M. 29 Sep 1654 in Beauport, New France
Husband: Toussaint Giroux
D. 21 Nov 1684 in Beauport, New France
Marie Godard was a woman living during the 17th century in New France, but there’s an odd absence of information about where exactly she came from. Census records taken when Marie was an adult suggested she was born between about 1638 and 1641. She first appeared in her marriage document of September 29, 1654. On that day, she was married to Toussaint Giroux at the home of Robert Giffard, seigneur of Beauport.
Both Marie and her new husband were servants of Giffard, who was an important man in the colony; he had first come to New France in the 1620s as a surgeon, and during the 1630s and 1640s, played a role in recruiting settlers from France. It’s likely that Marie was pregnant when she married Toussaint because the birth of their first child followed only seven months later. As servants working in the same household, this sort of relationship was certainly possible, and may have been the reason they got married.
The man who officiated at Marie’s wedding was Father Paul Ragueneau, who just a few years earlier, headed a Jesuit mission in Huron country. During the 1640s, the mission was destroyed in a series of brutal attacks by the Iroquois. It was said that only a small number of the Hurons escaped death or captivity, and Father Ragueneau eventually brought the survivors back to Quebec. Could Marie have been an orphaned girl among these Huron? Possibly, but this is only speculation. It’s interesting, though, that while her husband was illiterate, she was able to sign her name on the marriage document. Native American girls who fell into the care of the French were typically given an education during their conversion to Catholicism. Of course, she may have also been educated as a girl in France.
The man who officiated at Marie’s wedding was Father Paul Ragueneau, who just a few years earlier, headed a Jesuit mission in Huron country. During the 1640s, the mission was destroyed in a series of brutal attacks by the Iroquois. It was said that only a small number of the Hurons escaped death or captivity, and Father Ragueneau eventually brought the survivors back to Quebec. Could Marie have been an orphaned girl among these Huron? Possibly, but this is only speculation. It’s interesting, though, that while her husband was illiterate, she was able to sign her name on the marriage document. Native American girls who fell into the care of the French were typically given an education during their conversion to Catholicism. Of course, she may have also been educated as a girl in France.
Father Paul Ragueneau.
Whatever the case, Marie and her new husband continued to be servants to Sieur Giffard, living in a small outbuilding on his property. On April 30, 1655, she gave birth to a baby boy in the house of Giffard, who delivered the child, but unfortunately the baby died a week later. In 1656 and 1658, Marie had two more sons born at Giffard’s house; the baby who was born in 1658 was baptized in the house at three weeks old. Marie and Toussaint went on to have 9 more children together, with the youngest born in about 1679.
In October 1658, Toussaint bought his own plot of land in Beauport, and built a small house that the family moved into. The land was expanded with a second purchase in 1665, but when Sieur Giffard died two years later, his son became the new landlord and reduced the Giroux family concession to a single arpent because they had been behind in paying the rent. It took a few years, but the family was eventually able to acquire enough farmland again to support themselves.
Marie died at Beauport on November 21, 1684. An unusual note was added in her death record that she had lived “a good life.” Husband Toussaint remarried a couple of years later, but it wasn’t a happy relationship, and when he died in 1715, he was buried next to his first wife Marie. She had many descendants, two of whom were Robert Goulet and Madonna.
Burial record of Marie Godard.
Children:
1. Charles Giroux — B. 30 Apr 1655, Beauport, New France; D. 7 May 1655, Beauport, New France
2. Raphael Giroux — B. 21 Jul 1656, Beauport, New France; D. 10 Feb 1715, Beauport, New France; M. Marie-Madeleine Vachon (1664-1715), 26 Nov 1681, Beauport, New France
3. Charles Giroux — B. 10 Aug 1658, Beauport, New France; D. 23 Dec 1708, Beauport, New France
4. Toussaint Giroux — B. 2 May 1660, Beauport, New France; D. 7 Jul 1660, Beauport, New France
5. Michel Giroux — B. 13 Jun 1661, Beauport, New France; D. 6 Aug 1715, Beauport, New France; M. Marie-Therese Prévost (1665-1743), 18 Aug 1683, Beauport, New France
6. Toussaint Giroux — B. 21 Oct 1663, Beauport, New France; D. 10 Nov 1663, Beauport, New France
7. Jean Giroux — B. 26 Oct 1664, Beauport, New France; D. 16 Jan 1732, Beauport, New France; M. (1) Marie Dauphin (1673-1685), 8 Feb 1685, Beauport, New France; (2) Suzanne Bélanger (1665-1707), 12 Feb 1686, Beauport, New France (3) Marie-Charlotte Grenier (1666-1736), 27 Feb 1707, Beauport, New France
8. Marie-Anne Giroux — B. 28 Dec 1666, Beauport, New France; D. 9 Jun 1711, Charlesbourg, New France; M. Jean-Baptiste Prévost (1662-1737), 18 Aug 1683, Beauport, New France
9. Jean-Baptiste Giroux — B. about Dec 1668, Beauport, New France; D. before 1681
10. Marie-Madeleine Giroux — B. 29 Dec 1669, Beauport, New France; M. (1) Pierre Choret (1655-1701), 21 Jan 1686, Beauport, New France; (2) Maurice Rhéaume (1666-1709), 10 Jan 1705, Charlesbourg, New France
11. Toussaint Giroux — B. 1 Mar 1672, Beauport, New France; D. 25 Feb 1750, Beauport, New France; M. Marie-Therese Dauphin (1674-1732), 15 Nov 1690, Beauport, New France
12. Monique Giroux — B. about 1679, Beauport, New France; D. 1 Mar 1725, Quebec City, New France; M. Noel Vachon dit Pamerlaux (1669-1699), 24 Oct 1695, Beauport, New France
Sources:
Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française (website)
Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Gerard Lebel (translated by Thomas J. Laforest), 1990
Before the King’s Daughters: The Filles à Marier, 1634-1662, Peter Gagné, 2002
Toussaint Giroux—Marie Godard, Seventh Great Grandparents, Warren Gereaux, 2000
“Ragueneau, Paul,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography
