FROM: LAKE ST. LOUIS OLD AND NEW ILLUSTRATED AND CAVELIER DE LA SALLE, by DÉSIRÉ GIROUARD, 1893
[Page 15]
THE LAND HELD BY de La SALLE EN ROTURE
Its frontage was five arpents, seven rods, nine feet. On the 6th July, 1669, on the very day of his departure for the west, de La Salle sold it to Jacques le Ber and Charles Le Moyne, for 660 livres. The following is the description in the deed of sale: " A piece of land, lying and situated on the said island [Montreal], above the Sault St. Louis together with each and all the buildings constructed upon the said piece of land, and all its dependencies, including grains hanging by the root."
It was divided up in 1769, when four arpents, less twenty-seven feet to the west, went to Sieur René, to Donald Grant in 1803, to William MacDonald in 1842, and since to Dr. Fisher.
The balance eastwards, consisting of one arpent, eight rods and thirty feet, remained in the de Lorimier family until 1803, when it was sold to Alex. MacDougall ; in 1823 to Angus Cameron ; in 1828 to the Misses MacDougall ; in 1832 to James Campbell; and finally, in 1835, to Edward Preston Wilgress, sr., and has since remained in the family.
Upon that piece of land to the east, where building had been already commenced by de La Salle, MM. Le Ber and Le Moyne erected a house and storehouse in masonry, apparently as a trading post. Mr. Le Moyne's inventory made by Basset, Notary at Montreal, on the 27th March, 1685, and recently published in the Histoire de Longueuil, page 77, mentions this house. Nothing is said of the storehouse, which on its face
bears the stamp of the period. The side next to the river contains five loopholes, evidently a defensive measure against the Iroquois.
According" to the inventory of Mr. Le Moyne, as published in the Histoire de Longueuil, the house was thirty-seven feet by eighteen. Believing this to be a clerical error of the copyist or printer, I consulted the original at the Greffe(1) [Notary Record] in Montreal, and have taken the following description: "The concession of la Chine, on the said island of Montreal, upon which a house has been built, half of which belongs to the heirs of the said succession, the said house being of stone masonry and lime, mortar and sand, about thirty-seven feet in length by eighteen to twenty feet in width, boarded with shingles, and a chimney of like masonry, the whole estimated at the sum of two thousand livres, seeing that the land is worth next to nothing."
The house is thirty-seven feet by twenty-six, English measure, and is still existing with the storehouse. It has undergone certain modern changes in the roof, besides a chimney, windows, and a veranda, and has been the residence of the Wilgress family for more than fifty years.
It is all that remains of the numerous buildings made by MM. Le Moyne and Le Ber on the island. The Wilgress homestead is the oldest in Lachine, and probably on the whole island [Montreal]. Edward Preston Wilgress, sr., who recently died at a very ripe old age, used to say that his residence was the oldest in the parish, without however being able to give its age. It was built in 1671, at the time when the traders settled at Lachine, and when MM. Le Ber and Le Moyne began to give value to the land purchased from de La Salle.
Bénigne Basset’s Notary Record of Sale
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1669, La Salle sale to Le Ber & LeMoyne--Bénigne Basset P195
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FROM: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTION OF HISTORIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE "LE BER-LE MOYNE" IS CLASSIFIED AS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROPERTY:
https://www.deviantart.com/lapointe56/art/Site-historique-et-archeologique-Le-Ber-Le-Moyne-314000846
The historical and archaeological site "Le Ber-Le Moyne", ranked in 2001, is primarily a trading post and a dwelling place occupied in the seventeenth century. The designation includes a house originally built in the seventeenth century, around 1697, for Marguerite Chorel, a shed built between 1765 and 1781, and the field. The two stone buildings of rectangular stand on a floor covered with a pitched roof gable slightly projecting eaves rights. The land that forms a slight hill is planted with a few mature trees. Located on an elevated point of land bordering Lake St. Louis, at the head of the Lachine Rapids, this place is part of the municipal district of Lachine in Montreal. It is listed in the inventory of archaeological sites in Quebec.
The archaeological collection of historic and archaeological site "Le Ber-Le Moyne" is classified as an archaeological property.
The heritage value of historic and archaeological site "Le Ber-Le Moyne" is based on its historical and archaeological interest. This place reflects the fur trade in "Nouvelle-France". In 1669, the wealthy Montreal merchants Charles Le Moyne (1626-1685) and Jacques Le Ber (around 1633-1706) acquire a parcel of land of René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), lord of the "Côte Saint-Sulpice". These are merchants in this place a hub for the fur trade. Indeed, navigable roads west lead to the dangerous rapids of Lachine need to progress to bypass Montreal. Located on an elevated point of land just above the rapids, then the place is a strategic stop for convoys loaded with furs on their way to the annual fair in Montreal. Le Ber and Le Moyne are building between 1669 and 1671 a stone house for a trading post and warehouse merchandise to outfit the trappers. This lasts only commercial establishment some 16 years later and no longer serves as a warehouse for the exchange and transfer of goods. Archaeological research and the rich collection of objects out of the ground just document the lifestyles of those who attended the post. The presence of milking equipment, including glass beads, pins, pipes and parts of firearms, to understand the function of place and provides information on trading relationships with the Indians of the western regions named the "Pays d'En Haut".
The site's heritage value is based on the interests of its evolution. The site is one of the witnesses "Lachine Massacre" of 1689 during which he was sacked by the Iroquois. Abandoned for several years, it is converted into a farm by its new owner, Marguerite Chorel (born 1670) and her husband Guillaume de Lorimier des Bordes (1657-1709), who settled there in 1695. The site thus recalls the agricultural sector that has developed in the late seventeenth century. After 1765, the property passes to the various English-speaking families. Its location on Lake St. Louis attracts citizens of Montreal in search of holiday resorts. The house is well used as a second home in the nineteenth century, a position she retained until the mid-twentieth century. First post, then closes, then resort, the site discusses the various economic activities and lifestyles, including dictated by its location on Lake St. Louis, and on nearly 300 years.
The site's heritage value is based on the architectural interest of the house and the stone shed. Following extensive renovations, the buildings were reunited with their original architectural features. The house is representative of the French-style farmhouse. This is based upon the models and French expertise adapted to local conditions, such as climate and availability of materials. The house is an illustration of its main buildings of stone masonry, its pitched roof gable slightly projecting eaves rights, its chimney stacks arranged in the extension of the gable walls and openings distributed asymmetrically. Probably built in the late seventeenth century, the house is one of the rare examples of residential architecture from this period. The hangar, built between 1765 and 1781, is built to the same expertise. This dependence, possibly for storage of farm equipment on the ground floor and cereals in the attic, is among the last of its kind to survive today in the Montreal area.
JACQUES LE BER & CHARLES LE MOYNE — LACHINE TRADING POST PARTNERS — WERE BROTHER-IN-LAWS
Fur Trade Ancestors of Marie Elisabeth Bourassa (1695–1766) our 6th great-grandmother
• Daughter of VOYAGEUR Francois Bourassa (1659–1708) (our 7th great-grandfather) AND Marie Le Ber (1666–1756) (our 7th great-grandmother)
• Granddaughter of VOYAGEUR Francois Leber (Lebert) (1626–1694) AND Jeanne Testard (1642–1723) Niece of Jean Godefroy sieur de Linctot (1607–1678) AND Thomas Godefroy de Normanville (1610–1652) INTERPRETERS FOR SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN.
• Sister of VOYAGEURS Rene Bourassa dit LaRonde (1688–1778), Francois Joachim Bourassa (1698–1775) and Antoine Bourassa (1705–1786), who with their father are known as THE FATHERS OF THE FUR TRADE.
• Niece of Jacques Leber (Lebert) dit Larose (1633-1706) our 9th great-uncle (LACHINE TRADING POST PARTNER) AND Jeanne Le Moyne (1635-1682) wife of 9th great-uncle, who is the sister of Niece of Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil et de Chateauguay (1626-1685) brother-in-law of 9th great-uncle (LACHINE TRADING POST PARTNER).
• Grand-niece of Marie Leber (1620–1714) our 9th great-aunt, who was an URSULINE NUN in Québec.
• Spouse of Jacques Pinsonneau dit Lafleur (1682–1773) our 6th great-grandfather who is the son of François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur (1646–1731) of the CARIGNAN-SALIÈRES REGIMENT AND Anne Leper (LeBer)(1647–1732) a FILLES DU ROI
• Mother of VOYAGEUR Joseph Pinsonneau (Pinsono)(1733–1784) our 5th great-grandfather
• Grandmother of VOYAGEUR Gabriel Pinsonneau (Pinsono)(1770–1807) our 4th great-grandfather
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