What does a Pigeon, a cheating wife of a soldier, a Gonzague?, an adulterer, the church, sacrilege, a bigamist, a NARC and an Official Excommunication all have to do with one another? Sounds like a Tabloid article for someone famous or should I say infamous.
Well they all have to do with Louis de Gonzague Deshetres dit Pigeon and his wife (Not really) Louise……..or you can just call him our 5th great grandfather. Or just pops. lol. (This is the family that later changed their name to Beach when they immigrated to the USA from Canada. )
Just a personal note here. It was tough writing this story. Two things I hate most in the world are Pigeons and Cheese Eating surrender monkeys. I’m having a hard time mentally coming to grips with the fact that the Beach line is not just French but UBER French….It’’s killing me. lol
He wouldn’t let the church stand in the way of his love…… at least until things got real tough.
Louis de Gonzague Deshetres dit Pigeon was born in 1736 and died in 1809. He was a wheelwright when he died. (A person who repairs wheels) I understand he was also a trader, trapper and an interpreter. His father Antoine Deshetres was possibly from New England and the story goes he was kidnapped by Indians and taken to live with them escaping when he was older. Sounds like a story but I’m still looking.
“Our Scandal and Horror” “Public and stubborn adulterers” “Whore” “Calmly and even blacker more gross” Nice huh? These were the words in the Official Excommunication of Louis and Louise. Here is what happened.
Louise was a new Immigrant to the country. She lied and was an imposter saying she was a widow so she could marry Louis. Well she wasn’t. Her husband, a soldier in the Kings guard was still alive. Louise tried to cover it up, say it wasn’t so then told more lies to try and get out of it. She told the church that her husband was married before and even had children before they were married…… So they banned them from church until the matter could be investigated.
Well they got found out. They were confronted and fell to their knees. The next day after they were found out they threw themselves down at the priest’s feet, cried mercy and profound tears saying they would stop. The priest gave in to them and believed them as they had exterior marks of sincere repentance each carrying a candle to church in front of a large crowd who had come to witness such a sight. The reverend father absolved them and let them enter the church……BUT…….PSYCH! They didn’t stop. In fact after they said they would stop living together etc. it appears they had at least three children of a marriage that was not legal. Things moved a little slower back then. So the church went to them again to punish them and they repented again and the church believed them again. (The priests got real mad when talking about the chances they gave them in the document)
Enter the NARC!
A person who is not named in the Excommunication went to the church and told on them! It appears they couldn’t hide the fact she was pregnant again.
Nine days after a notice was sent to them Louis de Gonzague Dehestre and Louise went to the Church of Notre Dame de I’Assomption and publicly married each other. Well it appears the priests had a cow and a conniption fit. (Conniption was in my spell check!) I guess they had more time on their hands. (Insert joke about little boys and priest here.) It didn’t take long after that and they were Excommunicated.
Louis disappears for two years. The church’s ruling kept them apart. They had the power back then to bring them to justice (Jail and imprisonment).
c’est la vie…..
I can’t be too worried over this horrible story. If the church didn’t Excommunicate them we wouldn’t be here. Louis turns up in Montreal two years later sans Louise and marries Marie Francois Fortier my 5th great grandmother!