Time to confess. I am jealous of those who have Filles du roi in their ancestry. Despite my envy, I still read stories about these young women — and on occasion, I will listen to friends tell me about their illustrious ancestors, provided I am sipping a glass of chilled Chardonnay.
While having lunch with genealogy friends in a local pub this week, a friend reminded me about the Filles à marier (marriageable girls) and an interesting web page she had found.
Many of us are familiar with the story of the 800 Filles du roi who came to New France (Quebec) between 1663 and 1673 as part of the King of France’s program. Fewer know the story about the 262 Filles à marier (marriageable girls) who arrived in Canada almost 30 years earlier, between 1634 and 1662.
Unlike the Filles du roi, the Filles à marier came to Quebec alone or in small groups. They did not receive a dowry from the King. They were promised nothing but the possibility of a better life. While the Filles du roi were recruited by the state, the Filles à marier were recruited and chaperoned by religious groups or individuals who had to assure their good conduct. In general, the young women were poor, although some were members of the petty nobility. Most of the them were daughters of peasants and farmers.
The website, The Filles a Marier, provides a list of the names of the young women. Click on a name to read a short biography of each woman, including the name of her husband, date and location of marriage, and names and birthdates of her children.
Thanks to Ms. O’Leery for reminding me about these young women. But next time, let’s order wine, not water.
My name is Lorna Duncan and I am a descendent of the Filles a Marier. My 11 times great grandmother ( Marguerite MacLin ) came to Quebec in the belly of a ship filled with live stock, grain, other women and disease. She was a an 11 year old orphan that had a marriage contract upon her arrival. Her husband to be was 20 years her senior and she stayed with a woman that she did house chores for until she was 14 and able to marry.
The two of them have separate stories that are amazing. Far too much information for this short post. Bottom line is; I’m very proud of her! We all owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Filles a Marier. They had the toughest lives and paved the way for all women of Canada. I am standing on the shoulders of greatness.
My name is Michele Strommer and I also descend from Marguerite Maclin. I too am very proud of her and I believe that is where our strength comes from.
I cannot get the link to “The website, The Filles a Marier”. What am I doing wrong? I have several grandmother who were a Filles a Marier and I’d love to see if this has any other info on them.
The website address changed since I first published the blog post two years ago. I have corrected the link, so it should work for you now. Thanks for letting me know.
Cannot access your site, May 27, 2017. Is there a new address? It is a wonderful resource. Thank you.
It does appear the link in this blog post is no longer active. I will watch it for a couple of days and then, if no change, I will amend the post. Thanks for letting me know.
The website linked in this post is up and running again.
Finding these women, my ancestors, has been the highlight of my genealogical work to date. Thank you SO much for keeping their stories alive!
Hello, I am descended from Filles a Marier Chatherine Lorion, and her second (?) husband, Pierre Desautels dit LaPionte, and their son of the same name.
The accomplishments of these women, and their generation in New France as a whole, is amazing. I think their passion for new horizons is still alive in me, as I can’t seem to settle in one part of the vast US nation.
So glad there is a website keeping their memories alive.