M. (1) about 1735
Husband: François Godere
M. (2) 8 Aug 1756 in Post Vincennes, New France
Husband: Jean-Baptiste Vaudry
D. before Jul 1778 in Post Vincennes
During the 18th century, the waterways of colonial Canada drew many of its French people deep into the West, and in the process created a mixed culture of both European and Indigenous influences. It also brought the mixing of blood, and one person who embodied both of these things was Agnes Richard.
Agnes was born in Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France on May 5, 1719 to Jean-Baptiste Richard and Marie-Anne You. Her father was an interpreter of Native American language who spent time in the Illinois country, and her mother was half-French and half-Native American. They had married in Montreal and already had a one-year-old girl when Agnes was born; later, they had a son.
Agnes' baptismal record.
When Agnes was about three-years-old, her father went to Fort Ouiatenon to work as a blacksmith. Men didn’t usually bring their families to such places, but Agnes’ mother wanted to return to her people, so special permission was granted. The family loaded up canoes and made the journey up the St. Lawrence, across the lengths of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and up the Maumee River, finally arriving at the fort on the Wabash River. Typically such a journey took at least 2 months. Parts of the trip required portages where the family traveled on foot; it’s likely that young Agnes had to walk for at least some of the distance. She spent the rest of her life in the Illinois country, and probably never again visited the Montreal area.
Agnes’ new home was a fur trading outpost that was set up next to the Indian village (it's possible that this was where her mother had grown up). A small fort was built in 1717 by a group of French men that included Agnes’ father, and during the time the family settled there, it was a lively place. There were houses within the fort and many more just outside of it. Every year, French men and Indians from other places would gather at Ouiatenon to trade furs and goods. The population grew to as much as 3,000 people during the 1740s, and was said to be made up of French, Indians and people of mixed blood. Agnes likely received no education, as she was unable to sign her name as an adult.
When she was still a teen, Agnes married a French man named François Godere. There is no record of her marriage, or of the births of her children, but later records of her children as adults establish a timeline. Between about 1736 and about 1752, she gave birth to five sons and five daughters, with two of the girls dying young. One of the girls drowned in the Wabash River in 1750, “15 leagues” from Post Vincennes, and she was buried at the church there. Agnes and her husband were described in the burial record as being residents of Ouiatenon, but at some point soon after, the family relocated to Vincennes.
Agnes’ new home was a fur trading outpost that was set up next to the Indian village (it's possible that this was where her mother had grown up). A small fort was built in 1717 by a group of French men that included Agnes’ father, and during the time the family settled there, it was a lively place. There were houses within the fort and many more just outside of it. Every year, French men and Indians from other places would gather at Ouiatenon to trade furs and goods. The population grew to as much as 3,000 people during the 1740s, and was said to be made up of French, Indians and people of mixed blood. Agnes likely received no education, as she was unable to sign her name as an adult.
When she was still a teen, Agnes married a French man named François Godere. There is no record of her marriage, or of the births of her children, but later records of her children as adults establish a timeline. Between about 1736 and about 1752, she gave birth to five sons and five daughters, with two of the girls dying young. One of the girls drowned in the Wabash River in 1750, “15 leagues” from Post Vincennes, and she was buried at the church there. Agnes and her husband were described in the burial record as being residents of Ouiatenon, but at some point soon after, the family relocated to Vincennes.
Wabash River near Vincennes.
During the mid-1750s, Agnes’ husband François died, and on August 8, 1756, she married Jean-Baptiste Vaudry at St. Francis Xavier church in Vincennes. She must have been far along in a pregnancy at her wedding since she gave birth to a daughter two months later. Agnes had two more children, with the youngest born in 1761. Jean-Baptiste served as an interpreter at a meeting with Indian tribe leaders in 1775 and was one of the signers of the Vincennes oath of allegiance to America in 1778, but Agnes had died by that time.
Children by François Godere:
1. Pierre Godere — B. about 1735, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 24 May 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Susanne Bolon (1740-?), 5 May 1760, Post Vincennes, New France
2. Rene Godere — B. about 1736, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 9 Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Catherine Campeau, 3 Mar 1761, Vincennes, New France
3. Marie-Anne Godere — B. about 1737, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 31 May 1792, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Louis Boyer, 12 Jan 1758, Post Vincennes, New France
4. François Godere — B. about 1739, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 12 Jul 1779, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; M. Marie-Therese Campagnot (~1745-1803), 18 Jan 1773, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
5. Louis Godere — B. about 1740, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 15 Jun 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Barbe-Elizabeth Levron (1748-1798), 8 Feb 1770, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
6. Marie-Louise Godere — B. about 1745, Ouiatenon, New France; D. 18 Jul 1774, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois Territory
7. Agnes Godere — B. about 1749 (probably) Ouiatenon, New France; D. 6 Dec 1750, Illinois Territory, New France
8. Ursule Godere — B. about 1750, (probably) Ouiatenon, New France; D. 12 Nov 1756, Post Vincennes, New France
9. Toussaint Godere — B. about 1751, (probably) Ouiatenon, New France; D. 30 Oct 1792, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Barbe Chapart (1758-?), about 1775, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
10. Marie-Josephe Godere — B. about 1752, (probably) Ouiatenon, New France; M. Amable-Charles Bolon (~1750-?), 26 Jan 1773, Post Vincennes, Illinois Country
Children by Jean-Baptiste Vaudry:
1. Marie Vaudry — B. 17 Oct 1756, Post Vincennes, New France; D. 7 Nov 1801; M. Antoine Richardville (1759-?), 14 Jul 1779, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
2. Marie-Ursule Vaudry — B. 20 Apr 1759, Post Vincennes, New France; D. 23 Oct 1813, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Pierre Gamelin, 24 Jul 1778, Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
3. Jean-Baptiste Vaudry — B. 18 Feb 1761, Post Vincennes, New France; M. Marie-Claire Chappard
Sources:
“Detroit River métis Families – Part 16 – Tiverage to You Families,” Diane Wolford Sheppard, 2015
Fort Ouiatenon and Feast of the Hunters’ Moon School Guide, Tippecanoe Historical Association
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
