Voyageurs from La Prairie, Quebec: An Overview (courtesy of xAI GROK)

Voyageurs were the rugged, contracted laborers of the North American fur trade, primarily French-Canadian men who paddled massive birch-bark canoes loaded with trade goods and furs along treacherous waterways from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s. They were the "backbone" of companies like the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), transporting goods over routes spanning thousands of miles, often enduring 14–16-hour days of paddling, portaging 90-pound loads on their backs, and battling mosquitoes, rapids, and harsh weather. Recruited from villages along the St. Lawrence River, they were known for their songs (like À la claire fontaine), colorful sashes, tuques, and moccasins, and a jovial spirit that masked the grueling reality of their work.

La Prairie (originally La Prairie-de-la-Magdelaine), a historic South Shore suburb of Montreal founded by French Jesuits in 1647, was a key recruitment hub for these men due to its proximity to fur trade departure points like Lachine Rapids (just upstream). As a small French-Canadian settlement, it supplied generations of voyageurs who signed notarial contracts in nearby Montreal or Quebec City, heading west to posts in the Great Lakes, Michilimackinac, Detroit, the Mississippi Valley, and beyond. The area's Jesuit ties and early Iroquois interactions (it was called Kentaké by the Mohawk) added to its frontier vibe, making it ideal for hardy locals accustomed to river life.

Role in the Fur Trade

• Recruitment and Contracts: Voyageurs from La Prairie were often "engagés" (hired hands) under the French regime's congé system, formalized after 1681 to regulate trade. Contracts specified wages (modest, around 100–300 livres annually), provisions (peas, pork, pemmican), and duties like paddling 50 strokes per minute. Many doubled as coureurs des bois (independent traders) when off-contract, blending licensed work with personal ventures.
• Routes and Daily Life: Brigades departed Lachine in May after a blessing at St. Anne-de-Bellevue, using canots du maître (36–40 ft Montreal canoes manned by 8–16 men) for the ~1,100-mile haul to Grand Portage on Lake Superior. La Prairie men portaged around rapids, overwintered at remote forts ("winterers"), and returned with furs by fall. Food was basic—dried peas, sea biscuit, salt pork—supplemented by wild rice or pemmican from Métis suppliers on the prairies.
• Decline: By the 1821 NWC-HBC merger, steamships and railways made canoe routes obsolete, ending the era around the 1840s–1850s. Many La Prairie voyageurs retired to farming or joined Métis communities.

Notable Voyageurs from La Prairie

Historical records, especially Quebec notarial archives, highlight dozens from La Prairie across seven generations in some families. Here's a table of examples, drawn from fur trade timelines and contracts:

Name	Lifespan	Key Engagements	Notes
André Robidou dit Lespagnol	1643–1678	1666: Voyageur for trader Eustache Lambert to Great Lakes posts.	9th-generation ancestor in some La Prairie lines; moved family to La Prairie in 1671 for trade access. Married Jeanne Denote, a fille du roi.
André Mignier dit Lagacé	1641–1727	1690s: Trips to Michilimackinac and Sault Ste. Marie.	French soldier turned voyageur; family line produced multiple generations of traders.
Jean-Baptiste Mignier (Meunier) Lagacé	1749–1828	1778: Hired by Ezekiel Solomon to Mississippi Valley (winter over). 1803: NWC contract to Grand Portage.	5th great-grandfather in documented lines; hauled furs and goods for 30+ years.
Gabriel Pinsonneau (Pinsoneau)	~1770s–?	1797: Contract with Jacques & François Lasselle to Detroit.	Equipped with "souliers de boeuf" (beefskin moccasins); typical multi-season paddler.
Julien Bariteau dit Lamarche	~1700s	1700s: Multiple contracts from Batiscan/La Prairie area to western posts.	Part of early 18th-century brigades; name appears in notary lists alongside other locals.
Antoine Duquet dit Madry & Jacques Nepveu	~1660s–?	1684: Contract with explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (via Henri de Tonty) to Illinois Country.	Traded beaver skins; profits split after expenses—rare profit-sharing deal.

These men often came from interconnected families (e.g., Mignier/Lagacé lines spanning 1600s–1800s), with contracts notarized by figures like Antoine Foucher or Louis Chaboillez. Women in these families, like filles du roi, supported the trade indirectly through provisions or marriages that built alliances.

Legacy in La Prairie

Today, La Prairie's fur trade history lives on in genealogy blogs like Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes, which traces local ancestors, and sites like the Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site (nearby, with canoe replicas and artifacts). The town (pop. ~26,000) retains 17th-century charm, with parks evoking its prairie roots. Modern echoes include Métis voyageur games honoring endurance feats. If you're tracing family ties, Quebec's notarial records (via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec) are goldmines for contracts.

This gritty chapter shaped Quebec's identity—tough, adventurous French-Canadians pushing into the continent's heart. 

Exploring the Mignier (dit Lagacé) Family Genealogy

The Mignier family, often recorded with the dit name Lagacé (meaning "the trigger" or "the little bag," evolving from "La Gachette"), traces its roots to early French colonial Quebec. This prolific lineage is deeply intertwined with the fur trade, particularly through generations of voyageurs from La Prairie, Quebec, who paddled into the North American interior. The family's progenitor, André Mignier dit Lagacé, arrived as a soldier in 1665, married a fille du roi (King's Daughter), and established a dynasty of settlers, traders, and explorers. Descendants spread across Quebec's Kamouraska and Bas-Saint-Laurent regions, with branches extending to Ontario, the U.S. Midwest, and Métis communities.

Key themes in their genealogy:

• Military and Pioneer Roots: André's arrival with the Carignan-Salières Regiment protected early settlements from Iroquois raids.
• Fur Trade Involvement: From the 1690s to the 1820s, multiple Migniers served as voyageurs for the North West Company (NWC) and independent traders, enduring routes to Michilimackinac, Grand Portage, and the Mississippi. Brothers like André, Charles, and Jean-Baptiste Meunier dit Lagacé worked with explorer David Thompson.
• Name Variations: Mignier, Meunier, Minier, Migner; Lagacé, Lagassé, Lagace. The dit name often became a surname.
• Migrations: Early hubs in Charlesbourg and Rivière-Ouelle; later in La Prairie (for trade access) and Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière.

Primary sources include Quebec's Drouin Collection (baptisms, marriages, burials), notarial contracts (via BAnQ), and census records (1681 onward). Online resources like WikiTree, Geni, Nos Origines, and blogs like Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes provide collaborative trees.

Progenitor: André Mignier dit Lagacé (c. 1651–1729)

Born April 11, 1651, in Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré, Charente-Maritime, France, to Michel Mignier and Catherine Masson. He enlisted in the Compagnie de l'Allier regiment and sailed to New France in 1665 aboard the Vantour. At 17, he married Jacquette Michel (1637–1710), a fille du roi and widow of Jean Cardin, on October 23, 1668, in Notre-Dame, Québec. They settled in Charlesbourg (land grant October 14, 1668), then moved to Rivière-Ouelle in 1685 for farming. André received additional land in 1672 for clearing duties (annual chicken and 15 sols). He died February 4, 1729 (buried February 5), in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, aged ~78. The 1681 census lists him as 41 (likely an overestimate for prestige).

Children with Jacquette Michel (12 total, 9 surviving infancy):

Name	Birth/Death	Spouse	Notes
Marie Mignier	1671–aft. 1740	(Multiple, incl. Acadian ties)	Early settler; some descendants in Acadia.
André Mignier dit Lagacé	1669–1729	1st: Marie-Charlotte Pelletier (1693, no issue); 2nd: Françoise Ouellet (1701)	Stayed in Rivière-Ouelle; 10 children.
Michel Mignier dit Lagacé	1682–aft. 1736	Angélique Thibault	Ancestor of many voyageurs; son Michel (1717–1807) had 13 children.
Françoise Mignier dit Lagacé	1674–1750	Robert Morin (c. 1690)	10 children; branch in St-Jean-Port-Joli.
Marie-Anne Mignier	1677–1750	Philippe Boucher (1693)	4 children; ties to Boucher pioneers.
Pierre Mignier dit Lagacé	c. 1685–?	(Unrecorded)	Limited records; possible voyageur.
Other sons (e.g., Jean, Pierre homonyme)	Various	Varied	Many died young or untraced.

André's lineage produced over 1,000 documented descendants by 1800, per PRDH-IGD estimates.

Key Voyageur Branches and Descendants

The family's fur trade legacy peaks in the 18th–19th centuries. From Rivière-Ouelle and La Prairie, Migniers signed contracts for Great Lakes and prairie routes. A prominent line descends from Michel Mignier (1682–aft. 1736) via Jean-Bernard Mignier dit Lagacé (1720–1765), who married Marie-Madeleine Dumont and Brigitte Pelletier. Their son, Jean-Baptiste Meunier (Mignier) dit Lagacé (1749–1828), was a core voyageur.

Jean-Baptiste Meunier dit Lagacé Line (Voyageur Focus):

• Jean-Baptiste (1749–1828): Born Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière; from La Prairie. Hired 1778 by Ezekiel Solomon for Mississippi wintering (notary Antoine Foucher). 1803 NWC contract to Grand Portage. Brother to voyageurs André (c. 1750s–?) and Charles (c. 1750s–?), both with David Thompson (mapping Saskatchewan prairies). Married (unrecorded); 8+ children.
• Children/Grandchildren (Selected, with voyageur ties):

Name	Lifespan	Role/Notes
Jean-Baptiste Meunier dit Lagacé	1776–1835	Son; voyageur like father; wintered at forts; descendants in Manitoba Métis.
Marie-Scholastique Mignier dit Lagacé	1778–1843	Daughter; married into local families; non-voyageur branch.
Louise Mignier dit Lagacé	1780–1825	Daughter; ties to Nadeau/Nadeau voyageurs.
Joseph Mignier dit Lagacé	c. 1780s–?	Possible trader; untraced contracts.




Other notable descendants:

• From André (1669–1729) & Françoise Ouellet: Sons like Joseph (1706–?) and Bernard (1714–1764) produced farmers and traders. Grandson Charles Lagacé (1726–?) married Louise Ducros; line includes 19th-century migrants to U.S. (e.g., Weedon, Wolfe, QC).
• Métis Connections: Post-1821 HBC merger, some (e.g., Jean-Baptiste's grandsons) joined Red River settlements, blending with Cree/Scottish lines.
• Later Branches: By 1850s, Lagacés in censuses from Kamouraska to Montreal; e.g., Stanislas Lagacé (1816–1900), son of Antoine (1797–1875), farmed in Bedford, QC.




Broader Legacy and Research Tips

• Cultural Impact: Mignier-Lagacés embody French-Canadian resilience—songs, sashes, and endurance feats echoed in modern Métis games. Descendants include politicians (e.g., Quebec assembly members) and artists.
• Challenges: Name fluidity causes duplicates; cross-reference with dit Lagacé. DNA matches (Y-DNA haplogroup R-M269 common) via Ancestry/FamilySearch help.
• Next Steps: 
• Free: WikiTree (88+ profiles), Nos Origines (ID 12388 for André).
• Paid: Ancestry.ca (Drouin scans), Généalogie Québec.
• Local: BAnQ notarial archives for contracts; QFHS for English resources.
• Blogs: A Canadian Family (marriage extracts); Ripples from La Prairie (voyageur specifics).




This explores the core—hundreds of branches exist.