In Court For Husband’s Debt — Marie-Charlotte Beauvais

B. 26 Jun 1667 in Montreal, New France¹
M. 30 Oct 1684 in Montreal, New France²
Husband: Alexandre Turpin
D. 25 Dec 1700 in Montreal, New France³

The wife of a fur trader in New France could sometimes become entangled in her husband’s business, and such was the case for Marie-Charlotte Beauvais. She was born in Montreal on June 26, 1667 to Jacques Beauvais and Jeanne Soldé, the seventh of nine children.¹ Charlotte’s parents had settled in Montreal in 1653, and her mother was part of La Grande Recrue; they met and married within a couple months of their arrival.⁴ For years, her father operated a lime-making business that supplied building mortar to the growing town.⁵

Charlotte was 17-years-old when she got married. Her husband, Alexandre Turpin, was 44, and had been married before with several children around Charlotte’s age; in fact his daughter was married to her older brother. The wedding took place in Montreal on October 30, 1684.² About a year later, Charlotte gave birth to her first child; she had a total of eight children during the next 15 years, with two who died as infants.

Along with raising children and keeping a home, Charlotte took on the role of the wife of a fur trading merchant. Alexandre worked with partners to set up expeditions to the west, organizing the trading merchandise and supplies needed for each trip, and sometimes traveling on the missions as well.⁶ He kept an inn located at Montreal for men who were getting ready for the trips,⁶ and it’s possible that Charlotte helped run it with him.

Alexandre was dealing in large amounts of money, and a wife was considered equally liable in case of debt. Fur traders were required to have a license, which cost a lot of money, and this was how both of them got into trouble in 1699. Early that year, Charlotte was charged along with her husband for non-payment of 3,385 livres for his trading license, and they were both ordered to appear in court. She testified on April 23rd, claiming that she was “not in solidarity” with her husband over the purchase of the license; her signature appears regarding this in the court documents.⁷

1699 court document with Marie-Charlotte's signature. (Source: BAnQ)

Charlotte died on Christmas Day of the following year, one week after giving birth to her last child.³ She was only 33, and left behind five underaged children. Alexandre married a third wife about a year later, and he died by September 16, 1709.⁸ All four of Charlotte’s sons spent time out west, with three of them settling in Kaskaskia, a trading outpost in present-day Illinois.⁹

Children:
1. Jean-Baptiste Turpin — B. 23 Nov 1685, Montreal, New France;¹⁰ M. Marguerite Fafard (~1692-1756), 5 May 1710, Detroit, New France¹¹

2. Louise Turpin — B. 6 Apr 1687, Montreal, New France;¹² D. 11 Jul 1687, Montreal, New France¹³

3. Jeanne Turpin — B. 7 Sep 1688, Montreal, New France;¹⁴ D. 9 Sep 1688, Montreal, New France¹⁵

4. Charlotte-Marie Turpin — B. 12 Jul 1691, Montreal, New France;¹⁶ D. 17 Jul 1767, Soulanges, Quebec;¹⁷ M. (1) Nicolas Legros (1678-1720), 25 Feb 1713, Lachine, New France;¹⁸ (2) Simon-Joseph Reaume (1697-?), 10 Sep 1722, Lachine, New France¹⁹

5. Louis Turpin — B. 15 May 1694, Montreal, New France;²⁰ D. before 29 Dec 1752, Kaskaskia, New France;⁹ M. (1) Marie Coulon (~1694-1724), 1719, Kaskaskia, New France;²¹ (2) Dorothee Mechipoueoua (~1694-?), 11 Sep 1724, Kaskaskia, New France;²¹ (3) Hélène Hebert, 20 Mar 1751, Kaskaskia, New France⁹

6. Joseph Turpin — B. 21 Jun 1696, Montreal, New France;²² D. before 12 Jan 1751, Kaskaskia, New France;⁹ M. Hypolite Chauvin de La Freniere (1718-1757), 7 Nov 1731, New Orleans, New France²³

7. Jacques Turpin — B. 25 Jul 1698, Montreal, New France;²⁴ D. 3 Jul 1723, Kaskaskia, New France²⁵

8. Marie-Madeleine Turpin — B. 18 Dec 1700, Montreal, New France;²⁶ D. 26 Nov 1777, Montreal, Quebec;²⁷ M. Pierre Babin Lacroix (1692-?), 13 Apr 1723, Boucherville, New France²⁸

Sources:


1    Baptismal record of Marie-Charlotte Beauvais, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
2    Marriage record of Pierre-Alexandre Turpin and Marie-Charlotte Beauvais, Q.C.P.R.
3    Burial record of Marie-Charlotte Beauvais, Q.C.P.R.
4    Jeanne Soldé listing on Fichierorgine.com  
5    Jacques Beauvais listing on Génealogie Québec 

6    Phantoms of the French Fur Trade, Timothy J. Kent, 2015
7    Lawsuit against Alexandre Turpin and Charlotte Beauvais, 7 Apr 1699, BAnQ  
8    Marriage record of Joseph Poirier dit Desloges and Marie Gauthier, Q.C.P.R.
9    Kaskaskia under the French Regime, Natalia Maree Belting, 1948
10  Baptismal record of Jean-Baptiste Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
11  Marriage record of Jean-Baptiste Turpin and Marguerite Fafard, Q.C.P.R.
12  Baptismal record of Louise Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
13  Burial record of Louise Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
14  Baptismal record of Jeanne Turpin, Q.C.P.R
15  Burial record of Jeanne Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
16  Baptismal record of Charlotte-Marie Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
17  Burial record of Charlotte-Marie Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
18  Marriage record of Nicolas Legros and Charlotte-Marie Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
19  Marriage record of Simon-Joseph Reaume and Charlotte-Marie Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
20  Baptismal record of Louis Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
21  Louis Turpin listing on Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française  
22  Baptismal record of Joseph Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
23  Marriage record of Joseph Turpin and Hypolite Chauvin de La Freniere, St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans records, 1731-1733
24  Baptismal record of Jacques Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
25  Jacques Turpin listing on Généalogie du Quebec et d’Amérique française 
26  Baptismal record of Marie-Madeleine Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
27  Burial record of Marie-Madeleine Turpin, Q.C.P.R.
28  Marriage record of Pierre Babin Lacroix and Marie-Madeleine Turpin, Q.C.P.R.