Pierre-Philippe Potier (also Pottié, Pottié, or Pothier; April 21, 1708 in Blandain, Hainaut, Belgium – July 16, 1781 in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

Canada), was a Belgian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, missionary to the

Hurons The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario w ...

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 ...

, and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

Life

Potier studied at the colleges of Tournai from 1721 to 1727, and

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

from 1727 to 1729). He then entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits) in Tournai on September 30, 1729. After a year of study of Letters in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, he taught for six years (1732–1738) at the college of

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

. Then he studied theology in Douai in 1741 in preparation for the priesthood. He completed his third year at

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

and was ordained at Tournai on February 2, 1743. Shortly thereafter, Potier embarked at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

for

on June 18, 1743, where he arrived on October 1 in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

. To learn the

Huron language Wyandot (sometimes spelled Wandat) is the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the people known variously as Wyandot people, Wyandot or Wyandotte, descended from the Tionontati. It is considered a sister to the Wendat language, spoken by de ...

, he first spent eight months in the mission in

Lorette, Manitoba Lorette is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Taché, located 25 km southeast of Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The French-speaking Métis traders and farmers who first settled the area named it Petite Pointe ...

, located in the Canadian prairies next to the

Seine River ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

. In 1744 he was sent to the Jesuit mission on Bois Blanc Island in what is now

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

where he met Armand de La Richardie. When de La Richardie became temporarily paralyzed, Potier took over the management of the mission. After the Bois Blanc Island mission is set on fire by a group led by Chief Orontony, the mission center was moved. After the signing of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

in 1763, Potier continued his mission to French Canadians for whom he founded the parish of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in 1767, the first French parish in Ontario. Potier was thus the first parish priest in Ontario.

Lexicographer

Potier left numerous valuable manuscripts on the Huron language, grammar, a list of linguistic roots, a census of 45 Huron households, account registers of the Huron mission, etc. He composed a Huron-French vocabulary list. He is equally interested in the French language, and left many notebooks for his students on philosophy, theology, history, geography, and copies of his correspondence and itineraries of missionary trips, including a collection of French words and expressions in use at that time. A large part of these documents are in the archives of the Grand Séminaire de Québec. All this testifies to the great culture and knowledge of Potier, his interest in knowledge, and an excellent mastery of the French, Latin and Huron languages. His writings also demonstrate that, by the end of the 18th century, the French language was already well established in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

area. He recorded more than a thousand terms in '' Façons de parler proverbiales, triviales, figurées, etc. des Canadiens au xviiie siècle'', the only known lexicon of French spoken in New France.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potier, Pierre-Philippe People from Tournai 1708 births 1781 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries 18th-century French Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in New France Lexicographers