"Founding mothers"

Thursday is the monthly meeting of our local genealogy club, which Tim and I started a couple of years ago.  There are about a dozen regular participants, but about 30 on our mailing list and Facebook group.   Everyone has an interesting story to tell, and we have several experts as well as many dabblers like me.   Many of us proceed in fits and starts, as I do, and we get side-tracked sometimes.

Many of our group members are of French-Canadian descent and can trace their roots to les filles du roi, 768 French women who were sent by King Louis XIV between 1663 and 1673 to strengthen his hold on the New World.  Their sole mission:  marry and have children.  Many a young man had gone to Quebec to seek his fortune, including many second or third sons, and many became voyageurs.  The King wanted them to settle down, farm, and have families.  

Something Paulette said at our last meeting piqued my interest (even though I don't have a drop of French-Canadian blood), and I thought the women's stories would make excellent historical fiction.  Lo and behold, I found several series available, including one by Aimie K. Runyan.   The first book of the Daughters of New France series focuses on three women from different circumstances who meet aboard the ship which, after three months at sea, landed in Quebec city.  The details of their voyage, training, courtship, and marriage make interesting reading.  I'm not sure if I will read more in the series which is based on thorough research, but I will pay closer attention when members of our group discuss their forebears.