Marie Prévost

A second ship carrying a much smaller number of Filles arrived in 1669. The exact date is uncertain. Among the entire group of officially recognized Filles du Roi there were actually two Marie Prévosts. But very few came to Canada with a child, and our Marie Prévost, who was widowed in France, was among them, bringing her daughter, seven-year-old Marie-Madeleine Berthelot. At 33, Marie was the oldest of all 18 of our Filles ancestors. She was born about 1636 in Mortagne-sur-Gironde, Saintonge, France. There is nothing in the data about her parents. It’s possible that she never knew them and spent her early life in an orphanage.

After the death of her spouse Maurice Berthelot, Marie was recruited for the Filles du Roi and prepared her things for an extensive trip overland to Dieppe — about 650 kilometres by horse and carriage. Equipped with her trousseau and whatever scant belongings she and her daughter assembled, they departed France in the spring or summer of 1669. No doubt she and young Marie-Madeleine had many fantastic discussions about the new chapter in their lives they were starting in a faraway world.

If Marie had an advantage over others, it was that she could be more confident in leaving her entire life behind. She was the only one among our 18 Filles ancestors who already had a family member in Canada for support, a brother, Pierre, who had preceded her to the colony. Once they would arrive, she and her daughter would stay with him unless and until she would find a suitable man to marry.

Marie and Marie-Madeleine were aboard Le Pot de Buerre when they landed in Québec City around the end of June. It would be entirely reasonable that they stay with the Ursulines until Pierre had been notified and would come to collect them.

Michel Aubin was 10 years younger than Marie Prévost. Born about 1644 in Tourouvre, Perche, in France, and the son of Jacques Aubin and Jacqueline Cornilleau, he was confirmed in January 1664 at Beauport, Québec and appears in the official 1666 census as the indentured servant-engagé of notary Paul Vachon.

It’s highly unlikely that Marie Prévost met Michel in the same manner as her Filles colleagues met their husbands, that is, by suitor visitation at the Ursulines monastery in Québec City. While she and her daughter may have stayed there temporarily after landing, ultimately her first home would have been her brother’s home where she remained single for almost one year. This is in stark contrast to many others who, it’s believed, had prompt marriages partly because they felt an urgency to be established and prepare for the arrival of winter.

The following summer, on June 11, 1670, Marie Prévost married Michel Aubin at Sainte-Famille, Île d’Orléans. Neither spouse was able to sign the marriage contract drawn up October 16, 1669 by notary Vachon, who was also Michel’s employer.

The couple settled at Saint-Pierre, Île d’Orléans which appears to be where Michel’s employer was established and where he, Michel, was likely to have had a small home. Here Marie gave birth to two more children, Pierre and Mathieu Aubin, but sadly Mathieu died when he was just seven days old. The older surviving child would continue the lineage to Grandmother Côté that her descendants reflect on today. And just as it was with Filles du Roi Hiardin, Laîné, Ouinville, Remondière, and Guillaume, Marie Prévost’s offspring would create two separate lineages leading straight to our Côté family.

Among the entire list of 18 Filles du Roi who were our ancestors, Marie would ultimately hold the distinction of having the fewest surviving children at just two, including the daughter she brought from France.

Marie Prévost died December 4, 1700 at 64 years old and was buried two days later at Saint-Pierre, Québec. It would have been nice to know the cause of her death. Her husband Michel Aubin had predeceased her by 12 years and was also buried at Saint-Pierre. He was just 44 at the time of his passing and Marie never remarried.