M. 13 Jan 1699 in Rivière-Ouelle, New France
Wife: Élisabeth-Ursule Fouquereau
D. 7 Jan 1760 in Rivière-Ouelle, New France
Pierre Soucy had a somewhat unusual birthplace—an island in the St. Lawrence River called Île-aux-Oies, which translates to “Island of Geese.” Pierre was born in this remote location on April 13, 1673 to Jean Soucy dit Lavigne and Jeanne Savonnet, the second of their four children. His father was a Carignan Regiment soldier and his mother was a Fille du Roi.
The geography of where Pierre was born played an important role in his life from the very beginning. Île-aux-Oies was a narrow island downriver from the Île d’Orleans that had only a handful of inhabitants and no church. When Pierre was just 3-days-old, he was taken by boat to Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré on the mainland for his baptism. The family moved to another island, Île-aux-Grues, when he was young, but his father had died by the summer of 1679, which was when his mother married another island settler, Damien Bérubé. The 1681 census showed 9-year-old Pierre in Bérubé’s household on Île-aux-Oies.
In 1688, Pierre’s step-father died and his mother remarried again to François Miville, a Swiss man who was seigneur of Rivière-Ouelle, a settlement on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Pierre lived there in 1690 when the settlers bravely fought off an invading force from New England. That August, a fleet of 32 ships carrying about 2,000 men left Boston, intent on driving the French out of Canada. The village had advance warning, and the parish priest organized everyone in town to defend it. When boats tried to land, the people were armed and ready, and the small force managed to repel the New Englanders. Since the battle involved nearly all the young men in Rivière-Ouelle, it’s very likely that 17-year-old Pierre took part in it.
Pierre married Élisabeth-Ursule Fouquereau in Rivière-Ouelle on January 14, 1699. The couple had twelve children between 1700 and 1725, with three dying as infants. Pierre was said to be a carpenter as well as a farmer, and that he used his woodworking skills to build boats. He also engaged in porpoise hunting, something we would today consider a cruel practice, but common during that time in his village.
After a long life together, Pierre’s wife died at Rivière-Ouelle on December 31, 1758. He passed away about a year later on January 7, 1760 at the age of 87. The island where he was born is today uninhabited and access is off-limits to the public.
Children:
1. Marie-Anne Soucy — B. 18 Jan 1700, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 28 Sep 1785, Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec; M. Augustin Dubé (1695-1779), 7 Jan 1721, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France
2. Pierre Soucy — B. 9 Feb 1702, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 27 May 1764, Kamouraska, Quebec; M. Marie-Jean Michaud, 20 Jul 1723, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
3. Joseph Soucy — B. 19 Jul 1704, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 21 Jul 1745, La Pocatière, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Mignier (1706-1777), 7 Jan 1727, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France
4. Ursule Soucy — B. 28 Jun 1706, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 30 Mar 1754, La Pocatière, New France M. Michel Mignault (1697-~1756), 26 Oct 1724, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France
5. Marie-Madeleine Soucy — B. 20 Jun 1708, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 2 Nov 1743, Repentigny, New France; M. Guillaume Gabriel Miville (1704-1799), 14 Jan 1726, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France
6. Angleique Soucy — B. 4 Oct 1710, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 29 Oct 1710, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
7. Jean-François Soucy — B. 14 Feb 1712, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 8 Sep 1758, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; M. Claire Rousseau (~1715-1797), 3 Jul 1735, L’Islet-sur-Mer, New France
8. Marie-Françoise Soucy — B. 28 Jan 1714, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 9 Dec 1796, Kamouraska, Quebec; M. Jean-Bernard Miville (1711-?), 22 Nov 1733, New France
9. Marie-Catherine Soucy — B. 27 Apr 1716, La Pocatière, New France; D. 28 Mar 1769, La Pocatière, Quebec; M. (1) Louis Moreau (1707-1737), 17 Jun 1734, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France; (2) Joachim Leclerc (1707-1772), 24 Nov 1738, Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, New France
10. Genevieve Soucy — B. 23 May 1718, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; D. 18 May 1719, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
11. Charles-François Soucy — B. 9 Oct 1721, La Pocatière, New France; D. 20 Sep 1753, Fort de la Presqu'Île, New France; M. Angelique Lizotte (1711-?) 1745
12. Jean-Baptiste Soucy — B. 26 Jan 1725, La Pocatière, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
1690: Qui sont les héros et les héroïnes de la bataille de Rivière-Ouelle? (blog) Robert Bérubé, 2017Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
Pioneer Jean Soucy-dit-Lavigne (Genealogy.com)
WikiTree
Pioneer Jean Soucy-dit-Lavigne (Genealogy.com)
WikiTree
