Pierre was only three years old when his father died in 1751. His mother remarried twice afterwards, first to Pierre Hilarest in St-Augustine 1754, lastly in Ville de Québec to Henry Grace in 1758. He grew up in the midst of the War of the Conquest as it was known by the French. The small village where his grandparents lived was likely levelled, and Québec, the once proud capital of New France fell to the British in 1759. He was 12 years old when Montréal surrendered the following year.
American War of Independence 1775-1783.
Perhaps due in part to the increased taxes levied to cover the heavy cost of the French and Indian War, the 13 colonies along the Atlantic grew discontent with the British monarch. They naturally looked to the recently conquered French in Québec as potential supporters, but were met with mixed levels of interest. Many were disappointed by France's seemingly lackluster support, and too, the Québec Act had taken some of the edge off of life as an English colony for them.Fort Ticonderoga . Their successful attack on Montréal in November 1775 emboldened them to head up the St-Laurent to assault Québec. They set up an offence across the river in much the same location as that used by the British in their assault 14 years earlier, but with much less equipment and men. On 31 December 1775 Montgomery was joined by Benedict Arnold in an attack
on Ville de Québec. Losses were heavy for the Americans against the smaller band of defenders. The French support was mixed, some helping the effort of the Americans, and some defending the city.
The Children of
Marie Marguerite20 October 1780 - 8 December 1780
Jean-Françoise Régis
Pierre8 October 1783-29 July 1867
Marie-Josephte19 March 1786-30 July 1786
Joseph-Antoine , our ancestor 12 June 1787-13 May 1847 Antoine16 May 1790–8 December 1864
Françoise...30 November 1792–3 July 1846
Marie-Catherine15 September 1795–26 October 1876
Nicolas5 March 1798–7 January 1856
Charlotte, twin 21 March 1801–after 1821
Marie-Josette, twin 21 March 1801–1 October 1869
Isaac24 September 1803–10 August 1827
Starting a Family.
At age 31 Pierre married Josephte Bulteau, the 18 year old daughter of Nicolas Bulteau and Marie-Antionette Lériger dit Laplante. They signed their marriage contract before the notary Pierre Lalanne on the 15th and were married on the 22 November 1779 in the church in LaPrairie, just outside Montréal. Their union was to be blessed by the births of a dozen children, including a set of twins.
Most of the children were baptized in the church at LaPrairie, but some records are also found in nearby Saint-Constant or Saint-Philippe.
Our ancestor was baptized in Saint-Philippe in 1787 as "Joseph Antoine", though in later records he simply used "Joseph". The town is about 5½ miles or 9 km south of LaPrairie.
Pierre's occupation is not mentioned in the birth records, and later he is referred to only as a "laborer". A series of wars and numerous battles tore up the lands where Pierre lived, no doubt impacting his ability to learn a trade or to establish a farm. But there is evidence of another profession at which he worked.
