Stabbed by his Prisoner — Guillaume Vanier dit LaFontaine

B. about 1645 in Honfleur, Calvados, Normandy, France
M. 5 Jul 1672 in Quebec City, New France
Wife: Madeleine Bailly
D. Aug 1687 in Montreal, New France

Guillaume Vanier dit LaFontaine once started a fight with a man who was being held in jail, and he nearly got himself killed. 

Guillaume was born in about 1645 in Honfleur, France to Pierre Vanier and Jacqueline Gaillard; his baptism was at Ste-Catherine parish, a wooden church that still survives. Guillaume’s father died in 1647 and his mother remarried. He had one sister and three half siblings. Guillaume was able to sign his name, suggesting he was at least somewhat educated.

Ste-Catherine church.

At some point after he came of age, Guillaume decided to migrate to America. The first record of him in New France was of his confirmation in the Catholic Church at Montreal on November 5, 1668. His first few years in the colony are sketchy. During the spring of 1671, he signed a contract in Quebec City to work for a notary, cutting trees, chopping wood and doing labor on a farm. The following year, Guillaume married a Fille du Roi, Madeleine Bailly, on July 5th. They settled in Charlesbourg, and had six children born between 1673 and 1687.

Along with being a farmer, Guillaume was described as being a candlemaker. On one document in 1676, he was also a carter, meaning he delivered goods by cart. But it was another occupation that gave Guillaume an interesting story: in 1679, he served as Archer de la Maréchaussée, which translates as “archer of the constabulary.” This was a group that was formed in New France by an order of Louis XIV on May 9, 1677; they were a sort of police force made up of six men who traveled far and wide to arrest people charged with crimes. The title of “archer” was archaic and didn’t literally mean they used bows and arrows. 

An Archer de la Maréchaussée in late 17th-century France.

In July 1679, Guillaume was sent out on a mission to assist a provost marshal in capturing François Quintal, a man who had been known to engage in illegal fur trading with some Indians. The arrest was made at Quintal’s house in Boucherville at 4 o’clock in the morning, and he was brought to the jail in Montreal. The following night, July 14th, Guillaume decided to look in on him. The place the prisoner was being held wasn’t like jails of today; it was more of a room for holding prisoners in the house of the jailer. When Guillaume paid his visit, he ordered wine for everyone, which was served by the jailer’s wife. Another man came by and more drinks were ordered; meanwhile, the jailer, thinking everyone was acting friendly, fell asleep in the corner of the room.

After another two rounds of drinks, the other visitor departed, and Guillaume playfully taunted Quintal, bragging about how skillfully he captured him. Quintal responded that it was the provost marshall who made the arrest and he was a fool to claim credit for it. Guillaume said words to the effect, “No, you were the fool to get captured!” This set off Quintal, and both men rose to engage in a fight. Guillaume got Quintal by the hair and they both fell to the floor. Then Quintal grabbed a knife that was within reach (it had been offered earlier so he could cut tobacco for his pipe), and he lunged at Guillaume. The stab came to his left shoulder, making quite a gash.

The jailer’s wife immediately woke up her husband, who rose to stop the fight. Guillaume lay bleeding and a doctor was called for, as well as the marshal provost, who saw to it that Quintal was put in leg irons. Guillaume was described as having lost “a large quantity of blood.” Charges were filed against Quintal and an inquest was held within the next few days. The verdict was that Quintal had to pay a fine of 170 livres for damages and medical charges. Presumably, Guillaume made a full recovery.

Guillaume wasn’t killed when he was stabbed in a fight, but eight years later, he wasn’t so lucky. The summer of 1687 saw tension between the French settlers and Iroquois around Montreal, and the army along with some militia men were called in to fight. Guillaume was involved in the engagement somehow, probably as a member of a militia. When he was returning home from the action, his own gun misfired and killed him. He was buried at Montreal on August 27, 1687. Guillaume was the ancestor of Ricky Gervais, Ron Guidry and Beyoncé.

Children:
1. Anne Vanier — B. 6 Apr 1673, Quebec City, New France; D. 6 Feb 1750, Montreal, New France; M. Julienn Leblanc (1667-1756), 9 Jan 1689, Charlesbourg, New France

2. Marie-Madeleine Vanier — B. 3 Jan 1675, Quebec City, New France; D. 10 Nov 1749, Charlesbourg, New France; M. (1) Jean-François Martel (1671-1715), 13 Feb 1695, Charlesbourg, New France; (2) Jean-François Barbeau (1684-?), 22 Oct 1718, Charlesbourg, New France

3. Nicolas Vanier — B. Jul 1677, Quebec City, New France; D. 14 Jan 1680

4. Jean-Baptiste Le Vanier — B. Jun 1681, Quebec City, New France; D. 15 Mar 1746, Montreal, New France; M. (1) Marie Hotte (1679-1711), 18 Aug 1704, Charlesbourg, New France; (2) Marie-Charlotte Chamard (1693-1777), 13 Jun 1712

5. Marie-Marguerite Vanier — B. 29 Mar 1684, Charlesbourg, New France; D. 18 Apr 1715, Charlesbourg, New France; M. Charles Boyer (1684-?), 9 Feb 1699, Charlesbourg, New France

6. Pierre-Thomas Vanier — B. 8 Jun 1687, Charlesbourg, New France; D. 20 Mar 1711, Charlesbourg, New France; M. Marie-Anne Bourbeau (1690-1731), 9 Feb 1711, Charlesbourg, New France

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

Find A Grave
WikiTree
An Analytical Index of the Archives of Montreal from 1672 to 1682, 1891
The Police in New France, Canadian Military History Gateway 
Les chirurgiens, médecins, etc., etc., de Montréal, sous le régime Français, E. Z. Massicotte
Iroquois (Wikipedia article)