THE PERRIER NAME in CANADA
The earliest Perier appeared in the 1500-1505 Spanish census. There also were Periers in the 1500s in France, Switzerland and England. From the French registry, there are only 1000 people in France with the last name of Perier or Perrier. It is much more common in Canada and the USA than in France.
Perrier Name Meaning (French and English): occupational name for a quarryman, from Old French perrier, an agent derivative of pierre ‘stone’, ‘rock’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle English perie ‘pear tree’ + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant.
Perrier Ancestors in Canada
Jean Perier (Pyrenee Atlantic, FR 1615 -?) m Marie Dervie (Pyrenee Atlantic, FR 1615 -) in 1637
1. Jean Perier (1647 – 1682 Beauport, QC) m Marie Gaillard (1651 – ) in 1669 at Quebec City. Jean was born in the southwest of France at Pau in Bearn Province. Marie was born at Rouen, Normandie, France and was a Fille du Roi (King’s Daughter).
Jean was the first of our ancestors to come to Canada and he came from Le Pout, a small town on the Gestas River in the diocese of Bordeaux in Guyenne, France. Le Pout is just east of Bordeaux. There is some doubt, but it appears he left France on Feb 26, 1664 as a soldier in the Orleans Regiment which arrived in Quebec on June 30, 1665 via the Caribbean. He lived in Beauport, Quebec near Quebec City and worked as a farmer. He and Marie had nine children. Jean predeceased Marie and she remarried Jean Sabourin in about 1682 at Beauport. She and her new husband then moved to LaPrairie, Que.
See the extended biography below.
2. Jean-Jacques Perier (Beauport, QC Dec 10, 1672 – Dec 21, 1737) m Marie Marguerite Pare (Lachine, QC June 17, 1693 – Jan 15, 1769 ) on Nov 11, 1711 at Lachine, QC
See the extended biography below.
3. Jean Baptiste Perier (Pointe Claire Aug 13, 1720 – ) m Marie Charlotte Pilon (Pointe Claire, QC bap July 4, 1727 – ) on Jan 7, 1743 at Pointe Claire, QC
4. Hyacinthe Perrier (Pointe Claire, QC Aug 7, 1760 – ?) m Suzanne Amable Charlebois (Pointe Claire, QC Feb 5, 1763 – Aug 5, 1832 Pointe Claire, QC) on Jan 27, 1783 at Pointe Claire, QC
5. Joseph Perrier (Pointe Claire, QC Aug 9, 1798 – ) m Marie-Narcisse St Denis ( – ) on July 16, 1821 at Rigaud, QC
6. Hyacinthe Perrier (St Eugene, ON 1838 – Oct 1, 1904 Moose Creek, ON) m Marie Angele Labrosse (Moose Creek, ON 1832 – Sept 28, 1892 Moose Creek, ON) on Oct 13, 1856 at St Eugene, ON
7. Calixte Perrier (Rigaud, QC Sept 17, 1863 – Nov 1954 Moose Creek, ON) m Amanda Montcalm (St Isidore de Prescott, ON 1860 – 1908 Moose Creek, ON) on June 20, 1887
8. Joseph Irene Albert Perrier (Moose Creek, ON Nov 28, 1892 – Aug 16, 1968) m Dorthea Ofstedahl (May 7, 1890 – July 2, 1972) on July 1, 1916 at Malta, Montana
Albert Perrier was my grandfather. That makes me 10th generation Canadian and my grandchildren 12th generation Canadian on this side of the family.
However, through my great-grandmother Amanda Montcalm, I am 13th generation Canadian. She was descended from Abraham Martin, the owner of the Plains of Abraham.
The French had a practice of allotting noms de guerre – nicknames – to their soldiers (this is still continued, but for different reasons, in the Foreign Legion). This practice continued with many citizens in New France. Thus “dit names” or nicknames are a common occurrence. They are referred to as “dit names”, because they are introduced in French by the word “dit” meaning “said”, which abound in the nominative history of old Quebec. They have many origins: military nickname, sobriquet related to a physical characteristic, immigrant’s place of origin, name of fief for nobles, mother’s family name, father’s first name, and so on. Some go back to the ancestor, while others are introduced by descendants; some are transmitted, others not; some belong to an entire family line, while others concern only a single branch.
For example, Abraham Martin was “dit l’Écossais”, Jean Perier was “dit Lafleur”, Marie Gaillard was “dit Daire”,
Many of these nicknames remain today as they gradually became the official surnames of the many soldiers who elected to remain in Canada when their service expired as well as the names of cities and towns throughout New France.
STORY OF JEAN PERRIER DIT LAFLEUR
(1647 – 1682 Beauport, QC) m Marie Gaillard (1651 – ) in 1669 at Quebec City.
Jean was born in the southwest of France at Pau in Bearn Province. Marie was born at Rouen, Normandie, France and was a Fille du Roi (King’s Daughter).
Jean was the first of our ancestors to come to Canada and he came from Le Pout, a small town on the Gestas River in the diocese of Bordeaux in Guyenne, France. Le Pout is just east of Bordeaux.
He left France on Feb 26, 1664 as an infantry soldier in the Orleans Regiment which arrived in Quebec on June 30, 1665 via the Caribbean. Its mission was to defend the territories of the French empire, by driving out the British. The mission initially went to the Caribbean. First, in Cayenne, Martininque, they communicated with the Dutch governor to return the island to the French. This mission was accomplished, and the king sent them to Quebec to join the Carignan regiment in order to defend the colony against the Iroquois. The company of Orleans then became the Company Brisardière.
When peace was signed with the Indians in 1668, Jean Lafleur Perrier was offered by the king: land, a sum of 100 pounds and provisions for a year, as resident of New France. On December 10, 1668, the Lord Joseph Giffard granted him land in Beauport on the dividing line between the lands of St. Joseph village and those of the town St. Michael.
In September 1669 a Quota 150 King’s daughters arrived in Quebec on the St. John the Baptist ship. Following formal presentations at a party and short acquaintances, Jean married before the notary Becquet on Sunday, September 22, 1669, Marie Gaillard said Daire, daughter of Pierre Gaillard said Daire and the late Marie Martin, Mont-Sainte -Croix, Archbishop of Rouen in Normandy. They married in Quebec City on Sunday, 6 October 1669. From their union were born six children. This ancestor was a resident in Beauport in the census of 1666. Beauport is across the St Lawrence River from Quebec City. He worked as a farmer. He and Marie had nine children, 4 who died in infancy.
He sold his land to Michel Accos on November 20, 1671 for 80 main pounds and 5 pounds of pot of wine. On 23 October 1675, he rented some land on the St. Charles River from the surgeon Timothée Roussel for a period of five years for half of the grain and “escrois”. Timothée Roussel immediately sued him because he did not pay the amounts required by the lease. Before a Provost of Quebec on December 6, 1675, he stated that he could not pay what is required by the lease.
In the census of 1681, he was living in Beauport and he had a gun. By 1682, a terrible misfortune befalls the family when Jean Perrier died suddenly at the age of 35 years. He is survived by his helpless wife and 5 children. Jacques is 9 years old and too young to assume the responsibilities of family head. The living conditions of the time were very difficult and Marie Gaillard was forced to remarry immediately, in September 22 1682 to Jean-Baptiste Sabourin, the recently widowed husband of Mathurine Renaud. We do not know the precise date of his death before September 22, 1682, date his wife married Jean Sabourin.
She and her new husband then moved to LaPrairie, Que and eventually to Ville Marie (Montreal).
HISTORY JACQUES PERRIER (son of Jean Perrier and Marie Gaillard)
Jacques Perrier was born December 10, 1672 in St-Michel in Beauport, Quebec, where he immediately received the sacraments of baptism in the small chapel of the lord of the Manor Lord Giffard. He was the son of Jean Perrier dit Lafleur and Marie Gaillard dit Daire, both natives of France. Jacques is the oldest boy and 3rd of 5 children in the young Gaillard Perrier household.
In 1682, a terrible misfortune comes befall their family when Jean Perrier died suddenly at the age of 35 years. He is survived by his helpless wife and 5 children. Jacques was 9 years old and too young to assume the responsibilities of family head. The living conditions of the time were very difficult and Marie Gaillard, his mother, was forced to remarry immediately, in September 1682 to Jean-Baptiste Sabourin, the recently widowed husband of Mathurine Renaud. He also had five children. They were probably both happy to unite since there were only a bench of publication and they obtained exemption from the two others. No marriage contract was signed before the day of the marriage ceremony and not in the following months. There is a copy of such a document only in 1684, before the royal notary Vachon of the Seigneurie de Beauport, two years after the said marriage. On reading it, one comes to wonder if Marie Gaillard wanted to protect some creditors for debts incurred by her husband before their marriage?
Jean Sabourin with his wife Mathurine Renaud and his eldest son, Peter, had left Angouleme, France, around 1669. They moved to St. Claude Village north of Charlesbourg, Quebec, in October 1670. They had just moved when a quarrel broke out between Jean Sabourin and Anne Girault, wife of Mathurin Gauthier. Jean Sabourin was immediately brought before the Supreme Council. The judgement was for two bushels of wheat in damages and a fine of three books applicable to the hospital in the city in addition to the 40 floors for liquids expenses. It is difficult to say if this quarrel influenced their lives in the ensuing years.
In 1681 Jean-Baptiste Sabourin and his family moved from Charlesbourg to Ville-Marie (Montreal). Shortly after their arrival on April 14, 1681, Mathurine Renaud, his wife died. Jean Sabourin returned empty-handed to Quebec and married Marie Gaillard quickly.
Between 1684 and 1686, the whole combined family permanently moved to Ville-Marie (Montreal) and lived near the small St. Pierre River. Jacques Perrier was aged between 12 and 14 on his arrival in the island of Montreal.
The people lived in a small wooden house and Ville-Mari had no more than 1000 inhabitants. The owners of the entire island were the Sulpician Priests acting as land lords. Most commercial activity occurred in the market place. Merchants exchanged daily use items for furs with the Native Americans. The market place was located near the mouth of the small St-Pierre River (now Museum Pointe à Callière).
Jacques witnessed several important events in his young life. One was the construction in 1687-1689 of a gigantic wooden fence around the city with curtains, redoubts and bastions, commissioned by Louis Hector de Callière, Governor of Montreal. The walls of the stockade were piles made of 15 feet in height in order to counter the various Native American attacks. The entrances to the city were controlled by five gates at each end of the city. On the morning of August 5, 1689, some 1,500 Indian warriors attacked the small settlement of Lachine west of Ville Marie (Montreal) and killed 24 settlers and captured more than 60 others. The ferocity of the attack terrorized the inhabitants of the region. Stories abounded of ravaging their villages and homes, torture and rumours of cannibalism. The prisoners were never seen again.
During the following decade, the opposition between French and Indians become increasingly violent and the villages of the Ville Marie area suffered more massacres. From then, all the inhabitants of the island are mandated, for safety reasons, to leave their land and their homes to take refuge within the strong. They could not venture out alone and must have with them their firearms. The hostilities were encouraged by the settlers of New England, who committed their Iroquois allies to undertake new armed incursions in the St. Lawrence Valley. This was for several years a disastrous effect on colonization and the fur trade, both on the Island of Montreal and in the upper country.
On June 9, 1695, for the first time, the name of Jacques Perrier appears in notarial documents. He was 23 years old and like any man his age, aspiring and eager for adventure. Risking his life, he accepts a job as a voyageur or “traveller” with the Sieur de la Forest, Esquire, owner of Fort St. Louis, Illinois. He left the city the next day in a birch bark canoe loaded with goods, to go to the Outaouais and neighbouring nations under the command of Sir Cardinal. This mission was to trade goods with Indians and return the following year, in 1696, canottée a fur pelts. Said Sieur de La Forest was to provide food and his boat for the duration of the trip and he was to receive as wages and pay the sum of three hundred pounds. In addition to the salary, he was allowed to bring in the boat twenty pounds of goods to handle on his own along with the furs he obtained. Like other contract time travellers, he was to supply his own gun and powder horn for the duration of the trip.
“In 1681, to curb the unregulated trade of independent businessmen and their burgeoning profits, French minister created a system of licenses for fur traders, known as congés. Initially, this system granted 25 licenses to merchants travelling inland every year. The recipients of these licenses came to be known as voyageurs (travellers), who canoed and portaged fur trade goods in the employ of a licensed fur trader or fur trading company. The congé system therefore created the voyageur, the legal and respectable counterpart to the coureur des bois. Under the voyageurs, the fur trade began to favour a more organized business model of the times, including monopolistic ownership and hired labor. From 1681 onwards, therefore, the voyageurs began to eclipse the coureurs des bois, although coureurs continued to trade without licenses for several decades. Following the implementation of the congé system, the number of coureurs des bois dwindled, as did their influence within the colony.
Furthermore, relations between the coureur de bois and the Natives often included a sexual dimension; Marriage ‘à la façon du pays’ (following local custom) was common between Native women and coureurs, and later voyageurs. As wives, indigenous women played a key role as translators, guides and mediators- becoming “women between”. For one thing, Algonquin communities typically had far more women than men, likely as a result of warfare. The remaining marriages between Algonquins tended to be polygamous, with one husband marrying two or more women. Sexual relationships with coureurs des bois therefore offered native women an alternative to polygamy in a society with few available men.
To French commanders, who were often involved in the fur trade themselves, these marriages were beneficial in that they improved relations between the French and the natives. Native leaders also encouraged such unions, particularly when they formed lasting, permanent bonds. Jesuits and upper level colonial officials, however, viewed these relationships with dislike and disgust. French officials preferred coureurs and voyageurs to settle around Quebec City and Montreal, and saw traders forming lasting relationships with native women as further proof of the lawlessness and perversion of the coureurs des bois.”
In 1697, or just after the return of Jacques in Montreal, the Iroquois gradually adopted a less intransigent attitude. Their demographic decline was increased because of conflicts and epidemics threatening their very existence. Trade with Iroquois was almost finished by the late seventeenth century when only the merchants of New England traded with the Five Nations. Finally conflicts with the Indians were less frequent and the climate for colonization became more favourable.
In 1698, Jacques Perrier purchased from the Lord Dollier Casson, a Sulpician priest, 60 acres of land located in Pointe Claire. On the shores of Lake St. Louis, it was 3 acres wide by twenty acres deep. Located on the southwest of the island, it had a magnificent view and was a highly sought after property.
In 1700, Sieur de La Forest was again looking for brave travelers to make his trip to the Illinois country. Jacques and his brother François Perrier were under contract on August 9 for a period of two years for the sum of three hundred pounds, currency of France, for each of them and for each of the two years of service.
Shortly before his departure, Jacques Perrier leased his land located in Pointe Claire to his brother-in-law Jean Charles Wood (husband of his sister Martha). The contract, notarized August 6, 1700, had payment in wheat and corn for a period of one year. To do this, he was to clear tree trunks, and plant and harvest the corn giving half of the harvest in payment. And the other half, Jacques Perrier conceded in exchange for his services to cut timber on its concession that will charge a magnitude of seven or eight feet, then he will charge and collect branches formed on its concession, look after the wooden bridge and the pigs.
A few days later, on August 10, Jacques Perrier purchased from bourgeois merchant Charles Couagne, merchandise to four hundred and twenty seven books (427 Lt) and eighteen floors (18 S) to be used for his journey to Illinois. Jacques Perrier promised to repay in September 1701.
In September 1700, the long awaited preliminary peace was signed with five major Iroquois nations. Thirteen Indian bands were included in the treaty. Following this first agreement, an invitation was extended to all nations of the Great Lakes that make it to Montreal in the summer of 1701 in order to ratify the General Agreement. The French envoys, religious people and soldiers introduced particularly among Native Americans, were responsible for this diplomatic approach. In expectation of the large gathering, negotiations continued: in Montreal in May 1701, the question of neutrality of the five nations was discussed. The first delegations arrived in Montreal in the early summer of 1701 after sometimes long and arduous journeys. Ratification of the treaty did not immediately occur, negotiations dragged on between repésentants and Callières governor, willing to negotiate until the end. The signing took place in a large plain outside the city, arranged for the occasion. Representatives from each nation affixed the mark of their tribe to the treaty, usually an animal drawing. A banquet followed the solemn act then the pipe was shared by the different heads, each of them pronounced a speech of peace. This treaty, the culmination of negotiations by diplomatic protocol, Native American nations must put an end to ethnic conflicts. Now, negotiations will take precedence over direct confrontation, the French agreeing to arbitrate disputes between signatory nations. Meanwhile, the Iroquois promised to remain neutral in case of conflict between the French and English colonies. The great peace with the Native American was finally concluded.
At the end of 1702, Jacques Perrier was back home. On December 6, he went to Ville Marie, St Paul, to receive his wages and salary. In the presence of the royal notary Pierre Raimbault, Charles de Couagne, bourgeois merchant, and the Sieur de Laforest, his employer, he received the sum of 518 pounds, currency of France. The conditions of the contract were fulfilled.
In 1705, “Montreal” was officially designated the city’s name from “Ville Marie.
On June 4, 1706, we encounter the name of Jacques Perrier again. This time he wants to be the spokesman for his brother Francis, who is absent from the country for a mission in Arkansas since May 15, 1703. A lawsuit is filed in the royal jurisdiction of Montreal by François Perrier against François Daupin, Sieur de La Forest for the sum of 600 pounds for wages and salaries not received according to the traveler as to employment agreements made before the notary Adhemar 9 August 1700. The defendant, Mr François Daupin, Sieur de La Forest, is on a mission following the orders of the intendant Jacques Raudot and en route to Detroit. Sieur de La Forest appears so by the notary The Pailleur, his deputy and his attorney, he had all the powers to appear on his behalf. The written statement of Sieur de la Forest claims it was paid by Henry Tonty with whom he went to the Mississippi. To support his claim, he added that if François Perrier had not stayed at the Mississippi, a statement from Sir Tonty before his death (died in Arkansas yellow fever in August 1704). In addition, he stated that François Perrier left the applicant six months after signing. Jacques Perrier came to the defence of his younger brother alleging that it was far to abandon the defendant Sieur service to follow Henry Tonty. Francois was at that time at St. Joseph River in southwest Michigan when Sieur de La Forest proposed sending Adrien Robillard, with Sir Tonty. Robillard refused, said Sieur de La Forest would have someone else in his place and François Perrier offered to replace him. Jacques Perrier justified his allegations using the testimony of two witnesses, Adrien Ganuard and Raphael Robillard. After hearing the testimony of both parties, the court clerk read the Francois Perrier contract Agreement dated August 9, 1700. In light of the facts presented to him, Jacques Alexis de Fleury Eschambault condemns François Daupin, Sieur de La Forest to pay the plaintiff the sum of sixty pound of France in furs and score for his wages and salaries for said two years. In addition, he must pay the costs incurred amounting to forty five floors of France for research and the expedition of the document of commitment.
Time passes and finally in 1711, Jacques decides get married. He’s 39 years old, unusually old for the time, since the clergy and the highest authorities forced boys to marry before the age of 20. If he refused to marry, there was a large fine to pay and he lost the right of hunting, fishing and trading with the Indians. On November 29, 1711, Jacques Perrier and his future wife, Marguerite Paré, aged 19, were at the notary Michel Laferté Lepailleur for writing the marriage contract. The custom of the time was that all members of the family of the bride and groom were to be present at this meeting to ensure that all contract terms adequately protect the bride and groom. All indications are that Jacques Perrier was a good prospect for the daughter (Marguerite Paré) of Jean Paré. Marriages of the time were arranged by families and as Jean Paré was an important figure, he would not have chosen someone poor for his daughter. He was Sergeant and Commander of the garrison of Fort church or Lachine (known by both names). To bring him tribute, a plaque was affixed to one of the walls of the city of Lachine. Present at the meeting: Jean Paré and Marguerite Picard, father and mother of the bride; Jacques Picard, uncle of the bride; Julliet Louis and Catherine Lebel, uncle and aunt of the bride; Pierre and Louise Julliet, cousins of the bride; Marie Gaillard, the mother; Jean Charlebois and Marthe Perrier, brother-in-law and beautiful sister of the groom; Jacob Thomelet and Marguerite Perrier, brother-in-law and lovely married sister; Jean Brunet and Marie Perrier, brother-in-law and sister of the groom. On the day after November 30, 1711, the marriage ceremony occurred in the church of Saints-Anges de Lachine.
The young couple settled in Pointe-Claire, where Jacques Perrier had a license since 1698. On April 21, 1721 François Vachon de Belmont, a Sulpician priest, concedes Jacques Perrier additional land around his home, four acres and two front which held throughout the land of his house and the two coasts (St. Charles Coste) across. The lords of the Island asked Jacques to pay ten floors, is two bushels of corn grain, good, flat, are loyal and merchant for each “twenty” acres area of the concession, all of hundred and stately pension payable on November 11 next year in their baronial hotel, in their attic, instead of their recipe. According to the confessions and land counts from 1723 to 1745, in the St. Joachim parish at a place called Pointe Claire, about 2 miles from the front, on the riverfront, Jacques Perrier had 4.5 acres of land on front 30 deep, of which 43 acres were exploited. On the ground, there was his house, and a barn.
In 1737, the minutes of the Grand Voyer (responsible for roads and bridges) of New France stated that our ancestor Jacques Perrier was captain of militia, and as such, he participated in the tracing and marking of the great royal road along Lake St. Louis between great Ance and Pointe Claire on 2 July 1737. He oversaw the work with Jacques Chasle, as Captain of Militia. This road still exists and is called “Way of the Lake.” The Paré-Perrier couple had 10 children, but four (4) of them died very young which was unfortunately very common then.
Jacques Perrier died on December 20, 1737, at the age of 65, in the hospital Hotel Dieu of Ville Marie (Montreal). A funeral service was celebrated on December 21 by Sieur Bouffandeau, priest in the Cathedral followed by burial in the cemetery of the parish of this city. Were Present were Monseigneur Breul, seminary priest and Michel Baugis his brother.
In 1750, on June 11, Marguerite Paré abandoned the estate of Jacques Perrier for her children. She bequeathed in equal share to each of her six children, except the use of the house and an exemption in area in front of the barn for her gardening. In exchange, she asks them to pay every year on the 1st day of the year, a life pension of twenty-six bushels of wheat. And to provide every year – two pigs five weeks – bushels of oats gift for winter – six bushels of peas – a pound of butter – salt bushel – half a pound of pepper – two of brandy pots – thirty cords of wood strung on his door – Beaufort eight pieces of cloth to make shirts – a piece of canvas Paris – a muslin cloth piece – a mantelas – a skirt fabric of the country – two pairs of wool socks in the country to supply him every 2 years: – a cloak – a skirt calemande – a pair of shoes François dual – two pairs moccasin. They agree to be buried with service and fifty Masses for the repose of his soul. Moreover, it reserves the cow they will keep during the summer and overwinter exiled during the winter. Then came January 15, 1769 Marguerite Paré died at the age of 76 years. She was buried in the parish of Pointe Claire on 17 January.
Continuation of Perrier Name in My Line
When looking at the continuation of the Perrier name descending from my grandfather, it is interesting to see how things have evolved. My father had 4 brothers and 5 sisters. There were 32 grandchildren, my cousins. Seven of these grandchildren were Perrier males, including me and my two brothers and the three sons of Lyle Perrier, who all live in Australia (none had a male child). The only other Perrier grandchild, Dean died of a brain tumor and had no children. From those 7, there were 6 Perrier male great-grandchildren, including the 4 in my line. From those six, there is presently only three male Perrier great-great-grandchildren (my grandson and my brother’s two grandsons) and unlikely to be more. My cousin Jan Perrier did not change her name and her son is also a Perrier in the line.
Other Perriers in Canada. As far as I know, there was only one other Perrier family that came to New France from France in the 17th century.
Laurent Perier said Oliver was from the city of Brest, formerly the province of Brittany. This city is now part of the Finistere department. He emigrated to Canada in 1688 and married Marie Besset in Fort St. Louis on November 26, 1690. His marriage contract was filed minutes of the notary Adhemar, August 5, 1691. The couple had six children: a son and five daughters. They are: John, Mary Anne, Marie-Jeanne, Angelica and Maria Theresa.
Marie Besset, died in Laprairie, May 19, 1714 and Laurent remarried Jeanne Dumas on July 22. They had six children: two boys and four girls. The descendants of Laurent Périer have mainly increased in the regions of Montreal, La Prairie and the surrounding counties.