Marie-Therese Guyon Cadillac (1671–1746) was a French-Canadian-American pioneer. She is known as "The First Lady of Detroit."

Biography

Cadillac was born in Beauport, Quebec City, to her parents Elizabeth Boucher and Denis Guyon, the latter a merchant and farmer. Both of her parents died before she turned twenty. It is not known who subsequently took care of her, but it is thought that her two brothers and her uncle may have played a role. On March 8, 1683, she was sent to the Ursuline Monastery of Quebec, where she would remain until April 4, 1684, before returning home in 1685. At the age of seventeen, on June 25, 1687, Cadillac married Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French military leader who helped to found the first settlement that would later become the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. The couple lived together in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

for several years. In 1702, she and a female travel companion became the first white women to travel and reach Fort Pontchartrain De Troit, where Cadillac joined her husband who had arrived a year earlier. While at the fort she engaged in many aspects of managing it, including signing contracts and hiring explorers. She served as the colony's doctor, and when her husband was away played an even larger role in the colony. In 1711, Cadillac moved to

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, then the capital of

French Louisiana The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by France during the 17th and 18th centuries; and, * second, to modern French Louisi ...

, after her husband was given a promotion. Cadillac eventually returned to France, where she lived until her death in 1740. Cadillac and her husband generated the bulk of their capital from the fur trade and rent from land grants. Cadillac used her wealth to help build La Ville du Détroit into a city she hoped would rival

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and New York. She and her husband also started Detroit's first fine arts collection that was displayed in the town's church St. Anne. She had thirteen children. Cadillac was inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadillac, Marie-Therese Guyon 1671 births 1740s deaths American pioneers People from British Detroit Pre-Confederation Quebec people Canadian art collectors 18th-century Canadian women French-Canadian culture in Michigan