Pierre was born on 2 March 1772 in Ste-Geneviève (now Pierrefonds), near Montreal. He was the sixth child and youngest son of François Janvry dit Belair, a French-born soldier, by his wife Marie-Elisabeth Martel.
On 12 August 1793, Pierre married Marguerite Campeau. They had 14 children before Marguerite died, age 44, on 10 September 1817.
Within a few months, Pierre sought a wife for himself and a mother for his five surviving children. He fixed his choice on 22-year-old Scholastique St-Michel. Daughter of Joseph St-Michel, a miller, and Elisabeth Marleau (Merlot), Scholastique was born on 4 May 1796 in Vaudreuil, east of Montreal.
On 5 September 1818, Pierre and Scholastique entered into a marriage contract at the office of notary Joseph Payment. Two days later, on 7 September 1818, the couple married in the parish church at Ste-Geneviève. [1]
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| Janvry – St-Michel marriage record, verso (FamilySearch) |
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| Janvry – St-Michel marriage record, recto (FamilySearch) |
My transcription of Pierre and Scholastique’s marriage record (original lineation indicated by / ):
Lan mil huit cent dix huit le sept septembre après la publica- / tion de trois bans de mariage faite au prône de Messe paroissiale par / trois Dimanches consécutifs entre pière Jeanvri veuf de Marguerite / Campau d’une part et de Scholastique St Michel majeure fille de / Joseph St Michel et d’Elisabeth Merlot ses père et mère d’ / autre part, tous habitants de cette Paroisse, ne s’étant trouvé / aucun empêchement entre les dites parties, je soussigné curé / Missionnaire ai reçu leur mutuel consentement par paroles et / leur ai donné la bénédiction Nuptiale avec les cérémonies / prescrites par la Ste Eglise notre mère, en présence et du / consentement de François Lalonde qui sert de père au garcon [,] de / Lois cardinal témoin, de Joseph St Michel père de la fille, de François / Lebrun témoin et de plusieurs autres parens et amis qui tous ont déclaré / ne savoir signer de [ce?] enquis lecture faite suivant L’ordonnance. [signed] Dumouchel ptre
My English translation (original lineation indicated by / ):
Year one thousand eight hundred and eighteen the seventh september after the publica- / tion of three banns of marriage read at the sermons of our parish Mass on / three consecutive Sundays between pière Jeanvri widower of Marguerite / Campau on the one part and of Scholastique St Michel of age daughter of / Joseph St Michel and of Elisabeth Merlot her father and mother / on the other part, all residents of this Parish, not having found / any impediment between the said parties, I undersigned parish priest / Missionary have received their mutual consent by spoken words and / have given the Nuptial blessing with the prescribed ceremonies / by the Holy Church our mother, in the presence and of / the consent of François Lalonde acting as father to the boy [,] and / Lois cardinal witness, of Joseph St Michel father of the girl, of François / Lebrun witness and of several other relatives and friends all of whom have declared / not knowing how to sign [their names] and as inquired reading done according to the law. [signed] Dumouchel [priest]
A couple of things stood out in the text. One, Pierre and Scholastique are referred to as garçon [boy] and fille [girl], even though he was 46 years old and she was 22. Two, Pierre's brothers-in-law were present: François Lalonde served as proxy father to Pierre (François père died the previous year) and François Lebrun was a witness.
Pierre and Scholastique were married for thirty years. He died in 1848, while Scholastique remarried in 1851, and died in 1864.
Source:
1. Sainte-Geneviève (Sainte-Geneviève [Pierrefonds], Quebec), parish register, 1812-1838, p. 127 verso, no entry no. (1818), Pierre Janvry – Scholastique St Michel marriage, 7 September 1818; Sainte-Geneviève parish; digital images, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 4 September 2018).
Copyright © 2018, Yvonne Demoskoff.
