Disappeared in Lachine Massacre — Marie Marchesseau

B. 22 Apr 1638 in Luçon, France¹
M. (1) before about February 1665 in France¹
Husband: Pierre Boutin
M. (2) 25 Nov 1670 in Quebec City, New France²
Husband: Jean Michel
D. (probably) Aug 1689, near Lachine, New France³

During the 1689 Iroquois massacre at Lachine, New France, some people were killed and others survived. Marie Marchesseau is one whose exact fate is unknown.

Marie was born on April 22, 1638 to Etienne Marchesseau and Sebastienne Lamoureux in Luçon, France, a town north of La Rochelle.¹ When she was a young woman, she married Pierre Boutin.¹ They lived in the village of Mailé and had two children baptized there who likely died as infants. Then in about 1669, they migrated to New France, where Marie gave birth to a son Albert in Quebec City.⁴ Sadly, Pierre passed away on October 14, 1670,⁵ leaving Marie alone with a small baby. Only a few weeks later, she married a second husband, Jean Michel (also spelled Michau), on November 25th.²

Marie and Jean lived in Quebec City until about 1677; during this time she had three sons born, the youngest of whom died as a baby.⁶ Then the family moved to the west to Fort Frontenac, an outpost at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, and here Marie gave birth to two daughters.^7,8 By 1681, they moved back to the Montreal area at Lachine,⁹ which would turn out to be an unfortunate decision.

On the night of August 5, 1689, a force of over 1,000 Iroquois warriors entered Lachine in a surprise attack, breaking into homes and brutally killing whoever lived there. Then they burned the houses, only sparing 20 of the 76 dwellings in the town. Marie’s husband along with sons Albert and Pierre (ages 18 and 15) were murdered on the spot, but Marie was likely taken away as a prisoner with her other son and two daughters, and at least 80 other settlers in Lachine.¹⁰

The Lachine massacre.

Five years later, the remains of Jean, Albert and Pierre were recovered from the ruins of the house, and they were buried in the Lachine cemetery,¹⁰ but Marie never returned from captivity. Her two daughters survived and were married in 1696 and 1701;^11,12 Marie didn’t seem to attend either wedding. The Iroquois were known to torture and kill their prisoners, regardless of who they were. This was probably what happened to Marie. Among her descendants are Dan Aykroyd and Rudy Vallée.

Children by Pierre Boutin:
1. Hilaire Boutin — B. before 26 Feb 1665, Mailé, Vendée, France¹

2. Marie Boutin — B. before 15 Feb 1667, Mailé, Vendée, France¹

3. Albert Boutin — B. 7 Sep 1670, (probably) Quebec City, New France;⁴ D. 5 Aug 1689, Lachine, New France¹⁰

Children by Jean Michel:
1. Pierre Michel — B. 23 Sep 1672, Quebec City, New France;¹³ D. 5 Aug 1689, Lachine, New France¹⁰

2. François Michel — B. 20 Feb 1674, Quebec City, New France¹⁴

3. Guillaume Michel — B. 29 Mar 1676, Quebec City, New France;¹⁵ D. 1 Aug 1676, Quebec City, New France⁶

4. Marie-Renée Michel — B. 18 Jun 1677, Fort Frontenac, New France;⁷ D. 19 Nov 1750, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, New France;¹⁶ M. Pierre Sauvé dit LaPlante (~1652-1737), 27 Feb 1696, Lachine, New France¹¹

5. Marie-Madeleine Michel — B. 1680, (probably) Fort Frontenac, New France;⁸ D. 24 Mar 1745, Montreal, New France;¹⁷ M. (1) Jacques Leduc (1675-1703), 3 Jul 1703, Montreal, New France;¹² (2) Geoffrey Lefebvre (1677-1767), 3 Jun 1704, Montreal, New France¹⁸

Sources:
1    Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Marie Marchesseau
2    Marriage record of Jean Michel and Marie Marchesseau, Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3    Although she has no burial record, and she wasn’t listed as deceased on her daughter’s marriage records, she was missing after the Lachine Massacre, so it is likely she died in captivity.
4    Baptismal record of Albert Boutin, Q., C. P. R.
5    Burial record of Pierre Boutin, Q., C. P. R.
6    Burial record of Guillaume Michel, Q., C. P. R.
7    Baptismal record of Marie-Renée Michel, Q., C. P. R.
8    Marie-Madeleine Michel was 7 months old on the 1681 census. It’s believed that her missing baptismal records is an indicator that she was born at Fort Frontenac like her older sister.
9    Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
10  Find-a-Grave listing of Jean Michel dit Michaud
11  Marriage record of Pierre Suavé dit LaPlante and Marie-Renée Michel, Q., C. P. R.
12  Marriage record of Jacques Leduc and Marie-Madeleiene Michel, Q., C. P. R.
13  Baptismal record of Pierre Michel, Q., C. P. R.
14  Baptismal record of François Michel, Q., C. P. R.
15  Baptismal record of Guillaume Michel, Q., C. P. R.
16  Burial record of Marie-Renée Michel, Q., C. P. R.
17  Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Michel, Q., C. P. R.
18  Marriage record of Geoffrey Lefebvre and Marie-Madeleiene Michel, Q., C. P. R.