Hidden Protestants: Huguenot Women Among the Filles à Marier
Hidden Protestants
Among the first European women who came to Quebec in the 1600s were some who carried a secret: they had been born Protestant. Fleeing religious persecution in France, they faced a cruel irony—the Catholic Church controlled all religious matters in New France, and Protestants could not even baptize their children or buy land. To survive, they converted. Their descendants forgot. And their Huguenot heritage disappeared into the Catholic records that would document the rest of their lives.
This research guide examines two documented cases of Protestant women among the Filles à marier—the approximately 262 single women who immigrated to New France between 1634 and 1662. Unlike the later Filles du roi who received royal sponsorship, these women were recruited by private individuals, companies, or religious organizations. Some came from Huguenot families. All would need to convert to marry in the colony.
Genealogist Michel Barbeau has estimated that about 320 Huguenots, or French-speaking Protestants, settled in New France between 1634 and 1763. Many were forced to abjure, or renounce, their religion; others became Catholic after marrying in the Church. Those who remained Protestant were banned from certain trades, while some had their possessions confiscated.
— Jacques Gagné, Genealogy EnsembleLa Rochelle: Gateway to the New World
La Rochelle, on France's Atlantic coast, was both the last great stronghold of French Protestantism and a major departure point for emigrants to New France. The city had been besieged by Cardinal Richelieu in 1627-28, its walls falling after a devastating blockade that killed thousands. Yet its Calvinist temples still stood—for now.
The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Protestants certain rights, but by the 1620s and 1630s, those protections were eroding. By 1685, Louis XIV's Revocation of the Edict of Nantes would demolish the remaining Protestant temples and drive Huguenots into exile across Europe and the Americas.
For Huguenot women, the choice was stark: remain in an increasingly hostile France, flee to Protestant nations where they would be refugees, or emigrate to New France where conversion was required but a fresh start awaited. The women documented here chose the third option.
Marie Riton
Poitou ~1623 — Beauport 1674 • 10th Great-Grandmother
Marie Riton's documented life begins with scandal and conversion. Born about 1623 near La Roche-sur-Yon in Poitou, she had relocated to the La Rochelle area by the early 1640s. In November 1644, she baptized an illegitimate daughter, Marie, fathered by Abraham Brunet—a Protestant. The child disappears from the record and almost certainly died in infancy.
Seven months later, on June 29, 1645, Marie appeared before the Reformed Church in La Rochelle and formally professed her Protestant faith.
"Marie Ritoz natifue du bourg de la Roche sur lion en poiton a faict abjuration des Erreus de l'Eglise Romaine et protesté de vouloir vivre et mourir en la profession de la verité enseignée en nostre Eglise..."
— La Rochelle Reformed Church Register, June 29, 1645From Protestant to Catholic
Between 1645 and 1650, Marie crossed the Atlantic to New France. No Canadian record references her Reformed faith. The woman who had publicly "abjured the errors of the Roman Church" would, by 1660, be confirmed into the Catholic Church by Bishop Laval himself.
On August 23, 1650, she married Léonard Leblanc, a mason from Blessac, at the home of seigneur Robert Giffard in Beauport. She would bear seven children—all of whom survived infancy—and die in 1674 as a Catholic matriarch. Today, between 4.27 and 4.69 million Quebecers descend from her.
The Documentary Evidence
Marie Riton's case is remarkable because both documents survive: her 1645 Protestant profession of faith and her 1660 Catholic confirmation. This allows us to trace her complete religious trajectory—from possible Catholic origins, to Protestant profession, to Catholic conformity—a journey that reflects the adaptive strategies required of immigrant women in New France.
Case Study 2: The Duteau Family of La Rochelle
The migration of Jeanne Perrin and her children in 1658 is a textbook example of a Huguenot family navigating the increasingly restrictive religious and economic landscape of La Rochelle.
A Protestant Family in the Shadow of Persecution
Marie-Michelle Duteau was born on August 21, 1639, into a Protestant family in La Rochelle—just eleven years after Richelieu's siege had broken the city's resistance. Four days after her birth, she was baptized at the Temple Calviniste de la Villeneuve, one of the smaller Protestant meeting houses that survived the siege.
Her father, Pierre Duteau, worked as a porter in the Catholic parish of Saint-Nicolas—one of the story's many ironies. After the siege of 1628, Catholicism had been restored to La Rochelle, and Protestant families like the Duteaus navigated the uneasy peace: Protestant children baptized in Calvinist temples, their fathers working in Catholic institutions.
Marie had at least four siblings: her brother Charles (born 1641), her younger sister Madeleine (born 1649), and at least two others. Of these, three would make the journey to New France with their mother.
The Duteau Family
- Pierre Duteau — Father, porter in Catholic parish of Saint-Nicolas, baptized Protestant
- Jeanne Perrin — Mother, baptized 1615, daughter of David Perrin and Jeanne Daniau
- Marie-Michelle — Born 1639, baptized at Temple Calviniste de la Villeneuve
- Charles — Born 1641, would emigrate with the family
- Madeleine — Born 1649, would become a Fille à marier herself
April 1658: A Family Divided
In the spring of 1658, the Duteau family made a decision that would scatter them across an ocean. Over two days in April, four members of the family appeared before Notary Teuleron in La Rochelle to sign contracts for passage to Canada. It was a coordinated family emigration—mother and three children, leaving together but signing separate contracts based on their age and circumstances.
The Father Who Stayed Behind
But where was Pierre Duteau? He remained in La Rochelle. According to Peter Gagné's research, "he may have already been struck with a disease that claimed his life later that year." Pierre gave permission for his wife to take their youngest daughter to Canada. He signed no contract himself. He would never see his family again.
Pierre Duteau was buried on 12 December 1658 at the Calvinist temple in La Rochelle—eight months after his family sailed for New France. By then, his wife and children were somewhere in the wilderness of Canada, building new lives he would never witness.
The Mother Who Vanished
And Jeanne Perrin? She signed the most substantial contract of all—five years of service. She brought her youngest daughter. She crossed the Atlantic with her three children. And then she disappeared.
According to the researcher Bersyl, Jeanne Perrin "left no trace of herself in New France." Whether she died during the crossing, shortly after arrival, or simply vanished from the records, we cannot say. The mother who organized this family emigration, who received permission from her dying husband, who signed a five-year contract to build a new life—she is a ghost in the archives.
But her children survived. All three would marry in New France. All three would have families. And two of them—Marie-Michelle and Madeleine—would be counted among the rare Filles à marier.
The Path to Conversion
For Protestant women who arrived in New France, marriage required a two-step religious process:
Step 1: Abjuration
The act of "abjuration" was a formal renunciation of Protestant faith, typically recorded in parish registers or special registers of abjuration. The individual would publicly declare their rejection of Protestant "errors" and their acceptance of Catholic doctrine.
Step 2: Confirmation
Following abjuration, the convert would receive Catholic confirmation, conducted by a priest or bishop. This sacrament marked their full acceptance into Catholic sacramental life. These confirmations often occurred just days before marriage.
Where to Find These Records
- PRDH-IGD: Acts of abjuration in parish registers
- BAnQ Advitam: Registers of abjuration (search by "cote #")
- Guy Perron's Blog: Detailed research on confirmations
- Parish Registers: Trois-Rivières, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec City
Comparing the Cases
| Aspect | Marie Riton | Marie-Michelle Duteau |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | ~1623, Poitou | 1639, La Rochelle |
| Protestant Evidence | 1645 Profession of Faith (La Rochelle) | 1639 Baptism at Temple Calviniste de la Villeneuve |
| Emigration | ~1645-1650, alone | 1658, with mother and siblings |
| Catholic Confirmation | Feb 24, 1660 (Bishop Laval) | Prior to marriage (1659) |
| Marriage | Aug 23, 1650, to Léonard Leblanc | June 15, 1659, to Michel Lemay |
| Settlement | Beauport | Cap-de-la-Madeleine |
| Children | 7 (all survived infancy) | Multiple |
| Death | 1674, Beauport | 1675 |
| Descendants | 4.27-4.69 million | Millions |
How to Research Huguenot Ancestors
Because Huguenots were officially barred from New France after 1627, their records are often "hidden" within Catholic or commercial documents. Here are the key resources:
In New France (Quebec)
- Abjuration Records: Look for formal "acts of abjuration" in parish registers (available on PRDH-IGD), where Protestants renounced their faith to marry in the Church.
- BAnQ Advitam: The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec has replaced its online tool Pistard with Advitam (advitam.banq.qc.ca), making it easier to find these records.
- Notarial Acts: BAnQ holds original marriage contracts and indentures, which often provide more detail than church records.
In France
- La Rochelle Protestant Registers: Check the Registres du Consistoire or temple records for birth and baptismal data prior to departure.
- Fichier Origine: This database links New France settlers back to their specific Protestant baptismal records in France.
- Archives Départementales: Search by commune (village/town) for parish registers from 1535 to 1789.
Important: Your family name in France may have had a different spelling than the modern one. When researching online in France, try variant spellings. For example, "Gagné" in America is "Gasnier" or "Gagnier" in France—same pronunciation, different spelling.
— Jacques Gagné, Genealogy EnsembleKey Online Resources
- How to Search for Huguenot Ancestors in France (Genealogy Ensemble)
- How to Find Protestant Abjurations in Quebec (Genealogy Ensemble)
- Michel Barbeau's Huguenot Database
- Fichier Origine
Document Gallery
Conclusion: Hidden Heritage
The stories of Marie Riton and the Duteau family illustrate a hidden chapter in French-Canadian history. These women were not simply "Catholic" settlers—they were religious refugees who made pragmatic choices to survive. Their Protestant heritage was subsumed into the Catholic records that documented the rest of their lives, and their descendants often forgot their Huguenot roots entirely.
Today, with access to digitized Protestant temple records in France and abjuration records in Quebec, genealogists can recover these hidden identities. The woman who "abjured the errors of the Roman Church" in La Rochelle in 1645 became a Catholic matriarch whose descendants number in the millions. Her story—and stories like it—remind us that identity is often more complex than the records suggest.
While Quebec Premier François Legault recently stated that "all" French Canadians are Catholic, the historical record tells a more nuanced story. A small but significant minority of early settlers were Protestant—forced to convert, their heritage hidden in Catholic archives, their descendants often unaware of their Huguenot origins.
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