 He was born Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein on 7 April 1774 in Verchères, Quebec; a village which originated with a land grant to his great-great grandfather Francois Xavier Jarret, Sieur de Vercheres in 1672.It is located up the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal, on the opposite bank.Bailly was a sixth–generation French-Canadian, descending from Jehan Terriault and Perrine Brault, who were original colonists in Acadia in 1637.