New France

The French colony later known as Canada was permanently established in 1608 when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City.1 To put this event in historical perspective, it was the year after Jamestown was formed in Virginia, twelve years before the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock, and 43 years after St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish in what is now Florida.

Why build a colony at Quebec? Building a colony was expensive and required economic justification. Popular for decades, felt hats were made from the soft inner fur of beavers. A lucrative trade in beaver pelts was already underway in North America. The French had been trading with the natives along the St. Lawrence River, and Quebec’s location where the river narrowed made it an ideal place to focus and defend that trade.

Among the early inhabitants of the colony were Abraham Martin,2 a river pilot whose name is attributed to the “Plains of Abraham” above Quebec where he owned land, his wife Marguerite Langlois, along with her sister Francoise Langlois and her husband Pierre Desportes,3 the village baker, warehouse keeper, and investor in the colony. Francoise and Pierre would have a daughter, Helene, purported to be the first French child born in New France. These colonists were Gagnon-Remillard ancestors.4

Like Jamestown, Quebec struggled to survive, with many of the early settlers perishing from disease and harsh weather. To make matters worse, the English captured and held Quebec for a couple of years before giving it back to France. The English had destroyed the buildings, and less than 30 French people were left in Quebec.

After peace was restored, Champlain returned to Quebec and so did some former colonists. One was young Helene Desportes, although her parents did not return.5 Helene would marry twice and become a midwife like her aunt Marguerite.


New France, 1645

 

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Notes:

1Acadia on the coast was established earlier, but not continuously at one location.

2See Appendix A, Family Tree Chart G14.

3See Chart R29.

4See Charts G14 and R29.

5Apparently they had died in France. Helene was close to Champlain, his wife was her godmother. Champlain left Helene $20,000 in his will.