BOTTINEAU, CHARLES (1776-1824)

The first item below is taken from the "Pig's Eye Notepad,"http://www.lareau.org/pep.html, and is translated from "Bulletin de la Societe historique de Saint-Boniface" - 1999-2000 - Numero 4 - ISSN 0384 0158 - Automne 2000.  It is followed by additional material from the website of Debra McCann, "My Elusive Ancestors," http://users.ap.net/~chenae/geneal.html (both accessed October 2006)

I.  From the Pig's Eye Notepad

Charles Bottineau was born on the first and baptized on the second of May 1776 at Berthier-en-haut (Quebec), son of Pierre Bautinau and Angelique Fournaise. Pierre Bautinau was of the diocese of Nantes in Brittany.

We haven't found the employment contract as a voyageur of Charles Bottineau. We found the first mention of it in the journal of Alexander Henry the younger , dated 3 October 1803 when a group of Henry's voyageurs set out for (Montagne du Poil) Hair Hills.

"Charles Bottineau, with two horses and a cart loaded with 1 ½ packs, his own baggage, and two young children with kettles and other trash hanging on it. Madame Bottineau with a squalling infant on her back, scolding and tossing it about."

Charles Bottineau is named as a foreman voyageur (voyageur contremaitre) in the list of heads of household, clerks and voyageurs of the North West Fur company in 1804. He was in the Red River area.

Alexander Henry notes on 18 October 1805, the death of a son of Bottineau, about seven years old, died «of a swelling of the belly and cositiveness. An hour before he expired the swelling disappeared entirely, and we were in hopes he would recover; clysters and purges had no effect whatever.»

In the census of the Red River and Pembina in February 1814 we find Bottineau a free man with his wife, a son and five daughters.

He may have had his marriage to Marguerite, an Ojibway Indian, validated or legalized at St. Boniface in 1820 after the arrival of the missionaries.

On 7 July 1817, in the presence of William Bacheler Coltman, a special commissioner conducting an investigation into the troubles in the Red River region, Charles Bottineau gave the following deposition.

"Charles Bottineau having been sworn in says and declares at the end of 1814, two years after the colonists had arrived at the Red River, being a hunter for the North West company was ordered by Mr. Duncan Cameron and Alexander McDonell of the said company not to give any food to the colonists nor give them help in any manner even if they were dying of starvation. These two men made this order to apply to all other free Canadians of the Red River region and that there were only Dauphine and Tranchemontagne who refused to obey this order and were hired by the colony as hunters.

"That Plante, a free man, had on one occasion, given food to the English, had been punished for it and the North West company had seized his four horses and made him return to Montreal and never to allow him to rejoin his family.

"That in the same year of 1814, Mr. Duncan Cameron and Alexander McDonell ordered the deponent to take great pains to drive away the animals that might fall prey to the hunters employed by the colony either by hunting them or by scaring them away, that to this effect. The deponent was not to fear to have his horses killed and in case that happened, the company would give him others.

"That in the beginning of the year of 1815, the deponent was camped with several Metis and free men from Red River at Turtle River to hunt cows, that Bostois Pangman, interpreter for the North West company arrived at their camp to tell them that Captain McDonell, Governor of the colony was coming with 25 men to pillage their camp and that they should get ready to defend themselves.

"The deponent later learned that this was a lie that Mr. Duncan Cameron had invented to turn the free men against the colonists, however this report having been repeated so often that the free men and the Metis believed it and were determined to kill Captain McDonell if he came there.

"That the following summer after Governor McDonell had been made prisoner and the colonists driven from the Red River, Duncan Cameron ordered the deponent to set fire to the Hudson Bay company fort at the Pembina River.  The deponent not having carried out this order, Mr. Alexander McDonell and Mr. Seraphin Lamar harshly reproached him for not having carried out this order. That in the summer of 1815, Mr. Duncan Cameron called together once more the free men of Red River and forbade them in a most forceful manner to give food to the English and it was they the free men were the reason the English remained at the Red River, that the deponent nevertheless was hired by Mr. Robertson as a hunter and hunted all winter for the colony.

"That after the disturbance of 19 Jun 1816, and after the English had been driven from the Red River, the deponent was mistreated by the people of the North West company because he had furnished food to the colonists and that Mr. Daniel McKenzie wanted to make him get in his canoe and forcefully take him back to Montreal.

"la marque X De Charles Bautinau

"Assermente a la Riviere Rouge le 7 Juillet 1817 devant moi"
(signe) W.B. Coltman

In another deposition, dated 20 August 1817, Bottineau declared he arrived at Red River about 10 or 12 days after the death of Governor Semple.

"That he saw after his arrival at Red River, a man by the name of La Serpe, Antoine Hoole, Francois Deschamps, the father and Francois Deschamps, the son. That these persons mentioned above had boasted to have been involved in the 19 June 1816 affair when said Semple was killed. That said La Serpe had told the deponent that he killed two English in that affair with his own hands. That he had killed one of these English when they were together but he was obliged to run a long distance to reach the second he killed, that however he caught him near one of the colony's gardens close to the fort where he shot him. That said La Serpe had also shown to the deponent the remains of the persons he killed whose things he had in his little box and in which he also carried the clothes which he swore he removed from their bloody corpses.

"That after this time, that is, appoaching August 1816, said La Serpe told the deponent that he was determined to prevent the English from setting foot again in this country and that if the free Canadians didn't want to help them to plunder and drive out the English and kill them if they the English put up any defense, they themselves free Canadians would be driven out of the country. That in the end the said deponent and others were forced to promise to obey and do likewise but it was fear that forced them to make these promises and that Alexander McDonell, a partner in the North West company was present when La Serpe spoke as mentioned above and that he even heaped praise on said La Serpe.

"la marque X De Charles Bautinau

"Affirme a la Riviere Rouge de Ce 20em Aout 1817 devant moi
(signe) W.B. Coltman"

The date of death of Charles Bottineau remains undiscovered.

[Information provided by Al Dahlquist of the Little Canada Historical Society].

2.  From Debra McCann's "My Elusive Ancestors"

Charles Bottineau
1776-1824

Timeline for Charles Bottineau
by Debra McCann

Charles Bottineau was born May 1, 1776 and baptized May 2, 1776 at Berthier-en-Haut, Quebec, the son of Pierre Bautinau and Angelique Fournaise. (PRDH)

About 1797 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Charles married Techomehgood, an Indian woman of the Kinistino tribe of the Assiniboine (Ah-se-ne-bown) People of the Hair Hills. Kvasnicka 1987 states that Techomehgood is described in existing archive records as a Chippewa woman from the Hair Hills. Techomehgood was born about 1780 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Chesebro)

On Oct 3, 1803, Alexander Henry described in his journal the bustle and noise which attended the transportation of five pieces of goods to the place where the houses were built in 1801-02, when a group of Henry's voyageurs set out for (Montagne du Poil) Hair Hills. He specifically recalled Charles Bottineau, with two horses and a cart loaded with 1 ½ packs, his own baggage and kettles. With him were two young children and Madame Bottineau with an infant on her back. (Cous p. 226)

In 1804 Charles Bottureau appears on a list of voyageurs as a Contre Maitres, for the North West Company, in the Red River area. (Masson p. 401)

In 1805, Charles Bottineau appears on the list of men at the Athabasca River Department, employed by the North West Company. He is a foreman with wages of 450 and two years left to serve at the Lower Red River. (Masson p. 13)

On Oct 18, 1805, Alexander Henry notes the death of a son of Bottineau, about seven years old, died of a swelling of the belly and cositiveness. (Cous p. 268)(Gough p. 178 "Baltineaux")

On February 22, 1806, Henry reported that Charles Battineau and Ambrose Allard had left camp to secure four horses stolen by the Cree Indians on Nov 18, 1805. They returned with their stolen horses, after a narrow escape from being killed by the Crees. (Cous p. 274) (Gough pg. 182)

On Jun 1, 1808, Henry itemized the people and inventory loaded into his various boats for his final departure from Pembina which included: 'L.L. Canoe. -- Charles Bottineau; Jervis [Gervais]; Assiniboines--22 kegs of grease; 1 bag of potatoes; 10 bags of potatoes; Bas de la Riviere; 32 pieces; 1 buffalo'. (Cous p. 443)

Techomehgood died between 1812-1815 in Rupert's Land, Red River, Manitoba.

Charles Bottineau, a free man, is listed with his wife, son, and five daughters, in the Feb 1814 Census of the Red River and Pembina.

In his narratives, John Pritchard gives an eyewitness account how in the winter of 1814, the half-breeds stationed at the North West fort at Pambina threatened to shoot our hunter Bottenau's horse, and himself too, if he did not desist from running the buffalo. (Murray p. 20)

Pierre Bottineau's father was commanded by the North Western Company in 1815 to take part in the struggle but he absented himself on one of his hunting expeditions. On his return he was imprisoned, but owning to his influence with the tribe from which he had taken his wife, he was soon released, as worse troubles were liable to arise. (Neil & Williams p. 514)

In the 1816 narrative of Frederick Damien Heurter, he describes being ordered by Daniel M'Kenzie to arrest a freeman named Beautineau, who had hunted for the Colony the preceding winter. He brought Beautineau before the said magistrate, who, in the presence of the half-breeds and other servants of the North West Company, and the freemen at the place, abused him for having assisted the English, the enemies of the North West Company, and the freemen about the place. M'Kenzie's commission was from Sir Gordon Drummond as a magistrate for the Indian Territories. (p. 74-75)

On July 17, 1817, in the presence of William Bacheler Coltman, a special commissioner conducting an investigation into the troubles in the Red River region, Charles Bottineau provided a deposition regarding the conflict between the North West and Hudson Bay Companies. He states that in 1814, while a hunter for the North West Company, he was ordered by company officials not to give food to the colonists and to frighten away their animals. At the beginning of 1815, he was encamped with a number of Metis and other free people of the Red River at the Turtle River to hunt cows. In the summer of 1815, he was ordered to set the Hudson's Bay Company fort at Pembina River on fire, which he refused to do. After the action of June 16, 1816, he was mistreated by the people of the North West Company for supplying the Colonists with food. (Chesebro p. 4-6)

Charles Bottineau provided a second deposition Aug 20, 1817 regarding the conflict. He states that he arrived at the Red River 10 or 12 days after the death of Governor Semple on June 19, 1816. A man by the name of La Serpe, Antoine Hoole, and Francois Deschamps, Sr., boasted to have been involved in the June 19, 1816 affair when said Semple was killed. La Serpe also described killing two of the English during the affair. Bottineau and others were threatened by company officials in August of 1816 that if they did not chase away and plunder the English that they would be chased from the country. (Chesebro p. 4-6).

Charles married Margaret Ahdik Songab about 1820 in Saint-Boniface, Quebec. Margaret was Lake-of-the-Woods Ojibwe. Her Indian name was Mah Je Gwoz Since or Son Gabo Ki Che Ta, which meant Margaret Clearing Sky or Clear Sky Woman.

Margaret's mother was Ojibwe and her father was a captured Sioux warrior.

Charles Bottineau died in 1824, in East Grand Forks, MN. Libby has reported that he died after five years of sickness brought on by exposure during the winters. He was still working for the Hudson's Bay Co. when he died and he was buried in the old cemetery at Grand Forks. This cemetery was located on the north bank of the coulee that still shows under the track of the Northern Pacific Railroad just south of the depot. (Chesebro)

Margaret Ahdik Songab died in 1864 in St. Anthony Falls, Hennepin Co., MN.

Speculation

There has been no evidence found to support claims that Charles Bottineau was born in 1750 in Boston, MA, the son of James Boutineau and Susannah Faneuil and the grandson of Stephen Boutineau and Marie Bowdoin. (Chesebro)

-- A search conducted by the Registry of Birth of the city of Boston failed to generate a birth certificate, or any reference to a Charles or Joseph, using several different spellings of the name Bottineau; although, birth and marriage records for James and Susannah Boutineau's two daughters were located. (Chesebro)

-- James and Susannah Boutineau's last wills failed to mention Charles or the existance of any son; although the documents do mention by name, their two daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. (Chesebro)

-- A search of the Loyalist Claims initiated by Susannah Boutineau failed to mention Charles, or the existance of any son; although the documents do mention by name, the two daughters, sons-in-law, and granddaughters of James and Susannah Boutineau. (Chesebro)

My own theory is that Charles Bottineau was born May 1, 1776 and baptized May 2, 1776 at Berthier-en-Haut, Quebec, the son of Pierre Bautinau and Angelique Fournaise. Pierre was born in 1730 in Doulon, Nantes, Brittany, France, the son of Mathurin Bautinau and Marie Aubron. Pierre left his home and parents and arrived in Lavaltrie, Quebec, where he met and married Marie Angelique Fournaise on Jan 7, 1760. Angelique was born on Dec 14, 1742 and baptised on Dec 16, 1742, in Lavaltrie, Quebec, the daughter of Francois Fournaise and Angelique Serre. Charles was the youngest of seven children born to Pierre and Angelique Bautinau.

-- Pierre Bautinau born about 1730, Status: Immigrant, Father: Mathurin Bautinau, Mother: Marie Aubron Marriage: Jan 7, 1760 in Lavaltrie, with Marie Angelique Fournaise Laboucane, Father: Francois Fournaise Laboucane, Mother: Marie Angelique Serre StJean. (PRDH)

-- Mathurin Bautinau, Status: outside the population, First marriage before Dec 31, 1741 with Marie Aubron. (PRDH)

-- Index of French Immigrants in North America, by Francogene
Botineau, Pierre (M). INSEE:44109. Pl: Doulon com. Nantes. Zone: Loire-Atlantique. Dest: Québec.

-- Baptism Certificate No. 103242, Marie Angelique Fournaise, born Dec 14, 1742, baptized Dec 16, 1742, in Lavaltrie, Parents: Francois Fournaise and Angelique Sere, Present: Michel Frappier, Marie Madeleine Robert, Duniere - priest. (PRDH)

-- Marriage Certificate No. 264847, On Jan 7, 1760, in Lavaltrie, Pierre Bautinau, origin: Paroisse Dudont Dans le Diocese de Nante, en Bretagne, Parents: Mathurin Bautinau, married Marie Aubron Angelique Fournaise dit Laboucanne, residence Lavaltrie, Parents: Francois Fournaise Laboucanne and Angelique Saire Present: Jean Laporte, Henri Narbonne, Pierre Raphe, Guillaume Termos, Jean Hali, Germain Magloire, and Papin - priest. (PRDH)

-- Baptism Certificate No. 437086, Charles Bautinau, born May 1, 1776, baptized May 2, 1776, in Berthier-en-Haut, Parents: Pierre Bautinau and Angelique Fournaise. (PRDH)

-- Burial Certificate No. 383377, Pierre Bautinau, age 60, died Jun 19, 1790, buried Jun 20, 1790, in Berthier-en-Haut Spouse: Marie Angelique Fourneze. (PRDH) 

END.