M. before 1671 in New France2
Wife: Jeanne Ducorps dite Leduc
D. May 1714 in Montreal, New France3
New France needed men who had artisan skills, including blacksmiths, locksmiths and tool makers, and Martin Massé seems to have been all of these. He was born in about 1646 in the town of Luçon, France, located not far from La Rochelle.1 Nothing has been proven as to who his parents were. As a boy or young man, Martin was probably apprenticed to a local metal worker, and once trained, recruited to work in America during the early 1660s.
Martin was recorded as having attended a wedding in Quebec City on January 12, 1666, so he had migrated by that date.4 The groom was a Carignan-Saliéres Regiment soldier named Claude Desjardins dit Charbonnier. His relationship to the soldier is unknown; there were two other men named as witnesses, and neither seemed to be relatives of Desjardins or his Fille du Roi bride. Some researchers speculate that Martin was also a soldier, but documents don’t seem to back this up. He was described as a locksmith, and in about 1666, he offered his services to a man named Pierre Normand dit La Briere for 12 livres per month;5 his earnings went directly to a merchant, Jacques La Mothe, from whom Martin had received goods.
The records go silent for Martin for the next seven years until he was a father in a baptism on March 19, 1673.6 The event took place at Sorel, a seigneury on the south shore of the St. Lawrence between Trois-Rivières and Montreal. There is also indication that Martin had a son born in about 1671, and the mother of both children was Jeanne Ducorps dite Leduc,1 meaning they were probably married before that year.2 Jeanne had lived at Montreal in 1666, and this may have been when they met. She was presumed to be a Fille du Roi based on the timing of their union, but since no marriage record has survived, this can’t be confirmed.
By 1676, Martin and his family settled in Montreal,7 and the family grew to have eight children, although four died by age 12. Martin worked as a master edge tool maker, presumably with his own business in Montreal. His occupation included things like shoeing horses and oxen, repairing farm tools, making nails, and whatever blacksmithing was needed by settlers in the colony. His profession had a direct effect on two of his children’s lives. Daughter Marie-Anne married an edge tool maker in 1696,8 and the younger man may have worked for him. And in 1701, Martin’s son Michel asked for his father’s assistance in getting a working forge in Detroit where he was trying to set himself up as a blacksmith.9
During the summer of 1697, Martin was involved in a physical dispute with a woman.10 She was Marie-Thérèse Machard, the wife of a Montreal merchant, who also worked for herself as a “merchant of small goods.” She seems to have brought Martin a small box to be repaired, and had a disagreement over payment for his work. Court records showed that he was “attacked and injured” by Marie-Therese, suggesting she must have hit him with some object. Martin sued for damages, and he won the case.
Martin's signature on document from 1697 court case. (source: BAnQ)
Martin died in May 1714 in Montreal at the age of about 68.3 He was survived by wife Jeanne, who passed away in 1727.11 Both of them were ancestors of Hillary Clinton and Ricky Gervais.12
Children:
1. Michel Massé — B. about 1671, New France;1 D. 21 Jun 1730, Montreal, New France;13 M. Marguerite Couc dite LaFleur (1664-?), 1705, Detroit, New France14
2. Marie Massé — B. 19 Mar 1673, Sorel, New France;6 D. 18 Feb 1736, Montreal, New France;15 M. Jean-Baptiste Pothier (1671-1732), 24 Sep 1696, Montreal, New France16
3. Andre Massé — B. 30 May 1676, Montreal, New France;7 D. before 168117
4. Marie-Jeanne Massé — B. 25 Apr 1677, Montreal, New France;18 D. 5 Sep 1764, Detroit;19 M. Michel Campeau (1667-1737), 7 Jan 1696, Montreal, New France20
5. Martin Massé — B. 26 Jun 1679, Montreal, New France;21 D. 7 Oct 1692, Montreal, New France22
6. Marie-Françoise Massé — B. 2 Aug 1682, Montreal, New France;23 D. 4 Aug 1682, Montreal, New France24
7. Marie-Anne Massé — B. 7 Dec 1684, Montreal, New France;25 D. 23 Sep 1721, Montreal, New France;26 M. (1) Guillaume Maillot (1680-1718), 16 Jan 1704, Montreal, New France;8 (2) Pierre Courault (1696-1779), 26 Sep 1718, Montreal, New France27
8. Catherine Massé — B. 16 Dec 1687, Montreal, New France;28 D. 11 Jun 1699, Montreal, New France29
Sources:
1 King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000
2 Estimated marriage year based on estimated birth year of oldest child, Michel Massé
3 Burial record of Martin Massé, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
4 Marriage record of Claude Desjardins and Marguerite Cardillon, Q.C.P.R.
5 Inventaire des greffes des notaires du régime français, V. 3, p. 210, Pierre Georges Roy and Antoine Roy
6 Baptismal record of Marie Massé, Q.C.P.R.
7 Baptismal record of André Massé, Q.C.P.R.
8 Marriage record of Guillaume Maillot and Marie-Anne Massé, Q.C.P.R.
9 Actes de notaire, 1668-1714, Adémar, 28 Sep 1701, FamilySearch.org
10 Court records of Martin Massé vs. Marie-Thérèse Machard, BAnQ
11 Burial record of Jeanne Ducorps dite Leduc, Q.C.P.R.
12 FamousKin.com listing for Martin Massé
13 Burial record of Michel Massé, Q.C.P.R.
14 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique français listing for Michel Massé
15 Burial record of Marie Massé, Q.C.P.R.
16 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Pothier and Marie Massé, Q.C.P.R.
17 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
18 Baptismal record of Marie-Jeanne Massé, Q.C.P.R.
19 Find-A-Grave listing of Marie Jeanne Masse Campeau
20 Marriage record of Michel Campeau and Marie-Jeanne Massé, Q.C.P.R.
21 Baptismal record of Martin Massé (younger), Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Martin Massé (younger), Q.C.P.R.
23 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Massé, Q.C.P.R.
24 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Massé, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Marie-Anne Massé, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Marie-AnneMassé, Q.C.P.R.
27 Marriage record of Pierre Courault and Marie-Anne Massé, Q.C.P.R
28 Baptismal record of Catherine Massé, Q.C.P.R.
29 Burial record of Catherine Massé, Q.C.P.R.
