Louis Pinard was my 7 times Great Grandfather - he was born in France in 1634. The following is an account of his life - found on Ancestry.com
Louis Pinard made his first trip to Canada around 1648 as a "donne" of the Jesuits. At that time it was customary
for the Jesuits to be accompanied by young men on their trips to the
interior to meet with the native people. In return for the service of
these boys, the Fathers saw to their education.
Louis
Pinard returned to France in 1650 to complete his studies. Through this
first experience in Canadian territory Louis should be numbered among
the founders of the mission Ste-Marie on the banks of Georgian Bay, whatis now, Midland Ontario.
He must have known Fathers Jean de Breboeuf and Gabriel Lalemant, who were martyred there in the spring of 1649.The
constant Iroguois raids forced the French to abandon this Huron
mission, whose ruins lay forgotten for three centuries. Recently this
historic site has been restored and is today a National Park.
Louis
Pinard's patrons, having most likely discovered in him a natural talent
for medicine and surgery, had him return to France at the age of 16 or
17 in order to learn the art of Hippocrates.
Returning to Canada
about 1656, young Dr. Pinard exhibited all the competence of a master
surgeon. His future bride, Marie-Madeleine Hertel was not quite 12 years
old when the marriage contract was written up. It is probably why Louis
had to wait 2 years later to be married.
By virtue of his being
the surgeon of the garrison, Pinard was already in a position to provide
a comfortable living for his wife and children. In addition, he always
looked out for himself even if he had to bleed some clients white to do
so. Pinard was a grasping man who did not hesitate to appeal to justice
when his interests were at stake. The civil and criminal court records
from 1660 to 1665 eloquently demonstrate this.
His name is mentioned 32 times in the Court Records of Trois-Rivieres,
1655-1662. On two occasions in 1663, Pinard sued his colleague, Dr. Michel Gemelain whose rivalry he dreaded. In spite of the cease and desist injunction from the Sovereign Council in 1663, he did not end his accusations. "Realizing
that the struggle with Louis Pinard would be endless, Gamelain, perhaps
on the advice of his mother-in-law, Madame Crevier, put his knowledge
of medicine to the service of an industry much morepractical and flourishing -- the distillation of brandy."
Pinard
excelled in collecting debts. Several records show his relentlessness
involving collecting money from the church, militaryand even nobility.
Even though he may have been tough in his business dealings, the people
of Trois-Rivieres had confidence in him.
They elected him to the
posts of town mayor and church warden. After 1670, Pinard became
interested in the fur trade. In 1685 he took part in an expedition to
Hudson Bay, returning home the following year.
While it is true
that Louis Pinard was 24 years and Marie-Madeleine Hertel was 13 years
at the time of their marriage, their first childwasn't born until Marie-Madeleine was 19. It was customary in New France that a marriage with such a young bride would not beconsummated until the wife was about 16 years old.
Pinard's
firstr wife, Marie-Madeleine Hertel, died in 1667, and he would later
marry Marie-Ursule Pepin in 1680. He would have six children with
Marie-Ursule Pepin, including our ancestor, Antoine Pinard, who was born
at Champlain in 1683.
