M. 16 Nov 1695 in St-Joseph-de-Pointe-Lévy, New France2
Wife: Marie-Anne Carrier
D. 9 Nov 1699 in Quebec City, New France3
The story of Pierre Turgeon is of a man who lived just long enough to provide a bloodline and name to pass on to descendants. He was born in about 1669 to Charles Turgeon and Pasquiere Lefebvre,1 who had migrated to Quebec from France a few years earlier. Pierre's parents were past 40-years-old when he was born, and many of his older siblings had been born in France. His baptism is missing from the parish records; the family lived in the seigneury of Beauport, and documents there were somewhat spotty at that time.
Pierre’s father was said to be a confrontational character in Beauport, often having disagreements with his neighbors,4 and it isn’t known how this might have influenced Pierre. One of his older sisters, Marie-Anne, chose to become a nun in 1677,4 and after all the siblings were of age, Pierre’s parents moved back to France in 1691.4 By this time, Pierre had left the nest, moving to Pointe-Lévy in Lauzon, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence across from Quebec City. In 1690, he was noted as having an assigned seat at the church there, St-Joseph-de-Pointe-Lévy.5 On November 16, 1695, Pierre married Marie-Anne Carrier,2 who had grown up in Pointe-Lévy. Together, they had two sons born in 1696 and 1698.
Marriage record of Pierre and Marie-Anne.
Pierre was present at his brother-in-law Charles Carrier’s marriage contract signing on May 24, 1699,6 but something happened to him soon after, and on June 16th, he went to Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec to be treated for an illness or injury.7 Hôtel-Dieu was a hospital run by nuns, and one of them was Pierre’s sister Marie-Anne; perhaps she took care of him, but this is impossible to know. It’s also a mystery if he stayed in the hospital for any length of time, or was simply given medicine and released.
Whatever the case, Pierre died at Hôtel-Dieu on November 9th of that year;3 he was just 30-years-old. His wife Marie-Anne was left with two small boys, and remarried in May of the following year,8 but she passed away before the end of 1705.9
Children:
1. Joseph Turgeon — B. 9 Nov 1696, St-Joseph-de-Pointe-Lévy, New France;10 D. 19 Mar 1765, St-Joseph-de-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec;11 M. Marguerite Boutillet (1702-1783), 12 Feb 1721, L’Ange Gardien, New France12
2. Charles Turgeon — B. 8 Sep 1698, St-Joseph-de-Pointe-Lévy, New France;13 M. Catherine Lemoine (1682-1760), 23 Nov 1733, New France14
Sources:
1 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
2 Marriage record of Pierre Turgeon and Marie-Anne Carrier, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Burial record of Pierre Turgeon, Q.C.P.R.
4 Our French-Canadian Ancestors, V. 28, pp. 205-213, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
5 1690 list for assigned seating at St-Joseph de la Pointe-Lévy
6 Marriage record of Charles Carrier and Marie Gesseron, Q.C.P.R.
7 Registre Journalier des Malades de L’Hôtel-Dieu de Quebec, Marcel and Gisèle Monarque, 2005
8 Marriage record of Louis-Theandre Lemieux and Marie-Anne Carrier, Q.C.P.R.
9 Burial record of Marie-Anne Carrier, Q.C.P.R.
10 Baptismal record of Joseph Turgeon, Q.C.P.R.
11 Burial record of Joseph Turgeon, Q.C.P.R.
12 Marriage record of Joseph Turgeon and Marguerite Boutillet, Q.C.P.R.
13 Baptismal record of Charles Turgeon, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Charles Turgeon and Catherine Lemoine, Q.C.P.R.
