Sieur Clément Lériger de Laplante & His Wife Marie Roy

Clément Lériger de Laplante (circa 1662 – 1742)

Biographical Details

• Birth: circa 1662, Saint-Claud, Angoumois (Charente), France[1]
• Death: December 5, 1742 (age ~80), Laprairie, New France[2]
• Burial: December 7, 1742, Notre-Dame-de-La-Prairie-de-la-Madeleine, New France[2]
• Parents: Paul Lériget and Mauricette du Souchet[1]
• Alternate name spellings: Lériger, Lérigé, Lériget

Military Service

Clément Lériger, Sieur de La Plante came to New France in 1685 as an officer of the Troupes de la Marine, a section of the King’s Navy.[3] He served in the Troupes for more than fifty years, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant.

The Lachine Massacre and Captivity

On the nights of August 4-5, 1689, fifteen hundred Iroquois landed at Lachine, resulting in a massacre where two hundred people died and one hundred and twenty others were taken captive.[4]

• Capture: As Lieutenant La Rabeyre, La Plante, and Villedonne were marching to join Monsieur de Vaudreuil, they were surprised by the Iroquois and taken prisoner.[4]
• Servitude: La Plante and Villedonne were spared from torture and execution. They became enslaved servants and porters for the Iroquois in their combat expeditions.[4]
• Adaptation: Clément's servitude lasted more than two years, during which he adapted to the new life and familiarized himself with the Indigenous languages.
• Rescue and Promotion: A French party commanded by Monsieur de Beaucourt freed him in an attack on the Iroquois near the island of Tonihata in February 1692.[4] Charlevoix, reporting the incident, noted that because La Plante was wearing Indian clothes, he was initially not recognized and was nearly killed as an Iroquois.[4] The same year, Frontenac made him an infantry ensign, a nomination confirmed by Louis XIV on March 1, 1693.[4]
• Context: The Lachine Massacre was a retaliatory response after the French had previously burned Iroquois villages and destroyed their winter food supplies.[5]

Marriage to Marie Roy

Clément married Marie Roy on September 8, 1700, at the chapel of Sainte-Vierge in Saint-Lambert, Quebec.[7]

• Social Defiance: Clément, an officer, married Marie, the daughter of a farmer, Pierre Roy. By the custom and command of the King, an officer was expected to marry a woman of high social standing who could provide a dowry. Marie stood on the other side of this class line, and her family could not produce the expected dowry.[6]
• The Scandal: The true scandal was not the marriage beneath his social status, but that he married without the permission of his superior officer. Soldiers of any rank were required to obtain permission before marrying.[6]
• The Ceremony: The ceremony was performed by Father Louis de LaFaye, curé of the parish of St-François-Xavier et La Prairie de la Magdelaine, who had received a written dispensation from Monsieur Dolier, vicar of the diocese, exempting the couple from the publication of banns.[7]
• The King's Reaction: The marriage was initially frowned upon by the King, who demoted Clément, but later reversed his position.[3]

Original French Marriage Record:

L’an de notre Seigneur mil sept cent le huit septembre. Je soussigné, Louis de LaFaye, curé de la paroisse de St-François-Xavier et La Prairie de la Magdelaine, certifie avoir donné la bénédiction de mariage après avoir eu de monsieur Dolier vicaire du diocèse, une dispense écrite de tous les bans à Clément Leriger officier d’un détachement de la marine, dit autrement Laplante et à Marie Roy dans la chapelle de la ste église de la Sainte-Vierge de St-Lambert en présence de Pierre Roy, habitant de St-Lambert, André Babeu, Claude Chartier, qui ont déclaré ne savoir signer; ledit Cément Lérigé a signé une copie en foy de quoy jay signé ce jourd’huy du neufième de septembre de la présente année mil sept cent. (Signature du pêtre)……Louis de LaFaye[8]

Marie Roy (1681 – 1757)

Biographical Details

• Birth: 1681, La Prairie, Canada, Nouvelle-France[9]
• Baptism: May 25, 1681, Notre-Dame-de-La-Prairie-de-la-Madeleine, New France[9]
• Death: December 31, 1757 (age ~76), La Prairie, New France[10]
• Burial: January 2, 1758, Notre-Dame-de-La-Prairie-de-la-Madeleine, New France[10]
• Parents: Pierre Roy and Catherine Ducharme[9]
• Alternate name: Baptized as Marguerite Leroy but known as Marie Roy.[11]
• Baptismal Record: Her godfather was Pierre Ducharny and her godmother was Marguerite Beauvais.[9]

Children of Clément and Marie

Clément and Marie settled in Laprairie, Quebec, and had 13 children:[12]

1. Louis LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1701-1762)
2. Marie Catherine LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1702-1770)
3. Pierre LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1704-?)
4. Gilbert LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (?-1736)
5. Clément LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1708-1708)
6. René Clément LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1709-1709)
7. Marie Charlotte LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1711-1782)
8. François Michel LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1713-1713)
9. Paul LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1714-1763)
10. Jean Baptiste LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1717-1752)
11. Antoine LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1719-1720)
12. René LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1721-?)
13. Joseph LÉRIGER de LAPLANTE (1723-?)

Evolution of the Family Name

Clément’s original name from France was Lériget. His last name has evolved through his descendants into a variety of spellings (Lériger, Lérigé) and eventually became Laplante or simply Plante.[3]

Sources

1. [1] PRDH: Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique: Individu: 49395 Clément Lériger de LaPlante.
2. [2] Quebec/Fonds Drouin/L/La Prairie/La Prairie (Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine)/1740/1742 – Burial of Clément Lériger de LaPlante (drouininstitute).
3. [3], [11] Family history records as preserved in paste.txt document. Biographical information from paste.txt document.
4. [4] Clément Lériger de LaPlante (semperaltius).
5. [5] Noted by Barbeau-601 in the original documents.
6. [6] Petelle, “A Rule Breaker” (petellemotors).
7. [7] Quebec/Fonds Drouin/L/La Prairie/La Prairie (Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine)/1700/1700 – Marriage of Clément Lériger Sieur de LaPlante to Marie Roy (drouininstitute).
8. [8] Secret marriage documentation (petellechicago).
9. [9] Quebec/Fonds Drouin/L/La Prairie/La Prairie (Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine)/1680/1682 – Baptism of Marguerite Leroy (drouininstitute).
10. [10] Quebec/Fonds Drouin/L/La Prairie/La Prairie (Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine)/1750/1758 – Burial of Marie Roy Laplante (drouininstitute).
11. [12] PRDH: Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique: Descendance: 49395 Descent of Clément Lériger de LaPlante.
12. (Additional Ref) Sieur de LaPlante (petelle)
13. (Additional Ref) Clement Leriger Sieur de LaPlante 151070 (nosorigines)
14. (Additional Ref) Lerigé/Lériget/Laplante Clément 242526 (fichierorigine)
15. (Additional Ref) PRDH: Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique: Descendance: 49396 Descent of Marie Roy

Credits and Licensing

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.

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