Louis-Pierre Thury (c. 1644, Notre Dame de Breuil en Auge ( Department of Calvados),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

-June 3, 1699, Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

) was a French missionary (secular priest) who was sent to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

during the time of

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

. He was a liaison between the French and their Native American allies during the course of the conflict, and died soon after it ended.

Biography

Thury was born around 1644 in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, and had probably begun his theological studies in France. He arrived in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

in 1675 as a missionary. In 1684, when the institution wanted to found a missionary in the French colony of

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

, Father

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. Consecrated a bishop in 1658, he led the Apostolic Vicariate of New France from 1658 to ...

sent him on an observation tour from Percé to Port Royal, and chose to settle at Miramichi. Later, he settled Castine,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, and remained there for a time. In 1688 Fr. Louis-Pierre Thury, of the Foreign Missions, established the first regular mission at Panawambskek (Penobscot).Mooney, James. "Penobscot Indians." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 Jul. 2014
/ref> In 1689, he took part in the destruction of Pemaquid, after gaining great influence over the

Abenaki people The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

. In 1692, he took part in the attacks on the English colony of York (Maine) along with Abenaki and French war parties. He later took part in the attack against Pescadouet ( Oyster River), and was present with

Joseph Robineau de Villebon Joseph Robineau (or Robinau) de Villebon (22 August 1655 – 5 July 1700), a governor of Acadia, was born in New France and received much of his education and military experience in France. Robinau de Villebon's importance in history occurre ...

and a party of Abenakis at the capture of Pemaquid by

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

in 1696. In 1698, he was assigned to found a mission between Shubenacadie and Chibouctou to group the Micmac people, but died before this project could be undertaken. According to author Thomas Raddall, Thury was at Halifax preaching to the Mi'kmaq. He is the first recorded missionary in this area. He celebrated Easter with the Mi'kmaq to coincide with their ancient spring festival. French botanist Diereville arrived in 1699 to obtain plants for the royal gardens. At his arrival at Chebucto on the ship La Royale Paix, three Mi'kmaq chiefs greeted him in canoes, declared themselves Christians and showed him Father Thury's grave.

References

Endnotes Texts
Acadia at the end of the 17th Century, p. 198Acadia at the end of the 17th Century, p. 56
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thury, Louis-Pierre 1644 births 1699 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in New France People in King William's War