Pierre Perras dit La Fontaine
and Denise LeMaître.

Tonnelier.

Pierre Perras dit Lafontaine was a tonnelier or cooper. He served as an apprentice for up to seven years under a master cooper before he was given leave to start out on his own. He likely trained in La Rochelle prior to making the trip to Québec.

The wooden vessels with a bulge in the middle came in various sizes, from a firkin which was about a quarter of a barrel to a tun which could hold 256 gallons of wine. Casks his shop produced were employed for a variety of tasks. "Dry" coopers concentrated on products that were suitable for shipping foods like fruits and vegetables, or goods like nails. A "dry-tight" cask was needed for gunpowder or flour. The "wet" cooper, the more skilled, made water tight casks to hold liquids like fresh water or ale. For more about coopers see our ancestor Paul Mondou.

By 1660 Pierre was a master, that is he directed the work of others in his shop.

Marriage.

On 10 January 1660 Denise Lemaître signed another contract for marriage before notaire Bénigne Basset, of Montréal with our ancestor Pierre Perras dit LaFontaine. They were wed on 26 January after publication of the three banns "in the presence of mademoiselle Jeanne Mance, administratix of the hospital, Jacques Le Moyne, merchant, Louis Chartier, surgeon and several other mutual friends of both parties." She was about 24 and he was 44 years old.

A set of twins was born to the couple on 27 December 1665. Our ancestor Marie-Marguerite’s twin sister died a few days later on 3 January 1666.

Two back to back censuses were conducted in New France. The first in 1666 merely counted the French individuals who had settled in the colony. In this Pierre Perras, age 50, is a tonnelier (cooper) and habitant (small farmer). His wife Denise Le Maistre, 30 and children Pierre, 6; Jacques, 3; Marguerite, 2 months; live in Montréal. Their names are listed just above our ancestors Jacques Beauvais and Jeanne Soldé. More information is provided in the 1667 census: Pierre Perras 45 (he grew younger), Denise Le Maistres, his wife 30, Pierre 6, Jacques 4, and our ancestor Marguerite 16 months. In this it is learned they had 3 beasts and 6 arpents of land under cultivation, but Pierre did not own a gun.

The church played a crucial role in the lives of the colonists. Pierre and Denise made a generation donation on 22 September 1675 of a structure, bounded by a wooden palisade for security, to be used as a place of worship in Saint-Lambert.

The 1681 census shows the couple had moved to La Prairie, where they lived with their children Marguerite 16, Catherine 14, Jeanne 9, Pierre 7, Jean 3, Marie 4. Ten arpens were under cultivation, and they had 6 head of cattle. Pierre, 60, was still a tonnelier, and Denise was 45.

Their sons went into the fur trade, Jean in 1692 and Piere in 1694. Our ancestor Marguerite married in 1682.

Father Pierre died at the age of 67 on 30 April 1684 and was buried in La Prairie on 1 May. Denise remarried François Caël in La Prairie on 9 October 1684. They were married three years before he died on 18 November 1687.

Tué par les Iroquois.

"...in their method of warfare the Iroquois are so stealthy in their approach, so swift in their execution, and so expeditious in their retreat, that one commonly learns of their departure before gaining any knowledge of their arrival. They come like foxes through the woods, which afford them concealment and serve them as an impregnable fortress. They attack like lions, and, as their surprises are made when they are least expected, they meet with no resistance. They take flight like birds, disappearing before they have really appeared..."

~Jesuit Relations (45:193-195)

In 1691 the Iroquois launched several attacks on the French settlements, including an eight day period in Saint-Ours and Contrecœr. They burned their homes and took prisoners. Fourteen soldiers and habitants were slain 11 August 1691. Among the casualties in a later assault was our 55 year old ancestor Denise Le Maître who was killed on 29 October 1691 in Saint-Lambert. She was buried the next day in La Prairie.