M. 17 Sep 1668 in Quebec City, New France2
Husband: René Bruneau dit Jolicoeur
D. before 29 Oct 1703 in (probably) New France3
Anne-Jeanne Poitreau had a story shared with many women who settled in Canada in the 1660s: she was a Fille du Roi who married a Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier. Anne-Jeanne was from La Rochelle, a major port city on the west coast of France, born there in about 1652.1 Her parents were Pierre Poitreau (also spelled Poitraud) and Jeanne Brelle. The circumstances which led to her migration to America are lost to history.
The government had been supplying marriageable girls to the colony for five years when Anne-Jeanne signed up as a Fille du Roi. In the spring of 1668, the ship La Nouvelle France was loaded with 81 women and girls, and it arrived in Quebec City on July 3rd.4 Anne-Jeanne was just 16-years-old, but this wasn’t that uncommon, and others on the ship were even younger. Once in Quebec City, the process of making a match began, with men coming to court the women, and Anne-Jeanne signed a marriage contract in September.
Anne-Jeanne’s marriage took place at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec on September 17, 1668.2 Her husband was René Bruneau dit Jolicoeur, a 27-year-old former Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier. There is a long list of Filles du Roi who made the same decision as Anne-Jeanne. The military force that arrived in Quebec in 1665 had a thousand young men with three-year contracts of service. Most of them ended their term the same year that Anne-Jeanne arrived, and about 35 of her shipmates also chose soldiers as husbands. All totaled, about 162 of the Filles du Roi who arrived between 1667 and 1673 became wives of the Carignan-Salières Regiment recruits during their first few months in New France.
René took Anne-Jeanne to live in the seigneury of Charlesbourg; his farm was located in a section called Petite-Auvergne. Her first child, a boy, was born over a year later on October 3, 1669.5 Since there wasn’t a church nearby, she and her husband traveled to Quebec to have him baptized. This was a trip they made four more times over the next seven years. Unfortunately, only one of the five children lived past infancy. After a parish was built at Charlesbourg, Anne-Jeanne gave birth to five more children, and of these, three survived. None of her sons lived to adulthood, but her four healthy daughters would provide many descendants.
On April 22, 1696, Anne-Jeanne was treated at the hospital in Quebec for an illness or injury.6 Later that year, she and her husband sold their concession, and moved elsewhere, possibly Quebec City. It’s unknown when Anne-Jeanne and René died, but they were both deceased by their daughter Marie-Charlotte’s wedding on October 29, 1703.3
Children:
1. Robert Bruneau — B. 3 Oct 1669, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France;5 D. 21 Dec 1669, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France8
2. Anne Bruneau — B. 21 Dec 1670, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France;9 D. 2 Mar 1726, Quebec City, New France;10 M. (1) Jean Mingou (~1660-?), 17 Sep 1685, Charlesbourg, New France;11 (2) Jean Lamothe (~1664-1724), 14 Oct 1698, Quebec City, New France12
3. Louis Bruneau — B. 27 Dec 1673, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France;13 D. 14 Feb 1674, Quebec City, New France14
4. Nicolas Bruneau — B. 12 Feb 1675, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France;15 D. 13 Mar 1675, Quebec City, New France16
5. Marie-Madeleine Bruneau — B. 29 Oct 1676, (probably) Charlesbourg, New France;17 D. 25 Aug 1687, Quebec City, New France18
6. Jeanne Bruneau — B. 16 Aug 1679, Charlesbourg, New France;19 D. 6 Jan 1746, Quebec City, New France;20 M. (1) François Duclas (1668-1708), 16 Oct 1697, Quebec City, New France;21 (2) Alexandre Derny Larose (1676-?), 23 Mar 1713, Quebec city, New France22
7. Marguerite Bruneau — B. 21 Nov 1681, Charlesbourg, New France;23 D. 12 Apr 1718, Sainte-Famille, Île d’Orleans, New France;24 M. (1) Charles Giroux (~1669-1714), 23 Feb 1699, Quebec City, New France;25 (2) Hiliare Martin (1692-1756), 8 Nov 1714, Quebec City, New France26
8. Marie-Charlotte Bruneau — B. 19 Dec 1683, Charlesbourg, New France;27 M. (1) Simon Didier Parisien (~1669-1710), 29 Oct 1703, Montreal, New France;3 (2) Claude Laspron dit Lacharité (1679-1739), 7 Jan 1712, Trois-Rivières, New France28
9. René Bruneau — B. 25 Mar 1687, Charlesbourg, New France;29 D. 5 Apr 1687, Charlesbourg, New France30
10. Nicolas Bruneau — B. 20 Oct 1689, Charlesbourg, New France;31 D. (probably) young
Sources:
1 Migrations.fr listing for Anne Poitreau
2 Marriage record of René Bruneau and Anne-Jeanne Poitreau, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Simon Didier Parisien and Marie-Charlotte Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
4 Migrations.fr listing for ship La Nouvelle France 1668
5 Baptismal record of Robert Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
6 Registre Journalier des Malades de L’Hôtel-Dieu de Quebec, Marcel & Gisèle Monarque, 2005
7 Inventaire des greffes des notaires du Régime français, Vol. VII, p.114
8 Burial record of Robert Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
9 Baptismal record of Anne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
10 Burial record of Anne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
11 Marriage record of Jean Mingou and Anne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
12 Marriage record of Jean Lamothe and Anne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
13 Baptismal record of Louis Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
14 Burial record of Louis Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Nicolas Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
16 Burial record of Nicloas Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
17 Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
18 Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
19 Baptismal record of Jeanne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
20 Burial record of Jeanne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
21 Marriage record of François Duclas and Jeanne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
22 Marriage record of Alexandre Derny Larose and Jeanne Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
23 Baptismal record of Marguerite Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
24 Burial record of Marguerite Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
25 Marriage record of Charles Giroux and Marguerite Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
26 Marriage record of Hiliare Martin and Marguerite Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
27 Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Claude Laspron dit Lacharité and Marie-Charlotte Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
29 Baptismal record of René Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
30 Burial record of René Bruneau, Q.C.P.R.
31 Baptismal record of Nicolas Bruneau (younger), Q.C.P.R.
