"The Chapel of St Louis" by D. Girouard

Book: "Lake St. Louis, old and new, illustrated, and Cavelier de La Salle"
Published: 1893
Author: Désiré Girouard
Chapter "The Chapel of St Louis", pages 146 to 152.

page 146:
THE CHAPEL OF ST. LOUIS

A transient mission was, for nearly fifteen years, the sole means of ministering to the upper end of the Island of Montreal. Faillon tells us that, upon the arrival of settlers on the Island, the Seminary occasionally sent priests to their spiritual wants⁽¹⁾. When one remembers that the of La Présentation was the nearest and in fact the only recidence of the Lachine missionaries down to 1685, it may well be presumed that the missionaries of Bout de l'Isle came from a Présentation. The highly distinguished Mr. D'Urfé is known to have been one of these missionaries from 1676, and probably before, to near 1680. Son of the Marquis D'Urfé, he belonged to one of the first families of France. He was closely connected with Mr. de Fenelon, and was also a near relative of Colbert, which accounts for his great influence at the French Court. MM. D'Urfé, Fenélon and Remy occupy the first rank amongst the illustrious founders of St. Sulpice at Villemarie.

The terrier (land register) contains two interesting entries on the subject of the chapel at Bout de l'Isle. At No. 111, known to-day as Pointe Caron, it is stated: "This land was formerly intended for the church of St. Annes and in the concession made of it by the Seigniors to the said Lalonde,⁽²⁾ they have reserved for themselves six superficial arpents, to be taken two by three or three by two, as it may please them. This mark |W| shows the reserved land called D'Urfé Bay, on account of the Abbé D'Urfé, who had built the first chapel of St. Annes on that spot." At No. 112, the land book shows: "This mark |W| indicates the place where formerly stood the first chapel of St Annes, occupied and ministered to, habitée et desservie, by Abbé D'Urfé, who has given it his name."

When did Mr. D'Urfé build this chapel? Mr Bourgeault, at one time Curé of Pointe Claire and now Vicar General to

(1) 3 Histoire de la Colonie Française, 355.
(2) Jean de La Londe dit Lespérance.

page 147:
Archbishop Fabre, and noted for his learning and accuracy, believes that it was built in 1674⁽¹⁾. This is certainly an error.

It did not even exist in 1683, for the ecclesiastical census of that year states that mass was celebrated in a private house. "there being neither chapel nor presbytery."⁽²⁾ At that time and after the appointment, in 1676, of a Curé at Lachine, Bout de l'Isle was under the spiritual charge of the Curé of Lachine, who administered it as a mission. As early as the 6th of December, 1682. Pierre Lormier is described in the register of Lachine as "an inhabitant of the Haut de l'Isle de Montréal, mission of this parish."

The birth of "Marie Magdeleine Courreau, fille de Cibard Courreau, Sieur de la Coste," was recorded in the register of Lachine by Mr. Remy, on the 5th July, 1683. Mr. Remy says: "This baptism was celebrated in the house of Jean de La Londe dit Lespérance, habitant of Haut de l'Isle de Montreal, being the place where I usually say mass for this mission, which is attached to the parish of the Holy Angels of Lachine, comme le lieu ou je dis ordinairement la messe de cette mission."

On the 26th of August, 1684, Mr. Remy makes another entry in relation to the baptism of Anne Barbary, at Lachine, by Mr. Dollier during the absence of Mr. Remy, "en ma mission du Hault de cette Isle pour faire le baptême ci-dessus (the baptism of a child of de La Londe), et pour y célébrer la sainte messe."

The cemetery at Pointe Caron was not used in 1683, in as much as the dead body of Jean La Mérièque, the "domestique" of Gabriel de Berthé, Sieur de Chailly, was carried the whole distance from the house of the said Chailly "sise au Hault de l'Isle" to Lachine, where the burial took place.

Bout de l'Isle was erected into a parish in the summer of 1685, under the name of St. Louis, and on the 20th of September of same year, the Bishop of Quebec, while on a visit to that place, established its boundaries, namely, bounded to the east

(1) L'Echo du Cabinet de Lecture Paroissial, 1866, p. 226
(2) Mandements des Evéques, vol. 1, p. 128.

page 148:
by Pointe-Claire inclusively, (that is the point where the church stands to-day), and to the west by the lands beyond the end of the Island, "commencant à la Pointe Claire inclusivement et finissant par delà la Pointe du Bout de l'Isle." The Bishop was accompanied by Jean Guenet, "habitant du dit lieu," Olivier Quesnel, churchwarden of Lachine, Jean de La Londe, churchwarden of the parish of St. Louis, Mr. Dollier, Superior of the Seminary and Vicar General, and Mr. Remy. Curé of Lachine and Missionnaire de Saint-Louis.⁽¹⁾

What remains of the registers of St. Annes from 1686 to 1703 will be found at Lachine.

The registers of Lachine contain a memorandum in the handwriting of Mr. Remy, in which it is stated that the registers of the parish of St. Louis were commenced in 1686. They extend only to the years 1686 and 1687, and are all signed "D'Urfé or Durfé, Curé," that is, as explained in the text, "Curé of the parish of St. Louis du Haut de l'Isle de Montréal." The first entry in the D'Urfé register was that of the marriage of J. Bte. de Celoron, Sieur de Blainville, with Hélène Picoté de Bèlestre, widow of Antoine de La Fresnaye, Sieur de Bruçy, already mentioned. The marriage took place in the parish, on the 29th of November, 1686, and was undoubtedly the first marriage performed at that place; but Curé D'Urfé does not state where it was celebrated, whether in a chapel or in a private house.

The next entry is that of the natural death of Claude de la Mothe dit le Marquis de Sourdy, buried on the 23rd of February 1687, "á la Pointe St. Louis."

On the ist of March, 1687, the child of Jean Tillard "was brought to the church, à l'Eglise, to be baptised".

On the 21st of September, 1687, Jean Vincent, killed during the Iroquois war, was buried "à la Pointe St. Louis."

On the 30th of September, 1687, Jean de La Londe Lespérance was killed by the Iroquois, and the next day 1st of October, was buried "within the enclosure of the church of St.

(1) Register of Lachine, p. 7.

page 149:
Louis," dans l'enceinte de l'église de St. Louis. On the same day and under the same circumstances, Pierre Bonneau dit Lajeuness was buried "near the spot intended for the building church of St. Louis." It can hardly be supposed that this entry was a mistake, for the same statement is repeated in the burial certificates of Pierre Perthuis, Henri Fromageau and Pierre Pettiteau, also killed by the Iroquois on the 30th of September, 1687.

Pierre Camus dit La Feuillade, killed by the Indians on the 18th of October, 1687, was buried on the 19th, "near the spot intended for the cemetery, near the parish church of St. Louis;" and on the same day, J. Bte. Le Sueur dit La Hogue, also killed by the Iroquois on the 18th of October, was buried "on the spot intended for the cemetery of the parish of St. Louis."

Louis Jets, miller (meunier engagé) of Mr. Le Ber, who died a natural death "after having received the last sacraments," on the 17th of November, 1687, was buried on the following day "in the cemetery of the parish of St. Louis." This is the last entry to be found in the registers of St. Louis, since its erection in 1685 to the year 1703. There is no trace of any record from 1687 to 1703. The registers were either mislaid or destroyed or perhaps none were kept.

It is also possible and even probable that the mission of St. Louis, with the exception perhaps of the little colony at Fort Senneville, on Fief Boisbriant, was closed after the massacre of 1687, and during the entire period of the terrible Indian war, which raged till the year 1698. In fact, it would appear from Mgr. Tanguay's Dictionnaire Généalogique, the registers of Lachine and the greffe of Pottier, that during that long period of more than ten years, the old inhabitants of St. Louis were living either at Villemarie or Lachine, and among others, Jean Guenet, J. Bte. Celoron, Sieur de Blainville, Guillaume D'Aoust, the Daillebousts, Cybard Courreau, la veuve de Jean de La Londe dit Lesperance, Jean Nepveu, Jean Tillard, Aimé Legros dit Lecompte, Pierre Cavelier, Nicholas Le Moyne, la veuve Pierre Bonneau dit Lajeunesse and Pierre Maupetit dit Le Poitevin

page 150:
who sought refuge at Lachine, but was taken prisoner the night of the massacre of the 5th of August, 1689, and afterwards killed by the Iroquois in their village.⁽¹⁾ Bout de l'Isle appears to have been deserted, except by the representative the proprietors of Fort Senneville, to be re-occupied only after peace was practically made with the Iroquois in 1698. Mr. de Cathalogne, in the same mémoire which has been so often cited, seems to corroborate this assertion without a doubt: "As every one was entrenched in the town and forts, and as the habitants dared not go into the fields except in a body, those of the upper end of the Island of Montreal went there every fall, having to pass through a small grove."⁽²⁾

This evacuation may explain the dates of the concessions of Pointe Claire and of those north of Fort Senneville during the year 1698 and following. No allusion to the parish of St. Louis is made in the registers of Lachine or in the greffe of Pottier, during that long period, extending from 1688 to 1701. As we have seen, St. Annes or rather St. Louis du Bout de l'Isle de Montréal was erected into a parish during the summer of the year 1685, probably in view of the transfer of the Indian mission located at La Présentation, which was sold to Pierre Legardeur, Sieur de Repentigny, on the 7th of September, 1685.

De La Londe was elected the first churchwarden of the parish of St. Louis, and in fact had occupied that position before the civil erection; as far back as the 21st of August, 1684, was styled "Marguillier de la Mission du Hault de l'Isle."⁽³⁾

On the 22nd of May, 1685, the baptism of a son of the Cavelier (Pierre), "Receveur de Messieurs les Seigneurs", was celebrated at Lachine. The godmother was "the wife of Jean de La Londe, first churchwarden of the Upper part of this Island." ⁽³⁾

On the 12th of November, 1685, the publication of the first ban of marriage of Claude de La Mothe was made mission of Haut de l'Isle on a working day, although mass is as yet only celebrated there like in a mission."⁽³⁾

(1) Greffe de Pottier, 2nd May, 1700.
(2) 1 Col. 589.
(3) Register of Lachine.

page 151:
On the 18th of February, 1686, the next ban of Guillaume D'Aoust was announced "au prosne de la messe dite en cette parroisse de St. Louis;" but it is not stated where the service was held. There were present at the marriage at Lachine, Gabriel de Berthe, Sieur de Chailly, Pierre Dailleboust, Sieur D'Argenteuil, Cybard Courreau, Sieur de La Coste and Jean Guenet, all residing in St. Louis. ⁽¹⁾

Notwithstanding the apparent contradictions in the registers of St. Louis, it may fairly be inferred that St. Louis du Bout de l'Isle had a small temporary chapel as early as 1685, which was intended to be replaced by a church or église paroissiale, no later than 1687.

The terrier, quoted in the text, states that when the deed of concession was granted to Jean de La Londe dit Lespérance, the chapel had been built by Mr. D'Urfé. This deed was passed on the 3rd day of March, 1687, before Pottier, notary, and not in 1711, as alleged by Mr. Bourgeault ; (see also inventory of de La Londe, by Pottier, 19th January, 1688.) Mr. D'Urfé became Curé in the fall of 1685. The chapel must have been erected by him during the year 1685 or 1686. From the registers of St. Louis and the terrier, it is evident that Pointe St. Louis was the site selected for the parish church, but it was subsequently changed. After the massacre of 1687, it was undoubtedly considered unsafe, at least not as safe as the St. Annes' Rapid, which was in close proximity to Fort Senneville, and as a necessary consequence, the idea of building "une église paroissiale," a parish church, at Pointe St. Louis, near Baie D'Urfé, was abandoned.

At what time was the D'Urfé chapel destroyed ?

The date of the destruction of Mr. D'Urfé's chapel is more uncertain than the date of its erection. Mr. Bourgeault, in the same an article, is of opinion that it was used as the parish church until about 1714, and he bases his opinion on the registers of Annes. After Mr. D'Urfé, the registers were reopened on the 18th of December, 1703. Those of 1704 and 1705 are

(1) Register of Lachine.

page 152:
complete, whilst those of 1706, 1707 and 1708 are missing. The register of 1709 exist, but that of 1710 is also missing. The register for 1711, to be found at the greffe of Montreal Court House, appears to be complete ; but those for 1712 and 1713 are again missing, save some few entries in the register of the mission at Isle aux Tourtes; the Curé having always kept two sets of registers, the one for his parish and the other for the mission. The greater number of the Indian mission registers have been mislaid. The existing registers at the Greffe and at St. Annes establish that, from the 18th of December, 1703, to the 22nd of September, 1711, Mr. de Breslay Curé of Haut de l'Isle, almost invariably styled himself "Missionary of the Indian mission, exercising the functions of Curé of the parish of St. Louis." Nevertheless, on the 11th of January 1712, he calls himself "Indian missionary exercising the functions of Curé to the inhabitants of the upper end of Montreal Island," a quality which he had already assumed previously, more particularly on the 19th of July, the 7th of August and the 1st of November, 1711. Is it at all likely that, if the name of his chapel and parish was at that time changed to that of St. Annes, at his own request, owing to a miracle which he obtained through the intercession of the good St. Annes, as tradition tells us, Mr. de Breslay would have failed to assume, then and there, the title of Curé of St. Annes. Mr. Bourgeault, on the authority of the archives of the Seminary, informs us that it was during the years 1713 and 1714, that Mr. de Breslay went to France,⁽¹⁾ and it can hardly be presumed that the name of parish was changed during his absence or that a new church or chapel was built. Is it not rather to be presumed that, in passing through Quebec, on the outward or return trip, he may have requested the Bishop to grant a new dedication? Be that as it may, Mr. de Breslay reappeared at St. Annes on the 18th of October, 1714, and requested the certificate of a new register.

(1) Mr. de Vaudreuil wrote to the French Minister in 1713: "Le Sr. Breslay, missonnaire des Nipissingues et Algonquins, passe en France pour avoir l'honneur de vous représenter les besoins de sa mission et les siens particuliers. Canadian Archives, Cor. Gén., 1713-14, vol. 34, P. 22.

References

Photos of the original book pages:

->back to: Pointe Caron,

Guido Socher,