François Gaultier Du Tremblay
| François Gaultier Du Tremblay | |
|---|---|
| Gaultier de La Vérendrye | |
| Born | 1715-10-29 Sorel, Quebec |
| Died | 1794-07-30 Montreal, Quebec |
| Occupation | Explorer, soldier, interpreter |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Siblings | |
François Gaultier Du Tremblay (29 October 1715 – 30 July 1794 (aged 78)), also known as Gaultier de La Vérendrye, was a French-Canadian explorer, soldier, and interpreter who participated in his family's far-reaching expeditions into the interior of North America during the 18th century.[1]
Early life and western expeditions
François was born on 29 October 1715 at Sorel, Quebec, and was baptized there on 22 December. He was the son of the explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé.[1]
In 1731, still not yet sixteen years old, François set out westward alongside his father and his brothers Jean-Baptiste and Pierre. The party wintered at Kaministiquia — the post that would eventually become Fort William and, later, Thunder Bay — before pressing further into the interior.[1] During the summer of 1732, François took part in the construction of Fort Saint-Charles on the Lake of the Woods.[1]
In 1737, he accompanied his father on a journey to Fort Maurepas on the Red River, and in the autumn of 1738 the expedition continued into the Mandan country of present-day North Dakota. On 3 December 1738, François was at the head of the party, carrying a flag bearing the arms of France, as the explorers entered the principal Mandan village.[1]
Southwestern expedition
Around 1742, François joined his brother Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye in a westward expedition in search of the western sea. Departing in the spring of 1742 with two other Frenchmen and Indigenous guides, they visited a succession of villages seeking information about a route to the Pacific. During a period of conflict among the peoples they encountered, François remained with the non-combatants to guard the expedition's equipment and supplies.[1]
In March 1743, the party reached the Gens de la Petite-Cerise near the confluence of the Bad and Missouri rivers, in the vicinity of present-day Pierre, South Dakota. At that location, Louis-Joseph buried a lead plaque marking the explorers' passage — a plaque that bore François's name.[1]
Later career
After his father's resignation in 1744, François remained in the western posts under Nicolas-Joseph de Noyelles de Fleurimont. When La Vérendrye resumed command in 1746, François was joined by his brother Pierre during the winter of 1747–48. Following his father's death in Montreal in December 1749, François was appointed gentleman cadet in the colonial regular troops on 1 October 1750 by Governor La Jonquière, and he returned to the St Lawrence valley around 1750–51.[1]
In February 1752, Louis-Joseph entered into a partnership with Luc de La Corne at Chagouamigon, and François was engaged as interpreter at an annual salary of 500 livres.[2] He returned to Montreal in 1755. On 13 June 1756, he transferred all family property rights to Louis-Joseph, receiving an annual annuity of 400 livres in exchange; his sole surviving signature on this deed reads "tranblei."[3]
Following the death of Louis-Joseph in 1761, François found himself the unwilling heir to the family's property holdings. On 29 November 1769, he surrendered those rights to his brother's widow, Louise-Antoinette de Mézières de Lépervanche, on the condition that she provide him with maintenance or pay him 450 livres annually.[4] By 1781, she was petitioning Governor Haldimand describing him as an old man no longer capable of providing for his own needs.[5]
Death
François Gaultier Du Tremblay died on 30 July 1794 in Montreal, the last surviving member of the La Vérendrye family line.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Antoine Champagne."Antoine Champagne, "GAULTIER DU TREMBLAY, FRANÇOIS," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1979.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "Greffe d'Antoine Foucher, 18 février 1752."[record].ANQ-M, Greffe d'Antoine Foucher, 18 févr. 1752.ANQ-M.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Greffe de L.-C. Danré de Blanzy, 13 juin 1756."[record].ANQ-M, Greffe de L.-C. Danré de Blanzy, 13 juin 1756.ANQ-M.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Greffe de Pierre Panet, 29 novembre 1769."[record].ANQ-M, Greffe de Pierre Panet, 5 juill. 1764, 29 nov. 1769.ANQ-M.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "British Library, Additional MSS 21734, 3 February 1781."[record].BL, Add. mss 21734, 3 Feb. 1781 (PAC transcript).British Library.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)