Saturday 5 May 2018

The St. Onge Family link to the Livingston Family







Joseph and his family were recorded as active citizens in the Metis community of Penetanguishene as early as 1820. Joseph, along with his two sons Antoine (St.Onge) and Toussaint and 20 others, documented their Metis status when they signed the 1840 Petition of Penetanguishene Half Breeds, which was sent to the Governor General to request similar benefits that had been provided to the First Nations of the area. Some of the benefits described by Deputy Superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs Duncan C. Scott in "Indian Affairs, 1840-1867", (in Adam Shortt and Arthur Doughty, eds., Canada and Its Provinces , Vol. V., Toronto, Glasgow, Brook and Company, 1914, pp. 331-362) as:  

The legal definition of the term 'Indian' was always more inclusive in the lower province, admitting all persons intermarried with Indians, all persons of Indian blood residing among Indians, and all persons adopted in infancy and residing among Indians. For Upper Canada the principle that an Indian woman who married a white man did not confer upon him the status of an Indian, but lost her own position as a member of her band and took that of her husband, was adopted, and was later carried into the statutes affecting the Indians of the Dominion.
 
The legislation for the control of the liquor traffic was also more advanced in Upper Canada [for ease of reference = Ontario] than in Lower Canada [for ease of reference = Quebec]. The early enactments were all by the way of regulation and licence of the trade, and remained so in Lower Canada. Prohibition of the sale of intoxicants to Indians in Upper Canada was passed in 1835, with a penalty not to exceed 45. This act was to remain in force for four years, and thence to the end of the next ensuing session of parliament. It was amended and made permanent on February 10, 1840. The provisions of the statute have since been elaborated by the Dominion parliament.
 
The Upper Canadian Indian was also granted certain privileges designed for his protection against unscrupulous traders. Indians were exempt from taxes and assessments, confession of judgment could not be taken from them, nor could any debt be recovered from an individual Indian unless he held land in fee-simple of the assessed value of £25 or upwards. The reserve lands, with their timber and minerals, were also protected from trespass by white men.
        
The Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) recently shared new information about the children of Joseph St. Onge.

1. Toussaint St. Onge was born in 1818 in Drummond Island and married Josetta Lavallee in Penetanguishene in 1858.

2. Antoine St. Onge married Genevieve Madjinini in 1888.

The MNO also declared new data regarding Madeleine Letard St. Onge and her children.
Madeleine, her husband Antoine Lafreniere and 7 of their 10 children (Zoe, Julia, Charles, Louisa, Victoria, Virginie, and Augustus) were recorded in the 1861 Census of Canada for Tiny and Tay Townships, Simcoe County, Canada West (Ontario).

Here is a summary of the 1861 Census entries:


Some of Madeleine's children do not appear in the census as they had already married.
For example, Marie Lafreniere was born in 1837 and wed Constant William Moreau. Their children were Ovide born in 1851, Clara Clarina (1853-1933) and Philip Moreau (1856 - ?).

Clara Clarina (great granddaughter of Joseph St. Onge) was born in the township of Tiny and wed Antoine Leblanc in Penetanguishene in 1872. They had 8 children: Joseph, Helaine, Philippe, Emma L., Alexandre, Eulalie, Olive and Eleonore. Clara's daughter Emma married James Willett in 1902 and raised a family of 9 children in the nearby Tay Township.

Philip Moreau (great grandson of Joseph St. Onge) wed Mary Jane Chevrette, another Metis family in the township of Tiny. They moved to Lorne, Manitoba around 1884.

1 comment:

  1. Two questions remain:

    1- How a Miss Vasseur born in 1792 could be the mother of Madeleine, born circa 1803 ?

    2- How Madeleine, born circa 1803 could be the mother of Auguste in 1853 ?

    As she got married in 1826, Madeleine could have been born later than 1803... like 1808 or 09. Which means that she was 44/45 at the birth of her last child...

    Genealogically yours,

    François Lafrenière

    ReplyDelete