A Doctor in Early New France — Félix Thunay dit Dufresne

B. about 1633 in Brest, Bretagne, France^1,2
M. 28 Dec 1665 in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, New France¹
Wife: Élisabeth Lefebvre
D. 27 Jul 1683 in Batiscon, New France²

When people fell sick during the 17th century in New France, they had few options to get medical treatment, especially if they lived outside of Quebec City or Montreal. So it was men like Félix Thunay dit Dufresne who served as doctors, doing what they could with the tools and medicines that were available.

Felix was born in about 1633 in Brest, France,^1,2 a town that’s in the westernmost province of the country. He was the son of Marin Thunay and Anne Levanasseur. Nothing more is known of his family, his childhood or his education. He first appeared in records in 1665 in the Trois-Riviéres area of New France.³ That year, Félix was given a chest filled with medicines (ointments and drugs) with the agreement that he would treat the poor people in the community free of charge. It’s not known whether he was already working as a doctor for people who paid him, or if the gift of medicine helped him get started setting up a practice.

View of early Trois-Rivières.

On December 28, 1665, Félix married Élisabeth Lefebvre,¹ the daughter of Pierre-Michel Lefebvre, a major landowner in the area. She was only 14 years old when they were married, and she gave birth to their first child about two years later. The couple would have a total of at least five children, four of them girls.

Because Félix was practicing medicine, he sometimes was involved in court cases. Some of the matters had to do with non-payment for his services. In 1669, he took a man to court for the sum of 12 livres; the record doesn’t indicate if Félix won the case.⁴ Another time, he sued a woman for money that was owed for treatment of her deceased husband. She wanted to pay a smaller amount because Félix had been unable to cure him. The court ruled that she was to give Félix the full amount regardless.⁵

Other court records showed that Félix was sometimes called upon to take the witness stand when a medical issue was involved. In one trial in 1667, Félix gave testimony in a case where one man sued another for beating him with a cane. The injured man claimed he couldn’t use his arm and requested that a doctor look at him to support his claim. After examining him, Félix told the court that the man suffered from a badly bruised shoulder from being hit with the cane, and that it was uncertain if he would fully heal.⁶

Medical evaluation from 1667 trial signed by Félix. (Source: BAnQ)

In July 1668, Félix's father-in-law, with his health starting to fail, distributed land among his children;⁷ Felix and Élisabeth received land in Trois-Riviéres. They also bought a house on 2 arpents of land in Cap-de-la-Madeleine on April 15, 1669,³ and they were involved in several other purchases of property over the years.

On July 27, 1683, Félix died at the age of 50 in Batiscon, New France.² A couple years after he died, his widow Elisabeth married Jean Collet on January 12, 1687.⁸ She died only 9 months later on September 10, 1687.⁹

Children:
1. Élisabeth Thunay — B. 1667, Champlain, New France;¹⁰ D. 25 Mar 1734, Yamachiche, St-Maurice, New France;¹¹ M. Julien Rivard (~1657-1708 ), 3 Feb 1683, Champlain, New France¹²

2. Marie-Madeleine Thunay — B. about 1672, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, New France;¹³ D. about Feb 1738, Fort Detroit, New France;¹³ M. (1) François Xavier Pelletier die Antaya, 2 May 1690, Champlain, New France;¹⁴ (2) Pierre Mallet (1676-?), 9 Jan 1697, Montreal, New France¹⁵

3. Marguerite Thunay — B. 21 May 1675, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, New France;¹⁶ M. Toussaint Potier, 1 Dec 1703, Montreal, New France¹⁷

4. Antoine Thunay — B. about 1679, New France;¹⁸ D. 28 Dec 1746, Montreal, New France;¹⁸ M. Marie-Angélique Roy (1694-?), 6 Jun 1713, Montreal, New France¹⁹

5. Catherine Thunay — B. 22 Mar 1682, Champlain, New France;²⁰ D. 22 Oct 1760, Champlain, New France;²¹ M. (1) Jacques Filiatrault (1666-1716), 18 Apr 1700, Lachine, New France;²² (2) Pierre Louis Haudecoeur (1686-1754), Lachine, New France²³

Sources:
1    Marriage record of Félix Thunay dit Dufresne and Élisabeth Lefebvre, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2    Burial record of Félix Thunay dit Dufresne, Q.C.P.R.
3    Inventaire des greffes des notaires du Régime Français, Vol. 27, Pierre-Georges Roy, 1970
4    Court record of case involving Louis Robert dit Lafontaine, 16 Feb 1669, BAnQ  
5    Court record of Félix Thunay vs. Jean Jalot, 18 Mar 1675, BAnQ  
6    Court record of case involving Jean Danis, 6 Aug 1667, BAnQ  
7    WikiTree listing of Félix Thunay dit Dufresne  
8    Marriage record of Jean Collet and Élisabeth Lefebvre, Q.C.P.R.
9    Burial record of Élisabeth Lefebvre, Q.C.P.R.
10  WikiTree listing of Élisabeth Thunay  
11  Burial record of Élisabeth Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
12  Marriage record of Julien Rivard and Élisabeth Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
13  WikiTree listing of Marie-Madeleine Thunay  
14  Marriage record of François Xavier Pelletier die Antaya and Marie-Madeleine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
15  Marriage record of Pierre Mallet and Marie-Madeleine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
16  Baptismal record of Marguerite Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
17  Marriage record of Toussaint Potier and Marguerite Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
18  Généalogie du Québec et d’ Amérique française listing for Antoine Thunay
19  Marriage record of Antoine Thunay and Marie-Angélique Roy, Q.C.P.R.
20  Baptismal record of Catherine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
21  Burial record of Catherine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
22  Marriage record of Jacques Filiatrault and Catherine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.
23  Marriage record of Pierre Louis Haudecoeur and Catherine Thunay, Q.C.P.R.