Clément LÉRIGER (LERIGÉ) dit LAPLANTE
Biography

Clément Lériger — (ca 1662 - 1742)

Clément Lériger de Laplante passed away December 5th, 1742, at La Prairie, Québec.

Lériger had a distinguished career as a soldier. Arriving in New France as a cadet, he became an ensign and later an officer. Following the massacre by the Iroquois at Lachine in August 1689, he was part of a detachment sent in pursuit of the attackers. The sortie fell victim to an ambush and Lériger was captured, but after three years in captivity he was rescued.

Following many more years of military service, he married nineteen year-old Marie Roy in 1700. It's assumed Marie was exceptionally beautiful and charming, because Lériger violated a strict rule with the union: he married without permission. The "marriage was kept a secret because, as an officer, he was required to have the King's permission to marry," which would "not be granted unless the [bride] was able to bring a considerable dowry."

Lériger was demoted for the offense, but eventually regained his position after the intervention of Governor de Callières.

[Sources: PRDH; Fichier-Origine [ID #242526]; "Clément Lérigé dit Laplante", Our French-Canadian Ancestors (vol.3, pp.126-134), Gérard Lebel (Thomas J. Laforest (tr.)), James Weathers (illustrator), Palm Harbor, Florida, 1992]

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