MIVILLE, PIERRE, known as Le Suisse, master-joiner, pioneer and captain of the Lauson shore; d. 14 Oct. 1669 in Lauson and was buried the next day in Quebec.

Swiss by birth, Miville came to Canada via La Rochelle at a date that has not been established with certainty but that was previous to 28 Oct. 1649. On that date he, along with his son François, received from the governor, Louis d’Ailleboust, a grant of land in the seigneury of Lauson, which was later raised to the status of an arriere-fief. Miville apparently tried to entice some of his compatriots to Canada. In fact, on 16 July 1665 M. de Prouville de Tracy granted him, along with his sons and four other persons, a concession measuring 21 by 40 arpents at Grande Anse (La Pocatière), naming the locality “the Canton of the Fribourg Swiss.” This undertaking was unsuccessful. Pierre Miville stayed at Lauson until his death on 14 Oct. 1669. In France he had married Charlotte Maugis, who bore him at least six children; one of them, Jacques, was the founder of the Miville-Deschênes families of North America.

Honorius Provost