Château de Coulaine: The Bonnaventure Era
The story of the Bonnaventure family stretches back almost as far as that of the Quirit de Coulaine clan, although not quite. The earliest records seem to begin with Pierre Denys, in the 16th century, who had a son named Mathurin. The family already had some claim to nobility at this time, Mathurin Denys having the title of Seigneur de Thibaudière. He was also captain of the guard in the service of Henri III (1551 – 1589) of France, who reigned from 1574 until his death in 1589. In 1547. Mathurin married Marie Aubert, and they had a son Jacques Denys, who married Marie Crosnier on June 11th 1594. Their son Simon Denys (1599 – 1678), Seigneur de Vitray, had an eventful life, emigrating to Canada sometime after 1630, and marrying twice. His first marriage was to Jeanne Dubreuil in Tours, and they had one son, Pierre-Denys de La Ronde (born 1630); his second marriage, to Françoise du Tertre was more fecund, nevertheless it was his first son Pierre Denys that is of interest.
Pierre-Denys de La Ronde was married in Quebec to Catherine Le Neuf de La Potherie (1638 – 1697) in 1655, and she bore him a dozen children. The first-born was the most significant, not least because he is the first to bear the name of Bonnaventure. This was Simon-Pierre Denys de Bonnaventure (born 1659), and with his union to Jeanne Jeanmiere there began a long line of Bonnaventures that can be traced right through to modern-day France.
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