I lived in Quebec City from 1972 to 1989. I loved the place, steeped as it was in history and still retaining its traditional buildings, especially with its ancient walls.
In all the time I lived there, I had no idea that its history and mine were so entwined. My ancestors, the Houghton family came to Quebec City from Ireland in the early 19th century. John Houghton, my great-great-great-grandfather, was a blacksmith on St-Eustache Street in St-Valier in the Lower Town. His son, and my great-great-grandfather, James Houghton, and his daughter, my great-grandmother, Isabelle Victoria Houghton were both baptized in Holy Trinity Church, the first Anglican Cathedral to be built outside of Great Britain. This building stands in Place d'Armes, the same square as the Chateau Frontenac, where I worked as a waitress in my early days in Quebec City.
When I went back in 2023, I visited the Lit & Hist (Literary and Historical Society of Quebec City)
to find out where my ancestor’s blacksmith shop had been. A young woman there helped me find the answer (on-line, of course!). There was a site that showed the names of streets that had been changed over time. St-Eustache, where my ancestor's shop was, is now Cardinal-Taschereau, a street very near the hotel where I was staying. Here are some pictures that show the street.
I have no idea which house contained his business, but the buildings are from the period when the Houghtons lived there. That so much of the history has been preserved in its buildings is one of the charms of Quebec City.
So, it is with great pleasure I announce that my next novel Maid of Gold is partially set in Quebec as it was in the 1850s when the population was about 40% English-speaking. Its publication date is in October.
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