Pierre Blais
- Born: 29 Nov 1639, Chef-Boutonne, Niort, Poitu, France 2 3
- Marriage (1): Anne Perrault on 12 Oct 1669 in Ste-Famille, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada 1 2
- Marriage (2): Élisabeth Royer on 5 Jun 1689 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada 1
- Died: 16 Feb 1700, St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada at age 60 2 3
- Buried: 18 Feb 1700, St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada 2 3
 General Notes:
IMMIGRATION: Arrived in Quebec 25 May 1664 aboard the ship Noir.
OCCUPATION: Laborer
Our ancestor Pierre Blais, Ancestor to the Blais family of America
Our ancestor, Pierre Blais, was the son of Mathurin Blais and Francoise Penigault who were from the village of Hanc, Bishopric of Angouleme, France. Pierre arrived in Quebec on May 24, 1664 aboard the ship Le Noir of Holland. When embarking, he stated he was from "Cheboutonne." He spent his first years in Québec as an "engage" on the Island of Orléans, which is near the city of Québec. On Monday, September 23, 1669, in the presence of notary officer Pierre Duquet, Pierre entered into a marriage contract with Anne Perreault. Anne was a "King's Daughter" who came from the parish of Sainte Sulpice in Paris, France. Her parents were Jean Perreault and Jeanne Valta. The religious marriage ceremony took place on October 12, 1669 at the church of Sainte Famille on the Island of Orleans. As of the census of 1681, Pierre owned four horned animals and 15 "arpents" of cultivated land. He lived at the parish of Saint Jean on the Island of Orléans.
Nine children had been born to Pierre and Anne when Anne died giving birth to her tenth child. Pierre was named the guardian of his minor children and decided to remarry. His second marriage was to Elisabeth Royer who was from Sainte Famille. Elisabeth was the daughter of Jean Royer and Marie Targer. The marriage of Pierre and Elisabeth took place on Wednesday, June 1, 1689. Five children were born from that marriage.
Pierre died suddenly at Saint Jean on February 16, 1700 and was buried the next day. On November 16, 1700, his widow, Elisabeth, was married at Saint Jean to Robert Pepin. Elisabeth was buried in Montreal on June 22,1715.
Source: Le Centre de généalogie francophone d'Amérique, http://www.genealogie.org/famille/blais/ancestor.htm
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PIERRE BLAIS from "Our Canadian Ancestors by Thomas J. Laforest" Chapter 5
In France, the family name Blais has many variations: Ble, Blay, Bled, Belet, and Blet. Blais is the most popular form of the original Blaise, a physician who lived as Sebastia in Armenia, became a Bishop and was martyred in the year 316. The wool-carding guild chose him as patron saint because his executioners cut him to ribbons with iron combs before beheading him. It is Saint Blaise whose protection is still invoked against sore throats.
But let us discuss Our Ancestor Pierre Blais, colonist on the Ile d'Orléans in the Saint Lawrence River.
DEPARTURE
Pierre Blais probably left France from the port of La Rochelle in the Province of Aunis in 1664; destination Canada. The Dutch ship NOIR, under the command of Captain Pierre Filly of Dieppe, had a least fifty men aboard. The twenty-four-year-old Pierre is mentioned on the crew manifest as coming from Chef-Boutonne, capital of the Canton of Deux-Sèvres'.
Pierre was the son of Mathurin Blais and Francoise Penigault. Mathurin had a wife previous to Pierre's mother. She was Marie Auchier whom he married on 9 Nov 1630, at Melleran, which today is found in the Department of Deux-Sèvres'. In his second marriage, on 30 April 1634, Mathurin conquered the heart of Françoise Penigaut.
Our ancestor Pierre Blais was raised in the parish of Hanc, in the Arrondissement of Niort, nearby Melleran, also in the Diocese ofAngoulême. The records of this town do not go back beyond 1684, therfore it is not possible to find his baptismal certificate.
In the census of 1667 in New France, Pierre Blais is mentioned for the first time as living on the Île d'Orléans and having been born about 1640, occupation laborer. Among his bachelor friends living on the island we might note Jacques Tardiff, Martin Poisson, and François Marceau.
HIS FARM
On 22 June 1667, before notary Paul Vachon, Pierre Blais received a concession of land within the limits of the future parish of Saint-Jean. His neighbors were Antoine Poisson and Hyppolyte Thivierge. In1681 the census taker notes that Pierre owned four head of cattle and fifteen arpents of cleared land. It was on this farm that he would live for the remainder of his life, thirty-three more years.
HIS FAMILY
Pierre Blais married Anne Perrot (Perrault) on 12 Oct 1669, at the church of Ste- Famille on the island. Anne originally from Saint-Sulpice in Paris, was the daughter of Jean and Jeanne Valta. She was a King's Daughter and brought a dowry into the family estimated at 300 livres.
From this first union, ten children were born: eight boys and two girls, of whom four died at an early age. Anne, the mother, died in childbirth on 29 June 1688 and was buried the next day in the cemetery at St. Jeans, at about 45 years of age.
Pierre remainded a widower with two young infants: especially poignant was the little Marguerite, born 29, June on her mothers death bed. Pierre sought to reorganize his life, so on 18 April 1689 before Notary Paul Vachon, he nominated a guardian for his children and had an inventory made of his possessions.On the following 5th of June, he married Elizabeth Royer at St. Jeans; she was the daughter of Jean and Marie Targer. From this union five children were born.
Many Canadian descendents of our ancestor Pierre Blais, became Blaise,which family had two branches: Des Bergeres de Rigauville and Sansquartier.
Family name variation:
Blad, Blaie, Blair, Blaise, Blaize, Blaye, Blaze, Belet, Ble, Bled,Blet,Blin, Jambrah, Laferrandiere, Debergeres, Des Bergeres, DeLaFradaudiere, Sansquartier, and St-Martin.
Pierre married Anne Perrault, daughter of Jean Perrault and Jeanne Valta, on 12 Oct 1669 in Ste-Famille, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada.1 2 (Anne Perrault was born in 1643 in St-Sulpice, Paris, Île-de-France, France,2 died on 29 Jun 1688 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada 2 and was buried on 30 Jun 1688 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada 4.)
Marriage Notes:
Pierre and Anne had 69 descendants as of 31 Dec 1729. 5
Pierre next married Élisabeth Royer on 5 Jun 1689 in St-Jean, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada.1 (Élisabeth Royer was born on 14 Sep 1669 in Ste-Famille, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada, baptized on 14 Sep 1669 in Ste-Famille, Île d'Orléans, Québec, Canada, died on 22 Jun 1715 in Montréal, Québec, Canada and was buried on 22 Jun 1715 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.)
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