Among the late arrivals two others had been at least adjoined
to the military staff. One of these was Picoté de Bélestre, a doctor
as well as a fighting man, and he proved of valuable assistance to the
settlement. Dollier de Casson says of him that "he adorned this place,
as well in war as in peace, on account of the advantageous qualities
he possessed for one and the other." He is spoken of sometimes as a
"commandant," sometimes as an officer of the garrison.
The other is Adam Dollard, Sieur des Ormeaux, a young man of
twenty-five years of age. There is little known of his antecedents.
The actual date of his arrival is not certain but, according to the
latest researches made by Mr. E. Z. Massicotte, city archivist of
Montreal (April, 1912), the first document, in which his name appears
as witnessing a land transfer, is dated September 10, 1658.
As he figures frequently in acts after this, it is not likely that he
came much before that date, for he was not present on December 29,
1657, at the marriage of Jeanne Le Moyne with Jacques Leber, a young
man of his own age, nor at that of Michel Messier and of Anne Le Moyne,
February 18, 1658; while after the above date, on September 15, 1658,
he was present at that of Jacques Mousseaux and of Marguerite Soviot,
and on October 3, 1658, he was godfather to Elizabeth Moyen, daughter
of Lambert Closse and Elizabeth Moyen, married the year previously, and
thenceforward he appeared frequently at public ceremonies.
In this act, Dollard is styled "_volontaire_," a volunteer, which may
signify that he was only as yet attached to the garrison or that he had
taken service freely and not on wages. The Notary Basset gives him,
sometimes, the title of "commandant"; at others that of "officer of the
garrison."
Mr. Massicotte proves, from the inventory of Dollard's effects after
his death, that he had intended to settle, having formed a building
society, explained before as then customary, with Picoté de Bélestre,
to break land and to cultivate it in view of a future homestead. We
have the record of de Bélestre's concession and of a debt to be paid
to the succession of "the late Adam Dollard" the sum of 79 _livres_, 10
_sols_, for fifty-three days' work, by men employed by the deceased to
work on the same concession.
It is therefore probable that Dullard was contemplating his own
homestead and that, in his turn, de Bélestre would assist, according to
the contracts before noticed.
Dollard was by no means wealthy; indeed the number of his personal
effects at his death was less than those shown in the inventories
of the greater part of the settlers dying before him, even of the
bachelors. The sum total of these possessions has been estimated at
eighty-five _livres_, or 1,700 _sous_! But we must remember that a
_sou_ would at that time buy five to ten times more than now.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account