Narcisse Valois
Birth 1786 in Pointe-Claire
Death 1859 in Vaudreuil
FROM POINTE-CLAIRE TO VAUDREUIL
Narcisse Valois was born on October 20, 1786 in Pointe-Claire1. He is the first-born son of Pierre Valois and Marie-Catherine Lefebvre. He received a basic education, enough to enable him to read, write and count. At the age of 23, with the financial help of his father, he acquired his first parcel of land in the seigneury of Vaudreuil2. Gradually, he became a successful farmer by focusing on increasing his land holdings, which allowed him to acquire a decent income, provide generously for his children and live on annuities at the end of his life. On September 23, 1810, he married Agathe Lalonde with whom he had 14 children, although several died at an early age.
THE REBELLIONS OF 1837-1838
Possessing a keen interest in politics and community social life, Narcisse Valois was a member of various committees and organizations, as well as a militia officer, churchwarden, and patriot activist. As a result, he found himself playing an important role in the insurrectional events of the fall of 1837. As early as April 1834, he was known to have attended a major patriotic assembly as vice-president, bringing together citizens from Vaudreuil, Rigaud, Soulanges, and Saint-Polycarpe. In July 1836, he participated in a patriotic assembly in Vaudreuil during which he proposed to reform some of the seigneurial rights. The following year, on July 26 and August 6, he attended meetings in Vaudreuil, during which he supported and proposed resolutions to modify and even abolish certain seigneurial rights. During the summer and early fall of 1837, patriots became rebels in the eyes of government. Informers and opponents were called upon to denounce patriots like Narcisse Valois.
Various testimonies hostile to the patriotic cause led Narcisse Valois to be arrested in December 1837, as he was accused not only of having attended meetings prohibited by the government, but also of having given anti-government speeches and possessing weapons.
He was incarcerated at the Pied-du-Courant prison in Montréal with his colleague from Vaudreuil, notary Hyacinthe-Fabien Charlebois. He was released on a bail of £1,000, on May 18, 1838, after testifying on March 28, denying all charges brought against him. History does not tell of any other rebel activity on the part of Narcisse Valois after those events.
A VAUDREUIL NOTABLE
After his first wife died in 1843, Narcisse Valois married Marie-Josephte Hainault dit Deschamps on April 8, 1845, in Vaudreuil. They settled in the heart of the Vaudreuil Village in a stone house he had built on 6 Saint-Michel Street. Still interested in politics, he was elected mayor of the Vaudreuil Village in 1855, and stayed in office until 1859. Very ill, but still sound of mind and handling his affairs, he resigned during the March 7, 1859 Village Council meeting held in his home. He passed away a month later, on April 29, at the age of 73. He was buried under the Saint-Michel Church in Vaudreuil.
