French-Canadian Line: Jeanne Ducorps and Matrilineal Line

french-canadian line: Clinton briefly mentioned her maternal grandmother French-Canadian roots in her 2003 memoir, "Living History." But as she researched the connection, Moreau-Desharnais says she was surprised by how deep those roots went."She really has a good French-Canadian line," she said in an interview. "And when you trace her matrilineal line, or female to female to female, her ultimate female ancestor is Jeanne Ducorps, one of the Filles du Roi."Ducorps was one of more than 700 women sent to New France -- often against their will -- by King Louis XIV between 1663 and 1673 to serve as brides for the men in the colony, according to National Observer. Many were orphans or had been abandoned in refuge houses, and were sometimes unfairly labelled "women of ill repute," according to the president of a historical society dedicated to studying them."For the most part were girls who didn't have a lot of future in France," Irene Belleau said in a telephone interview. Gail Moreau-Desharnais of the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan has traced a branch of Clinton family tree all the way back to the Filles du Roi or "King Daughters," a group of young women who were sent from France in the 17th century to help populate the colony. But while a small percentage had worked as prostitutes and many were poor, she said others arrived in New France with possessions or furniture, implying a slightly higher status. And populate they did: Belleau says most of the women found husbands quickly and had a total of 4,459 children, earning them the nickname "mothers of the nation."Ducorps is not the only King Daughter found in Clinton family tree. What they had in common was a mission: all were given a sum of money and chosen or obligated to come to New France with a "royal mandate" to marry and help populate the colony, which was overwhelmingly male. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.