M. 28 Sep 1648 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Marie Archambault
D. 21 Mar 1689 in Montreal, New France
There were few places more challenging to live in colonial America than Montreal during its first few years. It took men with muscle and nerve to make their home there, plus the wits to survive whatever circumstances threatened them. Urbain Tessier dit Lavigne stands out as one who could more than handle it.
Urbain was born in about 1624 in Breil, France, a town about 60 miles east of La Rochelle. His parents were Artus Tessier and Jeanne Mesme. Artus was a carpenter and likely taught the trade to his son. Urbain was illiterate, suggesting he didn’t attend school as a boy.
The exact date of Urbain’s arrival in New France isn’t known, but it was some time after 1641 and before 1648. He may have been recruited while still in France to help settle a new post in the west, Ville-Marie (later renamed Montreal), and on January 10, 1648, he was granted a tract of land there. The post was set up for the purpose of fur trading, but needed men with skills like Urbain to help construct buildings. Urbain was a “long sawyer,” which meant he used the kind of saw that turned raw timber into planks of wood. He was known to have built many early houses in Montreal, and he also supplied wood to other settlers in the community.
Montreal in about 1645.
After he received his grant of land, Urbain looked to find a wife, and on September 28, 1648, he married Marie Archambault in Quebec City. He may have connected with her through a friend, Michel Chauvin, who had earlier married her sister Anne. Another sister named Jacquette was married on the same day as Urbain and Marie. When Marie married, she was not yet 13 years-old, and the following year, she gave birth to twins who didn’t survive. Marie and Urbain would go on to have a total of 17 children.
The difficulties of living in a place like Montreal in the mid-17th century went beyond just carving out a home in the wilderness — the greatest threat came from the Iroquois tribe across the river to the south. During 1651, two Montreal settlers were brutally murdered in an Iroquois raid. On May 10th, the attackers came back, said to be 40 men, and set fire to Urbain’s house, as well as his friend Michel Chauvin’s house. The following month, on June 18th, Urbain had another encounter with the Iroquois. He heard four men who were being attacked in a vulnerable spot away from the settlement, and he rushed to their aid, avoiding being shot as he navigated to their location. The settlers were barricaded in a hut, and after Urbain joined them, they fought off the attack together.
Urbain was known to be fearless against Iroquois attackers, but on March 24, 1661, he was captured with some other settlers and became a prisoner for several months. The men were taken to a village of the tribe located in present-day New York State. The Iroquois were notorious for torturing their captives, and while a prisoner, one of Urbain’s fingers was cut off. He had no contact with his family during his time with the Iroquois, and his wife Marie didn’t know he if he was dead or alive.
There’s no doubt that Urbain suffered during his captivity; he later admitted becoming so desperate, that he nearly joined his captors when they went off to battle another tribe. It was the Jesuits who negotiated for his release, and he was handed over to them in August along with eight other people. The Jesuits noted that his hand where his finger had been cut off was in pretty bad shape, but it healed enough six months later so that he could use it again.
Even after all he had been through, Urbain wasn’t afraid to fight off the Iroquois yet again. A short time after he had returned home, he woke up in the middle of the night and saw a group of warriors sneaking into town, looking to kill more settlers. He was said to have ”silently awakened his companions, and having the rest of the night for consultation they arranged their plan well, so that some of them sallied from the rear of the house, came cautiously upon the Iroquois, placed them between two fires and captured them all."
As the years passed, the threats in Montreal became less and less as it became more populated. The presence of military in the area also helped, and Urbain lived out the rest of his life in a safer community. He died in Montreal on March 21, 1689; his wife Marie survived him by many years, passing away in 1719. Urbain was the ancestor of Pierre and Justin Trudeau.
Urbain Tessier dit Lavigne left a legacy in Montreal that is evident to this day. Saint Urbain Street was said to have been built by him — today, it’s a major street in Montreal. Much of the downtown area was originally part of his land. On the Royal Trust Company building that faces the Notre-Dame Basilica, there are plaques in both French and English that read:
“This building was built on a piece of land initially granted to Urbain Tessier dit Lavigne. This was the 8th concession made to a citizen of the island of Montreal.”
(Source: Jean Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Children:
1. Baby Girl Tessier — B. 19 Jul 1649, Montreal, New France; D. 19 Jul 1649, Montreal, New France
2. Charles Tessier — B. 19 Jul 1649, Montreal, New France; D. 24 Jul 1649, Montreal, New France
3. Paul Tessier — B. Feb 1651, Montreal, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Cloutier, 13 Oct 1681, Chateau-Richer, New France
4. Madeleine Tessier — B. 19 Jul 1653, Montreal, New France
5. Laurent Tessier — B. 3 Jun 1655, Montreal, New France; D. 27 Sep 1687, Montreal, New France; M. Anne-Geneviéve Lemire, 20 Oct 1681, Quebec City, New France
6. Louise Tessier — B. 26 Mar 1657, Montreal, New France; M. Pierre Payet dit St-Amour, 23 Nov 1671, Montreal, New France
7. Agnés Tessier dite Lavigne — B. Mar 1659, Montreal, New France; M. Guillaume Richard, 26 Nov 1675 , Montreal, New France
8. Urbain Tessier — B. Jun 1661, Montreal, New France; D. Mar 1685, Montreal, New France
9. Jean Tessier — B. Jun 1663, Montreal, New France; M. (1) Jeanne LeBer, 16 Jan 1686, La Prairie, New France; (2) Louise Caron, 21 Apr 1688, La Pairie, New France; (3) Marie-Catherine De Poiters, 27 aug 1703, Montreal, New France
10. Claude Tessier — B. Dec 1665, Montreal, New France
11. Jacques Tessier — B. May 1668, Montreal, New France; D. 23 Jun 1670, Montreal, New France
12. Pétronille Tessier — B. Mar 1670, Montreal, New France; M. Pierre Janot dit Lachapelle, 31 Jan 1684
13. Jean-Baptiste Tessier — B. Jan 1672, Montreal, New France; M. Élisabeth Renault, 4 Nov 1698, Montreal, New France
14. Pierre Tessier — B. Feb 1674, Montreal, New France; D. 23 Feb 1674, Montreal, New France
15. Jacques Tessier — B. Mar 1675, Montreal, New France; M. Marie Adhémar dite St-Martin, 10 Mar 1699, Montreal, New France
16. Ignace Tessier — B. Mar 1677, Montreal, New France; D. 1747; M. Marguerite Luissier, 23 May 1703, Repentigny, New France
17. Nicolas Tessier — B. Jun 1679, Montreal, New France; M. Marie-Genevieve Augé, 27 Jan 1716, Montreal, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
The Old Regime in Canada, Francis Parkman, 1874
French Canadian and Acadian Genealogical Review, Volume I, No. I, Spring 1968, Rev. Archange Godbout, 1968
Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Volume 36, Reuben Gold Thwaites, 1899
Saint Urbain Street (Wikipedia article)
