Marie Lorgueil: The Girl Who Lied About Her Age
Episode 1:
Part I: The Narrative
Bordeaux, France - 1634
In 1634, in the parish of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux, France, a baby girl was baptized and given the name Marie. Her father, Pierre d'Orgueil, was a shoemaker—a craftsman of modest means navigating the religious and economic turbulence of 17th-century France. Her mother, Marie Bruelle (also recorded as Bruyelle or Brunette in various documents), had already borne several children. Young Marie was one of at least seven siblings documented in the Bordeaux region.
The d'Orgueil family had migrated before, following economic opportunity and perhaps religious safety through southwestern France: from Cognac to La Rochelle, finally settling in Bordeaux. They were part of the constant movement of 17th-century French families seeking stability in an era marked by religious wars, economic hardship, and political upheaval.
For Marie, born into this world of uncertainty, the future likely looked predictable: marriage to a local craftsman or farmer, a life of childbearing and domestic labor, growing old in the same region where she was born.
But Marie d'Orgueil had other plans.
The Atlantic Crossing - 1654
Twenty years later, Marie stood at a departure port—likely La Rochelle or Bordeaux—preparing to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She was among the pioneering women recruited by the French Crown to populate New France, a program that would later be known as the Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King).
The year was 1654, making Marie part of the earliest wave of this colonial initiative. Most women who would follow in subsequent decades would be younger, some barely teenagers. At age 20, Marie was approaching what 17th-century French society considered "old maid" territory—the dangerous zone where marriageability declined sharply.
The colonial marriage market in New France heavily favored youth. Younger women received better matches, more suitors, and greater economic security. Marie understood this reality with stark clarity.
So when she arrived in Montreal in 1654, she made a strategic decision: she would claim to be 16 years old.
November 23, 1654 - Notre-Dame de Montréal
The strategy worked.
Within months of her arrival in New France, Marie d'Orgueil married Toussaint Mathurin Hunault dit Deschamps at Notre-Dame de Montréal. The marriage record from November 23, 1654, dutifully recorded the bride's age as 16 years old.
Toussaint, born around 1628 in France, was approximately 26 years old—a respectable age difference. He was a habitant, which meant he owned or worked land, placing him among the settler class rather than the transient voyageurs or soldiers. This was a solid match for a newly arrived young woman with no property or connections in New France.
Standing in the church that autumn day, Marie had successfully reinvented herself. Her age deception went unquestioned because there was no way to verify it. Birth records from France were an ocean away, inaccessible and irrelevant to colonial officials focused on populating New France as quickly as possible.
Marie d'Orgueil, age 20, became Marie Hunault, age "16," and began her new life as a frontier wife.
The Pattern Repeats - 1676
Forty-two years later, Marie would witness her own strategic thinking reflected in her daughter.
In August 1676, Marie's fifth child, Marie-Thérèse Hunault, signed a marriage contract with Guillaume Leclerc, a habitant of Lachenaie. The notarial document, prepared by Notary Bénigne Basset, recorded the bride's age as 24 years old—a mature bride but still within acceptable marriage age.
Three months later, on November 24, 1676, the marriage ceremony took place at Notre-Dame de Montréal.
But Marie-Thérèse was not 24 years old. She had been baptized on February 10, 1663. She was 13 years, 6 months old at the marriage contract signing. She was 13 years, 9 months old at the wedding ceremony.
Marie-Thérèse had misrepresented her age by more than 10 years—even more dramatically than her mother had.
Whether Marie coached her daughter in this deception or whether Marie-Thérèse independently arrived at the same survival strategy, we cannot know. But the pattern is unmistakable: intelligence, strategic thinking, and adaptation to colonial realities ran in this family.
Mother and daughter, separated by four decades, both understood that in New France's marriage market, a woman's stated age mattered more than her actual age—and that no one would check the records.
Evidence Analysis
Research Question
What was Marie Lorgueil's actual age when she immigrated to New France and married in 1654?
This question is foundational to understanding Marie's life chronology and requires resolution of conflicting evidence between her baptism record (1634) and her stated age at marriage (16 in 1654, suggesting birth year 1638).
Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS)
This analysis applies the five elements required by the Board for Certification of Genealogists:
- Reasonably exhaustive research in relevant sources
- Complete and accurate source citations
- Analysis and correlation of collected evidence
- Resolution of conflicting or contradictory evidence
- Sound conclusion based on strongest available evidence
| Source Type | Date | Information | Birth Year | Evidence Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptism Record | 1634 | Infant baptized, parents Pierre d'Orgueil & Marie Bruelle | 1634 | Direct, Contemporary |
| Marriage Record | Nov 23, 1654 | Bride age stated as 16 years | 1638 | Direct but Conflicting |
| 1666 Census | Early 1666 | Listed as "Adult" (approximately age 31-32) | ~1634 | Indirect, Corroborating |
Timeline of Evidence
Why the Baptism Record (1634) is Correct
- Contemporary Creation: The baptism record was created at or immediately after Marie's birth when the information was fresh and accurate. The priest had no motive to falsify the date.
- Third-Party Documentation: The parish priest was an independent witness with no personal stake in Marie's future age representation. Priests were legally and religiously obligated to maintain accurate parish registers.
- Family Identity Confirmed: At least 7 siblings baptized in Bordeaux region, all with parents Pierre d'Orgueil and Marie Bruelle. Father's occupation documented as shoemaker (1617 record). This eliminates possibility of mistaken identity.
- 1666 Census Correlation: If born 1634, Marie would be 31-32 in early 1666 (listed as "Adult"). All six children's census ages match their baptism dates perfectly, validating census accuracy.
- No Motive for Error: Unlike the marriage record where Marie had clear motive to misrepresent, the baptism had no such motive. Marie was an infant with no agency; her parents had no reason to falsify her birth date.
Why the Marriage Record (1654) is Incorrect
- Colonial Marriage Market Dynamics: The Filles du Roi program and broader New France marriage patterns heavily favored youth. Age 16-18 was considered ideal; age 20+ approached "old maid" status. Marie at actual age 20 was not unmarriageable, but claiming age 16 significantly improved her position.
- No Verification Mechanism: In 1654 New France, there was no way to verify ages stated by immigrants. Birth records remained in France, thousands of miles away. No identification documents existed. Ages were accepted based on the person's statement.
- Created 20 Years Later: Unlike the baptism record created at time of birth, the marriage record was created 20 years later and relies on Marie's own statement—self-reported information with known incentive to misrepresent.
- Pattern Evidence: Marie-Thérèse's proven age misrepresentation (stating 24, actually 13) in 1676 demonstrates this was a family strategy. Whether explicitly taught or implicitly learned, the pattern suggests Marie employed the same approach.
Conclusion: Resolution of Conflicting Evidence
Marie d'Orgueil was born approximately 1634 in Bordeaux, France, as documented in her baptism record. When she immigrated to New France in 1654, she strategically misrepresented her age as 16 (instead of her actual age of 20) to improve her prospects in the colonial marriage market. This misrepresentation was recorded in her marriage record on November 23, 1654.
Evidence Weight: Contemporary baptism record + 1666 census validation + daughter's pattern evidence + colonial marriage market context = overwhelming support for 1634 birth year.
Why Not 10/10? We assign 9/10 rather than 10/10 confidence because: (1) we lack the specific day/month of baptism in 1634, and (2) genealogical methodology requires epistemic humility even with strong evidence. However, the convergence of evidence makes the 1634 birth year the most sound conclusion.
Historical Significance
What This Age Discrepancy Reveals
Women's Agency: Marie actively shaped her destiny rather than passively accepting her circumstances. This was not a woman acting from desperation, but one making a calculated strategic decision based on clear-eyed assessment of her situation.
Strategic Intelligence: The fact that her daughter would employ the same strategy—and that it worked again—suggests that Marie's intelligence was passed down along with her genes. These were women who understood their world, assessed their options, and acted decisively.
Colonial Marriage Dynamics: Reveals the pressures and incentives in New France's marriage market. Age verification was not practiced, allowing strategic misrepresentation without consequence.
Methodological Lesson: This case study demonstrates a fundamental principle of genealogical research: when age-at-event statements conflict with contemporary birth records, the birth record is almost always more reliable. Marriage records, census enumerations, and death certificates frequently contain age errors.
Intelligence and Survival
Marie d'Orgueil didn't just cross the Atlantic. She navigated the complex social and economic systems of colonial New France with strategic precision, securing a marriage that would last 36 years and produce 10 children, 8 of whom would survive to adulthood—an extraordinary achievement for any 17th-century mother.
The girl who lied about her age became the woman who built a multi-generational family that endures to this day, with thousands of descendants across Quebec and beyond.
Source Citations
Primary Sources: Marie d'Orgueil/Lorgueil
Primary Sources: Children (Pattern Evidence)
Archives Consulted
French Archives:
Archives Bordeaux Métropole • Bordeaux, Gironde, France • Parish registers (GG series), baptism/marriage/burial records for Bordeaux region 1533-1792 • Relevant series: GG 205 (Sainte-Croix parish, 1633-1644) • Access: In-person research, limited digitization; research services available • Contact: archives.bordeaux-metropole.fr
Canadian Archives:
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) • Montreal, Quebec, Canada • Parish registers (Drouin Collection), notarial records (French Regime), court records • Access: In-person and online via BAnQ Numérique
Library and Archives Canada • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 1666 Census of New France, colonial government records • Access: In-person and online databases
FamilySearch • https://www.familysearch.org • Digitized Quebec parish registers, census records, indexed genealogical databases • Access: Free online
