A Marriageable Young Girl

Anne Emard (1627-1700)

Anne Emard was born on October 22, 1627 at St. Andre, Niort-Poiters, Poitou, France; the daughter of Jean Emard and Marie Bineau.  She arrived in the French colony as a Filles A Marier, contracted to Guillaume Cousture.  They were married on November 18, 1649 at St. Nicholas, Lauzon, Quebec. Guillaume was born on January 14, 1618 at St. Godard, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France; the son of Guillaume Senior and Madeleine Mallet.  Anne had ten children before her death on January 17, 1700.  Guillaume followed her on April 4, 1701.

The Valiant Cousture

The story of Anne's husband is rather an interesting one.  Originally he came to New France as a young Jesuit priest, who like many other zealots, wanted to put his life on the line in order to convert the Canadian people.  So on June 26th, 1640; he handed over all of his wordly possessions, including land that he had inherited from his father; to his mother and sister and joined Father Rene Goupil on his mission to Quebec.  Young Guillaume was intelligent and hard-working, and soon proved to be a valuable asset.  His carpenter skills were put to good use in the construction of the Mission at Saint-Marie, and his willingness to learn and adapt, made him useful as an interpretor and diplomat. He would also soon get his chance for martyrdom; when in 1642; after leaving Trois-Rivières with fathers Isaac Jogues and René Goupil;  and 19 men from the Huron nation, was attacked by about 80 Iroquois soldiers in  the vicinity of lake Saint-Pierre.  Cousture would seal his fate when he shot and killed an Iroquois Chief. Father Jogues describes what happened next:  "Cousture, who had killed one of their chiefs in the combat, was exposed to their whole fury. They undressed him and beat him up with wooden sticks. They ripped out his fingernails with their teeth and stabbed a sword through his hand. One of the savages cut off half of his right middle finger. The pain was all the more unbearable since he did not use a knife, but a piece of shell. Since he could not cut the slippery nerve, the savage twisted it and pulled with such violence, that a nerve the length of the arm came out. The arm became prodigiously swollen." As required by Iroquois tradition, Cousture was then sent to another village and given to the widow of the warrior he had killed, since only she could decide his fate.  He was later adopted by the widow who treated him like a member of the tribe. She nursed him back to health and the young priest in training  learned their language, culture, beliefs and traditions. He became such a valued member of the community that he was even invited to join the tribal council.  He returned to Trois Rivieres in 1645, accompanied by Iroquois Chief Kiotseaeton and a band of his followers; where they met with Governor Huault de Montmagny to negotiate a new peace.  The residents were surprized to find Cousture alive and well, now dressing in Iroquois fashion.  "As soon as he was recognized, everyone hugged him and he was looked upon as a resurrected man".

The peace would be short-lived when on October 18th 1646, fathers Jogues and Lalande, who had been sent as emissaries to the Iroquois, were massacred and negotiations were abruptly stopped. About that time, Cousture had asked to be relieved from his vows, so that he might marry an Iroquois woman, though it is not clear whether he ever followed through with the union.  He eventually settled at Pointe-Levy in Lauzon Quebec with Anne, though he continued his diplomatic activities.

The Next Generation

Jean-Baptiste Cousture - Was born on November 14, 1650 and died on August 22, 1698 at Quebec.  He married Anne-Marie Marette and the couple had three children. Marie-Anne Cousture - Was born on January 22, 1652 and died on November 26, 1684.  She married Jean Cote and the couple had seven children. Louise Cousture - Was born on March 19, 1655 and died unknown.  She married Charles Couillard, son of Guillaume Couillard and Marie Guillemette Hebert, (Grandson of Louis Hebert) and the couple had eight children. Marguerite Cousture - Was born on May 07, 1656 and died on March 28, 1690.  She married Jean Marsolet; son of Nicolas Marsolet and Marie Le Barbier, and the couple had one child (Marguerite died in childbirth). Marie Cousture - Was born on June 18, 1658 and died unknown.  She married Francois Vezier, but little is known of their life. Charles Guillaume Cousture - Was born on November 29, 1659 and died as a child. Charles Cousture - Was born on June 16, 1660 and died on November May 9, 1709.  He married Marie Huard. Guillaume Cousture - Was born on October 11, 1662 and died on December 12, 1738.  He married Marie-Madeleine Cote and the couple had six children. Eustache Cousture - Was born on March 24, 1667 and died unknown.  He married Marguerite Begin and the couple had two children. Joseph Auger Cousture - Was born on July 27, 1670 and died unknown.  He married Jeanne-Marie Huard and the couple had five children.

BACK:  Quebec Settler List

French Immigrant Home Page

Uniquely Canadian Site Map

Victorian Canada Home Page