Fonds

Born in Trois-Rivières, JOSEPH-FRANÇOIS HERTEL DE LA FRESNIÈRE (1642-1722) was an officer, interpreter and commander. In 1664, in Montreal, he married Marguerite de Thavenet (1646-1708), with whom he had 15 children. Over the years, he carried out numerous military exploits, many in the company of his sons, with whom he shared his war tactics. Governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac recognized his bravery and service record with letters of nobility in 1716. Through his wife, Joseph-François inherited the seigneury of Chambly in 1694, which he subsequently subdivided for several of his sons.

Born in Trois-Rivières, JEAN-BAPTISTE HERTEL DE ROUVILLE (1668-1722) was the third son of Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière and Marguerite de Thavenet. Like other members of his family, he took up arms at an early age. During his career, he became an ensign, a lieutenant and a captain on Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island), the commander of Port Dauphin (Englishtown, NS), and a knight of the Order of St. Louis. To reward him for services rendered in defence of the colony, on January 18, 1694, Governor Frontenac and Intendant Bochart de Champigny gave Jean-Baptiste a seigneury adjoining that of his father. This seigneury, which he never inhabited but henceforth bore his name, was crossed by the Huron River (Richelieu Valley) and bordered by the seigneury of Chambly to the west, that of Saint-Charles-d'Yamaska to the east, and that of Saint-Hyacinthe to the south; his domain covered the present-day municipalities of Mont St. Hilaire (including the mountain), Otterburn Park and Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

In 1698, he married Jeanne Dubois, who died less than two years later. In 1708, he married Marie-Anne Baudouin (1685-1745), the eldest daughter of Dr. Gervais Baudouin. Following his death, in 1724 she rendered fealty and homage to the governor for the seigneury of Rouville, which she shared with her children.

JEAN-BAPTISTE-FRANÇOIS HERTEL DE ROUVILLE (1709-1773) was the son of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville and Marie-Anne Baudouin. A military man like his father, he was named the commander of Fort Chambly, and then a knight of the Order of St. Louis in 1762. In Montreal in 1733, he married Marie-Anne Legras (1696-1776), the daughter of merchant-tanner Jean Legras and Geneviève Mallet. Since he had little time to devote to the seigneury, his wife became his legal representative and ran the family's affairs. The couple had three daughters, all of whom died young. With no direct heir, Jean-Baptiste-François sold his share of the seigneury of Rouville and all his inheritance rights to his brother René-Ovide in 1772.

Born in Port Toulouse (St. Peter's, NS), RENÉ-OVIDE HERTEL DE ROUVILLE (1720-1792) was the son of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville and Marie-Anne Baudouin. Unlike his father and brothers, he chose to study law rather than enter the military. In 1741, he married Louise-Catherine André de Leigne (1709-1766), the daughter of Pierre André de Leigne and Claude Fredin. The couple had five children and lived in Trois-Rivières.

Named a civil and criminal lieutenant general (judge) at the age of 24, he also took on the administration of the St. Maurice ironworks in 1750. After his first wife died, he married Charlotte-Gabrielle Jarret de Verchères (1735-1808), the widow of Pierre-Marie-Joseph Raimbault de Saint-Blaint, in Montreal in 1767. Under the British regime, he was appointed surveyor of highways for the district of Montreal in 1765, and then a conservator of the peace and commissioner for the district of Montreal in 1775, much to the displeasure of his compatriots. After the American rebels abandoned Montreal in 1776, René-Ovide returned to his duties as a magistrate, becoming a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Upon his death in Montreal, the seigneury of Rouville was handed down to his son Jean-Baptiste-Melchior.

Born in Trois-Rivières, JEAN-BAPTISTE-MELCHIOR HERTEL DE ROUVILLE (1748-1817) was the son of René-Ovide Hertel de Rouville and Louise-Catherine André de Leigne. An army and militia officer, he defended the British crown when American troops invaded Canada in 1775. Appointed justice of the peace for the district of Montreal in 1783, the following year he married Marie-Anne Hervieux (1750?-1819), the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Hervieux, a Montreal merchant. The couple had at least eight children.

Owner of half a league of frontage in the seigneury of Chambly, Jean-Baptiste-Melchior received an advance on his inheritance from his father of half a league of frontage in Chambly with a flour mill and purchased an additional half a league in the same location. He settled there in 1789 and obtained a commission as militia colonel the following year. Upon his father's death in 1792, under the rules of primogeniture, he inherited half of the seigneury of Rouville and part of the seigneury of Chambly. A supporter of the British regime, like his father, that same year he became a member in the first parliament and, in 1812, was appointed to the Legislative Council. He was also made commander of the Chambly 2^nd Militia Battalion. In 1813, he was named justice of the peace for the districts of Quebec City, Montreal and Trois-Rivières. Buried in Chambly, he bequeathed the entire seigneury of Rouville (having purchased the other half in 1797) and his share of the seigneury of Chambly to his son Jean-Baptiste-René.

Born in Montreal, JEAN-BAPTISTE-RENÉ HERTEL DE ROUVILLE (1789-1859) was the son of Jean-Baptiste-Melchior Hertel de Rouville and Marie-Anne Hervieux. He pursued a military career and became a militia officer. Among his exploits, he took part in the Battle of Châteauguay in 1813 with his brother-in-law Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, who was married to his sister Marie-Anne-Julie Hertel de Rouville. In 1815, he was made lieutenant colonel of the Chambly battalion, assuming command in 1816. The same year, he married Anne Charlotte de Labroquerie (Boucher de La Broquerie) (1796-1852), with whom he had at least five children.

Under the terms of his father's will, drawn up in 1814, Jean-Baptiste-René inherited the seigneury of Rouville and part of the seigneury of Chambly. However, the will further stipulated that he could not take possession of this property until the death of his mother; she died January 25, 1819. He became the first seigneur in his family to take up residence in the seigneury of Rouville. The construction of his manor house in St. Hilaire began in 1819 and, approximately two years later, he drew up his terrier (property register). Elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec at the age of 35, he then served on the Legislative Council between 1837 and 1838. The target of much criticism, notably with regard to his loyalty during the Patriot Rebellions, Jean-Baptiste-René found that his reputation suffered in the years following. Ailing and in financial difficulty, he left his manor house and asked his son-in-law, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Brousseau, to sell the seigneury of Rouville. On April 16, 1844, the seigneury was sold to military officer and politician Thomas Edmund Campbell. He died in Boucherville.

Born in London, THOMAS EDMUND CAMPBELL (1811-1872) arrived in Canada in 1837 after serving in the British Army. He was quickly promoted to commander following the Rebellions of 1837-1838 and was made a colonel several years later. In 1841, he married Henriette-Julie Juchereau Duchesnay (1813-1873), the daughter of seigneur Michel-Louis Juchereau Duchesnay and Charlotte-Hermione-Louise-Catherine d'Irumberry de Salaberry. Three years later, he purchased the seigneury of Rouville and, in 1846, moved to St. Hilaire where he devoted himself to developing his land. Among other things, he erected the dam on Lake Hertel, rebuilt the seigneurial mill, promoted water-powered industry, and constructed the first school in the region. From 1847 to 1849, he held the positions of civil secretary for the governor of Canada and superintendent of Indian affairs. From 1858 to 1861, he sat as the member of parliament for Rouville and also became a director of the Bank of Montreal and the Grand Trunk Railway. He died in St. Hilaire.

Following the death of Thomas Edmund Campbell, the seigneury was handed down to his eldest son, EDMUND ALEXANDER CHARLES CAMPBELL (1843-1902), who subsequently left it to his brothers in 1884. They soon ran into financial difficulties, leading them to subdivide the seigneury in 1892. The mountain was sold off in 1908 and the farm in 1942. The manor house remained the property of the Campbell family until the 1955 death of Mabel Allen, daughter of Sir Hugh Allan and the widow of Colin Campbell.