M. 6 Nov 1747 in Montreal, New France2
Husband: Louis Plichon dit St-Louis
D. after 23 Sep 1765 in (probably) Sandwich, Quebec3
The marriage record of Marie-Therese Pimpare tells a story of a child born to her out-of-wedlock. Therese was the second child of Charles Pimpare dit Tourangeau and Louise Bourg, born on May 17, 1725 in La Prairie, New France.1 It was a large family of 15 children, of whom at least six died young; as the oldest of the survivors, it’s easy to imagine that Therese fell into a role of caring for her younger siblings.
There was a large presence of the military where Therese grew up; in fact, her own father had been a soldier brought over from France around 1720.4 After Therese came of age, in about early 1747, she became acquainted with, Louis Plichon, a man serving in the French force near Montreal. Their relationship became intimate, and she soon became pregnant, but they didn’t get married right away. Louis was in a unit that saw military action that June on Lake St-Louis, and this likely prevented him from marrying Therese for a few months. She gave birth to their baby on October 1st, a boy who was named Louis.5
After Louis returned from his service, now with “dit St-Louis” added to his name, he was finally able to marry Therese. Their wedding took place on November 6, 1747 at Notre-Dame-de-Montreal in the presence of a couple of soldiers, but her parents weren’t named as witnesses. The absence of her mother might be explained in that she was a week away from delivering her last child. Therese’s own baby son was noted in the record, and that the marriage legitimized him.
Record of Marie-Therese's baby Louis being legitimized at her wedding. (Source: FamilySearch.org)
For the first couple of years of marriage, Therese and Louis stayed in Montreal, where she gave birth to their second child in January 1749, who unfortunately died soon after.7,8 But later that year, they left the area for a new life out west. The authorities in the French outpost of Detroit wanted people to set up farms, and offered land, supplies, and food rations to those who would do so.9 Therese and her husband arrived at Detroit on July 26th, and they were given a tract of land on the south side of the river, in what is now Windsor, Ontario. She was already pregnant with their third child and gave birth to a son on November 26, 1749 — a child who was thought to be the first white infant born in what is now Essex County.10
One of Therese’s brothers came to stay on their Detroit farm in 1750;9 it isn’t known how long he was there. Meanwhile, the family grew with the births of six more children, one of whom died as an infant. The final child was baptized on September 23, 1765,11 and this was the last date Therese was known to be alive. Her husband and children were enumerated at Detroit in a 1768 census which unfortunately didn’t take note of the wives of the household heads, so it’s impossible to know when she passed away.
Children:
1. Louis Plichon — B. 1 Oct 1747, Montreal, New France5
2. Marie-Louise Plichon — B. 11 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France;7 D. 26 Jan 1749, Montreal, New France8
3. François Plichon — B. 26 Nov 1749, Detroit, New France3
4. Joseph-Marie Plichon — B. 6 Nov 1751, Detroit, New France3
5. Marie-Joseph Plichon — B. 20 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France;3 D. 26 Dec 1753, Detroit, New France3
6. Catherine Plichon — B. 6 Jan 1755, Detroit, New France3
7. Pierre Plichon — B. 15 Apr 1757, Detroit, New France;3 D. 13 Sep 1758, Detroit, New France3
8. Marie-Françoise Plichon — B. 11 Mar 1759, Detroit, New France;3 D. 26 Jan 1837, Vincennes, Indiana;12 M. Nicolas Baillargeon (1740-1803), 24 Jul 1778, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory13
9. Charles Plichon — B. before 23 Sep 1765, Sandwich, Quebec3
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Marie-Therese Pimpare, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Louis Plichon dit St-Louis and Marie-Therese Pimpare, Q.C.P.R.
3 Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1936, Christian Dennison, 1987
4 Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française listing for Charles Pimpare dit Rourangeau
5 Baptismal record of Louis Plichon (younger), Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Charlotte Pimpare, Q.C.P.R.
7 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Plichon, Q.C.P.R.
8 Burial record of Marie-Louise Plichon, Q.C.P.R.
9 “Edward Ciccotte Ledger, 1749-1752,” Michigan’s Habitant Heritage, Vol. 29, #3, 2008
10 The Windsor border region, Canada’s southernmost frontier, Ernest J. Lajeunesse, 1960
11 1768 Detroit South Shore Census, January 23, 1768
12 Indiana Deaths and Burials, 1750-1993, FamilySearch.org
13 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992, FamilySearch.org
