I just love historical signs especially when they relate to my family history. My French Canadian ancestors came from France and settled in the St. Lawrence Valley (Québec City 1608, Montréal 1642). These founding French ancestors, my great greats, appear in the Fichier Origine database. Many of them were fur traders or involved in the fur trade in other capacities. Father (Père) Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit named the mission after St. Ignatius Loyola founder of the Jesuits. A military fortress was built shortly after becoming a military strong point however, in 1701 the garrison moved to Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit under the control of the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Why should this be of interest to me?
Père Marquette appears in my database but not as an ancestor. I know some of my ancestors were in St. Ignace and some of their descendants still live in the area. Cadillac was in St. Ignace then came to establish Fort Pontchartain in 1701. My sixth great grandfather was the first white man in the area of the fort. He was an interpreter for Cadillac and was a highly respected individual in the fort. Cadillac granted him land in the fort yet he chose to live in the Miamis village beside the fort with his wife and children. He was buried under the original location of Ste. Anne's Church in Detroit which speaks to his importance in the fort. Ste. Anne's Church was moved to it's current location to accommodate the Ambassador Bridge spanning the Detroit River connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2008
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