M. 4 Apr 1663 in Château-Richer, New France
Wife: Marie Saint-Denys
D. 13 May 1707 in Rivière-Ouelle, New France
During the 17th century, Pierre Boucher dit Pitoche lived on both the north and south coasts of the St. Lawrence River, as well as a major island in between.
Pierre started out life in Quebec City, born there to Marin Boucher and Perrine Mallet on February 13, 1639. The Boucher family had migrated among the first wave of colonists after the French took Quebec back from the English. Pierre grew up with six siblings, plus a half-brother from his father’s earlier marriage (there were several half-sisters who had remained in France). The first few years of Pierre's life were spent in the Beauport section of Quebec before his father acquired land in Château-Richer in 1648.
The Bouchers lived in Château-Richer on a large tract with 8 arpents of river frontage. It was said that their home was used by the community for religious functions before the church was built in about 1661. On April 4, 1663, Pierre got married in the new church; his bride was Marie Saint-Denys, who had arrived from France with her parents in 1659.
At some point, the nickname “Pitoche” was added to Pierre’s name. This was likely because there was a famous Pierre Boucher who was the governor of Trois-Rivières. Pierre had more humble pursuits—he was a farmer who supplemented his income building carts.
Pierre and his wife spent the first couple years of their marriage in Château-Richer where their first two children were born, then by 1666, they moved to Île d’Orleans. He acquired land with 3 arpents of frontage in Ste-Famille, the oldest settlement on the island. The family grew to include five more children, then in 1679, he moved back to Château-Richer where they had five more. His widowed mother lived nearby, and some time after she died in 1687, Pierre moved again, this time to the southern shore of the St. Lawrence.
The place Pierre settled was Rivière-Ouelle; his older brother Galleran was already living there, and so was his daughter Marie-Sainte and her husband. Rivière-Ouelle was downriver towards the Atlantic, far enough so that ocean fish were within reach. It was said that Pierre had land at a location that was ideally suited for fishing, but it isn’t certain whether he made a living that way.
Pierre’s wife died in January 1705, and he passed away two year later on May 13, 1707. Many of Pierre’s descendants remained in the Rivière-Ouelle area for generations. Three of his great-grandsons served in the Rivière-Ouelle militia against the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Pierre was a direct ancestor of Madonna, Dan Aykroyd and Chloë Sevigny.
Children:
1. Barbe Boucher — B. 13 Dec 1663, Château-Richer, New France; D. 20 Mar 1724, Pointe-de-Lévy, Lauzon, New France; (1) René Meheu, 16 Nov 1682, Château-Richer, New France; M. (2) Georges Cadoret, 22 Apr 1686, Château-Richer, New France; (3) Louis Jourdain, 8 Feb 1712, Pointe-de-Lévy, Lauzon, New France
2. Pierre Boucher — B. 1 Jan 1666, Château-Richer, New France; D. 17 Jun 1666, Montmorency, New France
3. Jacques Boucher — B. 4 Jan 1667, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 6 Jan 1667, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France
4. Marie-Sainte Boucher — B. 11 Aug 1668;, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France D. 15 Jul 1717, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; M Jean-Baptiste Mignault dit LaBrie, 7 Nov 1689, Château-Richer, New France
5. Jean Boucher — B. 14 Jan 1671, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France; M. Marie-Angelique Guay, 16 Oct 1696, Levis, New France
6. Pierre Boucher — B. 4 May 1673, St-François, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 17 Jun 1714, Montmorency, New France; M. Madeleine Dancosse, 4 Feb 1697, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
7. Angelique Boucher — B. 27 Oct 1676, Ste-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France; D. 2 Mar 1717, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; M. Louis Dubé, 28 Jan 1697, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
8. Charles Boucher — B. 7 Sep 1679, Château-Richer, New France; D. 4 May 1709, Rivière-Ouelle, New France; M. Marie-Anne Ouellet, 18 Nov 1704, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
9. Marie-Therese Boucher — B. 9 Jan 1683, Château-Richer, New France; D. 15 Jul 1743, Montreal, New France; M. Pierre Dubé, 7 Jan 1704, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
10. Genevieve Boucher — B. 12 sep 1685, Château-Richer, New France; D. 23 Jun 1769, St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Quebec; M. Laurent Dubé, 7 Jan 1706, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
11. Prisque Boucher — B. 22 Apr 1689, Château-Richer, New France; D. 9 May 1768, Pointe-de-Lévy, Lauzon, Quebec; M. Marie-Françoise Miville, 6 Apr 1712, Rivière-Ouelle, New France
12. Marguerite Boucher — B. 12 May 1692, Montmorency, New France; D. 13 Mar 1747, St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990Marin Boucher (Wikipedia article)
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