Marie-Louise Hubert dit La Croix.

Orphaned.

When her father died in 1715 Marie-Louise was left an orphan at age 13. It is likely she lived with one of her older half-siblings. Jacques had married Marie Cardinal in 1707. Marie-Anne married Jacques-Charles de Couagne that same year. Pierre, was a bachelor until 1721, making him a less likely candidate.

Jacques (the son) continued in the fur business their father had built, as evidenced by numerous contracts over the years. He and his wife spent time in Détroit, where his son Pierre was born in 1709. In time they returned to their home in Montréal in Place d'Armes. The family lived in a two-story house with two chimneys to keep the family warm in the cold winter months. The 22 x 23 foot abode was built of wood. Jacques was a merchant, quite possibly dealing in the sale of pelts since as an engageur, he contracted with others to make the arduous trek to collect furs from the trappers. The household had a slave, a young Pani women named Marie born in 1712.

Marie-Louise's half-sister Marie-Anne Hubert, widowed after the death of her husband Couagne, lived in a large stone home 90 feet long that had four chimneys. Her Aunt Madeleine Trottier, widow of Louis Joseph Hubert, lived in a home on Rue Capitale was comparable in size to Jacques'. Dame Renaud, who may be her aunt Elizabeth Hubert, lived there as well.

Montréal Burns.

The Eucharistic procession planned for the feast of Corpus Christi had been rained out, so the villagers eagerly moved the ceremony celebrating the first Holy Communion to the following weekend. On 19 June 1721 the sisters of the hospital filled the small chapel with candles to prepare for the display of the Holy Eucharist.

It was a warm summer day with high winds blustering about the town. The start of the parade was heralded by a gun salute. That was the moment things went awry. The hot shot fired from the arquebusier landed on the church roof, setting the cedar wood shingles on fire. High winds fanned the flames into an inferno driving back those who sought to extinguish the blaze.

The townspeople rallied to put out the blaze though their efforts were in vain. Lacking enough ladders to reach the roofs and enough buckets to carry water they watched in despair as all their possessions were reduced to ash. The lower city, 126 homes and buildings, was wiped out. The Huberts' lost their homes, as did other of our relatives like our uncle the innkeeper Raphael Beauvais. Our ancestor Marie-Louise was 19 at the time of the fire.

Intendant Michel Begon cracked down on looters, allowing a grace period from prosecution if the property "recovered" in the aftermath was returned to the rightful owners within a week. The Bishop of New France Mgr. de Saint-Vallier implored parishioners across the colony to donate goods to help Montréalers rebuild.

The colony's first building code was enacted later that year: homes were to be two-stories, built of stone and have affixed ladders. Cedar shingles were discouraged and chimneys had to be swept on a regular basis. The mansard-style roof was abandoned in favor of a pitched roof because that style required less wood framing.

The Hubert's rebounded. That same year Pierre married Françoise Cardinal, Jacques and his wife had another child and his business dealings continued to grow. In a few years our ancestor Marie-Louise Hubert would marry.