Widowhood

Widowhood was often a way of life which encountered many difficulties and hardships. Many women needed to become self-sufficient in order to feed their family. Amidst the exile, famine, and war, a widow was faced with economic hardships especially since the usual breadwinner had died. Many widows remained single in 18th-century Louisbourg suggesting that widowhood was a desirable state for some women. However, many more women remarried usually out of economic necessity than for love.

Some Louisbourg widows had remarried several times. Jean Galbaret was rich by the time she had married her third husband in 1738. The sixty-nine year old woman was looking for a man to take over her business and decided to marry a twenty-eight year old.

Many widows were entrepreneurs who continued to manage their husband's business. There were quite a few widows in Louisbourg who operated a range of businesses. Madame Grandchamp managed the business of a waterfront tavern and inn after the death of her husband. After the Widow Berichon's husband died, she raised five children alone and enlarged her business by becoming an "habitante merchande" with several houses, four servants, two "engagés" and forty-eight fishermen. She was Louisbourg's largest employer. It was common for a widow to become a servant after losing a husband in order to support herself. De Gannes' widow became a servant after her husband died. These widows contributed greatly to Louisbourg's economy, and demonstrated incredible courage and strength in times of hardship.

After the death of one's husband, a wife was provided with a "douaire" which included monetary compensation for her services to her dead husband's household and the raising of his children. She had first claim on her husband's estate. The douaire could never be touched during the husband's lifetime. Despite the law, some women have unfortunately suffered in their marriage by not being provided for by her husband. Some women had to struggle for their rights and others did not.