CÔTÉ JEAN-NOËL
(1646-1701)

            On March 4 1646,(1) Jean-Noêl Côté was born in Saint-Pierre, Isle d’Orleans to parents Jean and Anne (Martin). He was the third son of  their five boys and four girls.

            They taught children that work was an important aspect of life and parents expected them to contribute to the family’s livelihood. Boys helped their fathers plow fields and harvest crops, chop firewood, help make tools out of wood, and learn how to fire a musket. Firearms training was important for defense on the frontier and to hunt small game.​

            Girls helped with the many household chores, including churning butter, weaving wool, cooking / baking, sewing, and cleaning. Disobedience, negligence of chores, and stubborn behavior led to harsh, often physical, punishment. 

            During this period, childhood was only chores. There was also time just for fun. Boys and girls in used their imaginations to create toys and invent their own games. A popular toy made by and for children was the cornhusk doll. Other handy materials, such as apples, shells, and flowers, were also used to create toys and decorative items. Marbles, spinning tops, trundling hoops, and Jacob’s ladders were for those more fortunate. Popular games included jacks, tag, and blind-man’s bluff. ​​

            Games provided fun, but instruction as well. Whether a game included skills such as aiming and throwing, solving problems, or cooperating with other participants, the goal was to benefit the children’s minds and coordination so that they could better help their families.

            Noël married Hèlene Graton, daughter of Claude-Jacques and Marie Moncion the 13th February, 1673,​(2).They had ten children: Louise, Genevieve, Jean-Baptiste, Pierre, Jacques, Marie-Charlotte, Anne,  Joseph and Augustin