The 2024 Mercier Gathering was held on August 17 and 18, in the Portneuf region, under the theme “Le Chemin du Roy” (King of France’s Way).

Participants were invited to meet at 1:30 pm in the parking lot of Deschambault’s Church.

Our guide explained the history of the Church (histoire de l’église Saint-Joseph , link to Wikipédia in French) together with the complicated negotiations surrounding the acquisition of an organ created by Samuel Russell Warren.

The group then walked a hundred meters towards the shore of St. Lawrence River, on Cap Lauzon, to take advantage of the great panorama offered by the river…

and notably by “Îlot Richelieu” (Richelieu Small Island).

Cap Lauzon reunites many important buildings, like the Church and the Old Presbitery, whose history was later told.

The group then drove up to moulin de la Chevrotière, (in French) and the guide explained that 3 different mills were constructed near the river, the last one being the one on the picture.  It was restored and it is now a museum.

The first day ended up at Econo Lodge Le Chavigny where dinner was served and participants had a room for the night.

The following day, always at Econo Lodge Le Chavigny, the Association held its Annual General Meeting (Assemblée générale annuelle – AGA) from 9:00 to 11:00 am, ending with a presentation from Ms Esther Ross, secretary of Société d’histoire des Filles du Roy, (Historical Society of Filles du Roy – in French) who personified, in period costume, her ancestor Marguerite Lamain, wife in second marriage of Pierre Mercier, this couple being one of the familles souches Mercier (Mercier stem-families – in French) in North America.

Early in the afternoon, the group drove along Chemin du Roy, in direction of Québec, up to Cap Santé, passing on Main Street which revealed an extraordinary village, and visiting the Church featuring many stunning restored stained glasses, followed by a concert inside the Church.

Finally, the group drove again on Chemin du Roy, up to Neuville.  M. Réal Michaud, treasurer of Société d’histoire de Neuville (Historical Society of Neuville), who appears on the picture, led a visit of the Church, which was transformed in municipal library, and gave the participants exhaustive information about the impressive six-poster baldachin and high-altar that were preserved and restored.

The visit ended in the sacristy of Neuville’s Church, when Jacques Mercier, président of the Association des Mercier d’Amérique du Nord, jointly with Ms. Esther Ross, descendant of Marguerite Lamain and Pierre Mercier, member of Société d’histoire des Filles du Roy and member of Société d’histoire de Neuville, unveiled a plaque paying tribute to the Pierre Mercier – Marguerite Lamain stem-family.

Great novelty, the plaque displays in the lower right corner a QR code which, when scanned by an intelligent phone’s camera linked to internet, brings you directly on the Association’s site, to an article giving more details about Pierre Mercier and  Marguerite Lamain (in French).  Try it !

 

All the pictures were taken by Roger Racine.