Biography of Pierre Raleau dit Vaillant & Jeanne Faucheux

Why Sail to New France?

In its early days, New France was seen as a wild, cold and unwelcoming place. What reasons did our French ancestors have for leaving their home behind and making the perilous journey across to the new world? Though some historians have theorized that many Frenchmen fled from poverty and famine, others argue that most left in the pursuit of better economic opportunities. Recruiters told young men of the vast amounts of land available in New France and enticed them to sign contracts with monetary incentives. Government agents recruited soldiers, specialized workers and single women (Filles à marier and Filles du roi). These young women, often having lost at least one parent, went to New France for the opportunity to marry, which they may not have had in France without a dowry. Click here to learn more.   

Widowhood and Remarriage

The reality of living in New France meant that marriages lasting over 20 years were rare. When a spouse died, it was crucial for the widow or widower to remarry quickly. Most couples had numerous children, and taking care of them alone was a difficult proposition. Widows had a harder time finding a husband than a widower, given that they normally had a house full of children and little capital to their name. The younger she was, the quicker she remarried. It took an average of three years for a widow to remarry. For a widower, the average was two years. Things were slightly different in the very early days of the colony. Before 1680, about half of widows and widowers remarried within a year of their spouse's death. 

The origins of the town date back to the very beginning of 1667, with the concession of the seigneury of Sainte-Anne (or Île Sainte-Anne) by the intendant Jean Talon to Michel Gamelin. This seigneury measured half a league wide (facing the Saint-Lawrence) by a league in depth, and included the island of Saint-Ignace and the island of Sainte-Marguerite. On January 8, 1710, the islands were given to Pierre-Thomas Tarieu de la Pérade, son of Thomas Tarieu who was married to Madeleine de Verchères, the Canadian heroine who legend has it, at the age of 14, bravely defended her parents' fort against the Iroquois. Following another increase in territory in April 1735 to Pierre-Thomas Tarieu, the name of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade was given in his honour.

What is a Voyageur?

A voyageur was a person contracted to transport furs by canoe (from the “west”) during the fur trade years. Contrary to the coureur des bois, a voyageur was legally hired ("engagé") under a contract to a merchant or an “engageur”; these contracts, drawn by notaries, usually stated the conditions under which the engagé was to canoe and carry merchandise up to various posts in the Great Lakes or Illinois, and come back with furs that they bartered the merchandise for.

They were normally Canadians, colonists or sons of colonists who were used to difficult canoeing from a young age.

Louis Vaillant's voyageur contracts at a glance:

• May 29, 1723, Ville-Marie (present-day Montréal): contract with Dame Anne Lemire and Estienne de Villedonné. He will receive 170 livres plus food to travel by canoe to Michilimackinac with merchandise; on the return trip, the canoe will be loaded with animal pelts. He will be paid half in deer pelts and half in "good pelts" upon his return.

• May 9, 1725, Ville-Marie: contract with Paul Dejardin de Rupallois, Mr. de Villedonné and Louis Dejardin. He will receive 170 livres plus food to travel by canoe to Michilimackinac with merchandise; on the return trip, the canoe will be loaded with animal pelts. He will be paid in either cash or pelts upon his return. Louis is allowed to bring 15 pounds of tobacco aboard without having to pay any duties.

• May 30, 1727, Montréal: contract with merchant Ignace Gamelin. He will travel by canoe to Michilimackinac with merchandise; on the return trip, the canoe will be loaded with animal pelts. He will be paid 100 livres upon his return.

• May 28, 1730, Montréal: contract with De Croisille and Jean-Baptiste Leconte, agreeing to "obey and serve them faithfully". He will receive 200 livres plus food to travel by canoe to Michilimackinac with merchandise and pelts; on the return trip, the canoe will be loaded with animal pelts. He will be paid in beaver or other animal pelts upon his return.

Fort Michilimackinac (located near present-day Mackinac Bridge, Mackinaw City, Michigan) was built by the French in 1715 and became an important location in the fur trade. It originally served as a supply depot for fur traders and voyageurs, who would take furs from the fort and paddle them up the Saint-Lawrence for eventual export to Europe. Ongoing conflict meant that the fort's ownership often changed between the French, English and Indigenous. It was finally abandoned in 1783.      

Buried inside the church?

Intramural church burials are an ancient Christian tradition that early colonists brought with them 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.