Public ancestral research archive

Jean-Simon Sylvestre dit Beausoleil

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Person ID: fh_simon_sylvestre_1802 · Published revision 17

Recorded facts

Marriage (compiled pedigree): Marguerite Baillargeon; February 1802, exact day not firmly legible. lead [Sources: source-tklavyav]
Previously displayed as: Simon Sylvestre family [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Birth — national military-history register: 4 April 1730, Chirac, Lozère, France (parents Simon Sylvestre and Marie Fornique; original baptism not inspected) lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
French army / military nickname: Served in Régiment de Guyenne, Compagnie de Blau; the Canadian National Battlefields Commission separately records surname Sylvestre and nickname Beausoleil. Present in Canada by 1755 in FQSG immigrant index. lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Marriage — 1763 (supersedes family-chart date): Married Marguerite Baillargeon at Sorel, Québec, 29 August 1763 according to National Battlefields Commission and FQSG. The old February 1802 date in the family tree appears to belong to the next generation, Augustin Sylvestre and Julie Goulet. Do not silently delete original entry before inspection. lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Death — federal military register: 9 November 1797, Berthier-en-Haut, Québec (a local 2017 historian summarized death as 1791; discrepancy flagged) lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Family lore — street name / fugitive hypothesis: Family tradition says surname Beausoleil was borrowed from a street in France to conceal identity after a crime. No contemporaneous criminal case, street source, or name-change evidence was found. Historian Jean-Paul Mazot separately reported that the soldier could not return to France under British surveillance, which may explain a later distorted version of the story. lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Noteworthy category: Heritage lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Historical story headline: The soldier whose nom de guerre became Beausoleil lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Historical story: Born in 1730 at Chirac in the Lozère region of France, Jean-Simon Sylvestre served with the French Régiment de Guyenne, Company of Blau, and is recorded in Canada by 1755. Canadian military records list Beausoleil as his military nickname. He married Marguerite Baillargeon at Sorel in 1763 and settled in Québec. In a 2017 presentation, local historian Jean-Paul Mazot said British surveillance prevented him from returning to France, and he made a life near Montréal under the name Beausoleil. A 1993 printed genealogy describes how descendants subsequently used Sylvestre-Beausoleil and eventually Beausoleil. Family lore suggests a French street-name disguise and an ancestor hiding from criminal prosecution, but neither allegation is supported by records located in this research. lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Evidence and unresolved questions: Military identity: National Battlefields Commission; arrival: FQSG immigrant index; local British-surveillance narrative: 2017 historical society (secondary); surname evolution: 1993 Elzéar Beausoleil family genealogy catalogue. No documentary basis found for street-name origin, court conviction, or fleeing criminal justice. Local history death date 1791 conflicts with federal 1797. The family chart has several marriage dates shifted down a generation; review parish images before editing links. lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]
Story display priority: 96 lead [Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-vcz78rd4, source-gddeo9v4, source-h2wolfrq, source-6w68vq3s, source-i821a0ns]

Parents

Simon Sylvestre father · lead · Sources: source-tklavyav
Marie Fornique mother · lead · Sources: source-6ivhrqbh, source-6w68vq3s

Children

Augustin Sylvestre father · lead · Sources: source-tklavyav

Partners

Marguerite Baillargeon lead · Sources: source-tklavyav

Supporting sources

FH-002 — Printed Beausoleil/Sylvestre pedigree (IMG_4016.jpeg) Family-supplied printed pedigree 2026-10-14 [source-tklavyav]
National Battlefields Commission — Jean-Simon Sylvestre, surname Beausoleil, French soldier record Canadian federal military-history database [source-6ivhrqbh] — Source document
Société des Lettres de la Lozère — Conférence de Jean-Paul Mazot, Ils ont fait l’histoire de Chirac (2017) Local historical society conference summary 2017-10-10 [source-vcz78rd4] — Source document
Library and Archives Canada — The nicknames and dit names of French-Canadian ancestors Government archive explanatory article 2014-01-30 [source-gddeo9v4] — Source document
WorldCat — Généalogie des Silvestre-Beausoleil, 1662–1993 (Elzéar Beausoleil) Library catalogue record for historical family genealogy 1993 [source-h2wolfrq] — Source document
MesAieux — Jean-Simon Sylvestre-Beausoleil immigrant profile (Fichier Origine-derived) Federation of Quebec genealogical societies / immigrant index 2025-05-20 [source-6w68vq3s] — Source document
MesAieux — Augustin Sylvestre marriage index, 1802 / 1827 Québec indexed parish/vital records (index not original act) [source-i821a0ns] — Source document