Marie Marguerie: Who Was This Fille à Marier?

Marie-Marguerite Marguerie belonged to the Filles à Marier, a group of women who arrived in New France between 1633 and 1663 to marry and help populate the colony. She arrived in the early years of Quebec’s history, married a pioneer settler and became one of the women who helped lay the foundations of New France. I am one of Marie’s many descendants, so I have a special interest in her story. Join me as I explore the life and legacy of Marie Marguerie, one of New France’s Filles à Marier.

Early Life and Family

Marie Marguerie was born in Rouen, Normandie, France, on September 12, 1620, to François Marguerie and Marie Romain. Her father was a prosperous middle-class businessman and a respected merchant in Rouen who sold oars. Some believe he may have been associated with the Compagnie des Marchands de Rouen et de Saint-Malo, a company founded in 1614 that was involved in the early French colonization of Quebec and the fur trade.

Marie had one brother, François Marguerie, who became a guide and interpreter in New France. He arrived in the colony between 1615 and 1626 and became known as “the double man.” François became renowned in Quebec for adopting the customs and language of the local Indigenous peoples, moving comfortably between their cultures and French colonial society. He married one of my other ancestors, Marie Louise Cloutier.

Move to New France

Marie-Marguerite Marguerie reportedly set sail for New France during the summer of 1639 at the age of 18. Her brother, François, had made arrangements for her to settle in the colony. He had settled at Jacques Hertel‘s trading post in Trois-Rivières, and some believe that he was interested in setting his sister up with Hertel. 

At the time, few people inhabited Trois-Rivières. There were only a handful of inhabitants, with less than half of them being European. Some were fur trappers living with Indigenous wives, and a handful of them were government officials and military officers. 

First Marriage

Marguerie married Jacques Hertel de La Fresnière on August 23, 1641, in Trois-Rivières. They had three children: François Hertel de Chambly, Marie Madeleine Hertel and Marguerite Hertel.

Like Marie’s brother, François, Jacques was an interpreter and a legend in New France. Some sources suggest that he came to the colony as early as 1615 after being recruited by Samuel de Champlain; however, other sources place his arrival around 1626. 

There are reports that Hertel lived among the Huron-Wendat during the early 1620s and fathered two children, Otstock and Kanudesha. During the Kirke brothers’ occupation of Quebec from 1629 to 1632, he was among the few who remained in Canada. He lived with the Algonkian peoples. After France regained control of New France, the Compagnie des Cent-Associés granted him a 200-acre tract of land at Trois-Rivières. Hertel became one of the first settlers in the area.

Hertel died suddenly on August 10, 1651, at 48, leaving Marie with a nine-year-old son and two infant daughters. Historians believe an accident caused his death. Montreal named rue Jacques-Hertel and Trois-Rivières named rue Hertel in his honour.

Second Marriage

Following Jacques’ sudden death in 1651, Marie-Marguerite Marguerie married Quentin Moral de Saint-Quentin in 1652. They had four daughters: Marie Jeanne Moral, Marie Moral, Gertrude Moral dite St-Quentin and Marie Marthe Moral. 

Moral served as a King’s lieutenant, but went on to become a lawyer and then a civil and criminal judge. He had a reputation for being quarrelsome and disagreeable. Between 1655 and 1662, at the Prévôté de Trois-Rivières, there were 907 cases tried for a population of about 700. Two-thirds of the cases were for debt settlement, one-sixth for inheritance settlement and only 20 for verbal or physical violence.

Quentin was personally involved in about 29 of these cases. In one case, he was being sued for having shot and killed other citizens’ wandering pigs. In another case, Moral sued Jacques Aubuchon for shooting one of his pigs. 

During Marguerie and Moral’s marriage, he attempted to gain title to the 200 acres of land that Hertel had left her so that he could become a siegneur. He would sell this land to newcomers, as the price skyrocketed with the influx of new arrivals to Trois-Rivières. 

Marguerie outlived Quentin. He died on May 9, 1686, at the age of 64. She lived 14 more years, dying on November 26, 1700, at the age of 80. Marguerie was buried next to her first husband, Jacques Hertel, per her request.

Marie Marguerie’s Legacy

Marie Marguerie and her first husband, Jacques Hertel, are considered among the founders of Quebec. Hertel founded the town of Trois-Rivières, and her son-in-law Jean Crevier founded St-François-du-Lac. There is a Jacques Hertel house in Trois-Rivières, but it is of stone and was built on the site of the original in 1820 by one of Hertel’s descendants.

Marguerie was incredibly religious. For fifty years, she was the sacristan of the parish of Trois-Rivières. Marie was the godmother of countless people. Most of them were Indigenous.

Marie is the earliest documented maternal ancestor identified for a mitochondrial DNA lineage (haplogroup W3a2) found among some of her descendants in North America. Through mtDNA testing, descendants with matching genetic signatures were able to connect their direct maternal line back to Marie.

My Connection to Marie Marguerie

I have a couple of connections in my family tree to Marie Marguerie through my mother. Both of my grandparents descend from her and Quentin Moral.

Connection One

1. Marie Marguerie (1620 – 1700) and Quentin Moral de Saint-Quentin (abt. 1622 – 1686)
2. Marie Jeanne Moral (abt. 1653 – 1714) and Jacques Maugras (1636 – 1690)
3. Marie Jeanne Maugras (1669 – 1755) and Pierre Gamelin dit Châteauvieux (bef. 1667 – bef. 1733)
4. Laurent Eustache Gamelin (abt. 1704 – 1771) and Marie Josèphe Dudevoir (1721 – 1803)
5. Joseph Douaire Bondy (1733 – 1802) and Marie Josephe Gamelin (1741 – 1797)
6. Catherine Bondy (1769 – 1814) and Anthony Alexis Barron (1768 – aft. 1813)
7. Antoine Barron (1790 – aft. 1834) and Archange Langlois (1798 – 1848)
8. Patrice Barron (1822 – 1898) and Olive Meloche (1828 – 1916) 
9. Catherine Barron (1854 – 1939) and Antoine Solomon Renaud (1853 – 1926)
10. Mary Zoé Renaud (1878 – 1935) and Abraham Joseph Higgins (1875 – 1950) 
11. Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983) and Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998)
12. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Connection Two

1. Marie Marguerie (1620 – 1700) and Quentin Moral de Saint-Quentin (abt. 1622 – 1686)
2. Marie Jeanne Moral (abt. 1653 – 1714) and Jacques Maugras (1636 – 1690)
3. Marie Jeanne Maugras (1669 – 1755) and Pierre Gamelin dit Châteauvieux (bef. 1667 – bef. 1733)
4. Laurent Eustache Gamelin (abt. 1704 – 1771) and Marie Josèphe Dudevoir (1721 – 1803)
5.  Marie Josephe Gamelin (1741 – 1797) and Joseph Douaire de Bondy (1733 – 1802) 
6. Laurent Douaire de Bondy (1771 – 1813) and Marie-Madeleine Pageot (1772 – 1856)
7. Eustache Edouard Bondy (1801 – 1850) and Genevieve Reaume (1804 – 1875) 
8. Eli Bondy (1827 – 1894) and Marguerite Baron (1832 – 1898) 
9. Joseph Edward Eli Bondy (1858 – 1944) and Amelia Isabella Brush (1864 – 1935)
10. Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966) and Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973) 
11. Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
12. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Do you want to know more about the earliest settlers of New France? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.