In addition to providing as many details as possible about my ancestor, the posts will also include anecdotes about experiences encountered in my search for Jeanne’s story. As Jeanne’s 8th great granddaughter, writing almost 300 years after her death, I am in the process of weaving together many historical bits and pieces of her life with archival research, live interviews and conversations in France, Quebec and the United States. And of course, I’m having to use some creative hypothesizing and my intuition to fill in any gaps in information. Jeanne’s is a story full of both facts and mysteries. It’s a story of endings and new beginnings. And it’s a story of much courage, stamina, will, and many choices. Please read Suggested Table of Contents for some tips on how to read the posts.
Another Jeanne — Jeanne Savonnet
While I have spent the last several years researching the history of Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier, my eighth great grandmother, there is at least one other Jeanne whose story should be included in this blog. That’s Jeanne Savonnet. The life of this second Jeanne is more well-known than the life of Jeanne Marguerite, but there are several parallels between the two. [⇒]
The plaque in honor of Jeanne Chevalier
I am sure that Jeanne’s spirit surrounded us that day, the 15th of September, 2017. We were not a large group but we filled the Canadian chapel of St. Jacques church in Dieppe, France, one of the parishes where Jeanne had lived.
Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi: Son Histoire
Finally, the story of Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier is available in French! Thanks to a wonderful team of translators and editors, I am very happy to announce the publication of the book: Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi : Son histoire.
The book is available as a paperback and e-book on the Internet at www.amazon.fr, at www.amazon.ca and at www.amazon.com .
It is also available at Le Plumier, 22 24 Rue Saint-Jacques in Dieppe, France.
I hope you will find her story as captivating as I did! Please feel free to email me your comments!
Research on Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi, continues….
In 2002, 5 years before the release of the movie “The Bucket List,” I composed a list of things I wanted to do before leaving this world. Near the top of the list were: Write a book about my ancestor Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi; learn French; and live for at least six months in France. Well, 15 years later, [⇒]
Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi: Her Story — Now Available
The first time I heard the name of Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier was over twenty years ago. A book about her life started to take shape in my head roughly eight years later, in 2002. Preliminary research followed. The drive to learn more about Jeanne and write her story, however, only became an obsession one cold February day in 2011 when I stood in St. Nicolas church in Coutances where she was baptized on June 8, 1643. And now, finally, I am happy to announce the publication of this first version of the history of her life, just one day before the 300th anniversary of her death.
Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi: Her Story is now available at http://www.harvard.com for purchase in the United States and Canada. 
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November 2, 2016 — The Latest News
After months of silence, I am back writing for my blog and along the way, have run into some problems. I would like to apologize for any strange announcements that you might have received from my blog. I hope that we have resolved them and there won’t be any new “glitches.”
Silence has not meant absence of progress, rest assured. [⇒]
Jean-Baptiste-François Deschamps de la Bouteillerie
One of the first Quebecois entrepreneurs
Jean-Baptiste-François Deschamps de la Bouteillerie was born around 1646 in Cliponville, a small Norman village not far from Rouen. Jean-Baptiste was one of at least 11 children born into the noble family of Jean Deschamps de Boishébert and Elizabeth or Isabeau de Bin. His family, by some reports, could trace its line back at least to the third crusade. Jean-Baptiste’s father was Seigneur de Costecoste, de Montaubert, and des Landes and had been honored by Louis XIII in 1629 for the service that he and his family had rendered to the kings of France. In keeping with the practice and laws of the times, [⇒]
The very latest news
Hello to those of you who have signed up for new posts and have hopefully not had to manage through too many confusing notices about the changes to my website.
At last, I am thrilled to announce that the web site and its blog posts are now all available in French! All you have to do is click on the French flag in the top right corner of any page to access the French version. I owe ever so much to my cousin Father Peter Dumont in New Hampshire and his cousin Michel Moisan in Quebec City for all their incredible and invaluable help in making the translation possible!
Once again, thank you for your interest in Jeanne Chevalier, my 8th great grandmother! I hope to have some new posts available soon (in English and French!)
Most warmly, Lynne
P.S. Apologies if this is a repeat of a prior message. We found a few glitches and they are now fixed!
Introducing Jeanne Chevalier, Fille du Roi
In June, 1671, 28-year-old Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier boarded a ship in Dieppe harbor. She was leaving France forever and was headed for Quebec. Although single and orphaned, she was not alone on the ship since there were one hundred other women also bound for Quebec that year. In fact, over the course of ten years beginning in 1663, 770 women would have left France, most of them, like Jeanne, never to return. [⇒]
Mild Interest Becomes Obsession
My interest in my ancestor Jeanne Chevalier and her story began over a decade ago, but it didn’t grow into an obsession and start taking over my life until relatively recently. At first, I had a mild curiosity around sorting out some conflicting information that I had found in one book and on the Internet about where she had been born. In early 2011, while visiting my niece who was working in Paris, I travelled to Coutances at the lower end of the Cotentin Peninsula in western Normandy, one of the possible sites for her birth. The archivist, with whom I had been in contact via email, had found a baptismal record for “Jeanne Chevalier” and had been able to decipher the almost illegible handwritten one-line entry. It was waiting for me when I arrived at the Coutances Visitors’ Center. The record indicated she had been baptized in St. Nicolas Church on June 8, 1643. When I asked if I could visit the church, the receptionist handed me the key and took my driver’s license in exchange. The key was bulky in my hand. I wondered if it could be the original. [⇒]