M. 2 May 1707 in Quebec City, New France2
Husband: Pierre Savari
D. 9 Nov 1764 in Cap-Santé, Quebec3
Marie-Madeleine Mingou delivered eighteen children while living in the harsh conditions of the colony of New France. She was born September 24, 1691 in the seigneury of Charlesbourg,1 the daughter of Jean Mingou and Anne Bruneau. Of her five siblings, three brothers died as infants, and only her two sisters survived. Her parents seem to have moved to Quebec City when she was still a small child.4 Her father died in about 1697,5 and her mother remarried to Jean-Baptiste Lamothe,5 having six more children.
Just before her mother’s youngest child was born, Madeleine married at age 17. Her husband was Pierre Savari, a young man from the settlement of Neuville, and their wedding was at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec on May 2, 1707.2 They set up their household in Quebec City, and Madeleine gave birth on December 9th.6 This was only 7 months after their wedding, which may suggest that she was pregnant before their marriage, but given that the baby only lived two days,7 it’s possible that it was a premature birth. Less than a year later, she had her second child, this time a healthy baby girl.8
Madeleine and Pierre moved to various places as their offspring grew in number. They spent the next few years across the water on Île d’Orleans, where they had three more children.9,10,11 By 1714, the family had moved to the south shore of the St. Lawrence, and another girl was born.12 Between 1716 and 1720, the family called Quebec City home, and four more children were baptized at Notre-Dame.13,14,15,16 Then the family settled in Neuville,17 and it was here that Madeleine gave birth another eight times.
Having babies one after another was typical during that time for women in New France, but it's hard to imagine how anyone could endure it. Of Madeleine’s eighteen children, eight were known to be infant mortalities, and another child also likely died as a baby (the other nine all reached adulthood and married). Madeleine's body seemed to wear out towards the end with children numbers 16 and 17 dying within weeks of their births, but the very youngest survived to live a normal life.
Below is a timeline showing when Madeleine was pregnant vs. when she was not. During much of the prime of her life, she was carrying a child, sometimes with only a few months in between. It's even possible there were unrecorded miscarriages as well. All of this was without the benefit of modern medicine, living in a very cold, remote place, and with many young children to care for.
Madeleine’s husband died in Neuville on January 2, 1750,18 and she lived to the age of 75, passing away at Cap-Santé on November 9, 1764.3 Needless to say, she left many descendants.
Children:
1. Marie Savari — B. 9 Dec 1707, Quebec City, New France;6 D. 11 Dec 1707, Quebec City New France7
2. Marie-Madeleine Savari — B. 4 Nov 1708, Quebec City, New France;8 D. 4 May 1782, Neuville, Quebec;19 M. Antoine Bordeleau (1701-1735), 4 Nov 1727, Neuville, New France20
3. Louise Savari — B. 7 Nov 1709, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;9 D. 30 Jan 1710, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France21
4. Jean Savari — B. 7 May 1711, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;10 D. 30 May 1711, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France22
5. Marie-Therese Savari — B. 5 Apr 1712, St-Pierre, Île d’Orleans, New France;11 D. 15 Jul 1799, Cap-Santé, Quebec;23 M. Ignace Giroux (1708-1769), 5 Feb 1731, Neuville, New France24
6. Marie-Josephe Savari — B. 15 Feb 1714, Lauzon, New France;12 D. 10 Nov 1767, Cap-Santee, New France;25 M. Jean-François Arbour (1705-1749), 4 Feb 1732, Neuville, New France26
7. Marie-Louise Savari — B. 12 Mar 1716, Quebec City, New France;13 D. 20 Mar 1778, Yamachiche, Quebec;27 M. Jean-Baptiste Deveau (1709-?), 4 Mar 1737, Neuville, New France28
8. Marie-Angelique Savari — B. 30 Nov 1717, Quebec City, New France;14 D. 26 Dec 1717, Quebec City, New France29
9. Elisabeth Savari — B. 10 Feb 1719, Quebec City, New France15
10. Pierre Savari — B. 18 Jan 1720, Quebec City, New France;16 D. 8 Apr 1797, Neuville, Quebec;30 M. Elisabeth Bossu (1721-1793), 4 Jun 1742, Neuville, New France31
11. Louis-Joseph Savari — B. 4 Nov 1721, Neuville, New France17
12. Marie-Felicite Savari — B. 3 Feb 1723, Neuville, New France;32 D. 1 Mar 1723, Neuville, New France33
13. Jean-Baptiste Savari — B. 26 Mar 1724, Neuville, New France;34 M. Marguerite Bougret (1728-?), 19 Jan 1749, St-Charles-sur-Richelieu, New France35
14. François Savari — B. 3 Mar 1726, Neuville, New France;36 M. Marie-Catherine Cadoret (1743-?), 15 Sep 1780, L’Assomption, Quebec37
15. Françoise Savari — B. 17 Jul 1727, Neuville, New France;38 D. 6 Oct 1805, Neuville, Quebec;39 M. Joseph-Antoine Harnois (1710-1781), before 175640
16. Charles Savari — B. 4 Sep 1728, Neuville, New France;41 D. 23 Oct 1728, Neuville, New France42
17. Angelique Savari — B. 21 Sep 1729, Neuville, New France;43 D. 30 Sep 1729, Neuville, New France44
18. Augustin Savari — B. 23 Oct 1730, Neuville, New France;45 D. 29 Jan 1787, Cap-Santé, Quebec;46 M. Marie-Louise Lefebvre (1725-1799), 5 Mar 1764, Cap-Santé, Quebec47
Sources:
1 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Mingou, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2 Marriage record of Pierre Savari and Marie-Madeleine Mingou, Q.C.P.R.
3 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Mingou, Q.C.P.R.
4 Baptismal record of Marie-Angelique Mingou, Q.C.P.R.
5 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Lamothe and Anne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Marie Savari, Q.C.P.R.
7 Burial record of Marie Savari, Q.C.P.R.
8 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Savari, Q.C.P.R.
9 Baptismal record of Louise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
10 Baptismal record of Jean Savari, Q.C.P.R.
11 Baptismal record of Marie-Therese Savari, Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Marie-Josephe Savari, Q.C.P.R.
13 Baptismal record of Marie-Louise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
14 Baptismal record of Marie-Angelique Savari, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Elisabeth Savari, Q.C.P.R.
16 Baptismal record of Pierre Savari (younger), Q.C.P.R.
17 Baptismal record of Louis-Joseph Savari, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Pierre Savari (older), Q.C.P.R.
19 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Savari, Q.C.P.R.
20 Marriage record of Antoine Bordeleau and Marie-Madeleine Savari, Q.C.P.R.
21 Burial record of Louise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
22 Burial record of Jean Savari, Q.C.P.R.
23 Burial record of Marie-Therese Savari, Q.C.P.R.
24 Marriage record of Ignace Giroux and Marie-Therese Savari, Q.C.P.R.
25 Burial record of Marie-Josephe Savari, Q.C.P.R.
26 Marriage record of Jean-François Arbour and Marie-Josephe Savari, Q.C.P.R.
27 Burial record of Marie-Louise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Deveau and Marie-Louise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
29 Burial record of Marie-Angelique Savari, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of Pierre Savari, Q.C.P.R.
31 Marriage record of Pierre Savari and Elisabeth Bossu, Q.C.P.R.
32 Baptismal record of Marie-Felicite Savari, Q.C.P.R.
33 Burial record of Marie-Felicite Savari, Q.C.P.R.
34 Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Savari, Q.C.P.R.
35 Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Savari and Marguerite Bougret, Q.C.P.R.
36 Baptismal record of François Savari, Q.C.P.R.
37 Marriage record of François Savari and Marie-Catherine Cadoret, Q.C.P.R.
38 Baptismal record of Françoise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
39 Burial record of Françoise Savari, Q.C.P.R.
40 Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française listing of Françoise Savari
41 Baptismal record of Charles Savari, Q.C.P.R.
42 Burial record of Charles Savari, Q.C.P.R.
43 Baptismal record of Angelique Savari, Q.C.P.R.
44 Burial record of Angelique Savari, Q.C.P.R.
45 Baptismal record of Augustin Savari, Q.C.P.R.
46 Burial record of Augustin Savari, Q.C.P.R.
47 Marriage record of Augustin Savari and Marie-Louise Lefebvre, Q.C.P.R.
