Françoise-Marthe Barton

Biography

Françoise-Marthe Barton's beginnings can be traced to the parish of Sainte-Opportune in Poitiers, in western France, where she was baptized on January 10, 1651. Research into her French family identifies her mother as Renée Pestre and places the household within the city's administrative world. Her baptismal sponsors included Nicolas Faverot, a tax receiver, and Marthe Pestre.

She came to Canada in 1670 as one of the Filles du Roi. On October 7 of that year she married Joseph Chevalier at Notre-Dame in Montréal, on the St. Lawrence River in present-day Québec, Canada, following a private marriage agreement. Joseph was a master joiner, and Montréal became the setting of their family life.

The census of 1681 supplies a view of their household eleven years later. Five children were listed: Marie, Pierre, Jean, Jean-Baptiste, and Élisabeth, ranging from ten years old to two. Alongside the family, the enumerator recorded two cattle and twelve arpents under cultivation. Their resources therefore included agricultural property as well as Joseph's trade.

Françoise-Marthe's married life lasted nearly twenty-nine years. She died in Montréal on August 13, 1699 and was buried that same day. The burial account identified her through her marriage to Joseph, the joiner. The French baptism, Canadian marriage, census household, and Montréal burial together trace the life she built after leaving Poitiers.

The burial listing places Françoise-Marthe Barton at Cimetière Notre-Dame (1672-1830), Montréal, Montréal Region, Québec, Canada.