Anne Guillaume

Out of the entire program that saw the migration of Louis XIV’s so-called daughters to New France, Anne Guillaume would be the last of 18 whose genes would lead to the Lazare Côté family. She arrived with a second, much smaller group of Filles arriving in 1671 on a different vessel than the earlier group. The records say that only 29 landed, although there is the real possibility that a larger number began the voyage and some perished enroute.

Anne was born in approximately 1651 in a section of Paris known as Faubourg Saint-Germain-des-Prés. She was the daughter of Michel Guillaume and Germaine Ermolin. Like so many of her peers, the decision to try a new life in a new land seems precipitated by the loss of a parent since it was after her mother’s death that she enlisted in the Filles du Roi program to migrate. And if she followed the routine, she probably first collected her royal voucher for the trip to port. Next she would have gathered up all of her goods worth an estimated 350 livres for her dowry, said some tearful goodbyes, and boarded a horse-drawn coach for Rochelle where the ship would untie its lines. Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste departed France in June of 1671 and made excellent time, arriving in Québec City in mid-August.

When our ancestral Filles chose Québec City as their destination, they unwittingly provided us with some picture of their lives in the period immediately after alighting from their ships and when they were ready to leave the protection of the Ursuline sisters’ residence. There is much less information available for the remaining 30 per cent who chose Trois Rivières or the final stop in Montreal. This just means that in all likelihood Anne Guillaume was met by the sisters or their chaperones at the dock and brought to the dormitories. We also know that the Ursulines were dedicated to the task of teaching new arrivals about their probable roles as homemakers in an untamed land. These were invaluable lessons since many Filles, young and lacking the wisdom of life experience, might never have had parents to prepare them for such challenges.

Our distant grandfather François Dubois dit Lafrance was born February 23, 1650 in Saint-Potan in Brittany, France. He appears in records as the son of François Dubois and Claude Fayenne. No other information is available about his occupation or how he arrived in Canada prior to marriage.

Anne Guillaume married François Dubois, both 21 years old, at Québec City on October 19, probably about two months after her arrival. Like all legitimate Filles, she received the king’s gift. Only women who were from influential backgrounds received more than the standard 50 livres in kind, and Anne’s payment reflects that she was not among the privileged. She had signed the marriage contract drawn up on October 12 by notary Romain Becquet, but her husband François could not.

It does appear that Anne and François had a secure and lasting marriage raising what could only be called a normal family at their moment in history.

Their first child, a daughter, was born in Montreal. The trip from Québec City to Montreal must have been monumental at that time, perhaps 300 kilometres on the St. Lawrence River, and constituting a distance longer than from Paris to Brussels. We can only wonder what inspired them to make such a journey and then return to Beaumont, just west of Québec City. The official census of 1681 reveals that the family had grown but not without the loss of at least one child. Baptismal records for later children suggest that the family might also have made their home at Lauzon, Québec.

In total, the family had ten children but lost two for unstated reasons. Two of their children continued Anne Guillaume’s lineage to Lazare Côté beginning with their fourth, Jean-Baptiste, and again with their seventh, Nicolas. Note that the two paths converge in 1816, four generations later.

The marriage of Anne and François lasted until divine intervention, that is, 41 years, when Anne was widowed upon the death of François at 62 years of age. Anne Guillaume died in her 65th year on January 29, 1716 at Saint-Nicolas where she was buried the next day.