Starting the hunt for Filles du Roi ancestors

No, I not mine. I have no Filles du Roi ancestors. But both my sisters-in-law have New France ancestors going back to the 1600s. I know that they each must have Filles du Roi among them.

Who were the Filles du Roi? These were 800 young unmarried or widowed women who arrived from France in New France between 1663 and 1673, sponsored by King Louis XIV, after a collective realization that there was a serious gender imbalance in New France, and that the men there needed women to marry, to have children to further populate the land. The Canadian Encyclopedia has this about the Filles du Roi.

I've traced both my sisters-in-laws' ancestry. One has done the AncestryDNA test and at last count, has 907 4th cousins or closer in matches.

Quebec's church records are justifiably renowned for the enormous detail they offer, if not their frequent illegibility when looking at especially old records. For marriages, they include the names of the parents of both bride and groom. I have these records attached to my research into my sisters-in-laws' ancestry.

A daunting task awaits. I shall try very hard not to be distracted by the bright shiny objects that often grab any genealogist's attention, and focus on the task at hand: to identify the Filles du Roi ancestors of my sisters in law. Wish me luck.

The never ending story continues....



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