Suerrier=Seyermaker.......and Pierre
A review of the original record of the 1671 census clearly shows Pierre was not an Armurier: but with some fading: more probably a Suerrier.
This is still a metal working trade: equal in general background to locksmith: but also clockmaker: or really: any trade that involved intricate metal working,. It appears in 1431 in Saxony and Vienna as a mentioned and regulated trade.
This trade would include smithing as well.......and some armour work.
It was also the hobby of the Louis the 14th....
it was a trade regulated by guilds: however some elite craftsmen were in the sole employ of various courts and castles.
These tradesmen were neither rich nor poor.......simply essential to normal everyday life.
Most of them had Germanic or Belgic roots: some from Toulouse.......because one needed access to iron in order to train.......
However they would have to travel or become "Journeymen' and move from master to master to learn the trade.
We can see the surname Seyer in this phrase:
which is similar to Sayer: but one relates to ironmaking and the other clothmaking
Therefore: Seyer is the closest to Sire or Le Sire....and primarily has Belgian or Germanic roots.
Seyer thus is also a version of Sire or Sears....
This was also the person you would engage to build your clock/bell towers....which was of interest to Acadia in particular. Putting up "bells" established legal and political authority for a geography in French minds.
It is thus fairly safe to say that our Pierre was more likely a "smith" of some kind: but not gunsmith in particular.
We have to remember Acadia had no means of producing its own iron that we know of: other than the speculation of Denys in Cape Breton......Was even one ounce ever produced?dont think we know.
This means we would probably hunt for him in two ways;
normally they are found in urban centres
or
in the employ of specific nobles with interests in Acadia
No one had more interest in metal production than Denys: and we do know he brought over large numbers of men for this purpose.......of whom only 12 remained in Acadia after he was burned out.
Could Pierre have been one of them? quite possibly.
We know Pierre had very little land under cultivation and clearly stated he had a profession instead.
This indicates either he was easily able to make a living anyway in a place with no cash
or
he was very very new to the area.
With Acadia returning to French hands: getting a bell tower up would have been of great importance to the French.....it indicated the right of a group to assemble. Even the right to ring a bell in medieval France was a near sacred right and a position of great status.
And as we know in Acadia; losing your bells was losing your political status as a population.
Bells were thus high status captures in any raid: plus they could be melted down into canon type weapons and bullets.
If you hauled off the bells of a community: it was a terrible loss of face and status....and meant you were defenceless.
Is that why a Pierre was engaged? to reestablish Port Royal status?
But once again: these would be primarily NorthWestern French tradesmen: and just a handful in La Rochelle and south.
This doesnt change who we think Pierre was in a huge way: other than it probably means he was not attached to any military component......
and that his arrival in Acadia was probably intentional.....and subscribed rather than accidental...in the early days of optomism about Acadia returning to French rule.