Elisabeth Bégon
Elisabeth Bégon was born on July 27, 1696, in Montreal, Quebec, and became a significant figure in the social landscape of her time. She married Sublieutenant Claude-Michel Bégon in 1718, despite familial opposition due to his previous injuries from a maritime career and her lesser-known status. Over three decades, they established themselves as a prominent couple, known for their generous hospitality and involvement in the Montreal elite. Following her husband's death in 1748, Elisabeth focused on raising her granddaughter, Marie-Catherine de Villebois, whose mother had passed away. Her correspondence with Marie-Catherine's father, stationed in Louisiana, became a notable literary legacy, offering insights into the educational and social practices of the era, as well as the challenges of Quebecois winters. After moving to France in 1749, Elisabeth faced cultural disdain, which influenced her writing style and emotional expressions. She maintained a fervent connection with her son-in-law until his death in 1752, and Elisabeth herself passed away in France on November 1, 1755. Her letters were published posthumously in 1934, highlighting her experiences and perspectives as a Canadian woman of her time.
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Elisabeth Bégon
Author
- Born: July 27, 1696
- Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Died: November 1, 1755
- Place of death: France
Biography
Elisabeth Bégon was born July 27, 1696 in Montreal, Quebec. She married Sublieutenant Claude-Michel Bégon, the brother of the intendant of Montreal, in 1718. Claude-Michel’s maritime career had left him with only one eye and several mutilated fingers, and his brother, the intendant, opposed his marriage to the less prominent Marie-Elisabeth Rocbert de la Moranderie. Nevertheless, over the thirty years of their marriage, they became a prominent couple in the Montreal social scene; he occupied several important positions, and together they established a reputation for generous hospitality.
Claude-Michel Bégon died in 1748, and Elisabeth Bégon’s life became focused on the upbringing of her granddaughter, Marie-Catherine de Villebois. The girl’s mother Elisabeth’s daughter had died young, and her father, Honoré-Michel de Villebois de Rouvilliere, was stationed in Louisiana. Elisabeth Bégon’s letters to de Villebois, daily reports of Marie-Catherine’s progress over the next five years, became her literary legacy. These letters described not only the progress of a young girl’s education in the upper-class manners of the day but also detail the lavish parties of Montreal’s elite and the severe conditions of Quebecois winters.
Bégon moved to France 1749, settling in Rochefort among her late husband’s family, who disdained her for being Quebecois, labeling her “une Iroquoise.” Her isolation in France occasioned a development in her letter-writing, and the missives grew longer and more detailed. Life in France also heightened the intensity of her passionate attachment to her son-in-law, who was still stationed in Louisiana. She wrote him with increasing frequency, professing an undying love and hoping for a speedy reunion. Her wish was unfulfilled, however, as de Villebois died in New Orleans in 1752, while Bégon herself died in France on November 1, 1755. Her compiled letters were first published in 1934.