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Life in New France |
Jacques Philippe Farly was born in Montreal, Quebec, and was baptised on December 10, 1710. His grandparents, Jean Farley and Marie Gorri, were residents of Galway, Connaught Country, Ireland. Jacques Philippe's father, Antoine, had emigrated to Quebec in about 1705, and he married Marie-Anne Basquin, who was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1710.
Jacques Philippe married Marie-Josephte Dumouchel ("Josette") on February 9, 1739. Josette was the daughter of Paul Dumouchel and Marie Louise Tessier. Jacques and Josette lived in Montreal for the first years of their marriage, and their oldest five children were born there. They probably maintained a residence in Montreal, which was the case for many of the fur traders.
Of the nine children born to this Jacques Philippe and Josette, many died before they were one year old. They had two daughters, one of whom lived to the age of 17. Their other daughter married and had two children. Two of Jacques and Josette's sons were named Albert; one of them probably had a name like Pierre Albert or Joseph Albert. The first Albert was born in 1741, and the second, my ancestor, was born in Fort Michilimackinac in 1755. Naming conventions of the French Canadians were not unlike those in Europe: if you had a child who died, it was acceptable to name your next-born the same name. Also, many children's first names were Joseph or Marie, which makes tracing family lines a bit difficult.
The Europeans traded goods such as knives, hatchets and beads to the Indians in exchange for furs and meat. Indian trappers brought furs from the interior to the St. Lawrence River and traded there for manufacturered goods from Europe. These goods included iron tools, wool blankets, colorful cloth, and guns. Jacques Philippe saw an opportunity to be successful working in the fur trade. He was an interpreter for the French, and spoke French, English and Ojibwa. The fur trade was the dominant industry in New France at that time. French, Ojibwe and English were the three languages of the fur trade in the Great Lakes region, so Jacques had all the qualifications. Furs had been steadily leaving New France for Europe since the mid 1600s. These furs were mainly supplied by Indian traders, especially the Ottawa and Ojibwa tribes.
In 1670, the Hudson Bay Co., which was a British Company, was chartered. They claimed all the lands that drained into Hudson Bay as their trading area. Their posts were located on Hudson Bay and the Indians brought their furs there. About this time the Dakota Sioux attacked and drove the Huron and Ottawa out of the western Great Lakes. After this, many Frenchmen moved into the region and began trading directly with the Indians.
Jacques Philippe was a successful fur trader and voyageur, and had worked with the Indians for many years. After the move to Fort Michilimackinac in about 1753, just before the start of the fighting between the English and the French, Jacques Philippe acted as both an interpretor for the French and a fur trader. From time to time, he acquired licenses from the government in Montreal to travel to the west country with a 10-metre, 8-man canoe to trade goods for furs.
The majority of the population of New France lived in the rural areas. The 1700s were years of steady economic growth. The population went from 35,000 in 1730 to 70,000 in 1750. The farmers made up 70 percent of the total population, and were large wheat producers. Wheat was exported to many European countries. Farmers in New France were not unlike western farmers today, very set in their ways and not accustomed to change. Therefore, they were susceptible to crises in shipping or a disaster in a wheat-buying area. One of these disasters could wreck trade because of this inability to diversify.
Rarely did law courts exist outside of the cities, so most of the trials were held in the courts of the senior officials or the seigneurs on their own seigneuries.
Infant mortality was low. Couples had more children because they tended to marry at a young age. Marriage contracts detailed specifically what the families of the couple would offer to establish young people marrying on their own farms. Estates were shared equally among all heirs. All this led to the expansion of the Colony because of the need for new farming land. The rural people were very self-sufficient, and produced all the necessary goods to meet their own needs. Travelling priests ministered over several large rural parishes to meet the people's religious needs, and were involved in every aspect of life, i.e., birth, death and marriage.
Many unique crafts were developed in the country.
The cities held about 25 percent of the population. Their growth was steady: the population of Quebec City was 6,000 in the 1750s. Quebec City was very sophisticated, and resembled the European cities. Montreal had a population of 4,000 and was the center of the fur trade. It was a city with a frontier air. Masonry buildings were prevalent in both cities, and there was no running water, paved streets or public lighting. The cities existed to serve trade and government, and they grew only as fast as these industries permitted. They were also home to the royal officials, military officers and religious orders, such as the Jesuits, Sulpicians and Ursuline nuns. Eighty percent of the clergy lived in the cities, while 70 percent of the general population lived in the rural areas. Cities housed the majority of the craftsmen: housebuilders, carpenters, cabinet-makers, blacksmiths, butchers, bakers, innkeepers, wigmakers, dressmakers and tailors. Ship building was a main industry in the urban areas.
Infant mortality was very high in the cities, and couples had fewer children. Urban dwellers married later and when a woman had a baby she would often hire a wet nurse to care for the newborn baby. These women usually came from the lower classes and were quite poor. As a result, they were not in good health, with their milk being of poor quality. The babies usually died as a result.
