Madeleine de Roybon d'Allonne

The daughter of a French nobleman, Madeleine de Roybon (c. 1646-1718) came to Fort Frontenac (Kingston) about 1679. On land granted to her by René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, she built a house and barns, grew crops and grazed cattle, and established a small trading post. She was the first known female landholder in present-day Ontario.