Fille du Roi Turned Family Matriarch — Catherine Guérard

B. about 1649 in Paris, France¹
M. after 12 Feb 1670 in Champlain, New France²
Husband: Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine
D. 11 Oct 1727 in Champlain, New France³

Many of the young women who boarded ships bound for New France during the 1660s lived full and interesting lives, and such was the case for Catherine Guérard. Catherine was from the 5th Arrondissement of Paris, born there in about 1649 to Pierre Guérard and Marguerite Monandel.^1,2 The parish that the family belonged to was Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a spectacular church built in the 15th century that housed the tomb of Ste-Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Although nothing specific is known of Catherine’s childhood, she was able to sign her name, and therefore seems to have been educated.

Interior of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris.

When Catherine was about 20-years-old, she made the decision to migrate to New France. It’s likely that some sort of hardship led her to make a new life in America; possibly her parents had left her orphaned. After several years of recruiting young women in France, the Filles du Roi program was at its peak in 1669, with a goal of signing up 150 women.⁴ Two ships of prospective brides sailed out that year, with most of them onboard the St-Jean-Baptiste. It’s been estimated that the ship carried 108 women, over half of them from Paris, including Catherine.⁴ They arrived in Quebec City sometime in September, and began the process of courtship with the men of the colony.

By the end of the year, only a handful were not yet married, and Catherine was one of them. When she finally signed a marriage contract on February 12, 1670,² almost all the other women had already done so.⁴ Catherine seems to have found her husband in Trois-Rivières, not Quebec City, because the contract was written in the settlement of Champlain.

The man who married Catherine was Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine, a former Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier who decided to settle in New France. Their actual marriage record is missing, but it’s known that they soon settled in Champlain. Living there must have been a shocking contrast to the place Catherine was from in Paris; by 1679, there were 40 families in a string of narrow farms bordering the north shore of the St. Lawrence.⁵ Catherine added to the population with the birth of ten children between 1671 and 1694, three of whom seem to have died young.

There’s a record of the sale of Julien and Catherine’s farm dated October 13, 1681,⁶ and it’s noteworthy that Catherine was the one who signed the document. It states that she was “duly authorized” by Julien to do so, which could mean he was away from home, or that she was better qualified to handle her husband’s business. The deal stipulated that they would be able to live there until September 1st of the following year, and that they could “ sow on said land next year, harvest what they have sown and take wood for heating.” Afterwards, they presumably moved to another farm nearby, since they continued to be members of the church at Champlain. 

Catherine's signature on 1681 document.

Julien died on April 12, 1705,⁷ leaving Catherine in charge of her family, and although she was still in her fifties, she didn’t remarry. Two years later her name turned up in an interesting court case involving one of her sons, Jean-Baptiste.⁸ The 23-year-old man apparently courted a young woman named Marie-Madeleine Maugras, who lived in the household of her step-father, Gilles Couturier dit Labonté. Their home was in the remote settlement of St-François-du-Lac, and Jean-Baptiste visited there, talking marriage with Marie-Madeleine, then making her pregnant. When he backed out of their relationship, she went to her step-father, who had the authorities arrest Jean-Baptiste. What followed was a conviction dated September 3, 1707 that forced Jean-Baptiste to pay the enormous sum of 800 livres, plus whatever was needed to support the child after it was born, even suggesting that he raise it.

After the verdict, Catherine stepped in, organizing an appeal for her son that was ultimately successful.⁹ The case was retried in Trois-Rivières in November, and the ruling that came down on December 12th reduced the fine to 200 livres plus court costs, and removed any other demands that he pay further for the child. Nothing more is known of the woman’s pregnancy because parish records in the place she lived were extremely sparse; it’s possible that she didn’t carry the child to term. As for Jean-Baptiste, he married someone else in January 1709.¹⁰

Catherine lived to the age of 78, passing away in Champlain on October 11, 1727.³

Children:
1. Pierre Dubord dit LaFontiane — B. about 1671, (probably) Champlain, New France;¹ D. 12 Nov 1756, Champlain, New France;¹¹ M. Marie-Claire Rheault (~1679-1756), 9 Jan 1702, Champlain, New France¹²

2. Maximin Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. about 1674, (probably) Champlain, New France;¹ D. 18 Jun 1683, Champlain, New France¹³

3. Marie-Étiennette Dubord dite LaFontaine — B. about 1676, (probably) Champlain, New France;¹ D. 1 Jun 1768, Berthier-en-Haut, Quebec;¹⁴ M. Pierre Aure (~1679-~1762), 3 Nov 1701, Champlain, New France¹⁵

4. Joseph-Dominique Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. about 1679, (probably) Champlain, New France;¹ D. 31 Jan 1759, Champlain, New France;¹⁶ M. (1) Marie-Jeanne Aure (1683-1712), 28 Apr 1710, Champlain, New France;¹⁷ (2) Françoise Turcot (1691-1749), 22 Nov 1714, Champlain, New France¹⁸

5. Charles Dubord dit Clermond — B. 16 Aug 1681, Champlain, New France;¹⁹ D. 30 Oct 1749, Grondines, New France;²⁰ M. Marie Ripault (1693-1759), Jan 1712, Grondines, New France²¹

6. Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. 2 Nov 1683, Champlain, New France;²² D. 7 May 1764, Berthier-en-Haut, Quebec;²³ M. Marie Aure (1688-1761), 11 Feb 1709, Champlain, New France¹⁰

7. Michel-Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. 12 Jul 1689, Champlain, New France;²⁴ D. 15 Dec 1687, Champlain, New France²⁵

8. Daniel Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. about 27 Oct 1688, Champlain, New France²⁶

9. Marie-Madeleine Dubord dite LaFontaine — B. 23 Mar 1692, Champlain, New France;²⁷ M. Alexis Turcot (1682-1730), 12 Jan 1709, Batiscan, New France²⁸

10. Balthasar Dubord dit LaFontaine — B. 18 Dec 1694, Champlain, New France;²⁹ D. 16 Sep 1765, Lavaltrie, Quebec;³⁰ M. Marie-Josephe Ripault (1699-?), 30 Jan 1720, Grondines, New France³¹

Sources:
1    Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
2    Marriage contract of Julien Dubort dit LaFontaine and Catherine Guerard, BAnQ  
3    Burial record of Catherine Guérard, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
4    Navires venus en Nouvelle-France (website)
5    Seigneurie de Champlain (Wikipedia article)  
6    Record of sale of Julien Dubord’s land, 13 Oct 1681, BAnQ
7    Burial record of Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
8    Criminal court record involving Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine, 26 Aug 1707 to 24 Oct 1707, BAnQ
9    Record of appeal involving Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine, 12 Dec 1707, BAnQ
10  Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine and Marie Aure, Q.C.P.R.
11  Burial record of Pierre Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
12  Marriage record of Pierre Dubord dit LaFontaine and Marie-Claire Rheault, Q.C.P.R.
13  Burial record of Maximin Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
14  Burial record of Marie-Étiennette Dubord dite LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
15  Marriage record of Pierre Aure and Marie-Étiennette Dubord dite LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
16  Burial record of Joseph-Dominique Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
17  Marriage record of Joseph-Dominque Dubord dit LaFontaine and Marie-Jeanne Aure, Q.C.P.R.
18  Marriage record of Joseph-Dominque Dubord dit LaFontaine and Françoise Turcot, Q.C.P.R.
19  Baptismal record of Charles Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
20  Burial record of Charles Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
21  Marriage record of Charles Dubord dit LaFontaine and Marie Ripault, Q.C.P.R.
22  Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
23  Burial record of Jean-Baptiste Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
24  Baptismal record of Michel-Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R
25  Burial record of Michel-Julien Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
26  Baptismal record of Daniel Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
27  Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Dubord dite LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
28  Marriage record of Alexis Turcot and Marie-Madeleine Dubord dite LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
29  Baptismal record of Balthasar Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
30  Burial record of Balthasar Dubord dit LaFontaine, Q.C.P.R.
31  Marriage record of Balthasar Dubord dit LaFontaine and Marie-Joseph Ripault, Q.C.P.R.