Matriarch of the Amyot Brood

Anne Convent (1601-1675)

Anne Convent was born about 1601 at D'Estees, near the town of St. Quentin in the south of France; a second daughter for Guillaume Convent and Antoinette De Longuevale.  On November 22, 1625, she was married for the first time to Philippe Amyot and the couple would have four children. St. Quentin belonged to the Diocese of Soissons, and was named for the marytr Augusta Vermanuorum (later cannonized as Saint Quentin)

The D'Estrees holdings, where the Convents resided,  had been in the family for some time, but the most notable family member was Gabrielle D'Estrees, a Lady of the Court and longtime mistress of King Henry IV.

When England returned Quebec to France in 1632; Cardinal Richelieu and the Jesuits were anxious to expediate development, learning their lesson from France's previous failed attempts.  Richelieu of course, was interested in the profits from the fur trade, while the Jesuits wanted to get the jump on assuring that the new colony would be instructed in the right faith.

In 1634, they established a mission at Trois Rivieres and began recruiting workers from their home parishes to assist with the building.  Preference was given to tradesmen with families, who would be indentured for a pre-determined length of time.  As an incentive to clear land, they were advised that they would be able to keep half of all land cleared at the end of their indenture.

The deal must have sounded like a good opportunity for a young man, so in 1635, Anne's husband signed his contract and the family, which at the time included seven-year-old Mathieu, five-year-old, Jean; and the baby Jean-Gencion, left their home town in France to start a new life.  The crossing would have been difficult, even if Anne wasn't pregnant, with storms and the threat of pirate attacks, but may have seemed like an adventure to the young boys.

Shortly after their  arrival, Anne gave birth to a fourth son; Charles, whom they had baptized in Quebec on August 26, 1636; but a month later, to the day, her husband Philippe died at Trois Riviere, and Anne was left alone in a strange place with four young boys to raise.

The family had been given provisions, including bread, butter, lard, wheat, vinegar, dried codfish and peas but to supplement their diet, it was hoped that they would cultivate small gardens, as well as do a bit of fishing and hunting.  The Algonkin-Canadians had come to Trois Rivieres and taught the settlers how to fish through the ice, which would prevent hunger during the lean winter months. But wth her husband now gone, she would now have to depend on the kindness of others to get her through. Fortunately, Trois Rivieres was a favourite spot for the Canadians to visit, and the family was able to acquire vegetables, meat and fish from the local merchants, mostly the Hurons.

Though the French government had assigned Lieutenat Marc Antoine Brasdefer de Chateaufort (Chasteaufort) to act as Commander at Trois Rivieres,  it was clear the Jesuits had all the power, and were soon locking horns with civil authority.  Within a year, Chateuafort was replaced with D'Isle, but the Religious Order never ceded any of their control.  They resorted to whatever means necessary to almost force Christianity on the local people, so many times the small settlement was like a powder keg.

The fact that Anne was able to keep her family together for the next three years, is commendable; surviving several epidemics of small pox and influenza, that claimed the lives of many; and even a small earthquake.  Her boys were being instructed by the Jesuits and Mathieu would eventually act as interpreter for them, in their dealings with the Huron-Canadians. He would later become a large land owner and a man of prominance in New France.

When Father Jean De Brebuef  was tortured and killed by the Mohawk, her son Jean would track down and capture one of the men involved, but he drowned  on May 23, 1648, at the age of 18.  Charles would travel for a few years with the Jesuit missionaries, before opening a store in Lower Town, Quebec   Jean-Gencion would become one of the first settlers of Ile D'Orleans, where he and his wife, Marguerite Poulin would raise eleven children.

Her Mahue Family

When Anne became a widow in 1636, she knew that she would be expected to marry again to ensure the continuity of her family in New France.   Single women did not fit into the plans of the enterprising Jesuits, and if you were still able to bear children, than that's what you must do; so in the fall of 1639, she was wed to Jacques Mahue, a new arrival from Mortagne, Perche; son of Nicolas Mahue and Louise Clichon. In 1650, the Mahue family were attacked by a band of Iroquois, who broke into their home and killed two of their servants.  Anne and her husband fled with their children into the woods, and when they returned, found that most of their possessions had been taken.  (This was mentioned in a letter from Marie de L'Incarnation, to her son, dated March 17, 1650) Anne would have three children with Jacques: Marie-Madeleine born September 28, 1641; and died a few weeks later.  Jean-Nicolas, born May 31, 1643, who would marry Catherine Mathurine Belanger but died within a year of his marriage.  And Nicolas,  born in 1645 and died 1673.  None of her Mahue children provided her with descendants. Anne was widowed again, when Jacques died on July 22, 1663; and  would marry a third time, to Etienne Larose Blanchon, in Quebec City on October 9, 1666.  By now she was well past the age of bearing children, but her new husband would be a companion. Anne Convent died on December 25, 1675.  She had seen a lot of changes in her fourty years and because she chose to stay and tough it out, rather than return to France, all those years ago, the Amyot name lives on in Quebec as a reminder of one woman's contribution to the development of French-Canada.

E-MAIL ME

BACK:  Quebec Settler List

French Immigrant Home Page

Canadian Women Home Page

Uniquely Canadian Site Map

Victorian Canada Home Page