M. 8 Nov 1682 in Beaubassin, Acadia
Wife: Françoise Chiasson
D. April 1741 in St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France
Pierre Morin was uprooted from his native Acadia because of the actions of his brother, and corruption in the settlement where he lived.
Pierre was born in Port-Royal, Acadia in about 1662, the son of Pierre Morin dit Boucher and Marie-Madeleine Martin. He was the oldest of their 12 children. At some point, the family migrated to Beaubassin, on the bridge of land where modern-day Nova Scotia joins New Brunswick. Beaubassin had been founded in 1672, and by the 1680s, had a small population of about 20 families.
On November 8, 1682, Pierre married Françoise Chiasson, the 14-year-old daughter of another Beaubassin settler, Guyon Chiasson dit Lavallée. Between 1683 and early 1688, the couple had two or three children born on their Acadian farm. The census of 1686 showed that Pierre had 6 arpents under cultivation, 14 cattle, 6 sheep and 8 hogs.
Then came an event that changed the course of Pierre’s life. In 1687, the 17 year-old daughter of Michel Leneuf, the most important man in Beaubassin, became pregnant out-of-wedlock, and Pierre's brother Louis was named as the father. Leneuf, in collaboration with the parish priest, Father Claude Trouve, sought to punish not just Louis, but all of his close relatives, and it was ruled that the entire clan be banished from Acadia. Louis was sent away on a ship to serve in the French Navy, and he was not heard from again by the family.
The group of people that was exiled consisted of Pierre, his parents and all of his married siblings, plus the wives and children of each. By the spring of 1688, they had all moved to Restigouche, a tiny settlement on a bay north of Acadia, where Pierre's father died within a year. Pierre and his family stayed at Restigouche for at least the next couple of years and had one or two children born there. They relocated to Quebec City, where another son was born, then by March 1697, the family lived on the south shore of the St. Lawrence in Montmagny. At both locations, it’s believed Pierre was helped by a network of family and friends.
Map of the migrations Pierre made during his life.
Mont-Louis was an attempt by French investors to make a permanent fishery close enough to the Atlantic to easily reach it. Just a handful of families settled there, and the venture failed because large ships couldn’t navigate the harbor. Small boats had to take the fish all the way upriver to Quebec City; only then could the fish be loaded on ships going to France. Pierre was listed on the 1700 census as being a boat master, which likely meant he was one of the men taking the fish to Quebec.
During the time at Mont-Louis, Pierre saw the birth of another child, and the marriage of a daughter at age 13. By the spring of 1702, he abandoned the fishing village and moved his family back to Montmagny, where it appears he stayed for the rest of his life. Between 1702 and 1709, four more children were born to complete the family.
On January 17, 1725, Pierre’s family gathered for a meeting to establish the division of his land that the children would inherit. All eleven of the children were in attendance, along wth a priest who recorded the event. All of Pierre’s sons and the wives of his daughters either signed or made their mark on a document defining the agreement. Pierre and Françoise added their marks as well, since neither of them could sign their names.
The signatures and marks of Pierre and his family.
Françoise died sometime between 1727 and 1731. Pierre passed away at St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud in April 1741, and was buried on the 15th of that month.
Children:
1. Pierre Morin — B. 23 Dec 1683, Beaubassin, Acadia; D. 4 Feb 1767, Montmagny, Quebec; M. Marie Boulé (~1686-1764), 10 Jan 1707, Montmagny, New France
2. Barbe Morin — B. about 1685, Beaubassin, Acadia; D. 29 Jan 1753, (probably) New France; M. Michel Harbour (1674-1758), about 1701, (probably) Mont-Louis, New France
3. Marie Morin — B. 1687 or 1688, (probably) Beaubassin, Acadia; D. 8 Apr 1770, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec
4. Sébastien Morin — B. about 1692, Restigouche, New France; D. Nov 1756, St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France; M. (1) Françoise Blanchet (1694-1742), 3 Nov 1717, Montmagny, New France; (2) Marie-Anne Frégeau (1700-?), 25 Feb 1743, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France
5. Denis Morin — B. Aug 1694, Quebec City, New France; D. 20 Sep 1768, St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud,, Quebec; M. Madeleine Boulet, 20 Nov 1718, New France
6. Agathe Morin — B. about Mar 1697, Montmagny, New France; D. Jul 1733, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France; M. Jacques Boulet (1689-1771), 6 Jan 1715, Montmagny, New France
7. Michel Morin — B. about 1699, Mont-Louis, New France; D. Jun 1767, Kamouraska, Quebec; M. Marie Frégeau (1702-1797), 7 Jan 1727, Montmagny, New France
8. Jean-Baptiste Morin — B. 22 Apr 1702, Montmagny, New France; D. 19 Apr 1782, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec; M. Félicité Lemieux (1720-1786), 25 Jun 1739, Cap-St-Ignace, New France
9. Antoine Morin — B. Oct 1704, St-Thomas, New France; D. 3 Mar 1776, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec; M. Marguerite Daniau (~1716-1788), 25 Oct 1734, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, New France
10. Charles Morin — B. Jan 1707, Montmagny, New France; D. 17 Dec 1786, St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec; M. Claire Destroismaisons (1710-1787), 21 Oct 1731, St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France
11. Marie-Françiose Morin — B. May 1709, Montmagny, New France; D. 6 Apr 1783, Montmagny, Quebec; M. Joseph Coté (1704-1777), after 22 Nov 1734, (probably) St-Pierre-de-la-Riviére-du-Sud, New France
Sources:
"The Morins of Acadia," French-Canadian and Acadian Genealogical Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1968
Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes, Stephen A. White, 1999
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Parks Canada History (website)
1699 and 1700 Mont-Louis Census
BAnQ
