ASLAKE

BARNES, John/Jack   (Son of Philippe Barnes & Unknown Indian Woman)                                                                   When John Barnes was twelve years old, he and a younger sister, Annie, were adopted by Johnny Grant during his move to the Carman area of Manitoba; two older sisters were left behind. Based on scrip records, John Barnes was born in the North West in 1858 to Negro/Metis, Philippe Barnes, and an unidentified Indian woman. In Johnny Grant's memoir (A Son Of The Fur Trade), John is the Mulatto Boy. Little is known of John Barnes except he married a number of times and one of his sons, Albert, moved to Alberta with Johnny Grant and his family in 1891.

BARNES, Annie  (Daughter of Philippe Barnes & Unknown Indian Woman)                                                                   Annie was the sister of John/Jack Barnes; her parents were Negro/Metis Philippe Barnes and an unidentified Indian woman. Based on scrip records Annie was born in the North West in 1860 and would have been about ten years old when adopted by Johnny Grant and brought to the Carman area of Manitoba. Annie died before January, 1876. Her place of burial is unknown.

BRELAND, Christine (Daughter of Pierre du Boishue dit Breland & Louise Umphreville aka Josephte Belly)

Sister of Marie Anne Breland, Pascal Breland, Alexandre Breland; godmother of -----------, daughter of her brother-in-law, Richard Grant and his 3rd wife, Helene Kittson nee Mc Donald.

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BRELAND, Marie Anne  (Daughter of Pierre du Boishue dit Breland & Louise Umphreville aka Josephte Belley)             There are few primary records relating to Marie Anne's history; there is no birth, marriage or death records. What is known of her has been pieced together with the help of others' primary records and strong circumstantial evidence. Marie Anne Breland's father was the famous freeman, Pierre du Boishue dit Breland, who reportedly had some half dozen wives, all of them "daughters of the soil".

Until the 2008 publication of her son's memoirs (A Son Of The Fur Trade - The Memoirs of Johnny Grant) the identity of Marie Anne's mother was unconfirmed. In the memoir, Johnny Grant states his maternal grandmother was married to John Rowand. Also in the memoir, some of Rowand's children are referred to by name and identified as Marie Anne's step sisters/brothers. Another supporting document is the marriage record of Marie Anne's daughter, Jeanne Marguerite Grant. When Jeanne married Jacques Rivard-Loranger, May 27, 1846, at Trois-Rivieres, Marie Anne was identified as Marie Anne Rowand. This strongly suggests that even eleven years after Marie Anne's death she was remembered and recognized as John Rowand's step-daughter.

In his memoir, Johnny Grant states his mother married his father, Richard Grant, at Fort des Prairies prior to the March 26, 1821, amalgamation of the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Trading Company; that his mother was 32 years old when she died suddenly in the spring of 1833.

Richard Grant's HBC employment record, however, tells a somewhat different story. It states that Richard Grant, from 1816-1821, was North West Company Clerk at Rocky Mountain House and that he "Married Mary Anne Berland c. 1824 and had five children by her, Richard b c. 1825; Charles William b c. 1826; John b c. 1833 and two daughters (one deceased in 1827). His wife died in 1835 and he took his children to Montreal to be raised by his mother Margaret and his sister. His daughter died c. 1846 shortly after she was married in Montreal." In 1810, John Rowand broke his leg in a riding accident. He was found and nursed back to health by a Metis woman named Louise Umphreville. They subsequently married "according to the custom of the country". Some traditions maintain Rowand adopted several of Louise's children. John Rowand was also employed by the NWCo., at Fort Augustus, the companion fort to the HBC's Fort Edmonton.

By these dates and locations, it is certainly likely the Rowand family and Richard Grant knew one another some time before the amalgamation. Another document heavily supporting the earlier date for Richard and Marie Anne's marriage was Richard's Last Will and Testament. This document was signed the fourth of September, 1822, and in it, Richard bequeaths "to Mary Ann Breland and her Child Richard Grant and any other Child of the said Mary Ann Berland begotten by me the annual interests of my Effects..." Certainly, Marie Anne Breland married Richard Grant at least as early 1821. As no formal marriage record has been found, marriage "according to the country" cannot be ruled out.

Further: If, according to Johnny Grant, Marie Anne Breland was 32 years old when she died in 1833 she would have been born c1801. If Marie Anne was 32 when she died in 1835 -according to the HBC records- she would have been born c1803. These dates are within the period Pierre Breland and Louise Umphreville had Marie Anne's siblings: Alexander Breland (1803-1858), Pascal Breland (1811-1896), Catherine Breland Ross (c1813-1878). There may have been others.

Marie Anne Breland's date of death has been as elusive as those of her birth and marriage. As previously stated, the HBC recorded 1835 as Marie's date of death. In his memoir, Johnny Grant relates his father's story of her death: that she died suddenly while on a Sunday walk in the spring, when the roses were blooming. Johnny always maintained he was born January 7, 1831, that he was eighteen months when his mother died in 1833, and that eighteen months later, when he was three years old, he was taken to Trois-Rivieres to be raised by his paternal grandmother, Marguerite Grant nee Laframboise.

On November 16, 1836, Johnny Grant and his sister Jeanne were baptized in the Trois-Rivieres cathedral. This record documented Johnny's age as three years. If Marie Anne did die in the spring and eighteen months before Johnny's arrival in Trois-Rivieres, she would have died between March and June of 1835. (Ironically, Johnny's calculations and the baptismal record prove beyond any doubt that he was born in 1833, not 1831.)

Following Marie Anne's death, a large marble slab for her grave was ordered from England or Scotland. When Johnny Grant returned to the Edmonton area in 1892 he searched in vain for his mother's marker only to discover it had been shattered and dispersed by cattle feeding in the area.

What was once a traditional Aboriginal gathering and trading grounds, and then later Fort Edmonton's burial ground, is now called Rossdale Flat. It has been 175 years since Marie Anne was laid to rest in Fort Edmonton's burial ground. The fort is gone, replaced by roads, a bridge, a power plant and grassed areas. Until very few years ago, though, wooden crosses still marked and reminded us of the resting places of the many souls buried there. On August 10, 2007, the city of Edmonton hosted a ceremony commemorating the memorial monument at the Traditional Burial Grounds and Fort Edmonton Cemetery at Rossdale. Besides eight flat markers commemorating unidentified individuals, eleven permanent granite markers were erected, each of them engraved with the known names of those buried there. Marie Anne Breland and her mother, Louise Umphreville, Peter Breland, W. Rowand, a young Breland girl and a Breland infant are amongst them.

To date no image of Marie Anne Breland has been found.

BRELAND, Pascal  (Son of Pierre du Boishue dit Breland and Louise Umphreville aka Josephte Belly)                                 b. June 15, 1811, Saskatchewan Valley

m. Marie Grant, daughter of Cuthbert Grant and Marie Desmarais, Warden of the Plains

d. October 24, 1896, St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba

children: 6 boys, 9 girls

BRUNEAU, Christine (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison)                                                            b.---

m(1) Francois L'Hirondelle

m(2) Joseph Lagimodiere                                                                                                                                                        d. 

BRUNEAU, Clotilde  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison; 8th spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

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BRUNEAU, Eulalie/Lily  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison; 7th spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

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BRUNEAU, (Judge) Francois (Son of Antoine Bruneau & Cree woman)

b.  May, 1810, Lac Vert/Green Lake, Saskatchewan.

m. Margaret Harrison, 1831.

d.  June 27, 1865

Francois Bruneau was the son of Antoine Bruneau, an employee of the North West Company and a Cree woman.  He was born in Saskatchewan, but he family arrived at the Red River Settlement in Manitoba in 1822, and became established in St. Boniface. 

In 1822, Francois began teaching.  Then, in 1831, he married Marguerite Harrison, daughter of Edward Harrison, a former employee of the North West Company.  The children of Francois and Margarite Bruneau Genevieve, that I know of, are Genevieve (1836), Margarite (1839), Marie (1842), Sarah (1846), Thomas (1857), Christine, Clotilde and Eulalie/Lily.

June 17, 1843, Bruneau was appointed to the Council of Assiniboia.  The council was established by the Hudson Bay Company following the death of Lord Selkirk.  In March of 1846,a committee was formed, mainly of Metis men, to establish Metis rights. This committee members included Francois Bruneau, Louis Riel Sr., Pascal Breland, Urbain Delorme, and Benjamin Lagimodiere.  As a result of the efforts of this committee, Metis did see grievances corrected, the French language accepted by the judicial system, and free trade practices.  The following year, Francois Bruneau, Maximilian Genton, Pascal Breland, Urbain Delorme and Joseph uilbeau were selected as magistrates. The year after that, all were named judges.

On June 27, 1865, at the youthful age of 55, Francois Bruneau died during a typhoid epidemic.  His wife died just a few hours later.  They were buried together in the St. Boniface Cathedral cemetery.

Through the fur trade, politics and marriage, the Buneau were related in various ways to many noteworthy metis families.  For example, two of Francois and Marguerite's daughters, Clotilde and Lily, were espoused to Johnny Grant, a Metis descendant of both the North West  and Hudson Bay Companies, and thereby also related to the Breland, Rowand and Kittson families, to name a few.

BRUNEAU, Genevieve  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison)

b. November, 1836

m. Pierre Landry

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BRUNEAU, Margarite  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison)

b. December 3, 1839

m. D. McDougall

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BRUNEAU, Marie  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison)

b. December, 1842

m. Louis Lagimodiere

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BRUNEAU, Thomas  (Daughter of Judge Francois Bruneau & Margaret Harrison)

b. March 16, 1857

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CADOTTE, Marie

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CAMERON, Aeneas (Son of Alexander Cameron & Grace Grant)

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DEMPSEY, Ellen

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DEMPSEY, Robert

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DEMPSEY, Margaret (Wife (2) of Robert Dempsey)

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DEMPSEY, Margaret (Daughter of Robert Dempsey and wife (2), Margaret)

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DOBIE, Richard  (Parents Unknown)                                                                                                                          Richard Dobie was born c1731, Liberton, Scotland. His parents are unknown. It is thought he may have been a merchant in Scotland before coming to North America after the conquest. He died March 23, 1805, at Montreal, Lower Canada.

* 1764 -Dobie entered into a two year partnerships with Lawrence Ermatinger and a Canadian partner, Pierre Montbrun. Dobie assumed all the expenses and attended to selling the furs. There may have been dealing with Indians in the vicinity of Fort Timiskaming near Ville-Marie, PQ, or they may have been trading in the region southwest of the Great Lakes. Profits were divided equally between the two men.

* 1767 - Dobie went into partnership with Benjamin Frobisher, who was the wintering partner while Dobie remained in Montreal. They began operating southweset of the Great Lakes. In 1767 they organized an expedition to La Baye (Green Bay, WI) and in 1768 they hired a number of men to go to Michilimackinac (Mackinaw City, MI.) Their aim was to make their first trips into the northwest in 1769 and 1770. In 1769 they received licences for five canoes bound for Michilmakinac. Benjamin and Joseph Frobisher tried to get into the northwest, but their expedition was stopped by Indians at Rainy Lake , ON. The following year the partners sent three canoes to Michilimackinac and Grand Portage (MN) In November, 1770, the partnership was dissolved for unknown reasons and conditions.

* 1777 - Dobie's role as outfitter and financial partner expanded. During the following years, Dobie stood out as one of the principal fur traders and outfitters southwest of the Great Lakes and in the region around Lake Superior and Lake Nipigon (ON) From 1777 - 1790 he stood surety on his own or with others, for a number of expeditions carrying merchandise valued close to 100,000 pounds. The value of the expeditions varied from 2,500 pounds in 1777 to 220,000 pounds in 1783, and most of them went off to Michilimackinac, Niagara near Youngstown, NY and Detroit, MI. Only two, with merchandise valued at 3,224 pounds, proceeded to the northwest. These were let by Jean-Eetienne Waddens and his partner, Vanance Lemaire dit Saint-Germain, in 1778 and 1781, and consisted respectively of three and four canoes, which headed towards Grand Portage and beyond. After Waddens was murdered in 1782 Dobie seems to have abandoned his interest in the fur trade of that region.

Dobie apparently was most deeply engaged in the trade southwest of Michilimackinac and the Great Lakes . He maintained relations in this area with some leading merchants and fur traders, including Etienne-Charles Campion and William Grant (1743-1810) as well as with other smaller traders. Dobie agreed to stand surety for Campion when he was buying furs in 1780, served as his attorney in Montreal in 1782, and be his guarantor when he received trading licences in 1781, '82, '83 & 1787. He continued to support him when Campion went into partnership with Jean-Baptiste Tabeau by sending seven canoes and merchandise valued at 3,000 pounds to Michilimackinac; and in 1789, and in 1790 eigtht canoes with cargo valued at 5,000 pounds. Dobie seems to have played the role of surety and outfitter for the short-lived General Company of Lake Superior and the South, which specialized in the fur trade as far south as the Illinois country and westward to the head of the Missouri. Campion joined it in 1785, and it was dissolved about 1787. Like Campion, William Grant, a fur trader and Montreal merchant, held an important place in the business affairs of Dobie, who supplied him with surety on his expeditions in 1781, '82,, '83, '86, '87, and 1788.

Dobie generally carried on his business as outfitter and financial backer alone, but occasionally he joined other merchants to put up surety for a fur trader. Among those merchants were John Grant and his partner Robert Griffin, William Grant and Campion, who became partners in Grant, Campion and Company in 1791, and Thomas Forsyt, a partner in Robert Ellice and Company. In 1788, Dobie decided to take in Francis Badgley as a partner, to reduce the burden of running his business and to permit him to devote more time and energy to the fur trade in the Timiskaming region. The company was to look after outfitting fur traders and to buy and sell furs, and Badgley was to receive a third of the profits. The association ended in 1792.

In 1787 Dobie had formed a partnership with James Grant to go into the fur trade at Fort Timiskaming for a perion of seven years. Dobie was to supply everything that was needed, and he was authorized to collect a commission on all transactions. Grant was to winter at the post and take care of trading during the first two years at least. Dobie took two thirds of the profits in the first three years, and one half of them after that. In order to be able to trade at Timiskaming, Dobie paid 2,900 pounds to acquire the accounts receivable of the firm of Sutherland and Grant, which previously owned the trading rights there. He obtained trading licences for the 1787-90, and he invested large sums -4,600 pounds in merchandise and 12 canoes in 1787; 3,500 pounds and 12 canoes the following year;6100 pounds and 14 canoes in 1789; 3000 pounds and 12 canoes in 1790. About 100 voyageurs went to Timiskaming every year. Dobie ended his participation in the fur trade of the region in 1791 when he sold all his interests to the firm of Grant, Campion and Company in Montreal.

Although by far the most important, furs were not the only staple in which Dobie was interested. For several years he bought wheat from various rural merchants and exported it through the port of Quebec. In 1773 he received a few bushels from a merchant in Varennes as payment for dry goods. Five years later he bought 2,600 bushels, and 1786 he went into partnership with William Maitland and Alexander Audjo to buy 10,000 bushels which were shipped overseas.

Dobie was also interested in production. In 1769, the company of Dobie and Frobisher bought ginseng from Pierre Foretier. Five years later Dobie tried to organize production of that root. He hired someone named Laforge to work primarily at having ginseng of the best possible quality produced. Similarly, in 1784 he he advanced money to Alexander Milmine, a potash manufacturer at Ile-Jesus, PQ. so he could buy ashes, convert them, and supply Dobie with at least 18 tons of potash in the eigth months following the signing of the contract. Dobie was also interested wood. In 1779 he owned a small sawmill near Sorel, probably on the Ronde, which turned out 30-40 boards a day.

Dobie imported from Great Britain a great variety of products which he sold not only to the fur traders but also to merchants in the countryside around Montreal, particularly at Chambly, Varennes, ane Terrebonne. He even supplied goods to a merchant in Cornwall, ON.

There are numerous indications that Dobie played a role as financial go-between for the government of the colony durin Governor Haldimand's term of office. In the summer of 1779, Dobie was working for Haldimand and seems to have travelled as far as Hiagara. His main function was to pay accounts and advance money to various governmental services. Thus, between June 1782 and June 1784 Dobie advanced 8403 pounds to the engineers and 2386 to the Indian Department. In July 1784 he paid an account for 2418 owed by that department at Detroit, and he recieved sums that were owing to it.That year Dobie was also responsible for distributing various amounts to recruiting agents. In the winter of 1782 the lieutanant governor of Michilmackinac, Patrick Sinclair, had drawn four promissory notes on Dobie and William Grant for 34, 586 in all. Unfortunately the government refused to reinburse 3563 of that amount, and Dobie had to face the holders of the notes by himself. At the same period. 1783-85 Dobie was the Canadian agent for William Cullen of London for remitting money to half-pay officers from several regiments.

Around 1790 dobie retired from business and invested his capital in order to draw a comfortable income. He lent both modest sums such as 125 pounds to a barber to repair his house, and much larger amounts such as 1,650 pounds to
Simon McTavish in 195 and 6750 pounds to the firm Parker, Gerrard and Ogilvy in 1804.

Dobie's participation in political life reflected his interests as a merchant engaged in the fur trade, for example, he added his voice to those calling for the trade to be reoganized after the conquest, and ih intervened several times to defed the interests of the merchant traders. He was one of the spokesmen for the Montreal merchants when they asked for a house of assembly. In a letter to Christian Daniel Claus hesaid of Governor Guy Carleton, "tho his head is weak and soft, I consider his heart and intentions are good." He also informed Claus of his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the old subjects of Great Britain were being treated. "French fawning and flattery enough will answer your purpose superior to your long and faithful service to your King and Country." His antagonistic relations with the governor had consequences for others, since Chief Justice Peter Livius was dismissed in 1778 as a result of a trial involving Dobie.

Dobie held a place in the public life of Montreal that witnessed his success in business, his wealth, and his prestige. He was a member of the grand jury of the District of Montreal on a number of occasions, and he was also active in the British Militia of the Town and Banlieu of Montreal, with the rank of captain from 1788-1797, and a major from 1798-1803. He was a member of the Presbyterian congregation of Montreal, and in 1791 he was elected chairman of its prestigious and powerful committee to manage temporalities, an office that he seems to have retained until 1800. He became a member of the masonic lodge known as St. Peter's No. 4, Quebec, at Montreal, in 1772 and was master several times.

Dobie accumulated an impressive fortune in business and the fur trade that enabled him to enjoy a comfortable, even luxurious, standard of living. This fortune also gave him the means to see the material well-being of the numerous members of his family. His illegitimate daughter, Anne Freeman, who had probably been born before he arrived in Montreal, married John Grant. At least four children were born of this marriage, three daughters and one son: Ann, who married Samuel Gerrard, Catherine, the wife of Jacob Jordan, Elizabeth, who was married to James Finlay; and Richard. Dobie made a substantial gift to his son-in-law soon after his marriage to enable him to buy a house and establish a trust fund to protect his family from need. Subsequently he provided the three Grant daughters with generous dowries, and bequeethed a substantial part of his estate to them and their offspring. He also demonstrated that he attached great importance to his family by his attention to the provision of financial backing for his son-in-law and his granddaughters' husbands in their business careers. Thus he helped John Grant and his partner Robert Griffin from 1784-1786, Jordan in 1801 and Gerrard on different occasions.

Richard Dobie was a man of considerable importance but he has seldom attracted the attention of scholars. This omission seems to be closely linked to the fact that he was not one of the promoters of the fur trade in the Canadian northwest and that he was not in the North West Company. He was interested in the fur trade in a region that was highly profitable and important in its time, but which after 1794 was handed over to the Americans and disappeared, as it were, from the field of interest of Canadian historians. As a merchant and outfitter Dobie contributed to the emergence of a greater concentration of both fur traders and merchants. Associated informally with William Grant and Campion, and in partnership with Badgley, he collaborated in setting up a relatively stable network of fur traders whom he outfitted virtually exclusively. This network, as well as Dobie's interest in Timiskaming, seems to have been taken over completely by Grant, Campion and Company in 1791. That firm, along with Forsyth, Richardson and Company, Todd, McGill and Company and Alexander Henry, subseuently negotiated the division of the trading zones with the NWC in 1792 and confronted it in the Canadian northwest after Jay's Treaty in 1794.

The above information, from Canadian Biographies and written by Joanne Burgess, impresses Richard Dobie's strength and influence in the fur trade. On a personal level, little has been written. His date and place of marriage to his Indian wife, Ann Freeman is unknown, as is whether the marriage was formal or "according to the custom of the country".

When William Grant and Maguerite Fafard dit Laframboise married February 17, 1787, Richard Dobie and William Grant were business partners. The personal and business closeness of these partners is evident by the signature of Richard Dobie displaying fourth in a list of fifteen family members witnessing the couple's marriage contract.

The date and place of the birth of Dobie's daughter, also Ann Freeman, is also unknown, as is the date and place of her marriage to John Grant. As both Dobie and Grant were of Montreal, one can speculate John Grant and Ann Freeman likely married in Montreal. As Ann and John's first child, Ann Grant, was born c1774, their marriage was likely about the same time. Ann Grant married Samuel Gerard, November 10, 1792. A further testimony to Dobie's commitment and generosity to family is found in the Ann and Samuel's marriage contract: "...Anne Grant...Grand daughter of Richard...under whose care and protection in the absence of John Grant late of Montreal, aforesaid Merchant, her father, in the West Indies, she the said Ann Grant hath for several Years lived...with the consent and approbation of the said Richard Dobie,...is desirous of Contributing to the Support of their Family Expences, as well as the Providing for the said Ann Grant and the Children she may have...doth hereby Give, Grant and irrovocably confirm...all that Lot of Ground with the Dwelling house and other buildings theron,...To have, hold and enjoy ...rents and profits thereof..."

Samuel Gerrard later joined Grant, Campion & Co. According to another source, Samuel Gerrard thus became the brother-in-law of William Grant (of Trois-Rivieres), senior partner of the company. While the connection between William Grant and Ann's father, John Grant, is not positively established, Dobie's support to all members of his family is clearly exhibited.

GRANT neeFAFARD dit LAFRAMBOISE,  Marguerite  (Daughter of Jean Baptiste aka Charles Laframboise &

                                                                                                 (2) Marguerite Chastelaine)                                         Marguerite was born June 17, 1769, and Baptized June 18, 1769. Her parents were Jean Baptiste/Charles Laframbois and his second wife, Marguerite Chastelaine. Her Godparents were Josephe, Sieur de Neverville and Ms. Laframboise.

Marguerite's brothers & sisters included Pierre (1768-1852), Francois (1770-1830), Claude (1771-1827) who was a full trading partner with William Grant of Trois-Rivieres, Josette (1773-) Victoire (1774-) married Pierre Cresse, and Marc (1775-)

From her father's first marriage to Genevieve La Bissonniere, Marguerite's known step-siblings included Jean Baptiste (1767), Alexis (1763-1800), Charlotte (1762-) Jean Baptiste and Joseph (1765-1809)

Marguerite's family had emigrated from France to New France c1636 and were already well established in the fur trade. At Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, February 27, 1787, she married William Grant of Trois-Rivieres, a Scotsman who arrived in Canada in 1767 and subsequently became involved in the fur trade.Marguerite & William had seven children: William(1787-), Jean Baptiste (1788-1788), Marguerite (1790-1790), Jean Francois (1791-), Richard Grant (1794-1862), Jeanne (1799-), and Marie Marguerite (1800-). In 1836, following the death of her daughter-in-law, Marie Anne Breland, Marguerite was charged with raising her son Richard's four children, Richard Stanislas, William Charles, Jeanne Marguerite, and John Francis Grant. In his memoir, Johnny Grant stated as a child he suffered from nightmares. Answering his cries one night, about 1838, Marguerite tripped. The accident resulted in Marguerite being bed ridden the remaining seven years of her life. Marguerite died September 6, 1845. On September 10, 1845, she was buried in the nave of the old church of Trois-Rivieres. Later, the remains of all the deceased buried at the cathedral, including those recovered from the nave of the cathedral, including Marguerite's, were transferred to St. Louis of Trois-Rivieres Cemetery. In 1881 they were deposed in a communal grave marked with a commemorating monument.

Johnny Grant described his grandmother as "kindness itself". To date, only one image of Marguerite has been found. In her later years an oil painting of her was done, probably by A.C. Fuag. The painting was destroyed but a black and white photo of it still exists. (See Photos-Surname Grant this site.)

FREEMAN, Ann  (Parents unknown. Wife of Richard Dobie)                                                                                               The only information known about Ann Freeman is that she was an Indian woman who married Richard Dobie "according to the custom of the country" and had one daughter, also named Ann Freeman. Her date of birth, which tribe she belonged to, family connections, where and when she married Dobie, when her daughter was born, whether she left Richard Dobie or died, or where, when and how she died are all unknown.

FREEMAN, Ann  (Daughter of Richard Dobie & Ann Freeman.)

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m. John Grant

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GRANT, Adelina  (Daughter of Richard Grant & Helene Kittson nee McDonald)

b. September 11, 1850

bapt. ---

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Godparents: James Birnie & Catherine Umphreville married: Lauchlin Weis Aurin (McLarin)

GRANT, Alice  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau)

b. April 23, 1878

m. A. Nadeau

d. February 2, 1951

GRANT, Ann  (Daughter of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)                                                                              bapt. December, 1751.                                                                                                                                                        This information was obtained from the Old Parochial Register of the Parish of Kirkmichael.  To date, there are no other details. It is also unknown whether Ann ever came to North Americal.

GRANT, Ann  (Daughter of John Grant & Ann Freeman)                                                                                         b.                                                                                                                                                                                          m.  1792, Samuel Gerrard

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GRANT, Catherine  (Daughter of John Grant & Ann Freeman)                                                                              b.                                                                                                                                                                                          m.  Jacob Jordan                                                                                                                                                                    d.

GRANT, Charles Alexander  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau)

b. May 30, 1869

d. June 11, 1935

GRANT, Charles Henry  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Quarra)

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GRANT, Charles William  (Son of Richard Grant & Marie Ann Breland)                                                                     William was baptized August 27, 1826 at York Factory. As with his oldest brother, Richard, the HBC recorded only William's baptismal date. It is not known, if, like Richard, William's birth date was significantly earlier. He died April 25, 1845, at Trois- Rivieres, Quebec. 

Following the death of his mother, Marie Anne Breland, Charles William and his siblings were taken to Trois-Rivieres to be raised by his paternal grandmother, Marguarite Grant nee Fafard dit Laframboise. He attended school at the Nicolet seminary from 1841 until January 27, 1842 and was about sixteen years old when he finished. A newspaper obituary stated William died at his grandmother's home at Trois-Rivieres on Friday, April 25, 1845, at twenty years of age. No cause of death has been found, although, in his memoir, his brother, John, wrote he had been aware William was ill, "but never imagined he was as ill."   Like his grandmother, William was buried in the nave of the old church of Trois-Rivieres and his remains were later transferred to St. Louis of Trois-Rivieres Cemetery. In his memoir, Johnny Grant describes William as a good archer and a good runner, lively and full of fun, always singing or dancing; and remembers his grandmother saying William reminded her of his father, full of life.

To date, no image of William Grant has been found.

GRANT, Clara  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Lily  Bruneau)                                                                                Clara Bruneau was Baptized March 23, 1873, at St. Charles Parish, Manitoba; her date of birth was two months earlier. Her mother is listed as Eulalie Bruneau. Her father's name is not given.  Her godmother was Clothilde Bruneau and her godfather was Michel Power or Poirer (unintelligible).
 
At St. Joachim Parish in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 5, 1895, Clara Grant married Colin Lennie, son of the late William Lennie and Annabelle Fraser.  The ceremony was performed by Father Albert Lacombe and witnessed by Ethel Beck, Joseph Gibbons, Peter Borwick, Maggie Gibbons, Louise Tate, and A. Norris. 
 
The marriage record differs from the baptismal record in that that Clara's surname, Grant, is given,  her mother is named Clothilde Bruneau and her father is named John F. Grant.  Clearly, Clara's mother was Eulalie Bruneau. Descendants of Clara and Colin also identify John F. Grant as Clara's father and acknowledge him as their ancestor.
 
Clara died November 20, 1925, at the General Hospital in Edmonton.  Her death record gives Leduc, Alberta, as her regular residence and the Leduc cemetery as her place of burial.
 
The children of Clara Grant and Colin (the grandson of Colin Fraser, bagpiper for George Simpson) had seven children: Eva Lennie, Pearl Lennie, William Lennie (1903), Dora Lennie (c1908), Elizabeth Lennie, Estelle Lennie, and Jack Lennie.

GRANT, Cuthbert Jr.

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, David  (Son of John. F/Johnny Grant & Quarra)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Donald of Inverlochie

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Donald  (Son of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)

b.

m.

d

GRANT, Ellen (Daughter of John f./Johnny Grant & Quarra)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Elizabeth (Daughter of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Elizabeth  (Daughter of John Grant & Ann Freeman)                                                                               b.                                                                                                                                                                           m. James Finlay                                                                                                                                                                      d.

GRANT nee LEVREAULT de LANGIE, Emilie Christine (Daughter of

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Emma  (Daughter of John F./Johnny & Isabella Lussier)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Francis  (Son of Patrick Grant & Beatrix Grant)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Francis  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau)                                                                                    b. April 23, 1881 

m.                        

d. May 9, 1881

GRANT, Grace  (Daughter of Patrick Grant & Beatrix Grant)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Helene Wilhemena   (Daughter of Chief Trader Richard Grant & Helene Kittson nee McDonald)         

Helene Grant was the first of three daughters born to Richard Grant and Helene Kittson nee McDonald. She was born January 28, 1846, at Fort Hall, Idaho, and baptized April 4, 1847.  Mr. Jacques Douglas witnessed the ceremony and Marie Barclay was her godmother. An obituary in the Washington Statesman, Friday Morning Edition, January 10, 1862, reads only, " DIED: GRANT-Near this city, on the 4th instant, Helen W. Grant, aged 15 years, 11 months and 2 days."  Her cause of death is unknown.  Her half brother, Johnny Grant, in his memoir, stated she died unmarried.  According to some family stories, Helene and her father (d. June 21, 1862) were buried at the same time and in the same grave.  This has not been determined as fact. Sadly, nothing else of Helene is known and no images of her have been positively identified.

GRANT, Isabella  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Isabel Lussier)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, James Cuthbert  (Son of Richard Grant & Sarah aka Indian Woman At Oxford House)                     
Following the death of his first wife, Richard Grant was assigned from 1837-1840 as Chief Trader to Island Lake, York Factory and Oxford House, respectively. During that period Richard and a woman known until recently only as Indian Woman At Oxford House were married 'according to the custom of the country'. By the time their son, James Cuthbert Grant, was born, c1836, the tradition of marrying according to the custom of the country had fallen out of favour with the Hudson's Bay Company and considerable pressure was put on Grant to end his relationship with the Indian Woman from Oxford House. In 1842 Grant was promoted to Chief Trader of Fort Hall, necessitating his move to what is now Idaho.  He left behind his second spouse and the very young James.  So far, no records have been found indicating Richard and his spouse had other children.                                                                         

Following the separation, James' mother married a John Slater. For the  company to avoid the increasing costs of
supporting 'abandoned' country wives and their children, yet insure the spouse and  any children were cared for, the HBC, in some instances, 'married off' the wife and paid a maintenance type fee to the new husband, another company servant.  In other instances, the leaving husband would arrange his spouse's remarriage, thereby attempting to secure her well being and that of any children involved. In this instance, it's unknown which, if either, of these practices was used. What is known is Grant spent ten years attempting to have the company bring his Oxford House son to Fort Hall.  

James was about ten years old when he rejoined his father.  The intervening years are a mystery. A search for a
Baptismal record which might have provided an accurate date and place of birth and the name of his mother was unsuccessful. A search for his step father is incomplete. There were a number of James and John Slaters who were employed by HBC but none with records recording a marriage. One John B. Slater, however, was employed as a HBC Slooperand Labourer from 1846- 1851 in the York District.  In 1851 he was a labourer in the Columbia District. In 1852 his contract was cancelled and he was discharged. In 1853, however, he was rehired under "Sundries", and re-employed in the Columbia District.  The connection with this John B. Slater is completely unproven, but it does suggest the possability that James may have been brought west by family or someone other than the HBC.  Some credence is given to this possibility by the book, 'Blackfoot Heritage' which contains the genealogies of those original families of the Blackfoot Reserve at Browning, Montana. In it, some of James' children identified his mother as "Sarah" and as "a full blooded Chippewa."  Also, census records identify Sarah's birth place as Montana and Jimmy's place of origin as Canada; one even has him originating from British Columbia.  Continuing research may or may not add clarification to James' early history.

Jimmy Grant married Marie Cadotte, c1864, probably at or near Deer Lodge, Montana.  Jimmy would have been about twenty-six years old and Marie would have been about sixteen years old. Marie's father, Pierre or Peter Cadotte, (variously: Cadot, Cadat, etc.) is identified in the same Blackfeet Heritage as a "Half blood" from Canada, but the names of his parents or other family members are unknown. By the time land allotments were received by persons of the Blackfeet Reservation in 1907 and 1908, Marie's father was already deceased. Her mother has been identified as "Many Kill" or "Last Kill" aka "Kills Last", and by the same time, also deceased. One story states Marie was abandoned in infancy (reason unknown) and adopted by Martha Cadotte Robart or Robare aka "Old Mrs. Robare", possibly a paternal relation. 

The couple had the following children:
1.  Julia Grant: b. c1865:                                                                                                                                                          m(1) Alec Red Head (Howling). Children: Joseph Magee, Mary Magee
m(2) Tom Magee.  Children: Thomas B. Magee, George F. Magee, Walter G. Maggee, Henry L. Magee, Dewey H.          Magee.
2.  Mary Grant: b. c1869;  m. Rides At The Door
3.  James Grant Jr.: b. c1871; m. 1887;Josephine Chocquette; no children.
4.  Richard Grant: b. 1876; m. Rose Teasdale, Jan. 1, 1899, at Holy Trinity Mission. Certificate fr. Blackfeet Indian   Agency.
5. John Grant: b. c1878; d. 11 years old.
6. Emma Grant
7. Maggie: d. 8 years old [duplication?]

During the 1850s and '60s, Jimmy's half brother, Johnny Grant, was heavily involved in the cattle business. At least
part of that time, Jimmy worked with or for JOhnny Grant in the ranching business.

Jimmy was shot and killed in August, 1883.  The story of Jimmy Grant's death and information about his life and burial place are related in the following two newspaper articles.

2)  "Article From Conrad, Montana; Local Paper 20-22 Nov. 1991"
Jimmy Grant buried along with two children
by Dorothy Floorchinger
      Just east of the Sheep Creek bridge north of Dupuyer are graves of Jimmy Grant and two little children that died of measles.
      For years these graves were unmarked until an old timer pointed them out to Paul Bruner and he placed a stone marker on them.
      Few people are aware of this Grant family's plot in early Montana history.
      In 1843, Jimmy's grandfather, Richard Grant, was a factor in charge of the Hudsons Bay Company at Fort Hall in Idaho on the Oregon-California Trail.  Grant was married to a convent educated Red River metis; that is a part Indian woman.  Also his two sons James and John were married to Indian women.
      When the wagon trains on their way west stopped at Fort Hall with their worn-out oxen teams they would trade several for one fat one from Grant's herd.  Soon he and his two sons had large herds being taken north into the Beaverhead and Ruby Valleys.
      They established a ranch near Deer Lodge, one of the oldest in Montana in the 1850s.  The Grant sons' sister Julia was married to C. P. Higgins, one of the first men to be involved in a settlement to become Missoula.
     Higgins and McClain had large cattle herds that grazed west of Dupuyer and Higgins' nephew Jimmy Grant was placed in charge of them.  He lived in a cabin not far from where he is buried.
      It is reported that he was gone for a few days and on his return had reason to suspect that his squaw had been too intimate with another Indian buck.  Jimmy shot him in the arm.  The Indian went off and returned with his gun and shot poor Jimmy in the heart. 
      His wife moved to the Blackfoot reservation with her other children.  Mrs. rose Grant, age 84, wife of Jimmy's son Richard, died in the 1984 flood with eight members of her family.
      The home of James and John near Deer Lodge dating back to the 1850s was sold to Conrad Kohrs, a German immigrant in 1866.
      In 1872, it was acquired by the federal government for the purpose of interpreting the western livestock industry and designated as a National Historic Site.
      Many places carry the name Grant in memory of this family.

GRANT, James Joseph  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Isabelle Lussier)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Jane Margaret/Jeanne Marguerite  (Daughter of Richard Grant & Marie Ann Breland)                                From her baptismal record, 1829 has been determined as Jeanne's date of birth.  From 1827 until 1829, inclusive,  her father served as Clerk in Charge at Oxford House (Island Lake), Fort Assiniboine (Saskatchewan), and Edmonton House. A written reference to Jeanne's birth place has not been found, but Edmonton House may be the more likely: that was the last place her father served in her birth year and it was also the most likely place for her mother to stay during at least the later part of her pregnancy because that is where all of her family was.  Jeanne was baptized November 16, 1836, at Trois Rivieres, Quebec.  She was 7 years old. Her Godfather was Joseph Boucher de Niverville, and her  Godmother was her grandmother, Marguerite Grant.  On May 27, 1846, at Yamachiche, Quebec, Jeanne married Jacques Rivard-Loranger.  On April 1, 1847, Jeanne and her baby died during childbirth. 

In his memoirs, Johnny Grant related a coincidental meeting with a Jim Loranger.  He learned his brother-in-law, Jacques Loranger remarried and Jim was one of his children.  Another was Jeanne, named for  Johnny's sister.  As a result of  this chance meeting, the Loranger family sent Johnny an oil painting, the only picture of his sister.  The oil painting has not survived, but a large, oval,  airbrushed photograph of it has.  The portrait, by A.C. Fuag, (probably a local artist), was probably commissioned around the time of her marriage when she was seventeen years old.  (See: Photos - Surname Grant)

GRANT, Jean  (Daughter of John Grant in Inverlochie& Jean Forbes)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Jean Baptiste  (Son of Wm. Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)

b.November, 1788 at Trois Rivieres

   Godfather: Josephe Boucher

   Godmother: Unintelligible

d. December, 1788 at Trois-Rivieres. Cause of death not given.

GRANT, Jean Francois  (Son of Wm. Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)

b. April 11, 1791

    Godfather: Pierre Cresse

    Godmother: Genevieve Lamond

GRANT, Jeanne  (Daughter of William Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframbois)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, John  (Married Ann Freeman, daughter of Richard Dobie)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, John  (Son of Patrick Grant & Beatrix Grant)

GRANT, John in Inverlochie                                                                                                                                             b.  Scotland.  date & place unknown.                                                                                                                                    m.  Jean Forbes; Scotland.  Date & place of marriage unknown.                                                                                             d.  Date & place of deathe and burial unknown.

Note: From Historical Notes Or Essays On The '15 and '45 - Morayshire Jacobites  by Murray D. Rose; XIII; Page 130; Historical Notes:  "John Grant of Inverlochy, Inverlochy. Was adjutant in said army."

GRANT, John Francois  (Son of William Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)

GRANT, John Francis  (Son of HBC Chief Trader Richard Grant & Marie Ann Breland)                                                 John Francis Grant was born into the fur trade at or near Fort Edmonton January 7, 1833. His father, Richard Grant was then the HBC Clerk at Fort Edmonton. His mother, Marie Anne Breland was the daughter of the famous freeman, Pierre Breland and Louise Umphreville, then wife of Ft. Edmonton's Chief Factor, John Rowand. She died when John, her youngest child, was eighteen months. From the time of her death until his death seventy-two years later, John Francis came to epitomize the Metis identity of the latter half of the nineteenth century.

At age three, Richard Grant took John and his three siblings to Trois-Rivieres to be raised by their paternal grandmother, Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise. John and his sister were baptized at the Catholic cathedral there on November 16, 1836. This primary document establishes John was already three years old and that his birth year was 1833. What limited education he received came first from a public school then the college at Nicolet, about 90 miles from Trois-Rivieres. John's strong dislike and early abandonment of school were causes of various business difficulties throughout his life.

In 1847, when he was fourteen years old, John, his brother Richard and Richard's wife, travelled from Montreal to Fort Hall, Idaho, where their father was Chief Trader. The trip took three months by stage, rail,steamboat, canal boat and a train of thirty-eight wagons. Johnny Grant -as he was known in the U.S.- remained in the U.S. for twenty years. During that time, he was one of Montana's earliest settlers, a trader, a cattle and horse rancher, owner of a store, a saloon, a dance hall, a grist mill and a blacksmith shop. His enterprises took him west and south as far as Fort Vancouver, WA,, and Sacrament, CA; and as far east, south and north as St. Louis, MO, Trois Rivieres, PQ, and the Red River Settlement of MB, and to many locations between. Fearing for the safety of his family and disliking the encroaching populations and their lifestyles, Johnny Grant decided to return to Canada. In 1867, he sold his ranch and moved to Red River of the Norh West. He arrived with over 100 men and thier families, five hundred horses, sixty-two wagons. Many cattle were also brought for his new ranching operation.

Grant's arrival was just prior to Red River's annexation by Canada, and just in time for Riel's resistance of 1869/70 during which he was held captive by Riel at Fort Gary for eight days. John F. Grant -as he was known in Manitoba-opened a store at Sturgeon Creek, began a fur trading and a lumber operation and aggressively accumulated as much land as possible. In 1882 the land boom collapsed. Grant had gone into debt to aquire much of his land and was forced to sell off cheaply to pay his loans. The land situation and new herd laws also dramatically and negatively affected his horse and cattle enterprises. By the late 1880s, Grant decided to move west.

In 1891, Grant again sold everything. In 1889 he travelled as far west as Vancouver Island and returned by horseback through the Yellowhead Pass. He decided to settle in Alberta. Grant and his family left Manitoba in September, 1891, and arrived in Alberta in November, 1891. In 1892, he homesteaded at Bittern Lake and remained there for eight years. In 1903, he moved to Grande Prairie for two months before returning to Lake Saskatoon. Attempts to reestablish himself in the fur trade were hampered by his deteriorating health. The family's last move was to Waugh, Alberta, where they ran a 'roadhouse'. Johnny's health worsened and on April 1, 1907, he was brought to his daughter Maria's home on 6th Stree. Johnny Grant died there May 7, 1907, near enough to see the fort where he was born and its cemetery, (Rossdale Flats) where his mother was buried. He is buried at St. Joachim Cemetery, Edmonton.

During his last few years, Johnny Grant dictated his memoirs to his wife, Clotilde. In 2008, for the first time, Johnny Grant's memoirs were published in its entirety under the title, A Son Of The Fur Trade ~ The Memoirs of Johnny Grant.

Sadly, some of the details Johnny did not include in the memoirs are the names of al of his eight Indian and Metis spouse and their twenty-four children. The names of the spouses we do know are Louise, Quarra, Isabel Lussier, Angelique Welsh, Eulalie Bruneau and Clotilde Bruneau. The known names of their children were, Mary Agnes, Mary Jane, Louise, Richard, William, David, Julienne, John, Ellen, Charles Henry, Mary Dempsey, Julia, Emma, James Joseph, Isabella, Marie Cecile, Clara, Sarah,Charles Alexander, Marguerite Marianne, Maria McTavish, Alice, Francis and Marie Rachel Cora. Johnny also adopted several children: Laura Delores LaVatta, Edward LaVatta, John/Jack Barnes, Annie Barnes, John Craft, Philip Vasquez, and John Barnes' son, Albert Barnes.

GRANT, John  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Quarra)

GRANT, Joseph Richard  (Son of Richard Stanislas Grant and Emilie Christine Levreault de Langie)                             Joseph Richard Grant was the son of Richard Stanislas Grant and Emilie Christine Levreault de Langie, and the grandson of HBC Chief Trader of Fort Hall, Richard Grant.  From his death record, we know Richard was born September 7, 1847, in Idaho; most likely Fort Hall as that was his parents' destination when they left Trois-Rivieres in the spring of 1847.  Given his family background, it is very likely J.Richard was baptized in Idaho, but no record has been found. 
 
In 1852, Richard was five years old when his father died and was buried at what is now Soda Springs, Idaho. His younger brother, Louis, was one year old.  According to his uncle Johnny Grant's memoir, Emily went to California after her husband's death and then returned to her home at Montreal, Quebec, without ever returning to Montana.  It is not known if she did in fact revisit Quebec, but she did go to California and she did continue on to Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is presumed Richard and Louis made these journeys with her; they were with her in P.E.I. (See: Biobraphies: GRANT nee Levreault de Langie, Emilie Christine)
 
The first primary source recorded for J. Richard Grant is found in the 100th anniversary celebratory edition of St. Dunstan's College of Charlottetown, P.E.I. The book lists all of the students who graduated from this college since January 17, 1855.  Richard Grant is recorded as a resident of Vernon River and having attended the college from 1861 until 1866 when he received his degree.  No records exist to determine which area of scholastics he pursued, but it is known that the courses offered during his time there would have included trigonometry; geometry; algebra; English rhetoric, grammar, spelling and dictation; French; Latin; Greek; history; geography; natural history; rhetoric; philosophy; chemistry; and, music.  Richard would have been fourteen years old when he started and nineteen years when he graduated and received his degree. It is interesting to note that at that time, it was not unusual for students thirteen years of age to be enrolled at this college. The main building of the college was built in 1854.    (See: "Photos-Miscellaneous)
 
On May 12, 1870, the Manitoba Act was given Royal Assent.  This meant that on July 15, 1870, Manitoba would become the fifth province of Canada.  At that time, the province of Manitoba was the Red River Colony; that is, Winnipeg and its surrounding areas. For Metis and their families, scrip land or money was offered to compensate them for loss of aboriginal title.  To qualify, applicants had to prove both their aboriginal heritage and that they were living in the North-West Territories before July 15, 1870.    
 
Based on the memoirs of his uncle, Johnny Grant, (A son Of The Fur Trade), Richard came from Montreal to join him at Red River in 1867.  It is unknown if Richard spent any time in Quebec or if he simply passed through on his way from Prince Edward Island to Manitoba.  At least to the issue whether Richard was in Manitoba on July 15, 1870, to qualify for Metis scrip, the memoir statements are supported by Richard's own sworn statement on March 27, 1875, and that of his uncle, John F. aka Johnny Grant, on October 9, 1878.  From these documents, it is evident Richard left Prince Edward Island during or after 1866, was in the Red River settlement in 1867 -or at least by July 15, 1870- and was living with his uncle and his family in the Parish of St. Charles, Manitoba. 
 
By being an adopted son of Johnny Grant and a resident at his home at Manitoba by July 15, 1870, Richard's scrip entitlement to 240 acres was greater than the 160 acre entitlement he could have claimed as a 'head of household'. On February 5, 1879, Richard was granted the south-east quarter of section sixteen and the north half of the north east quarter of of section nine, of township 3 in the Parish of St. Charles, Manitoba.  His wife and her brother also received scrip. (See: Biographies: Grant nee LaVatta, Laura Delores and LaVatta, Edward)
 
St. Boniface was the first permanent mission west of the great lakes and from its beginning, the St. Boniface Cathedral has been the heart of Manitoba's French community.  On June 18, 1872, Richard Grant (25 years) and Laura Delores LaVatta (18 1/2years) were married there by Father Joachim Allard. Their witnesses were John F. Grant & David Samuel.  Richard's bride was the daughter of Thomas LaVatta and his Shoshone wife, Poor-Oh-Ge aka Angelique Serpante. Her family came from Montana to Manitoba with Johnny Grant, but finding the country not to their liking, returned home, leaving behind Laura and her brother, Edward.  When they came to the Red River Settlement, Laura was fourteen and her brother was thirteen. Both children were adopted by Johnny Grant and recieved their education at St. Boniface Convent and College,respectively.
 
Richard and Laura Delores'children were: Helene (Mar 19,1873-Apr 7,1873); William Richard (Apr 3,1874-1950); Mary Ellen (Oct. 13, 1875-Oct. 13,1927); Julia (Jan 9,1876-Apr 9,1943); John Nelson (Oct 20,1878-Nov 22,1946); Francis Henry (Jun 25,1880-Mar 12,1939); Alfred Edward (Sep 27,1882); Laura Jane (Apr 16,1884-Jan 3,1919). It is believed all of the children were born at Township 7, R5 West, Ilets des Bois, now called Carman, Manitoba.
 
On May 27, 1885, Laura Delores died of unknown cause. She was 31 1/2 years old.  During their thirteen years of marriage, they had eight children, one of whom died shortly after birth. When Laura died, she left behind seven children ranging in age from eleven years to eleven months. Laura's record of death provided her place of residence -Township 7, R5 West- but no record of her place of burial has been found.

By 1886, Johnny Grant's circumstances were failing. In an attempt to collect on old debts, he returned to Montana in the spring of 1886.  Richard could fluently speak, read, and write in French and English, and was frequently called on by members of the community to assist with personal and business matters.  Because Johnny recognized his nephew's ecucation he asked Richard to accompany him.  In the fall of 1886 they returned to Manitoba: Johnny driving home some horses and Richard by train.  Generally, the trip was unsuccessful.  By 1889 his uncle was determined to leave Manitoba. Richard's remaining family was reduced to his children, his mother and her third husband, a half brother named Philip Vasquez aka Grant, and the few children of Johnny Grant who did not follow him to Alberta.
 
Few of Richard Grant's belongings survived to tell a bit of his story.  Two come to mind.  One is a trunk -one of at least four trunks- which he brought from Montana to the Red River Settlement in 1867, which remains in the family with a gr-gr-grandson.  (See: Photos - Miscellaneous) The second is a four page parchment petitioning for Metis rights, which also remains in the  family with a great granddaughter.  (See: Documents)  An interesting side to the document is the fact that it is written in  English and in long hand by Clotilde Bruneau, his uncle Johnny's wife.  Whether Richard drafted the  letter for her and she  copied it, or she gave it to him for his perusal, can only be speculated at.  Whatever the reason, it exists as a reminder of the closeness of these men and their families; it shows that even with a distance of seven hundred and fifty miles between them, they remained in touch with one another; that they had shared historically important times,valued their heritage, and understood their traditional rights were worth continuing to fight for.  Grandchildren of Richard and Laura remembered gatherings of Grants and family and friends: "full houses, always discussions,  often noisey - and usually political".
 
It is not surprising that Richard, like his Grandfather Richard, joined the ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company and stuck with them.  There are no records for the period 1900-1902, and no display for the period of 1915-1917, but in the record keeping fashion they are famous for, the HBC records for Richard reveal he was a labourer at Rupert's River from 1878-1900; a labourer at James Bay from 1902-1912; a General Servant at James Bay from 1912-1915, and that he became a pensioner in 1921.
 
In 1920, the Hudson's Bay Company first awarded medals for long and faithful service to commemorate the 250th anniversary of  the Company.  Silver medals were awarded for 15 years of service and silver clasps were given for each five years of additional service.  With 30 years of service gold medals were issued and gold clasps were awarded for each additional five years of service .  A total of 393 individuals qualified for the gold award and 1,981 received the silver medals.  The awarding of medals and clasps was discontinued in Canada in 1949 and discontinued in London, England, in 1968.  (See: Photos-Miscellaneous)
 
In April of 1921, Richard Grant was one of the 393 to receive a gold medal plus one gold bar for a total of 35 years of service with the Hudson's Bay Company.  The whereabouts of the medal is unknown.
 
On January 20, 1925, Joseph Richard Grant died at the St. Boniface Hospital of problems related to his mitral heart valve.  At that time his permanent address was 622 Simcoe Street, Winnipeg; the same as that of his daughter, Ellen.  He is buried in an unmarked grave in the older section of St. Mary's cemetery in Winnipeg.  Ellen died two years after her father - October 13, 1927, age 50 years. Although there is no plot record for her, either, Ellen was probably buried at St. Mary's Cemetery as they were the party providing her details. This is consistent with family history which maintains she was buried with her father at St. Mary's Cemetery.
 
Only one image of Richard exists, taken c1920, when he was about seventy-three years old. (See: Photos-Grant) Looking at the photo, it is interesting to note that while he appears to be dressed for a special occassion he still wore his hair in traditional Metis fashion - long enough to be pulled back and secured in either a braid or pony-tail. 

GRANT, Julia (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Unknown)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Julia Priscilla (Daughter of Richard Grant and Helene Kittson nee McDonald)

b.

m.

d.

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Louis

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Louise (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Louise Sepante)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Margaret 1 (Daughter of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Margaret 2 (Daughter of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Marguerite (Daughter of William Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Marguerite Marianne Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau

b. December 15, 1870 d. April 25, 1883

m.

d.

GRANT, Marie Cecile aka Marie Cecile Welsh (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Angelique Welsh)                         Marie Cecile Grant was born December 5, 1867 at St. Charles, and baptized December 22, 1867, at St. Boniface. Her baptismal record identifies her mother as Angelique Walsh; her father's name was not given. Her godfather was Joseph Bezelett [unintelligible] and her godmother was Genevieve Daignault.

Cecile's mother was Angelique  Welsh, the daughter of half-breed parents, Francois Xavier Welsh and Charlotte Suvin or Sauve. Angelique was born May 27, 1841, at St. Boniface. Angelique met John F. Grant when he visited Manitoba looking for a better place to move his large family to from Montana. According to Grant's memoir, A Son Of The Fur Trade, in his absence, between the time he left Manitoba and returned from Montana with his family, Angelique gave birth to his daughter, Marie Cecile Welsh, and had married Pierre Desjardin.

Cecile was Angelique's second child. According to his Baptismal record, George Welsh, was baptized September 26, 1864.  His mother is identified as Angelique Walsh; his father's name is not given; his godmother was Charlotte Welsh, his grandmother.

On August 8, 1886, at Assiniboia, Cecile Welsh and Michel Dumas were married by Reverand D. Dandurand. (Catholic banns].  Michel was born October 22, 1865, at St. Norbert, Manitoba. His parents were Cyrille Dumas (1841, St. Vital), a French Canadian, and Charlotte Jean Vennes, a halfbreed. At the time of their marriage, Cecile was a resident of St. Charles and Michel was a resident of Nechie, Dakota.  Their marriage was witnessed by Michel Dumas of St. Charles and Pierre Desjardins, also of St. Charles. 

There are contradictions relating to Cecile's date of birth.  Her baptismal record is dated December 22, 1867. In 1881, her father, John F. Grant, made a sworn statement before the Metis Infant Lands Commissioner in Manitoba confirming he was Cecile's father, that she was born c1867, that Cecile was currently fourteen years old, and that Cecile's claim had been sold by her mother and/or father. (On January 24, 1881, Cecile's patent was delivered to her mother at Winnipeg.) At a later date, Cecile re-applied for Halfbreed Grant, making the same claim -that her mother had sold her grant in 1881 without Cecile's knowledge or consent.   In re-applying for the grant, Cecile completed the necessary documentation, including her birth date, December 5, 1869. The formal application for the grant, completed by her mother in 1875, records Cecile's birth date as December 21, 1867.  The only conclusion which is can be drawn is Cecile was born in December, 1867, the actual date being the 5th (date given by Cecile), the 21 (the date given by her mother for the original grant application), or the 22nd (the same date as the Baptism).  When Cecile married, the record gives her age as seventeen years. As she was certainly born in 1867, Cecile would have been eighteen and a half years when she married. The birth date also raises the question whether Grant was in Manitoba at the time of his daughter's birth and/or the marriage of her mother.

Some time after their marriage, Cecile and Michel Dumas moved to Dakota Territory.  When Cecile reapplied for her grant in 1888, the address she gave was Peche P.O., Pembina County, Dakota Territory.  It is unknown how long they resided at that location or whether or not they ever returned to Manitoba for even a visit.  They had three children, Michel John Dumas (1887), Mary Emma Dumas (1889), and Peter Alexander Dumas (1890). Further research is needed to determine if these dates are correct and whether the children were born in Dakota Territory or in Manitoba.

Sometime between 1890 and 1894, Michel Dumas was killed in a barfight.  The circumstances are unknown, as is his place of burial.

On april 16, 1894, at St. Joseph's in North Dakota, Cecile remarried. Her second husband was Moise Charette.  They  had no children.  In  1907, Moise, Cecile and her two sons, Michel John and Peter Alexander Dumas went from North Dakota to Spalding, Saskatchewan, with Michel Dumas' sister, Mary Dumas Coutu.  Cecile's daughter did mot move with them.  As she would have been eighteen years old at the time of the move, it is possible she was alredy married and had her own family.

Little else is known about Cecile and her family. Neither son is believed to have married; their dates and places of death are unkown.  The only additional information is that Mary Dumas Coutu had one son, Hermidos Coutu, who in turn had a son, Ernest Coutu.  Ernest and his wife, Anne, are the parents of Lyle Coutu who has generously provided much of the information about Cecile's life after her move to Dakota Territory.

An interesting note re: Red River Metis Family connections: Cecile's mother, Angelique Welsh, was the sister of Norbert Welsh, whose life story is related in 'The Last Buffalo Hunter.'

GRANT, Marie McTavish  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau)                                                             b. October 9, 1873 m. Frank Nutt, February 5, 1894 d. April 3, 1938

GRANT, Marie Rachel Cora  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Clotilde Bruneau)                                                        b. June 1, 1882 d. March 25, 1883

m.

d.

GRANT, Mary aka Mary Dempsey  (Daughter of John F./Johnny Grant & Unknown)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Mary Agnes  (Daughter of John F. Grant & Louis Serpante)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Mary Jan e (Daughter of John F. Grant & Louise Serpante)

b.

m.

d.

GRANT, Patrick  (Married Beatrix Grant)

GRANT, Richard (Son of William Grant of Trois-rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)                                   Richard Grant was born January 20, 1794, and baptized January 22, 1794, at Notre Dame Cathedral, Montreal, Quebec. His godparent were Dr. George Selby and Marie Charles, Signoire Baroness of Longueil.

Little is known of Richard's early life.  He was sixteen years old when his father died and, based on later correspondence to Sir George Simpson, when he was eighteen or nineteen years old he was a member of the 2nd Battalion of Select Embodied Militia during the War of 1812.  It is unknown what rank he held.  The Select Embodied Militia was formed partly from volunteers and partly from conscripted men chosen by lot who served only one year.  The light companies of the 2nd & 3rd batallions fought at the battle of Chateaugay on October 25, 1813: approximately 1,630 French Canadians and Mohawks repulsed approximately 4,000 Americans attempting to invade Canada.

* Entered the fur trade with the North West Company at the end of the War of 1812 and served with them for six years. He was hired by the Hudson's Bay Company when the two companies amalgamated in 1821.

* From 1816 until 1827 he served as Clerk at Rocky Mountain House and Edmonton House of the Saskatchewan Department and York Factory of the York Factory Department.

* From 1827 until 1829 he served as Clerk in Charge at Oxford House of the Island Lake Department and Fort Assiniboine of the Saskatchewan Department.

* From 1830 until 1834 he was Clerk at Fort Assiniboine and Edmonton House, both of the Saskatchewan Department.

* January 14, 1835, Grant's official letter stating his wife had died.

* 1835-1836 - Clerk in charge of Lesser Slave Lake.

* 1836 -became Chief Trader

* 1835-1836 - Furlough due to his wife's death. Grant took his children, Richard Stanislas, Charles William, Jane Margaret/Jeanne Marguerite, and John Francis to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec to be raised by his mother. Grant returned to his post. His children rejoined him in 1847 at Fort Hall, Idaho, where he was Chief Trader. 

NOTE: A RECENTLY FOUND SOURCE HAD HER DYING AT LESSER SLAVE LAKE IN 1834. This has not been substantiated.

* Died June 21, 1862, aged 68 years, 5 months.

Fort Hall On The Oregon Trail - M.A. Thesis by Louis Seymour Grant: https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/30207/UBC_1938_A8%20G6%20F6.pdf?sequence=1

to be continued...

GRANT, Richard Stanislas  (Son of HBC Chief Trader Richard Grant & Marie Anne Breland)                                  Richard Stanislas Grant was the eldest son of Richard Grant and his first wife, Marie Anne Breland. Hudson's Bay company records list Richard Jr.'s birth date as c1825, and his date & place of baptism as August 21, 1825, Rocky Mountain House.  The Baptismal records are correct, but in his Last Will and Testiment, dated September 4, 1822, Richard Grant Sr. bequeathed his effects to Marie Anne Breland and their one offspring, Richard Grant. Clearly, Richard Stanislas Grant was born at least as early as September, 1822.
 
When Marie Anne Breland died, Richard Grant took Richard Stanislas and his three siblings, William Charles, Jeanne Marguerite, and John Francis Grant to Trois-Rivieres to be raised by their paternal grandmother, Marguerite Grant.  Richard Jr. lived at Trois-Rivieres until 1847.  During that time he attended school there and at Nouveau College, Nicolet. His brother, John Grant, described Richard as the quieter, more serious of the brothers.

On February 10, 1847, at Trois-Rivieres, Richard Stanislas married Emelie Levreault de Langie.  Richard was about 25 years old,and Emilie was 29 years old.
 
On April 25, 1845, Richard's brother, William, died of unknown cause; on September 6, 1845, their paternal grandmother, Marguarite, died.  Whatever the deciding reasons were, Richard decided to rejoin his father, who was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company in the capacity of Chief Trader in charge of the Snake district, and established at Fort Hall, Idaho. Early in the spring of 1847, Richard, his wife, Emilie, and his youngest brother, John Francis Grant, left Trois-Rivieres on a three month journey to Fort Hall.  The trip involved travel by stage, rail, steamboat, canal boat and a train of thirty-eight wagons. One record states it was August 3rd, 1847, when they arrived at Fort Hall.  They were greeted by Richard Grant Sr., his third wife, Helene McDonald Kittson, and their three daughters, Helene Wilhelmena Grant, Julia Priscilla Grant, Adelina Grant, Eloise Jemima Kittson (daughter of Helene and her previous husband, William Kittson).  Although he isn't mentioned, James Cuthbert Grant, son of Richard Grant Sr. and his second wife, Sarah aka Indian Woman At Oxford House, would also have been present.  It is not known if Pierre Charles Kittson and Edwin Kittson, (children of Helene and her former husband) were at the fort or ever lived with the Grants.

A little insight into the personalities of father, son, and priest: It is likely that Father Augustin-Magloire was one of the Grants' travelling partners.  Richard Jr. borrowed some money from Father Blanchet;  Richard Sr. loathed repaying it;  in a message from Father Grant to George Simpson the opinion was direct and succinct: "I respect priests but love them NOT".

It is evident from correspondence that Chief Trader Grant was interested in procuring a position for his son, Richard, with the Hudson's Bay Company.  The same correspondence notes that Richard Jr. had a chest deformity which, according to his father, resulted from an accident when  Richard was younger. There is no further description of the deformity, so it is not known if it influenced his not being hired.  Richard's occupation at that time is unknown, but it is known he was interested in going to California.  About a year and a half after his arrival, Richard and his wife were living about five miles from the fort. His brother John, who had angered his father, was being sent to Vancouver to be trained by James Douglas. The group, consisting of the

young John Grant, ten men and thirty horses left January 10, 1849. Later, at the base of the Blue Mountains, they were joined by  sixteen men, including Richard Grant Sr. and Jr., one hundred horses and supplies for inland posts.  While at Walla Walla, news of the California Gold rush was reported. By the time they reached Vancouver, Richard Jr.and John had decided to join the gold seekers.  At that point, they were eight hundred miles from California, eight hundred miles from Fort Hall and it was 800 miles from Fort Hall to California.  They decided to return to Fort Hall for Richard Jr.'s wife and their one and a half year old son, Joseph Richard Grant, and go from there to California. 
 
When they returned to Fort Hall, they did not go to California. In his memoir, Johnny Grant states he had received some trade goods from his father.  On their way back to Fort Hall, he traded these with the Indians. Once at Fort Hall, Johnny states he decided he was satisfied with that country, and that they [presumably he and Richard Jr.] started trading on the Oregon trail with the immigrants.
 
According to stories related many years later by Richard's wife, Emilie, to her grandchildren, she and Richard had a small cabin type structure along the trail where they could store supplies.  The cabin had a glass window in it. A "young Indian buck", unfamiliar with with glass, attempted to put his head through the window, broke the glass and badly cut his face. The Indian, angered and blaming his injury on Richard, stalked him.  Richard was at or near the Bear River in Idaho when the Indian found him and shot him in the back of the neck. Some time later, Richard died of his wounds and was buried near the river.  Later, when the flooding river threatened his grave, friends removed his remains and reburied them on higher
ground, and marked the site with a large lava rock from the river bank.  Today, the lava rock still marks Richard's grave. During the intervening years the town of Soda Spring was settled, their cemetery was established, and the lava rock marker is now near the centre of the cemetery.  (See Photos - Miscellaneous)
 
His brother Johnny's memoir does not explain how Richard died, just that he died after a three month illness. It says, "I was now alone in earnest. I missed him, for when I had any trouble with my father, I went to see Richard and told him about it. He was my comforter; we loved one another: what was Richard's was mine and what was mine was his. We always agreed together, and while he was sick I traded for him...His death left me very lonely."

Richard Stanislas Grant and his wife, Emilie Levreault de Langie, had two sons: Joseph Richard Grant and Louis Joseph Grant.  

GRANT, Richard/Little Dick

GRANT, Richard  (Son of John Grant & Ann Freeman)                                                                                              To date, no details of Richard have been found.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       To 

GRANT, Richard  (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Louise Serpante)

GRANT Sarah  (Daughter of John f./Johnny Grant & Lily Brineau)                                                                          Establishing Sarah's parentage and birth details has involved considerable exploration. It was known Sarah was born in Manitoba. As John F. Grant's large family, including his wife, Clothilde Bruneau, and her sister, Eulalie Bruneau, were part of St. Charles Parish, it is likely she was born in that Parish.  Her birth record, however, is not listed in Manitoba's vital statistics and a detailed Baptismal record has not been found, either.  One Baptism record was found for a "Sara" who was Baptized May 7th, 1871, at St. Charles Parish and who was born three days previously. Her godparents were James and Sara Isbister, but there is no surname provided for Sara and her parents' names are not provided.  There are no other "Sara" baptismal entries between 1870 and 1875 in that vicinity.
 
December 20, 1892, at St. Joachim Parish, Edmonton, Sarah Grant married Benjamin Munro, son of Felix Monro and Louisa Laderoute.  That record identifies Sarah as having been born in the Parish of St. Charles, Manitoba, as being twenty-one year old, and as the daughter of John F. Grant and an unnamed woman. The witnesses were William Lennie and Mary Sinclair. From this record, Sarah's birth year would have been 1871.
 
The Alberta 1901 census records the Monroe family as residents of the subdivision Pretty Hill.  Sarah is identified as twenty-eight years of age at her last birthday, May 7, 1872. 
 
Eulalie Bruneau was recognized as Sarah's mother during their lives, and since, by their descendants. Sarah's wedding record is the only record identifying her father: John F. Grant.  During his life, particularly while in Montana, Grant, himself a half-breed, lived amongst the Indians, his family life structured much the same way as theirs.  It was not uncommon to have more than one spouse at the same time.  Grant continued this lifestyle,  to lesser degree, after his move to Canada. Collectively, Sarah's records bring us to the conclusion she was the daughter of Eulalie aka Lily Bruneau and John F. Grant and that she was born in St. Charles Parish, probably May 4, not 7, 1871.

From the 1901 census, Sarah and Benjamin Munroe's known children were Clara Monroe (1894), Aggie Monroe (1897), Edward Monroe (1898).

Sarah's date of death and place of burial are unknown.

GRANT, William of Trois-Rivieres  (Son of John Grant in Inverlochie & Jean Forbes)                                                William Grant was baptized April 24, 1743, in the parish of Kirkmichael, Scotland. His parents are identified as John Grant in Inverlochy and Jean Forbes.

William came to North America when he was very young. It is known he was in the company of at least his father, John Grant, and his oldest sibling, Donald Grant. Family stories have them in the maritimes, possibly the east coast of the United States, involved in shipping and/or ship building. William arrived in Quebec shortly after the conquest of 1759. Based on his baptismal record he was 16 years old. In 1767, he was a resident of Montreal; he became involved in the fur trade and for twenty years he served as a merchant and in other capacities, on his own and with other merchants in southwest Michilimackinac:

* William became known as William Grant of Trois-Rivieres to distinguish him from other Grants in the same areas and in the same business.

* Prior to 1777: Was in business with a John Grant (Richard Dobie's son-in-law:dissolved in 1780.

* 1785: Grant, Cotte, and Alexander Shaw formed a partnership. They collaborated with Dobie in outfitting a whole networkof fur traders, and acted as bondsman with him.

* 1788: Their association entered a partnership with Fracis Bagley.

* 1791: Joined with Etienne-Charles Campion, Samuel Gerrard (A Montoreal merchant) and formed "Grant, Campion & Co." and operated southwest of the Great Lakes and Timiskamine region. Grant oversaw general operations, Campion oversaw trade with Indians, and Gerrard oversaw the books.

* 1792: Was Justice of the Peace for the district of Trois-Rivieres.

* Owned property on du Platon Street, Trois-Rivieres.

William Grant married Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise February 27, 1787, at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. they had seven children: William Grant (1787), Jean Baptiste Grant (1788-1788), Marguerite Grant (1790-1790), Jean Francois Grant (1791),

Richard Grant (1794), Jeanne Grant (1799), Marie Marguerite Grant (1800)

William died November 20, 1810, Sorel, Quebec, and was buried November 23, 1810, from William Henry Anglican Church. His death record gives his age as seventy years. Although there are exceptions, Scottish infants were typically baptized as soon as possible after birth. If William was born the same year he was baptized, 1743, he would have been 67 years old when he died in 1810.

No image of William Grant has been found. However, in the William Henry Anglican Church Cemetery, his marker survives as a testament to the beginnings of this Grant family in a new country and the family's survival of two hundred years.

GRANT, William  (Son of Wm. Grant of Trois-Rivieres & Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise)                                              b. December 19, 1787, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.  Godfather: Pierre St. Onge.  Godmother: Jean Baptiste Laframboise.

This William Grant is known as the "missing Grant".

From HBC Chief Trader Richard Grant, correspondence to Sir George Simpson, dated c1847:
"You remark it is not probable the parties will pay the Share of My Brother William owing to No proof of his deathe having been tendered. All the light I can throw on and which in some measure Might lead to ascertain the fact is what I shall Now with your permission relate. William would be now a man of about 60 Years Old.  The last I heard concerning him was in 1812 or 13, during the last American war between Great Britain and the United States. A Young Man then, by the name of John Ryan who was about that time belonging to our Regiment The 2nd Batt'n of Select Embodied Militia and acting as the Quarter Master.  He related to me for a fact that in the Years of 1809 or 10 Himself with two other young Men by Name - One Larkins the Jerry O--Lighan and My brother William being at New York and out of employ had all four engaged themselves On board of a British Letter of Mark said to be bound to the West Indies, My Brother in the capacity of Captain's Clerk the other three as common men before the Mast. Sometime after the vessel's leaving New York but previous to her being out of sight of Land, they were made acquainted they had been deceived and the fact was the vessel was bound direct to England where Neither of them were willing to --during the darkness of the Night, while My Brother as Clerk was Sleeping in one of the State Rooms, where for fear of giving the alarm and frustrating their escape they there let down a light boat and Made for land leaving My Brother on board as already stated - The name of the vessel I do not recollect, but that same John Ryan was from St John's on River Chambly where he married a Miss Waywood, and some years ago resided in Quebec, carrying on business if I Mistake Not in the Bakery Line and If still living most likely still there. He I believe is a few years My senior, Should this lead to the discovery of My long absent Brother or be the means of settling our family Matters to your Satisfaction and good Judgement I shall be satisfied and obliged..."

In 2005, Dale Kinder, a descendant of Johnny Grant and Isabelle Lussier, told this story: "One of 'our' Grants was a pirate. He was caught off the island of Michelon and was taken to Liverpool and hanged." There is no source for this story; neither is there a name identifying which Grant was the pirate nor any associated dates. Dale did attempt to find the names of pirates hung at Liverpool, England, but found that these records had been destroyed during the WWII bombing of London. At this time there is no known link between the story related by Richard Grant and that of Dale Kinder. It is interesting to note, however,
that Kinder's 'Liverpool' was assumed to be Liverpool, England; it may have been Liverpool, Nova Scotia, a hot bed of piracy and hangings for piracy. If a connection is found between the two, it will be interesting to discover if our missing Grant was a pirate or a privateer or simply one of many unfortunatate innocents who were accused of piracy and suffered the ultimate penalty for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Two stories too interesting to leave unsolved!

GRANT, William (Son of John F./Johnny Grant & Quarra)                                                                                                  b.  October 1, 1856.                                                                                                                                                             m.  Oxilia or Auxilia Bernardin                                                                                                                                               d.  

GRANT nee Forbes, Jean

KITTSON, Edwin  (Son of William Kittson & Helene McDonald)

KITTSON, Eloise Jemima  (Daughter of William Kittson & Helene McDonald)

KITTSON, Pierre Charles  (Son of William Kittson & Helene McDonald)

LaVATTA, Edward

LaVATTAa, Ellen

LaVATTA, Joseph

LaVATTA, Laura Delores

LaVATTA, Marcelene

LaVATTA, Philippe

L, Raphael

LaVATTA, Thomas Jr.

LaVATTA, Thomas Sr.

LUSSIER, Isabelle (aka Lucier, Ruiz/Ruez, Mrs. Charlie Buck. 5th spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

McDONALD, Helene

A copy of this picture was obtained from a LaVatta relation.  Only the name, "James" is written on the reverse.  It is possibly James J. McAllister, below.

If viewers have any information regarding "James" or James J. McAllister, please contact me at:  anitas@northwestel.net

McALLISTER, James J.

LAVATTA (c1818-1824 – Sept. 27, 1896)/McAllister (c1856 – c1950?)

The origin of the LaVatta name is unknown. What is known is Thomas LaVatta was known as the "redheaded Spaniard " originating from what was identified variously in the 1800s as Mexico and New Mexico; a multilingual trader between Montana and Utah, a translator and "the father of all the LaVattas". Before Thomas there is no history of the LaVatta surname. Current descendants of Thomas relate 'memories' of him being of Spanish and/or French descent, and somehow being related to Sacajewea. Some are familiar with a James J. McAllister and believe he was a LaVatta.

Recently, I read an autobiography of James J. McAllister printed in three installments of the Idaho Sunday Statesman: May 6, 13 & 20, 1928. According to this, McAllister was born c1856 and at age 5 was abducted from his home (below what became Fort Benton) by a wealthy planter, Thomas McAllister, and raised at Holly Springs, Miss. McAllister eventually discovers his Idaho roots and relates his history. In 1774, his great grandfather, a LaValle, and two other French men, Narceese Charbonneau and a priest named Joseph Nadeau, came to the San Diego mission area of California aboard a Spanish supply ship. Planning to go to Montreal, they left the Spaniards and travelled through what is now California and Oregon and wintered with Monobannock, Yohuskin and and Walapin Indians at what is now Boise, Idaho. None of the men reached Montreal.

Lavalle married a French-Monobannock woman and lived in the Deer Lodge Valley. They had a son they sent to Montreal to become a priest but instead married an Enlish lady in Montreal. Their only child was a daughter who married a French Trader – McAllister’s father. The first name of the great grandfather LaValle, or his son and his wife, or the name of the daughter or the man she married are not mentioned.

Nadeau married a Shoshone woman and raised one son who had two sons, Joe and Charles, who changed their surname to Rainey.

McAllister's story relates Charbonneau was killed by Indians and buried north of the forks of Five Mile and Cottonwood Creeks; Charbonneau had married in France and had a son, Toussaint Charbonneau. Toussaint left France to join his father by way of Montreal but when he reached the Mississippi he but was unable to reach his father due to warring Indians in the area. He settled on the Mississippi and became a trader. According to McAllister, this Toussaint Charbonneau was the husband of Sacajewea who became part of the Lewis & Clark expedition.

When Narcisse Charbonneau was buried, a skin map was made identifying landmarks of the area. Later, this skin map became the inside of the jacket being worn by McAllister when he was abducted. Later still, this map was used by McAllister to locate Charbonneau’s grave, the treasure buried, identify his home and to homestead in the Boise area. The jacket was later donated to the Idaho State Historical Society. His story goes on to tell of his very adventurous life, including his presence at the camp of Sitting Bull during the Battle of Little Big Horn, his friendship with Buffalo Bill, meeting President Harrison, meeting a very elderly Sacajewea at Washakee and hearing her stories of Lewis & Clark's expedition.

Research has supported most of McAllister’s details and dates. Those not supported were some of the details of Charbanneau's family. The Charbonneau who was husband of Sacajewea was born in Quebec and was the son of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau and Marguerite Deniau. An explanation for this error is the story may have become distorted over time. Also noteworthy is that Quebec was known as New France and was often misreferenced as France. A record found recentlyhas proven Sacajewea died in 1812. There are documented stories of an old woman at Washakee during that period who assumed Sacajewea's name and told stories of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is possible McAllister met and listened to the stories of the old woman, unaware she was not Sacajewea.

Based on McAllister's story, my conclusion is, the only way McAllister could have been connected to the LaVatta family is if his grandmother (an only child) had married a LaVatta. As names are missing, the only means of proving such a LaVatta connection would be by researching McAllister’s parents and descendants, land records, census and reservation records. The results of future research may not necessarily bring us any closer to identifying the origin of the LaVatta surname.

Do you have any information about James J. McAllister? If so, please contact anitas@northwestel.net

NORTON, Frances Molly aka Fanny

Poor-Oh-Ge

RIEL, Louis

ROWAND, John

SARAH aka Indian Woman At Oxford House

STUART, Granville

STUART, James

UMPHREVILLE, Louise

VASQUEZ, Philip

QUARRA  (2nd spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

SACAJEWEA

SERPANTE, Angelique (see Poor-Oh-Ge)

SERPANTE, Louise (1st spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

TENDOY, Chief

WELSH, Angelique (6th spouse of John F./Johnny Grant)

JAMES