Wilmont Kreis

Book Thirteen: Half-Face part one: As I noted in a previous post, the early life of Françoise Grenier-Langlois, is very scant in historical literature, but it seems relatively clear that she appears very early in French-Canadian History when she and Noël Langlois are wed in the third marriage of Québec history and proceed to produce a large family of early leaders of Canada. I used my creative license to flesh-out her early history as a waif of the streets of Paris who is swept off her feet by an older man with many rough edges. He spirits her to the new world in its very early years where he bands with renegade courier-des-bois and turns young Françoise’s life into hell.
She is only rescued when this man (Guy) is said to be killed by Iroquois, leaving Françoise free to forge friendships with some of the more reputable Québécoise eventually causing her to be returned to France and a better life with her new friends. When she returns five years later, she finds her old abuser is still around when he returns to cause trouble.

Book Thirteen: Montmagny: As Canada mourned the loss of the most loved Champlain, France sent a replacement. Charles Huault de Montmagny lacked Champlain’s devotion to Canada but brought much needed administrative skills the new land lacked. He began with a tour of the land from Tadoussac to Montréal with Captain Noël Langlois and his Indian guide and companion, Jacques-Henri. He rebuilt defenses including transforming the wooden fort overlooking the city to a stone fortress, reorganized the military, and began modernizing Québec. At the same time, he negotiated with the natives and saw the arrival of the Ursuline and Augustinian Nuns.

Book Thirteen: Early French-Canadian land control. OK, here is my simple-minded description of a convoluted topic. All the land belonged to France, i.e. the King. He, however, gave control to an important Frenchman, in this case Cardinal Richelieu, who in turn gave control to a group known as the Company of 100 Associates. To my knowledge almost all of the people mentioned so far had never seen Canada and likely had little knowledge as to where it even was. The Company in turn divided the land into large strips of land called fiefs or seigneuries. These men, such as Robert Giffard and Jean Juchereau, generally came to and lived in Canada to oversee their land. (Actually still the King’s land). Eventually they began to divide these lands into smaller strips called arriere-fiefs or sous-seigneuries. These were controlled by early settlers like our five families from Perche (Guyon, Langlois, etc.) They could then work some land and rent the rest to tenants who were non-indentured men who came to Canada. They could also employ, engager, who were men who came with an agreement to stay and work for three years, after which they could try to obtain a piece of a sous-seigneurie, find a job, or return to France. The tenants and engager gave a segment of their produce to the sous-seigneurie, who gave a share to the seigneurie, who gave a share to the Company who gave a share Richelieu who gave it to the King. Obviously, the first people to come to Canada did the best with this system.

Book Thirteen: First families of Canada. By convincing Robert Giffard to bring families as well as workers to reestablish the Canadian colony, Françoise helps grantee the ultimate success of Canada. However the five families from Perche are a meager beginning and it will take more than a generation for enough families and marriageable women to travel to the frozen north. The marriage of Françoise and Noël Langlois (the third in Canadian history) will help as they produce ten children (eight survive) and eventually 74 grandchildren!

Book Thirteen: Percheron Express
During her stay in Mortagne, Françoise aids a prominent citizen, Robert Giffard, assemble a group of five local families to sail to the new world and become the mothers and fathers of Canada. In addition to these ordinary families were Giffard and his family, as well three well-to-do families and a few single men a few of whom had been to Québec before. The ship which brought them had been nicknamed the Percheron Express in honor of the home province of these hardy pioneers.

Book Thirteen: Mortagne: Françoise’s cousin graciously takes her into her home. Once she achieves some stability she goes to the local convent where she helps the nuns with their school. From here she will meet a few people who will shape her life: Sister Marie-Claude, who helps her escape from her wretched past, Robert Giffard who will cause her to return to Canada, Pierre Boucher, her cousin’s precocious eight-year-old son who will grow to one of the fathers of Canada, and Noël Langlois who will become the love of her life.

Book Thirteen: Early Françoise: Françoise Grenier was a fifteen-year-old waif of the streets of Paris when a young man of questionable character convinces her to accompany him on an adventure to the New World. After more than a year of abuse in the wilderness of Canada, he disappears, apparently dead. Françoise is taken in by the few French women, returning to a civilized society. Having nowhere to go when the Kirke Brothers return her and her new French-Canadian friends to France, she winds up at the home of her mother’s cousin in Mortagne in the Perche region of France, and from here will, in fits and starts, build a new life.