Robidoux Family - Beaver Pelts to Buffalo Robes and Beyond

Alfred Jacob Miller "The Greeting"

The Robidoux 'fur trading' family played a major role in settling Canada and America from the 17th to the 19th centuries. 

This family was instrumental in the history of New France in Canada, and the expansion of American territories to such places as St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Bernardino, California. 

The descendants of the patriarch Manuel Robidoux are well known. 

GENERATION A, MANUEL ROBIDOU

1620–1667

BIRTH 1620 • St Germain, Paris, Ile-de-France, France

DEATH 1667 • Galicia, Spain

MARRIED Abt. 1642, Catherine Alve (1618–1667)

10th great-grandfather

They are discussed in Meriwether Lewis’ journals, James Michener's book Centennial, and have been chronicled as traveling with frontiersman Kit Carson.

Montréal harbour and a moored sailing ship

GENERATION 1, ANDRE ROBIDOU DIT L’ESPAGNOL

1643–1678

BIRTH 1643 • Galice, Burgos, Castilla-Leon, Spain

DEATH 1 APR 1678 • Laprairie, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 7 Jun 1667, Jeanne Denot dit LeDuc (1645–1710)

9th great-grandfather

NOTES: Twenty-two year old Andre Robidoux dit L’Espagnol arrived at New France in 1665.  

Andre was known as dit L’Espagnol because he was born and christened in Ste. Marie, Galice, Burgos, Spain about 1640. 

The 1666 census for the town of Québec lists Andre as a sailor… it’s there that he began working as a voyageur for Eustace Lambert, a prominent interpreter, settler and fur trader.  Working for Lambert, Andre ferried goods and supplies up and down the St. Lawrence for a cents a day plus lodging and board.

On May 16, 1667 he married Jeanne Denot(e), a ‘fille du roi’, in Québec City. 

More: http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/10/andre-robidou-dit-lespagnol-voyageur.html

Carousing peasants in a cabaret

GENERATION 2, GUILLAUME ROBIDOU

1675–1754

BIRTH 28 NOV 1675 • La Prairie, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 1 JUL 1754 • Montréal, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 1697, Marie Francoise Guerin (1680–1757)

9th great-uncle

NOTES: Guillaume likely used income from the fur trade to become a cabaret owner in Montréal during the 1740s.

Charles Francois Robidou (1720-1801) (1st cousin 9x removed) s/o Guillaume Robidou (1675–1754) died 1801 in River Raisin, Michigan, and was likely involved in the fur trade.

See: https://www.tfcg.ca/cabaretier-old-occupation

GENERATION 3, JOSEPH ROBIDOU I

1701–1778

BIRTH 20 MARCH 1701 • La Prairie, Québec, Canada

DEATH 30 AUG 1778 • Yamaska, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 1721, Marie-Anne Fonteneau (1699–1735)

1st cousin 9x removed

NOTES: Joseph entered the fur trade at its peak, but by the middle half of the 18th century the fur trade was in a slow decline, and Joseph's children began migrating south to American cities such as Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis.

He married twice, first to Marie-Anne Fonteneau (1 December 1699 – 16 February 1735), daughter of Pierre Fonteneau, and had six children including Joseph Robidoux II. Widowed, Joseph married second to Marie-Louise Robert (b. 17 October 1715), daughter of André Robert, and had seven children. Joseph died In Yamaska, Quebec, Canada, in 1778.

GENERATION 4, JOSEPH ROBIDOU II

1722–1771

BIRTH 13 SEP 1722 • La Prairie, Québec, Canada

DEATH 12 SEP 1771 • St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1749, Marie Anne Le Blanc (1728–1770)

2nd cousin 8x removed

NOTES: Following repeated conflicts with the British, Joseph and his family began to look south for better prospects.

Joseph Robidou II, 1756 May 14, voyageur from La Prairie,
engaged to Louis Lamy Desfonds and Co., to go to Detroit

1756 May 14 - Joseph Robidou, voyageur from La Prairie de la Magdelaine, engaged to Louis Lamy Desfonds And Co., to go to Detroit, so at this point Joseph is a voyageur and is gaining knowledge of river trails to the Southwest.

About 1760, Joseph and his family traversed the Chicago Portage to relocate to St. Louis. Other members of the family also settled in Detroit.

His wife Marie-Anne Fonteneau also came from a distinguished family that settled in Quebec in the 18th century. Her great-grandfather was Abraham Martin l’Écossais (the Scotsman), a royal pilot on the St. Lawrence River. The Plains of Abraham are named for him. This is where a famous battle of the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War) between the British and the French was fought in 1759.

Joseph and Marie had four children, including Joseph Robidoux III. Joseph died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1771.

GENERATION 5, JOSEPH ROBIDOUX III

1750–1809

BIRTH 12 FEB 1750 • Sault-au-Récollet, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 16 MAR 1809 • St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1782, Catherine Rolet (1767–1866)

3rd cousin 7x removed

NOTES: Joseph established a number of establishments, engaging in trade with anyone offering items of value. In the later 18th and early 19th centuries, St. Louis was a major trading hub with both the Indians and Western settlers. Frequently changing hands among the British, French and Spanish, the rules were often confusing, and Joseph managed to be on many sides of an issue. 

As an example, in his last letter before his tragic suicide, Meriwether Lewis wrote to Thomas Jefferson:

“On my way to St. Louis, last fall, I received satisfactory evidence that a Mr. Robideau [sic], an inhabitant of St. Louis, had, the preceding winter, during intercourse with the Ottoes and Missouris, been guilty of the most flagrant breaches of the first of those misdemeanors above mentioned ... And Mr. Robidoux and sons still prosecute their trade."

GENERATION 6 — JOSEPH ROBIDOUX III’S SONS — ROBIDOUX BROTHERS:

Robidoux's original cabin trading post

JOSEPH ROBIDOUX IV — Founder of St. Joseph, MO

1783–1868

BIRTH 10 AUG 1783 • St. Louis Missouri

DEATH 27 MAY 1868 • St. Joseph Missouri

MARRIED 1793 (1), Angelique Bourasa Vaudry (1793–1857)

MARRIED (2) Eugenie Delisle (1784–1800)

MARRIED (3) Unknown Otoe-Ioway Woman (1780–_)

4th cousin 6x removed

See: https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/11/joseph-robidoux-and-our-ever-deepening.html?m=0

Joseph IV Robidoux, Founder of St. Joseph, MO

FRANÇOIS ROBIDOUX — Early California explorer

1788–1856

BIRTH 24 SEP 1788 • St Louis, MO

DEATH 10 OCT 1856 • Nebraska Territory

MARRIED Abt. 1808, Therese Bienvenu Delisle (1790–1837)

4th cousin 6x removed

Notes: Francois trapped and traded in Indian villages along the Missouri River, attended to business in St. Louis, and traded on the northern plains of Kansas and on the Yellowstone River. He is best known as being an early California explorer.

PIERRE ISADORE ROBIDOUX — Trader at Fort Laramie and Scotts Bluff, NE

1791–1852

BIRTH 02 NOV 1791 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 30 MAY 1852 • near Bid Blue River, Nebraska Territory

Married Abt. 1815, Julie Desjardins (1800–1825)

4th cousin 6x removed

Antoine Robideox, age 64

ANTOINE ROBIDOUX — Indian trader in Utah, Colorado and Santa Fe, NM

1794–1860

BIRTH 22 SEP 1794 • St Louis, St Louis,Missouri, United States

DEATH 29 AUG 1860 • St Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1828, Carmel Benavides (1812–1888)

4th cousin 6x removed

See: https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/11/antoine-robidoux-santa-fe-based.html?m=0

Louis Rubidoux

LOUIS ROBIDOUX — Founder of Riverside, CA

1796–1868

BIRTH 31 JULY 1796 • Florissant, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

DEATH SEPT. 24,1868 • Rubidoux Rancho, Riverside, Riverside, California, United States

MARRIED Abt. 1821 Maria Guadalupe Garcia (de Noriega) (1811–1892)

4th cousin 6x removed

MICHEL ROBIDOUX — Mountain Man and trader "at the mouth of Kanzas River, Grand Loup and Republic Panca Villages, and Bellevue

1798–1858

BIRTH 03 AUG 1798 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 10 APRIL 1858 • Missouri, United States

MARRIED (1) Abt. 1831, Suzanne Vaudry (1793–1874)

MARRIED (2) Mary Good Rock (aka Yearling Horse) (1839–1900)

4th cousin 6x removed

ROBIDOUX SIOUX-MÉTIS (PEOPLE OF PLAINS INDIAN AND FRENCH CANADIAN DESCENT):

GENERATION 7, JOSEPH SELLICO ROBIDOUX — son of François Robidoux (1788-1856) — Early California explorer

1820–1864

BIRTH ABT 1820 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 1864 • Scottsbluff, Nebraska

MARRIED Abt. 1840, Mary Tasinasapawin Her Black Blanket (Eagle Bull Widow) (1818–1890)

5th cousin 5x removed

Spotted Tail's Delegation, Louis Roubideaux, official interpreter (right rear)

GENERATION 8, i. LOUIS ROUBIDEAU — Sioux-Metis (half Sioux and half French), US Army Indian Scout, Rosebud Reservation Police Captain, and US Government Interpreter.

1846–1913

BIRTH ABT 1846 • Wyoming

DEATH 14 JAN 1913 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, USA

MARRIED 1869 (1) Evan Woman (Erin, Erine, Eren) Tears Belly (1845–1878)

MARRIED 1871 (2) Adelia Running Near, Caught the Eagle (1866–1935)

6th cousin 4x removed

NOTES: Louis Roubideaux, the official United States interpreter, was at one time captain of the Indian police.

GENERATION 9:

Katie Roubidoux nee Blue Thunder

1890–1991

BIRTH 8 JUNE 1890 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD

DEATH 13 MAY 1991 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD

7th cousin 3x removed

Martha Blanche Robideaux (nee Marshall, nee Brave)

1896–1986

BIRTH 19 OCT 1896 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, Todd, South Dakota

DEATH 1986 • Gregory, South Dakota, USA

7th cousin 3x removed

Crook treaty hitch lot, 1889, by John A Anderson, on the Rosebud Agency

GENERATION 8, ii. CHARLES ROUBIDEAUX SR — (Gen'l Crook's Indian Scouts, Pvt., Co D, 2nd Reg't US Inf.)

1854–1931

BIRTH JUL 1854 • Nebraska, United States of America

DEATH 24 DEC 1931 • Wood, Mellette, South Dakota

MARRIED Abt. 1875, Maggie Robinson (1862–1936)

6th cousin 4x removed

GENERATION 9

Silison (Silicon) Sylvester Roubideaux (Robidoux)

1877–1927

BIRTH 14 APR 1877 • Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, USA

DEATH 14 AUG 1927 • South Dakota, USA

GENERATION 10

Eva Melvina Roubideaux

1910–1988

BIRTH 18 OCT 1910 • Rosebud Sioux Reservation, Rosebud, Mellette, South Dakota, USA

DEATH 18 JUL 1988 • South Dakota, USA

8th cousin 2x removed

NOTES: See… Eyewitness to the Death of Crazy Horse

SEE: https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/12/eyewitness-to-death-of-crazy-horse.html

MORE ROBIDOUX METIS RELATIVES AND A FEW INDIAN CHIEFS TOO

For Mary, Many Days WHITE CLOUD — All Roads Lead Back to La Prairie

https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/12/for-mary-many-days-white-cloud-all.html

Francis (Mahaska II) (The Younger) White Cloud Ioway Chief

1811–1856

BIRTH ABT. 1811 • On the Des Moines River, Iowa, Iowa, USA

DEATH 17 DEC 1856 • Iowa Point, On the Missouri River, White Cloud, Kansas

husband of 5th cousin 5x removed

James (The gro wo nung) White Cloud Ioway Chief

1847–1940

BIRTH ABT 1847 • Kansas, USA

DEATH 1940 • Iowa Reservation, Brown Co., Kansas

Son of Francis (Mahaska II) (The Younger) White Cloud Ioway Chief (1811–1856) and Mary (Many Days) Robidoux (1805–1884)

6th cousin 4x removed

ROBIDOUX FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM

1783 to 1868, Joseph Robidoux IV, 4th cousin 6x.

1794-1860, Antoine Robidoux 4th cousin 6x removed (younger).

1879 Sioux Chiefs visit to Carlisle Indian School. Louis Roubideaux, the official United States interpreter, is in front row.

1888, White Bear is advising his people to accept the Great White Father's offer to take the land in severalty, with official interpreter for the United States government Louis Roubideaux (to his left).

Better photo of the Brulé Delegation to Washington 1872 with Louis C. Roubideaux, b Abt 1846, d 14 Jan 1913 (standing rear right). Also in the photo is Brulé Chief Spotted Tail - Sinte-galeska.

Katie Roubideaux, Age 8, Rosebud Sioux (1890-1991). She is d/o Louis C Roubideau interpreter.

Glass plate negative by Julia E. Tuell of Blanche Roubideaux, a daughter of Louis Roubideaux (a French/Lakota interpreter at Rosebud for 30 years), holding her baby swaddled in beaded cradleboard, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, 1913-1929.

1924, Albert Six Feather & Eva Roubudeaux (on horse) Rosebud agency. 

1894, Men of the Brule Sioux. Rosebud Agency. Louis C. Roubideaux is in the back row, far left.

1889, May 4, The Crook Treaty Council, Rosebud agency, Louis Roubideaux’ cabin is on the left.

1890s Louis Roubideaux with his wife and mother-in-law.

c. 1910s Adelia Blunt Arrow wife of Louis Roubideau.

Forerunners of the Coureur Des Bois — Indian Interpreters in New France and Beyond

From wikipedia: 

In New France, French interpreters (interprète) learned indigenous languages, with the aim of establishing links with aboriginal peoples, living with them and understanding their customs in order to act as intermediaries.

1610–1630: EARLY EXPLORERS AND INTERPRETERS

Shortly after founding a permanent settlement at Quebec City in 1608, Samuel de Champlain sought to ally himself with the local native peoples or First Nations. He decided to send French boys to live among them to learn their languages in order to serve as interpreters, in the hope of persuading the natives to trade with the French rather than with the Dutch, who were active along the Hudson River and Atlantic coast.

The boys learned native languages, customs, and skills, and tended to assimilate quickly to their new environments. A year after leaving Étienne Brûlé in 1610, with a Huron tribe, Champlain visited him, and was surprised to find the young man attired completely in native clothing and able to converse fluently in the Huron language. 

Early explorers such as Brûlé educated the French colonists on the complex trading networks of the natives, served as interpreters, and encouraged the burgeoning fur trade. Between 1610 and 1629, dozens of Frenchmen spent months at a time living among the natives. Over time, these early explorers and interpreters played an increasingly active role in the fur trade, paving the way for the emergence of the coureurs des bois proper in the mid-17th century.

Jean Nicolet (Nicollet) de Belleborne (Ca. 1598 – 1 November 1642) was a French coureur des bois noted for exploring Green Bay in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Nicolet was born in Normandy, France in the late 1590s and moved to New France in 1618. In that same year, he was recruited by Samuel de Champlain, who arranged for him to live with a group of Algonquians, designated as the "Nation of the Isle", to learn native languages and later serve as an interpreter. The natives quickly adopted Nicolet as one of their own, even allowing him to attend councils and negotiate treaties. In 1620, Nicolet was sent to make contact with the Nipissing, a group of natives who played an important role in the growing fur trade. After having established a good reputation for himself, Nicolet was sent on an expedition to Green Bay to settle a peace agreement with the natives of that area.

Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636–1710) was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer. His life as explorer and trader is crucially intertwined with that of his brother-in-law, Médard des Groseilliers. Radisson came to New France in 1651, settling in Trois-Rivières. That same year, he was captured by the Mohawks while duck hunting. Although two of his companions were killed during this exchange, the natives spared Radisson's life and adopted him. Through this adoption, Radisson learned native languages that would later serve him well as an interpreter. He worked throughout the 1660s and 1670s with his brother-in-law, des Groseilliers, on various trade and exploration voyages into the west of the continent. Much of Radisson's life during this period is wrapped up in the story of des Groseilliers. Together they are credited with the establishment and shaping of the Hudson's Bay Company.

NEW FRANCE INTERPRETERS IN OUR FAMILY TREE

Jean Godefroy sieur de Linctot (1607–1678) 10th great-uncle

BIRTH 1607 • Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France

DEATH 26 MAR 1678 • Trois Rivires, Quebec, Canada

• 1626, arrived in New France with Samuel de Champlain, and served in the capacity of interpreter.

• After 1629, and the capture of Quebec by the Kirkes (England), he stayed on in the colony, living in the woods with the Indians.

Thomas Godefroy de Normanville (1610–1652) 10th great-uncle

BIRTH ABOUT 1610 • France

DEATH 1652 • Iroquois country (Huronia?), Canada

• 1626, arrived in New France with Samuel de Champlain, and served in the capacity of interpreter.

• After 1629, and the capture of Quebec by the Kirkes (England), he stayed on in the colony, living in the woods with the Indians.

• 1630s Furs were regularly leaving New France for Europe. These furs were mainly supplied by Indian traders, especially the Huron and Ottawa tribes. In Wisconsin the Winnebago tribes blocked the fur trade routes. They were attacked and defeated by the Ottawa and Huron. New tribes such as the Sauk, Fox, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe began moving into the area that is now Wisconsin.

Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) Sieur de Villeneuve (1628–1688) 8th great-grandfather

BIRTH 23 MAY 1628 • Estrees, Soissons, Ile-de-France, France

DEATH 18 DEC 1688 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

• 1640s, Interpreter and fur trader for the Jesuits in the Huron country.

Jean Amiot (Amyot) (1632–1708) 9th great-uncle

BIRTH 02 NOV 1632 • Vineuil, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France

DEATH 16 APR 1708 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

• 1640s, Interpreter and indentured employee of the Jesuits he spent several years in the Huron country.

Charles Amiot (Amyot) (1636–1669) 9th great-uncle

BIRTH 26 AUG 1636 • Quebec, Canada

DEATH 10 DEC 1669 • Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec, Canada

• 1640s, Interpreter and indentured employee of the Jesuits he spent several years in the Huron country. He was educated at the Jesuit college and when he was barely 14 years old he accompanied Father Bressani as a servant on a trip to the Huron country.

Jean Mignault dit Chatillon (1622–1680) 9th great-grandfather

BIRTH 20 APR 1622 • Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, Ile-de-France, France

DEATH 1680 • Montmorency, Quebec, Canada

• 1648, Governor Montmagny sent Jean Mignault to the (le pays des Hurons) "Huron's Country" to invite them to the fur trade. 

BEYOND NEW FRANCE — TO THE FORESTS OF CANADA AND THE PLAINS OF THE UNITED STATES

Daniel Joseph Amiot (Amyot) Dit Villeneuve (1665–1725) 8th great-uncle

BIRTH 4 OCT 1665 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 1725 • Michillimackinac, Michigan, USA

• 1686, took part in Henri de Tonti’s search for La Salle and descended the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.

• 1690, François Garconnes de Boisrondel/t, acting for François Daupin sieur de LaForest, hired Daniel Joseph Amiot, Joseph Bénard, Joseph Fafard, Louis Fafard frères, and Jean Lat for a voyage to the Illinois. Notary Antoine  Adhémar.

• Many more voyageur trips thru 1710. Marriage 1719 • Mackinac Island, Mackinac, Michigan to Domithilde Oukabe Nepveuouikabe LaFourche (1690-1782) daughter of an Ottawa chief. Death 1725 • Michillimackinac, Michigan, United States.

Rene Bourassa dit LaRonde (1688–1778) 7th great-uncle

BIRTH 21 DEC 1688 • Laprairie, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 7 SEP 1778 • Mackinac Island, Mackinac, Michigan, USA

• 1735, A Coureurs Des Bois, he hired engages to go to Pierre Gaultier de La Verendrye's posts at Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods and Fort Maurepas near the mouth of the Red River.

• 1737, Rene constructed a post and wintered at Vermillion, Minnesota, to trade with the Ojibwa. After that, most of his trade was around Michilimackinac, where he was selling goods to the Indians.

François Rivet (1754–1852) 2nd cousin 7x removed

BIRTH 7 JUN 1754 • St-Sulpice, l'Assomption, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 27 SEP 1852 • Marion County, Oregon, USA

Marriage 1839 to Theresa Tete Platte (of Flathead First Nation) (1755-1852)

• 1791, Jacques Giasson hired François Rivet voyageur de L’Assomption to go to Chaque fois que nécessaire (Wherever required) Nord excluded, 3 years, Notary Louis Chaboillez.

• 1803-04, Winter - St. Louis entrepreneur Auguste Chouteau obliged Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark by engaging eight voyageurs to paddle a cargo pirogue. Three others were hired to assist the soldiers in working a keelboat. Pierre Cruzatte le borgne (one-eye) would be the bowman while François Labiche set the stroke as the first oar. The third, François Rivet, joined the expedition at St. Charles, but agreed to go only as far as the Mandans. The Corps of Discovery wintered at the Mandan/Hidatsa villages that year.

• Spent the rest of his live in service of the NWCo and HBCo.

Charles Michel De Langlade (1729–1801) husband of 1st cousin 7x removed

BIRTH 7 MAY 1729 • Mackinac Island, Michigan, United States

DEATH 26 JULY 1801 • Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States

• Great Lakes fur trader and war chief who was important to the French in protecting their territory. His mother was Ottawa and his father a French Canadian fur trader.

Andre Lagasse (Mignier) dit Lagace (1775–_) 1st cousin 6x removed

BIRTH 19 AUG 1775 • La Pocatière, Quebec, Canada

DEATH Unknown

• 1803, Apr 19 signs 4 year contract to act as a guide and interpreter for the North West Company, and to go to the Red River, Swan River and Lake Winnipeg. Andre Lagasse was an Interpreter for David Thompson.

Paschal Pinsonneau (1796–1884) 2nd cousin 5x removed)

BIRTH 17 APR 1796 • Cahokia, Illinois

DEATH MAR 1884 • Indian Territory, USA

Marriage 1839 • Kansas

Spouse Shikina Pensoneau b. ABT. 1820 • Kickapoo, Nation, Atchison County, Kansas, USA

• Fur-trader, and interpreter with the Kickapoo Indian Nation.

Laurent Pinsonneau (1807–1848) 2nd cousin 5x removed

BIRTH ABT. 1807 • Cahokia, Illinois

DEATH 18 JUL 1848 • Cahokia, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA

Marriage 11 May 1829 • Cahokia, Illinois

Spouse Elisabeth Hayes (1810–1895)

• Fur trader for the American Fur Company.  He established a trading post to trade with the Kickapoo Nation of the State of Illinois from present-day Wisconsin State.

Louis C Robidoux (Roubideau) Interpreter (1846–1913) 6th cousin 4x removed

BIRTH ABT 1846 • Wyoming

DEATH 14 JAN 1913 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, USA

• the official Rosebud Agency (Sioux of the Rosebud) interpreter in 1889

Many of our early Voyageur ancestors were also Coureur Des Bois.

SEE: https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/04/index-voyageur-grandfathers-la-prairie.html

Aunt Francoise Duquet married well, and her brothers benefited

Francoise Duquet was the daughter of Denis Duquet dit Desrochers, a wealthy fur trader, and a member of the "Traite de Tadoussac."

She was also the sister of Pierre Duquet de La Chesnaye, the royal notary.

On 19 Jan 1660, when she was 15 years old, she married Dr. Jean Madry (1626–1669), garrison surgeon at Trois-Rivières, lieutenant and clerk to the chief barber and surgeon of the king. 

Madry died of drowning on 26 July 1669 during a trip to Trois-Rivières. The couple had no children.

Before his death Madry had acquired the fief of Grandpré at La Canardière, which the Jesuits had granted him in 1659. 

He left Françoise fairly well off as she now owned the fief of Grandpré in the seigneury of Notre-Dame-des-Anges.

On 14 Sep 1670, at Quebec, Francoise married Olivier Morel, sieur de la Durantaye, a captain in the Carignan-Salières regiment who became commandant of Michilimackinac, and still later the commandant of Fort Saint-Louis. 

In 1702 Olivier Morel became a member of the Sovereign Council of New France.

ABOUT THE DUQUET FAMILY...

Father: Denis Duquet dit Desrochers (1612–1675) our 8th great-grandfather

BIRTH 14 OCTOBRE, 1612 • Dauphine, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France

DEATH 26 NOV 1675 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

Mother: Catherine Gauthier de la Chesnaye (1626–1702) our 8th great-grandmother

BIRTH 08 JULY 1626/JUN 1625/29 OCT. 1627 • St Etienne Du Mont, Paris, Ile-De-France, France

DEATH 3 AUG 1702 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

In 1659, as a young man Denis Duquet became a wealthy fur trader. He was a member of the "Traite de Tadoussac" (1) the first fur-trading post in European North America (established in 1600, eight years before the founding of Québec City).  The Traite de Tadoussac was the embarkation warehouse and trading post from which the furs were sent to France. 

The Children of Denis and Catherine were: 

i. Pierre Duquet de La Chesnaye (1643–1687) our 8th great-uncle

BIRTH BEFORE 14 JAN 1643 • Quebec, Canada

DEATH 13 OCT. 1687 • Quebec, Canada

Pierre Duquet de La Chesnaye, had been involved in the fur trade, and was the first Canadian-born notary.

SEE his biography: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/duquet_de_la_chesnaye_pierre_1E.html

ii. Françoise Duquet (1645–1719) our 8th great-aunt

BIRTH 7 NOV 1645 • Quebec, Canada

DEATH 14 SEP 1719 • Quebec, Canada

MARRIAGE (1) Dr. Jean Madry (1626–1669), 19 Jan 1660, in Notre-dame-de-Québec, Québec, Canada

SEE his biography: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/madry_jean_1E.html
More about Dr. Jean Madry, SEE: http://canadianacollection.com/1664-pelletier/

MARRIAGE (2) Olivier Morel, sieur de la Durantaye (1640–1716), 14 Sep 1670 in Notre-Dame-de-Quebec, Québec, Canada

SEE his biography: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/morel_de_la_durantaye_olivier_2E.html

iii. Jean Duquet dit Desrochers (1651–1710) our 7th great-grandfather

BIRTH 1651 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 20 AUG 1710 • Lauzon, Quebec, Canada

Marriage 1683 to Catherine-Ursule Amiot (1664-1715)

In the 1680s, he was a "bourgeois" (headman of a fur brigade).

Map of New France c. 1688

iv. Louis Duquet sieur Duverdier (1657–1691) our 8th great-uncle

BIRTH 19 FEB 1657 • Quebec, Canada

DEATH AFT. 1693 • Quebec City, Quebec, New France

He was a voyageur and fur trader.

v. Antoine Duquet dit Madry (1660–1733) our 8th great-uncle

BIRTH 18 NOV 1660 • Québec, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 20 MAY 1733 • Lachenaie, Québec, Canada

He was a voyageur and fur trader.

vi. Joseph Duquet (1664–1741) our 8th great-uncle

BIRTH 11 AUG 1664 • Québec, Qc, Can

DEATH AFT. 1741 • Canada

He was a voyageur and fur trader.

AN INTERESTING FAMILY CONNECTION…

Excerpt from: Edge of Empire: Documents of Michilimackinac, 1671-1716, Joseph L. Peyser, José António Brandão, Michigan State University Press, 2008…

Document 35 Service contract… Engagement de Louis & Antoine Duquet et Etienne Benoit à Olivier Morel de LaDurantaye pour aller chercher des castors à Michilimakinac (31 août 1693).

Before Claude Maugue, royal notary of the island of Montreal, residing there, and the undersigned witnesses, there appeared sieurs Louis Duquet Duverdier and Anthoine Duquet Madry and Estienne Benoit Livernois² who have promised and obligated themselves to go up to the Ottawas this year and to pick up and bring to this place thirty bales of beaver that are at Michilimackinac belonging to Olivier Morel, esquire, seigneur of La Durantaye, at the place that will be indicated at Villemarie, next year where they will proceed during the customary season for coming down, helping one another to be sure that the said thirty bales will be faithfully transported.

“Edge of Empire” is well worth reading as several of our La Prairie relatives are listed in it.