of Sillery to learn their languages before going to more distant settlements. By the early 18th century, he had compiled a nearly 600–page dictionary of Kaskaskia Illinois–French. By 1640, the Augustinian sisters established a convent in the community, which hosted non-permanent residents of the community, especially refugees of the Beaver War or seasonal visitors in winter. Many of the community's natives fell victim to epidemics of new infectious diseases, to which they had no natural immunity. The settlement was largely depopulated by the late 1680s. Renamed Sillery in honour of its financier, the town later became important as a port for the lumber industry. The city of Sillery's motto was non multa sed multum, the Latin proverb of "not many things, but much," a fit descriptor for the small enclave. From the land at the water's edge, including Anse-au-Foulon, site of the disembarkation of General Wolfe's successful army in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the community spread up to the top of the heights overlooking the Saint Lawrence River. In 1760, during the French and Indian War, the Battle of Sainte-Foy was fought near Sillery, as part of a French attempt to re-capture Quebec City, which had been taken by the British the previous year. Sillery houses Bois-de-Coulonge Park, once the viceregal residence of Quebec. A villa known as Spencer Wood was built in 1854 by the government of the Province of Canada, and was purchased by the Quebec Government in 1870 to serve as the residence of Quebec's Lieutenant-Governors until 1966, when a major fire destroyed the main residence. Originally an estate () named in honour of the assassinated United Kingdom Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, in 1815, by his nephew, Michael Henry Perceval, it was renamed Bois-de-Coulonge in 1950. Commanding the bluffs just west of the city of Québec, in modern times Sillery was known principally for its quiet tree-lined streets, historic churches such as Saint-Michel de Sillery Church, views of the river, and several very old schools run by a variety of religious institutes. Its coat of arms consisted of a red shield with a white Maltese cross in the upper right hand corner and a three-masted ship in the lower left. Profile On January 1, 2002, as part of a legislated amalgamation of cities across Quebec, Sillery ceased to exist as an independent municipality. Its territory became a part of the Sainte-Foy—Sillery—Cap-Rouge Borough of Quebec.