Pierre Desportes1

M, b. 1600
     He was probably the son of Pierre Desportes, son of Louis DesPortes, attorney at the Parliament of Paris, and of Anne duPoteau & Genevieve duPuy, daughter of Jean-Baptiste duPuy and of Genevieve LeCuyer, whose marriage contract was dated 13 June 1599 in Paris. The elder Pierre was a member of the Company of 100 Associates who funded Samuel Champlain's expedition and settlement of "New France".2,3 Pierre married Francoise Langlois, daughter of Guillaume Langlois and Jeanne Millet, circa 1614. It is not known if Pierre and his wife, Francoise immigrated together. Pierre may have come earlier with his future brother-in-law Abraham Martin, husband of Francoise's sister, Marguerite, possibly as early as 1614. By 1620, both Pierre and Francoise were residing in Quebec. They had come at the request of Samuel Champlain in his effort to establish a permanent settlement at Habitation de Quebec.4,5 He was in charge of managing the warehouse for the fur trade. He was also the village baker, meaning he was in charge of the public ovens. He was educated and was literate as proven by a document he composed. On the 20th of July 1629, under the direction of King Charles of England, the Kirk brothers forced the surrender of the small colony, The Deportes family, Champlian and many of the other early settlers were forcefully removed from Quebec and given passage back to France by way of England. It is believed that Pierre died either on the trip back to France or shortly thereafter. It should be noted that on 13 February 1633, Pierre Desportes & Jean Belleteste, Associates of the 100, formed a new company to establish a monopoly on the fur trade at Fort Ste-Anne on Cape Breton. This Pierre appears to be the probable father of Pierre, the immigrant.6

Family

Francoise Langlois b. c 1601, d. 20 Apr 1632
Child

Citations

  1. [S1577] Ethel M. G. Bennett, Helene Desportes, Volume 1 - Pierre Desportes probably came to Quebec in 1614 with Abraham Martin: their wives were sisters. Desportes’ occupation is not known, but he must have had some standing in the community and sufficient education to be able to write, for he signed on behalf of the inhabitants the document of 1621 appealing to the king. No other facts are known about him. (He is not to be confused with Pierre Desportes de Liguère, to whom the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France ceded Île Royale (Cape Breton) in 1636.) Neither of Hélène’s parents witnessed her marriage contract, drawn up in Quebec in October 1634.
  2. [S1961] Reginald L Olivier, Your Canadian Family Ties, page 95.
  3. [S506] Note: Ann Dupoy born circa 1560 born: Lisieux, Calvados, Normandie, France; died: 1599, Lisieux; daughter of Thomas Lemieux & Marguerite Collineau of Montaguerre; married: Louis Desportes. [Note - This is from a Geni site, needs to be researched - KLM]
  4. [S1569] Marcel Trudel, Catalolgue Des Immgrants 1632-1662, Cahiers du Quebec Collection Historie, page 23.
  5. [S1960] Helene Desportes.
  6. [S1962] Marcel Trudel, The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663, Pages 195-196, 203.