Red River of the North has a population of 5,000 people, mostly Metis.
The Metis are carving overland roads to Fort EdmontonMETIS HISTORY 1855-1859
METIS HISTORY Return to METIS 1850-1899 index
1850
Moose Factory, birth, Louisa Adhemar, Metis, daughter Patrick Adhemar, Metis, b-1807 Fort Francis and Nancy Lerose; married Thomas Smith.
Father Belcourt in his travels noted 30 Metis houses at the foot of Turtle Mountain and 15-20 more families further up the mountain. He also reported about 400 Metis were camped on or near the Souris River. Most used these hivernaut or winter homes year after year until the 1860's to 1880's when the bison (buffalo) ran out..
William Calder Metis (1850-1908) joined HBC (1869-1882) Lac La Pluie
Lawrence Clarke Jr. (1831-1890) died Prince Albert, likely a Metis, son Lawrence Clarke Sr. and likely Indian Woman?, joined HBC (1851-1875) Fort Chipewyan, Fond du Lac (Saskatchewan) on Lake Athabasca, (1852-1853), Fort Rae and Fort Resolution on Great Slave Lake (1854-1863), then Fort a la Corne, Carlton House and Prince Albert
First marriage daughter of Mr. Bell of the HBC
twin Metis girls b-1862
a Metis son b-1864
Second marriage a McKay sister of Thomas McKay and John McKay of Prince Albert
Mary Clarke Metis b-1875
Thomas Clarke Metis b-1877
Sedley Blanchard Clarke Metis b-1879 Fort Carlton near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
George Clarke Metis b-1881
Douglas Clarke Metis b-1883
Third marriage Jane Bell born May 14, 1856, Fort Rae epouse Sedley Blanchard
Augustin Peter Warren Clarke
Fourth Marriage Catherine McKay
Mary Clarke b-1875 Fort Carlton
Red River, birth?, (III)-James Danial, Metis, son (II)-Griffiths (Griffith) Daniel, Metis, (183/90-1869) employed HBC (1800-1830) and Madeleine McKay b-1825 Red River;
George Donnell Donald Metis b-1816 Red River, died before 1901 Cooking Lake District, son William Donald Srand Anne Nancy Ballendine (Boeyn or Bollen); joined HBC 1850-1875) Swan River, Red River, Norway House, Saskatchewan, married 1852 Fort Edmonton (III)-Betsey Elizabeth Brass Metis b-1836 Fort Pelly, d-1910 daughter (II)-Peter Brass Sr. Metis b-1794 Hudson Bay and Susan Roy or Comtois;
Isabel Donald Metis b-1853/55, Fort Pelly, d-1932, married 1868, Henri LeBlanc b-1840/46 Trois Rivieres, died before 1932 St Albert
Ann Donald Metis b-1856, Fort Pelly, d-1936 Sturgeon Lake, married 1877 Louis Calliou (Callihoo) (1853-1936) d-1951?
Sarah Donald Metis b-1856, Red River, married 1st 1876 Thomas Houston b-1840, 2nd married 1886 Cuthbert Corbert Dagneau Daniels Daigneault b-1866 Swan River
Margaret Donald Metis (b-1852?) or b-1857, Norway House d-1943, married 1872 Edmonton Area Benjamin Assiniboine Patenade (1851-1936)
Peter Donald Metis b-1861/62, married 1884, Cecile b-1866, married 2nd 1890, Isabella PaquetteMetis b-1874 Fort Edmonton
Joseph Donald Metis b-1863, married 1891 Colchester Marais b-1874 or Emerance Charland b-1863 Carlton House
Mary Jane Donald Metis (1865-1891), married 1883 St. Albert, Michel (LeFou) Callihoo b-1856 Fort Edmonton
Robert Donald Metis b-1866/69, Red River, married 1903 Fort Edmonton, Mary Rose Paquette b-1877 Fort Calgary
Elizabeth Donald Metis b-1870, Fort Pitt, married 1892 Fort Edmonton, Francois Daigneault d-1871 St Albert
William James Donald Metis b-1872/73, Fort Pitt, d-1957,Strathconia married 1893 Fort Edmonton, Sarah. Bird
Henry John Donald Metis b-1876/77, Strathcona
Joseph Gurnoe (Garneau), Metis, (1790-1863) was employed for many years by the Government and worked as an interpreter out of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. He made the yearly list of names for annuity payments which included lists of mixed and full blood Chippewa of Lake Superior. He would play a significant role in the activities which had resulted from the 1854 Treaty with the Chippewa of Lake Superior. He traveled to Red Lake, Pembina and Fort Garry on the Red River but did not state the purpose of these trips. The population of Minnesota is only a few thousand (likely excludes Metis and Indians) but would increase to one hundred and seventy thousand in just ten years; by 1860.
Francis Heron Metis? b-1850 Pic, Lake Superior, d-1917 Fort Chipewyan joined HBC (1869-1910) Nipigon House, Prince Albert, Fort Nelson, Fort Simpson, Fort Rae, Willio River and Fort Providence
Edward Heron Metis b-1884 Fort Nelson, B.C, HBC (1906-1927) MacKenzie River
Frank Heron Metis
Edward Heron Metis
Robert Heron Metis
William Heron
William John Lambert Metis b-1850 Red River joined HBC (1870-1873) lower Fort Gary assigned (1873-1893) Athabasca.
(III)-Marie Spence, Metis, b-1852 Gladstone, daughter (II)-Jean Baptiste Spence aka We-tcha-mash, Metis (1807-1889), and Marie Roulette aka Matche-Kameko, Metis b-1816; married 1871 Louison Lacouette Source Ida A. Spence
Prior to 1850, Ontario was called Upper Canada. After this date it was called Canada West. Some documents even referred to Ontario as the Province of Canada West. By 1857 only Western Ontario was referred to as Canada West. When this failed they tried to label the North West as Canada West, but this also failed.
Father Christian Hoecken, a Catholic missionary on the Missouri River, noted that the Half-Breeds (Metis) existed in great numbers everywhere. The Metis had settled the Flathead valley and the Bitterroot valley of Montana, Fort Owen (Stevensville, Montana), Hell Gate and Frenchtown (Missoula, Montana).
The Metis were at Fort Owen (Stevensville, Montana), Hell Gate and Frenchtown (Missoula). These include such family names as: Bercier, LeClair, LeGris, Decoteau, Descheneau, Broun, DuCharme, Reeves (Revais), Peletier, Deschamps, Lucier, Boyer, Hameline, LaPlante, Montour, Findlay, McDonald, McKenzie, Stuart and Ashley.
This is a Metis skin coat worn by traders, trappers and freighters of the Red River and Upper Missouri River regions. It is noteworthy that some of the Dakota Sioux also adopted the styles of the Metis. This is from an engraving by Hildebrand.
The Red River Metis Nation, centered at Fort Garry, numbered over five thousand bustling dynamic people who were mostly engaged in the fur trade, providing pemmican for the fur trade, freighting and farming. They are boisterous men whom the local priest referred to as the one and a half-man, half-Indian, half white and half devil. The Cree, however, said they are half wagon and half man, being inseparable from their unique Red River Carts.
The Metis all use Red River carts while engaged in bison (buffalo) hunting, trading and freighting. Those employed in freighting are carving overland routes from Fort Garry, Portage La Prairie, Fort Ellice, Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt, Fort Victoria and Fort Edmonton. Some would later refer to this route as the Touchwood Trail, as it passed the Touchwood Hills. Metis traders, as early as the 1830's, used this Saskatchewan to Red River overland route. The Natives and Metis had many other over land trails depending on the nature of their business. Father Lacombe accompanied the Metis on their summer bison (buffalo) hunt which was commanded by the Metis Wilkie. The discipline of the Metis military camp greatly impressed Father Lacombe. The prevailing English and Church opinion of the Indian and Metis is that they lacked the intelligence for organizational design. Unknown to these bigots is the realization that the Prairie Indians, for thousands of years, had organized major, complex bison (buffalo) hunts. Lacombe estimated that the number of bison (buffalo) killed by this group was eight hundred.
Most Metis thought of the bison (buffalo) hunt as a grand experience but the report of this years hunt had a darker side. About 400 Metis on a Bison Hunt out of Red River saw 23 horses and riders all sprawling on the ground having fallen. One horse was gored by a bull and killed on the spot. Two more horses were disabled by the fall and one Metis broke his shoulder blade, a gun burst and lost three fingers, another was shot in the knee.
Tension was mounting in the capital of the Metis Nation as recently arrived English born women wanted to exclude Natives or Half Breed (Metis) people from the upper echelons of Red River society. The Native Red River people wanted R.S. Ballenden of the Hudson Bay Company, removed because of the racist activities of his wife. The sex scandal of July 16, 1850 culminated the clash between the recent immigrant women from Britain and the Native women of Red River. Anne Clouston, daughter of Hudson Bay Company agent, assumed her husband's position would place her at the top of the social register. Her uncompromising European ways resulted in her being ignored. She then accused Sarah Ballenden McLeod , the beautiful Metis daughter of Chief Trader Alexander McLeod, (1782-1840) of unfaithfulness. Anne Clouston had to pay three hundred-pound's sterling for defamation of character. Anne Clouston, however, continued to harass Sarah Ballenden McLeod till the end of her life. She died three years later, and some believed it was as a result of this harassment. The affair had pitted the white minority against the Metis majority; church against laity, and had placed the Hudson Bay Company right in the middle of things.
The Red River Metis Nation is attempting to integrate five distinct cultures:
The Scottish, of Frog Plains (Kildonan) who speak Gaelic, Cree and some English. They feel isolated from the rest of the French speaking community. They feel morally superior but are too proud to acknowledge their declining influence and numbers. They are generally poor dirt farmers, having been forced from their homes in Scotland. (IV)-Eleanor Thomas, a Swampy Cree (Muskegon) Metis, is from this community.
The Traders, of Red River proper, are mostly composed of retired Hudson Bay Company and North West Company men. These self appointed leaders treat Red River as a giant fur trading post, reliving past glories and living on their pensions while conducting trade on the side. Most are Metis who speak French, English, Ojibwa and Cree and who form a unique company type sub-culture.
The Metis of the upper settlement and White Horse Plains are the most dynamic. They focus on the seasonal bison (buffalo) hunts, freighting, trading, fishing and farming- in that order of preference. They also engage in more farming than they like to admit. Some Metis have increasing militant aspirations to control their own destinies as a New Metis Nation. They are the majority and speak French, Chippewa (Ojibwa), English, Cree, and some Gaelic.
The Swampy Cree (Muskegon), of St. Peter's, above the Red River delta, are in a cultural transition but still tenaciously cling to hunting, fishing and trading.
The Saulteaux (Ojibwa) of Baie St. Paul, Red Lake, Missouri Territories and up the Assiniboine, are hand in glove with the French Metis, or so proclaimed the Dakota Sioux. They are still engaged in hunting, fishing, and trading to augment their rice and corn farms. They often join the Metis on the annual bison (buffalo) hunts.
Also listed are one Pole, a Danish, a Norwegian and one Dutch man. The Swiss, who arrived in 1821, had all left for St. Paul, Missouri Territory, as would many others from the Red River of the North. The Protestants accused Roman Catholics of taking a light view of pagan practices, while Roman Catholics accused Protestants of condoning polygamy. The Roman Catholics and Methods are accused of administrating baptism indiscriminately.
The Hudson Bay Company is still employing boatmen and canoe men but they are Orkney men, Metis and Iroquois from Red River rather than from the St Lawrence Valley.
During the 1850's the Metis culture made a shift from quill embroidery of their clothing to silk and beads. As the Metis migrated west in greater numbers the Ojibway influence on their art was seen to shift to the Dakota and Cree art. Some suggest the Metis had a greater influence on the Indians than the other way around.
All the focus on the fur trade fails to realize that thirteen million bushels of wheat are harvested in the Metis Northwest Country this year.
The Americans passed the infamous Fugitive Slave Act which was a disgrace to civilization. It basically declared open season on runaway slaves, even those in the North; slaves that included Africans, American born Blacks and First Nation Peoples of America. Over the next decade some 40,000 to 60,000 American slaves, an exodus of near-biblical proportions, found refuge in Canada. It is not known how many of these slaves are of mixed blood. The Europeans called themselves civilized yet subjected some 10 million Africans to slavery worldwide with a conservative death of over one million during the slave trade period.
The Michigan Constitution reads in part: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this state", thereby legalizing slavery as an appropriate punishment for crime. This law was not changed until 1963.
The American Government, as part of their Land Clearance Policy, changed the distribution point of treaty payment to the Ojibwa from the historic distribution point of La Pointe, Wisconsin to Sandy Lake, Minnesota. They were hoping that some of the Ojibwa would relocate to Sandy Lake to make room for white settlers.
Mount Baker in Washington experienced a minor eruption.
The gold rush this decade attracted men from the ends of the earth to British Columbia and many stayed and settled.
The American Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law, that made any northerner caught harboring or helping a Black liable to a fine of $1,000 and possible imprisonment. Slave trackers used a pack of dogs and the terms were $5.00 per day and found, when no track pointed out; when the track is shown, $25.00 will be charged for catching Negroes.
The Orange Lodges of Canada boosted a membership of 60,000 men to keep the embers of religious hatred glowing and were behind several murders and head-breakings. Their focus was mainly anti-French and anti-Catholic campaigns.
January: Oxford House, birth (II)-Ellen Isbister, Metis baptized June 4, 1850 Red River, daughter (I)-John Isbister aka Isbester (1796-1883) and Frances (Fanny) (Essessepow) Sinclair Metis or Indian, b-1813
June: Father Albert Lacombe (1827-1916) embarked on the most thrilling adventure of his life- his first semi-annual bison (buffalo) hunt. He was a welcomed guest of the most skillful of all hunters, the mostly deadly of warriors, yet the kindest, most generous people he had ever met. They were some 1,300 souls in all, with 1,100 carts. The first run saw several hundred mounted Metis charge into the midst of the bison (buffalo) herd, dealing death with every shot. What a scene! he was to exclaim What confusion! Within twenty minutes 800 bison (buffalo) were down. The women commenced the butchering. Each downed bison (buffalo) had been tagged with an owners marker. It took 3-4 days to process the kill. The Metis then moved on to the next hunt. Father Lacombe would remember his first bison (buffalo) hunt long into old age.
October: About 4,000 Ojibwa went to Sandy Lake, Minnesota from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan to receive their treaty supplies. The Government didn't turn up, and they had to wait two months for partial settlement. During this period, 170 died of disease, exposure, starvation and other causes, as they hadn't planned on being in the area this long.
December 2: The Ojibwa finally received partial supplies and many headed for their homes. The low temperatures had frozen the water ways and a foot of snow was on the ground. About 230 died en route. The 400 dead Ojibwa are largely ignored by historians.
1851
Red River birth (III)-John Cunningham Metis (1851-1904) son (II)-John Patrick Cunningham Metis (1818-1870) and Rosalie L’Hirondelle.
Red River, birth?, (III)-Helene Danial, Metis,son (II)-Griffiths (Griffith) Daniel, Metis, (183/90-1869) employed HBC (1800-1830) and Madeleine McKay b-1825 Red River;
(I)-Samuel Grey (1837-1922) of Orkney, joined HBC (1851-1884) working out of Churchill, married likely a Metis and had 4 children;
(II)-Nancy Grey Metis married George Oman,
(II)-Mary Grey Metis married 1st John Grout, 2nd Norman Marten, 3rd George McPherson
(II)-Samuel Grey Metis
(II)-William Grey Metis (1859-1927) HBC (1873-1916) York Factory, married with 7 children
John Laframboise Metis b-1851 N.W.T., a hunter married about 1882 N.W.T. Margaret a Metis b-1866, family all living Medicine Hat in 1891.
David Laframboise Metis b-1883 N.W.T.
Dora Laframboise Metis b-1884 N.W.T.
Peter Laframboise Metis b-1885 N.W.T.
William Laframboise Metis b-1886 N.W.T.
Patrick Laframboise Metis b-1887 N.W.T.
Marie Laframboise Metis b-188 N.W.T.
Isabella Laframboise Metis b-1889 N.W.T.
Rose Laframboise Metis b-1891 Medicine Hat
Peter Linklater Metis? (1829-1882) from Red River joined HBC (1851-1880) English River.
William Linklater Metis? from Red River joined HBC (1851-1872) Swan River.
Red River Metis clothing 
This sketch by F.B. Myer is labeled a Red River man, half-breed, (Metis) in winter attire, of bison (buffalo) skin, with a mention of the typical sash and the fur collar. The model is likely a European representing an Orkney Metis, and the attire is likely a composite. However Frank Mayer. an artist in Minnesota, reported the Pembina Metis produced the most beautiful work of beads, porcupine quills and silk with adorn leather coats, moccasins, pouches, saddles, etc. He noted that a caravan or train of two hundred carts pilgrimage the 650 miles to St. Paul to trade bison (buffalo) hides, peltries, fur, embroidered leather coats, moccasins, saddles, etc. Their secluded homes lay on the track, in a few short years, of Sir John A. Macdonald's proposed 'Imperial Highway' and the once admired Metis would become a disturbing factor to be dealt with.
George Millward McDougall (1821-1876) is stationed at the United Church (Wesleyan mission) at Garden River (1851-1857).
(I)-Wemyss MacKenzie Simpson (1823-1894) joined HBC (1841-1870) Montreal, York Factory, Lake Huron, Sault St. Matie etc. died Fort Munroe, Verginia but buried Sault St. Marie. married 1st. 1853 La Cloche, Lake Huron, Annie Ironside d-1874 daughter Captain James Symington Ironside of the Indian department.
(II)-Frank George Simpson Metis (1853-1941) born La Cloche, Lake Huron
(II)-Webster Scott Simpson Metis
(II)-Charles Simpson Metis
(II)-Anne Ironside Simpson Metis (1858-1952) Sault St Marie
(II)-Isobel Symington Simpson Metis (1862-1937) Sault St Marie
(II)-Amy Simpson Metis b-1863 Sault St. Marie
(II)-Gerald John Simpson Metis (1865-1917)
(II)-Geraldine Marie Simpson Metis (1865-1937)
(II)-Fanny W. Simpson Metis (1867-1867) Sault St. Marie
(II)-Edith Simpson Metis (1868-1937) Sault St. Marie
(II)-Algoma Simpson Metis (1868-1942) Sault St. Marie
(II)-Ethel Carole Simpson Metis (1871-1926)
(II)-Agnes C. Simpson Metis d-1874 an infant
Father Pierre Jean De Smet (1801-1873) was in the Black Hills of Dakota and was aware of gold in the hills. Rumors have been circulating for years but nothing with substance.
Henry Fisher is promoted to Chief Trader for the Red River District. Henry Fisher, born Prairie du Chien, son of an American Fur Company agent and Marienne Lasaliere (great-granddaughter of an Ottawa chief). Fisher had joined the North West Company in 1816 and he had many wives, contrary to the advice of his uncle, Chief Trader Alexander Fisher. It is not clear how many wives he has, but its between four and seven.
James Mark Metis/Indian (1851-1925) born Moose Factory, joined HBC (1891-1919) Moose factory.
James Savage who operated three trading posts in the Yosemite area, led a rebel militia band called the Mariposa Battalion to threaten or brutalize the residents of the valley into submission to increasing incursions of gold miners and settlers. The Ahwahneechee fled into the mountains, so James Savage torched their homes and food caches. The Ahwahneechee merciless dispersal was completed in less than two years. It is believed Yosemite (National Park) is derived from the Ahwahneechee phrase 'yo'hem-itch' meaning 'they are killers'.
Frog Plains, the Presbyterian community, with the assistance of Alexander Ross and Reverend John Black, built a church this year. More than one thousand Metis, French, English and Indian men, women and children left Red River on the annual bison (buffalo) hunt. They filled the Prairies as far as the eye could see. Their expectation was to kill eight hundred bison (buffalo). The expansion westward of the White Horse Plains group and the killing of bison (buffalo) in their territory riles up the Blackfoot confederacy.
The Hudson Bay Company, at this time, had no more than three thousand employees scattered thinly over its immense domain. The total Canadian population is 2,436,000, and approximately fifty percent would move south of the medicine line (49the parallel). In reality the line had little implication on these early peoples as they followed the bison (buffalo) and water ways of the west with little or no regard to boundaries or nationality.
Pierre Garreau, the half-breed (Metis), camped on the Missouri with his employer D.D. Mitchell. Their camp was forty miles down river from the mouth of the Yellowstone River (North Dakota). Mitchell is in charge of Fort Clark near Fort Union (North Dakota).
Fort Union is built to enforce the American occupation of New Mexico and to put down the rebellious Mexicans and Indians.
Bishop Anderson reopened his Boarding School for girls after the scandal of 1849. He hired a Mrs. Mills and her two daughters to run the school. (I)-William Todd (1784-1851) and Donald Ross sent three daughters to the school. Chief Factor George Barnston parted most reluctantly with his girl. Sixteen girls are in attendance. Mrs Mills disliked the school and did not conceal this dislike. She departed in 1855. Her successor, Mrs. Oldershaw, was in sad distress, as the pupils did not like her, and left the school, accusing her of interference and carelessness. By 1858 only four young ladies remained in the residential school.
The Hudson Bay Company men in central and southern Labrador married, what Rev. Henry Disney called, Esquimaux women. The modern Metis (1975) trace their aboriginal roots to these unions. The term Metis was first used in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1975.
Escaped African American slave Harriet Tubman settles in western Ontario, Canada, but makes 19 trips into the United States to guide some 300 slaves to freedom.
Reverend Davidson a Baptist preacher took in other partners of the cloth in 'The Minister Claim', a gold claim at Amador City, California. The total production was nearly $4 million.
The three penny beaver is a critter of renown in the annals of the Canadian fur trade and is considered Canada's first postage stamp. It is the first stamp in the world that did not depict a ruling monarch.
June: Jean Baptiste Falcon from the White Horse Plain and Jean Baptiste Wilkie of the Pembina party represented the bison (buffalo) hunt this year.
June 16: Father Lacombe (1827-1916) went on his second bison (buffalo) hunt with Father L.F. Richer, 200 carts and 250 brigade. Jean Baptiste Falcon, Metis, son Pierre Falcon, led the White Horse Plains group. They were soon joined by the Pembina group. Jean Baptiste Wilkie led the much larger Pembina group. They decided this year to split forces and travel about 20 miles apart, yet maintain close contact.
July 12: One hundred Metis, under the command of Pierre Falcon (d-1876) at Grand Coteau, North Dakota encountered 500 lodges of 1,000 Dakota warriors. The Metis only had 77 guns. Gunfire from within the circle of Metis carts was so deadly that successive waves of Dakota attackers are cut down. Father Lafleche was taking an active part in the defense. The battle lasted 6 hours on July 13 and two (5) hours on July 14. Three Metis were wounded. Fifteen Dakota and may horses were dead, and 18 Dakota were wounded. This battle of Frand Coteau settle once and for always a pledge that the Dakota would never again attack the Metis. He would again raise his gun in 1869 with Louis Riel. Father Albert Lacombe (1827-1916) would write: "How good these Metis of the Plains were, these fervent Christians, these fine, fine People, These People with hearts of gold."
July 12; Red River, baptism (II)-Catherine Brown, Metis, daughter, (I)-Henry Brown, b-1799, Orkney and Isabella Slater b-1806, Metis
July 12: The Metis scouts reported a Dakota Sioux camp of 2,500 warriors. Hostilities started with the Dakota capturing the five scouts. Two escaped to spread the alarm. Counting boys over 12 years of age, the defending Metis numbered 77 men. Peace was proposed but the Dakota wanted to crush the camp. All day long attack after attack was repulsed by the Metis. The Metis moved camp and were attacked the second day.
July 14: A large force of several hundred mounted Dakota Sioux warriors attacked a small band of fifteen Metis freighters. The attack is south west of the Red River settlement at a place called Grand Coteau (Big Hillock) which is south west of Mingt, North Dakota. The Metis freighters placed their carts in a circle to protect the women and children and to serve as rifle pits. The Metis lost only one man after six hours of siege, whereas the Dakota Sioux lost twenty. Another account places the Metis as seventy guns from White Horse Plains, and the one Metis killed is one of the three scouts taken prisoner. Attempting to escape, the Dakota Sioux inadvertently shot him during the confusion. This encounter, which some refer to as the Grand Coteau, decisively established the Metis in a much higher regard with the Dakota Sioux. This exchange would lead to future permanent peace treaties between the two peoples. The Dakota Sioux had repeatedly stated that they really had no grievance with the Metis, only with the Ojibwa Nation who are their long standing adversaries. The First Nation peoples, from this date forward, accepted their children, the Metis, as equal Masters of the Great Plains (Prairies). The Dakota declared that never again would they attack the Metis. The other bison (buffalo) hunters arrived with 318 hunters and an equal number of Ojibwa, with the main force following. The Ojibwa wanted to deal decisively with the Dakota but are talked out of this course of action. The Dakota had already been humbled. Word spread far and wide of the victory of the Metis. Father Lacombe would write: "How good these Metis of the plains were, these fervent Christians, these fine, fine people, these people with the hearts of gold."
July 14: Eden Colvile of York Factory wrote: "I am sorry to hear that there is so much prejudice against Catholic Missionaries, as I feel bound to say that in my opinion they are much better fitted for missionaries in this country, than members of the English Church - from their self denial, and the way they accommodate themselves to the circumstances of the country." He went on to say the Church of England Missionaries "must have in the first place a wife, and in the second place about two boat loads of goods, provisions and luxuries."
July 23, and August 5 : The American Treaty of Travese Des Sioux and Mendota (Heights), at a cost of 6 cents per acre, effectively dispossessed the seven thousand Dakota Sioux (Wahpeton, Sisseton, Mdewakanton and Wahpekute bands) of their claims to Minnesota. The newly created reservations are Yellow Center at the mouth of the Yellow Medicine River below Granite Falls and Redwood near Redwood walls. The former Natives appeared satisfied, but the Redwood group voiced their displeasure. The displeasure of the Dakota Sioux revolves around the Trades Paper which, unknown at the time of signing, gave $400,000 of their settlement to the traders and Mixed-Blood (Metis) for alleged trading claims. Some contend that the action is deliberate in order to drive a wedge between the Metis and the Dakota Sioux, undermining their long standing peace treaties.
November 2: Red River, baptism, (II)-Alexander Foulds, Metis, died March 14, 1855, son, (I)-Samuel Foulds (Folds, Foldes) (1803-1870) to Nancy (Ann & Anne) Calder, Metis (1803-1896)
December: St. Boniface becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of the North West Territories.
1852
A major Flood again hit Red River and the loss is estimated at 25,000£ (pounds).
James Grant, who had expectations of inheriting money, married Esquimeaux Bay's Isobel (Isabella Sophia) Hardisty (1825-1913). He immediately regretted the marriage because he thought he was too young. The marriage was pushed by the Hardistys. The couple separated, apparently by mutual consent, almost at once. Part of the pressure was that one daughter Mary b-1833 of Hardisty had recently married 1851 Joseph Macpherson. Mrs. Grant stayed on at North West River where Donald A. Smith (1820- )was in charge of Esquimeaux Bay as Chief. In March of 1853 Mrs. Grant married Donald A. Smith (1820- ).
Peter Warren Bell Metis (1831-1901) joined HBC (1852-1892) assigned Esquimaux Bay (1889-1895) retired to Kingston and later Vancouver. married 1866 Ellen S. Dupont
Bazille Bottineau (Boiteneau Metis son Joseph Charles a French Huguenot (1776-1824) and Techomegood
Daniel Bottineau Metis
Jean Bottineau Metis
Pierre Bottineau Metis (1810/1817-1895) married 1836, Margaret Clear Sky an Ojibwa (1816-1851)
Severe Bottineau Metis b-1814 Red River married Julie Chenevert
Charles Bottineau Metis born Red River
Genevieve Bottineau Metis
Rosalie Bottineau Metis
Margaret Bottineau Metis
Leon Bottineau Metis
Elise Bottineau Metis
Pierre Bottineau Metis (1810/17-1895)
1st marriage 1836 Martha Clear Sky (1816-1851)
2nd marriage Genevieve Laurence (1818-1851)
3rd marriage 1852 Martha Gervais of Osseo born (1837-1895) children of this marriage include
Charles, Bottineau Metis
Mathilde Bottineau Metis,
Henry Bottineau Metis,
George Bottineau Metis,
William Bottineau Metis,
Norman Bottineau Metis,
Laura Bottineau Metis,
Jennie Bottineau Metis,
Agnes Bottineau Metis
Noah Bottineau Metis.
Severe Bottineau Metis b-1814 Red River married at St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota Julie Chenevert
(I)-Joseph Fortescue (1833-1899) joined HBC (1852-1892) Moose Factory, Fort Gary, Norway House, York Factory, married 1864 York Factory Sarah Jane Mason eldest daughter William Mason and Sarah Indian or Metis
(II)-Matthew Fortescue Metis b-1866, married 1890, Pendentia Angela Batles of Ireland
(II)-Anne Maud Marie Fortescue Metis b-1867, married 1889 Angus McKay of Prince Albert
(II)-Caroline Elizabeth Fortescue Metis (1869-1871)
(II)-Hugh Fortescue Metis d-1870 an infant
(II)-Frances Eleanor Fortescue Metis b-1871
(II)-Gertrude Edith May Fortescue Metis b-1873
(II)-Charles Le Geyt Fortescue Metis b-1876,
(II)-Margaret Jane Fortescue Metis b-1878
(II)-John Percival Fortescue Metis b-1880
(II)-George Godfrey Fortescue Metis b-1886, a twin
(II)-Joseph Edward Barrington Fortescue Metis (1886-898) a twin
John Sebastian Helmcken b-1824 married Victoria Cecilia Douglas, Metis daughter Governor James Douglas Creole/Scot.
Louis Larocque Metis b-1850/52 Red River, married Angelique Metis b-1851/52 NWT children born Saskatchewan District (Alberta)
Flora Larocque Metis b-1873
Mary Larocque Metis b-1875
Henry Larocque Metis b-1877
Lewis Larocque Metis b-1879
Elizabeth Larocque Metis b-1881
James Larocque Metis b-1883
Clara Larocque Metis b-1877
Edward Larocque Metis b-1887
Caroline Larocque Metis b-1889
Charles Larocque Metis b-1891
John Johnson Leveille Metis (1852-1909) Red River son Pierre Carignan dit Trouch L'Eveille (1783-1876) and (III)-Julie MacKenzie Metis b-1789: married 1873 Elizabeth Breland b-1842 daughter Paschal Breland and Marie Grant.
Marie Rose Leveille Metis (1878-1952)
Marie Elsie Priscille Leveille Metis b-1874
John James Leveille Metis b-1876
Victor Napoleon Leveille Metis b-1879
Rose De-Lima Leveille Metis b-1882
Jean Robert Leveille Metis b-1883
Marie Justine Leveille Metis b-1884
Marie Virginie Leveille Metis b-1885
Alfred Leveille Metis b-1887
John Joseph Leveille Metis b-1888
Gabreil Leveille Metis b-1889
Marie Louise LeveilleMetis b-1891
Helene Leveille Metis b-1895
William Linklater Metis? joined HBC (1852-1867) Lac La Pluie and English River, assigned (1860-1863) Athabasca.
(I)-Roderick MacFarlane (1833-1920) joined HBC (1852-1853) assigned (1852-1853) Pembina; assigned (1853-1871) MacKenzie River; assigned 1871-1887) Athabasca; 1887-1889) New Caledonia; (1889-1890) Cumberland House. Married 1870 (III)-Ann Christie Metis daughter (II)-Alexander Christie Jr b-1818 and Caroline Isbister Metis of Norway House
(II)-Katie MacFarlane Metis married C. G. Heaven
(II)-Alexander MacFarlane Metis
(II)-Elise MacFarlane Metis married John D. Bell of Red River working MacKenzie River with one Metis child
(II)-William MacFarlane Metis
(II)-Emma MacFarlane Metis married E.C. Senkler
(II)-Lilian MacFarlane Metis
(II)-Jessie MacFarlane Metis
(II)-James Grahame MacFarlane Metis (1884-1887)
(I)-Allen McDonnell (1778-1859) son (II)-John McDonell, Metis was in prison (Red River?) and his father arranged passage for him to Australia.
(III)-Jean Baptiste Spence, Metis, b-1835 Sandy Bay, died December 16, 1897 son (II)-Jean Baptiste Spence aka We-tcha-mash, Metis (1807-1889), and Marie Roulette aka Matche-Kameko, Metis b-1816; married 1852, churched September 1, 1858 Josephte Saulteaux; 2nd marriage 1862, churched August 24, 1864, Marie Kijipayashik Saulteaux; 3rd marriage June 17, 1867, Lalouise Fisher, b-1850 Source Ida A. Spence
CHILDREN WITH Josephte Saulteaux
(IV)-Jean Baptiste (Samuel) Spence, Metis, b-1853 on the Grand Coteau, died June 23, 1948, married 1880 Portage Catherine Mousseau died December 8, 1903; 2nd marriage Caroline Flett
CHILDREN WITH Marie Kijipayashik Saulteaux
(IV)-Jean Baptiste Spence, Metis b-1863 Whitemud River; married 1886 Sandy Bay, Marguerite Richard
CHILDREN WITH Marie Lalouise Fisher, Metis daughter Henry Fisher Jr. (1800-1855) and Marie Anne Indian
(IV)-William Spence, Metis born July 4, 1870 St. Peters
(IV)-Alexander Spence, Metis born 1874/1875
(IV)-Marie Anne Spence, Metis b-1877, married Amedie Garneau
(IV)-Abraham Spence, Metis born September 19, 1880 S. Bay, married Fanny Flett
(IV)-Joseph Spence, born May 5, 1883 S. Bay, married February 26, 1906 Nancy Campbell
(IV)-Veronique Spence, Metis born January 17, 1886, S, Bay, married Louis Mosionior
(IV)-Edwin Spence, Metis born December 20, 1889, married Janet Starr
(IV)-Marcien Spence, born January 11, 1895 McCreary, married Alice Ranville
(IV)- Patrice, Marie Louise and three others born/died
John Stevenson Metis of Red River joined HBC (1852-1868) working the Swan River District, settling Red River.
The New York police estimate that 10,000 abandoned, orphaned and runaway children are roaming the streets of the city.
About 2,500 Chinese are panning gold along the Trinity River, near Weaverville, California. California places a heavy tax on the Chinese and boasts collecting $8,000.00 some months. If authorities had attempted to tax the Americans they would have been shot dead.
July 27: Oxford House, birth (II)-Alexander Isbister, Metis baptized July 31, 1853 Red River, son (I)-John Isbister aka Isbester (1796-1883) and Frances (Fanny) (Essessepow) Sinclair Metis or Indian, b-1813
August 17: Fort Severn: birth (II)-George Cromartie, Metis, son (I)-John Cromartie (1792-1878) Orkney, employed HBC (1812-1870), and 1839 (II)-Catherine Park, Metis, (1816/17-1860) daughter (I)-John Park (1768/71-1847) and Margaret Metisse (1796-1853)
August 22: Moose Factory, birth (II)-Richard Swanson, Metis son (I)-William Swanson (1794-1865) and Frances Robinson, Metis (1821-1876) daughter John Robinson of Michipicoten (Northern Ontario) and Indian woman.
August 22: Moose Factory, baptism (II)-Emily Swanson, Metis daughter (I)-William Swanson (1794-1865) and Frances Robinson, Metis (1821-1876) daughter John Robinson of Michipicoten (Northern Ontario) and Indian woman.
1853
George Atkinson Metis b-1838 Indian Land, joined HBC (1853-1881) Rupert's River, Abitibi, Moose Factory, married 1770 Margaret Necushin b-1780 and they had 2 sons and 1 daughter
Snappy (George) Atkinson Metis b-1770 went to England in 1790 and was baptized George. His father hoped this would "skake off a little of the Indian and in so doing make him exert himself like a man."
Charlotte Atkinson Metis b-1811 Red River married Fort Lacome Charles Fidler bapt Red River 1830
Mr. Black erected a Church at Little Britain, fourteen miles down river from Frog Plains. This would be the church that Lawrence Garneau (1840-1921) and (IV)-Eleanor Thomas married in about 1868. Bishop Provencher died June 8, 1853 and Alexander Tache (1823-1894) ' became Bishop of St. Boniface, having arrived in the Metis settlement, Red River in 1845. Some suggest be became bishop in 1850.
Edward Horace Belanger (Bellanger) (1836-1892) from Riviere, Quebec, son Edouard Belanger d-1853 Chief trader HBC and Marie Sophie Casgrain d-1887 daughter Pierre Casgrain b-1771. Married 1861 St Boniface, Rosalie Marion Metis? Some of their 11 children are recorded as Metis and they applied for Metis script.
Joseph Edward Belanger Metis b-1846 Saskatchewan River
Marie Eugenie Belanger Metis b-1866 St Boniface
Horace Luc Belanger Jr Metis
Andre Belanger Metis b-1872 Cumberland
Rosalie Louise Belanger Metis b-1879
Charles Eugene Belanger Metis b-1881, d-1956 Ile a la Crosse HBC (1902-1936)
Louis Chastellain (Chatelain) Metis joined HBC (1853-1860) Lac La Pluie (Ontario)
(I)-Walter Dickson b-1828 joined Supple and Maguire before 1853 on the Ottawa River, joined HBC (1853-1873) Eastman and was in opposition to HBC between New Brunswick and Lake Superior. In 1889 at Lake Francis, Manitoba applied for half-breed script for his children.
(II)-Frank C. Dickson Metis joined HBC (1889-1903) Lake Winnipeg, Fort Gary etc.
(III)-Joseph Hodgson Metis (1853-1934) from St Andrews, Red River, likely son (II)-Thomas Hodgson (1889/90-1865) and (II)-Anne Thomas Metis
(III)?-George Linklater Metis (1853-1936) born Albany, possible son Benjamin Linklater Metis b-1825 Albany, ,his father and grandfather worked for HBC joined HBC (1870-1885) Moose and Kenogamissi married 1890 Mary Marks of Brockville
(IV)-Richard Linklater Metis of Desbarats
(IV)-George Linklater Metis of Kamloops
(IV)-Peter Linklater Metis of Sault St. Marie
(IV)-Howard Linklater Metis of Nakins
(IV)-Stanley Linklater Metis of Desbarats
(IV)-Duncan Linklater Metis of Sault Ste Marie
James Benjamin Linklater (1895-1909) Albany
Evadne Clara Linklater (1898-1908) Albany
(II)-Henry John Moberly (1835-1931) born Penetanguishene, Lake Huron (Ontario) son (I)-John Moberly b-1789 Russia, and Mary Fock from Russia, joined HBC 1853-1891) Lake Huron, Saskatchewan District, Athabasca and Ille-a-la Crosse,
Louis Paul Metis born Ruperts Land joined HBC (1853-1860) advanced from middleman to bowman before becoming a freeman on the Saskatchewan District.
Father Remas settled at Notre Dame Des Victoires (Red Deer Lake) among the Metis, Cree and Montagnais from Athabasca. The Ile-a-la-crosse Indians are also living there. He wanted to settle in Fort Pitt but found little encouragement, as drunkenness prevails to a shameful extent both among the Company servants and the Indians. The Hudson Bay Company claimed to discourage all ministers from settling near their forts because it affected the work ethic. The Hudson Bay Company rejects the Protestant's requests more often than Catholic's, or so they claim.
(I)-Angus Smith (1836-1914) joined HBC (1853-1861) retired Red River, married (II)-Mary Inskster Metis b-1845 daughter (I)-James Inkster (1805-1865) and Elizabeth Sutherland Metis
(II)-Alexander Smith Metis b-1861 Norway House
(II)-Isabella Smith Metis b-1862 Red River
(II)-Catherine Smith Metis b-1864 Red River
(II)-Margaret Smith Metis b-1866 Red River
(II)-John Smith Metis b-1869 Red River
(III)-Louison Spence, Metis, b-1854 Totogan, died December 16, 1897 son (II)-Jean Baptiste Spence aka We-tcha-mash, Metis (1807-1889), and Marie Roulette aka Matche-Kameko, Metis b-1816; married Lisette Lacoutte Source Ida A. Spence
Baraga became the first Catholic Bishop of upper Michigan. The establishment of Fort Ridgely as an army post in the northwest corner of Nicollet County is to keep an eye on the Dakota Sioux.
Many of the North Slave Metis trace their roots to Louison Lafferty and Marie L'Esperance who are associated with Old Fort Rae about this time.
Illinois passed a law that required any black entering the state and staying more than ten days to pay a $50 fine. If he could not pay, he could be sold into slavery.
Keystone Mine at Amador City, California yielded $25 million.
Walker of Tennessee organized 170 men and sailed from San Francisco to southern California to proclaim the Pacific Republic and himself as president of the New Republic. The Mexicans however sent a large force that drove Walkers army back into American territory,.
Based of accounts of others who had already visited the area, Isaac Skeeter, John Wesley Hillman in a party of 10 visited Crater Lake (Oregon)
Pierre Bottineau Metis (1810/17-1895) was the chief guide for Gov. Isaac Stevens of Washington Territory on the first preliminary survey made for the Northern Pacific Railway across North Dakota to Fort Union at the junction of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. The expedition left Sauk Rapids on June 12th with 111 voyageurs, teamsters and packers. By June 29th they entered North Dakota, going northwesterly across the plains and crossing the Sheyenne River three times. On Aug 7, 1853, at Fort Union, Pierre turned back carrying a letter of commendation from Stevens.
March 5; Red River, baptism (II)-George Brown, Metis, son, (I)-Henry Brown, b-1799, Orkney and Isabella Slater b-1806, Metis
October 20: James McKey (1828-1879), a Metis, is hired by the Hudson Bay Company's Chief Factor John Black. He spent his first year on the St. Paul to Red River transportation route then was posted to the Swan River District.
1854
Red River birth (II)-Jamesl Cunningham Metis (1854-1940) son (II)-John Patrick Cunningham Metis (1818-1870) and Rosalie L’Hirondelle.
Charles Thomas, a Metis, is employed with the Hudson Bay Company.
James McKey (1828-1879), a Metis, is postmaster at Qu'Appelle Lakes from 1854 to1855, then he moved to Fort Ellice (1855-1858).
Donald Ross Jr. likely Metis (1840-1878) son Donald Ross and Mary McBeath, joined HBC (1854-1878) Norway House, Athabasca died Fort Vermilion, married (III)-Ann McKenzie Metis died before 1878 daughter (II)-Samuel McKenzie Metis
William Ross Metis b-1869
Fifteen hundred Red-River Carts a year are making the trip between Red River, North West Territories and St. Paul, Missouri (Minnesota) Territories. This trading route is Metis controlled. The semi-annual bison hunt is also Metis controlled. A report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs noted that a hunting party of 824 (Red River) carts and 1,300 Michif (Metis), led by Governor (leader of the hunt) Wilkie, are residents of Pembina and its vicinity (Red River); on the Pembina river and on the Pembina mountain. Whilst at home, they engage in agriculture, cultivating their farms and raising their crops of wheat, corn, potatoes, and barley. They raise about twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre; cultivating an average of about fifteen acres. They are industrious and frugal in their habits, are mostly of the Romish (French Roman Catholic) persuasion, and lead virtuous and pious lives.
Pere Belcourt reported that there were 2,000 Metis living at Pembina, Red River.
The Territory of Nebraska included within its limits that portion of what is now Dakota, which lies west of the Missouri River. Minnesota attempted to control the balance of the Dakota Territory. The German colonization societies from Chicago and Cincinnati established New Ulm near the junction of the Cottonwood and Minnesota Rivers.
Alexander Ward led 21 emigrants into the Boise Valley, Idaho and are killed by the Snake River Indians.
A newspaper in Weaverville, California reported, Sunday two persons were killed, yesterday buried and today forgotten, so is the life in a gold mining town.
Shinguacouse or Little Pine, an Indian leader and medicine man born 1773, died Garden River, Canada West son of likely Lavoine Barthe a trader and an Ojibwa woman.
September 30: At La Pointe, Wisconsin, the American Government entered into Treaty with the Chippewa (Ojibwa) of Lake Superior, of Mississippi, of Pillager, of Red Lake and of Pembina. The Chippewa of Lake Superior numbered four thousand and was represented by the following bands:
La Pointe, Wisconsin near Bayfield
Ontonagon, Michigan
L'Anse, Michigan
Viex de Sert
Grande Portage, Minnesota
Fond du Lac (Cloquet), Minnesota
Lac Court Oreille, Wisconsin
Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin
Bois Fort
This treaty also applied to Mixed Blood Chippewa as follows: Each head of family or single person over twenty one years of age at September 30, 1854 was entitled to eighty acres of land according to the Secretary of the Interior as recorded on April 21, 1871 and printed on 1874. The treaty interpretation included married women, widowed women and persons under twenty one who are raising a family. Louis Garneau and some of his family qualified for land script and appear under the family name of Gurnoe. Lawrence Garneau would be fourteen years of age and therefore not entitled to Mixed Blood script. This probably accounts for his migration life style when most of the Lake Superior peoples settled into a more sedentary life style.
General Luther E. Webb, Indian Agent for the Lake Superior Chippewa and Mixed Blood Chippewa (Ojibwa), issued script or certificate for script to the following Mixed Blood Chippewa at Sault Ste Marie, as witnessed by James Chapman and Joseph Gurnoe:
Roulleau (Rolleau) Archange, (alias Gourneau) a married female
Edward Ashman, brother-in-law to James Chapman
Amanda Ashman, married sister of James Chapman
Joseph Boudrie
Angelic Boudine, married
Charlotte Boudine, married
Josette Boudine, married
Marie A. Boudine, married
Joseph Boudrie
John Baptiste Boudrie, white man
George Brown
Betsy Brown, married
Charlotte Boucher
Charles Cadotte of Sault Ste Marie
Archange Cadotte (also married to Gurnoe) of Sault Ste Marie
Lewis Cadotte
Isabel Cadotte of Sault Ste Marie
Susan Cadotte (Cardotte), married, of Sault Ste Marie
Reuben Chapman, brother James Chapman
Charlotte Contoix
Felicite Contoix
Lewis Contoix
Julia Contoix, married
Catherine Contoix, married, a cousin of Joseph Gurnoe.
Henry Cotte, a brother-in-law of Joseph Gurnoe.
Marie Dufault
Genevieve Ermatinger
Charles Gurnoe, brother Joseph Gurnoe
Francois S. Gurnoe, age 48, brother Joseph Gurnoe
Louis Gurnoe, father of Joseph Gurnoe, not classified as a white man
Jane Gurnoe, married to a Chippewa Chief, sister Joseph Gurnoe
John B. Gurnoe, age forty plus, brother Joseph Gurnoe
Simon Gurnoe, age 40, brother Joseph Gurnoe
Charlotte Gurnoe, married applied at Du Luth, Minnesota
Jane Jeasson, widow
Joseph Jibway
Charlotte Jiroux, cousin of Joseph Gurnoe
Justine Johnson, married
Sophia Johnson, married
Polly Johnson, married
Angelic La Coy, married
Angelic La Coy, married
Charlotte McFarlain
Peter McFarlain
Joseph Meniclier
Nicholas Menicher, died before application
Charles Menielier
Calastique Miron, married
Louis Nolin
Francois Nolin
Julia Nolin
Angelic Ojibway, Married, died 1858
Mary Piquette
La Louise Piquette
Francois Piquette
John Baptiste Piquette
Charles Roussin, now in Canada
Justine Roussin, married
Charlotte Shaw, married
Marie Shaw, married
Julie Sutherland, married
Mary J. Stafford, married, sister Joseph Gurnoe
Margaret Severt, married
Mary L. Warner, married
Paul Lizer, moved to Red River after application
Louis Cadotte of Sault Ste Marie or Mackinac
Charlotte Cadotte of Sault Ste Marie or Mackinac, Joseph Gurno thinks she belongs to the Mackinac Cadotte's.
Most of the above applicants received certificate for script within one year.
Conversion of certificate to script, then into cash or for land, would follow later. Many applicants selected and squatted on land pending the process of application. Some applied twice under different names, maiden names and Indian names, or applied for land in Michigan and Wisconsin. General Luther E. Webb, Indian Agent, encouraged the Natives to defraud the Government.
It is most probable that the Garneau clan began selecting their homesteads (script land) this or next year. Asaph Whittlesey settled in Ashland just south of Bayfield, Wisconsin. Many, however, did not make their final selection until 1856.
July 2: Red River, baptism, (II)-Caroline Foulds, Metis, daughter, (I)-Samuel Foulds (Folds, Foldes) (1803-1870) to Nancy (Ann & Anne) Calder, Metis (1803-1896)
October 29: Moose Factory, baptism (II)-Jane Swanson, Metis daughter (I)-William Swanson (1794-1865) and Frances Robinson, Metis (1821-1876) daughter John Robinson of Michipicoten (Northern Ontario) and Indian woman.
METIS HISTORY: Return to METIS 1850-1899 index