PivinFamily20240306 - Person Sheet
PivinFamily20240306 - Person Sheet
NameMarguerite BOURGEOYS 
Birth17 Apr 1620, St Severin, Paris, Ile De Paris, France
Death12 Jan 1700, Montreal, Québec, Canada
FatherAbraham BOURGEOYS (~1588-)
MotherGuillemette GARNIER (~1592-)
Misc. Notes
From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
Founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. A nun, declared a Saint. Received the Filles du Roi.
Upon her arrival in the port of Québec City on the following 22 September, Bourgeoys was offered hospitality with the Ursuline nuns there while transportation to Ville-Marie was arranged. She declined the offer and spent her stay in Québec living alongside poor settlers.[6] This hints at her character and the future character of her congregation in Montreal - a secular and practical approach to spreading God's will. She arrived in Ville-Marie on 16 November.
Though this period of Bourgeoys' life in New France pales in comparison to her later years in terms of expansionary scope and influence, it is often seen as much more intimate. Bourgeoys would have known practically everyone in the colony.[7] However, she also faced difficult struggles during her first years there. There were no children to teach due to the high levels of infant mortality, which frustrated her plan to provide education. Despite this, she took it upon herself to help the community in any way she could, often working alongside the settlers.
During these early years, Bourgeoys did manage to make some significant initiatives. In 1657 she persuaded a work party to form in order to build Ville-Marie's first permanent church - the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel (French: Bonsecours).[8] She was provided with a vacant stone stable by de Maisonneuve in April 1658 to serve as a schoolhouse for her students.[9] This was the beginning of public schooling in Montreal, established only five years after Marguerite's arrival.[10] Today a commemorative plaque marks the site of the stable school in Old Montreal. It can be found on a wall just below the southwest corner of Saint-Dizier and Saint-Paul Streets.
Soon after receiving the stable, Bourgeoys departed for France with the goal of bringing back more women to serve as teachers for the colony. Her success in doing exactly that put her in a position where she was able to house and to care for the "King's Daughters," or filles du roi, as they are known in Québec (orphan girls sent by the Crown to establish families in the colony) upon their arrival from Europe.[8] Marguerite and her four companions were also responsible for examining the male settlers who arrived seeking a wife.[8]
Founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. A nun, declared a Saint. Received the Filles du Roi.
Upon her arrival in the port of Québec City on the following 22 September, Bourgeoys was offered hospitality with the Ursuline nuns there while transportation to Ville-Marie was arranged. She declined the offer and spent her stay in Québec living alongside poor settlers.[6] This hints at her character and the future character of her congregation in Montreal - a secular and practical approach to spreading God's will. She arrived in Ville-Marie on 16 November.
Though this period of Bourgeoys' life in New France pales in comparison to her later years in terms of expansionary scope and influence, it is often seen as much more intimate. Bourgeoys would have known practically everyone in the colony.[7] However, she also faced difficult struggles during her first years there. There were no children to teach due to the high levels of infant mortality, which frustrated her plan to provide education. Despite this, she took it upon herself to help the community in any way she could, often working alongside the settlers.
During these early years, Bourgeoys did manage to make some significant initiatives. In 1657 she persuaded a work party to form in order to build Ville-Marie's first permanent church - the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel (French: Bonsecours).[8] She was provided with a vacant stone stable by de Maisonneuve in April 1658 to serve as a schoolhouse for her students.[9] This was the beginning of public schooling in Montreal, established only five years after Marguerite's arrival.[10] Today a commemorative plaque marks the site of the stable school in Old Montreal. It can be found on a wall just below the southwest corner of Saint-Dizier and Saint-Paul Streets.
Soon after receiving the stable, Bourgeoys departed for France with the goal of bringing back more women to serve as teachers for the colony. Her success in doing exactly that put her in a position where she was able to house and to care for the "King's Daughters," or filles du roi, as they are known in Québec (orphan girls sent by the Crown to establish families in the colony) upon their arrival from Europe.[8] Marguerite and her four companions were also responsible for examining the male settlers who arrived seeking a wife.[8]