financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France. Most were single women and many were
orphans. Their transportation to Canada and settlement in the colony were paid for by the King.
The King even provided many of the filles du roi with a dowry of 50 livres 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 the filles du roi married. These marriages resulted in a population
explosion that contributed to the success of the colony. Through my research, it became
apparent that the vast majority of the millions of people of French-Canadian descent throughout
North America are descendants of one or more of these courageous women of the 17
th
century.
During the same period that the filles du roi were being recruited for New France, the French-
Canadian farmers were being terrorized by the Iroquois Indians. Pleas for assistance in their
struggle with the “Iroquois Menace” were answered in 1665 with the arrival of the first regular
fighting forces in Canada. Some 1,200 soldiers and their officers of the Carignan-Salieres
Regiment arrived between June and September 1665. They were under the leadership of Lt.
General Alexander de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy. The regiment established a series of forts along
the Richelieu River. From these forts they launched campaigns into the land of the Mohawk
tribe of the Iroquois Nation. The success of the second campaign was so successful that it led to
a long period of peace for the colony and permitted it to prosper. Although they had
accomplished the undertaking that brought them there, King Louis XIV’s plan included the
permanent settlement of many of the soldiers and officers in Canada. Over 450 of these troops
remained in the colony, many of whom married a newly arrived fille du roi. Most persons of
French Canadian descent can claim one or more of these brave soldiers as ancestors as well as a
one or more of the fille du roi. The Carignan-Salieres Regiment did not act alone in putting
down the Iroquois threat. Many militiamen who resided in the colony participated in the
successful campaign. However, the names of the militiamen were not recorded for posterity.
Efforts to honor the 17
th
century men who paved the way for growth and prosperity of New
France is usually restricted to the named soldiers of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment.
Early in my research, I made an observation that that completely puzzled me. All my French-
Canadian lines tied me back to ancestors who immigrated to North America prior to 1744. I was
quite aware that immigration to North America did not peak until the early part of the twentieth
century. Why did all my French-Canadian ancestors arrive by the early part of the eighteenth
century? I eventually learned that although the early colonists of New France were very open to
settlers from all over the European continent, this ended when they lost the French and Indian
War in the middle of the eighteenth century. Before ending up on the losing side of the war with
Great Britain, my ancestors included immigrants from Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany,
Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, and England along with the many settlers from France. All of these
individuals were welcomed into and assimilated by the French-Canadian culture. However, the
welcome mat was locked away once the colony was placed under British rule. The French-
Canadian culture became much more inward focused and close-knit. This is a phenomena that is
largely true today.
Another phenomena that puzzled me was why so many French Canadian ancestors shortened
their names during the mid 1800s. My family name had remained Gautron dit LaRochelle until
my great-great-grandfather changed his name from Edouard Alphonse Narcisse Gautron dit
LaRochelle to Edouard LaRochelle. The reason for this common practice or shortening names
turned out to be a simple one. It was due to the advent of public education. As the citizens of
Canada learned to read and write, they decided that a shorter name would be more practical.
When a priest was recording a birth, death, or marriage it was fine to make him write out entire
names. When a notary was recording a sale of property of some other civil event, it was again
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