Catherine DODIER
Biography

"Catherine Dodier was born about 1633 at St. Martin D'Ige Parish in Mortagne, Perche, France; the daughter of Sebastien Dodier and Marie Bonhomme. When she was just a baby, her father travelled to 'New France', probably recruited by his cousin Gaspard Boucher; where he remained for three years working as a carpenter. At the end of his contract, in 1636; he went back to Perche and resumed his former life."

"Two more children were born; Sebastien and Marie; and with a growing family and few opportunities; he was lured by the promise of land in the new colony, for anyone willing to work. So in 1644, the Dodier family left France and settled at Trois Rivieres, the seigneury run by the Jesuits. The following year, a son Michel was born, who died in infancy, and within another three years, Marie-Perrine and Pierre. "

"In 1648, at the age of fourteen; Catherine was married for the first time to Guillaume Isabel, and the couple had three children; Pierre, Jeanne and Francoise. Guillaume's origins are unknown, but we do know that he was in the colonly as early as 1638, when he testified about the theft of some lumber. On August 16, 1644, he was awarded a land concession and in 1650 had completed a home, barn and stable on the property."

"Sadly, on August 19, 1652; Catherine's husband joined an expedition against the Iroquois and was ambushed near Trois Rivieres. A witness stated that all 15 men in the party "were clubbed to death, killed slowly or abducted", but no matter what fate befell him, he was never heard from again. To add to her grief, her mother died in October of the following year, and her father decided that he'd had enough. He went back to France where he later married Marie Guy."

"Catherine's sister Marie joined the Ursulines and her only surviving brother, Sebastien, also decided that life in the colony was a little more than he bargained for, and also called it quits. However, Catherine, who had recently married Pierre Lepelle, decided to stick it out. As a result, she now owned all of the Dodier holdings, as well as the property of her first husband. She would have eight children with Pierre before her death on April 16, 1673. Thousands of French-Canadians can claim ancestry to Catherine Dodier, the lone family member to brave raising a family in Quebec during such hostile times."

Source: www.geocities.com/ weallcamefromsomewhere/ Kebec/ catherine_dodier.html



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