Pierre "Le Suisse" MIVILLE

The Mivilles in Nouvelle-France

It is assumed that Pierre Miville arrived in Nouvelle France in the 1640's His family is said to be one of the largest families to settle in Nouvelle-France. In the Month of October 1649, Pierre Miville is given land measuring some 25 acres in Quebec City (near today's Bois-de-Coulonge). a land of 570 feet wide by 7600 feet long on the sieinory of Lauzon and, for his son Francois, another piece of land on the same domain. Pierre Miville keeps the Quebec City land for one year only, giving it to his son-in-law in 1650. Let's mention that Miville's four daughters get rapidly married, before they reached 18 years of age: Marie gets married to Mathieu Amyot in 1650, Aimée to Robert Giguére and Madeleine to Jean Cauchon in 1652, and Suzanne to Antoine Paulet in 1655. As for his sons, Francois gets married in 1660 at the age of 26, while Jacques still lives with his parents. The latter gets married in 1669, at the age of 30. He probably helped his father farm the land.

According to several deeds and other documents, Pierre Miville was known as "Le Suisse" (The Swiss). A concession contract awarded by Tracy in 1665 clearly identifies Pierre Miville as being Swiss. He emigrated to France and lived in the region of LaRochelle from where he sailed to Nouvelle-France France in the middle of XVIIth century. His children were all baptized in the Brouage region and their father's Swiss origin is clearly stated in certain deeds. for instance: This second day of May 1639, in the church of St-Hilaire d'Heirs, was baptised Jacques, son of Pierre Miville, of Swiss origin, and of Charlotte Mougis, his wife residing in the town of Brouage. Jacques is the godson of Issac Miville and Salome Lomene.

None as yet has been able to determine Pierre Miville's birthday. He is certainly from the township if not from the city Fribourg, since he is identified as "Suisse fribourgois" in the 1665 contract. Born around 1602, according to enumerations. Pierre Miville's date and place of marriage are still unknown. Jette says "around 1631" in Brouage, an assumption probably founded on Marie Mivlle's birthday in 1635. Charlotte Maugis, his wife, claimed to be from Saint-Germain, in Saintonge and according to the census, she would have been born in 1607. However, when she died in 1676, she was said to be 95 years old, which is very whimsical because she would have given birth to her last daughter at the age of 60 or 61.

Was Pierre Miville Protestant? We know that he lived in the region of LaRochelle, a Protestant stronghold, and that a man named Issac Miville stood godfather to Jacques, Pierre's second son. This leads us to assume that he was Protestant.