Antoine L’Écuyer and Marie Anne Rabady
Explore the history of Antoine L’Écuyer and Marie Anne Rabady, the last living Fille du roi and mother of eleven children.
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Antoine L’Écuyer & Marie Anne Rabady
This is the story of Antoine L’Écuyer and his wife Marie Anne Rabady, the last living Fille du roi and mother of eleven children
Antoine L'Écuyer was born around 1646 in France. The names of his parents and his origins are unknown.
Marie Anne Rabady was born around 1654 in France. The names of her parents and her origins are unknown. [Her name has been spelled Rabbady, Rabardy, Riberdy, etc.]
Antoine arrived in Canada by 1666. He appears in the census of New France in 1666 as a domestic servant for Julien Trottier in Trois-Rivières. He was 18 years old.
Census of New France in 1666 (Library and Archives Canada)
The Census of 1666
The Blizzard, painting by Cornelius Krieghoff (National Gallery of Canada)
Canada’s very first census was undertaken in 1666, organized by the colony’s intendant, Jean Talon. He had only arrived in New France the year prior and had no previous experience enumerating a population. His home country of France had never even carried out a census, but Talon was not deterred. He organized a group of census takers, armed with quill pens, ink and paper, who travelled throughout the colony—from small villages to the countryside, household by household. The clerks recorded every resident: their name, age, profession, or relation to the head of household.
To complicate matters, the census was taken during the coldest and snowiest winter Canadians had seen in 30 years. Though it took them months to enumerate the 3,418 colonists in New France, the winter gave them an advantage: residents stayed put and most didn’t venture too far from home, allowing them to be counted more accurately than they would in warmer months.
The following year, another census was completed. Antoine still lived in Trois-Rivières. He was a 22-year-old domestic servant, working for Antoine Leduc. [The ages listed on censuses are often approximate, depending on who was answering the enumerator's questions.]
Census of New France in 1667 (Library and Archives Canada)
On November 11, 1667, Antoine bought land from Claude Caron on côte Saint-Marc (Cap-de-la-Madeleine).
Eight months later, on June 24, 1668, Antoine bought uncleared land located in the seigneury of Batiscan from Léonard Besso dit Lelimousin for 32 livres.
On July 20, 1669, an agreement was made between Estienne Moineau, and François Duclos and Antoine Lécuyer. Moineau ceded his Batiscan home to Duclos and Lécuyer under certain conditions. Antoine settles in Batiscan.
Anne Rabady arrived in Canada in 1671 or 1672. She was a “Fille du roi.”
An overly romanticized portrait of les Filles du roi arriving at Québec (“Women coming to Quebec in 1667, in order to be married to the French Canadian farmers”, watercolour by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale)
The Filles du roi were a group of some 700 unmarried women who were sent to New France between 1663 and 1673 by King Louis XIV to solve a gender imbalance problem, and ultimately help to populate the new colony. They were called “daughters of the king” because Louis XIV paid for their recruitment, clothing and passage to the new world and offered dowries to the women when they married. Before leaving France, each fille du roi received a “trousseau” containing a comb, a belt, a pair of shoes and shoelaces, a pair of pantyhose, a pair of gloves, a bonnet, two coiffes (a kind of hood), and sewing supplies (100 needles, a case and thimble, thread, scissors, pins, two knives, and cloth). Click here to learn more about the Filles du roi.
Antoine and Marie Anne married in 1671 or 1672 in Canada. Neither their marriage contract nor their marriage record has been found. [This is the reason why we don’t know their parents’ names nor their origins.]
The couple had at least eleven children:
Marie Anne L’Écuyer (ca. 1671-1760), wife of Jacques Thiffault
Antoine L’Écuyer (ca. 1674-1756), husband of Marie Marguerite Gaillou
Marie Madeleine L’Écuyer (ca. 1676-1763), wife of François Debroyeux
Marie Charlotte L’Écuyer (ca. 1679-1683)
Pierre L’Écuyer (1681-1743), husband of Marie Françoise Gaillou (he became a voyageur)
Marie Charlotte L’Écuyer (1684-1722), wife of Nicolas François Herbec
Marie Marguerite L’Écuyer (1688-1761)
Nicolas L’Écuyer (1690-?), husband of Marie Catherine Morand (he became a voyageur)
Paul L’Écuyer (1696-1761), twin
Marie Catherine L’Écuyer (1696-1759), twin, wife of Joseph Rocheleau dit Laperle
Marie Louise L’Écuyer (1698-1734)
In 1681, the L’Écuyer (“Lequier”) family appeared in the census of New France living in Batiscan. Antoine was 33 years old; Anne was 24. They lived with their four children. Antoine owned a gun, five heads of cattle, and ten arpents of cleared land.
Census of New France in 1681 (Library and Archives Canada)
Over the next decade, Antoine’s name appears several times in notarial records:
December 12, 1682: new title to a plot of land located in the censive of the seigneury of Batiscan; by Antoine Lescuyer, of Batiscan, to the Compagnie de Jésus, seigneur of Batiscan.
August 20, 1687: voyageur contract between Antoine Lescuyer, from Batiscan, and Guillaume Boucher, from Québec.
August 3, 1688: transfer of a sum of money; from Antoine Lescuyer, of Batiscan, to Marie-Anne Aubuchon, wife of François Chorel de Saint Romain, merchant, her husband, currently absent from Champlain.
August 3, 1688: transfer of company rights and profits; by Antoine Lescuyer, of Batiscan, to Nicolas Perrot, seigneur of Rivière-du-Loup.
Antoine L’Écuyer died at the age of about 72. He was buried on April 30, 1718, inside the parish church of Saint-François-Xavier in Batiscan. [The priest indicated that he was 74 years old on the burial record.]
Burial of Antoine L’Écuyer (FamilySearch)
Buried inside the church?
Intramural church burials are an ancient Christian tradition that early colonists brought from France. French tradition dictated that the privilege was mainly reserved for clergy and nobles. In New France, however, we find that burials within church walls were not restricted to this group of elites. They were performed for those belonging to the most powerful social groups (which could even include farmers), those who were most successful in their trade and those who were committed to their church and community. Bodies were placed in the crypt (or cellar) located under the floor of the church, or in a grave dug after raising the floor or a church bench. The funeral rites that accompanied such a burial were generally more elaborate and expensive than those performed for a cemetery burial. The practice of intramural church burials disappeared from most parishes by the mid-nineteenth century, mainly due to public hygiene concerns and a lack of space.
On June 26, 1720, Marie Anne received the concession “of a continuation of land located in Batiscan on the great river of St Laurant” by the Compagnie de Jésus, seigneur of Batiscan.
A few years later, on March 26, 1729, Marie Anne appeared before notary François Trotain to register the sale “of the share that can go to each of a dwelling of 2 arpents” to her children Antoine, Pierre, Nicolas, Anne, Madeleine and Catherine, as well as her brother-in-law Paul, in Batiscan.
Marie Anne Rabady died at the age of approximately 93. She was buried on September 4, 1747, in the parish cemetery of Saint-François-Xavier de Batiscan. [The priest indicated that she was about 96 years old on the burial record.]
She has the distinction of being the last living Fille du roi.
Burial of Marie Anne Rabady (FamilySearch)
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Sources:
Université de Montréal, online database, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (https://www.prdh-igd.com), entry for Antoine Lecuyer, person 44890.
Ibid., entry for Marie Anne Rabady, person 44891.
Ibid., entry for Antoine Lecuyer et Marie Anne Rabady, union 3508.
“Recensement du Canada, 1666,” digital images, Library and Archives Canada (https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/), household of Jullien Trottier, 1666, Québec, research instrument MSS0446, MIKAN 2318856 ; citing original data : Centre des archives d’outre-mer (France) vol. 460.
“Recensement du Canada, 1667,” digital images, Library and Archives Canada (https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/), household of Antoine Le Duc, 1667, Québec, research instrument MSS0446, Item 2318857 ; citing original data: Centre des archives d’outre-mer (France) vol. 460.
“Recensement du Canada fait par l’intendant Du Chesneau,” digital images, Library and Archives Canada (https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/), household of Antoine Lequier, 14 Nov 1681, Québec, research instrument MSS0446, MIKAN 2318858 ; citing original data : Centre des archives d’outre-mer (France) vol. 460.
Parchemin, banque de données notariales du Québec ancien (1626-1801), online database, Société de recherche historique Archiv-Histo (www.Archiv-Histo.com), “Vente de terre située à la côte Sainct Marc ; par Claude Caron, ci-devant de la côte Sainct Marc, à Antoine Lescuyer.”, 11 Nov 1667, notary J. de Latouche.
Ibid., “Vente d’une terre située à la seigneurie de Batiscan ; par Léonard Besso dit Lelimousin, à Antoine Lescuyer”, 24 Jun 1668, notary J. de Latouche.
Ibid., “Titre nouvel d’une terre située en la censive de la seigneurie de Batiscan ; par Antoine Lescuyer, de Batiscan, à la Compagnie de Jésus, seigneur de Batiscan”, 12 Dec 1682, notary A. Adhémar de Saint-Martin.
Ibid., “Marché d’engagement en qualité de voyageur entre Antoine Lescuyer, de Batiscan, et Guillaume Boucher, de Quebec.”, 20 Aug 1687, notary A. Adhémar de Saint-Martin.
Ibid., “Transport d’une somme d’argent ; par Antoine Lescuyer, de Batiscan, à Marie-Anne Aubuchon, épouse actuelle de François Chorel de Saint Romain, marchand, son époux, présentement absent de Champlain”, 3 Aug 1688, notary A. Adhémar de Saint-Martin.
Ibid., “Transport de droits et profits de société ; par Antoine Lescuyer, de Batiscan, à Nicolas Perrot, seigneur de Rivière-du-Loup”, 3 Aug 1688, notary A. Adhémar de Saint-Martin.
Ibid., “Concession d’une continuation de terre située à Batiscan sur le grand fleuve de St Laurant ; par la Compagnie de Jésus, seigneur de la seigneurie de Batiscan, à Anne Rabardy, veuve de Antoine Lescuyer, de Batiscan,” 26 Jun 1720, notary D. Normandin.
“Inventaire des greffes des notaires du Régime français”, digital images, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2431906), minutes of Jean Cusson, volume 26, page 66.
Ibid., minutes of François Trotain, volume 27, page 215.
“Canada, Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979”, digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899Q-H1K7?i=350), burial of Antoine Lecuyer, 30 avr. 1718, Batiscan > Saint-François-Xavier > Index, baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1680-1860 Index, mariages, sépultures 1861-1876 Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1680-1750 > image 351 of 549.
Ibid. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99Q-HB9W?i=515&cc=1321742&cat=241560), burial of Marie Anne Rabaddy, 4 sept. 1747, Batiscan > Saint-François-Xavier > Index, baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1680-1860 Index, mariages, sépultures 1861-1876 Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1680-1750 > image 516 of 549.
André Lachance, Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France ; Juger et punir en Nouvelle-France : la vie quotidienne aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Montréal, Québec : Éditions Libre Expression, 2004), 124-128.
Christopher Moore, “Making it Count”, Canada’s History (https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/business-industry/making-it-count), published 12 Mar 2021 ; originally appeared in the April-May 2021 edition of Canada’s History.
Yves Landry, Orphelines en France, pionnières au Canada : Les Filles du roi au XVIIe siècle (Montréal, Québec : Lemeac Éditeur, 1992), page 361.
Thuot, Jean-René, “La pratique de l’inhumation dans l’église dans Lanaudière entre 1810 et 1860 : entre privilège, reconnaissance et concours de circonstances”, 2006, Études d’histoire religieuse, 72, 75–96, Érudit (https://doi.org/10.7202/1006589ar).