Louis Hamelin: (1681 - 1693)
     Louis was the son of Louis Hamelin, seigneur des Grondines & Antoinette Aubert (m.7 aug.1679). He married Catherine Neveu (daughter of Jacques Neveu & Michelle Chauvin) in Detroit on 24 feb.1718 and their children were: Hyacinthe (b.1725), Jacques (b.1733) (m. Nipissing woman), Louis (b.1735), Jean Bte. (b.1741), Catherine & Marie-Louise.
     Between 1726 &1730 Louis was hiring men for the western trade and in 1729 involved with Paul Marin & Alexis Lemoine Moniere in trade ventures at Michilimackinac, Green Bay & "Poste des Folles Avoines"

Charles-Joseph Hamelin: (1693 - ?)
     Charles was the son of Louis Hamelin, seigneur des Grondines & Antoinette Aubert. In 1726 he was employed in the western fur-trade.

Charles Hamelin La Gueniere: (1714 - ?)
     Charles was the son of Jacques Hamelin LaGueniere & Antoinette Richard-LaVallee (m.10 aug.1706). He married first Marie Athanase (b.abt.1708), a "Sauteux" woman who died in 1745 at Pte.St.Ignace. Charles then married on 4 feb.1748 at Michilimackinac, Catherine (daughter of "Sauteux" named Mouus). Charles children included Louis-Charles (b.mar.1737), Jacques (b.22 jan.1733), Marianne (b.10 jan.1731), Pierre-Charles (b.15 feb.1746 Sault Ste.Marie), Pierre (b.21 feb.1735), Marie Francoise (b.4 nov.1739) & Jean Bte. (bapt.27 aug.1741). He was the nephew of the above Louis Hamelin (1681-1693).

Francois-Marie Hamelin: (1729 - ?)
     He was married to Marie-Catherine Roy (daughter of Francois Roy & Madeleine Truteau) in 1754 at Montreal. Francois-Marie was employed  in the Green Bay trade in the 1740's & 1750's (also employed in the Green Bay trade during this time was Charles Hamelin, Michel Hamelin & Augustin Hamelin Jr.).

Alexander Hamelin (Amelin):
Alexander was a trader in the Prairie du Chien area in the winter of 1786-87.

Jacques Hamelin:
     Jacques was born to Jacques Hamelin & Marie Anastasie Landry (m.25 nov.1771 in L'Assumption, Quebec) on 3 sep.1772. He was by 1801 in the neighborhood of the Red River of the north where his wife (Angelique Tourangeau) gave birth to Marguerite-Marie. At some point Marguerite moved to the U.S. and died in Little Canada, Mn. on 24 feb.1890. She had married Antoine Pepin who died on 31 jan.1851 in St.Paul, Mn. Jacques & Marie's other children that I am aware of were Jean Bte. (b.1805) & Solomon (b.1810).

Jean Baptiste Hamelin:
     Jean led a Spanish force from Cohokia against the British (French/Native) settlement of St.Joseph (today's Niles, Mich.) in the autumn of 1780, in retaliation for the Canadian attack on St.Louis earlier that year in which many mid-western Native & French participated in. Jean managed to take the settlement (taking prisoners & furs) but upon returning west, was overtaken by British Lt.DeQuindre and a force gathered around the St.Joseph area. Hamelin's force was mostly killed or captured.

Joseph Hamelin (Hamel/Amelin):
1800/01-voyageur with Alexander Henry's Northwest Co. brigade on the Upper Red River of the north.
After 1801-sent by Henry to replace Lagasse at the Hairy Hills post (northeastern North Dakota).
1800/05-empoyee of the Northwest Co.'s Red River Department.
jun.1807-hired by Francois Freniere & Co. to winter on the St.Peters River (today's Minnesota River.).
 
Thanks to Joe Hamelin for the following email:
 The proper spelling, if there is such a thing, is "Laganiere" -- it's a corruption of St. Mathurin
de la Dagueniere, the town in old Anjou, France, where the Hamelins are from.
 The "Salteux woman" who died, according to Tanguay, took the name "Marie Athanese." She
supposedly died, he took another Salteux wife named "Marie Anastasie," and had three more
children by her. Pierre-Charles, Georges and Marie Joseph.
 Don't drift off. This gets better.
 I assumed Charlie just lived out his days in the Sault Ste-Marie wilderness. But then I got to
researching the branch of the family that, in 1762, resettled in LaPrairie, across the St.
Lawrence from Montreal. I wondered how Rene Hamelin came to meet a woman there,
marry and move from Grondines... so I did a search for Hamelins in LaPrairie on the
University of Montreal's site listing notary records. And guess who turned up...? Uncle
Charlie -- literally, Rene's uncle, who in 1760 -- at age 45 -- applied for a marriage license at
Montreal to marry a girl of 18. He listed wife Marie-Athanese as deceased. He died four
months later. Those 18-year-olds are hell on old voyageurs.
 I kept searching. And guess who I turned up? Marie-Athanese! -- who, in 1757, was very
much alive and in Quebec, applying for a marriage license of her own. She listed her husband
Charles as deceased!
 No computers in those days. No phones, no communications between towns.
 If you didn't like your life, you paddled your canoe for a couple of days and then started
another one somewhere else. Not such a bad system, after all.
 Anyhow, it took us 240 years to catch them...Yours, Joe Hamelin

BACK TO MAIN PAGE