Filles du Roi

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The Filles du Roi "Daughter of the King" (so-called) were the 800 or so young women who volunteered to come to Canada, from their native France, to help settle the then new colony of France. They came in the mid 1600's and they were called the "Daughters of the King" because they came to Canada under the auspices of King Louis XIV. He acted as their "stand-in" father. He provided for each of them a dowry, a trousseau, land for her prospective husband, a bonus in cash to build a small house ect... plus transportation across the ocean.

The trip across, in those days, took from three to four months and was so terrible that 200 of those girls died in transit. Some died from scurvy (lack of proper diet aboard ship) others died from cold and exposure. The dampness on those ships was penetrating and deadly. On one of the trips the entire complement of 20 girls died in an epidemic of pulmonary plague and were buried at sea.

Once in Quebec all were scheduled for appointments to meet and interview prospective husbands. These were single young men, who had come to Canada previously, either as colonists or soldiers of the King of France.

Today many of the descendants of the so-called "Daughters of the King" are citizens of the U.S. and are to be found in all the sections of the country. A large number of those descendants reside in New England.

Not all of the descendants of the Daughter of the King have French family names. Many have English, Scot, German and Irish family names. The lineage connections date back to the early wars in Canada, for the first three groups. Those with Irish family names, the connections date back to the mid 1800's, to the time of the great potato famine in Ireland, when many young Irish men came to America and Canada and married into families that had the lineage of the "Daughters".


Last Updated: 02/08/2008
Created and Maintained by Larry Warren.
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