de
Famille
1649 - 1972
INTRODUCTION
Dear Cousins, nephews, and nieces
I gives me great pleasure today to present to you the life
story of our ancestor, Guillaume. together with a branch of his
large family. Since every nation possesses its long history, it
seems logical to affirm that each family should want to possess
its own history. That it may be noble or poor, matters not, its
true value comes not from outside appearance, but rather from the
gift of life that it continues to spread, thus transmitting its
riches, intellectual and moral from generation to generation.
"To forget one's ancestry", says an old chinese
proverb, "is like being a creek without a source, a tree,
without a root"
The Couture family already counts ten generation in North
America, having at its head our one ancestor Guillaume,
who was blessed with a noble character and devotedness, which
would be unworthy of his descendants to ignore. His historian has
written: "Guillaume devoted himself without hesitation to
the service of his religion and of his King". With him,
there was not calculation for he engaged himself freely and
generally expecting not material reward. Neither can we forget
that the "good Guillaume" as Father Jogues and Father
Bressani used to call him, enjoyed the friendship of the Hurons
and the confidence of the Iroquois.
In this work, I used the direct lines for the first five
generations, (Cf.p.) turning then on to the direct and collateral
for the last five. May I say that it belongs to each family to
prolong with pride this noble descendance. With my best wishes to
all,
June 1st, 1972 Cousin Adelard
Rev. Ad. Couture
540 Eiffel B
St-Boniface, Manitoba
261 rue Coulet Street
R2H 0S3
OUR ANCESTOR GUILLAUME COUTURE, ST. ISAAC
JOUGUES' COMPANION
Who is the governor who said that the Canadian people had no
history? To utter such a sophism, he must have been ignorant or
dishonest. Canada and the Canadian people have their history
which deserves to be compared with that of any other country. It
is tissued with heroism. It often cites such names as Champlain,
Maisonneuve, Iberville, and the brilliant officers who bravery
was honoured by the King of France.
But how many others who, for their meritorious deeds, could
have held the first rank, together with the ennobled and the
decorated had but the common glory of coming to a remote land to
bring civilization and to settle a virtuous and energetic race?
The great history names them by the way; it has no time to dwell
upon them. Guillaume Couture, whom we are so proud to have as our
ancestor, is one of these, and as Quebec prides itself on the
these great names of Champlain, Hebert, and Couillard, so the
pate of Levy, are happy to be able to bring to light the name of
Guillaume Couture, the first settler of Pointe de Levis, the
first judge seneshal and the first militia captain.
To all the titles, we must not forget to add that which
concerns us chiefly in this article, that of companion Father
Jogues, the holy Canadian martyr. In these heroic ages of faith
and devotedness, there were laymen ready to face death in order
to partake of the merits of the Missionaries and to help France
to make christian settlements. Their motto was: all for God and
King.
These men were not vulgar adventurers. In their distant
journeys among the savages, they assumed their habits, learned
their languages and kept them in good relations of friendship
with the colony. How many discoverers owed their glory to the
narratives of these poor children of the common people? How many
of them conducted far away the missionaries whose visits they had
prepared by instructing the savage captains and by baptizing the
children.
How many troubles, how many massacres did not these simple and
artless men spare the colony? And they were to repeat their acts
of patience, of courage, as well as cleverness, for many years.
While the missionaries catechised the tribes, they travelled over
the land, discovering new tribes, in order to win then to Christ,
as the missionaries would reach them. These men precursors were
chosen among the most alert and the most vigorous. They usually
knew several Indian dialects.
Guillaume Couture, "Good Guillaume", as Father
Jogues and the Venerable Marie de l'Incarnation called him in
their relationship, was one of those. He devoted himself
wholeheartedly to the service of religion and king. As a
companion of Jogues, the martyr, and as a comrade of Rene Goupil
and Jean de la Lande, we shall see how he shared the glory of
martyrdom with them. As early as 1640, by an Act which is in the
record-office of the Quebec notaries we can see that Guillaume
Couture was 'the domestic of the religious Fathers of the Company
of Jesus of the Huronian Mission of New France'. In the summer of
1641, he gave over his inheritance to deed of gift to his mother
and sister Mary, and a short time later, he started for the
Huronian country with Father Jogues.
Previously, in the Spring of 1642, this indefatigable
missionary, returning for a long mission travel called him 'his
fellow-traveller". Thirty-five days' walk, and what a walk!
"They had to travel over three hundred long leagues,"
we can read in the Relations. They had to disembark forty times,
and forty times carry their boats and all their baggage in the
streams and the waterfalls of the wilderness." No danger of
being wrecked is given, but we know it existed, on mentioning the
care they had to exercise in order to avoid meeting the Iroquois,
which they did only by a miracle of Godís kindness. After 15
days' rest in Quebec, Father Jogues and his companions started
again for the Huronian country. The expedition, we are told, was
composed of forty people among whom were Guillaume Couture and
Rene Goupil.
They had only travelled a few miles, when having reached the
neighborhood of the islands of Lake St. Peters, when the hostile
Iroguois, always crafty, hidden in longshrubs, they sprang up
with noisy whoopees and discharged a shower of balls on the
canoes. Some frightened Hurons abandoned their canoes and arms
and ran away to the center of the woods to avoid capture.
Overwhelmed by the number of their enemies, the few remaining
brave persons were taken captive with Father Jogues. And what did
our good Guillaume do in this attack? Now we shall see his
bravery and his great heart.
At first , he fought and how bravely. Then seeing that
fighting was impossible he ran away to the woods, but seeing
Father Jogues had not been able to run too, he felt remorse and
could not be resigned to have abandoned him. So he retraced his
steps and came back to ěhis beloved fatherî, facing five tall
Iroguois who shot at him, but fortunately missed his arm. And
Guillaume answered back by shouting at him. The Iroguois fell
stone dead. But it so happened that the dead Indian was one of
the most distinguished chiefs of the tribe. The other four,
enraged at Guillaume, rushed on him, took away his clothes,
thrashed him soundly and ran a sword through his right hand.
Moreover, they pulled out his fingernails with their teeth and
ground his fingers as well and after tying him brought him in a
pitiable state to his companions.
Father Jogues recognizing him, escaped from the guards and ran
to Guillaume and, falling on his neck, said to him in tears:
"Cheer up, my dear brother and friend, offer up your pains
and throes to God for those who have tortured you. Let us not
falter but suffer courageously in His name. We wished only His
glory in this undertaking." At seeing this happening, the
Iroguois were quite amazed. But then thinking that he was
commending Guillaume because he had killed their chief, fell upon
him, striking him with their fists with cudgels and clubs and
left him half dead.
"You will hardly fancy," said Father Jogues later in
a letter to his superior, "what torments and tortures my
companion Guillaume Couture endured. The hatred of the enemy
against the French and especially against this young man who in
the battle had slain one of their chiefs, had come to a new
degree of fury. The sufferings of Our Lord which he remembered at
the time, he said to me later, made him support this pain of joy,
although it was excruciating." But such are men, added
Father Jogues, "...who though secular and without any motive
of earthly interest, devote themselves among the Hurons to the
service of God and the Company of Jesus."
But for martyrdon was not finished. It was only beginning. In
August, they started back for the Iroquois country. The journey
lasted thirteen days: thirteen days of suffering and tortures
unheard of, not forgetting hunger and thirst. During the halts,
the Iroguois would begin again their tortures and increase their
refinement and cruelty. When their strength failed and would
cause them to stop, some fire was put on their arms and thighs.
And during the height of the punishment, the prisoners were
assembled in a cabin where the children took pleasure at throwing
at them live embers and burning coals.
Guillaume Couture, though his hands were bruised all over, had
not yet lost any of his fingers, and so an Indian undertook to
make up for this neglect and cut off half of his right forefinger.
his pain was all the greater when the Indian used for this, not a
knife, but a piece of a shell fish; and as he could not cut the
nerve which was too hard and too slippery, he pulled at it with
such violence that it tore away. " The pain he felt then
went to the bottom of his heart," said Father Jogues.
What became of him after this sad adventure? An Indian had
pity on him and took care of him in his cabin, so that he could
escape the torments that were still awaiting his unfortunate
companions. "The Relations" of 1643, pages 68 and 69,
give the following commendations of our worthy ancestor:
"The two Frenchmen who are with Father Jogues, excite our
admiration, especially the one whose name is Guillaume Couture.
This young man could flee, but thinking of it said: 'No, I will
die with Father, for I cannot forsake him. I will readily suffer
the fire and anger of these tigers for the love of Jesus Christ,
as Father is ready to endure" This was spoken as a true
faithful man, a hero even into the Society of Jesus as a Lay
Brother, but Jogues with the wisdom of a saint, answered him:
"No, Guillaume, you have another destiny in the New World."
Still when Pope Pius XI canonized Isaac Jogues and his Jesuit
Companions, the name of Guillaume appears in the Bull of the
proclamation of sainthood for these intrepid Martyrs.
As we, who bear his name, are proud in having him as the
founder of our family. For this was the destiny of Guillaume
Couture in the New World, as to leave an innumerable phalange of
children who bear his name with gratitude and whose blood still
runs most nobly in the veins. Fifty-five thousand descendants of
Guillaume were known to the Central Committee, who organized the
Third Centennial of the Couture's in 1947. From all over the
continent of North America, came the answer to the invitation of
the Committee, to make known to them their number and lineage, so
that they be known as truly Guillaume's descendants.
Four thousand five hundred of them came to the Pointe de Levis
for the event and on the very spot where our ancestor was married
in 1647, there took place the weddings of fifteen Couture couples
on that memorable day. And there were enough Couture Priests to
marry each couple separately and there were still some left over,
to take care of the ceremonies in the outdoor Sanctuary erected
for the occasion, with a noble Canon from Sherbrook to give the
homily. Long live Guillaume! Long live the Couture's, his
descendants!
Rev. Gustave Couture
Ed note: This document was re-typed by Wray McDonnell on
Sept 6, 1999. Except for errors that may have crept in to the
document from this typing, it includes the grammar, spelling and
punctuation as in the original.