Marie Élisabeth Bourassa (1695–1766)
Marie Élisabeth Bourassa, often recorded as Élisabeth in parish documents, was born and baptized on February 25, 1695, at the Nativité-de-la-Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine parish in La Prairie, Quebec (then Nouvelle-France). She was the sixth child (and fourth surviving daughter) of François Bourassa (c. 1659–1708), a voyageur and fur trader from Poitou, France, and Marie Le Ber (1666–1756), daughter of the prominent Montreal merchant François Le Ber. Her birth came during a turbulent period in the colony, marked by Iroquois raids and the fur trade's expansion, which her father actively participated in. Élisabeth grew up in the modest family home adjacent to the La Prairie church, a hub for trade and community life south of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. The 1708 smallpox epidemic that claimed her father's life left her mother to raise the younger children, including the 13-year-old Élisabeth, amid ongoing hardships.
Marriage and Family Life
At age 17, Élisabeth married Jean dit Jacques Pinsonneault dit Lafleur on July 21, 1712, at Nativité-de-la-Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine. The ceremony, witnessed by family members and local notables, united two settler lines: the Bourassas, tied to the fur trade elite via the Le Bers, and the Pinsonneaults, descendants of a Carignan-Salières soldier. The couple settled in La Prairie, where Jacques worked as a farmer and laborer on seigneurial land. Élisabeth managed a large household, enduring the colony's high infant mortality and colonial conflicts, including the transition to British rule after 1760.
They had at least six documented children, baptized in La Prairie, who contributed to the region's French-Canadian population. Many descendants spread across Quebec and into the U.S., linking to later notable Bourassa-Pinsonneault lines. Here's a summary of known children:
Child | Birth/Death | Notes |
Françoise Pinsonneault | b. Jul 10, 1713 – d. aft. 1736 | Married Pierre Bissonnette in 1736; farmer's wife in La Prairie area. |
Anne Pinsonneault | b. Sep 12, 1715 – d. unknown | Limited records; likely married locally and remained in Quebec. |
René Pinsonneault | b. Mar 15, 1718 – d. c. 1780 | Farmer; married Marie-Josephte Patenaude; ancestors in Monteregie region. |
Marguerite Pinsonneault | b. Jun 22, 1720 – d. unknown | Married into local families; contributed to early Quebec settlement. |
Pascal Pinsonnault dit Lafleur | b. Apr 5, 1723 – d. c. 1790 | Voyageur and farmer; married twice; extended family into Ontario. |
Marie Amable Pinsonneault + Joseph Pinsonneau (Pinsono) DNA Match, 5th great-grandfather Birth 10 APR 1733 • La Prairie, Quebec, Canada Death 8 AUG 1799 • Longueuil, Quebec, Canada | b. Feb 14, 1726 – d. aft. 1750 | Married Jean-Baptiste Courville; stayed in La Prairie parish. |
Élisabeth's life reflected the resilience of French-Canadian women: devout, family-centered, and adaptive to frontier challenges. Parish records describe her as a parishioner active in community sacraments.
Death
Élisabeth died on November 19 or 20, 1766 (sources vary slightly), at age 71, in La Prairie during the early years of British colonial rule. She was buried on November 20 at Nativité-de-la-Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine, outliving her husband by six years. Her death occurred amid the post-Conquest adjustments, including land tenure changes under the British.
Jean dit Jacques Pinsonneault dit Lafleur (c. 1682–1773)
Jean dit Jacques Pinsonneault (variants: Pinsonneau, Pinsono), known by his "dit" name Lafleur (meaning "the flower," a common soldier's nickname), was born around 1682–1691 (most sources favor 1682) in the Richelieu River valley, likely at Saint-Ours-des-Chaulnes (now Saint-Ours, Quebec). He was baptized on March 19, 1682, at Contrecœur parish. As the fourth son of François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur (c. 1646–1731), a soldier in the Carignan-Salières Regiment who arrived in New France in 1665 to combat Iroquois threats, and Anne Le Pér(e) (c. 1647–1732), an early settler from France, Jacques embodied the second-generation colonist's life. His father, granted land by Seigneur Pierre de Saint-Ours in 1673, farmed along the Richelieu, providing stability amid the Beaver Wars. Jacques grew up in a large family of eight siblings, learning agriculture and basic militia duties in a region prone to raids.
Early Life and Career
Little is documented of Jacques's youth beyond baptismal records, but as a habitant (settler-farmer), he likely assisted on the family concession before striking out independently. By his early 20s, he relocated to La Prairie, a fur-trading outpost, where opportunities in farming and seasonal labor abounded. Unlike his fur-trading in-laws, Jacques focused on agriculture: tilling seigneurial lots, raising livestock, and supplying Montreal markets. The 1710s–1730s censuses list him as a laboureur (plowman) with modest holdings—cattle, tools, and cleared land—typical of middle-tier habitants. He served in local militias during Anglo-French skirmishes, contributing to defenses against potential Iroquois or British incursions.
Marriage and Family
Jacques's marriage to Élisabeth Bourassa in 1712 (detailed above) elevated his social standing through ties to the influential Le Ber merchant family. At the wedding, his parents—then in their 60s—were noted as alive but absent, underscoring their Richelieu roots. The union produced the children listed earlier, with Jacques providing for them amid epidemics and economic shifts. He outlived five of his siblings and saw grandchildren establish in La Prairie and beyond. Notarial records show him in land transactions: selling parcels in the 1730s and dividing inheritance among heirs by the 1750s.
Later Life and Death
Jacques lived through the pivotal Seven Years' War (1756–1763), witnessing the French defeat at the Plains of Abraham (1759) and the 1760 British conquest from his farm. He adapted to the new regime, paying quit-rents under British seigneurs while preserving French customs. In old age, he relied on family support, as indicated by 1760s parish aid notations.
Jacques died on March 19, 1773, at about age 91, in La Prairie. He was buried on March 22 at Nativité-de-la-Prairie-de-la-Magdeleine, described in the record as "Jacques Pinsonneau dit Lafleur, aged about 82" (a common underestimation). His will, if extant, would detail modest assets passed to sons René and Pascal.
Legacy
Élisabeth and Jacques's union bridged fur trade and farming worlds, producing descendants who farmed Quebec's south shore and ventured into the American Midwest. Their line includes thousands of Pinsonneault-Lafleurs, with ties to modern Quebecois families. This couple exemplifies the enduring French-Canadian habitant class: rooted in land, faith, and kin amid colonial upheaval. For primary sources, consult the Drouin Collection (via Genealogy Quebec) or PRDH for parish acts; secondary references include Cyprien Tanguay's Dictionnaire généalogique (Vol. 1, p. 76).
Post courtesy of Drifting Cowboy & Grok xAI.
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