Anne Le Moyne & Michel Messier dit St-Michel

Anne Le Moyne: Background and Arrival

Anne Le Moyne (also spelled Lemoine) was the daughter of Pierre Le Moyne and Judith Duchesne. She was baptized on July 26, 1638, in Dieppe (St-Jacques), in Normandy, France [^1], [^2].

Anne joined her renowned brother, Charles Le Moyne, in New France in 1657, arriving with her brother Jacques and sister Jeanne [^3]. The first record of her presence in the colony is her role as godmother at a baptism in Montreal on January 21, 1658 [^4].

Michel Messier dit St-Michel: Background and Arrival

Michel Messier was born around 1642 in Vascoeuil (St-Martial), Normandy, son of David Le Messier and Marguerite Bar (or Barc). He would later become a lieutenant of the militia, a lord (sieur), and a trader, adopting the designation dit et sieur de St-Michel [^8], [^15], [^16].

Michel's presence in the colony is first recorded on August 12, 1651, as the godfather of an Amerindian boy in Montreal. He is believed to have arrived with his uncle and aunt, Antoine Primot and Martine Messier, and his cousin Catherine Thierry dite Primot [^17], [^18], [^19].

Marriage and Family

Anne Le Moyne and Michel Messier signed a marriage contract on February 18, 1658, before the notary Bénigne Basset in Montreal [^5], [^6].

The marriage was solemnized on February 25, 1658, at Notre-Dame de Montréal [^7]. Notable witnesses included:

• Sir Paul de Chaumedey, Lord of Maisonneuve, Governor of the Island of Montreal.
• Jeanne Mance, administrator of the hospital.
• Charles Le Moyne, Anne's brother, who was a future seigneur.

Both Anne Le Moyne and Jacques Messier (Michel's uncle) declared that they did not know how to write or sign the marriage record [^7].

Children of the Marriage (Notre-Dame de Montréal = Mtl)

Michel and Anne had at least 12 children:

1. Catherine Messier (b. 1659); married Étienne Gentes (1678).
2. Jeanne Messier (b. 1661); married Ignace Hébert dit Deslauriers (1679). (The baptism record notes Michel had been "taken by the Iroquois on March 24 last, and it is not known if he is dead or alive" [^9]).
3. Marie Anne Messier (b. 1665); married Jean Brodeur dit Lavigne (1679).
4. Anne Messier (b. 1667); died young (1668).
5. Anne Messier (b. 1668); died young (1669).
6. Anne Messier (b. 1670); married Gabriel Lambert Selle dit Duclos (1687).
7. Gabrielle Messier (b. 1672); died young (1682).
8. Jean Michel Messier (b. 1674); engaged west in the fur trade in 1702 [^8].
9. Marguerite Messier (b. 1676); married Pierre Lesueur (1690).
10. Anonymous St-Michel (b./d. 1678).
11. François Michel Messier (b. c. 1679); married three times.
12. René Messier (b. 1681); married Catherine Bissonet (1706).

Census Records

Later Life and Death

In later life, Michel Messier granted his wife Anne a power of attorney on May 2, 1692 [^5].

Anne Le Moyne died on July 15, 1725, and was buried the following day in the church of Sainte-Anne de Varennes, with the record stating she was 90 years old [^12].

Sir Michel Messier was buried in the cemetery of Varennes on November 3, 1725, having died the day before [^20], [^21].

Credits and Licensing

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.

All materials licensed: CC BY-ND 4.0 by eirenicon llc.

Sources

[^1]: Bapt. image File [^2]: Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730, René Jetté, with the collaboration of the PRDH, 1983, Presses de l’Université de Montréal, pg 710 (Lemoine or Lemoyne) (membership IGD). [^3]: Ships of New France, other immigrants 1657. [^4]: Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1997 – Drouin IGD. [^5]: BAnQ Notarial acts index Inventaire des greffes des notaires du régime français, by Pierre Georges Roy and Antoine Roy; 27 Vol + index 1-8 Contract of marriage of Michel Messier and Anne Lemoyne (February 18, 1658). Vol I pg 162. [^6]: BAnQ: acts of Bénigne Basset Oct 1657-April 1661 (702 files) pg 87-88/702 original contract. [^7]: Marriage image IGD image on profile-sur profil. [^8]: Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730, René Jetté, with the collaboration of the PRDH, 1983, Presses de l’Université de Montréal, pg 802 (Messier) (membership IGD). [^9]: Bapt. Jeanne 1661 image IGD. [^10]: Wikisource: Recensements 1666-1667 Censuses according to Benjamin Sulte Histoire des Canadiens-français, Tome 4, chap. 4. [^11]: Wikisource Recensement 1681 Census selon Benjamin Sulte Histoire des Canadiens-français, Tome 5, chap. 4. [^12]: Sépulture-Funeral image IGD. [^13]: DGFQ, p. 710 (Jetté); OFC, p. 66-67 (Godbout). [^14]: File Anne Lemoyne 2020 Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie//Québec Federation of Genealogical Societies. [^15]: BAnQ: Tanguay, Cyprien, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes depuis la fondation de la colonie jusqu’à nos jours ; Montréal, 1887 (7 volumes) Vol 1 pg 427. [^16]: Fichier Michel Le Messier 2015 Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie//Québec Federation of Genealogical Societies. [^17]: Bapt. Michel Sachitih8ichitch IGD. [^18]: Brodeur, 1981, p. 37. [^19]: Brodeur, 1981, p. 41. [^20]: DGFQ, p. 802 (Jetté); DBC, vol. 2, p. 489-490 (Biographi.ca). [^21]: Claude Perrault, « MESSIER, Saint-Michel, MICHEL », dans Dictionnaire biographique du Canada, vol. 2, Université Laval/University of Toronto, 2003– , consulté le 17 févr. 2021.