Louis Boulduc - Life in New France

Life in New France

Louis was the first Boulduc settler in the New World. Louis Boulduc had originated from St. Benoit de Paris, Ile-de-France. He was born to a family from which a branch was later ennobled, his nephew Gilles-François Boulduc (1675–1742). It would appear that Louis completed some studies (presumably in the Apothecary art) prior to choosing to serve his country under the flag. He came to Canada in the regiment of Carignan, in the company of Mr. Hector Andigné De Grandfontaine in 1665. Louis came to Quebec in this capacity, on August 17, 1665. His mission, like that of the other soldiers was to prevent the Iroquois from using the Richelieu River to raid the colonists within Trois-Rivière and Montreal. Louis received his leave of the army between the end of 1667 and the beginning of 1668.

In 1668, Louis obtained a license for his marriage to Quebec's Elisabeth Hubert. Elizabeth Hubert was one of 770 women, known as les filles du roi (King's Daughters) who arrived in the colony of New France (Canada) between 1663 and 1673, under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France. Most were single French women and many were orphans. Their transportation to Canada and settlement in the colony were paid for by the King. Some were given a royal gift of a dowry of 50 pounds for their marriage to one of the many unmarried male colonists in Canada. These gifts are reflected in some of the marriage contracts entered into by the filles du roi at the time of their first marriages. The filles du roi were part of King Louis XIV's program to promote the settlement of his colony in Canada. Some 737 of these women married and the resultant population explosion gave rise to the success of the colony. Elizabeth was the daughter of Claude Hubert and Isabelle Fontaine. Claude Hubert was the Prosecutor at the Parliament of Paris. The dowry of Elizabeth was listed as 400 pounds, and is an example of one of the politically well-connected filles du roi receiving a larger dowry from the king. Elizabeth came to New France in 1667, after the death of her father. It is interesting to note that both Elizabeth's family and Louis’ family were well known to King Louis XIV. Louis’ father, Pierre, received a land grant from the king in recognition of good services.

On October 7, 1669, Louis purchased 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land from Jacques Bedard, located in the Trait-Carré of Charlesbourg. Louis had no money with which to purchase the land, and had to borrow the entire amount (800 pounds) from the Jesuits. Louis borrowed money from many different people. On November 18, 1672 in order to pay a 409 pound debt to Jean Deperas, Louis gave up a milk cow valued at 75 pounds and all the wheat his Charlesbourg farm produced. In 1674, Louis sold his Charlesbourg home and came to establish himself in Quebec. In Quebec, Louis and his family lived on Rue du Parloir just in front from the Ursulines College. The house no longer exists. The only houses saved and renovated are on Petit-Champlain Street and some nearby houses. In the upper town, all (or almost all) houses burned in a large fire. Louis and his entire family moved from apartment to apartment in Quebec, first on Sault-au-Matelot Street, and finally ending up in a "dependence house" of Vieux-Quebec (downtown), near the Ursulines.

Two years later (August 31, 1676), Louis XIV grants him the post of procurator/proxy of the King for the Provost of Quebec at a salary of 300 pounds. He occupied that post for almost six years. A protégé of the Provincial Governor Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, Louis was adjutant for M. de Lotbiniere, then became public prosecutor for the king ; Louis was probably recalled to France in 1682, with his friend Frontenac. During that time, he began a long dispute with the Sovereign Council of New France and in particular with the Intendant Jacques Duchesneau de la Doussinière et d'Ambault. Condemned by the Sovereign Council, Louis was ordered to return to France with his friend and patron Frontenac.