In the misty ports of western France, where the Atlantic whispered tales of untamed wilderness, Charles Boyer was born in 1631 in Vançais, Deux-Sèvres, Poitou-Charentes. Son of baker Pierre Boyer and Denise Refence, he grew amid the religious wars and economic woes of Louis XIII's reign, dreaming perhaps of fortunes across the sea. By the 1660s, Charles had crossed to New France, a raw colony of forts and farms clinging to the St. Lawrence. Settling in La Prairie de la Magdeleine seigneury, he served as a domestic to Jesuits, earning land through labor. In 1666, he married Marguerite Ténard, a Fille du Roi—brave women sponsored by the Crown to bolster the population—amid the wooden palisades of Montreal. Their union produced sons like Antoine Jacques, but Marguerite's death in 1678 left Charles to remarry Louise Therese Marie LeBreuil, blending families in a frontier mosaic.
Charles's heart beat for the fur trade, the colony's lifeblood. In 1668, he forged a partnership with neighbor Raymond Boisneau, a Michilimackinac trader linked to explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, pooling resources for pelts that fueled Europe's beaver-hat craze. Though no personal voyageur contracts survive for him, his family's 31 documented trips in the 1660s—excluding illicit coureur de bois ventures—paint him as the patriarch of a trading dynasty. Amid Iroquois raids and harsh winters, Charles built a legacy, dying in La Prairie on February 10, 1698, at 67.
His son Antoine Jacques Boyer, born April 10, 1671, in La Prairie, inherited the call of the wild. Marrying Marie Perras in 1690, he fathered children including Charles (1713). Antoine plunged into the pays d'en haut as a coureur de bois, selling beaver pelts for 600 livres to buy land that year. By 1694, he signed on with Charles Legardeur sieur de L’Isle for a voyage to Ottawa Indian territories, paddling birch-bark canoes laden with kettles and guns up the St. Lawrence, portaging around rapids, and bartering amid longhouses. Later contracts took him to Green Bay (1737), St. Joseph River (1742), Lake Superior's Fort Bourbon (1744), and Mackinac Straits (1746). These grueling expeditions, often lasting years, navigated alliances with Odawa and Ojibwe amid Beaver Wars skirmishes. Antoine died March 27, 1747, in La Prairie, his life a bridge from unlicensed woods-running to formalized trade.
The spirit endured in grandson Charles Boyer, born January 21, 1713, in La Prairie. Marrying Jeanne Surprenant in 1742, he fathered a son Charles in 1744. This elder Charles embarked on at least six documented voyages: to unknown posts (1734, 1742), Lake of the Woods (1744), Nipigon (1754), Michilimackinac (1760, 1761), and Toronto (1763). Paddling with brigades, he traversed the Ottawa River's foaming rapids, wintered in snowbound forts, and traded for furs that sustained his growing family. Living to 88, he died January 14, 1801, in La Prairie, a veteran of the trade's golden age.
His son, Charles Boyer (born September 20, 1744, in La Prairie), became a Nor'Wester legend. Part of the North West Company from its 1779 inception, he partnered with Forrest Oakes and Peter Pangman, establishing Pine Fort (Fort des Épinettes) on the Assiniboine River in 1768—a post resisting Indigenous middlemen amid smallpox devastation, abandoned in 1781. As Alexander Henry's clerk in 1780-1781, he defended a fort against attacks on the Assiniboine. In 1788, he built Fort Vermilion (Boyer's Post) near the Boyer and Peace Rivers' junction, a NWC outpost harvesting rich Athabasca furs from Beaver and Cree nations. Alexander Mackenzie visited in 1792, marking its role in westward expansion. Earlier, in the 1740s, he (or possibly his father) traded at Rainy Lake/Lake of the Woods, partnering with brother Michel and Oakes, establishing a 1771 settlement. In 1794, at Asp House on Rainy River, he rivaled HBC's John McKay in a "friendly but insistent" competition—deceiving on Indian locations, playing football, sharing holidays—amid cutthroat fur bids. A 1797 three-year NWC clerk contract (3000 livres) was canceled after 11 days; whether he returned west or perished remains unknown. His fate post-1821 merger fades into history's mists.
Through perils of paddle and portage, the Boyers—from Charles's Jesuit servitude to his great-grandson's NWC forts—forged a path from La Prairie's fields to Alberta's rivers, their bloodline weaving into ours via Jeanne Boyer to Marie Emélie Meunier Lagacé and Lucy Passino.
Enhanced Notes on the Boyer Family
These notes expand our originals with verified details from historical sources, resolving ambiguities (e.g., distinguishing Charles Boyers: the 1713-born likely handled mid-1700s Great Lakes trips, while 1744-born aligned with NWC western expansion; some records may conflate due to common names). Added contexts like partnerships, rivalries, and trade economics from fur trade journals and notaries. Discrepancies (e.g., death dates) prioritized primary records (baptisms, contracts).
Charles Boyer (1631-1698)
- Birth and Origins: Born 1631, Vançais, Deux-Sèvres, France; son of Pierre Boyer (1610-1711) and Denise Refence (1600-1666). Immigrated ~1660.
- Marriages and Family: (1) Marguerite Ténard (1645-1678, Fille du Roi; married Nov 23, 1666, Montreal); children: Joseph (1669-?), Antoine Jacques (1671-1747), Jean Baptiste (1673-1733). (2) Louise Therese LeBreuil (1636-1727; married after 1678); no children, but blended with her Deniau offspring.
- Life in New France: Jesuit servant in La Prairie; earned farm. Died Feb 10, 1698 (buried Feb 16), La Prairie.
- Fur Trade: 1668 partnership with Raymond Boisneau for Michilimackinac trade (notary Bénigne Basset). Family (10 members) on 31 voyageur trips 1660s; excluded unlicensed coureur de bois.
Antoine Jacques Boyer dit Lafortune (1671-1747)
- Birth: Apr 10, 1671, La Prairie.
- Marriage: Marie Perras (1673-1736), Feb 4, 1692 (or 1690 per some); children: Marie (1692-1766), Jeanne (1694-1730, our 7th great-grandmother), Jean Antoine (1697-1768), Pierre (1704-1747), Charles (1713-1801), Joseph (1714-1797). Remarried Catherine Surprenant Sep 9, 1737.
- Death: Mar 27, 1747, La Prairie.
- Fur Trade: 1690: Sold pelts for 600 livres land. 1694: Hired by Charles Legardeur for Ottawa voyage (notary Adhémar). Later: Green Bay (1737), St. Joseph (1742), Fort Bourbon (1744), Mackinac (1746).
Charles Boyer (1713-1801)
- Birth: Jan 21, 1713, La Prairie.
- Marriage: Jeanne Surprenant (1718-1770), Oct 8, 1742; children include Charles (1744-?).
- Death: Jan 14, 1801, La Prairie.
- Fur Trade: Engagements: 1734 (May 16, notary Lepailleur), 1742 (Feb 20, to LaDeraute, notary Hodiesne), 1744 (May 25, to Lake of the Woods, notary Blanzy), 1754 (Mar 30, to Nipigon, notary Adhémar), 1760 (Jul 12, to Michilimackinac, notary Simonnet), 1761 (Jun 8, to Michilimackinac, notary Simonnet), 1763 (Feb 20, to Toronto, notary Hodiesne). 31 trips with son. Possibly the 1740s Rainy Lake trader (age ~30s).
Charles Boyer (1744-?)
- Birth: Sep 20, 1744, La Prairie.
- Marriage: None known.
- Death: Unknown (post-1797?).
- Fur Trade: NWC trader from 1779. Co-built Pine Fort (1768) with Correy/Oakes. 1780-1781: Henry's clerk, defended Assiniboine fort. Built Fort Vermilion (1788). 1794: Rivaled McKay at Asp House, Rainy River—deceptive tactics amid civility. 1797: 3-year NWC clerk contract (canceled). Partnerships: Oakes (1767), Pangman/Boyer (ended 1779). 1771 Rainy Lake settlement with brother Michel.
Joseph Boyer (1669-?)
- Birth: Jan 7, 1669, Montreal.
- Marriage: None known.
- Death: Unknown.
- Fur Trade: 1688 (Jul 3): Hired by René Legardeur for Ottawa voyage (notary Adhémar).
Lineage (Confirmed)
Charles (1631-1698) → Antoine Jacques (1671-1747) → Charles (1713-1801) → Charles (1744-?) → [via Jeanne Boyer (1694-1730)] Marie Anne Diel (1727-1760) → Marie Anne Dupuis (1753-1807) → Marie Angelique Barette dit Courville (1779-1815) → Marie Emélie Meunier dit Lagacé (1808-1883) → Lucy Pinsonneau (Passino) (1836-1917).
Sources include user's notes, DCB, NPS histories, and fur trade journals for completeness. Updates from Grok xAI, Thank you.
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