Yves Phlem 
dit Yvon Le Breton

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 
2. Yves Phlem, Ancestor of the Hivon Families 
3. Our Doctors
4. Genealogy of the Yves Phlem Family 

The author of this brochure M. Raymond Douville, is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and of the "Société des Dix". The latter is made up of historians enlisted from all parts of Québec, and has published every year for nearly forty years a volume of works by some of its members, on different subjects, at the discretion of the writers. 

As we know, M. Douville was born in Sainte-Anne. He is also one of the main facilitators of activities relating to the history of La Pérade. His essay in the "Cahier des Dix" of 1973, although general in scope, is concerned mainly with our parish. He, and his colleagues have agreed to our request to publish in our collection "Nos Vieilles Familles". We thank them very sincerely and wish to express our gratitude. 

Yves Phlem, is in effect the ancestor of the Hivon family, who are still well entrenched with us. There are few today who know the origin of the this name and fewer still who are aware of the colourful life of their first Canadian ancestor, a Breton who lived for the greater part on our peradian soil, and devoted himself to the service of his fellow-citizen. 

Most, if not all of the families of that period in Sainte-Anne, owe him some gratitude, as we will see in reading this monograph. We cannot be assured that he has saved lives, we do know that he has cared for the sick, cured some illnesses, and relieved some pain in a parish where there were no physicians at the time. 

M. Douville has added to his article in the "Cahier des Dix", some details of interest to the Peradians, especially the family and immediate descendants. All, accompanied by some interesting illustrations, part of which deal with Yves Phlem's birthplace Ploujean in Brittany, a region visited by M. Douville last spring. The other illustrations are family photos supplied to us by his descendants. 

This brochure in the third in the series «Nos Vielles Familles». Others are in preparation. We hope to eventually put together a set as complete as possible of all the pioneering families of the parish. 

To accomplish this we will require the collaboration of everyone, by gathering family documents, artifacts, photos, etc. This will enable us to create a unique history collection, worthy of our parish, now over three centuries old. 

C.H. Lapointe, curé

Ancestor of the Hivon Families

Under the tile "Surgeons, Barber-surgeons and Quacks of the Three-rivers Region Under the French Regime", we have sketched briefly in the «Cahier des Dix» number 15 (1950) the career of a colorful character, Yves Phlem dit Yvon le Breton, and recounted his difficulties with the authorities of his time. Without any legal right to do so, he practiced the art of surgery, sometimes with a measure of success, dealing however with minor cases only. The facts show that he was a born healer, and not a simple quack, a qualifier shamelessly bestowed upon him by official physicians and surgeons. 

I want this writing to be a sort of rehabilitation of his memory and also his reputation, by looking at his exemplary family life, his untiring devotion to those who sought his help, and also at the serene definition of the word «Healer» "guérisseur, euse," which the Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Quillet defines as: "one who heals, or pretends to heal, and only used disparagingly of a person who practices «empiric» medicine without the benefit of medical studies". Healers are still many; they survive legal challenges and the progress of medicine; they have a clientele and do heal a few. They follow practices not usually found in medicine, at times with success. It is because medicine doesn't know everything and illnesses frequently have a psychic aspect, on which psychic influences can be brought to bear; as many healers are wont to do." 

Like all those, who through time, and in every country, have exercised this special power, appreciated or tolerated by some, or disparaged by others, Yves Phlem believed he had received a natural gift, and that sharing it with his fellow-men was his mission. This for him had the power of the priesthood. This was his main argument, in his altercations with the authorities. 

In that important writing about the physicians and surgeons of New France, Doctors James and George Ahern, who practiced in Quebec, speak of Yves Phlem to whom they have applied without pity, and with a sort of contempt, the qualificative of quack «charlatan». They enumerated at length his misdemeanor and his misdeeds, while frequently having only a few lines of little consequence about other excellent or mediocre physicians of the time. They seem to have taken a sadistic pleasure in threshing the memory of this born-healer, to whom many of his fellow-citizens would have erected a statue, has it been common practice in this peaceful village of Sainte-Anne-de-la Pérade, where reigned at the time like a queen and mistress, Madeleine de Verchère with her irascible husband, Pierre Thomas de la Naudière, sieur de La Pérade. 

The name of this singular fellow has had many written forms: Phlem, Flemme, Flème, Flame, Phlème, le Fêne, etc. In a contract drawn by Notary Trotain, 9 June 1727, he is called "le sieur Yvon le frême, maistre-chirurgien demeurant à Sainte-Anne". At the end of the document the notary wrote "et a signé en Breton, ne pouvant écrire en français" [and has signed in Breton, unable to write in French]. Since the vocable Yves Phlem is most often used and appears to be the most accurate, we will stick to this appellation. 

In some documents, he said to be from Morlaix in Lower Brittany, and in others from Saint-Jean-de-Morlaix. In reality, he was born in Ploujean, in the outskirts of Morlaix. The Breton word Plou (also Plé, Plo, Plu, depending on the region) means village. Which is why there are many places names having this prefix: Plougastel, Plédran, Plovanez, Pleyben, etc. In Ploujean, located less than two miles from Morlaix, stands a fifteenth century church, near which there is a monument dedicated to Maréchal Foch, who was fond of this peaceful village. 

Phlem's parents were Guillaume Phlem and Marguerite Pervine. He received a good education, and acquired vast knowledge, if one judges by the quotations from the bible and ancient or contemporary authors, with which he adorned his indictments. 

What has brought him here? He is precise on the subject in one of his dashing arguments dated March 1737. "Mémoire contenant griefs et moyens d'appel pour le sieur Yves Phlem, chirurgien établi sur le fief de Sainte-Anne près de Batiscan, appelant:"[Brief of grievances, and means of appeal for Mr. Yves Phlem, established on the fief of Sainte-Anne near Batiscan, appellant:] 

On 9 June 1727, he sells his farm at Saint-Nicolas to Pierre Renaud. The bill of sale passed before Notary Trotain of Batiscan, describe him as «maistre-chirurgien» living in Sainte-Anne. On 6 October, following, he becomes the owner of a farm and habitation, which the document drawn by Notary Trotain, describes as follows: 

We are not aware of the precise reasons why Phlem settled in Sainte-Anne in permanence. One can only make a few suppositions; the most probable being that after his first successes on Ile d'Orléans, and around Lévis, he came to the attention of the King's surgeons established in Québec, who wanted to protect their prerogatives, and also their reputation. An understandable reaction that hasn't changed through the centuries. It was these same surgeons who were intransigent and without mercy toward Phlem, when they had gathered sufficient legal arguments to have him declared unqualified to practice surgery. Without a doubt at the beginning Phlem sensed the danger, and preferred to distance himself. Besides, at Ile d'Orléans, he was alway face to face with the indomitable Jean Mauvide, who was both surgeon and seigneur. 

Moreover, in Sainte-Anne, and in the surrounding parishes there was an acute shortage of surgeons. One could only count on Doctor François Herbecq, who lived in Batiscan; very competent and devoted, but he was now getting on in age, and could not cope with all the needs. Considering that the clientele of Doctor Herbecq was spread out not only on the north shore, but also along the south shore from Bécancour to Lotbinière, it is possible that this country doctor without prejudices, and concerned primarily with the care of the sick, may have heard of the Phlem's successes in certain areas of medical practice, particularly in blood letting and the treatment of simple wounds.. 

But this is only a supposition. What is certain is that the authorities in Saint-Anne, whether seigniorial, civil or religious, all welcomed Phlem with enthusiasm, and it's possible that he had been asked to settle himself in the parish. Whatever else, they all gave him support during those difficult periods in his careers when he was butting heads with the judiciary. This is probably the only point on which the bilious Pierre Thomas de la Naudière, sieur de La Pérade, his wife Madeleine de Verchère, and the Curé Joseph Voyer were always in agreement. 

From his arrival on the seigneurie, Phlem, inspired confidence in everyone, and was received warmly in the community. We see proof in the birth certificates of his first children for whom the seigneurs and notables of the parish served as godparents. Madeleine de Verchere was godmother to his first son. The godfather was Joseph Gouin, lieutenant in the local militia. The seigneur of the small seigneurie of Sainte-Marie, Louis Gastineau, was godfather to the second child, and the sieur de La Pérade to the third one, and so on. In all of these documents, Phlem is ostentatiously and without scrupules given the title of «chirurgien» by the Curé Voyer, who writes out the records and signs them officially. Later, when Phlem began his struggles with the medical and legal authorities, the ingenious and wily pastor, while supporting him publicly, became more reticent. In the official registers which by law he had to submit to a central registry clerk, he would now refer to him as «pseudo-chirurgien» or «soi-disant-chirurgien». An understandable reticence, which took nothing away from the support the Curé gave him in the manner of his parishioners 

During the first years in Sainte-Anne, Phlem devoted himself to the service of the inhabitants of the region without any worries. He would tend to all those who called for his services, and his patients came from everywhere, even some from outside the Trois-Rivières region. His house had become a small hospital of sorts. He would offer food, lodging and bedding; his wife always devoted, would look after the laundering, the food, etc 

Phlem's difficulties began in 1735, when an inhabitant of the parish of Sainte-Famille, Ile d'Orléans, arrived at his home and begged him to cure his illness, «a sort of canker, very advanced, that had already eaten away part of his lower lip, well in front on the left». Bilodo had at first been under the care of Jean Mauvide, surgeon of Saint-Jean, Ile d'Orléans, who could not stop the progress of his affliction. Bilodo went to Québec, stayed with a friend and asked to be examined by Doctor Berthier, surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. The doctor refused to examine him anywhere else but the hospital, but the patient would not go, being too poor to pay for the hospitalization or the required care. In desperation, he consulted a Jesuit Brother, Jean Jard Boispineau, also known for his gift as a healer. Alas! his verdict was that the condition was incurable. 

That is when Bilodo sought the help of Phlem. Bilodo would say later in testimony collected by Notary Pollet: «then, on the reputation of the good cures effected by the Sr Yves Phlem, surgeon established on the fief of Sainte-Anne, near Batiscan, and so as to overlook nothing that might cure him, [he] set out from Quebec, partly on foot and partly by canoe, for the said fief of Sainte-Anne, and the said surgeon. After being treated for a few days by the said surgeon, and feeling somewhat better, he called upon Mssrs. Voyer, curé of Sainte-Anne, and La Pérade, seigneur of the fief, as well as other witnesses to draw up the following agreement with the said surgeon...» 

This is the famous agreement that later after the death of this poor Bilodeau, would trigger legal actions on the part of the judiciary against Phlem, against which he would battle with all the dash and stubbornness of his Breton blood. As there were no notaries in the area, the agreement was drawn up by the Curé Voyer, in Phlem's home, in these terms: 

He pondered over this for a few days seeking all the means to forestall any eventual problems. Besides, the state of the patient was less and less reassuring, and Bilodeau himself was now aware of his impending doom. 

The notary finally came upon the solution; or at least a solution. But it had to be done quickly. On the 27 April following, he went to the surgeon's domicile and told the patient, of his decision to ask him to send a request directly to Intendant Hocquart «intendant of justice, police and finance in the whole of New France». The patient readily accepted the proposition, and the notary read the text that he has prepared in his study. 

The text, conserved in the «collection des pièces judiciales et notariales» in the Quebec Archives, covers three pages. It describes Bilodo's illness from the start, the unsuccessful treatments by the other physicians, the abandonment by his wife, his arrival at Phlem's, the contracted debt, which he was unable to reimburse, another small debt of thirty livres, to François Gariépy, lieutenant in the militia, his gratitude toward Phlem who was providing devoted care, etc. Finally «considering that the state of his illness, lead to believe naturally that he will die soon, the cruel indifference of his family, and the abandonment of all his relatives and friends», he has concluded that his only remaining consolation will be to die in peace with his conscience, and his final wishes are that his debts contracted in Sainte-Anne be paid in full. This is why he is seeking the personal protection of the Intendant, great master of justice in this country. 

The document was again signed in the presence of Curé Voyer and other citizens: Jean-Baptiste and Pierre Baribeau, Michel Roy and Etienne Prade. 

This last minute precaution, was not without its merit, and certainly was considered when the Court rendered it final judgement. 

By then, Phlem knew that even with all his devoted care, his patient could not recover. The pains became even more atrocious, and poor Bilodeau drew his last breath in the home of the surgeon, during the night of the 9 to the 10 of May next (1736). His burial certificate reads as follows: 

One might wonder why the deceased wasn't brought back home for burial in his own parish. It was that since his departure from Ile d'Orléans, he had been completely abandoned by his wife, Marie Turgeon, his eight children, and also his parents and his friends. He admits this fact in all in many of the notarized documents. In all his time spent in Sainte-Anne, he was not visited by anyone, and moreover his family never made any enquiries as to his condition. He complained bitterly, even if one could be repulsed by being with him. His canker which was getting progressively worse day by day, gave off an «unbearable odor», as Phlem would say. When the latter would, according to their agreement, see twice a day to change his dressings, and clean the wound, he would wear a band of cloth around his face so as not to gag. It was the same when it was time to wash his bandages or bringing him food and drink. In the last months before his death, he could only take a few drop of wine, which were presented «at arm's length». 

But what affected him the most and rendered even more cruel the solitude in which he struggled, was that his wife never once enquired about his condition, or sent him money or clothing. Many witnesses have testified to these facts, in subsequent testimonies. 

The widow finally took an interest in her husband after his death. A month hadn't elapsed that her "chargé d'affaires" arrived in Sainte-Anne; a neighbour named François Langelier «a second cousin of Jean Bilodeau». Langelier had a power of attorney from the widow, properly drawn and signed by the curé of his parish, messire Cloutier. 

A casual agreement was concluded on 12 June between Phlem and Langelier under the watchful eye of the curé Voyer, and before Pierre Roy, lieutenant in the militia, and Etienne Prade, master-tailor. It was agreed that «the widow and heirs of the deceased Bilodo» would pay his debt in the following manner: 

The procurer for the widow Bilodo, brought to bear on behalf of his client, all the logical arguments that he could find and that any good advocate could have found. In the first place Bilodo could not have mortgaged all of his assets without the written consent of his spouse in co-ownership. The context of the agreement between the patient and the surgeon, implied the guarantee of a cure, which was a breach of trust, and furthermore he had not promised to pay back the difference of the six months, in case of an early cure. Phlem would have, according to his interpretation, taken advantage of the dejection and suffering of his patient, to extract this accord. Moreover, considering that surgeons of renown had declared the condition incurable, Phlem was in no position to assure a cure. Finally, and this was the main argument, Phlem had no official qualifications, to advertise or practice the profession of surgeon. 

It is this last argument that caught the attention of the members of the tribunal, undoubtedly under some indirect pressures from the official surgeons, who had delegated as their representative, the well known surgeon Jourdain Lajus, as they did not want to abandon any of their rights and prerogatives . One could not honestly lay any blame on them for their attitude. Lajus who had earned the nickname of «major of the doctors» enjoyed great prestige and consideration. 

Pierre André de Leigne, King's counsel and lieutenant civil and criminal of the Prévôté de Québec, heard that cause. On 15 March 1737, he rendered his judgement which was far from favoring Phlem. First of all, the agreement between Phlem and Bilodo of 16 September 1735 was declared null and void, «considering that Phlem has none of the qualification of a surgeon, and cannot be recognized as such». However for the food given to the patient during eight months, he is awarded 120 livres, or 15 livres per month, from which will be deducted the 100 livres already received. Furthermore, the said Phlem is «forbidden to affect the quality of surgeon in the future and exercise such functions, unless authorized by the doctors and surgeons of the King, under penalty of arbitrary fines and compensated costs». 

For Phlem it was a failure, right down the line. Without hesitation he launched an appeal to the "Conseil superieur". On 21 March, less than one week after the above judgement was rendered, his procurer Jean de La Tour, filed a request with the Conseil to have it annulled. The request specified that «the case was priviledged, and requires celerity». The members of the Conseil agreed with his demand and speeded up the appeal process. The deliberations, they announced would begin the following week. 

Phlem was somewhat confounded by this unaccustomed haste, which he had nevertheless requested, but he got to work. He already had in hand a number of certificates from persons he had cured. The Prévôté judge had not accepted them in evidence. He would present them again along with other testimonies from persons that he had successfully treated. The Curé and the seigneur of Sainte-Anne promised him to circulate a petition in his favour amongst the parishioners. They kept their word. The Conseil also wanted his defense statement in writing. He started for Québec, and went to the study of Me de La Tour, and, in one night, finalized with him the manuscript: "Mémoire contenant griefs et moyens d'appel pour le sieur Yves Phlem, chirurgien établi sur le fief de Sainte-Anne près de Batiscan, appelant:"[Brief of grievances, and means of appeal for Mr. Yves Phlem, established on the fief of Sainte-Anne near Batiscan, appellant:] 

The document was certainly written by the procurer himself or his clerk. Phlem in those first ten years could have learned enough French to speak it and be understood, but not to write it. However the inspiration and the ideas are definitely his. One recognizes his dash, his impetuosity, his reasoning, and his temperament of Breton; fighter, and determined to win. The plea covers a dozen large sheets of paper. After a brief account of the points being contested, he finds it useful to give a few details of his youth, and the circumstances that brought him to New France, which we have mentioned at the beginning. Then, he tackles the main points of his argument, with eloquence and some vigor. 

We know that since arriving in the country, his talents as a healer were sought, in his words:«in different illnesses, which made him known, and where he acquired a reputation mainly for cankers where he had a considerable number of cures». 

He then recounts some of these cures, «known throughout the colony, which he offers to prove in case of contestation.» The wife of Jean-Louis Auger of Lotbinière, a canker in the cheek; Michel Lapointe of Lotbinière, a canker to the eye; the daughter of Geni(?) of Grondines, a canker under the chin; the daughter of Jacques Labbé, of Saint-François, Ile d'Orléans, two cankers in the breast; the man named Durand of Dautray, a canker in the lower lip; the daughter of the man named Lafontaine of Cap St-Ignace, a canker of the cheek; Joseph Reau of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, a canker near the left eye. 

These are the only cases recounted in his plea. But he offers others if required. He will also present other signed certificates which he holds in reserve. 

And the argument continues. 

He is not yet through with his argumentation. Far from it! He has barely reached the half way point of what he wants to say. He will now tackle the purely legal aspects of his right to practice surgery, even if he doesn't have an official certificate of competence in the field. Again he demonstrates a certain finesse, flexibility and plain common sense. We cannot obviously quote everything. Nevertheless, let us attempt to sketch briefly the essence of his plea. 

At first he takes apart the judgement of the Prévôté, where he finds an obvious contradiction. The president of the tribunal declares null and void the agreement passed between the patient and the surgeon, yet he is awarded an indemnity. Phlem does not go easy on this Court: «The invalidity, based on the supposed absence of qualification, imagined by the inferior Judges, to provide color and motive for their sentence, has no base in custom and practice and could not be used to declare the agreement null». Which brings him immediately to the following argument, where his astuteness cannot be denied: 

During that time the fellow-citizens and friends of Phlem were not inactive. They held two meetings on 22 and 28 of March. At the last meeting the following resolution was adopted: 

Written testimonials, from persons who had been cured were also included in the dossier. Marie-Jeanne d'Aubusson, cousin of the seigneuresse Madeleine de Verchère, living in the manor, declares over her signature, to have been perfectly cured of «a wound from a sword through her hand, complicated by cut tendons and nerve damage.» The missionary-curé of Lotbinière, Antoine Abrat certifies that on 26 February 1737 the surgeon Phlem came to his parish to provide treatment to his parishioner Mathurin Lemay, suffering from «a wound sustained when a tree fell.» 

We cannot relate here all the testimonies collected. One of them however merits attention as a good example: 

Now, all that remained was to await the tribunal's decision, which was not long in coming. It was rendered 13 April 1737 and may be found in the "Jugements et Délibérations du Conseil superieur" (vol 3, p. 172 in the publication of the provincial Archives). 

This judgement is hardly any more favourable to the poor surgeon than the one from the Prévôté. He only gains a small pecuniary advantage. As for the rest nothing changed. Here is the principal extract: 

The Conseil never contested that the «so-called surgeon» as he is named in the judgement had accomplished some remarkable cures. But it could not approve his conduct, nor the attitude of the authorities and the parishioners of Sainte-Anne who would have preferred to see an illegal situation declared legal. In fact it was a double illegality, because such meetings and petitions were forbidden by law. As the historian Gustave Lanctôt said in his work: L'administration de la Nouvelle France, «the right of assembly did not exist under the old Regime. To hold an assembly was a privilege requiring formal demand before hand, and an official had to be present during the assembly.» So read the French law and it was enforced in this country. The people however were generally ignorant of the fact, until an incident like this brought it to their attention. 

Furthermore, the learned jurists were not questioning Phlem's competence. The «only» obligation that they placed on him was that he obtained his surgeon certificate. The word only was certainly an open door for Phlem to apply for his certificate. But Phlem in his Breton stubbornness would not come through it. In the parish there was for a time some griping about the judgement that was qualified as unjust, inhuman and immoral. Something that was then and is still customary. And the storm passed, tempers cooled, and the incident was soon forgotten. As for Phlem, he was convinced that no one, not even the most competent jurists would suppress his vocation as a natural born disciple of Aesculapius. He continued to provide care to all those who asked, or at least to provide treatment. 

He was not always successful. Witness some entries in the parish registers. The 22 July 1738, burial of Nicolas Marion, age forty years, died the day before in the house of the sieur Yves Phlem. The 12 December 1739, burial of Paul Desmarais of Verchères, suffering from dropsy, died in the house of the surgeon. The 22 February 1742 «was inhumed toward the evening, Gabriel Desmarais, previously employed in the Forges Saint-Maurice, the said man died last night of dropsy, in the house of Mr. Yves Phlem, surgeon of said Sainte-Anne. 

The parish registers are hardly fair to Phlem. They only mention the sick who came to his home to die but we will never know all the names of those that he has cured or at least alleviated their sufferings in the last years of his life. Because without a doubt he carried on with his life of benevolence, or what some would even call his apostolate, without further worries after the unfortunate Bilodo affair. The higher authorities, even as they were aware of his medical activities, closed their eyes and left him in peace, free to minister to those who sought his help. As for the certified physicians practicing in the cities, he was not seen as competition, and as they received no official complaints, they created no more difficulties. There was only one doctor resident in the region, doctor François Herbecq, living in Batiscan who could not see to all of the needs. At any rate, around 1745 he was over 75 years of age, and had donated his farms and his possessions to his son François. He took no umbrage at the activity of his «colleague» in Sainte-Anne. Herbecq would live until 1766, when he died in Deschaillons at the age of 96 years. He had survived all his children and also, it goes without saying, the majority of his patients. 

As for Phlem he lived his remaining years in peace, with his ever devoted spouse at his side, and his children, coddled by his neighbours, protected as always by the local authorities. His medical activities did not prevent him from attending to his family's future. From year to year, children were born. 

The 3 May 1733 — his fifth child had been born less than two months before — he exchanged on an even swap with Jean-Baptiste Guyon dit Lachapelle, his small farm purchased in 1727 for another with three arpents of frontage, located «dans le rang du Rapide», between Michel Roy Chatellereault and Jean-Baptiste Baribeault. At about this time, a former soldier whom he had treated, Claude Vincent native of St-Nizier-le-Bouchoux, diocese of Lyons, came to work on his farm in exchange for food and lodging. This agreement was drawn up by Notary Pollet on 22 July 1733. Vincent worked on Phlem's farm for five years, when he obtained a concession on the seigneurie, and married on14 September 1739, Marie-Joseph Chesne-Lagrave, a domestic in the Gouin family, and a native of Deschaillons. It is probable that Vincent continued to help Phlem on his farm, if one is to go by the sponsorship of his first children. 

In 1749, Phlem believed that it was an appropriate time to put his affairs in order. Of his eight children, only three were married. On October 11, his friend Notary Pollet drew up a deed of donation, in favour of his eldest son Joseph-Yves, on the condition that he kept and cared for his parents «the rest of their lives». After the death of his father, the son and heir purchased the other half of the farm and continued the family lineage under the name of Yvon or Hivon. The real name of the ancestor was soon forgotten. 

Phlem, surgeon, died on 26 September 1749 and was buried the next day under the name of «Yves Phlem dit Yvon» according to the parish register. The curé François Rouillard, known to be of few words in the writing on these certificates, does not mention the age of the deceased. 

An inventory of Phlem's possessions was drawn up on October 9, following, by Notary Pollet, at the request of the widow, who had over the years and no one knows why, added to her name of Marie, that of Madeleine. It is under this last name that she re-married on 14 February 1752 another citizen of Sainte-Anne, François-Xavier Tessier, widower of Françoise Guilbault-Grandbois. 

The inventory is no different than all the others drawn up by the notaries for the farmers of these parishes of that time. Household goods and furnishings, as well as farm implements are listed. The animals that Phlem owned were two oxen, two young bulls, five cows, twelve sheep, five «large pigs». 

There is no mention of surgical instruments, not even the most basic scalpel. 

Perhaps the notary had included those rudimentary instruments in the enumeration of the batterie de cuisine! [kitchen utensils]. 

[The following are translations of two handwritten testimonies reproduced in the original work of this author]. 

We, Miss Marie-Jeanne D'Aubusson duVergé to whom it may concern that the named Yves Phlem, surgeon, living in Sainte-Anne, has cured me completely of a wound caused by a sword through the hand which was severely wounded, with damaged nerves and cut tendons. Signed at the said Sainte-Anne on 19 February 1737. duVergé

We, Pierre Thomas Tarrieu, Esquire, Sieur de La Pérade officer in the regular troops of this country, seigneur of the fief of Sainte-Anne near Batiscan, of the said fief of Tarrieu, and other locations, and Dame Marie-Magdeleine Jaret de Vercher, his spouse, confess to whomever, that the named Yves Phlem Surgeon, established on the coast of Sainte-Anne, has treated and taken to perfect cure many persons afflicted of cankers and other illnesses said to be incurable, of which we recognize publicly our knowledge. In faith of which we have signed this document to assist the said surgeon in his right and cause, in testimony of which we have signed this nineteethn of February one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven. One erasure has no value. 

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In a very rare book: Autrefois et aujourd'hui à Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, published in 1895, which contains precious historical information on the parish, we find on page 213 the names of a few doctors who have practiced here. Here is that list as published: 

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THE PHLEM DIT YVON FAMILY 

Children of Yves Phlem and Marie L'Heureux

 1. Marie-Thérèse, baptized in Saint Nicolas de Levis on 9 September1725. She married Jean-Baptiste Hayot, in La-Pointe-aux-Trembles de Québec, (Neuville) on 17 January 1746. On the following 2 December, the couple had twins baptized and Marie L'Heureux is godmother to one of them. 

2. Joseph-Yves, baptized on 27 July 1727 «born the previous day», son of Yves Phlem, surgeon, and of Marie L'Heureux. Godfather, Joseph Gouin, lieutenant in the Sainte-Anne militia: godmother, Marie-Madeleine de Verchère, dame de la Pérade. 

He married 1) Françoise Dessurault, on 22 February 1748, 2) Marie-Josèphe Tessier. Three children from these two spouses, of which an only son from his first, baptized on 10 April 1754. 

3. Marie-Louise, baptized 5 April 1729. Godfather, Louis Gastineau, seigneur of the fief of Sainte-Marie; godmother Marie-Madeleine Hamelin, spouse of Pierre Roy. The 6 November 1745, she married Jean-Baptiste Gendron (son of René Gendron, deceased). 

 An add-on in the parish register by Curé Rouillard, reads as follows: «In consideration that the said spouse would have given birth on the 10th of October, the said Jean-Baptiste declared that he was the father of the child as appears in the certificate» 

4. Charles-François, baptized 17 April 1731. Godfather, Charles-François Tarrieu Jr, officers in the military; godmother, Miss Marie-Josèphe Gastineau, single. He married on 22 February 1751, Jeanne Gendron (daughter of René Gendron, and sister of Jean-Baptiste). 

5. Marie-Madeleine, baptized 23 March 1733. Godfather, Michel Roy-Chatellereault, godmother, Marie-Jeanne Lahaise, spouse of Jean Tessier. On 7 April 1755, she married Antoine Adam in Batiscan. 

6. Marie-Françoise, baptized 13 November 1735. Godfather, Louis Charest, godmother, Madeleine Gouin. She married Jean-Baptiste Tessier, on 29 February 1756, in Sainte-Anne. 

7. Louis, baptized on 25 January 1738. Godfather Louis Maillou, godmother, Marie-Anne Trottier-Bellecour, spouse of Pierre Perrault. On 10 October 1763, he married Marie-Anne Robert-St-Amand.. 

8. Marie-Josèphe, she married on 17 February 1760, Joseph Guyon Després.