Filles du Roi
Filles du Roi were single young ladies, often widows or orphans, who were sponsored by Louis XIV of France to emmigrate to New France (Canada). He paid for their passage and provided a dowry for them when they married.
Filles du Roi - from CBC - Canada: a People's History
Alphabetical Listing of the Filles du roi, with husband and date of marriage.
The King's Daughters - Heritage Quest article with list of names.
Filles à Marier - Timinou article (French) with list of names including husband and date of marriage.
Filles du Roi - 05/12/2002 article BY JOHN HILL
Daughters of the King - Wiborg family article with Marguerite Deshayes details.
Filles du Roi - French Website
800 filles à marier - French Website
Some quotes from other articles:
"These women, known in French as the "fille du roi", agreed to travel to the new settlements in North America and marry a settler there in exchange for a 50 pound dowry from the French King. Of the nearly 1000 women who undertook the journey, about 800 made it to Canada."
"They made contracts of marriage with the men who had originally settled the New World and usually married within a few days or weeks of the contract signing. Often the women broke the contracts, only to remake them or make new contracts with other men."
"In many cases, the girls married soldiers of the famous Carignan Regiment."
"To understand the women's motive, one needs to understand the period. In the early years when New France was being settled, dowries were commonplace in France. A woman needed a dowry to marry, or even to be accepted as a nun. In a period when positions in life were bought and sold, the size of a girl's dowry generally determined her future position in life. Without a dowry, a widow or an orphaned girl of this age could look forward to only the dreariest of lives."
Below is a list of ancestors who were "Filles du Roi"
Antoinette le Grand
Catherine de Baillon
Louise Le Coutre
Marguerite Marie Jourdain
Marie Bonheur Bonneville
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