Catherine Jérémie

Growing up in a trading family in New France, Catherine would have been exposed to both French colonial society and Indigenous cultures. Her father’s career as interpreter and agent likely brought him into sustained contact with Indigenous communities whose knowledge of local flora and healing practices deeply influenced colonial life.[6][9] This milieu helps explain how Catherine later came to combine European midwifery with herbal remedies informed in part by Indigenous medicinal knowledge.[2][1]

Marriage, family, and social position

Catherine’s adult life unfolded within the structures of Catholic parish society in New France. She married at least twice and raised a large family, experiences that shaped her work as a midwife and herbalist. According to the biographical entry on her brother Nicolas Jérémie in the DCB, Catherine first married Jacques Aubuchon in 1681.[9] The marriage took place at Champlain, where her parents were then living, after a period in Batiscan.[9] By Aubuchon she had one daughter.[9]

The DCB entry devoted specifically to Catherine records that she contracted a second marriage on 3 November 1688 at Batiscan, to Michel Lepailleur de Laferté, a notary of Quebec.[5] Genealogical sources based on parish registers confirm this date and place, noting that she is described in the record as the widow of Jacques Aubuchon and identifying Lepailleur as the son of Jean Lepallieur and Marie de Lamotte.[7][8] The couple eventually had a large family. The DCB notes that they had ten or eleven children,[6][5][9] while later genealogical reconstructions list fourteen births, of whom five married.[8][10] Even allowing for discrepancies, the evidence points to Catherine as the mother of many children and a central figure in an extended household.

In 1703, Michel Lepailleur settled in Montreal, where he continued his work as a notary.[9] The family’s move from the smaller river settlements of Batiscan and Champlain to the fast-growing town of Montreal altered Catherine’s social and professional environment. Montreal in the early eighteenth century was emerging as a key commercial and administrative centre; its population was larger and more diverse, and it had greater demand for midwives and other caregivers. It was in Montreal, according to the DCB, that Catherine particularly practised her profession as midwife and built her reputation as an herbalist.[6][5]

Her social position was shaped by her husband’s role as a notary—an important legal officer in French colonial society. As the wife of a notary, Catherine occupied a respected place in Montreal’s parish community. This status likely contributed to the trust placed in her by neighbouring families who sought her assistance in childbirth and illness.[6][5] At the same time, her identity remained marked by her father’s frontier career and her own practical knowledge of plants and remedies, positioning her at a crossroads between formal colonial institutions and everyday domestic medicine.

Career beginnings in midwifery and herbalism

Catherine Jérémie’s career as a midwife and herborisatrice (herbalist, botanizer) unfolded gradually from the late seventeenth into the early eighteenth century. There is no single surviving document that marks a formal beginning to her medical practice; instead, her role emerges in retrospective descriptions and local memories preserved in written sources. Both French- and English-language encyclopedic entries describe her as one of the earliest midwives known to have practised in New France.[1][2]

The DCB summarizes her medical activities indirectly, emphasizing that she treated her children and neighbours with medicinal herbs and earned a reputation as an herbalist in Montreal.[6][9] In a colonial society with few formally trained physicians and limited institutional medical care, midwives played a crucial role in reproductive health. They attended births, advised women on pregnancy and postpartum care, and often provided remedies for common ailments affecting mothers and infants. Catherine’s large family and extensive social networks would have provided both the need and the opportunity to develop such expertise.[6][5][9]

Beyond midwifery, Catherine became known for her interest in and use of local plants. The entry on Nicolas Jérémie notes that she was “one of the earliest herbalists in Canada” and that she may have sent botanical specimens to France.[9] Later accounts, including modern encyclopedias and municipal heritage notes, expand on this characterization, describing her as a pioneering botanist who studied indigenous plants and applied Indigenous medicinal knowledge to women’s health.[2][1][4] These descriptions indicate that Catherine’s work extended beyond routine domestic practice to systematic observation of local flora.

Her herbalism would have required careful attention to the properties, habitats, and seasonal cycles of plants in the St Lawrence valley. While the surviving sources do not enumerate specific species she used, they stress that she collected and studied plants and shared her findings with both neighbours and, at times, counterparts in France.[2][1][3] This combination of empirical study, practical application, and cross-Atlantic communication places her within the broad movement of early modern natural history, even though she lacked formal scientific training or institutional affiliation.

Major works, discoveries, and contributions

Catherine Jérémie left no known published treatise or formal scientific memoir; her contributions are instead inferred from scattered archival references and later historical synthesis. Nonetheless, historians attribute several important roles to her:

• She is described as one of the earliest botanists in Canada.[2][1][9]
• She is widely regarded as the first known female naturalist or herborist in New France.[2][1][3]
• She applied Indigenous medicinal knowledge to women’s health and childbirth, integrating local herbal remedies into midwifery practice.[2][1]
• She is reported to have sent botanical specimens and detailed reports on Canadian flora to France, contributing to collections at institutions such as the Jardin des Plantes.[1][3][9]

The characterization of Catherine as one of Canada’s earliest botanists appears in multiple modern references. The English Wikipedia article, drawing on the DCB, describes her as “one of the earliest botanists in Canada” and the “first female naturalist known to date” in New France.[2] The Catalan and French Wikipedia entries repeat this assessment, noting that she is recognized as among the first midwives in New France and the colony’s first woman herbalist.[3][1] These statements locate her within the history of science rather than only within domestic medicine.

The claim that she sent plant specimens to France derives from the DCB entry on her brother Nicolas, which reports that she “is even supposed to have sent botanical specimens to France.”[9] Although phrased cautiously, this observation suggests that her collections reached metropolitan institutions or correspondents. Municipal heritage material from Quebec City, written to explain the naming of Rue Catherine-Jérémie, states that she provided “detailed reports on Canadian flora” and sent plant collections to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, in line with encouragement from the French Académie des Sciences.[4] While such civic texts are secondary interpretations, they show how local historians understand her role in the international circulation of botanical knowledge.

Her practice of applying Indigenous medicinal knowledge to women’s health is highlighted in modern summaries, which emphasize that she learned from Indigenous remedies and incorporated them into her work as a midwife.[2][1] New France was a context in which Indigenous pharmacopeias were vital for survival, and French settlers often adopted local cures. By systematizing such knowledge in her treatment of patients and communicating her findings to France, Catherine helped bridge Indigenous and European medical worlds.

Although her individual discoveries—such as properties of particular plants—are not documented in detail, her overall contribution lies in demonstrating that women in colonial households could be central actors in early natural history. Her botanical observations, plant collections, and reputed communication with French institutions form part of the broader effort encouraged by the Académie des Sciences to catalogue and study the natural resources of overseas colonies.[1][4][9]

Recognition, awards, and later commemoration

Catherine Jérémie lived at a time when scientific and medical recognition was reserved mainly for male practitioners and scholars. There is no evidence that she received formal awards, institutional appointments, or official honours during her lifetime. The DCB and other sources do not mention patents, medals, or legislative acts associated with her.[6][5][2] Her work took place largely within the informal sphere of domestic medicine and parish society.

However, she has received substantial posthumous recognition. Modern historical and governmental publications identify her as a notable early woman in science and midwifery in Canada and New France.[4][1][2] The DCB emphasizes her role as one of the earliest herbalists in Canada and a figure whose activities illuminate the everyday practice of medicine in the colony.[6][9]

One of the most visible commemorations is the naming of Rue Catherine-Jérémie in Quebec City. A municipal heritage article produced by the city explains that a street in the Saint-Sacrement neighbourhood bears her name in honour of her contributions as a midwife and herbalist in New France.[4] The article situates her among the women who helped shape the colony and describes her as a pioneer in both childbirth care and the study of medicinal plants.[4] While available sources do not provide the exact date when the street was formally named, the existence of this toponym illustrates how her legacy has been integrated into the city’s historical landscape.

Beyond physical commemorations, Catherine appears in genealogical databases, community history projects, and digital exhibits. A community stories gallery about the Lepailleur “Québec dynasty” includes a biography of Catherine, noting her marriages, children, and reputation as a midwife and herbalist.[4] Online genealogical trees, based on parish records, preserve detailed information about her family connections and descendants.[8][10] These materials attest to continuing interest in her life among historians, local communities, and family researchers.

Personal life and relationships

Catherine’s personal life was closely intertwined with her professional activities. As noted, she married twice and raised a large family. Her first marriage, to Jacques Aubuchon, produced at least one daughter, and ended with his death sometime before 1688.[9] Her second marriage, to Michel Lepailleur de Laferté, anchored her in Montreal, where Michel’s notarial work and Catherine’s midwifery shaped their household’s role in the community.[5][9]

Genealogical sources suggest that Catherine had numerous children with Lepailleur, and that several of them married into other families in New France.[8][10] Through these kin networks, Catherine’s influence extended across generations. Her use of medicinal herbs began, according to DCB descriptions, with treating her own children and neighbours.[9] This indicates that her knowledge developed within the domestic sphere and spread through interpersonal relationships rather than formal training.

Her brother Nicolas Jérémie, a trader and writer who produced a memoir on the Domaine du Roi and Hudson Bay region, offers another window into the family’s engagement with colonial life.[9] Nicolas’s experiences as a trader and observer of the northern territories complement Catherine’s focus on the flora and health of the more settled St Lawrence valley. Together, the siblings exemplify the diverse roles played by colonial families in exploring, documenting, and inhabiting New France.

Later life and death

By the early eighteenth century, Catherine was firmly established in Montreal as a midwife and herbalist. The DCB states that it was in this city that she particularly practised her profession and built her reputation as a “botanizer.”[6][5] As Montreal grew, so too did the demand for childbirth assistance and medical remedies, providing Catherine with a wide circle of patients.

Details of her later life are sparse, but genealogical reconstructions based on parish records supply some chronological anchors. One compilation notes that Catherine died on 30 June 1744 around nine o’clock in the morning and was buried the following day at Notre-Dame in Montreal.[8][10] The DCB entry, relying on the burial notice, gives the date of 1 July 1744 for her inhumation at Montreal.[6][5] The Catalan Wikipedia and other encyclopedic sources follow this chronology.[3][2] The burial record describes her as a widow and gives her age as around eighty, underscoring her long life in the colony.[8]

At the time of her death, New France had changed dramatically from the small, precarious settlements of her childhood. Montreal had grown into a key hub of trade and administration, and the colony’s population had expanded. Catherine’s decades of experience as a midwife and herbalist contributed to this process of consolidation by helping communities manage the risks of childbirth and illness.

Legacy and historical impact

Catherine Jérémie’s legacy lies in her dual role as a midwife and pioneering herbalist who bridged Indigenous and European medical traditions in New France. Although she left no published treatise, historians have pieced together her significance from parish records, genealogies, and retrospective accounts.

First, she is recognized as one of the earliest women to practise midwifery in the colony in a way that left documentary traces. Modern encyclopedias describe her as one of the earliest known midwives in New France, highlighting the importance of female caregivers in a society with limited formal medical infrastructure.[1][2] Her work attending births and advising women on reproductive health would have been essential to the survival and stability of colonial communities.

Second, she is widely regarded as the first recorded female naturalist or herborist in New France and one of Canada’s earliest botanists.[2][1][3] This status makes her a key figure in the history of women in science in Canada. At a time when scientific institutions excluded most women, Catherine’s empirical study of plants and her communication of specimens and observations to France demonstrate that women could and did contribute to natural history, even from the margins.

Third, her reputed transmission of botanical specimens and information on Canadian flora to metropolitan institutions such as the Jardin des Plantes illustrates the role of colonial women in the global circulation of knowledge.[9][4] The French Académie des Sciences encouraged the collection of natural resources from the colonies; Catherine’s participation in these efforts, as understood by later historians, signals that scientific exploration depended not only on official expeditions but also on domestic labour and local expertise.

Finally, her memory has been institutionalized in Quebec City’s toponymy and in digital heritage projects. The naming of Rue Catherine-Jérémie and the production of municipal and community biographies ensure that her story remains visible.[4] She now appears in broader narratives about women who helped build Quebec and Canada, particularly those whose work in midwifery and herbal medicine supported everyday life.

In sum, Catherine Jérémie stands as an example of how women in early colonial societies engaged with science and medicine outside formal structures. Her life demonstrates that the history of science in Canada includes domestic herbalists and midwives who observed, experimented with, and communicated knowledge about the natural world. As such, she occupies a significant place in women’s history and in the history of early Canadian science.