Honored in Death With an Elegy — Lydia Butler

B. 23 Feb 1629 in Ashford, England
M.  9 May 1647 in Dorchester, Massachusetts
Husband: John Minot
D. 25 Jan 1667 in Dorchester, Massachusetts

There wouldn’t be much of a story to tell of Lydia Butler, except for a piece of paper that has survived for centuries. It was a tribute printed by her loved ones after her death, and gives a little glimpse into the world where she lived.

Lydia was born on February 23, 1629 in Ashford, England, a village in Kent, to Nicholas Butler and Joyce Baker. She was only 8-years-old when her family migrated to the Massachusetts colony seeking a new life where they were free to practice their religion. The ship that brought them was the Hercules and sailed in June of 1637; on board were Lydia, her parents, three siblings, and five family servants.

The Butlers settled in Dorchester, where on May 19, 1647, Lydia married John Minot. The couple had five healthy children born between 1648 and 1665. Then with her sixth pregnancy, something went wrong, and on January 24, 1667, the baby died at birth. Lydia never recovered and she died the following day.

During the second half of the 17th century, Puritans began printing tributes to the deceased on sheets of paper called broadsides. This was a way to honor the dead and offer a lasting remembrance to mourners. Usually they were created for important men, but sometimes for beloved women, like Lydia. They became almost an art form, with poems written especially for the person who died, and wood-cut illustrations to decorate the page.

Source: Massachusetts Historical Society

Lydia’s elegy broadside was one of the finest examples from that time. The page had a bold headline, “Upon the DEATH of the Virtuous and Religious Mrs. Lydia Minot,” with an epitaph and three poems about her, each with a title that was an anagram of her name. The third poem also had the letters of her name beginning each line of the poem. Across the top was an illustration with various symbols of death: hourglass with wings, skull and crossbones, and pick and shovel. There was even a crudely drawn funeral procession. The illustration was a boilerplate image, not unique to Lydia’s elegy.

After Lydia’s death, her husband John remarried, but he died in August of 1669. In John’s will, their only daughter, Martha, was bequeathed Lydia’s clothes as a remembrance of her mother.

Children:
1. John Minot — B. 22 Jan 1648; D. 26 Jan 1690, Dorchester, Massachusetts; M. Elizabeth Breck (?-1691), 11 Mar 1670

2. James Minot — B. 14 Sep 1653, Dorchester, Massachusetts; D. 20 Sep 1735, Concord, Massachusetts; M. Rebecca Wheeler (~1666-1734), about 1684, Concord, Massachusetts

3. Martha Minot — B. 22 Sep 1657, Dorchester, Massachusetts; D. 23 Nov 1678

4. Stephen Minot — B. 10 Aug 1662, Dorchester, Massachusetts; D. Nov 1732, Boston, Massachusetts; M. Mercy Clark, 1 Dec 1686

5. Samuel Minot — B. 3 Jul 1665, Dorchester, Massachusetts; D. about 1707, Concord, Massachusetts; M. Hannah Jones

6. Baby Minot — B. 24 Jan 1667, Dorchester, Massachusetts; D. 24 Jan 1667, Dorchester, Massachusetts

Sources:
Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire, Vol. 2, Lewis Publishing Company, 1908
Colonial Families of the United States of America, Nelson Osgood Roades, 1917
WikiTree

Husband Dies in Battle — Anne-Antoinette De Liercourt

B. about 1632 in Beauvais, Picardie, France
M. (1) 2 Feb 1651 in Trois-Rivières, New France
Husband: Blaise Juillet dit Avignon
M. (2) 30 Jun 1660 in Montreal, New France
Husband: Hugues Picard dit Lafortune
D. 30 Sep 1707 in Montreal, New France

A woman on the frontier in early colonial America lived a hard life, made more difficult when she became widowed. Anne-Antoinette De Liercourt lost her husband in Montreal to a conflict with the Iroquois. 

Antoinette was from Beuavais, France, born there in about 1632 to Phillipe De Liercourt and Jeanne Patin (or Palin). Nothing is known of Antoinette’s early years, or how she came to New France.

The first appearance of Antoinette in records was as a 17-year-old bride in a Trois-Rivières marriage contract dated February 2, 1651. Her new husband was Blaise Juillet dit Avignon, a 40-year-old “peat worker” who had arrived from France in 1644. The couple settled in Montreal soon after, which at the time was a small, remote settlement of about 50 people. They had a daughter born there in December, and by the end of 1658, they had three more children.

During the earliest years of Montreal, Iroquois aggression was a constant threat, and in 1660, there was word that the tribe planned to invade the colony. The Montreal garrison commander, Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, organized a force to try to surprise the Iroquois before they could attack. The group consisted of 44 Huron warriors and about 20 French men, one of whom was Antoinette’s husband Blaise. While the other men were single, only Blaise had a wife and children; one historian described his involvement as deserting his family to go on a “foolish escapade.” On April 19th, as the group set out in canoes, they came upon a small band of Iroquois and engaged them in a fight. The canoe Blaise shared with another man capsized and both drowned in the river.

Blaise’s body was brought back to Montreal and was buried along with two other casualties. After the funeral, Dollard continued on his mission against the Iroquois. A battle took place in May at a place called Long Sault; the French were outnumbered by more than ten to one, and all of the Montreal men were killed, including Dollard. But the Iroquois lost many men, too, and scrapped any plans to invade Montreal. Dollard would be honored for generations to come as a great hero of French Canada. 

Plaque honoring Adam Dollard at the Battle of Long Sault.

At age 28, Antoinette was in need of a husband who could support her and her four children, so just three months later, she got married again. Her wedding took place in Montreal on June 30, 1660 to Hugues Picard dit Lafortune, who was working as a carpenter for the Sulpician mission in Montreal. There may have been a family connection between the two; some researchers have shown that Antoinette’s older sister was married to a brother of Hugues back in France. Hugues adopted Antoinette’s children, and the couple went on to have five more, born between 1661 and 1672.

During the next few years, Antoinette testified at several trials in Montreal. In July 1673, she was questioned in a case between two men regarding some stolen beaver pelts. Later that year, she was on the witness stand in a sensational trial between two women where one accused the other of having been a criminal back in France; a doctor was ordered to examine the accused for signs that she had been whipped or branded for a previous offense. A third trial in 1681 was a case of two or more men involved in a brawl. It’s curious that a woman raising nine children was a witness in all of these trials, and gives an impression that her testimony had to do with the daily interaction between the wives of the community.

Antoinette made out her will on May 19, 1702, and she died on September 30, 1707 in Montreal. Her husband Hugues outlived her by only a couple of months, dying on December 22nd. She was a direct ancestor of Dan Aykroyd, Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau.

Children (by Blaise Juillet):
1. Mathurine Juillet — B. 31 Dec 1651, Montreal, New France; D. 6 Mar 1723, Montreal New France; M. Urbain Baudreau (1633-1695), 20 Oct 1664, Montreal New France

2. Marie Juillet — B. 25 Nov 1653, Montreal New France; D. 29 Sep 1736, Montreal New France; M. Pierre Lecuyer (1634-1705), 23 Jul 1670, Montreal New France

3. Charles Juillet — B. 17 May 1656, Montreal New France; D. 5 Jul 1690, Montreal New France; M. Catherine Saintard (1653-?), 4 Dec 1679, Montreal New France

4. Louis Juillet — B. 11 Oct 1658, Montreal New France; D. 5 May 1736, Montreal New France; M. Catherine Celle (1666-1743), 25 Jan 1683, Montreal New France

Children (by Jacques-Hugues Picard):
1. Michelle-Anne Picard — B. 6 Jul 1661, Montreal, New France; D. 15 Apr 1710, Montreal, New France; M. Mathieu Gervais (1646-1728), 31 Aug 1676, Montreal, New France

2. Marie-Anne Picard — B. 3 Nov 1663, Montreal, New France; D. 4 Feb 1697, Laprairie, New France; M. Charles Diel (1652-1725), 31 Aug 1676, Montreal, New France

3. Marie-Marguerite Picard — B. Feb 1666, Montreal, New France; D. 18 Jan 1727, Lachine, New France; M. Jean Paré (1653-1734), 20 Oct 1681, Montreal, New France

4. Jean-Gabriel Picard — B. 17 Jun 1669, Montreal, New France; D. 26 Mar 1723, Lachine, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Rapin, 9 Jan 1696, Lachine, New France

5. Jacques Picard — B. 27 Feb 1672, Montreal, New France; D. 22 Jan 1735, Longue-Pointe, New France; M. Marie-Anne Lefebvre, 28 Oct 1697, Montreal, New France

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)

Before the King’s Daughters: The Filles à Marier, 1634-1662, Peter Gagné, 2002WikiTree
Histoire Populaire du Québec, Jacques Lacoursière, 1995-1997
Famous Kin (website) 

A Settler of Old Kaskaskia — Joseph Turpin

B. 21 Jun 1696 in Montreal, New France
M. 7 Nov 1731 in New Orleans, New France
Wife: Hypolite Chauvin de La Frénière
D. about 1750 in Kaskaskia, New France

There are only a few records that detail the life of Joseph Turpin, but the time and place he lived give him a story worth telling. Joseph was born into a fur trading family in Montreal on June 21, 1696. His parents were Alexandre Turpin and Marie-Charlotte Beauvais, and he had 7 siblings and 6 half-siblings. Joseph’s mother died when he was 4-years-old, and afterwards, he was raised by a step-mother. His father, who was a Montreal merchant, died before Joseph was age 14.

Joseph's older brother Louis was living at the Illinois trading post of Kaskaskia by 1719, and younger brother Jacques died in Kaskaskia in 1723, so it’s highly likely that Joseph was also there around this time. Kaskaskia was a French settlement on the Mississippi River that began about 1700 when fur traders settled in an Indian village and married women of the tribe. The Jesuits established a mission, and both natives and French cultivated the land. The settlement grew as mixed-race children came of age, and a few French women migrated from Canada. A census taken in June 1723 showed that there were 64 French habitants, 42 French laborers, 28 married women, and 17 children. 

Map of Kaskaskia.

What was Joseph’s occupation in Kaskaskia? Early on, it’s hard to say, but the village had an important connection with New Orleans, supplying the gulf coast with farm products and pelts, and some men operated the trading route back and forth on the Mississippi. The fact Joseph appeared in New Orleans in 1731 suggests that he may have been involved in the transport of goods down the river. On November 7th of that year, he took a wife, Hypolite Chauvin de La Frénière, a half-Indigenous girl born to a slave and an important Louisiana plantation owner; she was only 13-years-old, so it was probably an arranged marriage.

Joseph returned to Kaskaskia with his young bride. The records of most of the baptisms of the village are unfortunately lost, but we do know that the couple had at least two children, a daughter born in about 1732 and a son in about 1750. In 1742, Joseph received a grant of land next to his brother Louis, who was by then one of the wealthiest men in town. The land was described as being on a hill on the opposite side of the Kaskaskia River, with 2 arpents of frontage and 40 arpents deep, suggesting that Joseph had become a farmer. The following year, on August 2nd, Joseph was granted another tract by Governor de Bienville of Louisiana that was “12 arpents square.”

Kaskaskia family. (AI-generated image)

It’s not known exactly when Joseph died, but his wife Hypolite remarried in Kaskaskia on March 19, 1750, so it must have been at least a month before that date. It was later said that his son was born posthumously, but this is uncertain.

The village of Kaskaskia went through many changes after Joseph's death. Within a couple generations, it evolved from a French trading post into a frontier town run by Americans. An 1844 flood caused the relocation of Kaskaskia to a site several miles inland. In 1881, the ruins of the original settlement were finished off when the Mississippi River changed its course in another flood, and the land Joseph had owned ended up under water. Old Kaskaskia doesn’t exist on today’s maps.

Children:
1. Marie-Madeleine Turpin — B. about 1732, Kaskaskia, New France; D. after 1810, Natchitoches, Louisiana Territory; M. (1) Pierre Texier dit LaVigne (1728-1770), 12 Jan 1751, Kaskaksia, New France; (2) Antoine Cusson, 1774, Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory; (3) Joseph Auger, about 1778

2. François Turpin — B. (probably) about 1750, Kaskaskia, New France; D. 1 Oct 1809, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Marie-Josephe Levron dit Metayer, about 1777, (probably) Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory

Sources:
The Family of Nicolas Chauvin de La Freniere, Sadie Greening Sparks, 18 Oct 2000, sadiesparks.com
Race, Sex and Social Order in Early New Orleans, Jennifer M. Spear, 2010
Kaskaskia Under the French Regime, Natalia Maree Belting, 1948
The History of Kaskaskia, Illinois, in a Family History Context (website) 
Kaskaskia, Illinois (Wikipedia article)

Supplier to the Fur Trade — Pierre Perthuis dit Lalime

B. 18 Feb 1645 in Amboise, Touraine, France
M. (1) 10 Dec 1668 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Claude Damise
M. (2) 13 Feb 1707 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Françoise Moisan
D. 16 Apr 1708 in Montreal, New France

During the late 17th century, Montreal was a center of the fur trade business, and Pierre Perthuis dit Lalime seized upon the opportunity to make a living there as a merchant and supplier. He was born on February 18, 1645 to Sylvain Perthuis and Mathurine Racicot in Amboise, Touraine, France. It’s known that Pierre had at least one older brother and one younger sister, and that his father was a merchant, which perhaps rubbed off him a bit.

By age 20, Pierre joined the military, which was organizing an effort to send about 1,000 soldiers to New France. The force was divided into 12 companies and Pierre found himself in the one headed by the leader of the entire regiment, Henri de Chastelard de Salières. Soldiers often acquired nicknames, and Pierre was known as “Lalime,” although it’s not clear why. The men were stationed at Fort Barraux between Grenoble and Chambery before leaving for New France. The Saliéres company boarded the ship L'Aigle d'Or which departed La Rochelle on May 13, 1665; the ship was barely seaworthy, and made it to Quebec on August 19th after a journey of over three months.

Soon after their arrival, Pierre’s company was sent into Iroquois country where the soldiers constructed a wooden palisade called Fort Sainte-Therese, one of three such forts along the Richeleau River. Then they went to Montreal, and were based there until the soldiers’ terms of service were up in 1668. Many chose to return to France, but Pierre and others decided to stay. On December 10th, he married Claude Damise, one of the Filles du Roi who had arrived that year. The couple settled in Montreal, and Pierre became a fur trading merchant.

By the late 1660s, Montreal had a marketplace of men who supplied expeditions to the trading posts around the Great Lakes. Those venturing out west needed merchandise to trade with the Indians, as well as provisions for their trips. And on their return, they had to have someone who would buy their pelts for export back to France. It was said that Pierre was successful partly because he had a network of relatives and contacts in France who helped him. Over his life he built up a decent amount of wealth; he was described as a “bourgeois merchant,” and as being in "the second stratum of merchant-outfitters.”

17-century fur trade market in Montreal.

Pierre and his wife Claude started their family with the birth of a daughter in 1670, which was followed by two more children within a couple of years, one of whom died young. In about 1675, they moved to the new settlement of Pointe-aux-Trembles located to the north of Montreal. While Pierre was away on a trip, Claude became pregnant by another man, giving birth to a baby boy in March of 1676. How Pierre reacted to this isn’t known, but the child was adopted by another couple far away in Beauport. A year later, Pierre and Claude resumed having children together, eventually totaling 12, with the last one born in 1691.

Pierre’s name turned up in several court cases, some where he was owed money as a merchant. In one court record dated July 1694, he sued a man based in Quebec City named Jean Jung who was supplying goods from his father in France. The complaint stated that some of the barrels that were delivered by Jung were only half full and Pierre demanded a settlement. In 1686, Pierre testified in a scandalous murder trial. Jean Aubuchon was a Montreal merchant who was found dead in his bed. His wife accused her lover, Jacques Paillerault, of killing her husband. Pierre was one of many colleagues who testified at the trial; it took 3 years, but the man was acquitted.

On October 6, 1705, Pierre’s wife Claude died, and he remarried to a woman named François Moisan on February 13, 1707 in Montreal. Their time together was short because Pierre passed away April 16th of the following year. The value of his estate was about 50,000 livres, a substantial amount of money. Pierre was an ancestor of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Alex Trebek, Ricky Gervais and Tyrone Power.

Children (all by Claude Damise):
1. Catherine Perthuis — B. Jan 1670, Montreal, New France; D. 17 Feb 1736, Riviére-des-Prairies, New France; M. Pierre Maguet (1663-1725), 7 Jan 1686, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France

2. Jean Perthuis — B. Feb 1672, Montreal, New France; D. (probably) young

3. Jeanne Perthius — B. Dec 1673, Montreal, New France; M. Nicolas Deroche (1652-1737), 22 Nov 1688, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France

4. Élisabeth Perthius — B. 7 Feb 1677, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 23 Apr 1703, Montreal, New France; M. Claude Caron (1672-1759), 20 Jun 1695, Montreal, New France

5. Marie Perthuis — B. 8 Sep 1678, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 23 Dec 1766, Chateauguay, Quebec; M. Vital Caron (1673-1745), 24 Jan 1698, Montreal, New France

6. Geneviéve Perthuis — B. 17 Oct 1680, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 28 Aug 1774, Montreal, Quebec; M. (1) Urbain Gervaise (1673-1713), 19 Mar 1701, Montreal, New France; (2) Louis Renaud (1683-?), 5 Apr 1717, Lachine, New France

7. Marguerite Perthuis — B. 23 Jul 1682, Montreal, New France; D. 11 Mar 1703, Montreal, New France

8. Angélique Perthuis — B. 1 Jan 1684, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 25 Apr 1755, Montreal, New France; M. Louis Lefebvre dit Duchouquet (~1672-1741), 28 Sep 1700, Montreal, New France

9. Anne-Françoise Perthuis — B. 26 Jan 1685, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 31 Jan 1685, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France

10. Pierre Perthuis — B. 16 Apr 1686, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 1708, Deerfield, Massachusetts

11. François Perthuis — B. 1 Oct 1688, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France

12. Pierre Perthuis — B. 19 May 1691, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 6 Dec 1758, Pointe-Coupée, Louisiana, New France; M. (1) Angélique Caron (1690-1715), 24 Jan 1713, New France; (2) Catherine Mallet

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)

Habitants and Merchants in Seventeenth-Century Montreal, Louise Dechêne, 1993WikiTree
Bibliotheque et Archives nationales, Quebec (website)

A First Settler of Billerica, Massachusetts — Henry Jefts

B. about 1605 in England
M. (1) 13 Sep 1647 in Woburn, Massachusetts
Wife: Ann Stowers
M. (2) 21 May 1649 in Woburn, Massachusetts
Wife: Hannah Births
M. (3) 3 Oct 1666 in Billerica, Massachusetts
Wife: Mary _______
M. (4) 5 May 1681 in Billerica, Massachusetts
Wife: Mary _______
D. 24 May 1700 in Billerica, Massachusetts

Henry Jefts was one of the founders of a town in colonial New England by virtue of being among the first to live there. He was born in England in about 1605, but all information on his parents and background is unproven.

Henry first appeared in records with a September 13, 1647 marriage to Ann Stowers in Woburn, Massachusetts, so he arrived in America sometime before that date, likely during the 1630s. Henry’s wife Ann seems to have died within a couple of years, and he married a woman named Hannah Births on May 21, 1649, also in Woburn. The only other person known to have the name “Births” was a woman who married another settler in Woburn named George Farley, and it’s likely the two were sisters. It’s been said they were from Sweden, though there’s nothing to document that. By 1653, Henry and Hannah had two children, and that year, they moved to a new settlement.

The early 1650s were a time when the Massachusetts colony was establishing new towns. A large tract of land that had been granted to Governor Thomas Dudley in the 1630s was made available for purchase in smaller tracts, and Henry became one of the new property owners. His land included 113 ares of upland and 12 acres of meadow, and he soon moved his family there. Several other families set up homes nearby and the place became known as Billerica. Henry’s baby daughter died there in May of 1653, and it was the first event in Billerica’s vital records. Early in 1655, another daughter was born who was noted as the first female birth in the town.

Vital records of Henry’s family.

At a 1660 Billerica town meeting where some of the first civil appointments were made, Henry was chosen as surveyor along with Jonathan Danforth. He was later mentioned on November 5, 1663 as being assigned to lay out some common land that was owed to a few settlers; the other two men on the committee were Jonathan Danforth and his wife’s brother-in-law, George Farley. In another civic duty, Henry donated 300 bricks for the chimney on the new minister’s house in 1664.

Donating bricks. (AI-generated image)

Henry’s second wife Hannah died on September 15, 1662, and it wasn’t until October 3, 1666 that he remarried, this time to a widow, Mary Bird. By now he was nearing 60 years of age and the couple had no children. In May 1665, Henry was granted 4 acres of land at a place called Indian Hill, north of Indian Field. It was also said that during these years he and his wife moved to a place in Billerica “west of Long Street.”

On April 1, 1679, Henry’s third wife died and two years later, on May 5, 1681, he married again to another widow, Mary Baker. Henry wrote a will dated March 4, 1692. In it, he left property to his children, with specifications about his two daughters and their children, ordering that the property not be sold until the oldest grandchild was 14-years-old. Sadly both his daughter Joanna and her oldest daughter Mary were killed in an Indian attack later that year, along with Joanna’s baby son.

Henry lived a very long life and passed away at age 94 on May 24, 1700. His wife Mary survived him by three years; both were buried at the Old South Burying Ground in Billerica.

Children (all by Hannah Births):
1. John Jefts — B. 11 May 1651, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. 28 Sep 1712, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. Lydia Fish (?-1712), 6 Apr 1688, Billerica, Massachusetts

2. Hannah Jefts — B. about 1653, Massachusetts; D. May 1653, Billerica, Massachusetts

3. Hannah Jefts — B. 4 Feb 1655, Billerica, Massachusetts; D. 21 Jan 1730, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Andrew Spaulding (1652-1718), 30 Apr 1674, Chelmsford, Massachusetts

4. Joanna Jefts — B. 24 May 1656, Billerica, Massachusetts; D. 1 Aug 1692, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. (1) John Dunkin (?-1690); (2) Benjamin Dutton, 1691

5. Henry Jefts — B. 21 Mar 1659, Billerica, Massachusetts; D. 20 May 1738, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. (1) Mary Baldwin (1663-1703), 13 Apr 1681; (2) Hannah Hill (1667-1713), 9 Nov 1704

Sources:
History of Billerica, Massachusetts With a Genealogical Register, Henry Allen Hazen, 1883
WikiTree

In the Wilds of New France — Louis Plichon dit St-Louis

B. 1719 in Amiens, Somme, Picardie, France
M. 6 Nov 1747 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Marie-Therese Pimpare
D. after 23 Feb 1768 in (probably) Windsor, Canada

During the 17th and 18th centuries, when men came from France to make a new life in Canada, they had to be courageous, resourceful, and tough. That was very true for a man like Louis Plichon dit St-Louis.

Louis was born in 1719 in Amiens, France to Charles Plichon and Marie Coquerel. His childhood circumstances are unknown, but he was only 15-years-old when he joined the French military. At some point, he was assigned to help defend New France, and was shipped there. Louis’ post was in Montreal, then a thriving town primarily doing business in the fur trade. It had a population of 4,200 in 1740, with another 18,000 people living in the surrounding area. By that time, the military was focused on defending against the British, who were threatening to take over, but during Louis’ first few years in New France, there wasn’t much action.

Sometime during 1743, Louis needed some medical treatment; the details of his condition weren’t recorded. He tried to get help from a Montreal doctor, Charles Feltz, who was well-known for his remedies, but for some reason, Louis was turned away. So he decided to venture into the woods looking for wild roots to make his own medicine. After finding what he needed, Louis made a fire and boiled the roots near where he found them. All this took some time, and as he made his way back to town, he encountered a black woman picking berries, who asked for his help to cross the St. Lawrence river so she could get home. After Louis did so, a storm came up with heavy rain and wind, and this prevented him from making the return trip across the river.

Boiling roots. (AI-generated image)

By now Louis didn’t know how to get back to his post. For the next three days, he wandered the shoreline across from Montreal. Eventually, he ended up in the settlement of Châteauguay, where at first, someone stole his gun, then a settler gave him food and fresh clothes. But Louis was also in trouble for leaving his post without permission, and the authorities soon arrested him. He was brought to trial for desertion, a serious offense that could have meant a stiff sentence. The only thing that saved him was that he had been underage at his enlistment, making his service invalid, and he was therefore not legally bound to military rules. He was released back into his military unit.

Record of 1743 case against Louis.

By 1747, Louis was serving in the company of Louis de La Corne, a Montreal man who was a fur trader as well as a military man. After taking charge of an attack in Acadia, La Corne led a force of men against raiding Iroquois in June of 1747 on Lake St. Louis. It’s likely that Louis was part of this effort, and possibly it’s where he got the nickname “St-Louis,” but this is speculation.

Sometime before the June 1747 mission, Louis had a relationship with a woman who lived in the Montreal area, Marie-Therese Pimpare. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son at the end of September, who was baptized on October 1st at Montreal. About a month later, on November 6th, Louis married Therese at the same church.

Louis was an active soldier until at least January 1749; that month, he and his wife had a daughter born in Montreal, who died soon after. Then his service ended and he made the decision to go west. There was an offer made in Detroit to encourage French settlers to set up farms there; anyone who agreed to it would be given land, supplies and rations in return for a commitment to grow crops. Louis arrived with his family on July 26th and received a tract on the south shore of the Detroit River.

A ledger book was kept for all of the new settlers and Louis was listed as the first entry. Specifically he received two “roebucks for meat,” 2 pounds of flour, a hoe, an axe, a scythe, a plow, 2 augers, a sow, a cow, an ox, 7 chickens, 80 roofing nails, 4 lbs. of gunpowder and 6 lbs. of lead. It was required that he return the cow and the ox, or pay for them, and he was given 20 bushels of wheat and 1 bushel of corn that had to be repaid. Louis’ ration allotment was increased by one in 1750 when wife Therese’s brother came to stay with them. It was also noted in the ledger that his cow was replaced on June 5, 1755 after it had been killed by Hurons.

View from the south shore of the Detroit River.

Louis and Therese’s family grew during the years on the Detroit River. A son was born to them on November 26, 1749 who is considered to be the first white child born in what is now Essex County, Ontario. There were at least six more children, with the youngest known born in 1764 or 1765. It isn’t known when Louis died. A census taken of the inhabitants of the south shore of Detroit on January 23, 1768 lists a family headed by “St Louis,” and there were eight children in the household, so that was likely him. There are no further mentions of Louis after that date.

Children:
1. Louis Plichon — B. 1 Oct 1747, Montreal, New France

2. Marie-Louise Plichon — B. 11 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France; D. 26 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France

3. François Plichon — B. 26 Nov 1749, Detroit, New France

4. Joseph-Marie Plichon — B. 6 Nov 1751, Detroit, New France

5. Marie-Joseph Plichon — B. 20 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France; D. 26 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France

6. Catherine Plichon — B. 6 Jan 1755, Detroit, New France

7. Pierre Plichon — B. 15 Apr 1757, Detroit, New France; D. 13 Sep 1758, Detroit, New France

8. Marie-Françoise Plichon — B. about Apr 1759, Detroit, New France; D. 26 Jan 1837, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Nicolas Baillargeon (1740-1803), 24 Jul 1778, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory

9. Charles Plichon — B. before 23 Sep 1765, Sandwich, Quebec

Sources:
WikiTree
Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1936, Christian Dennison, 1987
People of the American Frontier: The Coming of the American Revolution, Walter Scott Dunn, 2005
“Edward Ciccotte Ledger, 1749-1752,” Michigan’s Habitant Heritage, Vol. 29, #3, 2008
“La Corne, Louis,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography 
Punir La Désertion en Nouvelle-France: Justice, Pouvoir et Institution Militaire de 1742 à 1761, Nicolas Fournier, 2013
The Windsor border region, Canada’s southernmost frontier, Ernest J. Lajeunesse, 1960

Early Montreal Barrel Maker — Pierre Perras

B. about Aug 1616 in La Rochelle, France
M. 26 Jan 1660 in Montreal, New France
Wife: Marie-Denise Lemaitre
D. 30 Apr 1684 in La Prairie, New France

During the prime of his life, Pierre Perras took his barrel-making skills from France to America. He was born in La Rochelle in 1616, and baptized there on August 21st. His parents were Pierre Perras and Jeanne L’Asnier, and he had at least two sisters. The details of Pierre’s childhood and early adult years are unknown, but as a man who lived in an active port city, he must have supplied his barrels to town merchants. 

Barrel-making in the 17th-century.

Pierre decided to move to New France in the 1650s, likely recruited by someone looking for new settlers with valuable trade skills. He arrived in Montreal, first appearing on his own marriage contract on January 10, 1660. The wedding took place two weeks later on the 26th; his bride was Marie-Denise Lemaitre, a woman trained as a midwife who worked in Montreal’s hospital. There was a 20-year difference in their ages, with Pierre being 43 and Denise about 23. They started a family with a son born in October of that year. The family would grow to a total of ten children, with the youngest born in 1674; only two children died as infants.

After living about 10 years in Montreal, Pierre acquired land in La Prairie, a new settlement on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. He continued making barrels, but also cultivated the land, and by 1681 had a farm of 40 arpents. During the settlement’s earliest years, Pierre and his neighbors had to travel a long ways to get to church, so on September 22, 1675, he donated a building on his land to hold services. The make-shift church was said to be 25’ by 20’ and had a thatched roof. It was said that in 1691, the building was taken apart and reconstructed in a safer location within a palisade.

Pierre died on April 30, 1684 at the age of 67. His wife Denise remarried after his death, and she was brutally killed by Iroquois in 1691. Pierre was an ancestor of Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau and Madonna.

Children:
1. Pierre Perras — B. 31 Oct 1660, Montreal, New France; D. 23 Aug 1687, Montreal, New France

2. Jacques Perras — B. 24 Apr 1663, Montreal, New France; D. 25 Mar 1688, La Prairie, New France

3. Marguerite Perras — B. 27 Dec 1665, Montreal, New France; D. 15 May 1708, Montreal, New France; M. (1) Pierre Poupart (~1650-1699), 11 Aug 1682, La Prairie, New France; (2) Jospeh-Marie Demers (1658-1728), 20 Sep 1699, La Prairie, New France

4. Marie Perras — B. 27 Dec 1665, Montreal, New France; D. 3 Jan 1666, Montreal, New France

5. Catherine Perras — B. 24 Feb 1667, Montreal, New France; D. 16 Mar 1667, Montreal, New France

6. Jean Perras — B. 28 Aug 1668, Montreal, New France; D. 13 Oct 1736, La Prairie, New France; M. (1) Marguerite Tetu (1679-1699), 7 Jun 1698, La Prairie, New France; (2) Marie-Madeleine Roy (1684-1726), 25 Oct 1701, La Prairie, New France

7. Catherine Perras — B. 9 Jun 1670, Montreal, New France; D. 7 Jan 1750, Longueuil, New France; M. Eustache Demers (1661-1707), 21 Apr 1688, La Prairie, New France

8. Marie-Jeanne Perras — B. 10 Jul 1671, La Prairie, New France; D. 30 Oct 1718, La Prairie, New France; M. (1) Claude Faye (~1662-1708), 25 Oct 1688, La Prairie, New France; (2) Pierre Voisin (~1678-1721), 23 Dec 1709, La Prairie, New France

9. Marie Perras — B. 2 Feb 1673, La Prairie, New France; D. 9 May 1736, La Prairie, New France; M. Antoine Boyer (1671-1747), 4 Feb 1690, La Prairie, New France

10. Pierre Perras — B. 24 Jun 1674, La Prairie, New France; D. 1 Aug 1699, La Prairie, New France; M. Marie-Marguerite Diel (1678-1715), 18 Nov 1696, La Prairie, New France

Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)

WikiTreeMinnesota Eh? A Foley/Perras Family History, Gerald Foley