M. 26 Oct 1671 in Quebec City, New France
Husband: Étienne Boyer dit LaFontaine
D. after Jul 1710 in France
A wide variety of women migrated to New France as the Filles du Roi, and some, like Marie-Therese Viel, were colorful characters.
Therese was born in Rouen, France, to Charles Viel and Marguerite Lechavallier. She was baptized on April 4, 1650 at the parish of Saint-Cande-le-Viel, the second of nine children in her family. Evidence shows that Therese may have had an education as a girl since it's known that she could sign her name.
At about age 20, Therese agreed to a contract to move to New France, with a promise that she would marry a settler in return for her passage and dowry. The ship she arrived on was the Saint Jean-Baptiste, which sailed from France in late June 1671. Along with 120 women onboard, there were also 100 men, 50 sheep, and 10 donkeys, plus “draperies and blankets and many other things for human use.” After arriving in Quebec City on August 15th, Therese joined other Filles du Roi staying at a place where men could visit to court them. Two months later, she married a former Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier, Étienne Boyer dit LaFontaine, with the wedding taking place at Notre-Dame church on October 26, 1671.
During the next few years, Therese gave birth to three sons, of which two died young. Then in 1676, Therese went on a trip back to France; it’s not known exactly why she did, but only that she stayed for a time in La Rochelle, a port city where ships sailed to and from America, and while living there, she became pregnant.
Therese claimed that the father of her child was the result of an affair with Médard Chouart des Groseilliers, a fur trader and explorer who was also visiting France that year. He was over 30 years her senior, and had risen to importance in New France by exploring areas deep into the continent in what is now Canada. For a time, he worked for England and was considered partly responsible for the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
When Therese returned to Quebec, her husband Étienne was not pleased to find that she was carrying someone else’s child. At first, he refused to take her back, but likely she begged him for forgiveness, blaming the man who made her pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl on January 14, 1677. Later that year, Étienne sued Chouart des Groseilliers charging that he was responsible for the child. The suit asked for 150 livres for support of the child and 500 livres in additional damages.
The case was heard in August, with the details of Therese’s affair aired in public. She admitted that she had been with Chouart des Groseilliers several times while in La Rochelle, identifying the house where he was staying and the people he was with. He defended himself by saying he had only seen Therese from a distance on the street, and that a number of men she had been with may have been the father of the child, implying that she led a wild life in La Rochelle.
At about age 20, Therese agreed to a contract to move to New France, with a promise that she would marry a settler in return for her passage and dowry. The ship she arrived on was the Saint Jean-Baptiste, which sailed from France in late June 1671. Along with 120 women onboard, there were also 100 men, 50 sheep, and 10 donkeys, plus “draperies and blankets and many other things for human use.” After arriving in Quebec City on August 15th, Therese joined other Filles du Roi staying at a place where men could visit to court them. Two months later, she married a former Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier, Étienne Boyer dit LaFontaine, with the wedding taking place at Notre-Dame church on October 26, 1671.
During the next few years, Therese gave birth to three sons, of which two died young. Then in 1676, Therese went on a trip back to France; it’s not known exactly why she did, but only that she stayed for a time in La Rochelle, a port city where ships sailed to and from America, and while living there, she became pregnant.
Therese claimed that the father of her child was the result of an affair with Médard Chouart des Groseilliers, a fur trader and explorer who was also visiting France that year. He was over 30 years her senior, and had risen to importance in New France by exploring areas deep into the continent in what is now Canada. For a time, he worked for England and was considered partly responsible for the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
When Therese returned to Quebec, her husband Étienne was not pleased to find that she was carrying someone else’s child. At first, he refused to take her back, but likely she begged him for forgiveness, blaming the man who made her pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl on January 14, 1677. Later that year, Étienne sued Chouart des Groseilliers charging that he was responsible for the child. The suit asked for 150 livres for support of the child and 500 livres in additional damages.
The case was heard in August, with the details of Therese’s affair aired in public. She admitted that she had been with Chouart des Groseilliers several times while in La Rochelle, identifying the house where he was staying and the people he was with. He defended himself by saying he had only seen Therese from a distance on the street, and that a number of men she had been with may have been the father of the child, implying that she led a wild life in La Rochelle.
La Rochelle in the 17th century.
The court believed Therese’s story, and ruled that Chouart des Groseilliers had to pay 200 livres to Étienne. It was also ordered that Étienne would adopt the child and raise it as his own. Therese resumed her marriage, and had ten more children with her husband, one of whom died at birth
One day in August 1699, Therese had a confrontation with another woman, Madeleine Bailly, that took place on a road near her home. Earlier that year, Bailly's daughter had married Therese's son Charles. The history between the two women went back to being Filles du Roi on the same ship in 1671. Plus they had something else in common: they each had given birth to an out-of-wedlock child. Words were exchanged between the two regarding each other's character, and when Therese went too far with an insult, Bailly ripped the hat off her head, and ruined it. In court, it was ordered that Bailly had to replace the hat, and both women needed to stop saying bad things to each other.
Record of court case between Therese and Madeleine Bailly.
Therese’s husband died on October 3, 1700, and she seems to have been left with several underaged children. It’s believed that she moved back to France not long after his funeral, and it's likely she took most of her children with her; only one son who was under her care at that time turned up in New France records as an adult, and he may have stayed behind for some reason. It isn’t known when and where Therese died. She was the ancestor of Ricky Gervais.
Children by Étienne Boyer dit LaFontaine:
1. Réne-Louis Boyer — B. 9 Sep 1672, New France; D. 11 Sep 1672, New France
2. Hugues Boyer — B. 7 Sep 1673, New France; D. young
3. Charles Boyer — B. about 1675, New France; D. 18 Mar 1727, Chambly, New France; M. (1) Marie-Marguerite Vanier (1684-1715), 9 Feb 1699, Charlesbourg, New France; (2) Marie-Madeleine Vivier (1688-1729), 19 Aug 1715, Charlesbourg, New France
4. Jean-Louis Boyer — B. 31 Dec 1678, New France; D. about 1705; M. Marie-Renée Chrétien, 9 Feb 1699, New France
5. Jean-Étienne Boyer — B. 10 Aug 1680, Quebec City, New France; D. 21 Apr 1750, Lachine, New France; M. Barbe Lemoureux (1685-1770), about 1707, Ste-Anne-Bellevue, New France
6. François Boyer — B. Mar 1681, L’Ancienne-Lorette, New France
7. Jacques Boyer — B. 18 Apr 1683, L’Ancienne-Lorette, New France
8. Louis Boyer — B. 7 Jun 1684, L’Ancienne-Lorette, New France; D. Jun 1684, L’Ancienne-Lorette, New France
9. Élisabeth Boyer — B. 10 Jul 1685, New France
10. Pierre-Augustin Boyer — B. 28 Aug 1686, New France
11. Jean-Baptiste Boyer — B. about 1688; D. 23 Oct 1750, Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Bonnier Lapierre (1693-1785), 28 Jul 1710, New France
12. Jean-François Boyer — B. 12 Jun 1690, New France
13. Pierre Boyer — B. 24 May 1691, L’Ancienne-Lorette, New France
Out-of-wedlock child by Médard Chouart des Groseilliers:
1. Jeanne-Élisabeth Boyer — B. 14 Jan 1677, Quebec City, New France; D. about 1702; M. Benoit Duhaut (1675-?), Nov 1696, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers—1663-1673, Peter Gagne, 2000Les Filles du Roi en Nouvelle-France, Silvio Dumas, 1972
Prévôté de Québec, transcription des volumes 9 et 10 (registres civils), 14 janvier 1676 au 14 décembre 1677, Longueuil
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (Wikipedia article)
Navires venus en Nouvelle-France (website)
Prévôté de Québec, transcription des volumes 9 et 10 (registres civils), 14 janvier 1676 au 14 décembre 1677, Longueuil
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (Wikipedia article)
Navires venus en Nouvelle-France (website)
