Are you a descendant of James Robinson, aka Jacque Robertson, and Marie Trottier? If the answer is yes, you are part of a family that is very hard to trace. I've been searching our roots long enough to know, and believe me it's not easy. There are no research tools for that period in time and the notaries have done a very bad job at keeping their papers in good order. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even the family name changes from one priest to the other, from one notary to the other and from one generation to the other. Which one is the real one? Nobody knows and I'm afraid that nobody will ever be able to answer this question. A lot of documents I found were written in English, because most of the pioneers of Argenteuil were anglophones. Over the years the situation changed, and it's now the opposite. Translations will be given for better understanding of important documents. Words like black or coloured person were intentionally kept to better recreate the historical context. Those are the words that were used at that period of time. Slavery will not be discussed in this work because our ancestors have always been free in the province of Quebec. No document mentioned James Robinson or his wife as being or having been slaves.

First Generation

The Argenteuil Seigniory was granted in 1680. It wasn't developed before the late 1780, because the King of France had refused to establish seigniories at the North of Montreal, to stop the fur trade black market. It also permitted the development of the town of Ville-Marie (now Montreal) to its full potential. After the war of Independence in the United States, many Loyalists left their country and settled in Argenteuil. That's when our ancestor James Robinson came here.

James Robinson aka Jacque Robertson

My third great-grandfather, James Robinson, was a "Négre" (black man). He was a farmer. His wife, Marie Trottier, was a "femme de couleur" (coloured woman). Those are the terms used to refer to them in the official registers. We don't know when and where they were married or how and when they came to the province of Quebec. But in the spring of 1804 they were already established in the Argenteuil Seigniory where a son named Jean Baptiste was born on April 28. He was later baptised in the parish of Rigaud because there was no catholic church in the area.

	The Seignior James Murray granted a land to James Robinson on the Côte du Midi range. It was the land #2. It changed to #549 because of the cadastral reform. The lot is highlighted in yellow on the map.The official transaction was only written during the fall because there was no notary living in the county. While on a weeklong visit in Argenteuil, the notary Peter Lukin wrote several acts for several residents of the area, including this one.

In this concession, The Seignior James Murray, represented by his father Patrick Murray, granted James Robinson « negré » the land #2 situated at the Côte du Midi settlement, on the south side of the range, on November 21st 1804. It measured 3 by 30 acres and had no building on it. To keep his land, James had to obey all the seigniorial rules, which were :

Taking his grain only to the seigniorial mill or being fined which meant paying double rate to the Seignior.

Living on the land in one year and one day from date of signing the deal at the least.

Paying the taxes to the Seignior, which were one Spanish dollar or five shillings and one bushel of wheat on November 11th of each year.

The Seignior reserved the right of the retreat lignager. This meant that if a tenant wanted to sell his land, the seignior had the preference over anyone else to buy it.

Having his land measured and the boundaries clearly marked by the Land Surveyor.

Construction material like wood (oak and pine) stones, limestone and sand belonged to the Seignior. He could use them to build a church, mill, presbytery or for his personal needs, without paying for them.

Respecting the neighbours' decouvert, building good fences and making all the roads that the Seignior should think proper for public utility. ( The decouvert is the rate at which someone clears the trees off his land. You are not allowed to let the trees on your land slow down the growth of your neighbour's crops. The trees' shadow or the roots growing underneath the ground could affect them. So you must clear your land at the same pace.).

Cultivating his land in such a way that the taxes could be easily paid from its products.

Doing the public work like every other tenant of the Seigniory.

The Seignior had the right to take any parts of the tenant's land to build any kind of mill or deviate the river if he wished to. Experts would be appointed to evaluate the damages that were done to his land and he would be compensated for them.

If he failed to obey all these rules, his land would be taken back by the Seignior and would become part of his property again.

On June 21st 1822, James Robinson went to the office of the notary Charles- Louis Nolin in Carillon to sell his land to a farmer named Rude Kingsbury. A small run down wooden house and other buildings were built on it. He sold it for one hundred Spanish dollars. James declared himself to be unable to sign his name but made his usual mark, which was a big cross.

In the census of 1825, he was still living at the Côte du Midi. There were four persons in James household. One aged between 6 and 14, one female aged between 14 and 18, one married man between 40 and 60 (James) and one married woman aged 45 or more (Marie Trottier).

It seems that James did not attend the Catholic church. For example, he was absent from all his children's' baptisms. Nor did he follow one the oldest Catholic traditions that consist of being the main witness at your children's weddings. He died between 1825 and 1838 but we don't have a more precise date or location.

James Robinson aka Jacque Robertson

Taking his grain only to the seigniorial mill or being fined which meant paying double rate to the Seignior.

Living on the land in one year and one day from date of signing the deal at the least.

Paying the taxes to the Seignior, which were one Spanish dollar or five shillings and one bushel of wheat on November 11th of each year.

The Seignior reserved the right of the retreat lignager. This meant that if a tenant wanted to sell his land, the seignior had the preference over anyone else to buy it.

Having his land measured and the boundaries clearly marked by the Land Surveyor.

Construction material like wood (oak and pine) stones, limestone and sand belonged to the Seignior. He could use them to build a church, mill, presbytery or for his personal needs, without paying for them.

Cultivating his land in such a way that the taxes could be easily paid from its products.

Doing the public work like every other tenant of the Seigniory.

The Seignior had the right to take any parts of the tenant's land to build any kind of mill or deviate the river if he wished to. Experts would be appointed to evaluate the damages that were done to his land and he would be compensated for them.

If he failed to obey all these rules, his land would be taken back by the Seignior and would become part of his property again.

In the census of 1825, he was still living at the Côte du Midi. There were four persons in James household. One aged between 6 and 14, one female aged between 14 and 18, one married man between 40 and 60 (James) and one married woman aged 45 or more (Marie Trottier).

His wife, Marie Trottier was named godmother for her first grandson in 1824 in Rigaud. She declared herself to be unable to sign her name. The next thing I find about her is her burial certificate in St.Andrews.

The cemetery has been moved since then, so I was unable to locate her tombstone. That is, if there was any.

If we compare the union of James and Marie to the average family, it didn't produce that many descendants. But three of their sons helped to perpetuate their name by having many children. I don't know what become of their two daughters, because I lose their traces around 1825.

Their children are: Joseph, Jean Baptiste, François, Marguerite, Binjamin and Louise.