M. (1) 13 Jun 1630 in La Ventrouze, Perche, France1
Husband: Jean Bigot
M. (2) 3 Feb 1632 in La Ventrouze, Perche, France1
Husband: Mathurin Fourreau
D. after 1667 in (probably) New France2
Thomine Chastel did a remarkable thing for a woman of the 17th century: she left her home in France, taking two teenaged children across the Atlantic to begin a new life in America.
It was the location of where Thomine lived, and connection to key people, that gave her an opportunity to escape a bad situation. In the heart of northwest France is the region known as Perche, and this is where Thomine was born in about 1600.1 She was the daughter of a man named Benoît Chastel; her mother’s name is unknown. Thomine grew up in the village of Autheuil, which was also the hometown of Robert Giffard, who later was one of the first settlers of New France. At about age 30, she found a husband in a tailor named Jean Bigot. They were married on June 13, 1630 at Ste-Madeleine church in the nearby town of La Ventrouze;1 the rustic 15th-century chapel stills stands today in almost original condition.
Inside Ste-Madeleine church in La Ventrouze, France. (Source: Unozoe / CC BY-SA)
Thomine and Jean settled at La Ventrouze, and a daughter was born about a year later.1 Then in late 1631, when she was pregnant with their second child, Jean died.1 During those times, a woman with a baby and another on the way had few options when she lost her husband, and Thomine had to get remarried as soon as possible. So on February 3, 1632, her second wedding took place with Mathurin Foureau, a merchant who was a widower.1
Thomine gave birth to a son later that year,1 but her second husband didn’t turn out to be a good match. They had no children together, and by 1638, he left her to fend for herself with her young daughter and son.1 Thomine struggled, unable to provide for her children while being prevented from marrying someone else. In May 1642, she brought her situation to the attention of authorities, asking permission to sell whatever she jointly owned with her husband to a family member named Gilles Chastel.1 The items were described as "everything and such a right that she has in a ruined barn,” which paints a picture of her poverty. The amount she received in the sale was just 12 livres.
As things got even worse for Thomine, a man stepped in who offered her a way out. Nöel Juchereau was a member of the Company of One Hundred Associates, the group of French men who managed the colony in Canada. During the 1640s, Juchereau was recruiting families in Perche to move there. He was someone Thomine knew, as evidenced by the fact he was a witness to her 1632 wedding. On March 16, 1646, she made arrangements to rent out her farm to Gilles Chastel for 4 livres per year,1 then sometime afterwards, boarded a ship along with her children bound for New France. The exact date of her arrival is uncertain, but it’s thought that she sailed on La Marguerite, which arrived at Quebec on August 6, 1647.1
Thomine’s daughter, now age 16, got married to a settler a short time later on September 19th,3 but sadly, her son passed away on September 24, 1648.4 Thomine likely lived under the roof of her married daughter in Quebec; she couldn’t marry a settler because she was still tied to Mathurin Foureau. In 1656, she was one of several who received the Scapular of Mont-Carmel, and she was confirmed at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec on August 10, 1659.1 The last record of Thomine was at age 67, enumerated in the 1667 census in the household of her daughter’s family in Cap-Rouge.2 There is no burial record for Thomine, and her date of death is unknown.
Children:
1. Françoise Bigot — B. about 17 May 1631, La Ventrouze, Perche, France;1 D. 8 Aug 1706, St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, New France;5 M. (1) Charles Guillebourg (1609-1658), 19 Sep 1647, Quebec City, New France;3 M. (2) Denis Briere (~1631-1711), 8 May 1658, Quebec City, New France6
2. Jean Bigot — B. about 1632, (probably) La Ventrouze, Perche, France;1 D. 24 Sep 1648, Quebec City, New France4
Sources:
1 Voyage dans le temps avec Pierette (website)
2 Recensement de 1667 en Nouvelle-France
3 Marriage record of Charles Guillbourg and Françoise Bigot, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
4 Burial record of Jean Bigot, Q.C.P.R.
5 Burial record of Françoise Bigot, Q.C.P.R.
6 Marriage record of Denis Briere and Françoise Bigot, Q.C.P.R.
