M. 6 Nov 1747 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Marie-Therese Pimpare
D. after 23 Feb 1768 in (probably) Windsor, Canada
During the 17th and 18th centuries, when men came from France to make a new life in Canada, they had to be courageous, resourceful, and tough. That was very true for a man like Louis Plichon dit St-Louis.
Louis was born in 1719 in Amiens, France to Charles Plichon and Marie Coquerel. His childhood circumstance are unknown, but he was only 15-years-old when he joined the French military. At some point, he was assigned to help defend New France, and was shipped there. Louis’ post was in Montreal, then a thriving town primarily doing business in the fur trade. It had a population of 4,200 in 1740, with another 18,000 people living in the surrounding area. By that time, the military was focused on defending against the British, who were threatening to take over, but during Louis’ first few years in New France, there wasn’t much action.
Sometime during 1743, Louis needed some medical treatment; the details of his condition weren’t recorded. He tried to get help from a Montreal doctor, Charles Feltz, who was well-known for his remedies, but for some reason, Louis was turned away. So he decided to venture into the woods looking for wild roots to make his own medicine. After finding what he needed, Louis made a fire and boiled the roots near where he found them. All this took some time, and as he made his way back to town, he encountered a black woman picking berries, who asked for his help to cross the St. Lawrence river so she could get home. After Louis did so, a storm came up with heavy rain and wind, and this prevented him from making the return trip across the river.
By now Louis didn’t know how to get back to his post. For the next three days, he wandered the shoreline across from Montreal. Eventually, he ended up in the settlement of Châteauguay, where at first, someone stole his gun, then a settler gave him food and fresh clothes. But Louis was also in trouble for leaving his post without permission, and the authorities soon arrested him. He was brought to trial for desertion, a serious offense that could have meant a stiff sentence. The only thing that saved him was that he had been underage at his enlistment, making his service invalid, and he was therefore not legally bound to military rules. He was released back into his military unit.
Sometime during 1743, Louis needed some medical treatment; the details of his condition weren’t recorded. He tried to get help from a Montreal doctor, Charles Feltz, who was well-known for his remedies, but for some reason, Louis was turned away. So he decided to venture into the woods looking for wild roots to make his own medicine. After finding what he needed, Louis made a fire and boiled the roots near where he found them. All this took some time, and as he made his way back to town, he encountered a black woman picking berries, who asked for his help to cross the St. Lawrence river so she could get home. After Louis did so, a storm came up with heavy rain and wind, and this prevented him from making the return trip across the river.
By now Louis didn’t know how to get back to his post. For the next three days, he wandered the shoreline across from Montreal. Eventually, he ended up in the settlement of Châteauguay, where at first, someone stole his gun, then a settler gave him food and fresh clothes. But Louis was also in trouble for leaving his post without permission, and the authorities soon arrested him. He was brought to trial for desertion, a serious offense that could have meant a stiff sentence. The only thing that saved him was that he had been underage at his enlistment, making his service invalid, and he was therefore not legally bound to military rules. He was released back into his military unit.
Record of 1743 case against Louis.
By 1747, Louis was serving in the company of Louis de La Corne, a Montreal man who was a fur trader as well as a military man. After taking charge of an attack in Acadia, La Corne led a force of men against raiding Iroquois in June of 1747 on Lake St. Louis. It’s likely that Louis was part of this effort, and possibly it’s where he got the nickname “St-Louis,” but this is speculation.
Sometime before the June 1747 mission, Louis had a relationship with a woman who lived in the Montreal area, Marie-Therese Pimpare. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son at the end of September, who was baptized on October 1st at Montreal. About a month later, on November 6th, Louis married Therese at the same church.
Louis was an active soldier until at least January 1749; that month, he and his wife had a daughter born in Montreal, who died soon after. Then his service ended and he made the decision to go west. There was an offer made in Detroit to encourage French settlers to set up farms there; anyone who agreed to it would be given land, supplies and rations in return for a commitment to grow crops. Louis arrived with his family on July 26th and received a tract on the south shore of the Detroit River.
A ledger book was kept for all of the new settlers and Louis was listed as the first entry. Specifically he received two “roebucks for meat,” 2 pounds of flour, a hoe, an axe, a scythe, a plow, 2 augers, a sow, a cow, an ox, 7 chickens, 80 roofing nails, 4 lbs. of gunpowder and 6 lbs. of lead. It was required that he return the cow and the ox, or pay for them, and he was given 20 bushels of wheat and 1 bushel of corn that had to be repaid. Louis’ ration allotment was increased by one in 1750 when wife Therese’s brother came to stay with them. It was also noted in the ledger that his cow was replaced on June 5, 1755 after it had been killed by Hurons.
View from the south shore of the Detroit River.
Louis and Therese’s family grew during the years on the Detroit River. A son was born to them on November 26, 1749 who is considered to be the first white child born in what is now Essex County, Ontario. There were at least six more children, with the youngest known born in 1764 or 1765. It isn’t known when Louis died. A census taken of the inhabitants of the south shore of Detroit on January 23, 1768 lists a family headed by “St Louis,” and there were eight children in the household, so that was likely him. There are no further mentions of Louis after that date.
Children:
1. Louis Plichon — B. 1 Oct 1747, Montreal, New France
2. Marie-Louise Plichon — B. 11 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France; D. 26 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France
3. François Plichon — B. 26 Nov 1749, Detroit, New France
4. Joseph-Marie Plichon — B. 6 Nov 1751, Detroit, New France
5. Marie-Joseph Plichon — B. 20 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France; D. 26 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France
6. Catherine Plichon — B. 6 Jan 1755, Detroit, New France
7. Pierre Plichon — B. 15 Apr 1757, Detroit, New France; D. 13 Sep 1758, Detroit, New France
8. Marie-Françoise Plichon — B. about Apr 1759, Detroit, New France; D. 26 Jan 1837, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Nicolas Baillargeon (1740-1803), 24 Jul 1778, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
9. Charles Plichon — B. before 23 Sep 1765, Sandwich, Quebec
Sources:
WikiTree
Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1936, Christian Dennison, 1987
People of the American Frontier: The Coming of the American Revolution, Walter Scott Dunn, 2005
“Edward Ciccotte Ledger, 1749-1752,” Michigan’s Habitant Heritage, Vol. 29, #3, 2008
“La Corne, Louis,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Punir La Désertion en Nouvelle-France: Justice, Pouvoir et Institution Militaire de 1742 à 1761, Nicolas Fournier, 2013
The Windsor border region, Canada’s southernmost frontier, Ernest J. Lajeunesse, 1960
