Thursday, March 19, 2020

French Girl Turned Colonial Pioneer — Florence Gareman

B. about 1628 in (probably) Bagneaux, Picardy, France1
M. 3 Sep 1641 in Quebec City, New France2
Wife: François Boucher
D. before 21 Nov 1689 in (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France3

Very few early settlers of Canada arrived from France as families, and even fewer chose to settle in remote places, but Florence Gareman’s story is an exception. Florence was born to Pierre Gareman and Madeleine Charlot, and she was their oldest child; they were married on September 23, 1626, making her birth date sometime between 1627 and 1629.1 They were from Bagneaux, a small village in Picardy located halfway between Paris and the Belgian border. Within a year or two of Florence’s birth, a sister was born.1

Exactly when the Gareman family migrated to New France is unknown, but it was certainly before the end of 1639, because Florence’s younger sister was baptized in Quebec that December.4 By the following year, they moved upriver, to the frontier settlement of Cap-Rouge in the seigneury of Sillery. Florence didn’t stay there for very long, because on September 3, 1641, she got married.2 Her husband was François Boucher, a young man who had also migrated from France with his family; their wedding took place at Notre-Dame-de-Quebec with the governor of New France, Charles de Montmagny, in attendance. Florence was no more than 15-years-old, and may have been as young as 12 — this was common in a place with so few marriageable girls.

Governor Charles de Montmagny, who attended Florence's wedding.

Florence and her new husband settled near his family in Beauport, just to the east of Quebec City, and by the time she was about 20, three children were born to her. Then François acquired a concession near her parents, and in 1648, they moved to Cap-Rouge.5 At the time, there were only a handful of French settlers living there, and it was close to a Jesuit mission and Native American camp. Florence had nine children born there, with the last one in 1664.6 Raising a family in Cap-Rouge must have been challenging because of the constant threat from the Iroquois. In June 1653, this had a direct impact on Florence when her father’s farm was invaded by a band of Iroquois, who captured both her father and her 10-year-old brother Charles. Her father was killed, likely after being brutally tortured, and the boy was kept by the tribe.7 This must have raised the fear level in the settlers, but Florence and François continued living there.

Florence’s mother seems to have died a few years earlier, and she and her sisters inherited their parents’ land.8 Sometime during the 1660s, Florence and François also seemed to own a house in Quebec City. On November 23, 1667, she made an appearance before the authorities verifying the ownership of this property.9 It was described as being a lot 42’ by 52’ with “a substantial house in a square room and an attic.” It’s not clear from the record if they had ever lived in the house, or how their claim was settled. The family had been listed in both the 166610 and 166711 censuses as living at Cap-Rouge.

In June 1677, an interesting event happened in Florence’s family when her long lost brother Charles turned up in Quebec City.12 Everyone assumed he had been murdered by the Iroquois back in 1653, but he had adopted his captors’ way of life. He arrived with an Oneida wife and daughter, and they had the girl baptized, but then left the child with nuns and disappeared again. Sadly, the girl died young.

François was last known to be living in 1673,7 and on November 11, 1678, Florence’s name appeared on a document as a widow.13 In the 1681 census, she she was listed as head of her household, still at Cap-Rouge, 6 cattle and 6 arpents under cultivation;14 no doubt, her sons helped her run the farm. She herself died the marriage of her son Denis on November 21, 1689,3 but there is no burial record for her in the parish records.

Children:
1. Jean Boucher — B. 1 May 1643, Beauport, New France15

2. Benôit Boucher — B. about 1644, New France;10 D. 9 Jan 1703, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France16

3. Elisabeth Boucher — B. 19 Mar 1646, Quebec City, New France;17 D. 24 Sep 1685, Quebec City, New France;18 M. Denis Guyon (1631-1685), 21 Oct 1659, Quebec City, New France19

4. Pierre Boucher dit Desroches— B. 29 Sep 1648, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;5 D. 10 Mar 1702, Quebec City, New France;20 M. Hélène Gaudry dite Bourbonnière (1656-1712), 13 Dec 1671, New France21

5. Marin Boucher — B. 16 Dec 1650, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;22 D. before 1666, New France10

6. Marie Boucher — B. 30 Oct 1652, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;23 D. 16 Dec 1713, Montreal, New France;24 M. Antoine Chaudillon (1641-1707), 26 May 1672, St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, New France25

7. Florence Boucher — B. 5 Oct 1654, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;26 D. before 1666, New France10

8. Baby Boucher — B. 9 Oct 1654, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;27 D. 9 Oct 1654, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France27

9. Charles Boucher — B. 4 Apr 1658, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;28 D. 10 Aug 1728, Berthier-en-haut, New France;29 M. Marguerite-Agnes Pelletier (~1666-?), 7 May 1685, Sorel, New France30

10. Denis Boucher dit Desrosiers — B. 6 Apr 1660, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;31 D. 17 Nov 1723, St-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France;32 M. Jeanne Miville (1671-1744), 21 Nov 1689, Quebec City, New France3

11. Michel Boucher — B. 30 Apr 1661, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;33 D. 1713, Portneuf, New France;34 M. (1) Marie-Madeleine Huot (1670-1699), 26 Nov 1695, New France;35 (2) Genevieve Amiot (1683-1717), 19 Apr 1700, St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, New France36

12. Marie-Françoise Boucher — B. 6 Apr 1664, (probably) Cap-Rouge, New France;6 D. 9 Apr 1704, Charlesbourg, New France;37 M. Nicolas Thibault (1663-1727), 23 Jul 1686, Château-Richer, New France38

Sources:
2    Marriage record of François Boucher and Florence Gareman, Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
3    Marriage record of Denis Boucher dit Desrosiers and Jeanne Miville, Q.C.P.R.
4    Baptismal record of Marguerite Gareman, Q.C.P.R.
5    Baptismal record of Pierre Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
6    Baptismal record of Marie-Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
7    Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec, René Jette, 1983
10  Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France
11  Recensement de 1667 en Nouvelle-France
13  Inventaire des greffes des Notaires du Régime français, V. 4, p. 44, Roy, Antoine, 1943
14  Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France
15  Baptismal record of Jean Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
16  Burial record of Benôit Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
17  Baptismal record of Élisabeth Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
18  Burial record of Élisabeth Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
19  Marriage record of Denis Guyon and Élisabeth Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
20  Burial record of Pierre Boucher dit Desroches, Q.C.P.R.
21  Marriage record of Pierre Boucher dit Desroches and Hélène Gaudry dite Bourbonnière, Q.C.P.R.
22  Baptismal record of Marin Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
23  Baptismal record of Marie Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
24  Burial record of Marie Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
25  Marriage record of Antoine Chaudillon and Marie Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
26  Baptismal record of Florence Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
27  Baptismal and burial record of Baby Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
28  Baptismal record of Charles Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
29  Burial record of Charles Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
30  Marriage record of Charles Boucher and Marguerite-Agnes Pelletier, Q.C.P.R.
31  Baptismal record of Denis Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
32  Burial record of Denis Boucher dit Desrosiers, Q.C.P.R.
33  Baptismal record of Michel Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
34  Burial record of Michel Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
35  Marriage record of Michel Boucher and Marie-Madeleine Huot, Q.C.P.R.
36  Marriage record of Michel Boucher and Genevieve Amiot, Q.C.P.R.
37  Burial record of Marie-Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.
38  Marriage record of Nicolas Thibault and Marie-Françoise Boucher, Q.C.P.R.

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