All Chouinards living in Canada and the United States are descendants of Jacques Chouinard who was born on January 6, 1663 in Beaumont-la-Ronce, province of Touraine, France ( This village is located about 20 miles to the north of Tours). He was the son of Charles Chouinard, a merchant of serge, and of Élisabeth Valin. Charles Chouinard was born on September 26, 1616 in Nouzilly, a village located about 5 miles from Beaumont-la-Ronce.

The exact date of arrival of Jacques Chouinard in the New World has not yet been determined. The year 1685 has been chosen because at that time, his name disappeared from the church registers of Beaumont-la-Ronce. The first known sign of his presence in New France is his marriage contract signed before notary Louis Chambalon in Québec on May 30, 1692. His bride, Louise Jean, was the daughter of Pierre Jean and Françoise Favreau. Pierre Jean owned a farm of 7 arpents at la Canardière; he gave 3 arpents to his new son-in-law. A few years later, the Chouinards left la Canardière to rejoin the Jean family at l’Île-aux-Oies. On October 27, 1698, Charles Aubert de la Chesnaye granted to Jacques Chouinard, a concession of 9 arpents of frontage on the St. Lawrence river in the Port-Joly seigneury. The Chouinard family settled on this piece of land to raise their family and spend the rest of their lives.

Jacques Chouinard and Louise Jean had sixteen children, ten of them survived : six sons and four daughters. The first child, Pierre the elder, was born at la Canardière. The next five, Jacques, Joseph, Eustache, Pierre the younger and Louise, were born at l’Île-aux-Oies. The other children were all born at the Port-Joly farm : Jean-Baptiste, Marguerite, Marie-Anne, Marie-Ursule, François, Élisabeth, Jacques, Julien, an unnamed stillborn child, and the last one, Charles.

The place and date of Jacques Chouinard’s death are still unknown. Various sources seem to indicate that he died during the fall of 1721. He was leaving a widow with ten dependant children. His wife, Louise Jean, lived on for 29 years, she died on January 1, 1750.

Five sons of the Chouinard-Jean couple are at the origin of the Chouinard family five branches: Pierre the elder, Eustache, Pierre the younger, François and Julien. Pierre the elder married Ursule Martin at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière on February 14, 1724. Eustache married Madeleine Bérubé on July 8, 1725. Pierre the younger married Geneviève Lizot on November 18, 1727 à Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière; after the death of his first wife, he married Marie-Anne Pelletier at Saint-roch-des-Aulnaies on November 4, 1743. François was merried to Marguerite Huret-Rochefort but the place and date of their marriage were never found. Julien married Reine Fortin at l’Islet on January 16, 1741. The last son, Charles, was married and had three daughters; he had no descent bearing the Chouinard name.