M. 26 Oct 1659 in Montreal, New France2
Husband: Louis Guertin dit Le Sabotier
D. 20 Jul 1680 in Montreal, New France3
In June of 1659, a ship left France jammed with passengers looking to make a new life along the St. Lawrence River. And among them was a 15-year-old girl named Élisabeth Lecamus, who had no idea of what challenges lay ahead. Élisabeth was from Paris, born in about 1644 to Pierre Lecamus (also spelled Le Camus or Camus) and Jeanne Charles.1 Her father was said to be a merchant, and he likely owned a shop in the heart of Paris where they lived.1
It isn’t known what circumstances caused young Élisabeth to sign up for the risky venture of helping to populate New France, but she must have had few options for her future. In the years before hundreds of marriageable girls migrated as Filles du Roi, smaller numbers were recruited in a less official way. In 1659, two nuns, Jeanne Mance and Marguerite Bourgeoys, were trying to find women in France who could help serve as nurses and teachers.4 In addition, young women were needed in the colony as wives, and this was the role Élisabeth would fill. Each young woman had their passage paid for with the understanding that they would live up to their assignment once they reached America.
The ship carrying Élisabeth, Le Saint-André, left from La Rochelle on July 2nd.4 There were an estimated 200 passengers onboard, with roughly half intended for Montreal, and of those, 47 were females. They experienced trouble with the crossing almost from the start. It was later revealed that the ship had been previously used as a naval hospital, and it hadn’t been properly cleaned. As a result, an outbreak of sickness, referred to as plague, struck many of the passengers. Up to 18 people died at sea, and their bodies were bound in blankets and tossed overboard.1
Onboard ship with Marguerite Bourgeoys. (Source: unknown)
Not only did Élisabeth face getting a disease on the ship, but bad storms damaged the wooden vessel. This also caused delays, which led to shortages of food and fresh water. They finally landed at Quebec on September 7th, a voyage of over two months.4 The sickest of the passengers were immediately taken to the hospital, with an overflow of patients housed in a warehouse. The ones designated for Montreal who were healthy enough to make the trip continued on a smaller boat up the river. This included Élisabeth, who arrived at her final destination on September 29th.1 She likely spent the next few weeks at a place where men came to court her. A match was made with a shoemaker named Louis Guertin dit Le Sabotier, and they were married at Notre-Dame-de-Montreal on October 26th.2
Élisabeth spent the rest of her life in Montreal. She had her first child at about age 17 in early 1661,5 and two more were born by the time she was 20. The family grew until May of 1680 when she gave birth to her eleventh and final child.6 It’s likely that the pregnancies wore her body down, because two months later on July 20th, she died at age 36.3 Husband Louis, who was much older than Élisabeth, died in 1687.7 They were both ancestors of Jim Carrey8 and Alex Trebek.9
Children:
1. Marie-Élisabeth Guertin — B. 6 Feb 1661, Montreal, New France;5 D. 21 Mar 1714, Montreal, New France;10 M. Eustache Prévost (1646-1730), 13 Nov 1673, Montreal, New France11
2. Marie Guertin — B. 29 Mar 1662, Montreal, New France;12 D. 27 Dec 1712, Montreal, New France;13 M. Pierre Andegrave (1652-1703), 26 Nov 1675, Montreal, New France14
3. Catherine Guertin — B. 26 May 1664, Montreal, New France;15 D. 2 Oct 1730, Chambly, New France;16 M. (1) Pierre Caillonneau (1646-1687), 29 Oct 1681, Montreal, New France;17 (2) Denis Veronneau (~1634-1730), 20 Jan 1689, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France18
4. Marie-Marguerite Guertin — B. 20 Jul 1666, Montreal, New France;19 D. 12 Nov 1718, Montreal, New France;20 M. (1) Jean Sauviot (~1647-1693), 16 Nov 1679, Montreal, New France;21 (2) Pierre Gareau (1673-1740), 23 Sep 1696, Montreal, New France22
5. Louis Guertin — B. 3 Jan 1688, Montreal, New France;23 D. 7 Jan 1733, Verchères, New France;24 M. Marie-Madeleine Chicone (1672-1745), 6 Aug 1688, New France25
6. Madeleine Guertin — B. 18 Oct 1669, Montreal, New France;26 D. 21 Oct 1734, Boucherville, New France;27 M. (1) Georges Laporte (1662-1693), 1689, Contrecoeur, New France;28 (2) René Bau (1673-1726), 11 Feb 1694, Boucherville, New France29
7. Pierre Guertin — B. 11 Jun 1671, Montreal, New France;30 D. 11 Mar 1742, Sainte-Sulpice, New France;31 M. Marie-Anne Giard (1672-?), 11 Apr 1695, Montreal, New France32
8. Eustache Guertin — B. 28 Aug 1673, Montreal, New France;33 D. after 23 Sep 169622
9. Marie-Angelique Guertin — B. 11 Nov 1675, Montreal, New France;34 D. before 168135
10. Marie-Françoise Guertin — B. 12 Dec 1677, Montreal, New France;36 D. 6 Oct 1757, Montreal, New France;37 M. Charles Viger (1668-1750), 29 Jun 1694, Montreal, New France38
11. Paul Guertin — B. 2 May 1680, Montreal, New France;6 D. 12 Mar 1755, St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, New France;39 M. Marie-Madeleine Plouffe (1683-1760), 19 Mar 1702, Contrecoeur, New France40
Sources:
1 Navires venus en Nouvelle-France (website)
2 Marriage record of Louis Guertin dit Le Sabotier and Élisabeth Lecamus, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3 Burial record of Élisabeth Lecamus, Q.C.P.R.
4 “L’expédition du navire Le Saint-André pour le Canada en 1659,” Guy Perron, 2017 (blog)
5 Baptismal record of Marie-Élisabeth Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
6 Baptismal record of Paul Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
7 Burial record of Louis Guertin dit Le Sobotier, Q.C.P.R.
8 FamousKin.com listing for Louis Guertin
9 WikiTree listing for Alex Trebek
10 Burial record of Marie-Élisabeth Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
11 Marriage record of Eustache Prévost and Marie-Élisabeth Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
12 Baptismal record of Marie Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
13 Burial record of Marie Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
14 Marriage record of Pierre Andegrave and Marie Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
15 Baptismal record of Catherine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
16 Burial record of Catherine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
17 Marriage record of Pierre Caillonneau and Catherine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
18 Marriage record of Denis Veronneau and Catherine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
19 Baptismal record of Marie-Marguerite Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
20 Burial record of Marie-Marguerite Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
21 Marriage record of Jean Sauviot and Marie-Marguerite Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
22 Marriage record of Pierre Gareau and Marie-Marguerite Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
23 Baptismal record of Louis Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
24 Burial record of Louis Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
25 Marriage record of Louis Guertin and Marie-Madeleine Chicone, Q.C.P.R.
26 Baptismal record of Madeleine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
27 Burial record of Madeleine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
28 Marriage record of Georges Laporte and Madeleine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
29 Marriage record of René Bau and Madeleine Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
30 Baptismal record of Pierre Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
31 Burial record of Pierre Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
32 Marriage record of Pierre Guertin and Marie-Anne Giard, Q.C.P.R.
33 Baptismal record of Eustache Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
34 Baptismal record of Marie-Angelique Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
35 Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
36 Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
37 Burial record of Marie-Françoise Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
38 Marriage record of Charles Viger and Marie-Françoise Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
39 Burial record of Paul Guertin, Q.C.P.R.
40 Marriage record of Paul Guertin and Marie-Madeleine Plouffe, Q.C.P.R.
