Today many young women take their current freedoms for granted. Today’s woman can buy a home, take out a line of credit, and enjoy financial autonomy without the control of a father figure or husband.
Tag: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Taking Flight: The Wright Brothers
Almost Forgotten: The Marriageable Girls
Often, life in France offered little hope for women. Arranged marriages prevailed, and most women did not have a say in the matter of matrimony, for parental consent was required for women under the age of twenty-five. For poor families that could not offer a dowry, marriage opportunities for the women were bleak.
e.e. cummings
George Washington and the Battle of Monongahela
All for the King
This great grandmother, Marie Jeanne Toussaint, blazed a new trail in the New World, and her name survived throughout the generations as one of the founding mothers of North America.
The last known member of her family line, this King’s Daughter, came to New France alone. Her origins, her parents, and even her exact age vanished from history. Still, this great grandmother, Marie Jeanne Toussaint, blazed a new trail in the New World, and her name survived throughout the generations as one of the founding mothers of North America.
While little information on this 9th great grandmother existed, her impact on North America could not be forgotten. My grandmother, along with around 800 “sisters,” traveled to the French colonies to help balance gender inequality. To enhance the population in New France, King Louis XIV sent the King’s Daughters, the Filles du Roi, to the wilderness frontier between 1663 and 1773.
Once they arrived, most married the French immigrants and helped settle the king’s lands. The king also gave the women a dowry and a trousseau to help them establish their homes. Once they landed, they were provided with housing until they married. During their stay at their temporary quarters, the nuns taught them the necessary skills required to face the challenges of this strange new world. Most were not prepared or suited for the demanding lifestyle that awaited them. Yet, they stayed, and boldly met the challenges set before them.
Many of the women married within a few months after a suitable marriage was arranged. Fulfilling the king’s hopes, a decade later, the French colonies doubled in size. These women helped populate North America, for their descendants spread across this continent, and currently, most French Canadians have descended from at least one of the King’s Daughters.
Historically, these voyages often took as long as two to three months, and the young women faced hardships while traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. Some perished on their journey, and others suffered from malnutrition and disease. Although some records were lost, Jeanne arrived in Quebec in 1670, and historians believed she was about eighteen years old. That year eighty-seven women immigrated to the continent.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, Jeanne did not marry right away. Instead, she contracted for one year of service with a native of Quebec, Madeleine de Chavigny, at Cap-de-la-Madeleine.
Jeanne’s future husband, Noel Carpentier, arrived in 1665 and worked as a servant for a time. On 22 Jun 1669, Noel accepted about 35 acres of land from Nicholas Crevier dit Belleviue, and a few years later, he decided to settle down and start a family.
About 1672, Noel Carpentier and Jeanne Toussaint married in Cap-de-la-Madeleine. While her paper trail grew cold, Jeanne helped her family thrive in the new land. While living in this town, the couple had two children, Marie Madeleine (1673), and Marie Jeanne (25 Nov 1676). Around 1678, the family moved to Quebec. Their son, Etienne was born in 1678.
Sometime after the birth of their son, the family moved again to Champlain. The family settled in this town and remained in this settlement. The couple had seven more children, Medard (2 Aug 1681), Marie Marguerite (4 Mar 1684), Marie Antoinette (11 Jan 1686), Marie Therese (3 Jul 1689), Marie Celeste Anne (18 Jun 1691), Jacques (14 Apr 1694), and Noel (5 Nov 1703).
According to the 1681 Census, the family was listed twice, in Cap-de-la-Madeleine and Champlain. Most genealogists and historians believed the couple owned land in both places. The information stated the couple held nine head of cattle and about 30 acres of land.
Tragedy did strike the family, for the census did not list Jacques, and many believed he died as a child. Years later, on the 5 Nov 1703, Noel and Jeanne lost their oldest daughter, Marie Madeleine, in Champlain.
Five years later, on 11 Dec 1708, Jeanne’s last will and testament were notarized by Normandin. Five days later, she died, and on the 17 Dec 1708, she was buried in Champlain. She was about fifty-two years old.
Noel lived until he was eighty-five years old. He died 26 Jan 1728, and he was buried next to Jeanne. Four of their children settled at Ile-Dupas; two children moved to Becancour, one daughter, Marie Jeanne, became a nun at Notre Dame in Montreal. She took the name Sister Sainte-Genevieve. The rest of their children stayed in their original parish.
Life as a King’s Daughter required strength and courage to survive the rugged wilderness of the French Colonies. These women not only coped with frontier life but also raised children amidst all their duties. They conquered their surroundings and left a legacy for their children and grandchildren. What a revelation and an honor to know that the women in my family were resilient, valiant, and capable, even when faced with enormous obstacles and reservations.
Painting by The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667. Watercolour by Charles William Jefferys.
Sources
- Gagné Peter J. King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers: the Filles Du Roi, 1663-1673. Quintin.
- Gale Research. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7486.
- Genealogical Research Library, Ontario, Canada. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7920.
- Laforest, Thomas John., and Jeffrey M. LaRochelle. Our French-Canadian Ancestors. LISI Press, 1989.
- PRDH, Drouin Institute, http://www.prdh-igd.com.
- “Quebec, Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families (Tanguay Collection), 1608-1890.” 1920 Census | 1920 US Federal Census Records | Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011, search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2177.
- Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968. Online Publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.Original Data – Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.Original Data: Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1091.
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Antoine Marie Leduc and Jeanne Faucheaux
In the 17th century, my great grandparents sailed to New France after leaving loved ones behind in their homeland in France. Although the two did not sail together, they eventually met, married, began raising a family, and settled in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade.
In the 17th century, my great grandparents sailed to New France after leaving loved ones behind in their homeland in France. Although the two did not sail together, they eventually met, married, began raising a family, and settled in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade.
In 1643, my 9x great grandfather, Antoine Marie Leduc, was born in Louvetot, Rouen, Normandy, France. He was the son of Jean Leduc and Jeanne Franscoise Desobrie.
As a teen in 1656, Antoine traveled from Dieppe to Quebec on the ship the Saint-Sebastion. That same year he signed an agreement to serve Pierre Denys Sieur de la Ronde for one year. In 1666, the census showed that seventeen-year-old Antoine worked as domestic help for Claude Herline in Trois-Rivieres
Sometime in 1649, Jeanne was born; she was the daughter of Noel Faucheux and Jacquette Trion. In 1671, at the age of twenty-two, Jeanne Faucheaux arrived in Quebec after sailing from Saint-Pierre-es-Liens in Huisseau-sur-Mauves in Orleans, Orleanais, France. She came to the New World as a King’s Daughter; this venture sent about 800 women to New France. The women married the soldiers and frontiersman. Although no records were found, it was believed that Jeanne and Antoine married that same year. The couple had three children, Marie Francoise (1675), Jean Baptiste (1678), and Pierre Charles (1680).
Antoine worked as a fur trapper and a farmer. On May 15, 1682, he and four men, Louis Dandonneau, Paul Desmarais, Jean Morneau, and Michel Desrosiers banded together for a fur trading expedition to the Outaouais.
They proclaimed if one died during the trip, the survivors would bring back his share of furs. At Teiagon, (Baby Point, Montreal), they were attacked by the Iroquois as they headed to Michillimakinac. From that point on Antoine was not heard from again. His widow, Jeanne, remarried Pierre Vaillant on February 29, 1888. In 1689, Pierre and Jeanne had one son, Pierre Rene Vaillant.
Works Cited
“Antoine Leduc.” Association Des Familles Leduc D’Amérique, 2014,
http://www.leducamerique.org/ancetres.html.
Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection – Births, Ancestry.com Operations Inc. Provo, UT,
2001, search.ancestry.com/search/ db.aspx?dbid=5769.
Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection – Deaths, Online Publication – Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009., 2001, search.ancestry.com/search/
db.aspx?dbid=5771.
Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection – Marriages, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Provo,
UT, USA, 2001, search.ancestry.com /search/db.aspx?dbid=5774.
Gagné Peter J. King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers: the Filles Du Roi, 1663-1673. Quintin
Publications, 2003.
Gale Research. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s,
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Provo, UT, USA, 2010, search.ancestry.com/search
/db.aspx?dbid=7486.
Hider, Arthur H. “La Vérendrye at the Lake of the Woods.” Wikipedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation,
30 Sept. 2010, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_V%C3%A9rendrye.jpg.
Langlois, Michel. Dictionnaire Biographique Des ancêtres québécois (1608-1700). Maison Des ancêtres
québécois, 1998.
Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968.” Birth, Marriage and
Death Records – Ancestry.ca, Online Publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations Inc, 2008., search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1091.
“Quebec, Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families (Tanguay Collection), 1608-1890.” 1920
Census | 1920 US Federal Census Records | Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations Inc,
2011, search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2177.
Family Riches and Disneyland
You’re not rich until you have something that money can’t buy.
The Price of Disneyland
June of 1975 arrived warm and bright on the little island of Alameda, California. The last school bell had rung, and summer had officially begun. A cool breeze drifted in from the San Francisco Bay, carrying the salty smell of the water through our neighborhood streets and softening the heat of the sun.
Our block felt like its own small world.
Bikes rattled up and down the sidewalks from morning until dusk. Big Wheels squealed around driveway corners, their plastic wheels grinding against the concrete. Sprinklers spun lazily across front lawns, sending arcs of cool water across the grass while neighborhood kids dashed through them in shrieking bursts of laughter.
The houses on our street were a patchwork of styles and personalities. A tall Victorian with fancy trim stood proudly on one corner. Down the street was a cozy cottage tucked behind rose bushes. There were sturdy Craftsman bungalows with wide front porches where neighbors sat in lawn chairs in the evenings, and one elegant Spanish Revival house with curved stucco walls and a red tile roof that made us feel like we lived somewhere exotic instead of a quiet Navy town.
Most important, the neighborhood was full of kids. On any given day, someone always had a friend to play with.
As summer settled in, a familiar conversation drifted from porch to porch.
Vacation plans.
Some families were heading south to Disneyland. The lucky kids on the block talked about it endlessly—about Space Mountain, giant teacups, and the magical castle where fireworks exploded every night. Their excitement carried across the street as they described rides and cotton candy and meeting Mickey Mouse.
For us, Disneyland felt like another universe.
Our family was the largest crew on the block. That summer there were five of us kids, ranging in age from five to fourteen. Our house buzzed constantly with noise, laughter, squabbles, and the clatter of dishes. With a family our size, expensive vacations weren’t really part of the plan.
But our parents were good at creating adventures.
Instead of week-long trips, we explored the world in smaller pieces. We piled into the car for day trips up and down the Northern California coast. We picnicked beside rocky beaches where the wind tangled our hair and gulls cried overhead. We wandered through state parks, climbed driftwood logs, and chased waves until our pant legs were soaked.
Sometimes we even went to local amusement parks, which felt thrilling enough to us.
All of us were involved in scouting—our parents included—and scouting opened the door to even more adventures. One of my brothers, who had Type 1 diabetes, attended a special two-week summer camp each year for kids with the same condition. That camp meant the world to him.
Even though we didn’t travel far, our summers were full.
Still, that particular summer, I noticed something about Mom.
Whenever the neighborhood conversations turned to Disneyland, a quiet worry crept across her face.
One afternoon, my two youngest brothers, Keith and Danny, burst through the screen door, dusty from playing outside.
Keith looked up at Mom with wide, serious eyes.
“Mom,” he asked, “how much would it cost for our whole family to go to Disneyland?”
Mom paused. She looked at their hopeful faces and gave a small sigh.
“Well,” she said gently, “for all of us, it would probably cost around a thousand dollars.”
To us kids, a thousand dollars sounded like an impossible fortune.
Keith and Danny nodded thoughtfully.
“Okay!” they said together.
Then they ran back outside as if they had just received perfectly reasonable information.
Mom shook her head and looked at me.
“I wish we could take you kids to Disneyland,” she said softly. “It would be so much fun. I hate always having to say no.”
I walked over and wrapped my arms around her.
“You worry too much, Mom,” I said. “You’ve already given us a great life.”
She smiled, but I could tell her heart was still heavy.
Soon lunch was ready. Peanut butter sandwiches appeared on plates, along with glasses of bright red Kool-Aid. The little boys grabbed their food and headed straight for the backyard where they spread out a blanket under the shade tree for an impromptu picnic.
Mom helped them carry everything outside.
Tommy, my older brother, took his lunch to his bedroom, where wires, tools, and tiny electronic parts covered his desk. He was working on his latest invention.
Dave flopped onto the couch and turned on the television just in time for a rerun of Gilligan’s Island.
I stayed in the kitchen with Mom so we could eat together.
Even while she chatted with me, I could see that same worry lingering behind her eyes.
After the boys finished eating, they called for Mom to come help clean up their picnic. I followed her outside to gather the plates and cups.
As we picked things up, Keith suddenly looked thoughtful again.
“Mom,” he asked, “how much would it cost to have a new baby?”
Mom blinked, clearly surprised by the question.
Then she laughed.
“Oh,” she said playfully, “about the same as a trip to Disneyland.”
Keith immediately turned to Danny. The two of them exchanged excited grins, as if they had just solved a very important problem.
Keith puffed up his chest and made the announcement.
“Well,” he declared, “since they cost the same… we decided we’d rather have a new baby!”
For a moment, everyone froze.
Then the backyard exploded with laughter.
When I glanced at Mom, I saw tears shining in her eyes—but this time they weren’t tears of disappointment.
Something had lifted from her heart.
In that simple, innocent moment, she realized something she hadn’t fully seen before.
We didn’t need Disneyland.
Standing there in the backyard, surrounded by sticky Kool-Aid cups, sandwich crumbs, and the loud, joyful chaos of five children, she could see the truth plainly.
Her riches were already right in front of her.
And though she may not have realized it then, we knew it perfectly well.
Our greatest adventure was simply growing up in her love.
Photo by Jorge Martínez, instagram @jmartinezz9 on Unsplash
A Glimpse of 2019
Tales of a Family 