Louis Hébert – New France’s First Permanent Settler

Louis Hébert is considered the first person to permanently settle in New France.  He and his family arrived in present-day Quebec City in 1617 and then spent the rest of their lives in the nascent French colony.  I personally have been interested in Hébert and his family for quite some time. He is my 11th great-grandfather on my mother’s side and one of my earliest connections to New France. I think he is easily one of the more fascinating people to have lived in the colony. Here are some things you need to know about Louis Hébert, his family and the impact they had on the Kebec settlement:

Louis Hébert’s Early Life

Louis Hébert was born around 1575 in Paris, France, to Nicolas Hébert and Jacqueline Pajot. His father, Nicolas, was an apothecary. His mother, Jacqueline, had been married twice before. She died in 1579 or 1580. Following her death, her sister, Charlotte, looked after Louis for a few years. His stepmother, Marie Auvry, took over that role after Charlotte got married. 

Louis received a basic education in grammar, the humanities and Latin. He then received training in medical arts and science. He studied the uses of plants and the various properties of leaves, fruits and roots, as well as how to prepare therapeutic doses from them. In 1600, Hébert was employed as an apothecary and spice merchant in Paris. 

Louis Hébert’s Marriage

Hébert married Marie Rollet in 1601. He reportedly had been in love with someone else, but his father persuaded him to marry Marie. She was a pretty good catch. Her father, Jean Rollet, was employed as a gunner for King Henry IV and the family was well off. Marie studied at a convent run by nuns. As a result, she was able to read and write, which was rare for women in the 16th century.

First Voyage to Canada

In March 1606, Louis Hébert signed a contract with the explorer Pierre Dugua de Monts to serve as an apothecary for a year in Acadia. Along with 50 pioneers and craftsmen, Hébert set sail for Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) on May 23, 1606. They arrived on July 27. During his brief stint there, he took care of the sick colonists and Indigenous peoples and also helped build a grist mill on the Allain River. Hébert put his interest in plants and horticulture to use in Acadia. He partook in experimental farming activities. This included seeding various grains in the local fields and cultivating native drug plants that he discovered through the Mi’kmaq.

After the fall harvest in 1606, Hébert joined Samuel de Champlain and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt on an expedition. They explored the coast up to Cape Cod in search of a potential second settlement. Some minor skirmishes with the Nauset Indians, however, forced them to abandon the idea of establishing a colony near present-day Chatham, Massachusetts. In 1607, de Monts’ trade concession expired and Hébert and all of the colonists returned to France. 

Second Voyage to Canada

Hébert returned to Port-Royal in 1610 with Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt where he played an even more meaningful role in the colony. In addition to treating sick colonists and Indigenous people, he also acted as a mediator in a dispute between the Jesuits and Charles de Biencourt de Saint-Just, who was just 20 years old and temporarily in charge of the colony. In May 1613, Hébert took charge of Port-Royal in Biencourt’s absence. That same year, he returned to France and established a medical practice and apothecary shop, just as British colonial troops seized control of Port Royal and destroyed most of it. 

Louis Hébert Permanently Moves to Quebec

In March 1617, Louis Hébert signed a contract with Compagnie des Marchands de Rouen et de Saint-Malo to work in New France for three years. The company offered him an annual salary of 600 livres (pounds) to practice medicine in the colony. It also granted him ten acres of land to build a house and farm. However, when Hébert was forced to sign a new contract when arrived at the port of Honfleur with his family in tow to set sail. The new provision reduced his salary to 300 livres a year and required him to serve as the colony’s physician and surgeon. As well, he had to give any produce he grew from farming to the colony. While he protested this, he didn’t have any leverage after selling his home and his practice. So, he reluctantly signed the new contract.

Louis Hébert and his family set sail for New France on April 11, 1617, aboard the Saint-Étienne. They disembarked on July 15 in Tadoussac. Upon arrival, Hébert selected his ten acres of farmland. In present-day Quebec City, they are located between Ste-Famille and Couillard Streets, on the grounds of the seminary. He built a wooden house that was replaced by one made of stone a few years later. Then, he started clearing out the forest so he could plant crops. Hébert had to do all the work with an axe, a pick and a spade. His son, Jean-Guillaume, and an unnamed servant helped.  He planted corn, winter wheat, beans and peas, as well as an apple orchard and a vineyard. In his book Oeuvres de Champlain, Samuel de Champlain describes Hébert as the first head of a family in New France to subsist off what he grew.

The First Procurator to the King

By 1620, Hébert received recognition for his significant contributions to New France. He had served as a physician and surgeon in the colony and provided the other colonists with produce through his farming. Also, he fostered and maintained good relationships with the Indigenous peoples. As a result, he was appointed Procurator to the King, which enabled him to intervene in matters in the name of the King. 

The First Seigneur in New France

Louis Hébert was the first Seigneur in New France. In 1623, he was granted the title and the fief of “Sault-au-Matelot.” He was also granted additional land on the Saint-Charles River. As a Seigneur, he had a reserved church pew and the right to collect rent and a poll tax. 

Louis Hébert’s Unexpected Death

In the winter of 1627, Hébert fell after slipping on some ice. There are also reports he may have fallen from his roof. Whatever the case, the fall proved to be fatal. On January 25, 1627, he succumbed to his injuries. He was buried in the cemetery of the Recollets (now known as the Franciscans). In 1678, his remains were moved to the Vault of the Recollets. Hébert was the first person to be laid to rest there.

Marie Rollet’s Role in New France

In New France, Marie Rollet aided Louis Hébert in farming and looking after French colonists and Indigenous people. She routinely provided medical treatment to Indigenous people, as well as an education. She would teach them to read and write and instruct them in the Christian faith. Records show that she was the godmother to many Indigenous people who converted to Christianity.

Following Hébert’s death, Rollet married Guillaume Hubou on May 16, 1629. That same year, British privateers invaded New France and took control of the colony. While many of the colonists evacuated and went back to France, Rollet and her children stayed. They were the only family to do so. During the occupation, Rollet and her daughter Guillemette took care of Samuel de Champlain’s adoptive Indigenous daughters, Espérance and Charité. She taught them to read and write and took care of their daily needs. She died on  May 27, 1649, at the age of 69 in Quebec. 

Louis Hébert’s Children 

Hébert and his wife Marie Rollet had three children: Anne, Jean-Guillaume and Marie Guillemette. All of the children were born in Paris, France, and permanently moved to New France in 1617. 

Anne Hébert

Anne Hébert was born in 1601. She married Étienne Jonquest early on during the summer of 1619. Their marriage is considered the first one to be performed by a priest in what is now Canada. Anne did not live a long life. She had her first and only child in late 1619 and died while giving birth in 1620. Her child also died. 

Jean-Guillaume Hébert

Jean-Guillaume Hébert was born in 1604. He married Hélène Desportes on 1, 1634, at Notre-Dame de Québec Church. Together, they had three children: Joseph, Françoise and Angélique. Unfortunately, Guillaume’s life was cut short. He was about 25 when he died on September 23, 1639. Some speculate that he died of smallpox or was killed by the Iroquois. I think the former is more likely. Guillaume and Hélène’s only son Joseph was captured and killed by the Iroquois in the early 1660s, so the Hébert name did not carry on. 

Marie Guillemette

Louis Hébert’s youngest child, Marie Guillemette Hébert, was born in 1608. Out of the three children, she lived the longest life. She’s also my ancestor, so I feel some affinity towards her. Guillemette married Guillaume Couillard de L’Espinay on August 21, 1621. According to Samuel de Champlain, Couillard came to Canada in 1613, which would make him one of the first French settlers to settle permanently in the colony. After Louis Hébert’s death, Couillard took over farming his land. Guillemette had inherited half of her father’s estate. Together, Guillemette and Couillard had ten children: Louise, Marguerite, Louis, Élisabeth, Marie, Guillaume, Madeleine, Nicolas, Charles and Catherine Gertrude. Two of her children — Nicolas and Guillaume — were murdered by the Iroquois.

During their marriage, Cuillard and Guillemette possessed a lot of land. They gave some of it to the church in 1652 and to the Hôtel-Dieu in 1655 and 1659. After Cuillard’s death in 1663, she sold Bishop Laval the land for the “petit séminaire.” This decision created conflict with the younger generation of her family. The prospective heirs began litigation that continued through subsequent generations into the twentieth century. 

Descendants 

At the beginning of 1800, Louis Hébert and Marie Rollet had 4,592 descendants married in Quebec. This made them the tenth most important couple in French-Canadian ancestry at that time. He also has some pretty famous descendants including Hillary (Rodham) Clinton, Celine Dion, Nathan Fillion, Jane Krakowski, Jack Kerouac, Jim Carrey and Bridget Fonda. 

My Connection to Louis Hébert

Through my mother, I am related to Louis Hébert in two ways. 

Connection One

1. Louis Hebert (abt. 1575 – 1627) and Marie Rolet (abt. 1580 – 1649)
2. Marie Guillemette Hébert (abt. 1608 – 1684) and Guillaume Couillard de L’Espinay (1588 – 1663)
3. Élisabeth Couillard (1631 – 1704) and Jean Guyon (1619 – 1694)
4. Catherine Gertrude Guyon (1660 – 1715) and Denis Belleperche (1651 – 1710)
5. Pierre Belleperche (1699 – 1767) and Marie Anne Campeau (1712 – 1796)
6. Francoise Belleperche (1740 – 1796) and Joseph Gabriel Pouget (1728 – 1801)
7. Susanne Pouget (1776 – 1821) and Pierre Baron (1767 – 1835)
8. Hyacinthe Baron (1806 – abt. 1881) and Marie Josephte ‘Josette’ Joannes dit Debaucamp (1812 – 1881)
9. Marguerite Baron (1832 – 1898) and Eli Bondy (1827 – 1894)
10. Joseph Edward Eli Bondy (1858 – 1944) and Amelia Isabella Brush (1864 – 1935)
11. Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966) and Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973) 
12. Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
13. Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents

Connection Two

1. Louis Hebert (abt. 1575 – 1627) and Marie Rolet (abt. 1580 – 1649)
2. Marie Guillemette Hébert (abt. 1608 – 1684) and Guillaume Couillard de L’Espinay (1588 – 1663)
3. Élisabeth Couillard (1631 – 1704) and Jean Guyon (1619 – 1694)
4. Catherine Gertrude Guyon (1660 – 1715) and Denis Belleperche (1651 – 1710)
5. Pierre Belleperche (1699 – 1767) and Marie Anne Campeau (1712 – 1796)
6. Francoise Belleperche (1740 – 1796) and Joseph Gabriel Pouget (1728 – 1801)
7. Charles Pouget (1764 – 1776) and Marie Anne Pageot (1776 – 1864)
8. Florence Pouget (1804 – 1857) and Etienne Meloche (1799 – 1839) 
9. Olive Meloche (1828 – 1916) and Patrice Barron (1822 – 1898)
10. Catherine Barron (1854 – 1939) and Antoine Solomon Renaud (1853 – 1926)
11. Mary Zoé Renaud (1878 – 1935) and Abraham Joseph Higgins (1875 – 1950) 
12. Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983) and Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998)
13. Martha Grondin (born 1950) and Gary Willis (born 1946) – my parents

Are you a descendant of Louis Hébert and Marie Rollet? Let me know!

Do you want to know more about the earliest settlers in New France? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.