M. about 1735
Wife: Agnes Richard
D. between 1752 and 1756 in Illinois Territory, New France
In the early days of New France, French men traded for furs in places like Montreal. But as time went on, a man had to make expeditions further and further west for his product, until it just made sense to move permanently to a remote outpost. This is what happened with François Godere.
François’ father was Antoine Emery dit Coderre, a Carignan-Sallières Regiment soldier born in 1643, and his mother was Antoine’s second wife, Marie-Anne Favreau. The Emery dit Coderre family lived at various times in Contrecœur and Boucherville. Antoine had 11 children with his first wife and 10 with his second, but the Contrecœur parish records are missing between 1698 and 1700, and that fits with the period of time François was likely born and baptized.
The first couple of decades of the 18th century were a lively time in the area where François grew up, with convoys leaving every year for trading posts in the Great Lakes area. After his father passed away in 1716, François and some of his brothers were known to have signed up as voyageurs, young men hired to paddle canoes out and back. Older brother Louis went to Michillimackinac in 1717. We also know of two expeditions François made — one to an unspecified location out west in 1720, and one to Detroit in 1721. It’s likely that there were other fur trading trips not represented in surviving records.
By about 1735, François was living in Fort Ouiatenon, a French outpost on the Wabash River in what is now Indiana. We can presume that at some point he made a choice to not return to Canada. At Ouiatenon, François met and married Agnes Richard, the daughter of the outpost’s blacksmith. François and Agnes were known to have eight children born between about 1736 and about 1752. The five oldest were boys and the youngest three were girls; their ages have been calculated here from later records.
It’s been estimated that Ouiatenon had a population of up to 3,000 people during the years François was a resident, many of them being from local tribes or of mixed-races (wife Agnes was mixed-race). Life centered around the fur trade, which was conducted inside the stockade walls of the fort. There was also a trading of cultures, with French traditions blending with that of the Wea tribe. This had an affect on many things, from the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and even the way they communicated.
Typical French fur traders in early 18th-century America. (Artist: Francis Back)
In 1750, the Godere family seems to have traveled to a settlement down the Wabash River, Poste Vincennes. One of François’ children was recorded there that year in a parish record — daughter Agnes was less than a year old when she drowned in the Wabash “15 leagues” from Vincennes. The record also stated that François and Agnes were still living in Ouiatenon at the time. Although one more child was born in about 1752, baby Agnes’ burial was the last record of François. His wife Agnes married another man on August 28, 1756 in Vincennes, so he must have died before that date. All of his surviving children lived in Vincennes, where most of them got married and raised families.
Proof that François Godere was the son of Antoine Emery dit Coderre
The evidence showing that François was one of Antoine’s offspring came in two records. On April 29, 1720, “François Émery” was hired by Jean Quesnel for an expedition from Montreal to the Great Lakes. The following year, on August 6th, Alphonse de Tonty hired a “François Émery dit Coderre of Contrecoeur” for a trip to Detroit. The only Emery dit Coderre family in Contrecœur was Antoine’s, so therefore we can safely conclude he was François’ father.
Children:
1. Rene Godere — B. about 1736, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 9 Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Catherine Campeau, 3 Mar 1761, Vincennes, New France
2. Pierre Godere — B. about 1737, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 24 May 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Susanne Bolon (1740-?), 5 May 1760, Vincennes, New France
3. François Godere — B. about 1739, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 12 Jul 1779, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Marie-Therese Campagnot (~1745-1803), 18 Jan 1773, Vincennes, New France
4. Louis Godere — B. about 1740, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 15 Jun 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Barbe-Elizabeth Levron (1748-1798), 8 Feb 1770, Vincennes, New France
5. Toussaint Godere — B. about 1746, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 30 Oct 1792, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Barbe Chapart (1758-?), about 1775, Vincennes, New France
6. Ursule Godere — B. about 1748, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 12 Nov 1756, Vincennes, New France
7. Agnes Godere — B. 17 Oct 1750, Illinois Territory, New France; D. 6 Dec 1750, Illinois Territory, New France
8. Marie-Josephe Godere — B. about 1752, Ouiatenon, New France; M. Amable-Charles Bolon (~1750-?), 26 Jan 1773, Vincennes, New France
Sources:
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Baptisms 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Marriages and Deaths 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
“Filles du Roi – Part 5 – Marie Madeleine Deschamps to Michell Duval,” Diane Wolford Sheppard, Michigan Habitant Heritage, Vol. 35, January 2014
Quebec Catholic Parish Records, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.com
