Louis Prud'homme (1611–1671) is remembered both as the first militia captain of Montreal and the founder of the first commercial brewery in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
in 1650.
Establishment in Ville-Marie
Prud'homme was one of the original settlers in
Fort Ville-Marie
Fort Ville-Marie was a French fortress and settlement established in May 1642 by a company of French settlers, led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, on the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Ottawa River, ...
(now Montreal), arriving in 1641 in the mission led by
Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 9 September 1676) was a French military officer and the founder of Fort Ville-Marie (modern day Montreal) in New France (Province of Quebec, Canada).
Early life
Maisonneuve was born in ...
, receiving thirty acres of land outside the fort in October 1650. In November 1650 Prud’homme married Roberte Gadoys (1621–1716), daughter of
Pierre Gadoys, recognized as the first farmer of Montreal. Also in 1650 Prud'homme established the first commercial brewery in New France, located outside the fortification of
Fort Ville-Marie
Fort Ville-Marie was a French fortress and settlement established in May 1642 by a company of French settlers, led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, on the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Ottawa River, ...
. The brewery survived, in a wood building, survived multiple attempts by the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
to burn it down. Prud'homme received further grants of land in 1654, 1662, and 1666.
Involvement in Civic Affairs
Prud'homme's original land grant adjoined that of Michel Chauvin, just outside the fort. Earlier in 1650, Prud'homme discovered on a trip to France that Chauvin was a
bigamist
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, having married Louise Delisle on 10 August 1637 in
Ste-Suzanne, Mayenne, France and subsequently Anne Archambault, daughter of
Jacques Archambault
Jacques Archambault (c. 1604 – February 15, 1688) was a French colonist in Montreal. He was born in Dompierre-sur-Mer, where he was baptized.
Archambault married (around 1629) Françoise Tourault, with whom he had many children. All Archambau ...
, on 27 July 1647 in Paroisse Notre Dame,
Québec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, a celebration Prud'homme had attended. Prud'homme informed Governor
Chomedy of this fact, which led to Chauvin's banishment from Ville-Marie and the annulment of his marriage to Anne Archambault.
In 1657, priests from the
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...
- known as "the Sulpicians", took over in Ville-Marie from the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. Prud’homme was elected as one of the first three churchwardens of the parish of Notre-Dame. In 1663, he is recorded as a corporal of a section in the newly constituted militia of the Holy Family. In 1664 he and four other colonists were elected as police magistrates, but the authorities of New France refused to confirm the results of the election as they viewed the police court as too democratic.
Family
Prud'homme had seven children;
* Francois-Xavier Prud'homme (1652–1741);
* Paul Prud'homme (1654–1681);
* Marguerite Prud'homme (1656–1725);
* Pierre Prud'homme (1658–1703);
* Catherine Prud'homme (1661–1736);
* Elisabeth Prud'homme (1663–1744);
* Jeanne Prud'homme (1667–?);.
1666 census of New France
/ref>
See also
* History of Montreal
The history of the area around what is now known as Montreal, Montreal itself was established in 1642, located in what is now known as the province of Quebec, Canada, spans about 8,000 years. At the time of European contact, the area was inhabi ...
* Beer in Canada
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until pro ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prudhomme, Louis
1611 births
1671 deaths
Colonists of Fort Ville-Marie
People from Seine-et-Marne
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)