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Pedro “Pierre” da Silva dit le Portugais, Canada’s First Postman 

Pedro “Pierre” da Silva dit le Portugais (also written Dasilva or Dassylva depending on the record) was born about 1647 in Lisbon, Portugal. Pierre is simply the francophone version of Pedro, and le Portugais was his nickname (the Portuguese).

Our ancestor Pierre likely arrived at the port of Québec in the year 1673. His name is first recorded on December 28th, 1673, when notary Pierre Duquet de la Chesnaye registered the following in his notarial catalog at Québec: "Engagement de Pierre De Silves a Bertrand Chesnet du 28 dud. mois”. Translated, Pierre Da Silves [da Silva] is engaged to work for Bertrand Chesnet [Chesnay] on 28 Dec 1673.

On May 16th, 1677, notary Paul Vachon draws up a marriage contract for Pierre and Jeanne Greslon dite Laviolette at Québec. Jeanne’s parents, Jacques Greslon and Jeanne Vignault, are present at the contract signing. Pierre’s parents are noted as Joseph and Anne Marie François, from the parish of São Julião (Saint Julien) in the Kingdom of Portugal. Pierre and Jeanne are recorded as residents of the parish of L’Ange-Gardien (located about 24 km northeast of Québec City). Many witnesses are present as both Pierre and Jeanne consent to the marriage. Pierre signed the marriage contract, but his spouse could not. It isn’t known when and where the actual wedding ceremony took place.

Four-Season Messenger

After their wedding, the da Silva-Greslon couple relocated to Beauport, where they were recorded in the 1681 census of New France. After a few years in Beauport, the couple moved to Sault-au-Matelot in Québec’s lower-town, where Pierre becomes involved in the shipping of merchandise. “His proximity to the St. Lawrence River gave da Silva easy access to the ships off-loading goods for delivery within Quebec City and the colony. It is believed that da Silva built a good reputation for transporting goods, packages and letters by offering delivery in all seasons, even the harsh winters.”

The author Eduardo Galeano describes Pierre’s work in his book Face and Masks, calling him “The Man Who Didn’t Believe in Winter”: “The Portuguese Pedro da Silva spends the winter carrying mail in a dog sled over the ice of the Saint Lawrence River. In summer he travels by canoe, and sometimes, due to the winds, takes a whole month coming and going between Quebec and Montreal. Pedro carries decrees from the governor, reports by monks and officials, offers by fur traders, promises from friends, secrets of lovers. Canada’s first postman has worked for a quarter of a century without asking winter’s permission”.   

Between 1681 and 1706, Pierre and Jeanne have 14 children – 7 girls and 7 boys: Marie Louise, Marie Madeleine, Marie Thérèse, Marie Élisabeth, Jeanne Catherine, Pierre, Jean Baptiste, Marie Anne, Pierre François, Pierre dit Nicolas, Marie Jeanne, Dominique, Jean Marie and Jean Marie. 10 of these children will marry and raise sizeable families.

A Place in History

Pierre holds the distinction of being Canada’s very first postman. On December 23rd 1705, Philippe de Rigaud, marquis of Vaudreuil, and governor and lieutenant-general of New-France, issued the following decree: “Commission de messager pour Pierre Dasilva, dit le Portugais, pour porter des lettres de M. le gouverneur général et de l'intendant dans toute l'étendue de la colonie". Translated, “A commission for messenger Pierre Dasilva, nicknamed the Portuguese, to carry letters from the Governor General and the Intendant throughout the colony”. This commission was signed by Jacques Raudot, Intendant of New France. “He also received permission to carry letters "… from private persons to their address and to bring back the replies…" It was da Silva's punctuality, "…diligence and loyalty…" that earned him the privilege of being a 'regular messenger' of goods as well as royal dispatches and those of the Governor General of New France between Quebec City and Trois-Rivières or Montreal.”

Pedro “Pierre” da Silva dit le Portugais died on August 2nd, 1717 at Québec and was interred at the parish of Notre-Dame de Québec on the same day after receiving the church sacraments. The record indicates he was about 70 years old. Given the speed at which he was buried, Pierre may have been a victim of the malignant fever epidemic that hit the colony in 1717-1718.

In 2003, Canada Post issued a stamp honouring Pedro da Silva and the 50th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada. (Though Portuguese had been on Canadian soil for centuries, the first substantial wave of migration started in 1953, when the Saturina arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax. The 1950s saw over 20,000 Portuguese immigrants come to Canada.) The stamp, designed by Clermont Malenfant, features an image of Québec City based on a Richard Short drawing, which was inspired by a 1761 Pierre Charles Canot engraving. The stamp’s design also includes the red wax seal used by the Sovereign Council of New France, as well as da Silva’s signature. The cursive writing on the left side of the stamp is an excerpt from the official commission letter recognizing da Silva as the colony’s first mail carrier.

On June 3rd, 2009, the Government of Canada passed an act in the House of Commons, bill C-406, to recognize Pedro Da Silva as Canada's first officially commissioned letter carrier.

A commemorative plaque also adorns an old post office building on St. Jacques Street in Montréal, Québec.

The plaque reads “From 1693 couriers, the first known of whom was Pierre DaSilva, called the Portuguese, carried the mail between Quebec and Montreal. In 1763, Benjamin Franklin, then Deputy Postmaster General in North America, established the first organized postal service in Canada. A.D. 1938.”

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Sources:

• “Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935,” digital image, Ancestry.ca (www.ancestry.ca), entry for Pierre Da Silva work engagement, Notary Pierre Duquet de la Chesnaye (1663-1687, page 71 of 250); citing original data: Fonds Cour Supérieure. Greffes de notaires. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada. 

• “Quebec Notarial Records for Notary Paul Vachon (1644-1693)”, digital image, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org), marriage contract for Pierre Da Silva & Jeanne Greslon (pages 3207-3210 of 3433), film 2370978, DGS 8272631, citing original data: Actes de notaire Paul Vachon, 1644-1693, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2004.  

• “Recensement du Canada fait par l'intendant Du Chesneau”, digital image, Library and Archives Canada (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca), population schedule, Beauport, family of Pedro Dassilva and Marie Greslon (page 138, item 275, finding aid no. MSS0446, MIKAN no.2318858), citing original data: Centre des archives d'outre-mer (France) vol. 460.

• “Pedro Da Silva”, online article published 6 Jun 2003, Canada Post Corporation (https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/collecting/details.page?article=2003/06/06/pedro_da_silva&cattype=collecting&cat=stamps).

• Eduardo Galeano, Faces and Masks, Chapter “1717: Quebec, The Man Who Didn’t Believe in Winter”, eBook, Open Road Editions, 2014 (https://books.google.ca/books)

• Université de Montréal, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH), (https://www.prdh-igd.com), family dictionary entry for Pierre Dassilva Portugais & Marie Jeanne Greslon Laviolette (union card # 4626). [most baptism, marriage and burial records have been found for all children via the Drouin collection]

• “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967,” digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca), burial record for Pierre Dasilva (1712-1720, Notre-Dame de Québec, image 184 of 273); citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• “An Act to recognize Pedro da Silva as Canada's first officially commissioned letter carrier”, online publication, Government of Canada (http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.548302/publication.html)