What’s a “voyageur”? Is it like a “voyager”? Voyageurs needed! Hardy men to paddle birch bark canoes from sunrise to sunset and haul heavy packs of trade goods or fur pelts over miserable portages. Even so, French-Canadian voyageurs were known for their...
In discussing “Treacherous Waters” in a group with French-Canadian ancestry, I mentioned what I’d learned about Ste. Anne as a patroness of voyageurs. I felt so smug. Then Marie asked, “Which Ste. Anne? Ste. Anne de Beaupré?” Oops. More than one Ste. Anne? I...
It’s in my blood—I’m descended from voyageurs. Mom found listings of a dozen engagés, or canoemen, through genealogy research into her French-Canadian roots. My grandfather, a younger son of a younger son of a voyageur, told of his connection: His great...
