The old chapel church still continued its work. It witnessed, on May 28th of the year following, 1654, the marriage of Charles Le Moyne with the adopted daughter of Antoine Primot and Martine Mercier, his wife, whom we know as the valiant and chaste Parmenda. This girl, Catherine Thierry, probably a niece of Madame Primot, had been brought as a child of one year to Montreal in 1642, and she was commonly known as Catherine Primot and was now fourteen years of age. This union begot the famous Le Moyne family. Their first home was on the arpent town lot near the hospital. On February 3rd the fort chapel witnessed the marriage of Jean Gervaise and Anne Archambault, who also reared one of the most numerous and honourable families of Montreal. This was the fourth marriage of the thirteen occurring this year.
The history of Anne Archambault gives us an insight into one of the few scandals of the time. This was Anne's second marriage, having been married before the church in Quebec in July, 1647, to a Michel Chauvin, dit Ste Suzanne who had been sent out by de la Dauversière to Montreal in the service of the Company in 1644.
In 1650 Louis Prud'homme, of whom we have made mention already, had on a voyage to France discovered that Chauvin had deserted his wife, and on returning to Montreal he had notified the authorities, so that on October 8, 1650, Chauvin acknowledged freely before Jean Saint Père, the official notary of justice, that some seven years before leaving France for Canada he had married Louise de Liles. He then hurriedly departed for Quebec and took the first boat back to France. Anne Archambault had one child by this scoundrel, born on April 5th following. To sympathize with her Jeanne Mance and M. Charles d'Ailleboust des Musseaux were the godparents.
To the great joy of the colony, Anne Archambault was honourably remarried on February 3, 1654, to Jean Gervaise, one of the recruits brought over by de Maisonneuve in the previous autumn. The esteem of the public was manifested to offset the unaccustomed scandal that had arisen in their midst. One child, Charlotte Chauvin, was reared by these two and for this purpose the governor gave special assistance on behalf of the Company. At this time there were also several orphans, children of soldiers that had died in battle with the Iroquois, and for these de Maisonneuve also provided.
Thus the spirit of fervour, charity and uprightness of morals was exercised in the life of this primitive church of the settlement. Sister Morin, in the Annals of the Hôtel-Dieu, writes of these early times: "Nothing was put under key in these days, neither the houses, chests, or cellars; everything was left open without anyone repenting of their trustfulness. Those who were in easy circumstances hastened to lend their assistance to others less fortunate, and gave it spontaneously without waiting to be called upon, making it a pleasure to forestall all needs and to give their marks of affection and esteem to one another."
The words of Longfellow, written so long after, of Grandpré, the home of Evangeline, might be well applied to Ville Marie at this date:
"Neither locks had they to their doors, nor bars to their windows; But their dwellings were open as day, and the hearts of the owners. There the richest were poor, and the poorest lived in abundance."
FOOTNOTES:
[70] How many of those hired sailed for Montreal? An unedited list containing 102 names has lately been found in the archives of the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Montreal by Mr. C. O. Bertrand, and has been reproduced with notes by Mr. E. Z. Massicotte in the Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal for October, 1913 (Third Series, Vol. X). The original number of engagés, according to Faillon, taken from the notarial contracts before Maître Lafousse at La Flèche, was 154. But examination shows that, owing to several duplications, this must be reduced to 150. Before sailing at St. Nazaire only 103, according to Faillon, answered the call. But on the examination of Faillon's list, it is seen that the number was 102, which corresponds with the newly found list.
Marguerite Bourgeoys says that there were about 120 passengers, of whom 108 were "soldiers," as she calls the engagés. The Abbé de Belmont gives 105 soldiers. Mr. Massicotte, from a study of the contracts of marriages shortly after the arrival of the recruits of 1653 and other sources, supplies the eighteen missing members thus: A married woman, two single women, four men, M. de Maisonneuve, Marguerite Bourgeoys, and nine others who are mentioned by the latter as "quelques filles," who were brought for marriageable purposes.