M. (1) 18 Sep 1673 in Quebec City, New France
Husband: Crespin Thuillier dit LaTour
M. (2) 16 Oct 1675 in Boucherville, New France
Husband: Charles Edeline
D. 20 Feb 1711 in Montreal, New France
Between 1663 and 1673, an estimated 800 women were shipped to New France to choose husbands, and Jeanne Braconnier was in the final group. She was born in the 11th arrondissement of Paris in about 1651; her parents were Nicolas Braconnier and Charlotte-Claude Brunet. Nothing else is known of her origins.
In 1673, Jeanne agreed to a contract to become a fille du roi. The program had been carried out for the last ten years in order to boost the population of New France, which had plenty of men, but very few women. Each woman who signed up was given a dowry and passage to the colony in return for the promise to marry a settler. In 1672, the program was suspended because it was thought there was no longer a bride shortage. But the following year, Governor Frontenac asked for 60 more women, and this was when Jeanne got a chance to go.
It’s believed that all 60 filles du roi in 1673 were on the ship L’Nativité, which sailed out of La Rochelle and arrived at Quebec City on September 3rd. A contract was drawn up just one week later for Jeanne to marry Louis Chapacou, the son of a settler named Simon Chapacou. Something caused the marriage to be called off, though, and it was annulled on the 15th. Just three days later, Jeanne was at the altar with another man, Crespin Thuillier dit LaTour, a young widower who had recently lost his first wife. As for Louis Chapacou, he didn’t find another woman to marry until 1681.
Marriage contract between Jeanne and Louis Chapacou.
Jeanne and Crespin settled in Boucherville, a community near Montreal. For a woman from Paris, she suddenly had to adapt to life in the frontier of America. Within a year, she gave birth to a son, but sadly the baby died before he was a year old. Jeanne soon became pregnant again, and then suffered another loss when husband Crespin died.
Luckily, Jeanne found a new husband, Charles Edeline, who married her on October 16, 1675 in Boucherville. One thing she had in common with Charles was that he was also from Paris, having arrived in New France around 1669. He was a shoemaker and a farmer, with land he had just acquired in Longueuil. In January 1676, she gave birth to the child from her first husband, then a year later had a baby with Charles; they had nine more by 1693. One of her children, Charles, born in 1683, became the first baptism performed in Longueuil.
When she was about 60-years-old, Jeanne became sick and was hospitalized in Montreal; she died there on February 20, 1711. Her husband survived her by only a few months and died in October, also at the hospital in Montreal.
Children by Crespin Thuillier dit LaTour:
1. Jacques Thuillier — B. Aug 1674, Boucherville, New France; D. Jul 1675, New France
2. Jeanne Thuillier — B. Jan 1676, Montreal, New France
Children by Charles Edeline:
1. Catherine-Therese Edeline — B. 15 Feb 1677, Longueuil, New France; 26 Apr 1715, Montreal, New France; M. Bertrand DeBlunche dit La Serre (1675-1720), 24 Jul 1697, Boucherville, New France
2. Charles Edeline — B. 15 Nov 1678, Longueuil, New France; D. 3 Apr 1726, Longueuil, New France; M. Helene Charron (1682-1738), 7 Feb 1701, Longueil, New France
3. François Edeline — B. 3 Aug 1680, Longueuil, New France
4. Pierre-Jean Edeline — B. 9 Dec 1681, Longueuil, New France; D. 14 Dec 1681, Montreal, New France
5. Pierre Edeline — B. 30 Jun 1683, Longueuil, New France; D. 18 Jun 1742, Vercheres, New France; M. Louise-Catherine Patenaude (1694-1742), 21 Feb 1718, Longueuil, New France
6. Marie-Anne Edeline — B. 26 Jul 1685, Longueuil, New France; D. Feb 1739, L’Assomption, New France; M. (1) Etienne Parseillier dit LaChappelle (?-1713), 16 Oct 1702, LaPrairie, New France; (2) Louis Douvier dit LaMarche (?-1735), 20 Nov 1715, Repentigny, New France
7. Angelique Edeline — B. 19 Apr 1687, Longueuil, New France; D. 8 Jun 1687, Boucherville, New France
8. Agathe Edeline — B. 11 Aug 1688, Longueuil, New France; D. 22 Aug 1741, Montreal, New France
9. Louis-Antoine Edeline — B. 22 Sep 1690, Longueuil, New France; D. 4 May 1758, Fort Detroit, New France; M. Marie-Madeliene Drousson (1689-1747), 15 Jan 1720, Longueuil, New France
10. Jean-Baptiste Edeline — B. 3 Jan 1693, Longueuil, New France; D. 14 Aug 1715, Montreal, New France; M. Marie-Marguerite Benoit dit Livernois (1694-1734), 29 May 1712, Longueuil, New France
Sources:
“My Ancestry & their descendants plus misc research,” Denis Paul Edeline, RootsWeb.Ancestry.com
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000
Brève chronologie de la paroisse de Saint-Antoine de Longueuil (website)
