M. 19 Apr 1702 in Montreal, New France2
Wife: Marie-Catherine Prezeau
D. 11 Oct 1725 in Pointe-Claire, New France1
Among the men who migrated to New France, Pierre Clement dit La Rivière had an unusual place of origin. Most were from regions in the north and west of France, but he was from Tarascon, a town 12 miles north of Arles on the west bank of the Rhone River. Tarascon has a history dating back to Roman times, associated with trade on the Mediterranean. It’s also a place of castles and ancient churches, with one that was built in honor of a biblical figure, St. Martha, who was said to have slain a monster to save the town in AD 48.3 At this historical town, Pierre was born in about 1670.1,2 His parents were Pierre and Catherine Clement,2 but no other information exists about them.
The town where Pierre was born.
The earliest known record of Pierre was of his marriage in Montreal on April 19, 1702.2 What brought him there? Circumstantial evidence suggests that he was a soldier. By the 1690s, very few people migrated to New France on their own initiative; the most common source of new settlers was from the French soldiers who were stationed along the St. Lawrence. The Montreal area was a hub for the military during that time, and many men chose to stay when their service was up. A likely scenario is that after Pierre came of age, he enlisted in the service, maybe served in France for a few years, and then was shipped over to New France sometime during the 1690s.
Pierre’s marriage in 1702 was to Marie-Catherine Prezeau, who had been orphaned in 1689 when her parents were killed in the Lachine massacre.4 In the parish record of their wedding, two men were shown as witnesses for the bride and groom. The first was a soldier who seemed to be representing Pierre, so this may be another clue about his possible military service. Also noteworthy was that when a daughter was baptized about a year later, the godfather was Louis Denis de La Ronde (1675-1741), an important figure in French-Canadian military history. The godmother was Madeleine Dupont (1672-1703), the wife of Paul Le Moyne de Maricourt (1663-1704), also a military man. (Sadly, Madeleine Dupont passed away just a couple of weeks after the baptism.5)
Here it must be noted that Pierre and Marie-Catherine are named by many sources as having a son named Bernard born a year before they were married. This connection has been made from a single source: Bernard’s marriage record in 1721, which is the only place his name was written “Clemont” and Pierre was called his father.6 In all other records, Bernard went by the name “Chambly,” a nickname attached to Marie-Catherine. This fact seems to suggest that Bernard was an out-of-wedlock child born to her, and that Pierre was his step-father.
By 1708, Pierre and his family moved to Lachine,7 and later, their residence was Pointe-Claire,8 which was established in 1714. Aside from Bernard, Pierre was the father of nine children, with the youngest born in May 1722;9 three of the children seemed to have died young. Pierre passed away on October 11, 1725 at the age of about 55.1 His wife Marie-Catherine remarried in 1728,10 and died in 1763.11
Children:
1. Marie-Louise Clement — B. 17 Mar 1703, Montreal, New France;12 D. 21 Nov 1784, Pointe-Claire, Quebec;13 M. Raymond Labrosse (1695-?), 9 May 1724, Pointe-Claire, New France14
2. Angelique Clement — B. 18 Nov 1705, Lachine, New France;15 D. before 23 Aug 1784, (probably) Detroit, Northwest Territory;16 M. (1) Jacques Bigras (1696-1751), 13 Apr 1722, Pointe-Claire, New France;17 (2) Jean Brisard (~1705-?), 7 May 1752, Detroit, New France18
3. Antoine Clement — B. 6 Feb 1708, Lachine, New France;7 D. 2 May 1774, Pointe-Claire, Quebec;19 M. Marie-Anne Bourdon (1712-1782), 21 Apr 1727, Pointe-Claire, New France20
4. Pierre Clement — B. 13 Dec 1710, Lachine, New France;21 D. (probably) young
5. Marie-Joseph Clement — B. about 1712, New France;22 M. Jean-Baptiste Gemme (1711-?), 6 Apr 1728, Pointe-Claire, New France22
6. Marie-Charlotte Clement — B. 24 Aug 1717, Pointe-Claire, New France;8 D. 15 Mar 1795, Montreal, Quebec;23 M. Joseph Proulx (1718-?), 10 Feb 1738, Pointe-Claire, New France24
7. Marie-Madeleine Clement — B. 1 Dec 1719, Pointe-Claire, New France;25 D. 7 Dec 1719, Pointe-Claire, New France26
8. Thomas Clement — B. 1 Dec 1719, Pointe-Claire, New France;27 D. (probably) young
9. Jean-Baptiste Clement — B. 19 May 1722, Pointe-Claire, New France;9 D. 24 Mar 1799, Pointe-Claire, Quebec;28 M. Monique Pilon (1725-1804), 26 Feb 1743, Pointe-Claire, New France29
Possible child:
1. Bernard Clement — B. about 1701, New France;6 D. 11 Apr 1791, Vaudreuil, Quebec;30 M. (1) Marie Messaguier (1696-1750), 8 Jan 1721, Lachine, New France;6 (2) Ursule Lalande (1715-1799), 17 Aug 1750, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, New France31
Sources:
1 Burial record of Pierre Clement dit La Rivière, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Pierre Clement dit La Rivière and Marie-Catherine Prezeau, Q.C.P.R.
3 Tarascon (Wikipedia article)
4 “La Dépêche du fort Rolland,” Hélène Lamarche, 2002
5 Burial record of Madeleine Dumont, Q.C.P.R.
6 Marriage record of Bernard Clement and Marie Messaguier, Q.C.P.R.
7 Baptismal record of Antoine Clement, Q.C.P.R.
8 Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Clement, Q.C.P.R.
9 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Clement, Q.C.P.R.
10 Marriage record of Alexis Bigras and Marie-Catherine Prezeau, Q.C.P.R.
11 Burial record of Marie-Catherine Prezeau, Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Clement, Q.C.P.R.
13 Burial record of Marie-Louise Clement, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Raymond Labrosse and Marie-Louise Clement, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Angelique Clement, Q.C.P.R.
16 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Favel dit Bigras and Madeleine Meloche, Canada, Ontario Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923, FamilySearch.org
17 Marriage record of Jacques Bigras and Angelique Clement, Q.C.P.R.
18 Marriage record of Jean Brisard and Angelique Clement, Q.C.P.R.
19 Burial record of Antoine Clement, Q.C.P.R.
20 Marriage record of Antoine Clement and Marie-Anne Bourdon, Q.C.P.R.
21 Baptismal record of Pierre Clement (younger), Q.C.P.R.
22 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Gemme and Marie-Joseph Clement, Q.C.P.R.
23 Burial record of Marie-Charlotte Clement, Q.C.P.R.
24 Marriage record of Joseph Proulx and Marie-Charlotte Clement, Q.C.P.R.
25 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Clement, Q.C.P.R.
26 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Clement, Q.C.P.R.
27 Baptismal record of Thomas Clement, Q.C.P.R.
28 Burial record of Jean-Baptiste Clement, Q.C.P.R.
29 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Clement and Monique Pilon, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Jean-Baptiste Clement, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Bernard Clement and Ursule Lalande, Q.C.P.R.
