M. before 1620 in France
Husband: Pierre Desportes
D. 20 Apr 1632 in Dieppe, France
The year before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock, an anonymous French ship brought a handful of settlers to a small enclave on the St. Lawrence River. One of them was Françoise Langlois, who became the first European woman to give birth there.
Little is known about Françoise’s background, though some have said she was born in 1599, the daughter of Guillaume Langlois and Jeanne Millette in Calvados, France, which is in Normandy. After marrying a man named Pierre Desportes, the two were recruited to become pioneer colonists in Canada. Up until 1608, the region had only seen seasonal seasonal visits from men who fished and traded with the Indians. Then explorer Samuel de Champlain decided to make a permanent settlement, building a small wooden enclosure at a bend in the St. Lawrence called Quebec. Part of his plan was to bring over women along with their husbands, and in 1619, Pierre and Françoise, along with her sister Marguerite and husband Abraham Martin signed on.
During that first year, Françoise’s daughter Hélène was born. The record of the child’s baptism is lost, but later records for Hélène identified her birth year based on her age. Hélène's godmother was Hélène Boulle, Champlain’s wife, who arrived in Quebec in late July 1620, therefore putting the historic birth during the second half of that year. No other child’s birth preceded Hélène, and she was the first to be born in the colony. Françoise seems to have had no other children born to her.
Living conditions in Quebec were challenging because the settlement was isolated, and the winters were bitterly cold. Champlain had intended to have more people migrate to Canada, but very few did, and by 1627, the population was only 55. Françoise and the other women worked together for their survival, pooling resources and midwifing for each others babies. When supply ships were delayed, the colony experienced periods of starvation, often having to grind peas into soup as their only nourishment.
Françoise was a godmother to a child of another Quebec settler in 1627, and to another child on May 18, 1629. Two months later, the colony was invaded by Englishman David Kirke, and most of the French settlers were forcibly taken back to France by way of England. Françoise, Pierre and Hélène ended up in the city of Dieppe. According the records of the Church of Saint-Jacques, Françoise passed away on April 20, 1632. It isn’t known when Pierre died, but it was within a couple of years of her death.
Little is known about Françoise’s background, though some have said she was born in 1599, the daughter of Guillaume Langlois and Jeanne Millette in Calvados, France, which is in Normandy. After marrying a man named Pierre Desportes, the two were recruited to become pioneer colonists in Canada. Up until 1608, the region had only seen seasonal seasonal visits from men who fished and traded with the Indians. Then explorer Samuel de Champlain decided to make a permanent settlement, building a small wooden enclosure at a bend in the St. Lawrence called Quebec. Part of his plan was to bring over women along with their husbands, and in 1619, Pierre and Françoise, along with her sister Marguerite and husband Abraham Martin signed on.
During that first year, Françoise’s daughter Hélène was born. The record of the child’s baptism is lost, but later records for Hélène identified her birth year based on her age. Hélène's godmother was Hélène Boulle, Champlain’s wife, who arrived in Quebec in late July 1620, therefore putting the historic birth during the second half of that year. No other child’s birth preceded Hélène, and she was the first to be born in the colony. Françoise seems to have had no other children born to her.
Living conditions in Quebec were challenging because the settlement was isolated, and the winters were bitterly cold. Champlain had intended to have more people migrate to Canada, but very few did, and by 1627, the population was only 55. Françoise and the other women worked together for their survival, pooling resources and midwifing for each others babies. When supply ships were delayed, the colony experienced periods of starvation, often having to grind peas into soup as their only nourishment.
Françoise was a godmother to a child of another Quebec settler in 1627, and to another child on May 18, 1629. Two months later, the colony was invaded by Englishman David Kirke, and most of the French settlers were forcibly taken back to France by way of England. Françoise, Pierre and Hélène ended up in the city of Dieppe. According the records of the Church of Saint-Jacques, Françoise passed away on April 20, 1632. It isn’t known when Pierre died, but it was within a couple of years of her death.
Champlain surrenders Quebec to Kirke in 1629.
After France regained control of the Quebec settlement in 1633, Françoise’s young daughter Hélène returned to Canada. She would go on to marry twice, and giving Françoise many descendants, including Madonna, Céline Dion, Jim Carrey, Angelina Jolie, Bridget Fonda, Julianne Hough, Jack Kerouac. Ricky Gervais, Cliff Arquette, Roseanna Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Emeril Lacasse, June Foray, Leo Durocher, Chloë Sevigny, Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau.
Child:
1. Hélène Desportes — B. 1620, Quebec City, New France; D. 24 Jun 1675, Quebec City, New France; M. (1) Guillaume Hébert (~1614-1639), 1 Oct 1634, Quebec City, New France; M. (2) Noël Morin (~1609-1680 ), 9 Jan 1640, Quebec City, New FranceSources:
A Point in History (website)
One-hundred French-Canadian Family Histories, Philip J. Moore, 1994
Hélène’s World: Hélène Desportes of Seventeenth Century Quebec, Susan McNelley, 2014
FamousKin.com
