Of all the early Messiers who arrived in Canada, Martine is perhaps the one who lived most in the shadows. She was the daughter of Jehan LeMessier; unfortunately, her mother’s name is unknown. Martine was the aunt of our ancestors Michel and Jacques Messier. According to the 1666 and 1667 censuses, she was born in 1608, whereas the 1681 census suggests a birth year of 1593. Given that her parents married in 1603, the age cited in the 1666 and 1667 censuses seems more plausible to me.

As the date of her marriage is unknown, I must use a hypothetical one. Only the Jetté dictionary cites 1625; this year was likely chosen simply because a date had to be recorded. Considering her age, 1630 seems a more likely date for her marriage to Antoine Primot. Martine’s parents lived in Vascoeuil, and her marriage took place there.

Around 1642, while living in St-Denis-le-Thiboult, the Primot couple adopted their niece Catherine, the daughter of Guillaume Thierry and Ysabeau (Élisabeth) Messier—Martine’s sister. The adoption was initially a verbal agreement. In 1660, while in Ville-Marie, the Primots decided to formalize the arrangement before the notary Basset, in the presence of Monsieur de Maisonneuve. The record notes that this step was taken because the couple had no children of their own, and it indicates that a certain period of time had elapsed between their marriage and the adoption.

Contrary to what some historians might think, the Primot couple did not arrive with Monsieur de Maisonneuve in 1641. I have noted that in 1643, Antoine Primot served as a witness in St-Denis-le-Thiboult for an acknowledgment of debt involving Jacques and David LeMessier. The document states that the Primot couple was living in St-Denis-le-Thiboult at the time. Furthermore, the adoption record for their daughter Catherine, dated March 20, 1660, indicates that she was in St-Denis-le-Thiboult in 1642. The complete absence of any record of the couple in Ville-Marie prior to 1649 suggests that they arrived in that year.

On November 8, 1650, Maisonneuve granted a land concession to Jean Descarris. The deed notes that Antoine Primot was his neighbor. The Primot property was located west of "La Provençale." It was bounded on the east and west by St-Thomas and Lusignan streets, and on the south and north by William Street and René-Lévesque Boulevard. However, I have not seen the original purchase deed; it is possible that, eight years after the founding of Ville-Marie, notarial records were less rigorous.

There is no indication as to whether the Primot couple remained on this land. Iroquois raids made their safety precarious. Later, the couple settled permanently in Pointe-Saint-Charles, though historians have had difficulty pinpointing the exact location. At the time of their daughter Catherine’s marriage, Charles Lemoyne granted the Primot couple lifetime use of his land in that area. As for the property on William Street, it is possibly the same one that his brother Jacques sold to André Hurtibise on July 3, 1656.

An Iroquois attack, of which Martine was a victim, made her known throughout the colony. On July 29, 1652, she was outside the fort, working in the fields. Suddenly, three Iroquois warriors rushed at her. Martine fought back like a lioness, but the odds were uneven. What could a woman of about forty-four do against three warriors? She eventually succumbed to the blows and lost consciousness.

One Iroquois decided to place his knee on her chest to better tear off her scalp. The pain caused by the warrior's weight upon her brought her back to her senses. Seeing the man's intentions, she gathered her remaining strength, grabbed the most sensitive part of his anatomy with her hands, and squeezed with all her might to force him to change his plan. The warrior abandoned the attempt to scalp her and thought only of fleeing. Hearing her screams, Frenchmen rushed to Martine's aid.

The first Frenchman to arrive on the scene lifted the unfortunate woman up; seeing she was alive, he embraced her with joy. To the astonishment of the other Frenchmen, he was surprised to receive a resounding slap across the face. "But why that gesture?" they asked her. "Parmanda," she replied, "I thought he wanted to harass me!" From that expression, the nickname "Parmanda" stuck with her forever. Martine had sustained seven wounds.

Parish records bear traces of Martine. On August 27, 1653, she served as godmother to Jean Leduc. On May 28, 1654, her daughter Catherine married Charles LeMoyne. On June 18, 1656, she served as godmother to Michel Froge. She also served as a godmother in 1659, 1660, 1662, and 1675. On November 28, 1678, she was present at the wedding of Catherine Messier, daughter of Michel.

In 1654, seeking to retain settlers in Montreal, the Société Notre-Dame offered them an enticing incentive—a bonus conditional upon their remaining in Montreal permanently. On January 22, 1654, her husband Antoine Primot and her brother Jacques received a bonus of 400 livres.

No business transactions involving the Primots have been found in notarial records. One must therefore rely on other sources to learn a little more about them. The 1666 census reveals that they had two servants: Jean Blout and Robert Courtard. The 1667 census provides slightly more information; in addition to the two previously named servants, a third, Jean Gauthier, is listed. They owned sixteen head of livestock and forty acres of cultivated land. By 1681, towards the end of their lives, the census records one servant (Jean), as well as six head of cattle and sixty acres of cultivated land.

A year earlier, on July 14, 1680, the Primot couple had drawn up a will in favor of their adopted daughter in front of the notary Maugue. Martine and her husband declared that they could not sign their names; Antoine Primot marked the document with a cross.

He died in Varennes on January 16, 1688; however, his burial took place in Boucherville. As the parish of Sainte-Anne-de-Varennes was not founded until 1692, Martine must have died sometime between the 1681 census and her husband's death. Since the timing of Antoine Primot’s move to Varennes and the date of Martine’s death are unknown, it is difficult to determine whether she died in Varennes or Ville-Marie.