Ancestor on the
Madore line.
Executed with her
husband for the murder of their son-in-law.
Widow of Marin
Chauvin.
12
Aug 1671 “Elisabeth-Therese” married
Julien (de) Latouche at Trois-Rivieres PQ.
He was from the city, arrondissement, and diocese of LaRochelle, Aunis
(now Charente-Maritime) France. She was
12 and a half years old at the marriage.
He was about 30 years old and a
former soldier in the company of Grandfontaine in the Regiment de Carignan. They were married by Father Andre Richard at
L’Immaculee-Conception des Trois-Rivieres.
1672 Latouche turned out to be lazy,
domineering, abusive and alcoholic.
Since he did not have his own farm, he worked for Maurice Poulin and
later for Claude Jutras. He left both
places probably due to laziness or drunkedness. He did not provide the food for
his wife, so that Jacques Bertault had to send her meat, bread and eggs. Latouche also beat his young wife severely,
so that she told him she wished he were dead.
Bertault spoke about these things to his son-in-law, but to no avail.
The parents could have taken the issue to the courts or simply brought their
daughter home, but did neither. The situation led to a murder.
The
following description of the crime was taken verbatim from Journal of American
French Genealogical Society Vol VIII #2 Winter 1985 (I SSN 0195-7384) “On Sunday afternoon, May 15, 1672,
Bertault, his wife, and Isabelle crossed the river by canoe to go to work on
the family farm. At the same time, Latouche and Jean Gauthier were leading
cattle across the river, during which time, Latouche told the family that he
would meet them the following day.
“Latouche
kept his word and met them on Monday. By this time, a plan had been contrived
by Bertault, his wife, and their daughter Isabelle. There was a poisonous plant known to the settlers that killed
their hogs. Madame Bertault felt that these tiny leaves, half the length of a
finger, could resolve all their problems and they could live in peace once
again. There had to be a plan, one that
would not fail. They decided that in
soup, which already had so many other ingredients in it, the leaves would go
unnoticed. Madame Bertault prepared the
soup and when it came time to add the poisonous herb, she decided that four or
five leaves would be sufficient. When
it was time to eat, the potion was served to Latouche.
“What
went through their minds as they watched him eat the soup?
Were
they nervous? Could they feel their hearts pounding franticly? Isabelle, at age thirteen knew right from
wrong, but was she mature enough not to be influenced by her parents? What kind of people were the Bertaults? The father had forced his daughter into an
early marriage, yet he had shown compassion towards his child in her time of
need. The question remains, what kind
of people resort to murder to resolve any problem?
“When
the soup was served. Latouche ate heartily. They watched for a sign. Perhaps he would bend over with stomach
cramps, or gasp in pain, or perhaps his color would turn to a sickly
green. Latouche finished his soup and
to their astonishment, he did not show any ill effects whatsoever. The plan had failed.
“The
following day, one hour after sunset, Madame Bertault went to see her
son-in-law, who was in the barn. As she
entered, she said to him mockingly, “Now there’s a nice son-in-law!” Latouche
snarled back, “Why aren’t I very nice?”
They continued to scream insults at each other until Madame Bertault,
who could no longer stand the sight of her son-in-law, picked up a hoe, which
was leaning against a barrel and struck him.
The blow had no effect on him.
He lunged forward and grabbed her.
As they scuffled, Latouche bit her fingers. Madame Bertault could not overcome his strength.
She
yelled, “Isabelle, Isabelle, come and help me.” The young girl wanted to help her mother, but she could not find
the courage within herself. To poison
someone is one thing, but to beat someone to death, is another. Monsieur Bertault heard the commotion and
ran to the barn. As he entered, he saw
Latouche and his wife struggling. He
tried to separate them and as he did, Latouche grabbed him by the hair, pulled
it and yanked at it. In the melee,
Latouche grabbed Madame Bertault by the collar, attempted to kick her, but
Monsieur Bertault managed to stop him.
Madame Bertault grabbed the hoe, swung it a second time hitting Latouche
on the head. The blood streamed down
his face and he fell. Bertault grabbed
the hoe away from his wife, believing she did not have sufficient strength to
strike the blows. Isabelle closed her
eyes; she could not watch this. As
Bertault lifted the hoe to strike another blow, Latouche screamed, “Help!
You’re killing me!” The hoe fell on its
target and there was more blood.
Latouche felt weak. He grabbed
his father-in-law, but was easily repelled.
Latouche continued to scream.
The tension was mounting and Madame Bertault did not want her husband to
reconsider because of Latouche’s incessant screaming. She yelled, “Kill him! Kill him!” Bertault struck his son-in-law again and again.
With
each blow there was more blood. It was everywhere. Bertault went to hit him
again, stopped in mid-air, and threw the hoe down. The deed was done.
Latouche lay dead. Bertault
wiped his blood covered hands on the blood soaked clothes and winced in
disdain. It was time to go home.
“At
night, there is a stillness in the air, a silence that makes every sound
reverberate for a long distance. It was
because of the quiet of the spring evening that someone heard the commotion
emenating from the Bertault barn.
“Jean
Gautier was with his brother-in-law, Louis Petit, on the other side of the
river that evening. Gautier and Petit
knew Latouche well. In fact, Gautier
had spent the previous Sunday in his company.
They heard a voice, which to them sounded like Latouche’s screaming, “Oh
my God, I am dead! You’re killing
me! You’ll be hanged!” For an hour and
a half, they listened to those repeated cries and they could even hear the
blows as Latouche was being struck.
“When
the Bertaults came out of the barn, Gautier shouted at Monsieur Bertault, “Go,
wretch that you are! You killed your
son-in-law, you’ll be hanged. There are
enough witnesses.” Bertault turned to his wife and said “Haven’t I always told
you that this would happen!” Madame
Bertault was surprised and shocked that they had been witnessed, so much so
that she remained speechless. The
family went home. They were in trouble. After some thought, they returned to the
barn. There was always a slight chance
that Latouche was alive. As they
entered the blood spattered barn, they saw that it had been wishful
thinking. What to do? The body could not remain in the barn. It was late and it was dark. Isabelle, who had passively watched her
mother and father kill her husband, now had to help them. The three of them grabbed Latouche’s
lifeless and bloodied body and dragged it to the nearby river, where they
disposed of it by throwing it into the water.
If the body were ever recovered, no one would ever know how Latouche had
died.
“The
following day, Gautier and Petit decided to cross the river in an attempt to
find Latouche’s body. Perhaps it was
out of fright that they brought along Pierre Pepin and Jean Hero dit
Bourgainville, or perhaps their friends insisted on accompanying them, having
learned that Latouche had possibly been murdered the previous evening. The foursome found nothing, but saw Bertault
entering his house and decided to pay him a visit. Bertault came out of the house with his musket, removing it from
its case, checked to see if it were loaded, and cocked it. To their questions,
he answered that they would not find Latouche.
The young men said, “Then, you have killed him!” Bertault told them that he had not seen him
since Monday because Latouche had gone to New England.
“The
following day, Thursday, May 19, Gautier and Petit made their way to the
Bertault farm to see what they could find.
As they looked inside the barn, they gasped in horror. There was blood everywhere, on the ground,
on barrels, on a hoe, and on an iron bar.
They even found some stockings and some teeth which they believed to
have belonged to the deceased. If they
had any doubts in their minds about what they had heard the previous evening,
the sight of what laid before them eliminted all doubt. They felt ill and needed fresh air. They walked out of the barn, stunned and a
little afraid. They drew in deep
breaths in an effort to revitalize themselves and stood there for a moment
motionless, in disbelief. The night
before, it had been a nightmare; but today, it was a reality.
“The
young men left and went to the authorities to report their suspicions based on what
they had heard and what they had seen.
Their depositions were taken which led to the arrest of Jacques Bertault
on the very same day. His wife and
daughter had fled into the woods and could not be found.
“There
was more damaging evidence. Bourgainville
testified that on the previous Sunday, Bertault had said to him that Latouche
would die, “by no other hand than my own”.
Their own son, ten year old Nicolas, also testified against them. He related that his parents had left on the
preceeding Sunday to go to their farm and that they had subsequently
returned. He added that his mother and
sister had fled into the woods on Wednesday, but that his father had been
arrested by two soldiers who had bound his feet in irons. He claimed that he had recently heard his
mother say that she would kill Latouche some day and that he had also heard his
sister say that she wished her husband were dead.
“The
official report read as follows: ‘The year one thousand, six hundred and
seventy-two, the nineteenth day of May, I, Severin Ameau, undersigned scribe in
Three Rivers certify having been told that last Sunday afternoon, Julien de la
Tousche accompanied by his wife left with his father-in-law and mother-in-law,
Jacques Bertault and Gilette Baune, his wife, to go to their farm situated on
the other side of the river of Three Rivers, facing their said home to plant
their garden.
And
the following Tuesday, the said Julien de la Tousche was heard screaming,
“Help, they’re killing me”, and a woman was heard saying, “Kill him, throw him into the river”, after
which the said Jacques Bertault would have returned to his house in Three
Rivers, but the said de la Tousche did not return. Someone had crossed the river of Three Rivers in a canoe and
having transported himself to the place from which he had heard the screams,
saw the said Jacques Bertault holding a gun.
We believe that it was the said Bertault who killed the said de la
Tousche, in view that he had formerly threatened him. Based on these assumptions, Sieur Jacques de Labadie, commandant
of the said Three Rivers, had the said Bertault incarcerated. The said Gilette Baune and her daughter,
wife of the said de la Tousche, have fled.
We have gone into their home where we have seized their possessions and
have taken an inventory thereof in presence of Nicolas Bertault, son of the
said Bertault, about ten years of age ...’
“The
next day, Friday, May 20, Jacques Bertault appeared before Louis de Godefroy,
sieur de Normanville, fiscal procuror of Three Rivers, for questioning. At this
particular time, the judge’s bench may have been vacant or the judge may have
been absent. For one of these two
reasons, the case was handled by the fiscal procuror. When questioned, Bertault claimed that he had not killed his
son-in-law and that he did not know where he was. When asked about the blood all over the barn, he answered that
that was the blood of three sturgeons which he had caught on the line of sieur
de la Valliere. When asked if he had
threatened to kill Latouche, he answered no and did not want to comment
further. After Bertault was questioned,
he was confronted by each person who had testified against him, one at a
time. In each case, he was asked if he
knew them, if he believed them to be honest men, and if there existed any
animosity between them. In each case,
except for his son, Bertault answered that he knew them and that each of them
meant him harm.
“The
following day Gilette Baune and Isabelle Bertault were found in the woods and
arrested. They were brought before Louis de Godefroy for questioning.
“Madame
Bertault testified that Latouche had beaten his wife, that she and her husband
had come to their daughter’s rescue, and that a scuffle had ensued, wherby she
had hit Latouche with a hoe in order to help her husband and with the intention
of stopping the fight. She said
Latouche fell on the spot. She added
that during the melee both she and her husband were bitten by Latouche and
showed her fingers as proof. Believing
that Latouche was but shaken, they returned to their home. Half an hour later, they returned to the
barn and found him dead and dragged his body to the river.
“Isabelle’s
testimony was essentially the same as her mother’s. There was but one discrepancy in the testomonies. Madame Bertault had sworn that the death
occured inside the barn, while Isabelle maintained that it had occured outside.
“Later
in the day, Bertault and his wife were confronted and her deposition was read
before both of them. Bertault was asked why his testimony differed so sharply
with his wife’s. He answered that he
had not wanted to say anything until his wife had been questioned and for this
reason, he had denied all the testimony brought forth by the witnesses. He further avowed that her testimony was
true.
“After
this preliminary investigation, the three prisoners were sent to Quebec, where
they could undergo a fair and equitable trial.
The case was turned over to Intendant Talon, who gave copies of the
sworn testimonies to Monsierr Penseret, fiscal procurer. He in turn, made a requisition to swear in
and interrogate the prisoners once again.
To accomplish this, Talon turned the case over to Sieur Chartier,
lieutenant general, civil and criminal, on June 1.
“The
same day, Monsieur Chartier began the interrogations of the prisoners. The first one to be sworn in was
Isabelle. She repeated more or less
what she had testified to in Three Rivers concerning the murder, that it was in
self defense. Among the questions asked
and the answers given were:
Q. 'When you were married, did you love
your husband?'
A. 'Not at all'.
Q. 'Why didn't you love him?'
A. 'My father made me marry him without my
consent, because he had a nice place on the farm of Madame de Lafontaine, for
whom he was a farmer for five years, during which time he could earn enough
money to buy himself a nice farm. The
wife of sieur Aube was ready to have her baby and asked my father to send my
mother to help and she went. During
this time, my father arranged the marriage.
My mother did not want to consent to the union, but my father said, he
was the master and the wedding took place.’
Q. 'Why did you not tell the priest
(during the marriage ceremony) that you did not want Latouche for your
husband?'
A. 'My father was there, but my mother
wasn't. If she had been there, I would have declared it.'
Q. 'Did your mother like Latouche at the
time you married him?'
A. 'Yes,'
Q. 'Are you happy your husband is dead?'
A. 'No, and I wish I were dead instead of
him.'
Q. ' Why did you hit your husband and why
did you help your father to kill him?'
A. 'I did not help.'
Q. Why did your father and mother threaten
your husband often?'
A. 'They have not threatened him, neither
one nor the other.'
Q. 'Why did your brother say to your
mother that they had killed his brother-in-law?'
A. 'He did not say that.'
Q. 'Why did your father say that the
deceased was in New England after he had murdered him?'
A. 'You will excuse me sir, he did not say
that.'
Q.
'Wasn't your husband's voice heard in Three Rivers while he was being
murdered?'
A. 'It was my father who was screaming
like that.'
"As Isabelle
was questioned further, she maintained the innocence of her parents and
insisted that her husband was killed in self defense.
“The
second one to be questioned was Jacques Bertault. By this time, he had serious doubts as to whether or not their
story of self defense would hold and he was also very aware as to what the
punishment was for murder. He may have
worked hard to provide a comfortable living for his family, but he was weak and
spineless. When he was questioned. he
attempted to shift the blame onto his wife.
He related how his wife had tried to poison Latouche and when this plot
had failed, she had struck Latouche with a hoe the following day.
‘How did you plan to kill your
son-in-law?’
‘My wife said to me, “Let’s go to the
farm.” Once we were there, she implored me many times until we killed our
son-in-law. Our daughter never spoke to
me about her problems, but spoke to her mother about getting rid of her
husband. Sometimes I was even forced to
leave the house because my wife was so relentless about getting rid of our
son-in-law. I delayed hoping she would
change her mind.”
'How many times did you strike him?'
'I don't remember the number, but I
believe it was less than ten when he died.'
As
Bertault was being interrogated, he said that he knew that his daughter had
watched her husband being murdered, but that he didn’t know if she had struck
him. To protect himself further he
added, “I never meant my son-in-in law any harm. What I have done was but in obedience to my wife.”
Gilette Baune was interrogated next. She admitted to having tried to poison
Latouche and gave explicit details of the murder.
"What kind of plant did you use to
try to poison your son-in-law, Julien La Touche?'
"I don't know what kind of plant it
is, but it isn't any bigger than half the length of a finger. I only used four or
five leaves which didn't do him any harm."
"Did you go into the barn to see your
son-in-law one hour after sunset, where you said to him, "Now there's a
nice son-in-law?"
"Yes, and he answered me, "Why
aren't I very nice?"
"Did you not take a hoe that was next
to a barrel and use it to strike your son-in-law?"
"That is true."
"Did your husband come in at the same
time to take the hoe to finish killing your son-in-law?"
"That is true."
"Did you call your daughter to help
you kill Latouche?"
"Yes, but I don't know if my daughter
struck him."
"How many times did you strike the
deceased?"
“I gave the first blow, but it did not
draw blood. Then I hit him again on the
head and he fell to the ground, My
husband came in at the same time. I don’t know how many times he struck him but
after many blows, he died.”
"After you killed your son-in-law,
what did you do?"
"When we knew he was dead, the three
of us threw him into the river."
At
the end of her interrogation, Gilette Baune admitted that they had maliciously
killed Julien Latouche. She said they
had thought about it for a long time, because they never had any peace of mind
since the marriage of Latouche to their daughter. She added that they discussed getting rid of him because he
mistreated their daughter and because he was worthless.
On
the 8th of June, the fiscal procurer rendered his verdict. He asked that the three prisoners be
executed and that no allowance be made for Isabelle because of her age, as she
had also been involved in the murder.
Sitting on Monsieur Chartier’s court were Juchereau de la
Ferte, Ruette Dauteuil, de Bermen, Duquet, Morin de Rochebelle, and Simon
Denis. They
showed no pity for Jacques Bertault and Gilette Baune, but in spite of the
petition of the fiscal procurer, they were merciful to Isabelle because of her
age.
The
official verdict reads: “....we have
declared the said Jacques Bertault, Gilette Baune, his wife, and Isabelle
Bertault, their daughter, tried and convicted of the said crimes of
imprisonment and murder committed against the person of the said Julien de la
Tousche. For reparation of which, we
condemn and are condemning the said Bertault, Baune, his wife, and their daughter,
to be taken from and removed from the prisons of this jurisdiction by the
executor of high justice, led with a rope around their necks, and a burning
torch in their hands, before the door of the parish church of this city. There,
the said Bertault, bare headed and in his shirt, and the said women, dressed in
their shirts to the waist, will kneel and ask forgiveness of God, the king, and
justice, for the said crimes by them committed.
Therafter,
they will be led by the said executioner to the scaffold that will be erected
for this purpose in the public square of the ‘haute ville’. There will be a
cross of St. Andre on which Jacques Bertault will be lain to receive a swift
blow on the right arm, then strangled.
After his death, another blow will be struck on his left arm and a blow
on each of his thighs.
The
said Gilette Baune will be hanged and strangled on a scaffold which will be
erected for this purpose at the said place and the said Isabelle Bertault will
witness the said executions with a rope tied around her neck as previously
stated. After the executions, the body
of the said Jacques Bertault will be placed on a wheel at Cap aux Diamants, the
usual site, to remain and serve as an example.
We further condemn the said Bertault, his wife and his daughter, to a
one hundred ‘livres’ fine payable to the seigneurs of this region and to the
court costs. The remainder of their
property will remain secured and confiscated, and distributed to whomever it
should belong.”
Bertault and his
wife appealed their sentences to the Sovereign Council.
On
June 9, the Council, presided over by Governor de Courcelles and assisted by de
Tilly, D’Amours, de la Tesserie, Dupont, Bonamour, Roussel and the fiscal
procurer, rendered their verdict. They
upheld the verdict of the lower court and only modified the judgment as to the
fine. Bertault and his wife were fined
60 “livres’ to be divided thus: one half to the Recollets Fathers to pray God
for the repose of the soul of Julien Latouche and to court costs; the other half
and the surplus of their estate to Nicolas and Jeanne Bertault, the minor
children of Jacques Bertault and Gilette Baune.
The
cost of the trial came up to about 139 “livres”. This included the salaries of the judges, the fiscal procurer,
the scribe, the bailiffs, and the executioner.
Included in this sum was 15 “livres” for the nourishment of the three
prisoners for over a month.
The
sentence was rendered in the morning and immediately delivered to the
prisoners. Only one appeal was granted
to prisoners and judgment was rendered swiftly. On the same day, June 9, 1672, at four o’clock in the afternoon,
Jacques Bertault and Gilette Baune were executed.
Jacques Bertault
had been condemned to the punishment of the wheel. This punishment is of German
origin and dates back in France to 1534, when it was introduced by an edict of
Francois I. It was reserved for
particularly serious crimes such as murders, poisonings, nightime thefts in
homes when violence occured, and highway robbery.
For
this procedure, a scaffold was erected, usually in the town square. A cross of
St Andrew was built on the center of the scaffold, laying flat. It was
constructed of wood with two joists secured in the center where they joined,
forming an oblique cross. Grooves had
been carved into the wood to admit the thighs, the legs, and the upper and
lower arms of the convicted.
The criminal was
usually clad in a long shirt which the executioner raised at the sleeves and at
the hem up to the thighs, to secure the prisoner at each joint onto the
cross. His head was laid on a stone and
turned towards the heavens.
The
first phase of the punishment was a beating to break the extremities. The executioner armed himself with a metal
pipe, one and one-half inch in diameter, with a ball on one end which served as
a handle. With this weapon, he would
strike an arm and a leg two times each. Then striding the body, he would break
the two remaining extremities with two blows each. Lastly, he would give three more blows on the chest. The condemned was thus struck a total of eleven
times with the bar. It was impossible
to break the spinal column, as it was protected by the back of the cross.
The
second phase of the punishment was the exposure on the wheel. The criminal’s body was carried to a small
carriage wheel which had been prepared by removing the hub or nave. It was then placed horizontally on a
pivot. The executioner, after having
bent the criminals thighs underneath, in such a fashion that the heels would
touch the back of his head, tied him to the rim of the wheel. The condemned remained exposed in this
fashion for a specified amount of time.
The punishment of
the wheel was never applied to women "because of the decency due their
sex".
It
was often indicated by a clause or proviso that the condemned would be secretely
strangled as soon as he was placed on the wheel. To this end, a winch was affixed at the top of the scaffold from
which a rope ran down, circled around the victim’s neck, and ran up again to
the winch. With the help of levers operated by two men, the rope rolled aroung
the winch, tightened and strangled the victim.
Jacques
Bertault was fortunate that he had faced a group of men on the Sovereign
Council who were merciful. He was
sentenced to be hanged first, therefore the torture was purely symbolic.
Isabelle
had to watch this medieval brutality as part of her punishment. She cried and she sobbed. It tore at her heart to see her father’s
body mangled and mutilated. He had been
very strict and he had forced her to marry Latouche, but at the same time, he
had been kind to her. She knew that he
had loved her and she had loved him too.
She wished Latouche were alive.
It was not worth it. But her
husband was dead and now was the present.
The clock could not be turned back.
Her father was gone and now she must bid a last farewell to her mother,
her beloved mother, with whom she had been so close and had shared so much.
She cried,
"Maman, maman, do you have to leave me?
What will I do? I need
you." The tears streamed down her face.
She remembered how her mother had always protected her and cared for
her. She rememberd how her mother had
listened to her problems, oh so attentively, and had always been so sympathetic
to her situation. She remembered the
warmth and the touch of her mother's arms around her. It seemed her mother had always been there when she needed
her.
As
she wiped the tears away, she saw them putting that rough rope, that awful
noose,
around her mother’s throat. How could
this have happened, she thought. She blamed herself for complaining too much
and wondered why she had not suffered silently. She felt guilty. She was
losing the most wonderful friend she ever had and it was her fault. She wiped her tear filled eyes once more and
looked up onto the scaffold. She
shrieked in pain, “Maman, maman!” But
it was over; her mother was dead.
During the trial, Isabelle had to say she wished she were dead. She had meant it when she had said it, but today she wished it more than ever before. She felt empty, alone and abandoned.
