Simon Savard

Biography

Simon Savard was a master cartwright from Montreuil, just east of Paris, France. His trade concerned making and maintaining wheeled vehicles, a practical craft recorded before his migration to New France. He was baptized on May 22, 1623, the son of Simon Savard and Marguerite Vinante.

In June 1644 he married Marie Hordouille. Their children’s baptisms trace a growing household in Montreuil during the following years. The Fichier Origine lists the couple’s parents and children and identifies 1662 as the arrival year of their daughter Denise with her father and sister Françoise.

Simon went to the colony before Marie, who followed in 1663 after arranging the family’s affairs in France. The migration thus took place in stages. Accounts linking the family to Pierre Boucher’s recruitment place Simon among skilled settlers sought for the developing colony.

His Canadian life was brief. A published account records a request for assistance for his household considered by the Sovereign Council in March 1664. The petition does not establish whether Simon was still alive in March 1664. He had died before Marie arranged her remarriage in January 1665.

His exact death date remains unsettled.

The burial listing places Simon Savard at Cimetière Nativité de Notre-Dame de Beauport, Québec, Capitale-Nationale Region, Québec, Canada.