B. about 1643 in Corbeil, Île-de-France, France
M. (1) 20 Mar 1666 in Montreal, New France
Husband: Honoré Danis dit Tourangeau
M. (2) 19 Mar 1705 in Lachine, New France
Husband: Yves Lucas St-Renaud
D. 24 Apr 1712 in Montreal, New France
Perrine Lapierre suffered the tragedy of having a child who was murdered by Indians near her home. This was the terrible risk of living on the American frontier in the 17th century.
Perrine was born in about 1643 in the village of Corbeil, France, a short distance south of Paris. Her parents were Pierre Lapierre and Claude Leclerc, who both likely died by the time she was in her teens. At about age 22, Perrine was recruited to be a Fille du Roi, a commitment to become the wife of a New France settler. The women who were in Perrine’s group came from “a charitable house in Paris,” meaning that she had likely been in a facility that cared for orphaned and unwanted children. A woman trapped in such a place had few options for their future, and this is why many signed up for a challenging life in New France.
The ship that brought Perrine to New France was the Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which arrived at Quebec on October 2, 1665. There were over 80 women onboard, and Perrine was among those who continued on to Montreal. There she was courted by a widower named Honoré Danis dit Tourangeau; the two got married at Notre-Dame in Montreal on March 20, 1666. Honoré was a carpenter who had been in the colony for over 12 years, and he had one or two children from his first wife. At the end of the year, Perrine gave birth to her first child. By 1684, she had a total of 11 children, with at least two dying as infants.
The area where Perrine and her family lived was sometimes dangerous, and parents couldn’t always protect their children from harm. On July 12, 1689, two of Perrine’s daughters and one son were bringing in the cows along a road, when an intoxicated Iroquois man came upon them. The younger girl, 16-year-old Jeanne, was raped by the man before he brutally murdered her with his hatchet. Perrine’s son Nicolas, who was only 12, tried to fight him off by hitting him with a rock, and somehow the Indian ran away before he could kill anyone else. The man was later captured and brought to justice, but the authorities stopped short of executing him for fear that other Iroquois would retaliate.
Within a year, Perrine also lost her husband Honoré. The date of his death is unknown, but it was before April 20, 1690, which was when Perrine requested a probate inventory for him. She didn’t remarry immediately, even though she still had three children in her care who were under the age of 13. Her older children probably helped support her for the next few years.
On March 19, 1705, Perrine married Yves Lucas St-Renaud, a Montreal barrel maker who was 23 years younger than she was; the wedding took place in Lachine, where they settled together. She died at the Hôtel-Dieu in Montreal on April 24, 1712. Yves went on to marry another Fille du Roi, Marie Blanchard, and passed away in 1726.
Children (all by Honoré Danis dit Tourangeau):
1. Charlotte Danis — B. 21 Dec 1666, Montreal, New France; D. 15 Jan 1667, Montreal, New France
2. Jean-Baptiste Danis — B. 17 Jan 1668, Montreal, New France; D. 5 Oct 1713, Montreal, New France; M. Anne Badel Lamarche (~1677-1742), 10 Sep 1691, Montreal, New France
3. Catherine Danis — B. 30 Oct 1669, Montreal, New France; D. 17 May 1755, Montreal, New France; M. Pierre Gougeon (~1659-?), 24 Sep 1686, Montreal, New France
4. Honoré Danis — B. 30 Oct 1669, Montreal, New France; D. 16 Aug 1722, Lachine, New France; M. Catherine Brunet (1681-~1756), 15 Nov 1694, Lachine, New France
5. Pétronille Danis — B. 25 Nov 1671, Montreal, New France; D. 13 Mar 1753, Yamaska, New France; M. (1) Charles Brouillard (1665-~1692), 18 Mar 1688, Montreal, New France; (2) Bernardin Cantara (1665-1753), 8 Oct 1696, Montreal, New France
6. Jeanne Danis — B. 23 Jun 1673, Montreal, New France; D. 12 Jul 1689, Montreal, New France
7. Paul Danis — B. 6 Aug 1675, Montreal, New France
8. Nicolas Danis — B. 16 Aug 1677, Montreal, New France; D. 26 Jun 1758, Montreal, New France; M. (1) Marie-Anne Fortier (1685-1725), 3 Feb 1705, Lachine, New France; (2) Genevieve Gignard (1681-?), 23 Sep 1726, Pointe-Claire, New France
9. René Danis — B. 21 Dec 1679, Montreal, New France; D. Jun 1757, Yamaska, New France; M. Marguerite Forcier (1684-1761), 28 Jan 1705, Montreal, New France
10. Jacques Danis — B. 28 Jan 1682, Montreal, New France; D. 30 Jan 1682, Montreal, New France
11. Charles Danis — B. 20 Feb 1684, Montreal, New France; M. Dorothee Mechipoueoua (~1694-?), 1710, Kaskaskia, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000
WikiTree
