Françoise Moisan: The Colorful Life of a King's Daughter

Early Life and Immigration

Françoise Moisan was born around 1645 in the bourgeois district of Saint-Barthélemy in La Rochelle, Aunis (France). She was the daughter of Abel Moisan, a laborer and gardener, and Marie Simiot, who were married on January 23, 1642, at Saint-Barthélemy de La Rochelle.[^1] Her paternal grandparents were Mathurin Moisan and Jeanne Coustu, while her maternal grandparents were Charles Simiot, a miller, and Marie Cholet from La Jarrie.

After losing both parents, Françoise left for Canada in 1663 at about 18 years of age as part of the "King's Daughters" (Filles du Roi) contingent, arriving in Quebec on June 30, 1663, aboard the vessel Le Phoenix de Flessingue.^2

First Marriage and Family

On November 28, 1663, Françoise married Antoine Brunet dit Belhumeur in Montreal. The marriage contract was drawn up on October 19 by notary Gloria, though neither spouse could sign their name.^3 Antoine was born around 1644 in the parish of Saint-Nicolas in La Rochelle and had immigrated to Canada in 1662, where he worked as a domestic servant for the Sulpicians.

Antoine and Françoise settled in Montreal, where they were recorded in various censuses:

• The 1666 census lists: Antoine Brunet, 22, habitant; Francoise Moisan, 21, his wife; François, 1.[^4]
• The 1667 census records: Antoine Brunet (dit Belhumeur), 25; Françoise Moysant, his wife, 23; François, 2; Marie-Françoise, 1 month.[^5]
• The 1681 census states: Brunet, Antoine, 36; Moisant, Françoise, 34; children: 15, 13, 7, 7, 3, 1 year 3 months.[^6]

The couple had ten children:

1. François (dit Belhumeur): baptized March 17, 1665; married Anne Menard, then Marie-Antoine Renaud.
2. Marie-Françoise: baptized April 26, 1667; died December 10, 1686. Married Jean Patenaude.
3. Catherine: baptized August 25, 1669; died July 27, 1732. Married Pierre Patenaude.
4. Antoine: baptized July 6, 1672; buried July 10, 1672, in Montreal.
5. Élisabeth (twin): baptized July 23, 1674; died July 19, 1748. Married Robert Rheaume.
6. Geneviève (twin): baptized July 23, 1674; died December 17, 1706. Married Louis Bau, then Louis Tetreault.
7. Marguerite: baptized April 16, 1679; died September 6, 1739. Married Jacques Tétreault.
8. François: born around 1680, present in the 1681 census.
9. Barbe-Angélique: baptized June 19, 1682.
10. Jacques: married Catherine Ménard.

Three of these children—François (1665), Marie-Françoise (1667), and Élisabeth (1674)—are noted as ancestors of the Vaillancourt and Chartrand families.^7

Scandal and Reputation

Françoise Moisan's reputation in the colony was notoriously controversial. In 1688, she was accused of living a scandalous life and was charged with inciting her son-in-law's second wife to prostitution.

The complaint was brought by her former son-in-law, Jean Patenaude. In his legal petition, he alleged that “for quite some time, several people have engaged in a sinister commerce with the said Bellehumeur woman, who has always been the ruin and the cause of debauchery of the youth of the entire Côte Saint-François and who continues to live in such infamy.”[^8]

During the inquiry, witnesses testified against Françoise, claiming:

• Soldiers constantly visited her home, ignoring warnings from their officers.
• Two soldiers, Manceau and Maisonneuve, allegedly beat a persistent admirer, Pillereau, claiming Françoise was "their woman."
• Another lover, Pierre Delorme dit Sans-Crainte, testified he would sleep with Françoise when her husband was away, and that when Antoine returned, he would stay in the barn.
• André Huneau testified that Françoise had led a "dissolute and infamous life" and that the two of them had lived together for two years as husband and wife.
• The most damaging testimony was that “she was even so brazen that to satisfy her brutality she had no concern if her daughters who were twelve or thirteen years old were present.”

The known outcome of the inquiry was a public denunciation of Françoise's conduct and a ban on her having contact with her former son-in-law's second wife.

Widowhood and Second Marriage

Antoine Brunet died in Montreal between September 13, 1693, and July 3, 1694.[^9] Françoise appeared to manage her personal assets well as a widow, and her name appears in transaction records for loans, sales, and rentals.

On February 13, 1707, Françoise married Pierre Perthuis dit Lalime in Montreal, with notary Adhémar drawing up the marriage contract that day.[^10] Pierre was a merchant and bourgeois who had previously been a soldier in the Salière Company of the Carignan Regiment. He was a widower himself, having had twelve children with his first wife, Claude Damisé (another Fille du Roi).

A year after her marriage, an inventory of Françoise's assets included items like a feather bed, a new wool mattress, a Normandy blanket, and various trade goods such as seven deerskins, eight minots of peas, and ten minots of wheat.[^11]

Pierre Perthuis died on April 16, 1708, shortly after this inventory was recorded. Françoise and Pierre had no children together.

Final Years

Françoise Moisan died at about 73 years of age at Contrecoeur on November 2, 1718, possibly a victim of a malignant fever epidemic. Seven years prior to her death, she had sold her two-story stone house on Saint-Joseph Street for the sum of 1,450 livres.

In her will, drafted around 1711, she bequeathed 100 livres to the priest for her funeral service and 150 livres to the Récollets to have masses said for the repose of her soul.[^12]

Credits and Licensing

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.

All materials licensed: CC BY-ND 4.0 by eirenicon llc.

Sources

[^1]: Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1997.

[^4]: Recensement de 1666 en Nouvelle-France, référant au chapitre IV du livre Histoire des Canadiens-Français de Benjamin Sulte, compilé par Jean-Guy Sénécal le 17 mars 1998. [^5]: Recensement de 1667 en Nouvelle-France, référant au chapitre IV du livre Histoire des Canadiens-Français de Benjamin Sulte, compilé par Jean-Guy Sénécal le 17 mars 1998. [^6]: Recensement de 1681 en Nouvelle-France, référant au chapitre IV du livre Histoire des Canadiens-Français de Benjamin Sulte, compilé par Jean-Guy Sénécal le 17 mars 1998.

[^8]: Quoted from trial testimony, 1688. [^9]: Pistard - Fonds Cour supérieure. District judiciaire de Montréal. Greffes d’arpenteurs. Procès contre Jacques Baudry, chirurgien, sergent de la Cie de Crisafy et les nommés Langevin, Doré et Castillon, accusés de fabrication de fausses monnaies. - 3 juillet 1694 - 10 juillet 1694. In these documents, it is noted that Françoise Moisan was referred to as a widow on July 3, 1694. [^10]: Tanguay: vol.1, p.476, 154; Jetté, p.902-903, 180, 872; Drouin, vol.2, p.1058; Dumas, p.213, 300; Landry, p.295-96, 348-349; Sulte, Hist.5, p.66(3); DBAQ, t4, p.106-108; R.M. Le Régiment de Carignan, p.86; Langlois, p.432-433. [^11]: From the inventory of assets brought to her second marriage, 1708. [^12]: From her will, circa 1711.