The King's Daughters

Introduction: The History of The King's Daughters

The Filles du Roi
The filles du roi, or King's Daughters, were some 770 women who arrived in the colony of New France (Canada) between 1663 and 1673, under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France. Most were single French women and many were orphans. Their transportation to Canada and settlement in the colony were paid for by the King. Some were given a royal gift a, dowry of 50 livres for their marriage to one of the many unmarried male colonists in Canada.
ref: www.fillesduroi.org/daughters/daughters.html


THE KING'S DAUGHTERS

Marie Boisleau held her younger sisters Marguerite and Claude in her arms on either side of her. It had taken the sailing ship many months to cross the Atlantic Ocean since leaving the port of Normandy but the word was that they had nearly reached their destination. How good it would be to walk on dry land again, to breathe fresh air and to see the sights of their new country. Marie did not know just what to expect in New France but she had heard stories. Anything would be better than this stinking ship she thought.

They had just retired to the dark hold of the ship for another rough night at sea. Sleep was a luxury they grasped in bits and pieces. They had encountered many storms at sea but this one seemed to be the worst. During each storm the sailors had to change course slightly to point the ship into the waves trying to avoid capsizing thus adding to the delay in reaching their destiny. The icy Atlantic seemed determined otherwise.

Marie held her sisters tightly while the winds lashed the boat and the waves threatened to drown them. There were about forty women in the hold now; some were singing the songs they learned from their Catholic religion to allay their fears.

"Let us pray and sing," said Marie to her sisters. "Surely God does not mean for us to die when we are so close to Quebec."
The three women raised their voices in song and prayers along with the rest. Marie silently gave thanks to God that they had survived another day and they were still healthy. Eventually the storm abated and the women slept.

In the morning, as usual, a few women had died from the fever, scurvy or dysentery. Those who had survived held a silent memorial for their friends as their bodies were sewn in blankets and dropped overboard.

One of the cows they travelled with in the hold had been injured. It would be butchered and used to feed the crew and passengers. The cows that remained would be taken to the farmers to start herds on their homesteads. The stench from body odour, the overflowing buckets of body waste and vomit combined with the cow dung in the hold was almost unbearable

"Please, will you tell us again how we shall be famous, Marie?" asked Claude.

Marie raised her dark eyebrows. "Well, aren't we the Filles du roi (The Kings Daughters)?" she replied. She had told this story many times over the long voyage but it seemed to bring comfort to her sisters and also to her. "We are already famous aren't we?" continued Marie, "Weren't we chosen from the orphanage to come to New France? Didn't the King himself give us each 50 livres as a dowry and the cost of our transportation? We are the lucky ones that will have the opportunity to find brave soldiers of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment or homesteaders as husbands. We will have babies that will become the new army, the new traders, trappers and homesteaders in the New Land. We will have fine homes of our own, plant gardens and fields of crops to feed the army that is fighting for France. We will have new friends and a new start that many in France would envy." Once again these optimistic reminders brought smiles of delight to the sister's faces and for the moment their trials were put aside.

"But why are we bringing these boxes of books and slate boards?" persisted Marguerite in a somewhat happier tone.

"There will be new schools in the churches that will teach our children. Remember my dear sisters, a house is not enough, there must also be food and fire for the mind as well as the body," explained Marie.

Marie had heard stories of the Iroquois and Cree whom the people of France called savages. She had heard of the bitter cold, harsh winters that many people did not survive. She had heard of the long distances between neighbours and the impossibility of getting to church on a Sunday. These stories she kept to herself trying to avoid fear in her sister's minds. They would find out soon enough, she held hope in her heart and mind that things would not be as bad as the stories they had heard.

Marie looked around at the other women in the ship. She wondered how each of them would manage in the new world. She was sure she and her sisters would cope because they could support and help each other through trying times. She had listened to the talk during the voyage. A few had no intention of taking husbands as they had promised the King. There was Catherine Guichelin, who said she would make as much money as she could, then return to France to have a better life. She believed the colony was a place for great opportunity but Marie could not imagine how a single woman could make money in a way that the church would approve.

The widow Marguerite LeRoy and her daughter Gabrielle Danneville seemed to be prepared for the hardships. "I have a father in France that I will return to when I see my daughter settled in a good marriage," said Madam LeRoy.

The storm kept the ship from docking for two more days. Anxiety and fear spread among the women. Those who were destined for the walled city of Quebec were relieved that their journey was almost over. Those that were to travel down the St Lawrence River to Trois-Rivieres and the Island of Montreal would have a few weeks rest while the ship was restocked.

Finally the ship docked and was unloaded. The women walked on unsteady legs onto the dock. The hems of their long skirts were grimy and their boots coated with filth but it was very exciting to be in the city of Quebec. This city was the first permanent settlement founded by the famous French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608 and not a simple trading post; it was the foundation of New France.

The Governor and the Intendant of the community welcomed the young women with a grand banquet and the process of contracting marriage proposals was begun without delay. Men of all descriptions were lined up waiting for their new brides. There were trappers dressed in furs that had come in from their trap lines early to witness the coming of the Kings Daughters; farmers in baggy trousers with rough hands and soil on their boots; soldiers in their bright dress uniforms and merchants from the city and outlaying towns. There was an air of anticipation and excitement all around. Weddings were arranged and preformed with little or no period of introduction other than what the Catholic Church demanded.

Ships arrived every few weeks with more Daughters on board bringing news from their homeland. One such ship brought news that Marguerite LeRoy's father had died just after she and Gabrielle left France. Now Marguerite decided to stay in Canada with her daughter. "Perhaps I too shall find a husband in the Colony, and then I can remain close to my daughter," she confided to Marie.

Jeanne Collet was one of Marie's shipmates who had travelled further inland to Montreal. News came back by courier that her ship had been attacked by the Iroquois while in the St Lawrence; Jeanne had died with an arrow in her heart. She was lucky she died instantly; the lack of medical help would have meant much pain and perhaps handicapped her for life. Between the English army, the natives, illness and the climate many Daughters died never having fulfilled their obligation to marry and increase the population of the New French Colony.

Marguerite Boisleau was the first of the sisters to marry. She was married to Jean Serreau in 1663. "I want to take care of my sisters in my home until they find a husband," she said to Jean. "They will be welcome with us." replied Jean, "There is always much work to do on a homestead and we can use their help. We will build a room for them where they will be comfortable."

It was late in the year when Jean, his new wife and her sisters reached their log cabin which was to be their new home. The snow came early that year and kept them snowbound for many months. The women spent the long winter months learning how to prepare animal skins to fashion into clothing and moccasins.

In the spring the rains and mud kept them from travelling and when they were finally able to plant crops, the work kept them home. Dreams of husbands remained dreams until the following year when the weather cooperated and the women were able to travel to neighbouring farms to hear news and to exchange stories.

Catherine Guichelinthey, they were told, had accepted a contract of marriage but was taken to court and charged with prostitution and leading a scandalous life. The court ordered her banished from the city and suburbs of Quebec for life. Her dream of returning to France as a rich woman was shattered. Her husband Nicolas Buteau eventually returned from battle and reclaimed her.

Late in 1665 Claude was married in a simple ceremony to Henri Brault. Henri, also a homesteader welcomed the addition of a wife with the farming experience she had already gained.

Sadly, Marie's life in New France was a bit of a disappointment at first. She contacted the fever and was bedridden for nearly two years. During that time she remained with her sister Marguerite and her husband who cared for her until she recovered her health. Throughout her illness, Marie was determined to get better and serve her contract to the King of France.

In 1668, after a full recovery, she found a husband but her marriage was short lived. Pierre Chauvin's horse trampled him when it was frightened by a large bear. He died within a year of their marriage. Marie quickly found a second husband, Simon Chamberlain who also died within a short period of time.

" Maybe I was just not meant to be married," Marie told her sisters. Then in 1690 she was married a third time to Jean Jolin with whom she had many children and finally felt vindicated. She had fulfilled her contract with the King.

If she only knew.

Most of the millions of people of French Canadian descent today, both in Quebec, the rest of Canada, the USA and beyond, are descendants of one or more of these courageous and now famous King's Daughters of the 17th century.


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