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Exploring our family history

In building this website, I have had the great pleasure of exploring the Amyotte (Amyot/Amiot) family in Canada.  As a founding family, we have been an important part of Canada's history since 1635.  Through this site, I will endeavour to provide information that I have collected along the way, as well as many links to the works that dive into our history.  Please come back often as I hope to continue to grow this section over time.  And if you're interested in contributing, I'd love to work together.  Reach out via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 We have the following articles included in this collection to date:

  • Those who came before us:  A brief overview of the first Amyot's in Canada
  • Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes: Exception blog exerpt from blogger Drifting Cowboy

 

Additionally, you may be interested in the following resources:

 

 

 

Those who came before us

Oscar Amyotte (Amyot/Amiot) was the 9th generation Amiot in Canada and the 7th generation born in Canada (Philippe and Mathieu where born in France). Below is a quick summary of the generations who came before us. 

 

Source: Quebec Geneology database: https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogie=Amiot_Oscar&pid=989871&lng=fr

 

A brief history of Philippe Amyotte

SOURCE:  PHILIPPE AMIOT from "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" by Thomas J. Laforest

 

IMMIGRATION: 1636
The last name of Amiot or Amyot appears as a diminitive of the word "ami" or "amy". In the sixteenth century, it was pronounced: amio. More than one Amiot founded a family in Canada. The one who is of interest to us bore the first name of Philippe. The first to arrive in New France, he was also the first to die here and has the largest number of descendants among us.

ANNE CONVENT AND PHILIPPE AMIOT
It seems rather certain that Anne Convent, born about 1603, the daughter of Guillaume and Antoinette de Longval, came from Estrees, today Coeuvres-et-Valsery, the Canton of Vic-sur- Aines, Arrondisement of Soissons, in the Department of the Aisne, in the former territory of la Picardie. Anne and Philippe were married in France about 1626. They had two known children in the old country, Jean and Mathieu.

QUEBEC
The Amiot family arrived in Quebec in 1636. On August 26, their last child, Charles, was baptized. His godfather was the Chevalier Charles Huault de Montmagny, also the first governor of New France. He had been in the country since June 11, 1636. The godmother was Guillemette Hebert, the daughter of Louis and Marie Rollet and the wife of Guillaume Couillard. The officiating priest was Jean Dequen, a Jesuit, originally from Picardy.

We know that, the day after the arrival of the governor, another ship "commanded by Monsieur Courpon" brought 45 recruits to Quebec, according to the Relations des Jesuites. Did the Amiots arrive as passengers on this ship? A good hypothsis!

Here begins a mystery which has never been cleared up! Nothing in our history indicates the name of Philippe's native village, his trade, the location of his house at Quebec, or the date of his death. One fact remains certain, the inventory of his property, drawn up on Wednesday, September 7, 1639, at Quebec and authenticated, on the first of April 1658, by the Notary Audouart. Fortunately, we have learned many things from it.

Philippe enjoyed a certain comfort. His wife and children slept well and were well dressed: 5 pairs of sheets, a bed canopy, suits for Mathieu and Charles, "a doublet in gray berry cloth belonging to his son Mathieu", a beaver skin robe worth 17 livres. They mentioned a frying pan, eight pounds of pewter ware, a small boiler and so forth.

Monsieur Pierre Priseaux owed the estate "eight francs" and "the Great Sevestre eight francs". The surprise was to learn that, at his death, Philippe owned 96 perches of cleared land. It was not possible for me to locate this property. Philippe only lived about three years in the Colony but, thanks to his two sons, Mathieu and Charles, that short time was sufficient for him to firmly implant on Canadian soil a name borne today by thousands of descendants.

SECOND WEDDING
On September 26, 1639, Anne Convent was remarried at Quebec, to Jacques Maheu, born to Nicolas and Louise Clichon, from Buberte, in the Arrondisement of Mortagne, in Perche. The new couple seems to have lived uneventfully but happily.

Jacques, classified as a pioneer in 1640, on October 11, 1647, became the owner of six arpents of frontage on the Grande-Allee, to a depth of ten arpents. He was in France in 1647 and 1648. He was elected church warden of the parish of Notre-Dame de Quebec in 1656, 1657 and 1659, the year in which he was a member of the trading association of Tadoussac. On August 10, of the same year, he was confirmed by Msgr. de Laval.

Anne and Jacques had the joy of bringing into the world a daughter, Marie-Madeleine, baptized on September 28, 1641. However, she died on the following October 19. Their son, Jean Maheu, was baptized on May 31, 1643. He married Marguerite Corriveau, parents unknown and the widow of Rene Maheu and Jean Lefranc, on July 16, 1663. A merchant and resident of the capital, he died without descendants. As for Jacques Maheu senior, he died, on July 22, 1663, at Quebec.

Anne Convent accepted a third husband, Etienne Blanchon dit LaRose, on September 10, 1666. This Auvergnat, Blanchon, who arrived here as a soldier with the Carignan Regiment, had no children by Anne Convent. This most deserving Ancestress died at Quebec, on December 25, 1675, at the age of 65. The pastor, Henri de Bernieres, presided at her funeral the following day.

THE AMIOT SONS
Anne Convent and Philippe Amiot had three sons: Jean and Mathieu, both born in France and Charles , the Canadian. Jean At an early age, Jean Amiot was a donne of the Jesuits, his protectors. The orphan was sent out to the land of the Hurons, where he learned their language. The Amerindians called him Antaiok, a distortion of Amiot, because they held him in esteem.

Jean
In 1645, Jean settled at Trois-Rivieres, where he lived until his death. He often served as an interpreter. Pierre-Georges Roy (?) recounts that, Amiot, passing through Quebec in 1647, challenged all the young Indian boys to a race, "either with or without snowshoes. Several entered the race against him, but he beat them all".

On May 28, 1648, Jean Amiot and Francois Margerie crossed the Saint-Lawrence in a bark canoe, across from Trois-Rivieres. A storm rose suddenly and capsized their frail craft.. The two interpreters perished in full view of the Frenchmen on the shore, who were powerless to help them. Jean's body was found on June 10, near Sillery, where they buried him.

Jean, greatly devoted to Saint-Joseph, had said: "If I should happen to die, I desire that the lumber and materials with which I plan to build a house for myself, be used to build a small chapel in honor of Saint-Joseph".

After his death, on October 18, 1649, Jean's property, 50 arpents of land and his building materials were bought by Jacques LeNeuf, for 183 livres.

Mathieu

Mathieu Amiot, Sieur de Villeneuve, born in France about 1628, owned a small lot in 1655, measuring 54 feet in frontage, on the chemin (road) to Saint-Louis, to a depth of 18 feet, which ran as far as the southwestern part of the land of Sieur Chartier de Lotbiniere, near Cap-aux-Diamants.

On the occasion of his marriage to Marie Miville, the daughter of Pierre and Charlotte Maugis, on November 21, 1650, at Quebec, Mathieu received from his father-in-law, a plot of land on the Grande-Allee, bordering that of Jean Bourdon. Mathieu owned several other pieces of land; at Sillery, at the Chatellenie de Coulonges, at Saint-Augustin and at Cap-Rouge. The census of 1681 recorded the colonist Amiot as living in the Seigneurie of Maure, between Tugal Catin and Jacques Lemarie, where he owned three head of cattle and had thirty arpents of land under cultivation.

To summarize, let's recall that Mathieu was a valiant pioneer. In 1668, he was awarded letters of nobility. Unfortunately, they were invalid, wrote Father Archange Godbout, because they had not been registered. The Intendant Jean Talon wanted to amend this oversight by conceding at Villeneuve, on November 3, 1672, the Seigneurie of Pointe-aux-Bouleaux, near Sainte-Croix de Lotbiniere.

Mathieu and Marie raised a family of sixteen children, 8 girls and 8 boys, who have numerous descendants. Mathieu died, on December 18, 1688 and was buried the next day, at Quebec. As for Marie Miville, she died at the Hotel-Dieu, on September 5, 1702, during harvest time.

Charles

The Canadian Charles Amiot, the son of Philippe and Anne Convent, studied at the College des Jesuitses. At the age of of 14, he accompanied Father Francois-Joseph Bressani as a servant on a journey out to the land of the Hurons. Departing from Trois-Rivieres, on June 7, 1650, he was unable to return there because the English fleet had stopped below Montreal. On July 18, Charles entered Quebec. On May 2, 1660, he married Genevieve de Chavigny, the daughter of Francois and Eleonore de Grandmaison. However, he still had the blood of a voyageur in his veins. He accompanied Father Nouvel to the Ile aux Basques and to Lake Matapedia. In 1664, he and Father Nouvel went with some Papinachois as far as the Riviere aux Outardes and then to the Manicouagan.

On the first of November 1652, Charles had received, from Lauzon, a concession which was enlarged by another one with 5 arpents by 40, on August 18, 1659. What really interested Charles was the fur and eel business. He became a merchant at Quebec.

His family was not large and composed of three children. Pierre died after two months old; Marie-Madeleine joined the Ursulines. She became superior of her community at Trois-Rivieres, in 1709. It was also there that she died, on October 13, 1747, after 68 years as a nun.

Charles-Joseph Amiot, the third and last child and husband of Marie-Gabrielle Philippe du Hautmesny, was a ship's captain and also a fur merchant. He became lord of the Seigneurie of Vincelot.

Charles died too young, at the age of 33, on December 11, 1669, at Quebec. His widow was remarried to Jean-Baptiste Couillard, Sieur de L'Espinay, on October 23, 1680. This strong woman and Seigneuresse, in more than title, was buried at Quebec, on April 21, 1724.

 

Another Brief Summary

Source: http://www.leveillee.net/ancestry/histnotes.htm

  • Philippe Amyot arrived in Canada in the summer of 1635 from Soissons. He was accompanied by his wife, Anne Convent, and two sons, Jean and Mathieu. 

    On August 26 1636, he baptised another son, Charles at Québec. 

    Four years after his arrival in New France, Philippe Amyot died. However, through his sons, Mathieu and Charles, he established a long line of descendants which today number in the thousands. 

    Mathieu Amyot was a decisive and entrepreneurial man. He was granted land concessions at Trois Rivières, Sillerie, and neat Québec. From the last concession he took the name Villeneuve since it was situated near pointe Villeneuve. 

    With that pace, it is no wonder that he became one of the notable settlers in the colony. 

    The intendant, Jean Talon, sought to obtain a title for him from the king. These were granted by Louis XIV in 1668, but unfortunately Mathieu Amyot failed to have them registered with the sovereign council of New France and they became worthless. Although he was titled, he never became a Noble. He died December 18, 1688. 

    His brother, Charles, who was ten years younger, started to travel with the missionaries at 14. 

    Aside from being a merchant living in the lower town (of Québec), he received many land grants. The importance of the role he played in Québec placed him among the most noted of the time. 

    Unfortunately, Charles Amyot died at an early are on December 10 1669 only nine years after his marriage. 


And a few additional details

Original source no longer available: http://www.geocities.com/philippeamyot/HistoireAmyotAng.html

  • He was born in Picardie around 1600.In around 1625 he got married in Estrée 
    ( Today Couvre, in the district of L'Aisne ) in Soissonais with Anne Convent the daughter of Guillaume Convent and Antoinette de Longval. We don't know much about the life of Philippe and Anne Convent in France. We have found a act of sale from Antoine Courand notary. 
    In this act of sale of the Notary Courand 20th january 1626, we find out that Philippe Amyot bought
    the house of Antoinette Longeuval in Espiré. Must a been a big house. 
    In the act, the house have 14 rooms and (32 arpents de terre )

    In the spring of 1635 Philippe Amyot and his wife their two sons, Mathieu and Jean boarded a ship in 
    Dieppe destination New France. In the beginning of the summer they arrived in Kébec. It was during th time of M.Champlain. I was not there, but I presume that M.Champlain was on the roads whit his straw hat, 
    his whip and his wagon, and his pair of bulls to greet these new arrivals, the minute they arrived. In those days it's was not often that a contingent of new arrivals landed. Usually it occurred only once a year. 

    What did philippe Amyot do in Kébec ? We don't know. When he died we still don't know ? However its certain that he died in the year 1639. The burial act was not registered in the record of Quebec. 
    Certain alledge that he died by drowning, and because his body was never found, they never registered his death. Other presumed that they just simply forgot to re-enter his burial act when they reconstructed that 
    the parish register after the fire in the chapel Notre-Dame de la Recouvrance, in 1640. 
    Notary Audouart 7th September 1639 inventoried of the possesion of Philippe Amyot 

    In September 1639, Anne Convent, the widow of Philippe Amyot, married Jacques Maheu ; 
    they had two sons and one daughter. 

    She became widow once again in July 1663, she married for a third time a man by the name of Etienne Balnchon dit Larose. ( Notary contract Bequet the 5th may, 1666 ) She was 65 and Etienne 35. 
    Though scandal was not in vogue in Québec at that time, it must have made good gossip ;
    just the age different alone was enough. 
    ( Notary Duquet 10th January 1676 inventoried of Etienne Blanchon & Anne convent )
    The 5th January, 1674 she gives to the children of her son Mathieu an estate located in the bases ville of Québec. ( Act of Bequet ) Unfortunately this property will later be dispute between Marie Minville and her Children. Anne convent died in 1674
    ( Notary Becquet 23th Febuary 1674 Testament of Anne Convent )


Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes

The following excerpt is a direct copy from a fantastic work from an american blogger who goes by the name of Drifting Cowboy.  In his extensive work titled Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes, he details the history of voyagers including many of the prominent families.  From the author:

"My goal in writing this blog is to leave to my grandsons the answers to the questions I wish I had asked my granddad... I am a cowboy activist, a Western movie historian, genealogist, and a folk artist. My cowboy and voyageur legacy can be back-trailed for more than twelve generations in North America."

Included in this work is a chapter focused on the Amyot family.  I have included a direct copy of that chapter below for your convenience, but if you are interested in not only our history, but the history of Canada, this is a must read!  I would highly encourage you to check it out at the following link:

 

EXERPT:   Ripples, Chapter Four, Amiot Family

 

Amiot (Amyot) Family

 
 
Philippe Amiot (Amyot) dit Villeneuve (1602-1639) (9th great-grandfather)
son of Georges Elie Amyot (1570-1620) and Louise Chichon (1580-1610)
Birth 1602 • Soissons, Aisne, Picardie, France
Death 26 AUG 1639 • Québec, Quebec, Canada
Marriage 1625 to Anne Convent (1605-1675)
• 1636, Coureur de bois near Trois-Rivières.
 
Philippe arrived in Canada in the summer of 1635.  He was accompanied by his wife, Anne Convent, and two sons, Mathieu and Jean. In 1636, another son, Charles was born at Québec. 
 
There is some evidence to suggest Philippe was a Coureur-de-Bois. Three years after his arrival in New France, Philippe Amiot died 26 Sep 1639, in Québec. However, through his sons, Mathieu and Charles, he established a long line of descendants which today number in the thousands.
 
Anne Convent (1605-1675), the daughter of Guillaume Convent & Antoinette De Longral, was born about 1604 in L'Estrée, France. Her second marriage on 26 September 1639 was to Jacques Maheu in Québec. Her third husband was Etienne Blanchon Larose. She died on Christmas Day and was buried on 26 December 1675 in Québec.
 
Children of Philippe and Anne:
 
Jean Amiot (Amyot) (1630-1648) (9th great-uncle)
son of Philippe Amiot (Amyot) dit Villeneuve (1602-1639) and Anne Convent (1605-1675)
Birth ABT 1630 • France
Death 1648 • Quebec, Canada
unmarried
• 1640s, Interpreter and indentured employee of the Jesuits he spent several years in the Huron country.
 
Jean Amiot Was an Interpreter for the Jesuits Among the Hurons
 
Jean Amiot (Amyot) was an interpreter and indentured employee of the Jesuits among the Hurons. Jean Amiot spent several years in the Huron country, and seems to have lived at Trois-Rivières from 1645 on.
 
The Indians called him “Antaïok.” In 1647 he outran and captured an Iroquois who had taken part in the martyrdom of Father Isaac Jogues. He was a remarkable athlete; in a tournament at Quebec he beat all the young Indians who tried to race against him, either on foot or on snowshoes.
 
On 23 May 1648, when he was about to get married, Jean Amiot was drowned off Trois-Rivières with a companion, François Marguerie. His body was carried down by the current and recovered on 10 June opposite the Saint-Joseph de Sillery mission, where the burial took place.
 
Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) Sieur de Villeneuve (1628-1688) (8th great-grandfather)
son of Philippe Amiot (Amyot) dit Villeneuve (1602-1639) and Anne Convent (1605-1675)
Birth 23 MAY 1628 • Estrees, Soissons, Ile-de-France, France
Death 18 DEC 1688 • Québec, Quebec, Canada
Marriage 1650 to Marie Catherine Miville (1632-1702)
• 1640s, Interpreter and fur trader for the Jesuits in the Huron country.
 
Mathieu Amiot Was also an Interpreter for the Jesuits
 
Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) was for many years an interpreter for the Jesuits; he worked in their house at Trois-Rivières and also in the Huron country.
 
Charles Amiot (Amyot) (1636-1669) (9th great-uncle)
son of Philippe Amiot (Amyot) dit Villeneuve (1602-1639) and Anne Convent (1605-1675)
Birth 26 AUG 1636 • Quebec, Canada
Death 10 DEC 1669 • Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec, Canada
Marriage 1660 to Genevieve De Chavigny (1645-1724)
• 1650, fur-trader and merchant; educated at the Jesuit college and accompanied Father Bressani as a servant to the Huron country.
 
Charles Amiot Accompanied Father Bressani as a Servant to the Huron country
 
Charles Amiot (Amyot) was a fur-trader and merchant; was educated at the Jesuit college and when he was barely 14 years old he accompanied Father Bressani as a servant on a trip to the Huron country.
 
He was also a merchant interested in eel fishing and in the fur trade. It was his travels among the Papinachois Indians that gave him something of a reputation during his lifetime. On those occasions he accompanied Father Henri Nouvel a Jesuit who landed at Quebec in the summer of 1662.
 
They left Quebec in November 1663, and presumably went to the Île Verte and the Île aux Basques, then to the Île Saint-Barnabé, finally spending the winter with a band of Algonquins Indians in the neighborhood of Lake Matapédia or Lake Mitis.
 
Amiot returned to the Île aux Basques in March 1664 and went down to Quebec, where he arrived on 5 April, whilst Father Nouvel remained on the island with his flock.
 
On 21 April 1664 Father Nouvel crossed to the north shore. He waited near Tadoussac for Father Druillettes, who arrived only on 3 May. The latter decided to go and serve the Indians of the Saguenay. For their part, Father Nouvel and Charles Amiot, the sole Frenchmen to accompany Druillettes, left Tadoussac the same day (3 May) and penetrated overland, with a band of Papinachois Indians, as far as the river Peritibistokou (des Outardes), which they reached on 14 May.
 
The travelers camped there until 2 June, went upstream for a whole day, and made a portage that brought them to the river Manikouaganistikou (Manicouagan). They got to Lake Saint-Barnabé (Manicouagan) on 9 June. A band of Papinachois Indians who had never met a white man was waiting for them there. The missionary preached the gospel and the traders bartered furs. Father Nouvel named the spot the Saint-Barnabé mission. The expedition returned to Quebec on 30 June 1664.
 
"French River Rapids," 1845 by Paul Kane
 
In November Father Nouvel again left Quebec for Tadoussac. This time Amiot apparently stayed at Quebec. Father Nouvel spent the winter of 1664-65 in the Lake St. John region, and returned in the spring. At the end of May 1665 he went back to the Saint-Barnabé mission together with two Frenchmen whom a Relation identifies as Amiot and Couture. Father Godbout specifies that “for this last voyage among the nations of the north, he [Amiot] had taken Guillaume Couture, Noël Jérémie, and Sébastien Prouvereau, on 28 May 1665.” They had arranged to meet the Papinachois Indians at the mouth of the Manicouagan. But they had to go up the river without a guide, for the Indians did not appear at the rendezvous. They returned to Quebec on 26 July.
 
Father Nouvel returned to the north shore regularly until 1670, but the Relations make no further mention of Amiot’s being with him. Perhaps the latter preferred to stay at Quebec with his family and attend to his general store. Amiot died on 10 Dec. 1669.
 
Father Nouvel had a much longer career. In the succeeding years he exercised his ministry between Michilimackinac and Sault Ste. Marie.
 
Daniel Joseph Amiot (Amyot) Dit Villeneuve (1665-1725) (8th great-uncle)
son of Mathieu Amiot (Amyot) Sieur de Villeneuve (1628-1688) and Marie Catherine Miville 
Birth 4 OCT 1665 • Québec, Quebec, Canada
Death 1725 • Michillimackinac, Michigan, United States
Marriage 1719 • Mackinac Island, Mackinac, Michigan, United States to Domithilde Oukabe Nepveuouikabe LaFourche (1690-1782)
(1632-1702)
• 1686, took part in Henri de Tonti’s search for La Salle and descended the Mississippi River
• 1690, François Garconnes de Boisrondel/t, acting for François Daupin sieur de LaForest, hired Daniel Joseph Amiot, Joseph Bénard, Joseph Fafard, Louis Fafard frères, and Jean Lat for a voyage to the Illinois [Antoine  Adhémar.
• MANY MORE THRU 1710.
 
Daniel Joseph Amiot took part in Henri de Tonti’s search for La Salle and descended the Mississippi River
 
13 February 1686, Henri de Tonti and the following men left Fort Saint Louis (present day Illinois) and descended the Mississippi to search for La Salle: Daniel Joseph Amiot, André Babeu, Laurent (Couture) Baret, Louis Baron, Vallier Beaufils, François Bisaillon, Pierre Bisaillon, Michel Boyer, Jacques Caillas, Joseph Charbonneau, Jean Couture, René Cuillerier, Charles Delaunay, Joseph Dubos, Martin Faller, Jacques Filiatrault, Jean Filiatrault, Pierre Lafontaine, Jean Lorrain/Laurin, Robert Marchand, Jean Michel, Jean Baptiste Nolan, Vital Oriot, Louis Paquet/Pasquier, Mathieu Perrin, Jean Rouleau, Mathurin Rousseau, Jean Roy, four Shawnee and five Illinois.
 
De Tonti took possession of the true mouth of the Mississippi/Colbert on 13 April 1686, but found no sign of La Salle even after he had dispatched canoes to the east and west about 30 leagues.
 
After the canoes returned because they had no fresh water, de Tonti proposed that they go back to Montréal via canoe by following the coast to Manhattan, but his men did not agree with this option.
 
As de Tonti and his men travelled north on the Mississippi on their return voyage, Tonti moved the King’s arms that La Salle had planted on his 1682 voyage five leagues farther north. He made peace with the Quinipissa (a tribe that joined with the Mougoulascha tribe) and left a letter for La Salle with the chief.
 
 
What happened to La Salle?
 
René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, born Nov. 22, 1643, in Rouen, France was an explorer, who led an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and claimed all the watershed from the Mississippi and its tributaries for Louis XIV of France. He named the region “Louisiana.”
 
Years later, on March 19, 1687, near Brazos River (now in Texas), in a unsuccessful expedition searching the mouth of the Mississippi, he was murdered by his men.
 
Daniel Joseph Amiot's Additional Voyageur Trips
 
5 May, 7 May and 8 May 1690, François Garconnes de Boisrondel/t, acting for François Daupin sieur de LaForest, hired Daniel Joseph Amiot, Joseph Bénard, Joseph Fafard, Louis Fafard frères, and Jean Lat for a voyage to the Illinois [Antoine  Adhémar, RAPQ1930, 1 p.  198 - four  contracts]. 
 
Additional information regarding the 1690 contract: Amiot would depart as soon as possible in a canoe supplied by Boisrondel/t and return the following spring; he would help bring back a canoe of beaver. Amiot’s salary was  500 livres.
 
He  was  permitted  to  bring  with  him  two  packets  of  beaver  and  provisions  for  his subsistence.  He would be permitted to trade the merchandise at any place other than Fort St. Louis or the country  of  the  Illinois.
 
In  the  event  that  it  was  not  convenient  for  him  to  depart  in  1691,  Boisrondel/t would pay him an  additional 500 livres to remain another year. He would hunt for Laforest during this time [ILHC, 2 Vol. 23, pp. 207 - 210].
 
 
23  April  1694,  Louis  Rouer  de  Villeray,  acting  for  the  ancient  company  of Jean  Oudiette  and  Pierre Bénac in the name of Charles Catignon, hired Charles Bissot, Jean Baptiste Monmellian, and Jean Pascal Prévost/Provost, voyageurs,  to  go  to  Michilimackinac  to  hunt  for  the  furs  that Nicolas  Perrot  had  sent sieur Amiot  (probably  Daniel  Joseph)  to  bring  to  the  Jesuit  warehouse  in  the  name  of  Jacques  Charles Patu/Pattu, manager of the ancient company of Oudiette [Chambalon and Roy, 3 Vol. 18, pp. 69 - 70].
 
21 May 1694, Louis Rouer de Villeray, acting for the ancient company of Jean Oudiette and Pierre Benac, in  the  name  of  Charles  Catignon,  reached  an  agreement  with  Antoine  Martin dit Montpellier,  of  St-Bernard, Charles Cadieux, of Beauport; Charles Neveu/Nepveu and François Dumesny, of Québec; to go to Michilimackinac to hunt for the furs that Nicolas Perrot had sent sieur Amiot (probably Daniel Joseph) to  bring  to  the  Jesuit  warehouse  in  the  name  of  Jacques  Charles  Patu/Pattu,  manager  of  the  ancient company of Oudiette [Chambalon and Roy, Vol. 18, p. 72].
 
11 April 1710, Jean Soumande, a Montréal merchant, consented to an obligation from Daniel Amiot de  Villeneuve,  a voyageur,  for  837 livres and  two sols for  good  merchandise  for  his  voyage  to Michilimackinac.    Daniel  Amiot  Villeneuve  signed  the  consent  [Michel  LePallieur,  FHL  microfilm #1556892, image #02638].
 
15  October  1710,  Jean  Soumande,  a  Montréal  merchant,  represented  by  his  wife Damoiselle Anne Chaspoux  consented  to  an  obligation  from Daniel  Amiot dit Villeneuve,  a voyageur who  was  ready  to depart  for  Fort  Pontchartrain,  for  1484 livres, four sols, and  six deniers for  good  merchandise  and equipment  for  his  voyage.    Villeneuve  signed the  obligation  [Michel  LePallieur,  FHL  microfilm #1556892, image #02860].
 
"The Trapper's Bride" by Alfred Jacob Miller
 
Daniel Amiot marries the sister of the Ottawa Chief Nissowaquet 
 
Daniel Joseph Amiot married Domitilde Oukabé (aka Marie Kapiouapnokoué), an Ottawa, 2 September 1709 in Montréal. The  following  people  witnessed  their  marriage: Pierre  Biron,  Joseph  Leduc,  Jean Quenville [Quenneville],  and Jean  Jacquery  Lagenois [Zacharie ditL’Agenois][ancestry.com,  Drouin Collection, M, Montréal, Basilique Notre-Dame, 1705 - 1712, Image 223]. Domitilde was the sister of the Ottawa  chief  Nissowaquet [DCB].
 
Much of the above information came the The French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan, "Michilimackinac Families" - Compiled by Diane Wolford Sheppard, 2016.
 
I am extremely grateful to them for their marvelous website and historical research.
 
Jean Baptiste Amiot (Amyot) (1693-1763) (1st cousin 8x removed)
son of Pierre Amiot (Amyot) dit Villeneuve (1653-1714) and Louise Renard Dodier (1651-1724)
Birth 24 DEC 1693 • Neuville, Quebec, Canada
Death AFT 1763 • Green Bay, Wisconsin
Marriage ABT 1715 to Marie Anne Kitoulagué (1700-1758) (Sauvagesse)
• BEF 1724 Jean Baptiste Amiot came to Michilimackinac, where he was employed as a blacksmith by the Jesuit priest.
• 1739, May 4, Engagement de Jean Baptiste Amiot à Louis Gatineau et Compagnie pour aller dans les Pays d'en Haut (Upper Country). Notary Adhémar.
 
Jean Baptiste Amiot was Michilimackinac's Blacksmith, c. 1724
 
 
Sometime before 1724 Jean Baptiste Amiot came to Michilimackinac, where he was employed as a blacksmith by the Jesuit priest.
 
About 1737 he had a serious disagreement with the priest then in charge, probably Pierre Du Jaunay, who consequently fired him, took all his tools, and hired another blacksmith.
 
A broken gun could mean disaster in the west, and Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville, the commandant, realizing that two smiths were needed for the rapidly growing community and the neighboring Ottawas and Ojibwas, advanced Amiot the funds to continue working.
 
The priest, citing the monopoly of blacksmithing granted to the mission by the king, insisted that Amiot pay him half his profits. Thus Amiot worked under the watchful eye of the priest in a shop adjoining the rectory.
 
Although he was training his oldest son Augustin in his craft, Amiot was barely able to eke out an existence on the profits he was allowed to keep.
 
By 1742, with a family of eight children, he was reduced to begging at the lodges of the local Ottawas, and he was seriously considering moving to the Illinois country.
 
The Ottawas complained of Amiot’s plight to the governor, Charles de Beauharnois, and as a result of their intercession Amiot was permitted to retain all his profits.
 
 
Iron tools included fire-steels and crooked knives for canoe building
 
Amiot did a considerable amount of work at the fort during the late 1740s, fixing guns, making axes, tomahawks, and picks, and doing other iron work. Apparently he practiced his trade at Michilimackinac during the busy summer trading season and occasionally spent the winter with hunting Indian bands.
 
In 1758 his wife, Marie-Anne Sauvagesse Kitoulagué, was buried in the cemetery at Michilimackinac. He was still residing at Michilimackinac when the English assumed control in 1761.
 
 
Inspired by chief Pontiac, the local Ojibwas attacked the fort and massacred most of the garrison on 2 June 1763. The commandant, George Etherington, who was ransomed by the Ottawas, rewarded them by having Amiot repair their guns.
 
Amiot apparently moved to La Baye (Green Bay) sometime after 1763. There he quarrelled with an Indian named Ishquaketa, who had left an axe to be repaired. When Amiot seized the Indian with a pair of hot tongs, the Indian knocked him senseless with the axe.
 
While Amiot was recovering, another Indian paid him a visit and stabbed him to death as he lay in bed. The exact date of Amiot’s death is unknown for the interment records of La Baye (Green Bay) have not survived.
 
 
During his lifetime Amiot’s skills as a blacksmith had contributed substantially to the local economy and the necessary maintenance of relations with the Indians.
 
Source above: Dictionary of Canadian Biography http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/amiot_jean_baptiste_1717_69_3E.html
 
More from: Technological Adaptation on the Frontier: An Examination of Blacksmithing at Fort Michilimackinac, 1715-1781, by Amy S. Roache-Fedchenko, Syracuse University
 
An inventory of Amiot’s work from the time he worked for the French military includes the repair or furnishing of screws, sight beads, sights, cocks, ramrod guides, face plates, a bolt, springs, frizzens and tempering, sears, tumblers, a shoulder strap, and the assembly of fusils; all gun parts or gun related work (Amiot 1747 a, 1747b). 
 
Other, non-gun related items listed within these work inventories includes picks, axes, tomahawks, daggers, swords, and darts (arrow points) (Amiot 1747 a, 1747b).
 
These objects indicate that the blacksmith may have been completing work for military personnel and for the purposes of trade relations between the French military and Native American groups.
According to Amiot’s 1747 inventory he was repairing traps and trap parts (Amiot 1747). It is not known for whom Amiot made the repairs, although it is likely that traps were being repaired for traders and Native Americans.
 
Hoes were documented to have been repaired at the site and show up on French trader’s inventory lists as pioches (LeFeuure 1746; Amiot 1774).
 
Strike-a-lites, or firesteels, as referred to in historic documents, was another type of object that was documented to have been produced by the blacksmith at Fort Michilimackinac (Amiot 1774).
 
Additional Works Cited:
 
Amiot, Jean-Baptiste -- 1747a Inventory of Goods Furnished by Order of Louis De La Corne, 13 June. National Archives of Canada, Series C11A, Vol. 117 (MG 1/3, Vol. 141), microfilm C - 2408, Ottawa.
 
Amiot, Jean-Baptiste -- 1747b Inventory of Goods Furnished by Order of M. De Noyelle, 13 August. National Archives of Canada, Series C11A, Vol. 117, (MG 1/3, 140), microfilm C - 2408, Ottawa.
 

Armour, David -- 1976 Gunsmithing at Michilimackinac: Jean-Baptiste Amiot, a Blacksmith at Michilimackinac. In, Firearms on the Frontier ed. Hamilton, pp.25 - 31. Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island State Park Commission.
 
 
 
Return to beginning of book… http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2017/03/ripples-introduction-contents-and.html

The King’s Daughters (Les Filles du Roi)

Anyone who’s looking into their French-Canadian roots will soon come across this term: fille du roi, or “daughter of the king”. Not to be taken in a literal sense, the filles du roi were a group of some 700 unmarried women who were sent to New France between 1663 and 1673 by King Louis XIV to solve a gender imbalance problem, and ultimately help to populate the new colony. They were called “daughters of the king” because Louis XIV paid for their recruitment, clothing and passage to the new world and offered dowries to the women when they married.

When digging into our family history, I thought it would be really exciting to find at least one descendant who was a member of "Les Fille du Roi".  When I started digging though, I was blown away by how many of our lineage where part of this program.  We certainly come from an impressive group of pioneer women!

Here are the 24! ancestors from our lineage that can be traced back to the Fille du Roi!

  • Suzanne Lacroix
  • Marie Vallée
  • Anne Pineau dit la Viéville
  • Jacquette Michel
  • Jeanne Savonet
  • Marie-Sainte Vié Dit Lamothe
  • Barbe Rateau Rotot
  • Madeleine Carbonnet
  • Marie Madeleine Olivier
  • Marie Pelletier
  • Marie Chevreau
  • Jeanne Bernard
  • Catherine Clerice
  • Françoise Trochet Richard
  • Françoise Curé
  • Jeanne Languille
  • Catherine Paulo
  • Étiennette Loret
  • Marie Anne Michelle Renaud
  • Marie Valade
  • Jeanne Gilles
  • Marie Madeleine Benoît
  • Jeane Petit
  • Marie Lamy

 

 

Sources: 

https://www.tfcg.ca/filles-du-roi

https://fillesduroi.org/

https://www.familysearch.org/