Joseph Robidoux I

Joseph Robidoux I (20 March 1701-1778), the second son of William Robidoux and Marie Françoise Guerin. He was born in La Prairie, Quebec, Canada, and was part of the second generation of the Robidoux family born in North America. His grandson Joseph Robidoux III would have six sons who played a major role in the settling of the American West.

The vulnerabilities demonstrated by the Battle of Quebec in 1690 caused the Canadians to bolster defensive positions which served their purpose until the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 when the British were successful in their assault. This was known the the British as part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759. Two of the sons of Joseph, François and Antoine, died in this battle.

Following his father’s profession, Joseph entered the fur trade at its peak. But by the middle half of the 18th century, the fur trade was in a slow decline, and Joseph’s children began migrating south to American cities such as Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis.

He married twice, first to Marie-Anne Fonteneau (1699-1735), daughter of Pierre Fonteneau, and had six children including Joseph Robidoux II. Widowed, Joseph married second to Marie-Louise Robert (b. 17 October 1715), daughter of André Robert, and they had seven children.

Joseph died In Yamaske, Quebec, Canada, in 1778.

Sources

Lewis, Hugh M., Robidoux Chronicicles, French-Indian Etnoculture of the Trans-Mississippi West, Trafford, Canada, 2004

Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families, 1608-1890, Tanguay Collection