Catherine Baillon

Notes:

Also called Marie Catherine Baillon, de Baillon.

She was a fille du roi, a "daughter of the king." By 1660 or so it had become apparent that the fledgling North American colony of New France was badly short of marriageable women. To ameliorate this, between 1663 and 1673 the French government recruited respectable young women of limited prospects and, after vetting them for suitability, provided each of them with a small dowry, a chest of clothes, and one-way passage to Quebec. The approximately 800 women who made this journey became known as the "filles du roi", the "daughters of the King." Millions of modern French-Canadians can trace their descent from them, quite often from several.

Catherine Baillon is also a proven "gateway ancestor"; born to a minor gentry family, she was a descendant of over 1500 documented medieval individuals. Her modern descendants include (but are far from limited to) Jack Kerouac, Nathan Fillion, and Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien. She was a descendant of King Philippe II of France (1165-1223), but oddly, her most recent royal descent was from King András II of Hungary (1176-1235). She was a descendant both of Harold Godwinson, last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, and of William I, the Norman invader who overthrew him at Hastings in 1066. Her most recent ancestor among English kings is Henry I (1068-1135).

Catherine married Jacques Miville dit Deschênes on 12 Nov 1669 in Notre-Dame-de-Québec, Québec City, Québec. Jacques (son of Pierre Miville dit Le Suisse and Charlotte Maugis) was born before 2 May 1639; was christened on 2 May 1639 in Hiers com Hiers-Brouage, Charente-Maritime, France; died on 27 Jan 1688; was buried on 28 Jan 1688 in Rivière-Ouelle, Québec. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Charles Miville dit Deschênes was born on 14 Aug 1677 in Rivière-Ouelle, Québec; was christened on 1 Sep 1677 in Québec City, Québec; died before 11 Feb 1758; was buried on 11 Feb 1758 in La Pocatière, Québec.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 19 Oct 1669, La Mascotterie, France

Notes:

Siegneur of La Mascotterie and Valance.

Alphonse married Louise de Marle after 5 Nov 1639. Louise (daughter of Mathurin de Marle and Anne Bizet) died after 11 Oct 1673. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Co-heiress of Ragonnant.

Notes:

Date of marriage contract.

Notes:

Seigneur of Valence.

Adam married Renée Maillard about 1580. Renée (daughter of Miles Maillard and Marie Morant) died on 2 Feb 1630. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Seigneur de Ragonnant, de la Vacheresse et de Vaugien en partie.

Mathurin married Anne Bizet about 1610. Anne (daughter of Jean Bizet and Marguerite Chabot de Souville) died after 14 May 1613. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 5 Jan 1610

Notes:

Seigneur de Valence, a fiefdom in the municipality of Dampierre-en-Yvelines.

Adam married Anne de la Saussaye after 13 Jun 1542 in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Jeanne de la Saussaye.

Notes:

Also called Mille. Seigneur of Le Breuil and of La Boissière.

Miles married Marie Morant after 25 Jun 1555. Marie (daughter of Jean Morant and Suzanne de La Villeneuve) died after 7 Jul 1605. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Or Morand.

Notes:

Date of marriage contract.

Notes:

Called in his father-in-law's will "gentle squire of the King's house". Called by Gilles Brassard (citation details below) "écuyer, sieur de Vaugien, seigneurie située à Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, dans l’actuel département des Yvelines."

Waast married Madeleine Le Sueur about 1568. Madeleine (daughter of Gabriel Le Sueur and Marie Jorre) died between 18 Jul 1586 and 9 Nov 1608. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Seigneur of Paponville and of La Grandmaison.

Jean married Marguerite Chabot de Souville in 1580. Marguerite (daughter of Antoine Chabot and Catherine Lombard) died before 30 Dec 1607. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]