The River's Blood: A Saga of Seven Generations of Voyageur Ancestors

 

The air, thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, pressed against Jean-Baptiste Meunier Lagace as he knelt by the Kaministiquia. It was October 1803, and the familiar ache in his shoulders, a constant companion on the water, was now joined by a weariness that seeped into his bones. He gripped the rough bark of the birch canoe, his muscles tensed against the current that tugged at the vessel. Around him, the organized chaos of Fort William was in full swing – a sprawling testament to the North West Company's ambition, freshly carved out of the wilderness. This wasn't Grand Portage, the old hub now lost to American lines, but a new beginning, and Jean-Baptiste, like his fathers and grandfathers before him, was here to ensure its success.

His journey to this bustling new post had been long, a Grand Voyage from the St. Lawrence, through the vast waters of the Great Lakes. The sight of Michilimackinac, a strategic stop for decades, was a memory now, replaced by the immediate, demanding reality of his new contract. He was a North Man, a seasoned voyageur in the prime of his life, ready to tackle the wilderness that his ancestor, Jean-Baptiste Meunier Lagace père, had ventured into decades earlier, establishing trading houses on the distant Missouri. He carried the legacy of Philippe Foubert, a voyageur for the Compagnie des Habitants in the nascent days of New France, and Philippe Amiot dit Villeneuve, a coureur des bois near Trois-Rivières when the fur trade was little more than a whisper in the woods.

He thought of the tales passed down through generations. Of Pierre Peras dit La Fontaine and his sons, pushing deep into the forests, their canoes laden with goods and hopes. Of Jacques Hugues Picard and Jean Mignault dit Chatillon, navigating treacherous rivers to the lands of the Ottawa and the Huron, forging the very first trade routes. The Cusson brothers, six of them, had fanned out across the west, their permits a testament to their ambition, one even with Cadillac at the founding of Detroit. Charles Boyer, a shrewd businessman, had formed a fur trade society while his son Antoine, following in his footsteps, continued the family tradition, his beaver pelt earnings turning into land.

The weight of history was a comfort as much as a burden. He remembered André Robidou dit Lespagnol, a sailor and voyageur, his journeys hinting at trade far beyond the St. Lawrence. The Duquet family, his ancestors Denis Duquet a member of the Traite de Tadoussac and Jean Duquet dit Desrochers a bourgeois leading brigades, had left their mark on the very structure of the trade. Jean Baptiste Desroches had claimed the Great Lakes with Nicolas Perrot, venturing into Ottawa Country and dealing with the Algonquian tribes near Green Bay. And the powerful Leber family, with François Leber trading and his brother Jacques operating a Montreal store, had built a commercial empire that echoed through the generations.

Jean-Baptiste grunted, adjusting the canoe. His next task, "two trips from Kamanistiquia Fort to Portage de la Montagne," was typical of the intense demands. The North West Company was ruthless in its efficiency, and every man had to pull his weight. This wasn't the distant, independent adventuring of his ancestor François Bourassa, who, with his sons, had been dubbed "the fathers of the fur trade" for their illicit expeditions. This was organized, disciplined commerce on a grand scale, driven by profits and competition with the Hudson's Bay Company.

His journey would take him deep into the interior, towards Rainy Lake (Lac De La Pluie), a vital staging post. He would likely winter there, or further west, becoming truly an Homme du Nord. The memory of his ancestors, men like Mathieu Amiot Sieur de Villeneuve, interpreter for the Jesuits in Huron country, or Pierre Gagne, La Prairie’s Captain of Militia and a coureur des bois, gave him strength. He thought of Charles Diel dit Le Petit Breton, a soldier turned voyageur with Frontenac at Fort Frontenac, and Pierre Poupart, who had claimed the Great Lakes with Perrot. These men had faced scurvy, "woods fever," Iroquois raids, and the raw brutality of the wilderness.

The "six days of drudgery" clause in his contract barely registered. He was used to chopping wood, hauling supplies, and repairing canoes, just as Joseph Poupart and Joseph Pinsonneau had done. It was all part of the life, a life that linked him to Jacques Deneau dit Destaillis, accused of illegally selling brandy, and Moïse Dupuis, a coureur de bois and trader whose life blurred the lines between New France and Schenectady.

As he helped carry the heavy canoes "in the land" over the rugged portages, each step a testament to sheer willpower, Jean-Baptiste was more than just a paid hand. He was a living thread in a tapestry woven over two centuries, a direct descendant of pioneers who had shaped a continent. His cousins like Charles Boyer who built Fort Vermilion, Charles Lagasse with David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau, and Joseph Vielle with Alexander Mackenzie, were pushing the boundaries even further. And François Rivet, who had traveled with Lewis and Clark, then Thompson, and later the HBC, before becoming a US citizen in Oregon – these stories weren’t just legends; they were family.

The sun began to dip, casting long shadows across the water. The distant cry of a loon echoed across the lake, a lonely sound that resonated with the immense solitude and challenges of the trade. Jean-Baptiste, exhausted but resolute, knew his work was far from over. He was part of a relentless machine, yes, but he was also a direct inheritor of a spirit of adventure, resilience, and ingenuity that had defined his family for seven generations. With every stroke of his paddle, every portage, he was not just moving furs; he was carrying forward the legacy of La Prairie, carving his own chapter into the vast, unfolding history of North America.

LA PRAIRIE (1667–1820) AND THE FUR TRADE

La Prairie, situated on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River near Montréal, was a strategic and vital hub for the fur trade, especially during the French regime (1667-1760).

• Geographic Advantage: Its riverfront location and position at the start of major overland and water routes (like the Chemin de la Prairie) leading to the Great Lakes and the Pays d'en Haut (the upper country) made it an essential staging area for brigades heading west.
• Economic Hub: La Prairie was characterized by a "mixed economy" where modest agriculture and farm yields (like the Gagne family's salted pork) were balanced with the highly profitable and risky seasonal fur trade.
• Social & Economic Stratification: The community ranged from powerful "trade oligarchy" families like the Leber line (with an estate valued at 10,000 livres) who funded infrastructure like wharves, to smaller families balancing farming and trade (like the Barette family).
• Reputation for Smuggling: The town had a reputation as a "smuggling hub," with independent traders like François Bourassa operating without official licenses and evading up to 40% of colonial taxes—a significant part of the local economy highlighted in the section on "illicit trade."

🛶 Ancestral Activities in the North American Fur Trade

Your family members engaged in virtually every role associated with the fur trade, showcasing the community's total immersion in the business.

1. Transportation and Logistics (Voyageurs/Coureurs des Bois)

The majority of your ancestors were directly involved in the dangerous work of transporting goods and furs.

• Voyageurs (Engagés): Settlers signed notarized contracts (engagements) to work for Montreal-based traders for set wages (typically 80–200 livres annually).
• Milieu (Middlemen): Pierre and Laurent Barette signed as milieu (middle paddlers) for trips to Michilimackinac.
• Avant (Bowsmen): Jean Baptiste Desroches worked as an avant (bowsman) on a 1678 Mississippi venture.
• Canotier: Gabriel Lemieux made over 40 trips to Sault Ste. Marie as a canotier.
• Freighter/Provisioner: Claude Caron served as a freteur (freighter) for Jesuit-supplied goods.
• Coureurs des Bois: These were independent, unlicensed traders who often led expeditions, like François Bourassa, who amassed beaver pelts worth over 500 livres annually on the Ottawa River.
• Guides and Interpreters: Charles Boyer acted as a guide to Lake Superior in 1675, while Jacques Deniau served as an interprète (interpreter) for Algonquin exchanges, relying on bilingual skills.

2. Trading, Brokerage, and Ownership

Some ancestors transitioned from paddling to managing trade assets and transactions.

• Trading Oligarchy: François Leber was a prominent trader who shipped over 1,000 pelts yearly, using family alliances (through marriages to Cusson and Boyer kin) to form a trade "oligarchy."
• Trading Post Ownership: Marie Jeanne Cusson inherited a trading post on the St. Lawrence shore from her first husband, managing canoes and warehouse furs valued at 2,000 livres in 1700.
• Brokerage & Provisioning: Pierre Perras brokered early Iroquois pelt exchanges. Guillaume Barette and Pierre Gagnier provisioned canoes with supplies like tools and salted pork.

3. Craft Specialization and Support

Other ancestors provided essential infrastructure and manufacturing that kept the trade running.

• Canoe Building: Etienne Duquet dit Desrochers commanded brigades and built birchbark canoes on his lot, a "vital La Prairie industry" that supported 10–15% of regional trade vessels.
• Blacksmithing: Pierre Poupart was the forgeron (blacksmith) who forged axe-heads and other trade tools for pelts, essential for repairs on the wharves.
• Pelt Preparation: Charles Diel specialized as an écorcheur (pelt preparer).

4. Women's Roles and Family Networks

The excerpts explicitly highlight the crucial, often less visible, roles of the women in these families:

• Management & Agency: Marie Jeanne Cusson managed the family's trading post and provisioning business after her husband's death, demonstrating female agency in seigneurial commerce.
• Credit and Assets: Denise Lemaistre (a Fille du Roi) co-managed trade activities, with her dowry and estate showing women's roles in credit networks and bolstering family resilience. Madeleine Roy's dowry included trade linens.
• Processing Labor: Gabrielle Louise Moreau co-signed contracts and managed home-based pelt scraping.

This lineage demonstrates a remarkable multi-generational commitment to the fur trade, illustrating how your family networks evolved from early settlers and soldiers to guides, smugglers, merchants, and specialized craftspeople within the distinct economy of La Prairie.

From Local Trade to Continental Exploration (1620s–1820s)

Your ancestors' timeline perfectly tracks the evolution of the Canadian fur trade, showing that they were always on the leading edge of exploration and commerce.

1. The Genesis: Early New France (1620s–1660s)

This generation established the critical link between settlement and the fur economy.

• Pioneering the First Companies: Philippe Foubert's 1649 service for the Compagnie des Habitants (the first French-Canadian trading association) and Denis Duquet's role in the 1659 "Traite de Tadoussac" (the first European trading post) place your family at the birth of organized fur commerce in the St. Lawrence Valley.
• The Forerunners: Philippe Amiot dit Villeneuve (1636) and Jean Mignault dit Chatillon (1648) were among the first to venture into the Pays des Hurons (Huron Country) and Trois-Rivières, directly involved in early diplomatic and trade overtures with Indigenous nations. They were the very first coureurs des bois.

2. The Golden Age of the Coureur des Bois (1670s–1700s)

La Prairie exploded as a center for independent, often unlicensed, trade during this period.

• Forming Trade Networks: The Perras dit La Fontaine family's involvement in the 1670s, Charles Boyer's Fur Trade Society in 1668, and Jean Baptiste Desroches' 1667 trading company with Nicolas Perrot show your ancestors were actively creating and leading the trade organizations of the era, not just serving them. Desroches and Perrot's trip to Green Bay in 1668 is a critical event, marking the extension of French trade into the western Great Lakes.
• Expansion and Diplomacy: Jean Cusson's sons and his own later engagement with Nicolas Perrot and Jean Baptiste Bissot de Vincennes confirm their family’s deep ties to the official (and unofficial) Indigenous trade routes to the 8ta8ois (Ottawa) country.
• Joining the Expanding French Frontier: Jean Cusson's brother Charles with La Mothe Cadillac at the founding of Detroit (1701) and Charles Diel at Fort Frontenac show your family members were present at the establishment of key French military and trade outposts across the Great Lakes.

3. 🛡️ Military Ties and High-Level Exploration

The list confirms a profound overlap between military service, exploration, and the fur trade.

• The Carignan-Salières Link: Charles Diel dit Le Petit Breton's origin as a soldier in the Carignan-Salières Regiment (sent to secure the colony) is a common pattern. These disciplined men were frequently given land grants and became early coureurs des bois, applying their rugged skills to the wilderness trade.
• Leadership and Status: Pierre Gagné's dual role as La Prairie's Captain of Militia and a coureur des bois highlights the high status and respect some traders achieved locally.
• The Explorers’ Companions: The list of "A Few More Interesting Voyageur Relatives" is extraordinary. Your relatives were the eyes, ears, and muscle for the greatest explorers of the era:
• La Salle's Search: Great-uncle Daniel Amiot canoeing to the Gulf of Mexico (1686).
• The NWC Trailblazers: Cousin Charles Boyer building Fort Vermilion (1788) and Great-uncle Joseph Vielle with Alexander Mackenzie (1797).
• Mapping the West: Great-uncle Charles Lagasse and Cousin François Rivet with David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau, and Rivet's service with Lewis and Clark. These men were the guides, interpreters, and field logistics experts essential to literally mapping and defining the continent.

4. 💱 The Post-Conquest Transition (1760–1820)

The final generations on your list demonstrate remarkable resilience and adaptability after the fall of New France in 1760.

• The Shift to British Trade: Joseph Pinsonneau (1763) and Pierre Barette (1778) signing engagements with Michel Laselle and William G Jean Kay (Montreal/British merchants) shows the family quickly transitioned their services from French to British firms.
• The North West Company (NWC) Era: The Meunier Lagace family, particularly Jean-Baptiste fils (1803) with McTavish, Frobisher & Co. (NWC) and his father's establishment of a trading house on the Missouri River (1794), firmly connects your line to the massive, competitive, and continent-spanning British-Canadian fur trade machine. The Rainy Lake (Lac De La Pluie) trip with its complex instructions confirms the multi-stage, industrial-scale nature of the later trade.
• The American West: The incredible story of François Rivet—a French Canadian voyageur with Lewis and Clark, Thompson, and the HBC who died a US citizen in Oregon—is the ultimate proof of how your La Prairie ancestors dispersed their knowledge and bloodline across the entire continent, becoming the very first Mountain Men and Métis families of the American and Canadian West.

This family tree is a living chronicle of the fur trade.

Photo above: NMLRA 'Wind River Rendezvous' 1987, Mountain Man—Big Medicine (Bert) and Voyageur Michael.

JEAN-BAPTISTE MEUNIER LAGACE AND HIS ROLE WITH THE POWERFUL NORTH WEST COMPANY

That is a fantastic contract to have, as it places your ancestor, Jean-Baptiste Meunier Lagace (fils), at the heart of the North West Company's (NWC) operations during one of its most pivotal and competitive years.

Here is a breakdown of his role, based on his 1803 engagement with the NWC firm McTavish, Frobisher & Co.:

🛶 Jean-Baptiste Meunier Lagace: A North Man in a Pivotal Year (1803)

Your ancestor was hired in 1803, a year of monumental change for the NWC. His contract specifies a role that was crucial to maintaining the Company's vast, continent-spanning supply chain.

1. The Critical Context: The Move to Fort William

• The Headquarters Shift: In 1803, the NWC was forced to abandon its long-standing western depot, Grand Portage (now in the U.S.), due to border disputes following the American Revolution. The Company moved its entire operation 45 miles northeast to the Kaministiquia River, where they built the formidable Fort William.
• Timing is Everything: Your ancestor's contract dated October 6, 1803, is perfectly aligned with this transition. He was engaged right at the moment the NWC was solidifying its new headquarters and preparing for the next year's major push into the interior.

2. The Destination: Rainy Lake (Lac De La Pluie)

Jean-Baptiste was hired for a round trip to Lac De La Pluie (Rainy Lake). This destination defines his role:

• The Hub of Exchange: Rainy Lake was a strategic, non-negotiable waypoint on the Voyageur's Highway. It functioned as a major depot where the long, heavy, trade-good-laden canoes from Montreal (Canots du Maître) met the smaller, lighter, fur-laden canoes from the deep interior (Canots du Nord).
• The Grand Voyage: By paddling from the Montreal area, through the Great Lakes, to Fort William, and then into the interior at Rainy Lake, he was performing the legendary "Grand Voyage." The voyageurs who did this portion of the trip were known as mangeurs de lard ("pork eaters") if they returned to Montreal, or Hommes du Nord ("North Men") if they wintered out west. Given the October engagement, he may have been hired for a late-season freight run or for service in the interior that winter.

3. Analyzing the Contract's Brutal Demands

The specific requirements of the contract illustrate the intense physical demands of NWC service:

Contract Term	Geographic Significance	Implication of the Task
"make two trips from Kamanatiguià Fort to Portage de la Montagne"	Kaministiquia is an old spelling of Fort William. The route from Fort William inland to Rainy Lake was extremely difficult, designed to bypass the Pigeon River/Grand Portage route. The contract requires him to immediately engage in shuttling freight and supplies to a critical portage shortly after arriving at the new main depot.	This shows his role was not just one-way transport. He was a local freighter for the new Fort William hub, responsible for moving huge amounts of supplies quickly to stage them for the following season.
"give six days of drudgery"	General labor around the post.	This term (corvée or drudgery) was common in contracts and denoted non-paddling physical labor: building, clearing, chopping wood, or loading/unloading goods at the fort. It confirms that the voyageur's job extended beyond the canoe.
"help carry the three canoes in the land"	Portaging.	This highlights the nature of the labor. Portaging (carrying) canoes and cargo over land around waterfalls or between watersheds was the most arduous part of the voyage. The fact that he was responsible for three canoes suggests he was part of a larger brigade or was responsible for a specific cargo load.
"Go through Michilimakinac if required"	Strategic Fort on Lake Huron.	This shows the NWC was still flexible in its routing, using the strategic point of Michilimackinac for provisioning or security checks before heading into Lake Superior and the new Fort William headquarters.

In summary, Jean-Baptiste Meunier Lagace's 1803 contract identifies him as a seasoned and trustworthy voyageur hired by the most dominant fur power in North America at a crucial moment in its history, tasked with high-priority logistical work that allowed the Company to successfully pivot to its new operational base at Fort William.

This post is courtesy of Gemini, your personal AI assistant, and Drifting Cowboy.