothers boarded a 150-ton flute-style ship named Le Taureau (The Bull), commanded by Captain Élie Tadourneau. Alongside 14 other indentured workers and an unusual cargo of 10 shipboard cats tasked with fighting a fierce rat infestation, they set sail. Propelled by favorable winds, Le Taureau completed an remarkably swift 38-day crossing. On July 6, 1658, the ship dropped anchor at the port of Québec, welcoming Charles to the New World just a few weeks shy of his 21st birthday. By the time they landed, the intense rodent battles below deck had left only 4 of the original 10 cats alive.
[ Guillaume Allaire ]
|
[ Sébastien Allaire ] === (m. 1629) === [ Perrine Fleurisson ]
|
_____________________|_____________________

| |
[ Jean Allaire ] [ Charles Allaire ]
(Baptized Sept 1632) (Baptized Aug 1637)

| |
m. Perrine Therien (1662) m. Catherine Fièvre (1663)

| |
[Jean, François, Pierre] [ 13 Children Total ]
(Branches: Dallaire, Delair)
Chapter III: Parallels, Tragedy, and Resilience
Upon arrival, the brothers' paths temporarily diverged as they worked off their debts. Jean found early employment, likely working as a servant for Abraham Martin (the famous namesake of the Plains of Abraham). On May 1, 1662, Jean knelt alongside fellow settlers to receive his confirmation from Monseigneur de Laval. Months later, on December 12, 1662, Jean married 19-year-old Perrine Therien at Notre-Dame-de-Québec, with his brother Charles proudly standing as a witness.
Jean eventually leased land from Claude Guyon on the Lauzon shore before securing his own permanent homestead in the parish of Saint-Jean on Île d'Orléans. This crescent-shaped island in the St. Lawrence River would quickly become the geographic cradle of the Allaire family.
However, heartbreak soon struck Jean’s branch of the family. On April 1, 1671, death fell swiftly upon him. Because he passed so suddenly, he was unable to receive Last Rites from a priest, though his community took comfort knowing he had taken confession just eight days prior. He was buried in the cemetery near the Sainte-Famille church. Five years later, in early 1676, a devastating fire tore through the family home in Saint-Jean. His widow, Perrine, died prematurely at the age of 33 from the trauma and exposure, leaving behind their two surviving young sons, Jean and François.
Chapter IV: Charles and the Legacy of the Filles du Roi
Charles Allaire’s own path to building a family took a winding route. On July 23, 1662, he entered into a marriage contract with Françoise Chapelain. For reasons lost to time, the contract was legally annulled, though historical records show it caused no lasting bad blood between the two families.
The trajectory of Charles's life changed forever the following summer. On June 30, 1663, a ship arrived carrying Catherine Fièvre, a 16-year-old orphan from Niort, Poitou. She was one of the celebrated Filles du Roi (King’s Daughters)—young women sponsored by King Louis XIV with personal dowries to help populate the young colony. Recognizing a shared heritage and a mutual desire to build a life, Charles and Catherine signed a marriage contract before Notary Pierre Duquet on October 31, 1663. On November 10, 1663, they were wed at Notre-Dame-de-Québec.
Timeline of Charles Allaire & Catherine Fièvre
================================================================================
1637 --------------------------------- Charles is baptized in Poitou, France
1646 --------------------------------- Catherine is baptized in Niort, France
1658 --------------------------------- Charles arrives in Quebec on Le Taureau
1663 --------------------------------- Catherine arrives; they marry in Quebec
1668 --------------------------------- Granted land in Sainte-Famille, Île d'Orléans
1677 --------------------------------- Expands holdings into the Argentenay fief
1684 --------------------------------- Family relocates south to Saint-François
1691 --------------------------------- Charles passes away at approx. age 53
1709 --------------------------------- Catherine passes away at Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
Charles was an industrious farmer. By the time of the 1666 census, he was already clearing land on Île d’Orléans, which was formally granted to him by Monseigneur de Laval on January 24, 1668, in the parish of Sainte-Famille. Seeking more space for his rapidly growing household, Charles acquired four additional arpents of land in the rear-fief of Argentenay in 1677. By 1681, royal records noted that Charles successfully managed a bustling homestead with four horned cattle and six cultivated acres of land. In 1684, the family made their final move to the southern parish of Saint-François.
Chapter V: An Enduring Canadian Dynasty
Between 1664 and 1687, Catherine and Charles were blessed with 13 children (eight boys and five girls). Proving the strength and resilience of their household, at least ten of these children survived the harsh Canadian winters to marry and establish their own farms.
The Allaire name firmly rooted itself into the fabric of early French-Canada through strategic marriages with neighboring pioneer families. Four of their children married into the Bidet family, while others wed into the prominent Asselin, Chamberland, Desgagnés, Dubeau, Labbé, Miel-Lusignan, Debreuil, and Plante families.
Charles Allaire passed away at the age of 53 in early February 1691, leaving behind a vast estate and a booming generation of proud French-Canadians. Catherine survived her husband by nearly two decades, passing away on June 13, 1709, at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec at the age of 63.
Through the decades, as the family expanded across Quebec, Ontario, and deep into the North American continent, variations of the surname evolved. Today, thousands of individuals carrying the names Allaire, Dallaire, Delair, and Delaire can trace their lineage directly back to the two brave brothers from Poitou and the stone house they left behind.

Birth	Abt Aug 1637	Saint-Philbert, Poitou, France
Christen	2 Aug 1637	Saint-Philbert, Poitou, France
Marriage	10 Nov 1663	Notre-Dame-De-Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada, Nouvelle-France - Catherine Fievre
Residence	1666	Île D'Orléans, Québec, Canada, New France
Residence	1667	Île D'Orléans, Québec, Canada, New France
Residence	1681	Recensement - Île-D'Orléans, Canada, Nouvelle-France
Residence	1682	Cadastral map indicates Charles Dallaire in the parish of St-Francois - Saint-François, Saint-Laurent, Québec, Canada, New France
Death	Aft 7 Mar 1687	Québec, Canada, Nouvelle-France

Spouse	Catherine Fievre (1646 - 1709)
Child	Marie Halère (1664 - 1668)
Child	Charles Alaire (1666 - )
Child	Marie Madeleinne Halaire (1667 - )
Child	Charles Allaire (1669 - 1742)
Child	Jean D'Halaire (1672 - )
Child	Jean François Alere (1674 - 1721)
Child	Joseph Dalere (1676 - 1738)
Child	Catherine Alere (1677 - 1753)
Child	Louis Alere (1679 - 1748)
Child	Françoise Dalere (1682 - 1742)
Child	Estienne Dalere (1683 - 1752)
Child	Alexandre D'Allere (1685 - 1758)
Child	Marguerite Dalere (1687 - 1715)

Father	Sebastien Allaire (1613 - 1662)
Mother	Perrine Fleurisson (1605 - 1669)