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Antoine Pilon & Marie Anne Brunet

Pioneers of Pointe-Claire and ancestors to many of North America's Pilons

Antoine Pilon, the son of Thomas Pilon and Madeleine Rouault Hughes, was baptized on June 24, 1664 in the parish of St-Patrice in Bayeux, Normandy, France. His parents lived on rue de l'Épinette in Bayeux and his father was a butcher.

The exact date of his arrival isn't known, but Antoine was in Montreal, New France, by 1688.

Marie Anne Brunet, the daughter of Mathieu Brunet dit Létang and Marie Blanchard (a "fille du roi"), was born around 1672 in New France. Her precise date and place of birth are unknown.

Antoine and Marie Anne signed a marriage contract before notary Claude Mauge on January 2, 1689 in Montreal. They were married on January 10, 1689 at Notre-Dame church in Montreal. Antoine was 24 and Marie Anne was around 17.

Antoine and Marie Anne had at least 14 children:

• 1 Marie Jeanne Pilon

• 2 Jean Baptiste Pilon

• 3 Pierre Pilon

• 4 Antoine Pilon

• 5 Marie Élisabeth Isabelle Pilon

• 6 Antoine Pilon

• 7 Mathieu Pilon

Establishment in Pointe-Claire

The Pilon family settled in Pointe-Claire, about thirty kilometres west of Montreal.

On September 19, 1706, Antoine purchased lot 154-D in Pointe-Claire from Madeleine LeMoyne, the widow of Jean-Baptiste Beauvais. He had previously bought the adjacent lot from her, 155-D. Lot 154-D was then three acres of frontage on Lake Saint-Louis, by 20 deep. On this land, Antoine built the family home, and the three youngest children were born there. This house is located at 258 Chemin Bord-du-Lac in Pointe-Claire, Québec, and still exists today. It is one of the oldest buildings in Pointe-Claire.

The current house is located near Antoine-Pilon Park, named in honour of Antoine in 2005.

Death of Antoine Pilon

Antoine Pilon died at the age of 51 on February 21, 1715 in Pointe-Claire. He was buried in the parish cemetery of St-Joachim the following day.

Second Wedding of Marie Anne and Guardianship of the Pilon Children

After Antoine's death, Marie Anne married Laurent Chatillon dit Godin, widower of Anne Guérin, on June 26, 1719 in Pointe-Claire. Laurent was a miller in Ste-Anne [de-Bellevue]; Marie Anne was a resident of Pointe-Claire.

Following the marriage, an act of guardianship was drawn up in Montreal for the minor children of Antoine Pilon and Marie Anne Brunet. This act included a declaration, by the missionary priest of Pointe-Claire, to the effect that Laurent Godin, unable to go to Montreal because of a foot injury, affirms that he undertakes to take care of the children, whom he takes under his responsibilities and promises to bring them up as his own, as is stated in his marriage contract. The following documents are also found in the guardianship file: Marie Anne Brunet's request to hold a meeting of relatives and friends to elect a guardian for her minor children, and the inventory of the property of the community of the late Antoine Pilon and Marie Anne Brunet.

Death of Marie Anne Brunet

Marie Anne gave the land and the Pointe-Claire house to her son Mathieu Pilon on January 22, 1729. The donation included a lot of five-acres frontage by 20 deep, formed during the amalgamation of lots 154-D and 155-D.

Marie Anne Brunet died at the age of about 75 on November 6, 1747 in Pointe-Claire. She was buried in the parish cemetery of St-Joachim the next day.

Pilon Legacy

In 2006, l'Association des Pilon registered its coat of arms with the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

"The blue and gold, along with the chevron, are taken from the arms of Pillon, Sieur de Rougemont, from the district of Carentan in Normandy. The three fleurs-de lis were retained to symbolize the French origins of the two earliest ancestors of the Pillon (or Pilon) family, namely Jean-Baptiste Pilon dit Lafortune, from Paris, and Antoine Pilon, from Bayeux in Normandy".

— l'Association des Pilon d'Amérique

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Sources:

• Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie, Fichier Origine database (http://www.fichierorigine.com), entry for Antoine PILON (person 243303), updated 23 Feb 2018.

• Jetté, René et le PRDH. 1983. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730. Montréal : Gaëtan Morin Éditeur. Page 917, Antoine Pilon.

• Jetté, René et le PRDH. 1983. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec des origines à 1730. Montréal : Gaëtan Morin Éditeur. Page 180, Mathieu Brunet dit Létang.

• "Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935", digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), marriage contract of Antoine Pilon and Marianne Brunet, notary Claude Maugue, Montréal, 2 Jan 1689, record 2155 ; citing original data: Fonds Cour Supérieure. Greffes de notaires. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

• "Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1968",digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), marriage of Antoine Pilon and Marie Anne Brunet, 10 Jan 1689, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue ; citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• "Antoine Pilon (abt. 1664 - 1715)", WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pilon-35), profile managed by Theresa Carrier-Torrealba.

• "Parc Antoine-Pilon", Commission de toponymie, Gouvernement du Québec (https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=392039).

• "Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1968",digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), burial of Antoine Pilon, 22 Feb 1715, Pointe-Claire, St-Joachim, Québec ; citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• "Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1968",digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), marriage of Laurent Godin and Marie Anne Brunet, 26 Jun 1719, Pointe-Claire, St-Joachim, Québec ; citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• "Fonds Juridiction royale de Montréal", Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/700441), "Tutelle des enfants mineurs de feu Antoine Pilon et de Marie-Anne Brunet, épouse en secondes noces de Laurent Godin, 22 juillet 1719 au 24 juillet 1719", cote TL4,S1,D2390, Id 700441 ; citing original data: Fonds Juridiction royale de Montréal - BAnQ Vieux-Montréal.

• "Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1968",digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), burial of Marie Anne Brunet, 7 Nov 1747, Pointe-Claire, St-Joachim, Québec ; citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

• L'Association des Pilon d'Amérique, registry of blazon, Canadian Heraldic Authority (https://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=f&ProjectID=1027&ProjectElementID=3536), 15 Mar 2006.