We are able to locate the origin and point out the profession of nearly each one of those coming with Maisonneuve's force, since we have the old original acts of Notary Lafousse, of La Flèche, giving the contracts between 118 of the men and the agents of the Company of Montreal, signed during the course of March, April and May of 1653. There were 38 others who signed in other places, making the total, according to Faillon, of 154, all able to bear arms. Of these, some deserted, some died on the passage out, and, according to M. de Belmont, only 105 reached Montreal.[70] But these were all picked men and chosen with care; there were three surgeons, three millers, two bakers, a brewer, a cooper, a coppersmith, a pastry cook, four weavers, a tailor, a hatter, three shoemakers, a maker of sabots, a cutler, two armourers, three masons, a stonecutter, four tilers, nine carpenters, two joiners, an edgetool maker, a nail maker, a saw maker, a paviour, two gardeners, a farrier, sixty tillers or labourers for cultivating the soil, of whom several were sawyers, etc. The absence of womankind is noticeable in this list, but a few ladies were provided for the settlement in this way. Before the day for the departure, fixed for June 20, 1653, de Maisonneuve visited his sisters, Madame de Chuly and la Soeur Louise de Ste. Marie, who both lived at Troyes, the latter being a nun of the Congregation of Notre-Dame there, to bid them adieu. It will be remembered that the good nuns of Troyes were very anxious to emulate the example of the Ursulines of Quebec by sending representatives of their order to Montreal to found an establishment there. De Maisonneuve had promised to make use of their offer of services, when the time should be ready, but no one who has followed the story of the chequered days of the city so far, will blame the governor of Montreal for still refusing to receive as yet a cloistered nunnery in his beleaguered fort. But there happened to be a young woman of thirty-three years of age then living with Madame de Chuly at Troyes, a lay woman belonging to a pious association under the direction of the Sisters of the Congregation, who had long heard of the thrilling story of the doings at Ville Marie from Madame de Chuly and the ladies of the convent. She had, indeed, communicated her idea to de Maisonneuve's sister, of devoting herself to the work in Montreal, so that Marguerite Bourgeoys, as was her name, had been promised to be received into their institute when they should realize their project of going to Canada.