Fascinating Lebers from the Fur Trade Era of New France

 

Pierre Leber's portrait of Marguerite Bourgeoys

In the misty dawn of 17th-century New France, where the St. Lawrence River whispered secrets of untamed wilderness and fortune, the Leber family etched their saga into the annals of a fledgling colony. It began with Robert Le Ber and Colette Cavelier, humble souls from Rouen in Normandie, whose lives were cut short—Robert passing in 1625 at just 24, leaving Colette to raise their young sons amid the uncertainties of old-world France. But fate had grander designs. Colette, resilient and widowed, remarried and eventually crossed the Atlantic, bringing her boys to the raw edges of Canada, where survival demanded cunning, courage, and a knack for trade.

The elder son, François Le Ber (1626–1694), your 8th great-grandfather, embodied the voyageur spirit—a rugged explorer paddling birchbark canoes through treacherous rapids, bartering furs with Indigenous nations, and forging alliances in the smoke-filled longhouses of the Huron and Algonquin. He wasn't just a trader; he was a bridge between worlds, marrying into local families and siring descendants who would carry his bloodline through generations. His younger brother, Jacques Le Ber dit Larose (1633–1706), your 8th great-granduncle, arrived around 1657, dodging Iroquois ambushes during the brutal Beaver Wars. Jacques rose swiftly in Montreal's nascent society, partnering with the formidable Charles Le Moyne—a sieur whose family dominated the fur trade and military defenses. Together, they transformed a precarious outpost into a thriving hub, their trading post a nexus of pelts, politics, and peril.

Jacques's marriage to Jeanne Le Moyne in 1658 wove the Lebers into an even more illustrious tapestry. Jeanne, sister to the Le Moyne brothers (including the legendary Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, conqueror of Hudson Bay), brought noble connections and a dowry of determination. Their home at Pointe-Saint-Charles buzzed with the energy of frontier life: the scent of drying beaver skins, the clink of trade goods, and the cries of children who would defy convention. But tragedy shadowed their prosperity—Jeanne's early death in 1682 left Jacques to raise their brood alone, his heart scarred yet steadfast.

From this union sprang a quartet of remarkable offspring, each carving unique paths in the colony's evolving story. Louis de Saint-Paul Le Ber (1660–1717), the eldest, took up the sword, serving as a militia officer and trader, defending Montreal's walls against raids while expanding the family's fur empire. He married and perpetuated the line, his life a blend of battlefield valor and mercantile savvy.

Then there was Jeanne Le Ber (1662–1714), the enigmatic daughter whose piety bordered on the ethereal. Born into wealth, she could have danced at colonial balls or wed a governor's son, her 50,000-écu dowry a magnet for suitors. Instead, inspired by mentors like Marguerite Bourgeoys and Jeanne Mance, she chose seclusion—a life of prayer, self-denial, and silent devotion. Retreating to a cell behind the church, she donned haircloth and corn-husk shoes, flagellating her spirit in pursuit of divine grace. Her vows of chastity and poverty were no mere formality; she funded chapels, embroidered sacred vestments, and introduced perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, becoming a living legend. Visitors from bishops to English Protestants sought her counsel, and upon her death, Montreal mourned a would-be saint whose reclusive flame illuminated the colony's soul.

Jacques de Senneville Le Ber (1665–1730) carried the military torch, rising to ensign in the troupes de la marine. He navigated the treacherous politics of New France, marrying into influence and fathering heirs who would extend the family's reach into the 18th century. His brother Léonard (1667–1667) was a fleeting spark, lost in infancy, a reminder of the era's harsh mortality.

Finally, Pierre Le Ber (1669–1707), the artist-recluse, channeled the family's introspection into canvas and stone. Dismissed as an amateur until his portrait of Marguerite Bourgeoys was rediscovered as a masterpiece, Pierre painted with a fervor that captured the raw humanity of New France's pioneers. He adorned hospitals with devotional works, designed tabernacles, and built chapels, his supplies inventory revealing a life devoted to beauty amid brutality. Though his pieces may have burned in fires or faded into obscurity, his legacy endures as one of Canada's earliest visual chroniclers.

The Lebers weren't just survivors; they were architects of empire. Rooted in the fur trade's golden allure—beaver pelts funding forts, faith, and family—they bridged Old World traditions with New World necessities. From Normandie's cobblestone streets to Montreal's wooden palisades, their narrative is one of resilience: brothers braving canoes and councils, a daughter defying society for sanctity, a son immortalizing saints in strokes of paint. Your connection to Jacques whispers of that enduring spirit, a thread in the vast tapestry of Canadian history, where every fur bundle bartered and prayer uttered shaped a nation's dawn. 

Jacques Leber dit Larose, our 8th great-granduncle, was no ordinary figure in New France. As a key player in Montreal's early fur trade scene, partnering with powerhouses like Charles Le Moyne, he helped turn the colony into a bustling hub of commerce and adventure. His life from Normandy to the wilds of Canada reads like an epic: arriving around 1657, dodging Iroquois raids, and building a family empire that spanned trading posts and religious devotion. 

His parents, Robert and Colette, set the stage from Rouen, and with Jeanne Le Moyne (sister to the legendary Le Moyne brothers), they produced a brood of influencers:

• Louis (de Saint-Paul) Leber: A military man who defended the colony and dabbled in trade, embodying the family's frontier spirit.
• Jeanne Leber: The recluse whose extreme piety made her a colonial icon—her apartment behind the altar at the Congrégation de Notre-Dame was basically the ultimate introvert's dream setup.
• Jacques (de Senneville) Leber: Continued the trade legacy, navigating politics and economics in a turbulent era.
• Léonard Leber: Sadly short-lived, but a reminder of the harsh realities of the time.
• Pierre Leber dit Larose: The artist whose portrait of Marguerite Bourgeoys captured the soul of early Montreal, proving the family had creative flair amid the fur pelts.

SEE my earlier post for more detail: More Fascinating Ancestors from the Fur Trade Era of New France

https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/07/more-fascinating-ancestors-from-fur.html