LaPlante Roots 1500-1685: France
THE ORIGINS OF THE FAMILY IN FRANCE
(click here for short summary of lineage)
Families: Leriger, Deriger, de La Plante, La Plante and Laplante-Courville and their connection to the first Lerige in Canada: Clement
In 1927 the priest J. –Fl. Chevalier, first secretary, archivist of the diocese of Angouleme and historian of great importance, produced a remarkable work, published by F. Dubois at Ruffec (Charente), France, entitled “ GOURVILLE ET SA FAMILLE”. In this volume, an entire chapter is devoted to the Leriget family, root of the Canadian families, linked in France with the Herauld de Gourville families. A few extracts follow:
FAMILLE LERIGET
The Leriget family is originally from the town of La Rochefaucauld where one finds it established from the Fifteenth century. It has provided to the Church several priests and canons, to the army, valiant officers, and also two distinguished members of the Academie Francaise (French Academy). Its alliances with the Mesturas and Herauld de Gourville families, and the intricacies of a long court case on the subject of the inheritance of Pierre Leriget de la Menardie, Receiver General of Finances for Dauphine province, had made clear the necessity of establishing the genealogy of this family.
To help our research, we used an important document entitled: Extracts of the baptism, marriages, and deaths of Messrs Leriget, written originally on the books of the ancient Bible. Here we find: first, Pierre Leriget, then his children: Jean, cannon –Roch, sieur de La Faye-Antoine, sieur de La Taillandiere – Jean, sieur de L’archier. This research summarized below eventually leads to Dad's Canadian ancestor, Clement Leriger LaPlante.
Inconnu Leriget 1500
(unknown)
A certain Leriget (unknown first name), living at the beginning of the Sixteenth century, and living in the town of La Rochefoucauld, Parish of Notre Dame, had at least two children: a daughter, Francoise, married to Leonard Albert; and a son Simon Leriget who followed and continued the family name.
Castle LaRochefoucauld
The stately castle has belonged to the same family, the La Rochefoucauld, for more than a thousand years. The chateau to La Rochefoucauld by the quality, the elegance and the variety of its architecture is considered as one of the most beautiful of France. It is located in western France in the Poitou Charentes area near Angoulense (southeast below).
Simon Leriget 1530
Simon Leriget, burgher (burgher – inhabitant of the middle class) of La Rochefaucauld, married about 1560 to Jean Albert de La Marvaliere (of the Alberts of La Marvaliere), sister of Leonard. Of this marriage were born 1. Jean L., Sieur (Sir )des Menardieres, de Rocheberthier et de Larchier; 2. Jeanne, 3. Louise, 4. Francoise, 5. Jean, 6. Marie, 7. Anne, 8. Pierre, who follows.
Pierre Leriget 1562
Pierre Leriget, merchant, burgher of La Rochefoucauld, married in 1582 Louise Thuet, daughter of Pierre and Julienne Moulin. They had nine children: six boys and three girls: 1. Jean, a priest, 2. Roch sieur de La Faye, born and baptized in 1585 (de La Faye branch) ( granted land in La Faye), 3 Jeanne, born in 1588, 4. Pierre, 1591, a priest, 5. Antoine, sieur de La Taillandiere (granted land in La Taillandiere [could not locate]), born the 1st of September 1593, baptized the next day, and who follows below, 6. Simon, 1595, died at the age of two, 7. Jeanne, born 1598, 8. Marie, 1600, 9. Jean, sieur de Larchier (granted land or fiefdom in Larchier), 1605. Pierre Leriget died on 12 August 1610 and was buried the same day in the church of Notre-Dame de La Rochefoucauld; Louise Thuet died the 30th of January 1616 after having received the sacraments of the church prescribed for all good Christians and was buried close to her spouse.
Notre-Dame de La Rochefoucauld
La Taillandiere Branch
Antoine Leriget, Sieur de La Taillandiere 1593
Antoine Leriget, Sieur de La Taillandiere, in Taponnat (in Poitou Charentes) , the fifth child of Pierre Leriget and Louise Thuet, first married about 1618, Suzanne Chazeaud, and in the second marriage, before 1631, Andree Mesturas, widow of Pol Le Sueur, and daughter of N...Mesturas, sieur de La Plante, in Saint-Claud, and died in July 1645. Antoine Sieur de la Tallandiere died July 1645.
He had from the first marriage (Suzanne Chazeaud): 1. Louise, 1619, 2. Jeanne, 1622, 3. Jean, 1624. And from the second marriage (Andree Mesturas): 4. Paul, sieur de La Plante, who follows below. 5. Antoine, 1632, 6. Jean, who also continued the line. 7. Jeanne, 1636, 8. Louise.
Paul Leriget, sieur de La Plante 1631
Paul Leriget, sieur de La Plante, (born in 1631 in Chez Chadiat) lived in the village of Chez-Chadiat (Angoulense), parish of Saint-Claud, married two times: on 20 July 1653 by contract accepted by Dufouilloux, notary, to Jacquette Bosdin, daughter of Jacques Bosdin and Marie Moreau. They had no children and the second union on 2 September 1660 by contract accepted by Grassin, notary, to Mauricette du Souchet, daughter of Jean, sieur du Bourg, and Marguerite Delavalade, from Montbron. Paul and Mauricette had two sons: 1. Pierre Leriger, 2. Clement Lerige LaPlante.
On page 44, while giving the origins of the name La Plante, Father Chevalier explains how this name was passed on to the Leriget family.
“La Plante was a small estate situated in the below-named parish (Saint-Claud) belonging to the Mesturas, and which, by the marriage of Andree Mesturas with Pol Le Sueur, in the first instance, and then with Antoine Leriget afterwards, it was passed into these two families; with the result that in the period in which we are engaged, two sons of Andree Mesturas, Jacques Le Sueur and Paul Leriget, were both entitled as sieurs de La Plante; the latter lived at the village of Chez-Chadiat, and it was in this hamlet...”
Jean Herault de Gourville
The facade of the Castle
It was the custom in this period that a son adopt the territorial name of the father. As Paul V is the first Leriget to take the name of La Plante—brought into the family by his mother, Andree Mesturas—Clement Leriget, Sieur de La Plante, {who} came to Canada, must be no other than a son of this Paul Leriget.
We know that the latter contracted two marriages. Who therefore was the mother of Clement, the first or the second wife of his father? Now, the burial record of the first Canadian ancestor, 7 December 1742, at Laprairie mentions that he died at the age of eighty or thereabouts. Persons of a certain age, are inclined to add to their age, rather than make themselves younger, so we can fix the birth of Clement to a date subsequent to 1662. Mauricette du Souchet, who Paul married in 1660 (Contract Grassin, notary) would therefore be the mother of the officer of the Troupes de la Marine.
In the notes already produced, and which we owe to Father Chevalier, the Rev. Archange Godbout, author of the “ORIGINES DES FAMILLES CANADIENNES-FRANCAISES’, HAS WILLINGLY SUPPORTED THE OPINION THAT WE EXPRESSED CONCERNING THE ORIGINS OF Clement Leriget. The Canadian ancestor, therefore, must have come from the Angoumois area, a former French province, which today is partially included in the Departement of la Charente.
Let’s now see what else is revealed in the Canadian Archives.
Antoine Rougier (or Rougieu) dit Lafrance, soldier in the company of Monsieur de Noyan, and Catherine Roy, laid their contract of marriage before the notary Antoine Adhemar on 24 May 1699. Clement Leriget, who is “witness” for the intended, signed it. In this record, Rougier is said to be originally from Marthon, bishopric of Angouleme. And Marthon is found about twenty kilometers from St-Claud. By the marriage of La Plante with Marie Roy in 1700, the two men become brothers-in-law. When Rougier, widower of Catherine Roy, remarried with Jeanne Lafaye-Lafayette on 3 July 1702 at Laprairie, the officer again served him as witness.
At the baptism of one of the children of this couple, 19 August 1706, Lerige, godfather of the newly-born, gave him his name, Clement.
Later, in 1740, Jean-Baptiste, son of Clement Leriget, would marry Catherine, daughter of Antoine Rougier and Jeanne LaFaye.
Do not the ties which are created by a common origin explain this long friendship which existed between the two men?
We have seen that the family Leriget in France was linked to the Herauld de Gourville (nortwest of Angoulense) families. Once more, we are able to establish a parental relationship between the Leriget families of France and the Canadian ancestor in the fact that a son, Gilbert, and a grandson, Jean-Louis, of Clement Leriget carried this name of Gourville.
On this point let us consult another document. In his contract of marriage with Perrine Lefebvre Duplessis-Fabert, on 8 July 1713 at Montreal, Francois Herauld, sieur de St-Michel, is called the son of Francois Herauld, squire, seigneur de Gourville and other places. Some outstanding figures of the time were present at the signing of this contract: the Vaudreuil, Longueuil, Begon, de Ramezay, etc. However, La Plante is also present at the signing. And what is better; when the sieur de St-Montreal, it is Marie, daughter of sieur La Plante, who will be the godmother.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned marriage contract, appearing for the groom is another interesting character for this study. Lieutenant Michel Dupont, sieur De Renom, is said to be the first cousin of the intended. Since the Duponts of France are relatives by marriage with the Herauld de Gourville family, and by this fact linked with the Lerigets, must one then be surprised to see another son of Clement, Joseph-Marie, add De Renom (Dernon) to the end of his patronymic name.
Lerige is only a variation of Leriget, as Duguet has become Duguay, etc.
In order to better identify the two branches of the family Leriget which were formed by the marriage of Pierre Leriget and Louise Thuet, great-grandparents of Clement, the following table has been drawn up.
III. Pierre Leriget
Married in 1582 to Louise Thuet
IV. Roch, sieur de La Faye
Married in 1615 to Marie Dulignon
Died 16 December 1648
IV. Antoine, sieur de La Taillandiere
Married (2nd) before 1631 to Andree Mesturas
V. Pierre, sieur de LaFaye
Born and baptized April 1620
Married to Anne Herauld at Vienne,
Daughter of Jean Herauld, “citizen of
Vienne”, and Miss Anne Durand.
V. Paul Leriget, sieur de La Plante
Living at the village of Chez-Chadiat
Married (2nd) to Mauricette du Souchet
VI. Jean-Francois Leriget, sieur de La Faye
Knight, Lord of LaFaye. Varambon, etc.
Died a bachelor.
Member of the Academie Francaise.
VI. Clement Lerige, sieur de La Plante.
Came to Canada in 1685.
Next: LaPlante Roots 1685-1865: Canada