Jean Tardif was the founder of another Tardif family in Canada. He was originally from Saint-Nicolas de La Rochelle in Aunis (Charente-Inférieure). It is worth remembering that La Rochelle was a major center for ship outfitting and recruitment for the community of Quebec settlers and the Company of New France. Given its population, La Rochelle likely sent the largest contingent of colonists—around 600—to New France.
Jean Tardif was born on September 13, 1707, in Saint-Nicolas de La Rochelle to René Tardif and Marie Pichon. He was confirmed at the age of 15 in 1724 at the same location. Likely the only surviving child of this marriage, he arrived in New France around 1733 at approximately 25 years old, though the exact date of his arrival is unknown. He immigrated without a formal engagement contract but was known as a ship carpenter and navigator.
On August 29, 1735, at the age of 27, he married Marie-Madeleine Palin at Notre-Dame Church in Quebec. She was the widow of Jean-Baptiste Rivet, who had passed away on April 25, 1733. Their marriage contract had been signed the day before, on August 28, 1735, before royal notary Jacques Pinguet. The contract stipulated that the spouses would be « united and share all movable property and acquired real estate during the marriage » and that the groom « endowed the bride with the customary dowry or a fixed sum of six hundred livres, at her choice. » Both spouses declared that they could neither write nor sign.
From this marriage, Jean Tardif had two children:
- Jean-Baptiste, born on May 23, 1736, and baptized the following day. His godparents were Jean-Baptiste Brassard and Thérèse Fortier.
- Suzanne, born and baptized on March 26, 1738. Her godparents were Guillaume Guillermin and Suzanne Blanchon.
Unfortunately, Jean Tardif passed away after barely five years of marriage, likely around 1740, at approximately 33 years old. He left behind a young widow with two children, aged about two and four.
After some time as a widow, Marie-Madeleine Palin, then 30 years old, married Sébastien Nolet on October 6, 1742, at Notre-Dame Church in Quebec. He took responsibility for his wife’s two children, as they were recorded living together in the 1744 census. Sadly, Marie-Madeleine Palin passed away on April 13, 1746, at only 34 years old. What became of the two Tardif children? It is believed that they were taken in by a member of the Palin family. One thing is certain: Jean-Baptiste Tardif became a navigator and was married twice.