Tag: French Canadian

Marie Deshayes: A Daughter of the King

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant1 Comment
Jean Talon, Bishop François de Laval and several settlers welcome the King’s Daughters upon their arrival. Painting by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale.

On July 3, 1668, when she was about sixteen, Marie sailed to New France on the ship, La Nouvelle France.

As the colonies grew in New France during the seventeenth century, the men outnumbered the women. As male settlers and soldiers moved to these new lands, they wanted to settle down, marry, and have children. To help alleviate this problem, the French monarch King Louis XIV sent about 800 women to New France between 1663 and 1673. Over the years, the women became known as the king’s daughters. He provided a dowry of money and items the women would require when setting up their new homes. As soon as the couples married, they often received livestock and chickens. In addition, they were given an annual pension after the pair began having children.

When the king’s daughters arrived in the colonies, they were given room and board until they found a suitable marriage partner. A formal education was often neglected since life’s demands kept even the children busy. When children turned twelve, they took classes at Sunday school to prepare for their First Communion. In the colonies, young women were also trained to become wives and mothers. They took classes on keeping a house, and they learned to cook, preserve food, sew, mend clothes, plan, save and keep accounts. They were also taught good manners. Although life in the colonies was not an easy life, the women flourished. They tended to outlive their female contemporaries that remained in the old country.

About 1652, Marie Deshayes was born in Rouen, Normandy, to Anne Fortin and Alexandre Deshayes. On July 3, 1668, when she was about sixteen, Marie sailed to New France on the ship, La Nouvelle France. On May 20, 1668, she was confirmed at Chambly. About 1668 or 1669, she married a former soldier, Adrien Betourne dit Laviolette in Sorrel, Quebec. The couple settled in Repentigny and had two children, Pierre (about 1669) and Marie-Anne (about 1684). Two years after she arrived in Canada, her sister Marguerite came to Canada. She married Pierre Menard dit Saintonge at Sorel. They moved to Saint-Ours. The sisters lived about 50 miles away from one another.

Confirmation – 20 May 1668 – Marie des Hayes of Rouen

On August 30, 1695, a formal separation of property was ordered between Marie and Adrien. On December 18, 1707, Marie died. She was buried at the Notre Dame Ancient Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.

18 Decembre 1707 – Marie Deshays, age 58 years, wife of Adrien Betourne dit Laviolette, died at I’Hotel-Dieu at this village after receiving the sacraments of the church. Testimony – Mr. Antoine di Valens et Henry Meriel, priests.

The King’s Daughters

Family Tree

Marie Deshays 1649-1707
9th great-grandmother

Marie Anne Betourne 1684-1726
Daughter of Marie Deshays

Pierre Chicoine 1723-1781
Son of Marie Anne Betourne

Pierre Charles Chicoine Dozois 1744-1795
Son of Pierre Chicoine

Pierre Chicoine Dozois 1769-1835
Son of Pierre Charles Chicoine Dozois

Marie Eulalie Chicoine 1808-1839
Daughter of Pierre Chicoine Dozois

Joseph LaDuke 1827-1907
Son of Marie Eulalie Chicoine

Ellsie LaDuke 1862-1898
Daughter of Joseph LaDuke

Anna Strassburg 1892-1913
Daughter of Ellsie LaDuke

Elva Marie Allen 1908-1983
Daughter of Anna Strassburg

Sources:

End of the Line: Madeline De Brie and Nicholas Mignault

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant4 Comments
Herman, Paul and Jean de Limbourg, October (detail with Louvre), from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1413-16, ink on vellum (Musée Condé, Chantilly)

During the sixteenth century, the Renassaince arrived throughout the nations of Europe, and France celebrated in all of its glorious splendor. The French monarchs returned to the city, and Paris began to flourish. Henry IV ended the religious wars and his people enjoyed their new spiritual freedoms. New monarchies supported the arts and sciences, which influenced all the nations of Europe. Architectural wonders, monuments, and city parks abounded, and Parisians took pride in their lovely homeland.

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Almost Forgotten: The Marriageable Girls

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

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.

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When Stars Begin to Fall – Part Six – The Reckoning

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant5 Comments

Thinking of home, loneliness spread through him, and he longed for his family. Time away from those he loved caused him to regret his decision. More than once, the wood runner wanted to be under his own roof, with his wife and children.

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When Stars Begin to Fall – Part Three – The Welcoming

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

When the sun began to set along La Manche, Jeanne marveled at the radiant site. It was as reverent as her church, so she sent a silent request.  Peace for her mother, kindheartedness for her future husband, and protection for their long journey.

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When Stars Begin to Fall – Part 1 – Longings

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant1 Comment

The Wilderness

In late spring, 1682, amidst the wilderness, his desire for freedom abated like the setting sun. With his recent venture, he recognized the signs of his madness, his longings. He had taken a mistress that kept him from his family, and this wanderlust created havoc within him.

Pages: 1 2

All for the King

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant7 Comments

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.

The King’s Daughters

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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