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Pierre Philippon dit Picard and Marie Angélique Amiot:

A Tale of Resilience in New France 

Pierre Philippon dit Picard, son of Jean Philippon and Louise Lignée or Flouvy, was born around 1713 in the parish of Saint-Eustache in Flesselles, Picardie, France (now in the Somme department in France).

Regarding Pierre's birth, there's a possibility that he was the child baptized "Jean" on January 9, 1706, in the parish of Saint-Eustache in Flesselles, with parents listed as Jean Philippon and Louise Flouvy. Despite ten recorded baptisms for children born to this couple in Flesselles between 1699 and 1718, none of them correspond to a child named Pierre. It's conceivable that Pierre's baptismal name might have been Jean.

Pierre's "dit" name, Picard, likely derived from his origins in Picardie.

Flesselles is a rural commune located about 140 kilometres north of Paris. About 2,000 residents, or Flessellois, call the village home. The parish church of Saint-Eustache still stands, though the existing building was reconstructed in the 19th century, replacing the smaller church that was built in 1573.

A “Faux-Saunier” Exiled to New France

When he was still a teenager, Pierre became involved in the illegal salt trade in France, operating as a “faux-saunier,” or counterfeit salt merchant. Faux sauniers illegally manufactured salt, or transported it as contraband across provinces, conducting sales without paying taxes. While this trade was both widespread and profitable, it carried significant risks. Eventually, the law caught up to Pierre and he was sent to the prison of Doullens in Somme.

In 1731, Pierre, along with 64 other prisoners, received a severe punishment: exile to Canada "for the rest of their days." Colonial authorities believed that these prisoners could serve as valuable farm laborers and contribute to the growth of the population in Canada.

A New Start in Canada

Though many faux-sauniers eventually returned to France, Pierre chose to stay, settling in Québec. In 1734, he was documented as a patient in the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Québec, where his record stated he was “21 years old, from Amiens,” which is the arrondissement where Flesselles is situated.

After his release from the hospital, Pierre met his first wife. On February 3, 1737, he and Marie Louise Bonhomme had a marriage contract drawn up before notary Jacques Nicolas Pinguet de Vaucour in the home of Charles Routier in Québec. They were married two days later in the parish of Notre-Dame in Québec. Neither bride nor groom was able to sign the marriage contract or record. The couple did not have any children before Marie Louise Bonhomme died on February 27, 1738.

Pierre’s second wife was Marie Angélique Amiot, the daughter of Charles Amiot and Marie Angélique Métivier. She was born on January 1, 1720, and was baptized the same day in the parish of Notre-Dame in Québec. Pierre and Marie Angélique had their marriage contract drawn by notary Claude Louet on July 25, 1739, at her father’s home in Québec. They were married the next day in the parish of Notre-Dame in Québec. Pierre was about 26 years old; Marie Angélique was 19.

The couple had at least ten children:

1. Marie Angélique

2. Marie Angélique

3. Pierre

4. Marie Anne

5. Jean Charles

6. Marie Madeleine

7. Marie Françoise

8. Yves

9. Paul

10. Marie Josèphe

From Cabaret Owner to Master Ship Piercer

Pierre appears to have held a variety of occupations during his lifetime. According to a court document dated January 29, 1754, he was recorded as a “cabaretier,” or cabaret owner. The court's ruling mandated that Pierre settle a debt owed to Nicolas Boisseau, a counselor, King's secretary, and chief clerk of the Superior Council of New France. The total amount owed was 141 livres and 10 sols for the unpaid debt, along with an additional 22 sols for interest and expenses.

On July 11, 1755, Pierre found himself in court once more, facing an unpaid debt. The judgment ruled that he must settle a debt of 266 livres and 5 sols to merchant André Laporte (or Desportes), with an additional 50 sols designated for interest and expenses. He was granted an extension for the payment. Just a few weeks later, the courts issued another order for Pierre to resolve yet another defaulted debt, this time to mason Joseph Routhier. Pierre, a “perceur au chantier” (a driller or piercer at the shipyard), was labelled a “défendeur et encore défaillant” (defendant and defaulter again). He was ordered to pay 393 livres, plus 7 livres and 7 sols for interest and expenses. (A ship piercer was a worker who pierced, pegged and gouged vessels when they were being built or refitted.)

In 1756, Pierre appeared in three more court documents relating to unpaid debts:

• September 28, 1756: Marie Angélique appeared before the courts on behalf of her husband, a piercer at the shipyard, in a case brought against him by navy surgeon Arnould. Pierre claimed he only owed Arnould a balance of 12 livres for medication. The parties were ordered to reappear in court at a later date.

• October 5, 1756: Marie Angélique returned to court in the case against navy surgeon Arnould. Pierre was ordered to pay 12 livres, and 10 sols for the medication he purchased, plus 4 livres and 15 sols for expenses.

• November 16, 1756: Pierre was ordered to pay his unpaid debt to Pierre Petitot dit Desmarais. (The amount of the debt is unspecified.)

Pierre’s legal and financial woes weren’t over. His landlord, Louis Parent, would take him to court over unpaid debts several times.

• March 15, 1757: Pierre, defendant and defaulter, was ordered to pay expenses to merchant Louis Parent. (The amount is unspecified.)

• March 22, 1757: Louis brought Pierre, “defendant and defaulter for the second time” to court a week later. Pierre was recorded as the tenant of a house belonging to Parent. He was ordered to pay 250 livres and interest for a year’s rent for the house he occupied, as well as expenses of 7 livres and 5 sols.

• April 19, 1758: Pierre and Marie Angélique acknowledged in a notarial document that he owed merchant Louis Parent a debt. Pierre was recorded as a “maître perceur au chantier du Roi,” or master ship driller or piercer at the King’s shipyard in Québec. The notarial document was drawn up in Pierre and Marie Angélique’s home on rue Champlain in Québec. Neither was able to sign the document.

In 1758, Pierre’s name appears for the last time in a court document regarding an unpaid debt. On November 14, he was ordered to pay Charles Louet for unpaid expenses. (The amount is unspecified.)

On December 14, 1763, Pierre and his son Pierre were hired by Montréal merchant Pierre Houdin along with a dozen other ship carpenters, to build a ship in Montréal. Pierre was a “perceur de navire” while his son Pierre was a “charpentier de navire” or ship carpenter. Pierre Sr. was to receive 60 livres, while Pierre Jr. was to receive 50 livres.

Deaths of Pierre Philippon dit Picard and Marie Angélique Amiot

Pierre Philippon dit Picard died “of sudden death” at the age of about 71 on May 16, 1784. He was buried two days later in the Cimetière des picotés in Québec.

Marie Angélique Amiot died at the age of 68 on April 21, 1788. She was buried the following day in the Cimetière des picotés in Québec. (Though the priest mistakenly called her “Catherine” on the burial record, she was recorded as the widow of Pierre Philippon dit Picard.)

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Sources:

• Renald Lessard, “Les faux sauniers et le peuplement de la Nouvelle-France," L’Ancêtre : Bulletin de la Société généalogique de Québec, December 1987, Québec, vol. 14, no. 4, page 143.

• Gérard Malchelosse, “Faux sauniers, prisonniers et fils de famille en Nouvelle-France au XVIIIe siècle," Les Cahiers des Dix, (9), 161–197, digitized by Érudit (https://doi.org/10.7202/1080197ar : accessed 21 Aug 2023).

• "Flesselles (Saint-Eustache) : baptêmes, mariages, sépultures," digital images, Archives départementales de la Somme (https://archives.somme.fr/ark:/58483/r7cdf2q3p0mx/b2f15f4e-97f0-4bdd-b79c-f8dca044a1c7 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), baptism of Jean Philippon, 9 Jan 1706, Flesselles (St-Eustache), reference 5MI_D345.

• "Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968", Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_31480768?pId=1655008828 :  accessed 21 Aug 2023), Hôtel-Dieu Register of Patients, Pierre Philippon, 21 Mar 1734, Québec.

• Ibid. (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_16090966?pId=30804940 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), marriage of Pierre Philippon and Louise Bonhomme, 5 Feb 1737, Québec (Notre-Dame).

• Ibid. (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_16050443?pId=31007112 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), baptism of Marie Angélique Amiot, 1 Jan 1720, Québec (Notre-Dame).

• Ibid. (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_16091082?pId=30805958 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), marriage of Pierre Philippon and Marie Louise Amiot, 26 Jul 1739, Québec (Notre-Dame).

• Ibid. (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_16120052?pId=30828263 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), burial of Pierre Philippon dit Picard, 18 May 1784, Québec (Notre-Dame).

• Ibid. (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_31450255?pId=30963966  : accessed 22 Aug 2023), burial of Marie Catherine Amiot dite Villeneuve, 22 Apr 1788, Québec (Notre-Dame).

• “Actes de notaire, 1726-1748 : Jacques Nicolas Pinguet de Vaucour,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS56-2S7T-C?i=755&cat=963358 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), marriage contract between Pierre Philippon and Louise Bonhomme, 3 Feb 1737, notary Jacques Nicolas Pinguet de Vaucour, images 756-760 of 3360 ; citing original data : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• “Actes de notaire, 1739-1767 : Claude Louet,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53L8-GPH2?i=541&cat=730529 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), marriage contract between Pierre Philippon and Marie Angélique Amiot, 25 Jul 1739, notary Claude Louet, images 542-544 of 3172 ; citing original data : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• “Actes de notaire, 1745-1775 : Jean Claude Panet,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53LX-TRNT?i=326&cat=964090 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), obligation of Pierre Philippon and Marie Angélique Amiot to Louis Parent, 19 Apr 1758, notary Jean Claude Panet, images 327-329 of 3359; citing original data : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• “Actes de notaire, 1739-1767 : Claude Louet,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-R3L8-2KYC?i=210&cat=730529 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), engagement contract between Pierre Philippon and 13 other ship carpenters and Pierre Houdin, 14 Dec 1763, notary Claude Louet, images 211-213 of 3174; citing original data : Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH), Université de Montréal (https://www-prdh-igd.com/Membership/en/PRDH/Individu/96675 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), dictionary entry for Marie Louise Bonhomme, person 96675.

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd.com/Membership/fr/PRDH/Famille/21325 : accessed 21 Aug 2023), dictionary entry for Pierre Philippon Picard and Marie Angélique Amiot, union 21325.

• "Fonds Prévôté de Québec - Archives nationales à Québec," digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/380739 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Nicolas Boisseau and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre maître Nicolas Boisseau, conseiller, secrétaire du roi, greffier en chef au Conseil supérieur de la Nouvelle-France, demandeur, et Pierre Philippon dit Picard, cabaretier, défendeur, comparant par son épouse ; ledit défendeur est condamné à payer au demandeur la somme de 141 livres et 10 sols pour solde de compte, en plus des intérêts et des dépens liquidés à 22 sols"), 29 Jan 1754, ID 380739, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D102,P366 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 102 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (14 août 1753 au 3 septembre 1754), f. 69-69v.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/384906 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between André Portes and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre le sieur André Portes (Laporte - Desportes), négociant de Québec, demandeur, comparant par maître Panet, notaire, et Pierre Philippon, défendeur, lequel est condamné à payer au demandeur la somme de 266 livres et 5 sols pour solde de compte, en plus des intérêts et des dépens liquidés à 50 sols ; un délai lui est accordé pour payer"), 11 Jul 1755, ID 384906, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D103,P927 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 103 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (8 septembre 1754 au 25 juillet 1755), f. 185v.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/385230 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Joseph Routhier and Pierre Philippon ("Défaut à Paul Bape (Bap) dit Carey (Quercy - Carre), demandeur, contre Joseph Gendreau, défendeur et défaillant ; défaut à Joseph Routier (Routhier), demandeur, contre Pierre Philipon (Philippon), défendeur et défaillant ; défaut à Pierre Alexis (Alix), demandeur, contre Étienne Chamberland, défendeur et défaillant ; défaut à Charles Breton, demandeur, contre Jean Léger, défendeur et défaillant ; défaut au nommé Belleville, demandeur, contre Nicolas Trudel, défendeur et défaillant ; défaut à Joseph Lemay, demandeur, contre le nommé Vésina, défendeur et défaillant ; défaut à Richard Corbin, demandeur, contre Simon Arcand, défendeur et défaillant ; tous lesdits défaillants sont condamnés aux dépens de leur présent défaut"), 22 Jul 1755, ID 385230, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D103,P974 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 103 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (8 septembre 1754 au 25 juillet 1755), f. 194v.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/375481 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Joseph Routhier and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre Joseph Routhier (Routier), maçon de Québec, demandeur, comparant par maître Panet, notaire; et Pierre Philipon (Philippon), perceur au chantier, défendeur et encore défaillant, mention d'une obligation passée devant maître Saillant, notaire, le 26 janvier 1754, ledit défendeur est condamné à payer au demandeur la somme de 131 livres pour premier paiement, faute dudit paiement et délai passé, ledit défendeur sera condamné à payer 393 livres, total mentionné en ladite obligation, en plus des intérêts et des dépens liquidés à 7 livres et 7 sols"), 29 Jul 1755, ID 375481, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D104,P11 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 104 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (29 juillet 1755 au 24 août 1756), f. 4.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/378413 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between sieur Arnould and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre le sieur Arnoux (Arnould), chirurgien major de la Marine et des troupes au pays, demandeur, comparant par l'huissier Breton; et Pierre Philippon dit Picard, perceur au chantier, défendeur, comparant par Angélique Amiot, sa femme, fondée de son pouvoir, ledit défendeur déclare qu'il ne doit que la somme de 12 livres audit demandeur pour solde de compte concernant des médicaments fournis, il est ordonné que les parties comparaitront en personne au premier jour d'audience, dépens réservés"), 28 Sep 1756, ID 378413, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D107,P121 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 107 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (31 août 1756 au 18 octobre 1757), f. 20.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/378790 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between sieur Arnould and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre le sieur Arnoux (Arnould), chirurgien de la Marine, demandeur, comparant par le sieur Arnoux, son frère; et Pierre Philipon (Philippon) dit Picard, perceur en chantier, défendeur, comparant par Angélique Amiot, sa femme, il est ordonné que ledit défendeur soit condamné à payer la somme de 12 livres et 10 sols pour des médicaments fournis par ledit Arnoux, ainsi que les dépens liquidés à 4 livres et 15 sols"), 5 Oct 1755, ID 378790, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D107,P148 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 107 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (31 août 1756 au 18 octobre 1757), f. 23v.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/379846 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Pierre Petitot Desmarais and Pierre Philippon ("Défaut à Pierre Petitot Demaret (Desmarais), demandeur, contre Pierre Philipon (Philippon) dit Picard, défendeur et défaillant, ledit défaillant est condamné à payer les dépens"), 16 Nov 1756, ID 379846, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D107,P254 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 107 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (31 août 1756 au 18 octobre 1757), f. 36.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/382529 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Louis Parent and Pierre Philippon ("Défaut à Louis Parent, demandeur, contre Pierre Philipon (Philippon) dit Picard, défendeur et défaillant, ledit défaillant est condamné à payer les dépens"), 15 Mar 1757, ID 382529, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D107,P589 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 107 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (31 août 1756 au 18 octobre 1757), f. 80.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/382624 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Louis Parent and Pierre Philippon ("Cause entre Louis Parent, négociant, demandeur, comparant par maître Panet, notaire; et Pierre Philipon (Philippon) dit Picard, locataire d'une maison appartenant audit demandeur, défendeur et défaillant pour la seconde fois, il est ordonné que ledit défendeur soit condamné à payer en derniers ou quittance valable la somme de 250 livres et les intérêts pour une année de loyer de ladite maison qu'il occupe, ainsi que les dépens liquidés à 7 livres et 5 sols"), 22 Mar 1757, ID 382624, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D107,P601 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 107 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (31 août 1756 au 18 octobre 1757), f. 82v.

• Ibid. (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/386492 : accessed 22 Aug 2023), case between Charles Louet and Pierre Philippon ("Défaut à Charles Louet, demandeur, contre Pierre Philippon dit Picard, défendeur et défaillant, lequel est condamné aux dépens"), 14 Nov 1758, ID 386492, reference TL1,S11,SS1,D108,P1235 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du registre 108 de la Prévôté de Québec (Registre civil) (15 novembre 1757 au 13 mars 1759), f. 165v.