Marie Rollet

No Ordinary Farmer's Wife

Marie Rollet
(1580-1649)

Marie Rollet was born in Paris, probably about 1580, and would have witnessed a lot of turmoil, brought about by the Religious Wars that had plagued France for decades.

She met and fell in love with a young apothocary by the name of Louis Gaston Hebert and they were married at St. Martin's Parish in Paris on June 13, 1602. Soon after, her husband would leave on his first voyage to the 'New World'.

When we think of Louis Hebert, and his place in history, we probably envision a simple farmer, who tilled the soil to feed his family. However, he was anything but simple, and in fact was not even really a farmer.

Her Hebert Family

Louis Gaston Hebert was born in 1575 at 129 Rue Honore, Paris, France; the son of Nicolas Hebert and Jacqueline Pajot. His family was quite affluent, with ties to the Royal Court of Catherine de' Medici; where his father was the official druggist and spice merchant to the Queen. In this capacity, he would have had access to the royal palace; and though a bourgeois; would have been respected as a gentleman of the court.

Nicolas had inherited; through his mother’s family; a large estate which included the Haute-Saint-Mande and it’s vineyards. He also owned property that he purchased himself: the Coeur Royal, the Trois Piliers and the Mortier d'or, all on the south side of the famous Rue Saint-Honore in Paris, France. He and his first wife, Jacqueline Pajot resided at the Mortier d'or (the golden Mortar) and it was here that they raised their family.

The house was large, built in 1415, for a wine merchant, Jehan de Paris. It was made of stone with two separate living quarters. The ground floor housed the store where Nicholas dispensed his spice and medicines. From the back of the store there was an alley which opened out to the street, ending with stairs leading to the upper stories and the court.

The second floor had two large rooms with fireplaces, one facing the street and the other the courtyard. The third floor, under the gable, faced the street, and had five smaller rooms, three of which had fireplaces.

An attic topped it all, and the roof was made of tile. In the courtyard, there was another small living quarters with a passageway to all of his properties. This was where Louis grew up.

However, as with many of the bourgeoise, Nicolas Hebert had supported the Guise or Catholic League in the Religious Wars, and soon found himself in financial trouble. He was forced to sell Coeur Royal and the following year had to mortgage Mortier d'or. This information is important in the sense that these circumstances contributed to the emigration of the Hebert family.

Gateway to the Golden Mortar

Jacqueline died on July 15, 1580, as a result of a fall, and not long after, Nicholas married Marie Auvry. The Pajot family turned against Nicolas and his new wife, accusing them, before the provost of Paris, of owing them various sums of money and objects from Jacqueline’s estate. The matter was settled out of court, but only added to his already strapped financial situation. Some of his goods were seized and he was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

Nicolas had to borrow heavily and when he found that he was unable to meet his commitments, he was taken to court and forced to sell his remaining shares in Mortier d'or. However, even this was not enough and subsequently, he was sent to prison for two years. Because he was still considered to be of upper class; his family had to pay for his keep and by the time he was released he was very ill . His second wife Marie had passed away so he left Paris and settled in Saint-Germain, marrying for a third time to Renee Savoreau.

The last record of Nicolas' life was on January 8, 1600; when he conducted a transaction for a tennis court. His hand was shaky and his signature incomplete. There is no record of his death, as there was no will and he died penniless and without property. Therefore, Louis could not depend on a large inheritance and had to make his own way.

But, he was well-educated, energetic and adventurous, so when he had a chance to travel to the New World with Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt, the First Governor at Port Royal; he jumped at it. His mother and Poutrincourt's wife were sisters, and many others on that voyage were also connected to the Pajot family. Whether motivated by gold, furs, or finding a magical cure, it was a chance to start over and bring some dignity back to the Hebert name. He was no doubt ostracized and may have even been harassed by his father's creditors. It would also have been difficult for him to obtain credit on his own, so he really needed a fresh start.

After spending that disastrous winter at Ste. Croix in 1603, the colony had to be abandoned and Hebert returned home, where he resumed his work as a druggist in Paris, with a few new herbal medicines to add to his shelves. Marie would give birth to three children; Anne, Guillaume and Marie-Gullimette and though they were no longer well off, they were doing okay.

Several years later, when Champlain was looking for volunteers to settle in Kebec, he approached his old friend Hebert, and after accepting his offer to join him there, Marie and Louis arrived with their children on June 14, 1617. They had been promised 200 crowns per year, and would be able to select their own spot for a garden, provided that it was close to the habitation. Though her husband would not be allowed to trade in furs, he was free to study herbal medicine with the Canadian people, who were well known for their ability to cure many illnesses that had alluded Europeans for centuries.

When Champlain delivered them to Tadoussac, he made a hasty retreat back to France, before the unsuspecting group could discover that the offer made by the St. Malo company had been exaggerated. Upon arriving at the Kebec settlement, they were to learn that instead of the 200 crowns promised, Louis would only be given 100, and all required equipment would have to be purchased, and not just handed out. Furthermore, Hebert would be forced to sell any surplus crops back to them at deflated prices.

Looking around at the seemingly crude wooden fort; bustling with French fur-traders, tradesmen and scantily dressed Canadians, the Hebert family were like fish out of water, clinging together while they considered thier options. They had already sold their home and most of their furnishings before leaving Paris, so even if they could find transportation back, what would they have to go back to? Besides, they were going to Kebec.

But the settlement there, turned out to be little more than a trading post, with no cultivated ground except a few small gardens planted by the inhabitants. Marie, looking at her children: fourteen year-old Anne, who hoped to find a husband requiring little dowry; thirteen year-old, Guillaume and the youngest, Marie Guillemette, just nine; quickly made a decision. They would stay and make the most of it.

And the Hebert family soon proved their worth. Once they had decided to make Quebec their home, they never looked back, forging strong ties with the local people. Louis took care of their sick, while Marie taught the native children how to read and write, instructing them in the Christian faith.
In turn, the natives taught his family the proper use of snowshoes, toboggans and canoes; all necessary to survive in the harsh Canadian environment.

Her children, with the benefit of youth, were adapting well, learning the customs of their adopted country and enjoying the spirited games that were a large part of Canadian life. Foot races, lacrosse and tobogganing helped to pass away the long winter days, and in summer they enjoyed gathering berries, fishing in the streams, swimming and canoeing. In France, many of those things could only be enjoyed by the nobility.

Though they had erroneously selected an uncultivated clump of high ground near the habitation, the family went to work, clearing an area where they could begin planting their crops. There was no plough available, and the tools her husband was able to purchase were practically useless. Still, the small garden he created, gave him the ridiculous honour of being "the first Canadian farmer". Of course we know he wasn’t really the first farmer, only perhaps the first French-Canadian farmer, since the natives had been cultivating crops for more than 5,000 years and most of what he would eventually learn about agriculture, came from them.

Louis also learned a great deal about the proper use of herbal remedies, which benefited the French traders, who depended on him to cure their ills. This well-bred, highly educated Parisian, may not have been much of a farmer, but he helped to sow the seeds of friendship between the two nations, ensuring a continued loyalty to the French.

I do find it odd though, that so much is written about his contribution to the development of French-Canada, when in fact he was only in Kebec for seven years, while Marie would spend thirty years there, raising her family, assisting new French settlers and instucting the Canadian children. If the tables were turned, Louis would have gone down in history as the first Canadian Teacher, while his wife tended her little garden, if they mentioned her at all.

On June 06, 1618; the fifteen year old, Anne Hebert would marry Etienne Joseph-Marie Jonquest, a young man who had arrived at the same time as the Heberts; one of the tradesmen brought over by the Company to help with the construction of the numerous buildings required for the settlement. He no doubt spent a great deal of time with Anne’s family, and an attraction developed between the young couple. Their marriage, which was performed by Father Joseph Le Caron, would mark another first, since it was the first to be performed in Canada by an actual priest (such a silly honour). Tragically, young Anne would only spend one year with her new husband, before succombing to disease in 1619.

Marie Guillemette, married Guillaume Couillard on August 26, 1621; and later her husband would be credited with being the first man in Canada to use a plow.

Louis Hebert died on January 26, 1626; after a fall on the ice, but Marie kept up the land with the help of her children. Three years later, she was remarried to Guillaume Hubou on May 16, 1629 at Quebec
City. Guillaume had arrived in 'New France' two years previous and was about 25 years, Marie’s junior. Since she was already almost 50, and past her child-bearing years, the couple had no children.

When the Kirke Brothers forced the surrender of Quebec in July of 1629; Marie, her new husband and family stayed on, though the trading post was then under British rule. This was her home and she had nothing in Paris to go back to.

Keeping the family together was first and foremost on her mind, and they rode it out relatively unscathed until the post was once again in French hands. Son Guillaume married Marie Helene DesPortes on October 01, 1634. Marie Helene was born on July 07, 1620 in Quebec, the daughter of early settlers; Pierre DesPortes and his wife, Francoise Langlois. Helene Bouile had acted as her Godmother and when Champlain died on Christmas Day, 1635; he left her the sum of 300 livres in his will. He also left Marie Rollet a pair of white bodices, probably belonging to his estranged wife.

Marie Rollet died on May 27, 1649, but her contribution to the early settling of French Families in Kebec, was vital to it's success. With each new wave of immigration, she was there like a beacon; offering a level of assurance to the young women arriving to a seemingly hostile environment. She made friends with the local people, and though often chastised for allowing her home to be a "hang out for the Indians", she learned what it really meant to be a Canadian. She has gone down in the history books as 'Madame Hebert', but she was in fact, Marie Rollet, who was a person in her own right and her role in our history was at least as valuable as Louis Gaston's; if not more so.

Her second husband, Gullaume Hubou died on May 13, 1653.

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