Disappeared in Lachine Massacre — Marie Marchesseau

B. 22 Apr 1638 in Luçon, France
M. (1) in France
Husband: Pierre Boutin
M. (2) 25 Nov 1670 in Quebec City, New France
Husband: Jean Michel
D. (probably) Aug 1689, near Lachine, New France

During the 1689 Iroquois massacre at Lachine, New France, some people were killed and others survived. Marie Marchesseau is one whose exact fate is unknown.

Marie was born on April 22, 1638 to Etienne Marchesseau and Sebastienne Lamoureux in Luçon, France, a town north of La Rochelle. When she was a young woman, she married Pierre Boutin. They lived in the village of Mailé and had two children baptized there who likely died as infants. Then in about 1669, they migrated to New France, where Marie gave birth to a son Albert in Quebec City. Sadly, Pierre passed away on October 14, 1670, leaving Marie alone with a small baby. Only a few weeks later, she married a second husband, Jean Michel (also spelled Michau), on November 25th.

Marie and Jean lived in Quebec City until about 1677; during this time she had three sons born, the youngest of whom died as a baby. Then the family moved to the west, living in Montreal for a short time, and Marie had a daughter there. They went still further west to Fort Frontenac, an outpost at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, and here Marie gave birth to another girl, her last child. By 1681, they moved back to the Montreal area at Lachine, which would turn out to be an unfortunate decision.

On the night of August 5, 1689, a force of over 1,000 Iroquois warriors entered Lachine in a surprise attack, breaking into homes and brutally killing whoever lived there. Then they burned the houses, only sparing 20 of the 76 dwellings in the town. Marie’s husband along with sons Albert and Pierre (ages 18 and 15) were murdered on the spot, but Marie was likely taken away as a prisoner with her other son and two daughters, and at least 80 other settlers in Lachine. 

The Lachine massacre.

Five years later, the remains of Jean, Albert and Pierre were recovered from the ruins of the house, and they were buried in the Lachine cemetery, but Marie never returned from captivity. Her two daughters survived and were married in 1696 and 1701; Marie didn’t seem to attend either wedding. The Iroquois were known to torture and kill their prisoners, regardless of who they were. This was probably what happened to Marie. Among her descendants are Dan Aykroyd and Rudy Vallée.

Children by Pierre Boutin:
1. Hilaire Boutin — B. about Feb 1665, Mailé, Vendée, France; D. young

2. Marie Boutin — B. about Feb 1667, Mailé, Vendée, France; D. young

3. Albert Boutin — B. 7 Sep 1670, (probably) Quebec City, New France; D. 5 Aug 1689, Lachine, New France

Children by Jean Michel:
1. Pierre Michel — B. 23 Sep 1672, Quebec City, New France; D. 5 Aug 1689, Lachine, New France

2. François Michel — B. 20 Feb 1674, Quebec City, New France

3. Guillaume Michel — B. 29 Mar 1676, Quebec City, New France; D. 1 Aug 1676, Quebec City, New France

4. Marie-Renée Michel — B. 18 Jun 1677, Montreal, New France; D. 19 Nov 1750, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, New France; M. Pierre Suavé dit LaPlante (~1652-1737), 27 Feb 1696, Lachine, New France

5. Marie-Madeleine Michel — B. 1680, (probably) Fort Frontenac, New France; D. 24 Mar 1745, Montreal, New France; M. (1) Jacques Leduc (1675-1703), 3 Jul 1703, Montreal, New France; (2) Geoffrey Lefebvre (1677-1767), 3 Jun 1704, Montreal, New France

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
WikiTree

Le Fort de Frontenac, 1668-1678, Benjamin Sulte, 1901
Le vieux Lachine et le massacre du 5 août 1689, Désiré Girouard, 1889
Genealogy of Quebec and French America (website)
Find A Grave