Louis Boulduc

Infobox Person
name = Louis Boulduc
birth_date = 1648
birth_place = Paris, Ile de France, France
death_date = 1700?
death_place = France
other_names = Bosleduc
occupation = Procurator/Proxy of the King for the Provost of Quebec

Louis Boulduc (1648 – 1700?) [cite book |last=Collaberative Effort |first= |coordinator= Evelyn Bolduc |title=Souvenirs beaucerons et la famille Bolduc |url=http://catalogue.banq.qc.ca/cgi-bin/bestn?id=_zjow%2F%E2%7Dt-jqnfwwdx&act=15&rec=5&auto=1&nov=1&t0=%22Chaudi%C3%A8re%2C+Vall%C3%A9e+de+la+Les+Chutes-de-la-Chaudi%C3%A8re%2C+Qu%C3%A9bec+Histoire%3B%22&i0=2&s0=5&v0=0&v1=0&v2=0&v3=0&v4=0&sy=0&ey=0&scr=1&line=4|edition= |year=1938 |publisher= |location=Bibliothèque nationale du Québec |isbn=|pages=103 |quote= ] [cite book |last=Tanguay |first=Cyprien |editor=|title=Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Canadiennes|url=http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/dicoGenealogie/|edition= |year=1871 |publisher= |location=Bibliothèque nationale du Québec |isbn=|pages=Vol. 1 pp. 64-65 |quote= ] was a French soldier from 1665 to 1668 and settler of New France. He served in the Carignan-Salières Regiment and helped build new forts along the Richelieu River, the principal route of the Iroquois marauders.

Early Life

Louis Boulduc was one of at least five children. His father was Pierre Boulduc and his mother was Gillette Pijart. Louis had at least four brothers, Simon who was an apothecary in Paris; Pierre who was procurator in “Le Chatelet”; Gilles who was an Augustinian Monk; and Jacques who was an Augustinian Monk. He was sent to Quebec as a member of the Carignan-Salières Regiment in 1665 (age 17 and assumed the "war name" of "Bosleduc"), and remained behind to settle in Charlesbourg, when the regiment left. Louis married Elizabeth Hubert (1651 – 1701?) on August 20, 1668 in Quebec, Canada.

Historical Background

The king of France at the time of Louis’ birth was Louis XIV (1643 – 1715). Louis XIV was king of France during the French Renaissance. The reign of Louis XIV’s predecessor (Louis XIII – 1610 – 1643) and his own reign had parts which were dominated by Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, and made France a nearly absolute monarchy. In a series of costly wars they (the kings) raised France to the chief power of Europe.

Much of the early exploration of North America was the result of a quest by the great powers of Europe to discover a sea route to the Far East (for the French and English this was a hunt for who would be first to discover the Northwest Passage). Further complicating this scenario was intensely fierce competition to establish dominance in the lucrative fur trade and access to the bountiful fishing waters of the North Atlantic. As time went on, it simply became an ongoing war for control of the continent of North America.
Jacques Cartier represented France's first entry into this competition with his discovery and exploration of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1535. Cartier made several trips to this region after claiming the territory for France and named it "Nouvelle (New) France". Interestingly, during his first journey, Cartier discovered a Huron village, Stadacona, which was located on the present site of Quebec City. The next explorer of note was Samuel de Champlain who is credited with the founding of Quebec City in 1608, a mere 57 years before the arrival of Louis Boulduc and the Carignan-Salières Regiment. This first settlement was located below the cliffs, on the banks of the St Lawrence River. This location is now called "Place Royale" and has some of the oldest buildings and streets in North America. Over time this part of the city has come to be known as the Lower City (Basse Ville). Understandably, the French crown was anxious to establish a permanent colony in the New World to expand its holdings and protect its interests against the English. To this end, Champlain was given that task and he accomplished it admirably. Out of the initial contingent of 24 French settlers and soldiers, only 8 survived the first winter. Further immigration was encouraged by the promise of new opportunities, free land and adventure, and the city began to grow steadily. Generally, Champlain also fared reasonably well with the Native Americans who inhabited the Quebec region. He and his Indian allies, the Algonquians and Hurons, combined forces to combat the Iroquois, whose raids on the settlement were becoming increasingly frequent and deadly. Under his leadership, Quebec continued to prosper and expand, and became the largest seaport north of Boston. Champlain is justifiably remembered as the "Father of New France." He died in 1635 and was buried under the Ursuline Convent in his beloved town. At the time, Quebec had a mere 150 residents! The region was subject to famine, frigid winters, and the constant threat of Indian attack. It was into this hostile environment that the first Boulduc arrived in New France to seek his destiny (and those of his descendants) in the mid-1600s. Let us explore the life of this pioneer who, in one bold stroke, dramatically changed and shaped the future of his family and descendants.

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. [cite book |last=Lemieux |first=Louis-Guy |editor= |title=Grandes Familles Du Quebec|url=http://www.allbookstores.com/book/9782894484838/Louis-Guy_Lemieux/Grandes_Familles_Du_Quebec.html|edition= |year=2006 |publisher=Septentrion |location=Lille, France |isbn=2894484836 and 9782894484838 |pages=161 |quote= ] 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 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 [cite book |last=Olivier |first=Reginald L.|editor= |title=Your Ancient Canadien Family Ties|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=te1mAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Your+Ancient+Canadian+Family+Ties%22&dq=%22Your+Ancient+Canadian+Family+Ties%22&lr=&safe=on&pgis=1|edition= |year=1972 |publisher=Everton|location=Logan, Utah |isbn=9998268052 |pages=364 |quote= ] 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 Francecite book |title= A History of the Canadian Peoples|last= Bumsted|first= JM|authorlink= |year= 2007|edition= 3rd edition|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Don Mills, ON|isbn= 9780195423495|oclc= 191694867|pages= ] 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.

Nomination and Trouble Brewing

Louis’ nomination did not please certain connivers amongst the advisory consuls, who themselves had eyes for his post. They did everything in their power to discredit Louis. The members of the Sovereign Council never ceased harrying this over-vulnerable official (Louis), in an attempt to discredit him and thereby to compromise the Provost Court. The struggle began in earnest after Louis XIV, in May 1677, had restored the Provost Court of Quebec to its original authority, and confirmed the attorney Boulduc in his post. Frontenac’s protégé could expect some serious opposition. On November 13, 1680 Duchesneau struck the first blow in a letter to the minister and in January 1681 Boulduc, accused of embezzlement, was brought before the Sovereign Council. Following a complaint lodged against him by a Bayonne merchant who perhaps wanted to take revenge, Boulduc was soon to see the councilors extend their indiscreet inquiries to his whole life, public and private. An official inquiry was convened, and accusations were brought against Louis, ranging from embezzlement, theft from every house he came across, to debauchery and continuous villainy. These accusations were presented by the Intendant Duchesneau, and were clear exaggerations. By virtue of a decree of April 28 he was suspended, and replaced temporarily by Pierre Duquet. This was the signal for a rare outburst of fury: the factions tore at each other unremittingly in a fight to the finish, for which Boulduc was in reality scarcely anything more than the occasion and the pretext. Frontenac was vindictive and ill tempered and wanted to control everything. It would appear he nominated Louis to this position as an attempt to weaken the powerful influence of the Sovereign Council. The Sovereign Council knew it was a great risk to attack Frontenac “head-on”, so they decided to declare war on his protégé, Louis Boulduc. Finally, after 14 months of outright brawling, the council found Boulduc guilty of embezzlement – this was on March 20, 1682 and declared that he had forfeited his office.

In some sources, Louis Boulduc is referred to in a negative sense, as a thief, embezzler, etc.; one student of French has claimed that the inflections, spelling, and use of expressions seem to indicate that his corruption went far deeper, to the point of being considered “evil.”

Many points about these accusations have never been cleared up, however, his benefactor Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac was a party to those transactions that caused Louis Boulduc’s infamous reputation, and a great deal of documentation exists concerning Frontenac. As Governor General of New France, twice (1672 – 1682 and 1689 – 1698), a constant political battle with the clergy and other officials seems to have included others around Frontenac, including, it seems, Louis Boulduc. This is not to say he was innocent of all charges, but one explanation of what might have been (and probably was) involved in his transgressions. All information found thus far has been included concerning this early settler of Quebec, so the reader may decide, the extent (if any) of Louis’ corruption. The King dismissed Louis from his post forever. Louis was accused of embezzlements of all kinds and of accepting bribes in the exercise of his post. In a letter to the Ministry dated November 13, 1680, the Intendant Duchesneau wrote this about the matter: “For the procurator/proxy of the king, of that high bench, the monsieur Boulduc, I cannot conceal that he is completely unworthy of his post. He is accused of embezzlement, of robbery from all the homes in which people suffer, of being a debaucher and a blackguard continuously and if not for monsieur le Comte de Frontenac, I would have brought forth these actions of his protégé. I am not contented in order not to offend him (count Frontenac?), by this deed of telling about the procurator, to have observed a strong reprimand in the presence of the lieutenant-general.”

This seems to have been sufficiently rigid as an accusation. Louis did well to go along with the spirit of the moment. There were awful quarrels between Frontenac and the Intendant Duchesneau. There was a second man, seeking Louis’ demise, Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville, who in 1685 had time to conduct his own inquiry. For his part, Denonville considered Louis an out-and-out scoundrel who "should never be tolerated in such an office." It was known that the Intendant Duchesneau did not like Louis Boulduc. It seems well, that it was due in good part, in the Boulduc affair that Frontenac was recalled to France. It may be surmised that Frontenac, when back in France, did not forsake his protégé, for by a decree dated March 10, 1685 Louis XIV granted Boulduc’s family one third of his salary, and asked the Intendant to restore Boulduc to his post if he were deemed to have been sufficiently punished. Denonville vigorously opposed the former attorney’s return. On June 4, 1686, after years of prevarication and despite any help from Frontenac, the king dismissed Louis Boulduc. After his conviction by the Sovereign Counsel, Louis Boulduc tried to be reinstated in his post, but it was in vain, as the king saw great haughtiness in Louis. Meanwhile, the Governor-Marquis de Denonville wrote this to the Ministry:

“Monsieur the Intendant said that you ordered him to have reestablished the named Boulduc in the post of procurator/proxy of the king for the Provost of Quebec, assuming that he and I judge that the pain of his long absence was insufficient for expiation of his mistakes; that was given to me in place of my inquiry of the life and morals of Monsieur Boulduc. I have determined that he is a complete scamp who is never to be tolerated in a similar post. This country, sir, needs punishments for those who manage it are evil! He left us his children who are reduced to the charity of good people.”

To understand the circumstances which lead to Louis being recalled to France, it is necessary to know what happened to his mentor Frontenac. In the course of events he soon became involved in quarrels with the Intendant touching questions of precedence and with the ecclesiastics one or two of whom ventured to criticize his proceedings. The church in Canada had been administered for many years by the religious orders; for the Episcopal See of Quebec, so long contemplated, had not yet been erected. But three years after the arrival of Frontenac a former vicar apostolic, François-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, returned to Quebec as bishop, with a jurisdiction over the whole of Canada. In this fearsome churchman the governor found a vigorous opponent who was determined to render the state subordinate to the church. Frontenac, following in this respect in the footsteps of his predecessors, had issued trading licenses which permitted the sale of intoxicants. The bishop, supported by the Intendant, endeavored to suppress this trade and sent an ambassador to France to obtain remedial action. The views of the bishop were upheld and henceforth authority was divided. Troubles ensued between the governor and the Sovereign Council, over its expansion and over the corvées required to build the new forts. In particular, despite the opposition of Bishop François de Laval, he supported selling brandy to the Native Americans, which Laval considered a mortal sin. From this we can see that Frontenac had made some powerful political enemies, and Louis seems to have remained loyal to Frontenac. That loyalty could have been the cause of Louis’ political problems and the accusations of debauchery as well.

Recalled to France

Madame Boulduc had gone back to France in 1685, provided with a pass by Denonville, who declared himself happy to “rid the country of a rather poor piece of goods.” Boulduc followed her, perhaps the year after. They left behind “children who are dependent upon the charity of honest folk.” The Boulduc’s had indeed three sons and two (or three) daughters whose ages ranged from 9 to 17 years. The youngest girl, Louise, who may or may not have still been alive, was Frontenac’s god-daughter, and apparently left with her mother. The others remained in the colony and took the name of Bolduc. As for the parents, they died in France, apparently without seeing their children again.

Who would venture to pass final judgment on Boulduc? Whatever may have been his faults, he was perhaps above all the victim of a troubled age. Intendant de Meulles seems to have thought so: “Much passion having been stirred up in this affair, the King would be wise to reinstate this magistrate,” he wrote on November 12, 1686. As far as Louis Boulduc’s performances in Canada, records indicate infamy and nothing yet found, will prove or disprove these charges.

An internet article describes one of the children of Louis and Elizabeth, Jaques. Jaques was born October 15, 1672 and baptized on October 17, 1672 in Quebec. Jaques married Marie-Anne Racine, at the coast of Bowsprit on November 7, 1701. Marie-Anne Racine was born March 29, 1684, the daughter of Noel Racine and Marguerite Gravel. Jaques and Marie-Anne had at least one daughter, Marie-Ann Bolduc. Marie-Ann Bolduc married Jean Filion on November 21, 1729.

References

External Links

(1) http://www.blupete.com/Hist/NovaScotiaBk1/Part1/Ch10.htm
(2) http://fillesduroi.org/Daughters/daughters.html
(3) http://fillesduroi.org/Daughters/Filles/filles.html#H
(4) http://membres.lycos.fr/ancetre/BolducLouis.htm
(5) http://genforum.genealogy.com/b/bolduc/messages/462.html
(6) http://home.comcast.net/~bennabre/bolduc1.html
(7) http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=660
(8) http://familysearch.org (AFN FX4F-8X and AFNFX4F-94)
(9) http://membres.lycos.fr/ancetre/BolducLouis.htm - Robert Rochon