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From Captivity to Citizenship: A New Englander’s Journey into New France

Joseph Frye, the son of Adrian Frye and his wife Sarah, was born about 1680, probably at Kittery, Maine. His known siblings were: Eleanor (born ca. 1668), William (born 1672), Elizabeth (born 1675), Joanna (born 1678), Sarah (born 1679) and Adrian (birth year unknown but thought to be the youngest, born ca. 1683).

Roots of the Frye Family in Kittery

Adrian Frye, Joseph’s father and a Quaker planter, was first recorded at Kittery in 1663. He lived at the old Frye homestead, also called Frys Point, at the mouth of Sturgeon Creek next to the Frost family. The lands in this area were settled quickly due to water-powered mill development on Cammock’s and Sturgeon Creeks. These mills were of two principal types: grist mills used to grind corn and grains, and sawmills used to saw logs into boards, with the lumber used both locally and shipped to England. The region even featured four ordinaries (inns that provided meals at a fixed price).

By choosing to settle in the frontier lands of southern Maine, Adrian Frye traded the religious restrictions of England for the hazards of colonial life—facing not only Indigenous conflict but also considerable uncertainty over land ownership and governance. Indeed, the mid-17th century settlement of southern Maine was shaped by conflicting land grants, legal confusion, and widespread squatting.

The Province of Maine

In 1620, King James I chartered the Council of Plymouth, granting it rights over vast portions of New England, from the St. Lawrence River to Philadelphia. On August 10, 1622, the Council issued a major land grant to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, covering the territory between the Merrimac and Kennebec rivers—a region called the Province of Maine. By 1629, Gorges and Mason divided their holdings. Mason received the lands between the Merrimac and the Piscataqua River (modern-day New Hampshire), while Gorges retained the tract from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec.

Complicating matters further, the Plymouth Council issued numerous overlapping minor grants, resulting in a tangled web of conflicting land claims. Some historians claimed that Walter Neal, an agent for the proprietors, sold off all of Kittery’s land between 1632 and 1634, but surviving documentation shows only a single recorded deed to Thomas Cammock, covering what later became the Shapleigh farm in Eliot. The rest of Neal’s alleged sales remain undocumented, and later grants from Gorges suggest Neal’s authority was either limited or disregarded.

After Captain Mason’s death in December 1635, his heirs were unable to enforce their New England land claims. By the 1650s, the Massachusetts Bay Colony asserted jurisdiction over Maine, incorporating it into its legal and political system—a move justified by Massachusetts’ broad interpretation of its northern boundary. Meanwhile, New Hampshire also claimed overlapping territories, adding to the legal confusion. Local settlers, left without effective oversight, simply seized land, citing long-term occupation and improvements as their right of possession. In 1690, Mason’s heirs sold their interests to Samuel Allen, a London merchant who attempted to reclaim the land through legal action. However, the courts sided with the settlers, who had held and worked the land for decades, effectively legitimizing what had begun as unauthorized occupation.

Settlement of Sturgeon Creek

The Sturgeon Creek area, where the Frye family settled, was emblematic of these patterns. Many early settlers in this area were former servants or labourers employed by Gorges, Mason, or other colonial proprietors. When these employers died or returned to England, their workers remained and claimed the land for themselves. In a 1652 petition, Mason’s widow described the early settlers as “servants or children of the servants” of the original proprietors. Lacking any practical enforcement of proprietary claims, the settlers divided the land informally. In time, the town government retroactively legalized these divisions.

The town of Kittery, incorporated in 1647, chose to formalize these squatter claims rather than enforce distant or defunct ownership rights. This led to the permanent settlement of the region by families like the Fryes, establishing long-term patterns of landholding that began informally but later gained legal recognition.

In the mid-17th century, jurisdiction over southern Maine—including Kittery and the Sturgeon Creek area—was highly contested. The region was originally part of the Province of Maine, but by the early 1650s, Massachusetts asserted authority over it, extending its laws and courts north of the Piscataqua River. Meanwhile, New Hampshire also claimed overlapping territories, adding to the legal confusion. For Adrian and Sarah Frye, these shifting jurisdictions were not just political abstractions; they directly shaped everyday life, particularly as Quakers in Puritan-controlled territory. The choice of who held legal power in Maine would determine not just land titles but also religious freedoms, court procedures, and social acceptance, making the question of jurisdiction a matter of both property and conscience for the Fryes.

The Society of Friends in Early Kittery

In the mid-17th century, Quakerism began to take root in Kittery and the surrounding settlements, despite widespread opposition from the Puritan authorities of Massachusetts. The Friends’ movement, which rejected formal clergy and emphasized personal spiritual experience, was seen as subversive by the colonial government. Beginning in the 1650s, Massachusetts enacted severe anti-Quaker laws, including fines, imprisonment, banishment, and even corporal punishment.

By contrast, the Piscataqua region—including Kittery, Eliot, and the Sturgeon Creek neighbourhood—became something of a refuge. Here, settlers were often more tolerant or were Quakers themselves. According to Stackpole, several early families in Kittery were either Quakers or sympathetic to the movement, creating a network of like-minded settlers who supported one another in the face of religious persecution. The Friends in Kittery held meetings at private homes, and many of the leading families became known for their adherence to Quaker beliefs.

For Adrian and Sarah Frye, settling in the Sturgeon Creek area placed them among other Friends, providing a safer and more supportive community than the stricter Puritan towns to the south. In this region, religious nonconformists could live more freely, even though they still risked fines and social pressure. The Fryes’ choice of settlement was likely influenced by both land availability and the presence of fellow Quakers, allowing them to maintain their religious practices with relative security.

Native-Settler Conflicts

Despite nearly half a century of peace and friendship with “the Indians,” the residents of Sturgeon Creek and greater Kittery experienced nearly continuous tension and conflict with Indigenous groups throughout the late 17th century. These struggles were rooted in land encroachment, resource competition, and cycles of betrayal and retaliation. At this time, the primary Native groups in Maine were part of the larger Wabanaki Confederacy (also known as Abenaki).

One of the earliest local captivity stories involved the Frost family of Sturgeon Creek, who were said to have suffered an attack around 1648–1650, resulting in the capture of Frost’s wife and child. However, this account is based on tradition rather than contemporary records, and Stackpole himself questions its accuracy. Whether literal or symbolic, the story reflects the uneasy relations between settlers and Indigenous groups in the early years of Sturgeon Creek’s settlement. 

In June 1675, King Philip’s War began in southern New England but soon spread into Maine. The Piscataqua region, including Kittery and Sturgeon Creek, was not spared. Richard Tozier’s house at Salmon Falls was attacked. A child was killed, and another was taken captive. The attackers were part of a coordinated effort to push back against settler expansion. Later in the year, violence intensified. On October 7, 1675, a man and two boys were shot at Berwick while they worked in the fields. On October 16, Tozier’s house was attacked again by a group of about 100 Indigenous warriors. Tozier was killed, his house was burned, and his son was either killed or captured. Oral tradition states that Richard Nason, Jr., was “slain in his own door” at Sturgeon Creek and his son taken to Canada. Two unknown men were also said to be shot at Sturgeon Creek.

A pivotal event that inflamed future hostilities was the Cocheco incident of September 1676, in present-day Dover, New Hampshire. Captain Richard Waldron, a prominent colonial leader, invited 400 Native Americans into the garrison at Cocheco, pretending to host a day of war games and friendly competitions. Once the Indigenous had laid down their weapons, Waldron seized them, violating the flag of truce. The colonial forces separated the “local Indians” from the “strangers.” About 200 captives were taken to Boston, where some were hanged and others sold into slavery, most in Barbados.

The Cocheco Massacre left a legacy of deep resentment and desire for revenge, even on behalf of the “local Indians,” directly contributing to the renewed Indigenous raids on New England settlements in the years that followed. Eventually, the Indigenous did get their revenge—Waldron was murdered by the Wabanaki in 1689.

By the 1690s, raids on settlements like Kittery were not random acts of violence but the result of decades of colonial expansion, broken agreements, and retribution for earlier wrongs, including the enslavement and murder of Indigenous captives at Cocheco. 

King William’s War

After a ten-year period of relative peace, King William’s War erupted in 1689, lasting roughly until 1698. The conflict was part of a larger imperial struggle between England and France, but in New England, it primarily took the form of French-backed Indigenous raids on English frontier settlements, including those in Kittery and Berwick. Stackpole describes this period as one of constant alarm for Kittery families. The entire frontier, from Berwick to York, was under siege. The Abenaki and their French allies targeted English settlements with repeated attacks, burning homes, killing settlers, and capturing dozens of residents to sell or ransom in Canada.

In March 1690, there was a major assault on Salmon Falls and Quamphegan (present-day South Berwick). Indigenous forces overran about 10 to 12 families, took control of the local fort, and seized several houses, including the home of the Love family. Fires were set, and the surrounding settlements were left in ruins. In 1691, settlers at Newichawannock (near the Fryes' Sturgeon Creek neighborhood) continued to face deadly raids. David Hamilton and Henry Child were killed, both of whom were part of local family networks closely tied to the Sturgeon Creek community. In 1694, the raids intensified again, affecting both Berwick and Kittery, disrupting agriculture and daily life.

Garrisons of six soldiers were put in place in Lower and Upper Kittery, including the neighbouring Frost and Nason homes. Despite these protections, attacks on villages continued, leading to several murders and kidnappings. The Frye family was not spared.  

On July 6, 1695, Abenaki raiders, allied with the French during King William’s War, attacked Sandy Beach and Kittery. They burned homes, stole livestock, and carried about 200 captives to Canada. Among them was “Joseph Frey of Kittery, agged about 15 or 16 yeres.” Family tradition claims Joseph was seized while playing on the sandy shore where the south branch of Sturgeon Creek meets the Newichawannock River.

The war devastated the frontier settlements of Kittery and surrounding towns. Many families were forced to abandon their farms and seek shelter in garrison houses or fortified homes. Schooling was suspended, as travel to and from school became too dangerous, and religious services were held under armed guard to protect congregants from sudden attacks. The local economy collapsed: mills were burned, livestock killed, and fields left unplanted for fear of raids. The population was reduced to extreme poverty. From 1694 to 1697, settlers repeatedly petitioned the General Court for relief from taxes and financial aid to support ministers and basic town maintenance.

Deaths of Adrian and Sarah

Not much is known about the specifics of Adrian and Sarah Frye’s lives in the later 1690s, though their names appear in several legal transactions. On October 12, 1692, they conveyed their homestead at Frye’s Point to their son William, in exchange for lifetime support: nine acres “joying to Creek’s mouth on ye south side of s’d creek … and twenty-seven acres more … on and near horsidown hill.” Adrian likely died soon after; he was styled “late of Kittery” in a court action on October 5, 1708. Sarah died by November 22, 1709, when William was appointed administrator of her estate. When William subsequently sold the property, he reserved a “burial ground of three Rod Long & Two Rod Wide fronting the Dover River,” likely the burial place of Adrian and Sarah.

While Adrian and Sarah’s story came to a quiet close on the banks of Sturgeon Creek, their son Joseph’s life took an entirely different path—one that led him far from Kittery, into the heart of New France.

Joseph’s New Life Among the Indigenous

Between 1695 and 1706, Joseph lived at an Indigenous mission near Montréal, having been captured during the Abenaki raid of 1695. According to family tradition, after his capture, “he was brutally mistreated—strips of flesh were cut from the fattest part of his body.” A compassionate Indigenous woman intervened, ransoming the boy with a sheep and nursing him back to health. She fed him raspberries—framboises in French—and under her care, he recovered. This detail, passed down through oral history, is said to have inspired his dit name “Laframboise.”

At the mission, Joseph was likely baptized by Catholic missionaries, taking the French given name André, possibly in memory of his father Adrien. In various Canadian records throughout his life, his surname appears in multiple forms—derivatives of Frye (Fray, Fraye, Frey, Freye) and phonetic renderings such as Franche, Frinche, Frange, Freinch, and Freinche.

A Captive’s Release

Around 1706, Joseph—now known as André Frye dit Laframboise—was released from captivity. By that time, he had become thoroughly integrated into the social and religious world of New France. In 1707, he was living in Villemarie (Montréal), where he chose to remain rather than return to New England. Like many other captives who stayed, Joseph built a new life within the French colonial system, adopting not only a new language and religion but also new kinship ties.

On June 20, 1707, notary Michel Lepailleur de LaFerté began drafting a marriage contract between “André Fray, of English origin, a native of the city of Boston in New England, living in the town of Villemarie, son of André Fray and Marie Fray” and Thérèse Varin, aged 18, daughter of Marin Varin and Marie Massard. However, the contract was never completed, and the marriage did not take place. Thérèse later married Nicolas Dufay dit Lamarche in 1715 and had four children out of wedlock before and during her marriage.

A French Citizen

In May 1710, André “Fray” and several other men—mostly from New England, England, and Ireland—were granted French nationality by order of “Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre.”

Marie Louise Bigras, daughter of François Bigras and Marie Brunet, was born on October 28, 1694. She was baptized the next day in the parish of Saints-Anges in Lachine [part of Montréal today]. Her godparents were Charles Lemaistre and Marie Louise Magnan. The father and godparents signed their names on the baptism record.

Marie Louise grew up in Lachine, the eldest of thirteen children. 

Marriage and Family

On October 12, 1713, notary Lepailleur de LaFerté wrote a marriage contract between “André Fray Laframboise, son of André Fray and Marie Fray, native of Boston, New England, at present habitué in this country and naturalized French by royal letters,“ and Marie Louise Brigras, daughter of François Bigras, habitant of la Grande Anse, and Marie Brunet.” André was about 33 years old, and Marie Louise was 18. André’s witnesses were his friends Jacques Laselle, a master joiner, and Étienne Gibault, also a joiner. Marie Louise’s witnesses were her parents and her uncle Michel Brunet dit Létang. The contract was drafted in the home of Jacques Laselle in Villemarie.

The contract followed the norms of the Coutume de Paris. André endowed his future wife with a customary dower of 500 livres. The préciput was set at 200 livres—a sum the surviving spouse could claim from the estate before the community property was divided. François Bigras, Jacques Laselle and Etienne Gibault signed their names on the marriage contract. André and Marie Louise declared not knowing how to write or sign.

On October 16, 1713, André and Marie Louise were married in the parish church of Saint-Joachim in Pointe-Claire. The record describes André as “the son of André Laframboise of Boston and Marie Freuin of the same city,” and Marie Louise as “the daughter of François Brigras of La Rochelle and Marie Brunet of Montréal.” Their witnesses included Joseph Cuillerier, Pierre Trottier, Jean Pilon, Michel Létang, and Michel Brunet.

André and Marie Louise settled in Pointe-Claire, where baptismal records indicate they had at least twelve children:

1. Marie Élisabeth (1714–1787)

2. André Lambert (1717–bef. 1779)

3. Marie Josèphe (1719–1797)

4. Joachim (1721–1802)

5. Charles (1722–1723)

6. Marie Suzanne (1724–1724)

7. Marie Louise (1725–1804)

8. Jean Baptiste (1727–?)

9. Joseph (1728–1804)

10. Jacques (1730–1806)

11. Vincent (1732–aft. 1778)

12. Marie Angélique (1733–1809)

On April 14, 1716, André received a land concession from the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice of Montréal, the seigneur and landowner of the island of Montréal. He was described as an habitant, of “English origin.” The concession was located at “Grande Ance,” where the Bigras family lived, just east of Pointe-Claire. It measured three arpents of frontage by twenty deep. André agreed to pay an annual rente of ten sols and half a minot of wheat per twenty arpents in area. He was also required to grind his grain at the seigneurial mill, “under penalty of confiscation.” [It is unclear what happened to this property, as there is no record of the Frye family living there or selling it.]

On November 15, 1718, André received another land concession from the Sulpicians, this one located on Côte Saint-Rémi on the island of Montréal. This concession became the Fry family’s permanent home. The land measured four arpents of frontage by twenty-three deep. The annual rente was the same: ten sols and half a minot of wheat per twenty arpents in area, with the seigneurs also reserving the right to take wood from the property as needed.

Côte Saint-Rémi was part of the planned interior settlement system of Pointe-Claire, established around 1722. It ran perpendicular to the river, forming part of a structured agricultural and residential layout that would later influence the West Island’s road network. Today, the area is called Côte des Sources.

In the 1720s, André and Marie Louise agreed to work contracts for their eldest two children:

• On August 3, 1723, nine-year-old Élisabeth was hired as a domestic servant by Paul-Louis Dazemard de Lusignan, an officer in the Compagnies franches de la Marine. [She was actually 24 days shy of her ninth birthday.]

• On February 21, 1725, nine-year-old André was hired as an apprentice edge-toolmaker by Bertrand Trudeau. [He was actually only seven at the time.]

• On October 29, 1725, twelve-year-old Élisabeth was hired by Charles Viger of Villemarie. [She was in fact eleven years old.]

Accusation of Assault

In the fall of 1723, André, Marie Louise, and her cousin Michel Brunet dit Létang were accused of assault by René Aubin dit Saint-Aubin. According to the complaint, Aubin claimed that his wife had been beaten by Michel, André, and Marie Louise when she attempted to reclaim a mare the accused were holding as compensation for damages—the animal had entered their vegetable garden and eaten their cabbages.

When interrogated, Marie Louise denied assaulting the wife of Aubin, explaining that the conflict began when Aubin and his wife came to their home to forcibly retrieve the mare. According to her account, Aubin’s wife slapped her, prompting her husband to intervene, especially since she was five or six months pregnant at the time. Marie Louise admitted to exchanging harsh words and insults with Aubin’s wife the following day when they encountered her near the stream but insisted that no physical violence had occurred. She claimed that they merely told her to go home and leave them alone.

In the end, the court condemned Michel Brunet dit Létang to pay legal costs, assessed at sixty-eight livres and seven sols, and ordered his release from prison. To recover the costs, Aubin was granted recourse and a lien (hypothèque) on Brunet’s property. However, the court dismissed the accusations against André and Marie Louise, clearing them of any wrongdoing.

The case carried an additional layer of personal complexity: René Aubin’s unnamed wife in the matter was none other than Marie Françoise Bigras, Marie Louise’s own sister. Despite this serious family dispute, the sisters appear to have eventually reconciled. In 1739, Marie Louise served as godmother to one of the Aubins’ children, indicating that whatever conflict had existed between them was later resolved.

Godparents

Throughout their lives, André and Marie Louise frequently acted as godparents in their Pointe-Claire community, a role reflecting both religious and social ties:

• November 24, 1724: André and Marie Louise are named godparents to André Jean Baptiste Lépine

• August 1, 1732: Marie Louise is named godmother to her nephew Joseph Marie Bigras

• June 10, 1736: André is named godfather to André Bonaventure Briquet

• September 12, 1736: Marie Louise is named godmother to her niece Marie Rose Calvé

• November 25, 1737: André is named godfather to his granddaughter Marie Anne Debout

• May 31, 1739: Marie Louise is named godmother to her nephew Louis Amable Aubin

• January 7, 1747: André is named godfather to his grandson Joseph Robert Pépin  

• February 3, 1748: Marie Louise is named godmother to her granddaughter Marie Louise Franche

• November 25, 1749: André is named godfather to his grandson André Lambert Franche (in Saint-Laurent)

Deaths of André and Marie Louise

André Frye dit Laframboise died on April 10, 1750, and was buried the next day in Saint-Joachim parish cemetery in Pointe-Claire. His burial record describes him as “anglois de nation” (of English origin), with his parents unknown. His age was recorded as 96, though he was likely closer to 70. [Although the date of his death was omitted from the burial record, it is noted on the after-death inventory drafted a few months later.]

As was customary after the death of a parent, friends and family gathered to elect a guardian and substitute guardian for the minor children of André and Marie Louise. On June 12, 1750, Marie Louise was named guardian, and her son André Lambert was appointed substitute guardian.  

On June 13, 1750, notary Hodiesne recorded an inventory of the couple’s goods, enumerating all “movable property, household and agricultural utensils, pewter crockery, titles, papers and other things remaining after the death of the said André Franche and which were common to him and the said widow.” The livestock listed included:

• Two four-year-old oxen (one red-haired, one brown-haired)

• Two three-year-old oxen (one red-haired, one brown-haired)

• Two two-year-old heifers (one red and white, one black)

• A red and white cow

• Two black-haired mares, aged five and eight

• A small calf born that year

• Eight pigs

• A one-year-old foal

• Fifteen ewes and sheep

• Nine chickens and a rooster

The total value of their goods was estimated at 474 livres, which also included a small number of debts.   

The inventory also described the family’s home at Côte Saint-Rémi: a property measuring four arpents of frontage by twenty deep, on which stood an old, straw-covered log house with an earthen chimney, as well as a straw-covered barn measuring thirty feet long by twenty-five wide. The house and barn faced the chemin Royal (royal road) and bordered the lands of the heirs of Michel Brunet dit Létang and Jean Baptiste Mallet. By this time, sixty-four arpents of the land had been cleared. The land and buildings were valued at 500 livres.

The inventory was finalized by the courts on June 19, 1750.

On July 8, 1765, Marie Louise sold her land to her son-in-law Jean Poisson, the husband of her daughter Marie Angélique. The property sold measured two arpents of frontage by twenty-eight deep and was now bordered by the lands of Jean Sabourin and Charles Deslauriers. The sale included a small house and “half a barn,” which appears to have been located between the land sold and that of Deslauriers.

Marie Louise Bigras died at the age of 77 on June 21, 1772. She was buried the following day in the Saint-Joachim parish cemetery in Pointe-Claire. Her burial record erroneously lists her as 80 years old and as the widow of “Fontaine dit Laframboise.”

A Life Rebuilt in New France

The story of Joseph Frye dit Laframboise is one of transformation across cultures, languages, and frontiers. Born to English Quaker parents on the contested edges of colonial New England, Joseph’s life was reshaped by war, captivity, and survival. Yet rather than return to the world of his birth, he built a new identity within New France—adopting a new faith, a new name, and a new community. His legacy endures not only in the land he cultivated and the family he raised but also in the threads of history that connect Kittery to Pointe-Claire, and Frye to Laframboise.

Sources:

• Everett S. Stackpole, Old Kittery and Her Families (Lewiston, ME: Press of Lewiston Journal Company, 1903). Digitized by Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/oldkitteryherfam00staciala : accessed 16 Jul 2025).

• Ellen Frye Baker, Frye Genealogy (New York, Tobias A. Wright, Printer, 1920), 11-14.

• Sybil I. Noyes et al., Genealogical dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1928-1939), 248, digitized by Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/genealogicaldict0000noye : accessed 9 Jul 2025).

• Charles Edward Banks, Banks Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650 (Philadelphia, Elijah Ellsworth Brownell, B.E.E., 1937),

• Marcel Fournier, De la Nouvelle-Angleterre à la Nouvelle-France : L’Histoire des captifs anglo-américains au Canada entre 1675 et 1760 (Montréal, Société généalogique canadienne-française, 1992, 135.

• Emma Lewis Coleman, New England Captive Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars: Volume One (Portland, Maine, The Southworth Press, 1925).   

• “York County, Maine Probate Records, No. 2, 1707-1719,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89JS-L9Z4-5  : accessed 9 Jul 2025), image 195 of 359.

• Sarah (White) Frye (abt. 1645 - 1709), WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/White-463 : accessed 8 Jul 2025), notes on Sarah’s maiden name.

• “The Cochecho Massacre,” Dover Public Library (https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/library/research-learn/history/the-cocheco-massacre/ : accessed 16 Jul 2025).

• "England Marriages, 1538–1973", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFJP-C4N : accessed 9 Jul 2025), marriage of Adrian Fry and Margrett Bryant, 23 Jul 1627, Henbury, Gloucestershire, England.

• “Names of people in Parish Register from St John the Baptist of Axbridge in Somerset,” online database, FreeGen (https://www.freereg.org.uk/freereg_contents/540907f5eca9eb260e11554a/unique_register_names : accessed 9 Jul 2025)

• Index of wills proved in the Prerogative court of Canterbury ... And now preserved in the principal Probate registry, Somerset house, London (London : The British record society, limited, 1893), 177, digitized by Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/indexofwillsprov43chur : accessed 9 Jul 2025). 

• “Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968," digital images, Ancestry.ca  (https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d1p_1182c0112?pId=30657456 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), baptism of Marie Louise Bigras, 29 Oct 1694, Lachine (Sts-Anges-Gardiens); citing original data: Drouin Collection, Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• “Le LAFRANCE (Baptêmes, Mariages, Sépultures)," database and digital images, Généalogie Québec (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/LAFRANCE/acte/15713 : accessed 9 Jul 2025), marriage of André Laframboise and Marie Louise Bigras, 16 Oct 1713, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim); citing original data: Drouin Collection, Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• Ibid. (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/LAFRANCE/acte/278058 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), burial of André Frey Laframboise, 11 Apr 1750, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim); citing original data: Drouin Collection, Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• Ibid. (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/LAFRANCE/acte/368579 : accessed 8 Jul 2025), burial of Marie Louise Bigras, 22 Jun 1772, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• "Actes de notaire, 1701-1732 // Michel-Laferté Lepailleur," digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5F-T3GR-Q?cat=538127&i=1653&lang=en : accessed 9 Jul 2025), marriage contract between André Fray and Thérèse Varin (annulled), 20 Jun 1707, images 1,654-1,655 of 3,110; citing original data: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.  

• Ibid. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5V-4S9R-W?cat=538127&i=1637&lang=en : accessed 9 Jul 2025), marriage contract between André Fray Laframboise and Marie Louise Bigras, 12 Oct 1713, images 1,639-1,639 of 2,407. 

• "Actes de notaire, 1697-1727 // Pierre Raimbault," digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5V-4SG4-1?cat=675517&i=1954&lang=en : accessed 17 Jul 2025), land concession to André Freinch, 14 Apr 1716, images 1,955-1,957 of 3,060; citing original data: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. 

• Ibid. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5V-4SKK-M?cat=675517&i=2953&lang=en : accessed 17 Jul 2025), land concession to André Freinch, 15 Nov 1718, images 2,954-2,956 of 3,060.

• "Actes de notaire, 1740-1764 // Gervais Hodiesne," digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CST7-G3W6-V?cat=481473&i=454&lang=en : accessed 17 Jul 2025), inventory of the community of goods of Marie Louise Bigras, widow of André Franche dit Laframboise, 13 Jun 1750, images 455-461 of 3,188; citing original data: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• “Actes de notaire, 1737-1778 : François Simonet," digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTW-4SVG-Y?i=3006&cat=529340 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), sale land by Marie-Louise Bigras, widow of André Franche dit Lafranboise, to her son-in-law Jean-Baptiste Poirson, 18 Jul 1765, image 3007 of 3212; citing original data: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

• Parchemin, notarial database of ancient Québec (1626-1801), Société de recherche historique Archiv-Histo (https://archiv-histo.com : accessed 9 Jul 2025), "Engagement en qualité de servante et domestique de Marie-Elisabeth Freinche (9 ans), par Louise Bigras, épouse actuelle de André Freinche, de la paroisse de Lachine, sa mère, à Paul-Louis Dasmar de Lusignan, écuyer et officier dans les troupes du détachement de la Marine.," notary J. David, 3 Aug 1723.

• Ibid., "Engagement en qualité de apprenti taillandier de André Fray (9 ans), par André Fray et Marie-Louise Bigras, son épouse, de la côte St Remy, à Bertrand Trutteau, maître taillandier, de la ville de Villemarie," notary J.-B. Adhémar de Saint-Martin, 21 Feb 1725.

• Ibid., "Engagement de Marie-Elisabeth Fraye (12 ans), par André Fraye, demeurant au haut de l'île de Montréal, à Charles Vigers, de la ville de Villemarie," notary J.-B. Adhémar de Saint-Martin, 29 Oct 1725.

• “Fonds Conseil souverain - Archives nationales à Québec," digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/400045 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), "Lettres de naturalité accordées par Sa Majesté," 1 May 1710-31 May 1710, reference TP1,S36,P463, Id 400045 ; citing original data : Pièce provenant du Registre des insinuations du Conseil supérieur de Québec (10 mars 1691 au 20 février 1714), volume C, f. 47v-50.

• “Fonds Juridiction royale de Montréal - Archives nationales à Montréal," digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/701030 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), "Procès entre René Aubin, plaignant, et André Franche dit Laframboise, de Côte-Saint-Remy, et son épouse Marie-Louise Bigras, et Michel Brunet dit Létang, également de Côte-Saint-Rémy, accusés de voies de fait," 4 Oct 1723-16 Nov 1723, reference TL4,S1,D2979, Id 701030.

• “Fonds Cour supérieure. District judiciaire de Montréal. Tutelles et curatelles - Archives nationales à Montréal," digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/475973 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), "Tutelle des enfants mineurs de feu André Franche Laframboise [Fraye] et de Marie Louise Bigras," 12 Jun 1750, reference CC601,S1,SS1,D1854, Id 475973.

• “Fonds Cour supérieure. District judiciaire de Montréal. Clôtures d'inventaires - Archives nationales à Montréal," digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/497586 : accessed 3 Jul 2025), "Clôture d'inventaire des biens de la succession et de la communauté de Marie-Louise Bigras et de défunt André Frenche [Franche dit Laframboise]," 19 Jun 1750, reference CV601,S1,D749, Id 497586.

• Université de Montréal, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) database (https://www-prdh-igd.com/Membership/fr/PRDH/Individu/17562 : accessed 9 Jul 2025), dictionary entry for Marie Therese VARIN GAUDRIOLE, person 17562.

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd.com/Membership/fr/PRDH/Famille/11565 : accessed 9 Jul 2025), dictionary entry for Andre LAFRAMBOISE FRAYE FRENCH FRANCHE and Marie Louise BIGRAS, union 11565.

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/15560 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of André Jean Baptiste Lépine, 24 Nov 1724 , Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117182 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Joseph Marie Bigras, 1 Aug 1732, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117374 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of André Bonaventure Briquet, 10 Jun 1736, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117398 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Marie Rose Calve, 12 Sep 1736, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117457 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Marie Anne Debout, 25 Nov 1737, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117538 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Louis Amable Aubin, 31 May 1739, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117858 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Joseph Robert Pépin, 7 Jan 1747, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/117906 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of Marie Louise Franche, 3 Feb 1748, Pointe-Claire (St-Joachim).

• Ibid. (https://www-prdh-igd-com.res.banq.qc.ca/Membership/en/PRDH/acte/119247 : accessed 17 Jul 2025), baptism of André Lambert Franche, 25 Nov 1749, Po Saint-Laurent (Saint-Laurent).

• Ludger Beauregard, "Géographie historique des côtes de l’île de Montréal. Cahiers de géographie du Québec," Cahiers de géographie du Québec, 1984, volume 28 (73-74), 47–62. Digitized by Érudit (https://doi.org/10.7202/021647ar : accessed 17 Jul 2025).