Follow us on Instagram      Subscribe to our Youtube channel      Visit Our Store Visit Our Old Newspaper and Genealogy Blog Visit Our Life Blog

Filles du Roi


Between 1663 and 1673, 768 Filles du Roi or "King’s Daughters" emigrated to New France under the sponsorship of the French government as part of the overall strategy of strengthening the colony until it could stand on its own without economic and military dependence on France.

In 1663, the King took over direct control of the government of New France and initiated an organized system of recruiting and transporting marriageable women to the colony. On September 22, 1663, thirty-six girls –the first group of Filles du Roi– arrived in Québec.

The recruiting of Filles du Roi took place largely in Paris, Rouen and other northern cities by merchants and ship outfitters. A screening process required each girl to present her birth certificate and a recommendation from her parish priest or local magistrate stating that she was free to marry. It was necessary that the girls be of appropriate age for giving birth and that "they be healthy and strong for country work, or that they at least have some aptitude for household chores."

The cost of sending each Fille du Roi to New France was 100 livres: 10 for the recruitment, 30 for clothing and 60 for the crossing itself. Upon arrival, the Filles received suitable clothing and some provisions.

All of the Filles du Roi first landed at Québec City where 560 remained, with 133 being sent to Montréal and 75 to Trois-Rivières.

When selecting a Fille du Roi, the suitor looked beyond outward appearances and considered the practical attributes of a bride that would be adapted or disposed to the rigors of the colony. The preference seems to have been for peasant girls because they were healthy and industrious, as opposed to city girls who were often considered lightheaded and lazy.

Every Fille du Roi had the right to refuse any marriage offer that was presented. In order to make an informed decision to accept a would-be husband, the girls asked questions about the suitor’s home, finances, land and profession. Having a home of one’s own was one of the most important considerations for a Fille du Roi.

In addition to any dowry of goods that the bride may have brought with her from France, each couple was given an assortment of livestock and goods to start them off in married life: a pair of chickens and pigs, an ox, a cow and two barrels of salted meat. The King’s Gift of 50 livres is believed to have been a customary addition to the dowry, but only 250 out of 606 known marriage contracts make reference to an additional dowry given by the King. Once married, there was an incentive to have large families. A yearly pension of 300 livres was granted to families with ten children, rising to 400 livres for 12 children and more for larger families.

In September 1673 the last shipment of Filles du Roi arrived from France, and the program ended. The population of New France had risen to 6,700 people, an increase of 168% in the eleven years since the program had begun.

Source: Peter J. Gagné, King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi, 1663-1673, (Pawtucket, RI: Quinton Publications, 2001)


Histoire du Québec 6 - Les Filles du Roi (in French)


A
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marguerite ABRAHAM (5 January 1637, St-Eustache, Paris, France - 1695, Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Anne ADAM (1651, , France - 16 May 1709, Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Anne AGATHE (1636, , France - 28 December 1700, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie ALBERT (11 June 1643, , France - , , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie ALLENCE (1649, , Belgium - , )
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne AMYOT (AMIOT) (6 February 1645, St-Pierre-de-Losne, Côte d'or, Bourgogne, France - 5 February 1745, Verchères, Québec, Canada (Saint-François-Xavier-de-Vercheres))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise ANCELIN (ASSELIN) (1655, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France - 22 September 1711, Charlesbourg, Québec, Québec, Canada (Bourg Royal))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Louise ANDRÉ (1629, , France - 7 December 1687, Boucherville, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Famille-de-Boucherville))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marguerite ANDRIEU (1644, , France - , )
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie ANGELIER (L'ANGELIER) (1651, , France - 1709, , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise-Denise ANTHOINE (ANTOINE) (1651, , France - 27 March 1732, Saint-Ours, Québec, Canada (Immaculée-Conception))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Ursule ARCULAR (1651, Paris, France - 24 April 1718, Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada (Saint-Jean))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marguerite ARDION (11 August 1636, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France - , , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Anne ARINAT (1615, Rouen, France - 13 August 1705, Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Renee ARIOT (ARIAU) (HARIO) (1646, , France - 25 June 1715, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise AUBÉ (1641, Paris, France - 12 January 1709, La-Pérade, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Anne-de-la-Perade))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Elisabeth AUBERT (13 April 1648, Paris, France - 4 October 1690, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne AUBERT (1642, , France - October 1687, Batiscan, Québec, Canada (Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan) (Saint-François-Xavier))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Suzanne AUBINEAU (1635, Saint-Christophe, Angoulins-Sur-Mer, France - 10 March 1694, Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Anne AUBRY (1654, Paris, France - , , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jacqueline AUBRY (15 March 1642, , France - 22 January 1702, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Françoise AUBRY (1653, Paris, France - , )
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne AUGER (1646, Paris, France - 18 October 1735, Beaumont, Québec, Canada (Saint-Étienne-de-Beaumont))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Isabelle AUPÉ (AUBERT) (1647, Rouen, France - 24 July 1687, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec, Canada (Beaupre))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Madeleine AUVRAY (1652, Rouen, France - 6 May 1734, Neuville, Portneuf, Québec, Canada (Saint-François-de-Sales))
B
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Antoinette BAGAU DE BEAURENOM (1652, , France - , Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Madeleine BAILLY (1647, Paris, France - 26 March 1734, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise BAISELAT (BIZELAN) (1651, Paris, France - 30 May 1694, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montréal, Québec, Canada* (L'Enfant-Jésus-de-la-Pointe-aux-Trembles))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Catherine BALLIE (1642, Rouen, France - 31 October 1677, Neuville, Portneuf, Québec, Canada (Saint-François-de-Sales))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie Anne BAMONT (1653, , Belgium - 15 August 1708, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise BANSE (1645, Rouen, France - , )
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie BARBANT (1639, Rouen, France - 29 April 1710, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne BARBEREAU (BARBARET) (1638, , France - 22 May 1713, Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Françoise BARBERY (1641, , France - 17 February 1725, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne BARBIER (1649, , France - 1689, , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Jeanne "Anne" BARDET (1644, Saint-Séverin, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 22 December 1726, Repentigny, Québec, Canada (La Purification-de-Repentigny) (St-Paul-l'Hermite))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Louise BARDOU (BARDEAU) (1650, , France - 11 January 1688, Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie BARIL (1633, , France - 20 October 1721, Château-Richer, Québec, Canada (La Visitation-de-Notre-Dame de Chateau-Richer))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Anne BARILLET (1650, , France - September 1672, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Barbe BARON (1647, , France - 13 March 1715, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Catherine BARRE (1640, , France - 17 July 1707, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Catherine BARRE (21 May 1643, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France - , , France)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Francoise-Marthe BARTON (1653, Poitiers, France - 13 August 1699, Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sault-au-Récollet) (Côte-St-Michel) (Côte-St-Paul))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Catherine BASSET (1637, , France - 16 November 1716, Beauport, Québec, Québec, Canada (Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité-de-Beauport))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Anne BAUGÉ (1645, Paris, France - 1678, , France)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Catherine BEAUDIN (1651, Paris, France - 9 August 1718, Neuville, Portneuf, Québec, Canada (Saint-François-de-Sales))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Étiennette BEAUDON (BAUDON) (1653, Paris, France - 11 November 1699, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Québec, Canada)
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Marguerite BEAUGRAND (1648, Paris, France - 11 April 1697, Québec, Québec, Canada (Quebec City))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marie-Jeanne BEAUJEAN (1640, , France - 1680, , Québec Province, Canada (Quebec))
Fille du Roi  female ancestor  Marthe BEAUREGARD (1643, , France - 21 October 1728, Lauzon, Lévis, Québec, Canada (Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy))
Page: 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12  

Buy it NOW!My Ancestor was a Fille du Roi! - Ceramic Genealogy Mug Gift Les Filles du Roi

Whether you're a coffee aficionado or a descendant of a Fille du Roi, this Ceramic Mug is the perfect addition to your collection. It's a reminder that every cup of coffee is a moment of luxury, fit for a Fille du Roi descendant.