Speculation Concerning Louis Guertin dit Le Sabotier

Until someone can do a lot of digging in French archives (if any of this type exist at all), all we can do is speculate about why Louis left France, what he did before, etc.

Usually one can speculate the wildest things without worrying about what others might think, after all speculation is informal, freewheeling, etc., but why waste it? I figured why not have a formal place for all this informal speculation. I'll post all e-mails on the topic.

Also, this page is useful for two other reasons: one, if someone knows that some speculation is wrong, point it out; and, two, if anyone wants to undertake to find out about something, be my guest! Jump on it and dig around and see if you can come up with something that'll benefit us all.

1. "Sabotier". My reading seems to make me believe that Louis probably made "shoes" of a military sort. This would seem to make sense if Maisonneuve had wanted colonists with a needed occupation and a familiarity with weapons. So could he have been a kind of 17th Century "Defence Contractor" supplying footwear for the military?
2. His age? He is variously dated as being born 28 June 1625, meaning he was 28 when he came in 1653, and 62 when he died. But,
   • Census of 1661 says he is 31, i.e. born 1630, arrived at 23, died at 57;
   • Census of 1667 says he is 35, i.e. born 1632, arrived at 21, died at 55;
   • Census of 1681 says he is 50, i.e. born 1630, arrived at 23, died at 57; and
   • a paper by Clarisse Guertin of Hull, Quebec has him arriving at 18, i.e born 1635, died at 52.