66 Years Documented
The Project
In 1654, a young French woman named Marie d'Orgueil crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin a new life in New France. She told colonial officials she was 16 years old. She was actually 20.
This strategic deception—and its discovery through rigorous genealogical research—opens a window into the life of an extraordinary ordinary woman. From her 1634 baptism in Bordeaux, France, to her 1700 burial in Montreal, we have assembled more than 40 documents that trace Marie's complete life trajectory.
This documentary biography applies BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists) standards to transform genealogical research into narrative history. Each episode examines a phase of Marie's life through the lens of primary source evidence, demonstrating how systematic research can recover complete lives from the archival record.
Marie Lorgueil was not famous. She held no office and wrote no books. But her fully documented life reveals truths about women's agency, colonial survival, and human resilience that speak across four centuries.
Marie's Life at a Glance
- 1634 Born in Bordeaux, France, to Pierre d'Orgueil (shoemaker) and Marie Bruelle
- 1654 Immigrated to New France; married Toussaint Hunault at Notre-Dame de Montréal
- 1655-76 Bore 10 children over 21 years; achieved 80% survival rate to adulthood
- 1666 Enumerated in Royal Census with husband and 6 children, all living
- 1690 Widowed after 36 years of marriage
- 1691 Participated in estate settlement, exercising legal rights under Custom of Paris
- 1700 Died in Montreal at approximately age 66
The Episodes
View the Primary Sources
See the actual documents that tell Marie's story—baptism records, marriage registers, census pages, and notarial acts spanning 66 years and two countries.
Explore the Document GalleryMethodology
This documentary biography applies the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) as defined by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Each episode includes:
Part I: The Narrative — Readable storytelling for general audiences, presenting Marie's life as continuous history rather than disconnected facts.
Part II: Evidence Analysis — Systematic evaluation of primary sources following GPS requirements: exhaustive research, complete citations, evidence analysis, conflict resolution, and sound conclusions.
Part III: Source Citations — Complete documentation sufficient for independent verification, including repository information, collection identifiers, and access details.
This hybrid structure separates storytelling from scholarship while keeping both accessible. Readers can engage with Marie's story at whatever level of detail they prefer.
Research Credits
Gilles Brassard — Located Marie's baptism record in Archives Bordeaux Métropole (January 2023), correcting a 4-year age error that would have distorted her entire chronology.
Peter Gagne — Research compilation providing leads to widow settlement documents and other primary sources.
Generations of Quebec genealogists — Indexing, transcription, and digitization work that made these records accessible.
Storyline Genealogy — Documentary biography research, writing, and BCG-compliant evidence analysis.