EPILOGUE: THE UNBROKEN RIVER

 

When you look back across the multi-generational arc of "Paddles of the St. Lawrence, Trails of Big Sky," you see an unbroken thread of courage, endurance, and frontier leadership:

• In New France (1608–1750): Champlain's interpreters (Godefroy), Carignan soldiers (Pinsonneau), Lachine merchants (Leber), and La Prairie brigade commanders (Bourassa) built the river staging grounds.
• In the American West (1804–1850): François Rivet rode the keelboats with Lewis & Clark, traded with Manuel Lisa, built Salish House with David Thompson, trapped with Peter Skene Ogden, and clerked for the NWC and HBC before settling in Oregon.
• Across the Border & Beyond (1830–1948): Gabriel Passino brought the family line into New York, Lucy Passino bound it to the Brown line, and Abraham Lincoln Brown and Geneva Plympton brought the family home to their Creston, Montana homestead.

The long portage is complete. The canoes are safely ashore, and the river runs unbroken.

MASTER INDEX OF ANCESTORS, DATES, & LOCATIONS

“Paddles of the St. Lawrence, Trails of Big Sky: The Pinsonneau Legacy”

I. THE NORMAN ORIGINS & EARLY NEW FRANCE (890–1650s)

Ancestor / Historical Figure	Primary Dates	Primary Locations	Lineage / Key Historical Role
Rollo (Hrolf Ganger)	c. 860–932	Rouen & Normandy, France	First Duke of Normandy; Viking founding lineage
Pierre Godefroy, Sieur de Linctot	1585–1666	Rouen & Le Havre, France	10th Great-Grandfather; Rouen merchant house
Perrette Cavelier	1593–1636	Rennes & Le Havre, France	10th Great-Grandmother; Cavelier merchant family
Robert LeBer	1601–1651	Rouen, Normandy, France	Rouen merchant; father of François & Jacques Leber
Colette Cavelier	1605–1694	Rouen, Normandy, France	9th Great-Grandmother; mother of François Leber
Jean Godefroy, Sieur de Linctot	1607–1678	Rouen, France; Trois-Rivières, QC	Champlain's truchement (interpreter); Sovereign Council
Thomas Godefroy, Sieur de Normanville	1610–1652	Rouen, France; Trois-Rivières, QC	Native interpreter, diplomat, and frontier leader
Denis Duquet	c. 1612–1675	Québec City, New France	Founder of the Duquet shipwright line in Canada
Anne Godefroy de Linctot	1621–1678	Rouen, France; Trois-Rivières, QC	Daughter of Pierre Godefroy; mother of Jeanne Testard

II. THE MONTREAL, LACHINE, & LA PRAIRIE STAGING GROUNDS (1650s–1720s)

Ancestor / Historical Figure	Primary Dates	Primary Locations	Lineage / Key Historical Role
François Leber (Lebert)	1626–1694	Rouen, France; La Prairie, QC	8th Great-Grandfather; pioneer voyageur & landholder
Jacques Leber dit Larose	1633–1706	Rouen, France; Lachine, QC	Lord of Lachine; merchant knight (Lettres de noblesse)
Jeanne Le Moyne	1636–1682	Montréal & Lachine, QC	Wife of Jacques Leber; sister of Charles Le Moyne
Jeanne Testard de Laforest	1642–1723	Montréal & La Prairie, QC	8th Great-Grandmother; d/o Jean Testard & Anne Godefroy
François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur	1646–1731	Saintonge, France; Chambly & La Prairie	8th Great-Grandfather; Carignan-Salières Regiment soldier
Anne Leber (Fille du Roi)	1647–1732	Paris, France; St-Ours & La Prairie	8th Great-Grandmother; King's Daughter (Fille du Roi)
Jean-Baptiste Duquet dit Desrochers	1651–1719	Québec City & Montréal, QC	Master carpenter; father of Etienne Duquet
François Bourassa	1659–1708	Luçon, France; La Prairie, QC	7th Great-Grandfather; Luçon trader & brigade captain
Jeanne Leber	1662–1714	Montréal, QC	Famous recluse (l'Anachorète) of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
Marie Le Ber	1666–1756	La Prairie, QC	7th Great-Grandmother; Grand Matriarch of the Fur Trade

III. THE BOURASSA & PINSONNEAU FUR TRADE EMPIRE (1710s–1780s)

Ancestor / Historical Figure	Primary Dates	Primary Locations	Lineage / Key Historical Role
Jean dit Jacques "Jacques" Pinsonneault	1682–1773	La Prairie, QC; Detroit & West	7th Great-Grandfather; Booshway & brigade leader
René Bourassa dit LaRonde	1688–1778	La Prairie, QC; Michilimackinac	Coureur des bois; survivor of 1736 Lake of the Woods ambush
Marie-Catherine Lériger de La Plante	1702–1770	La Prairie & Michilimackinac	Second wife of René Bourassa; d/o Marine officer Lériger
Marie Elisabeth Bourassa	1695–1766	La Prairie, QC	7th Great-Grandmother; heiress of the Bourassa trade firm
Etienne Duquet dit Desrochers	1695–1753	La Prairie, QC	Master shipwright & builder of 35-ft canoës de maître
François Joachim Bourassa	1698–1775	La Prairie, QC; Ottawa River	Master captain & home-base logistics coordinator
Antoine Bourassa	1705–1786	La Prairie, QC; Detroit & Illinois	Western supply logistics operator
Joseph Pinsonneau	1733–1799	La Prairie, QC	6th Great-Grandfather; fur trade outfit operator
Marie Madeleine Duquet	1734–1798	La Prairie, QC	6th Great-Grandmother; d/o master shipwright Etienne Duquet
Charlotte Bourassa	c. 1722–1790	Michilimackinac & Green Bay, WI	d/o René Bourassa; m. Charles de Langlade ("Father of Wisconsin")

IV. PACIFIC EXPLORATION & THE MOUNTAIN TRADE (1754–1850s)

Ancestor / Historical Figure	Primary Dates	Primary Locations	Lineage / Key Historical Role
François Rivet	1754–1852	St-Sulpice, QC; Mandan, MT, OR	2nd Cousin 7x Removed; Lewis & Clark engagé, David Thompson clerk, NWC/HBC trapper
Theresa TÊTE PLATTE	c. 1760–1852	Rocky Mts; French Prairie, OR	Flathead First Nation (Salish); wife of François Rivet
Michel Vielle dit Cossé	1724–1805	France; Fort Carillon & Chambly	Infantry soldier in the elite Régiment de La Reine
Jean-Baptiste Meunier dit Lagacé	1777–1832	La Prairie, QC; NW Interior	Veteran North West Company (NWC) transcontinental voyageur
Gabriel Pinsonneau	1770–1807	La Prairie, QC; Fort Detroit	5th Great-Grandfather; Detroit run voyageur (gouvernant)
Marie Louise Vielle	1780–1813	Chambly & La Prairie, QC	5th Great-Grandmother; d/o Régiment de La Reine soldier
Antoine Rivet	1811–1886	Rocky Mts; French Prairie, OR	Son of François Rivet; m. Marie Catherine Tête-Jaune
Marie Catherine Tête-Jaune	c. 1815–1890	Rocky Mts; Willamette Valley, OR	d/o Métis-Iroquois mountain guide Pierre Tête-Jaune

V. NEW YORK MIGRATION & THE MONTANA HOMESTEAD (1803–1948)

Ancestor / Historical Figure	Primary Dates	Primary Locations	Lineage / Key Historical Role
Gabriel (Gilbert) Passino (Pinsonneau)	1803–1877	La Prairie, QC; Wilna, Jefferson Co., NY	4th Great-Grandfather; mason & farmer; name adapted to Passino
Marie Emélie Meunier dit Lagacé	1808–1883	La Prairie, QC; Jefferson Co., NY	4th Great-Grandmother; d/o NWC voyageur Jean-Baptiste Meunier
Samuel R. Brown	c. 1790–1860	Jefferson County, New York	U.S. Dragoon during the War of 1812
John Galloway Brown	1833–1915	Jefferson County, New York	Son of U.S. Dragoon Samuel R. Brown; m. Lucy Passino
Lucy Passino	1836–1917	Jefferson Co., NY; Montana	3rd Great-Grandmother; daughter of Gabriel (Gilbert) Passino
Abraham Lincoln Brown	1864–1948	Philadelphia, NY; Creston, MT	2nd Great-Grandfather; Creston, Montana homesteader
Geneva "Neva" Plympton	c. 1868–1950	Creston, Flathead Co., Montana	2nd Great-Grandmother; d/o Union Civil War veteran

VI. KEY GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS & HISTORICAL STAGING GROUNDS

1. Rouen & Le Havre (Normandy, France): Ancestral merchant counting houses of the Godefroy, Cavelier, and Leber families.
2. Trois-Rivières (Lower Canada): First wilderness fur trading post established by Jean and Thomas Godefroy de Linctot.
3. Lachine Rapids (Montréal Island): Jacques Leber’s fortified stone storehouses and outfitting depot for outbound canoes.
4. La Prairie-de-la-Madeleine (South Shore, QC): Primary agricultural and canoe staging ground for the Pinsonneau, Bourassa, Leber, and Duquet lines.
5. Chambly & Richelieu River Valley: Military corridor defended by François Pinsonneau (Carignan Regiment) and Michel Vielle (Régiment de La Reine).
6. Fort Michilimackinac (Straits of Mackinac): Western trade headquarters operated by René Bourassa dit LaRonde and Jacques Pinsonneault.
7. Salish House (Flathead Post, Libby, MT): Rocky Mountain trading post built in 1809 by David Thompson with François Rivet.
8. French Prairie (Willamette Valley, OR): Early Pacific Northwest settlement where François Rivet, Theresa Tête Platte, and Antoine Rivet farmed.
9. Jefferson County (Wilna / Natural Bridge, NY): Mid-19th-century destination where Gabriel (Gilbert) Pinsonneau adapted the name to Passino.
10. Creston & Flathead Valley (Montana): The Big Sky homestead established by Abraham Lincoln Brown and Geneva Plympton.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & HISTORICAL SOURCES

“EMPIRES OF THE WILDERNESS: THE VOYAGEUR BLOODLINE OF LA PRAIRIE (1585–1917)”

I. PARISH REGISTERS & SACRAMENTAL RECORDS (REGISTRES DE PAROISSE)

1. Lower Canada / Québec Parish Registers (1621–1880)

• Paroisse Notre-Dame-de-Montréal (Montréal, QC): Baptisms, marriages, and burials for the Godefroy, Leber, Testard, and Cavelier lines (1640–1750).
• Paroisse Notre-Dame-de-La-Prairie-de-la-Madeleine (La Prairie, QC): Core sacramental registries for the Pinsonneau (Pinsonneault dit Lafleur), Bourassa, Duquet dit Desrochers, and Deneau dit Destaillis families (1670–1835).
• Paroisse Saint-Joseph-de-Chambly (Chambly, QC): Military and family registers for the Vielle dit Cossé (Régiment de La Reine) and Pinsonneau families (1750–1820).
• Paroisse Saint-Ours (St-Ours, Sorel, QC): Marriage record of François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur and Fille du Roi Anne Leber (May 1, 1673).
• Paroisse Saint-Sulpice (L'Assomption, QC): Baptismal entry for François Rivet (June 7, 1754).
• Paroisse Sainte-Anne-de-Michilimackinac (Fort Michilimackinac / Mackinac Island, MI): Sacramental registries of the Upper Great Lakes post, including entries for René Bourassa dit LaRonde, Charlotte Bourassa, and Charles de Langlade (1712–1785).

2. Oregon & Pacific Northwest Mission Registers (1830s–1880s)

• St. Paul Roman Catholic Church Registers (St. Paul, Marion County, OR): Funeral and burial records for François Rivet (d. September 27, 1852) and Theresa Tête Platte (d. 1852); marriage and baptismal entries for Antoine Rivet and Marie Catherine Tête-Jaune.

II. NOTARIAL ACTS & LEGAL ARCHIVES (ACTES NOTARIAUX)

• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ - Montréal & Trois-Rivières):
• Greffe d'Antoine Adhémar (1668–1714): Trade contracts (engagements pour le Ouest), marriage covenants, and land conveyances for the Leber, Bourassa, and Pinsonneau lines at La Prairie and Lachine.
• Greffe de Bénigne Basset (1657–1699): Land grants, estate inventories (inventaires après décès), and partnership agreements involving Jacques Leber dit Larose and François Leber.
• Greffe de Louis-Marie Saint-Omer (1710–1740): Outfitting contracts and trade licenses (congés de traite) executed by Marie Le Ber (la Veuve Bourassa) and Jacques Pinsonneault (booshway).
• Greffe de Guillaume Barrette (1709–1744): Local La Prairie property deeds, timber sales, and shipwright agreements for Etienne Duquet dit Desrochers.

III. PRIMARY HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS & EXPEDITION JOURNALS

• The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806): Edited by Gary E. Moulton. Records detailing François Rivet’s recruitment near St. Louis, service as an engagé to Fort Mandan, and discharge in 1805.
• David Thompson’s Narrative of His Explorations in Western America (1784–1812): Edited by J.B. Tyrrell. Accounts of the construction of Salish House (Flathead Post) in 1809 and François Rivet’s service as clerk and interpreter.
• Peter Skene Ogden’s Snake Country Journals (1824–1829): Hudson's Bay Company record books documenting trapping brigades and trade operations across the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin.
• The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (1610–1791): Edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites. Primary accounts of early French interactions with Native nations, early Trois-Rivières truchements (Jean and Thomas Godefroy), and mission stations.
• Manuel Lisa & the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company Records (1807–1812): Missouri Historical Society Archives, St. Louis. Trading expedition rolls and post ledgers for the upper Missouri River basin.

IV. GOVERNMENT RECORDS, CENSUS ROLLS, & MILITARY FILES

• System of Seigniorial Tenure (New France / Lower Canada): Concession records for La Prairie-de-la-Madeleine, Lachine, and Chambly seigniories.
• United States Federal Census Records (1840–1940):
• Jefferson County, New York (Wilna, Natural Bridge, Philadelphia): Enumerations for Gabriel (Gilbert) Passino (Pinsonneau), Marie Emélie Meunier dit Lagacé, Samuel R. Brown, John Galloway Brown, and Lucy Passino.
• Flathead County, Montana (Creston, Kalispell, Polson, Ronan): Homestead entries, agricultural schedules, and population rolls for Abraham Lincoln Brown, Geneva "Neva" Plympton, and descendants.
• War of 1812 Military Service Records: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C. Dragoon service files for Samuel R. Brown.

V. DIGITAL ARCHIVES & GENEALOGICAL BLOG PUBLICATIONS

• A Drifting Cowboy Blogspot (Jerry England, Author & Historian):
• Primary Historical Post: "Gabriel Pinsonneau dit Lafleur (1803–1877): Life, Migration, and the Family Rumor" (Published November 2025).
• Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes Blogspot (Jerry England):
• Primary Historical Monograph: "Paddles of the St. Lawrence, Trails of Big Sky: The Pinsonneau Legacy" (Published July 2026).
• Published Online Historical Volumes by Jerry England (Echo Press):
• Back Trail of a Western Family (1998)
• British Trail of a Western Family (1999)
• Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes (March 2017)
• La Prairie Voyageur Grandfathers (September 2019)
• The River's Blood: The La Prairie Voyageur Legacy (December 2025, 394 pages)
• PRDH-IGD (Programme de recherche en démographie historique): Université de Montréal. Automated population register of French Canada (1621–1849).
• Banières & Dictionnaires Généalogiques:
• Tanguay, Cyprien. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes.
• Jetté, René. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec.
• Genealogical Dictionary of Our Origins (Reference entries for François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur residence at Chambly in May 1669 and marriage at St-Ours in 1873).