Le Messager vol 1, no. 4 August 2007 des descendants de Nicolas Perrot (english version) In the footsteps of Nicolas Perrot The descendants of Nicolas Perrot are invited to Montreal, on Sept. 16 next, to walk "in the footsteps" of Nicolas. Indeed, this commemorative day will start off with a mass celebrated at the Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart) chapel of the Notre-Dame-de-Montreal (Our Lady of Montreal) basilica. This edifice, erected between 1824 and 1829, replaced the earlier Notre-Dame church, which had become too small. The history of Notre-Dame parish is closely connected to the history of Montreal. Ville-Marie, founded in 1642, was above all a mystical adventure, a colony with a mission. As far back as 1642, a small chapel was built at Pointe-à-Callière and dedicated to Our Lady, maintained by the Jesuits. In 1657, when the Notre-Dame parish was founded, it was put into the hands of Messieurs de Saint-Sulpice (the Sulpician Fathers), newly arrived in New France that same year. Two of the Sulpicians would leave their mark on the fledgling Montreal : Gabriel de Queylus, head of the mission, and, Gabriel Suart, the first parish priest of Notre-Dame. It was during this period that our ancestor, Nicolas Perrot, came to work for the Sulpicians. Note that the first chapel was replaced by a second one, and later by the first church, on the same Notre-Dame property between 1672 and 1683. Around 1800, the church having become insufficient, it was decided to build the current church. Architect James O'Donnell, an Irish Protestant, established in New York, drew up the plans. [photo : Notre-Dame basilica and the Saint-Sulpice seminary] The interior decoration, as we see it today, dates from the 1870's and is the work of the "Lanaudois" (from the Lanaudière region of Quebec province ) architect Victor Bourgeau. In 1889, Father Sentenne asked the Montreal architectural firm of Perrault and Mesnard (Maurice Perrault was a descendant of Julien Perreault, a different line) to build a chapel for smaller groups requiring services. It was finished and inaugurated on December 8, 1891. However, the architectural jewel, the "chapelle du Sacré-Coeur" (Sacred Heart Chapel), fell victim to arson in 1978. Rebuilt, it was re-opened in 1982. After the religious ceremony, we will await you at the Auberge Saint-Gabriel. To get there, you may take Notre-Dame and Saint-Gabriel streets. The name of the latter street recalls the early Sulpician Fathers who administered Montreal : Gabriel de Queylus and Gabriel Souart. As to the "auberge", Etienne Truteau, a soldier come to America to impose peace on the Iroquois, built it in 1688 as his home (Etienne Truteau is the ancestor of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, former prime minister of Canada, and also of Gerry Trudeau, author of the Doonesbury comic strip). It was not until 1754 that Robert Dulong, the then proprietor, turned it into an inn, now the oldest in North America. The inn passed through the hands of many owners, including Dolly Hart, the wife of Aaron Hart, one of the first millionaires of the country. In 1914, the inn was bought by a descendant of Etienne, Ludger Truteau, who renamed it Auberge Saint-Gabriel. He kept it for about 75 years. Since 1987, it has been the property of the Bolay family. Our lunch will be held in the Truteau room. In olden times, a 60-foot tunnel connected the inn to the Bois-Brulés (Burnt Wood) trading post, where "voûtes fortes" (sealed vaults) existed to store and protect the furs. A decor which Nicolas Perrot was well familiar with as a coureur des bois. This post was run by the Compagnie du Nord-Ouest (Northwest Company). [photo : Pointe-a-Calliere museum entrance] Finally, after the General Assembly, we suggest a visit to the Pointe-à-Callière museum, which is situated on the spot where the Great Peace of Montreal was signed in 1701 (see current exhibits, p. 4). Nicolas Perrot was a participant as interpreter and diplomat in bringing the tribes of the Great Lakes region to the signing of this peace treaty and including them in sphere of French influence. On this subject, Raymond Douville writes : "He continually sought to be not only an ambassador of his country to the peoples he met, but also a mediator between the Indians and the French. He saw tribes which no white man had encountered before him, and he made allies of them. Only he knows that, without his intervention, all the French who entered the interior, would have been undoubtedly massacred. By the strength of his persuason and the subtlety of his arguments, he even re-established peace between enemy groups. For years, he lived in a different, unknown, world, and this is the world he offered his country, who wanted none of it. One after another, the governors Courcelles, Frontenac, La Barre, Denonville, Callières asked for this help, when their own prestige was on the line. At the specific request of governor Callières, he saved the great meeting of 1701 in Montreal. But by then, in the eyes of officialdom, he had become simply "the one called Perrot". And this, because he had countered the underhanded practices of a protege of Frontenac, Monseignat, who had skillfully spread his malicious rumours. Callières did not want to compromise himself. Thus it is this hard-nosed governor who is responsible for having diminished this great, but humble and trusting explorer to being a simple colonist without prestige or importance."(1) As you can see, it is quite literally in the footsteps of Nicolas Perrot that we will congregate, on Sunday, September 16, while walking the Old Montreal streets that he trod himself. (1) Douville, Raymond - Quelques notes inédites sur Nicolas Perrot (a few unpublished notes on Nicolas Perrot), les Cahiers des Dix, pp. 50-51. --------------------------- end of page 2 ---------------------- page 3 General information for September 16, 2007 EXHIBITS AT THE POINTE-A-CALLIERE MUSEUM I - Ici naquit Montreal (”Where Montreal was born”, permanent exhibit) - This exhibit takes you to the heart of an authentic archaeological site : the birthplace of Montreal. Through an unusual subterranean route covering six centuries of history, rediscover the very essence of the city born 360 years ago. II - Premières nations : (”First Nations”, French royal collection) 85 objects selected from the best of the Amerindian collections of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. This museum has one the world's richest collections of Ameridian objects of the 18th and 19th centuries, from the Eastern regions of North America. Parking in Old Montreal Parking in Old Montreal can be difficult. We recommend the use of public transport if possible (subway [Métro], bus), especially for those from Longueuil, Laval and Montreal, or car-pooling. Indoor parking for 110 cars is available not too far from the Saint-Gabriel inn, on Saint-Jean-Baptiste street. Cost of parking : $12 /day. Handicapped persons should anticipate using taxis. List of nearby parking : # Location places 29 Saint-François-Xavier/Saint-Jacques inside 185 33 Saint-François-Xavier outside 100 34 Saint-François-Xavier outside 50 41 480 Saint-Laurent inside 80 42 Saint-Jean-Baptiste inside 110 43 Saint-Laurent/Le Royer outside 60 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prices and reservation To reserve, fill out the attached reservation form and send it in with your payment on or before the 5th of September, 2007 to : Association des descendants de Nicolas Perrot 1595, rue Piette, Joliette (Quebec), J6E 3W3 Receipt of your payment will confirm your reservation. Please indicate the name of all participants. Price ( for the meal and visit to the Pointe-a-Calliere museum ) : members : 35$ / person non-members : $40 / person menu : Soup of the day Pavé de saumon (beurre citrus et capres) or Cuisse de volaille rotie (velouté des sous-bois) (salmon steak or roasted leg of fowl) Creme caramel Home-made bread and butter Tea or Coffee ------------------------------------------------------ [ inset : maps of the immediate area ] ------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------- end of page 3 ------------------------------------------------ page 4 SUMMONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY Madam, Sir, You are hereby summoned to attend the annual General Assembly of the Association of the Descendants of Nicolas Perrot. Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 1:00pm at L’Auberge Saint-Gabriel 426, rue Saint-Gabriel Montréal (Québec) THE DAY'S AGENDA 1 - Nominate the Assembly chairperson 2 - Nominate the Assembly secretary 3 - Adopt the agenda of the day 4 - Adopte the minutes of the General Assembly at time of founding, April 9, 2006 5 - Report of the President 6 - Read and adopt the Treasurer's report 7 - Adopt an action plan for 2007 - 2008 8 - Nnominate an elections chairperson and secretary as well as 2 scrutineers 9 - Elect members of the Board of Directors; positions to be filled are : * President * Secretary * Director (3) 10 - Close the Assembly Michel Perreault Secretary p.s.: Persons interested in occupying a position on the Board of Directors must send in their names to be put on the ballot at least 3 days before the opening of the meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (recall of article 9 of the rules and by-laws) The corporation is governed by a Board of Directors composed of 5 to 9 persons, to wit, a President, a Vice-president, a Secretary, a Treasurer and 1 to 5 Directors, for a mandate of 2 years. However, to allow for overlap, in 2006-2007, the positions of President, Secretary, 1st, 3rd and 5th Director will only be elected for one year. Following the receipt of all candidacies at the Secretariat of the Association at least three (3) days before the date of said Assembly, the candidates will be declared elected if there is only one candidate for that position. Should there be more candidates than positions to be filled, the Assembly, by secret vote, will designate the candidate retained for each of the those positions. Should there be fewer candidates than there are positions open, the Assembly will either fill the vacant position(s) or ask the Board to fill the position(s) at their first meeting. These Directors are elected each year by the members that have come together in an annual General Assembly convened by the Secretary. All the Directors of the corporation are volunteers. THE FORM FOR SUBMITTING YOUR CANDIDACY IS APPENDED HEREIN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- end of page 4 ---------------------- page 5 RESERVATION FORM We will be ____ persons attending the lunch of the descendants of Nicolas Perrot, on Sunday, September 16, 2007: _____ members X 35 $ _____ non-members X 40 $ Enclosed is a cheque in the amount of ___________ $ List of participants Completed by : _________________________________ Telephone : _____________________ Cut here ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPLICATION FOR A POSITION ON THE BOARD I, ________________________________________________, would like to submit my name for the function of : Candidate's Name My candidacy is put forward by ______________________________________________ ___________ Name member # Supported by ______________________________________________________________ ___________ Name member # In witness thereof, here is my signature : _______________________________________________ 2007 - ____ - ____ Signature of candidate month day