Louis Riel Sr. (''p̬re'') (July 7, 1817 РJanuary 21, 1864) was a farmer, miller,
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
leader, and the father of
Louis Riel.
Life
Born in
ÃŽle-Ã -la-Crosse,
Saskatchewan, Riel was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, ''
dit
DIT or dit may refer to:
People
* Dit name, an alternative family name, e.g., in French Canadian historical traditions
* Dit Clapper (1907–1978), Canadian ice hockey player
Information technology
* Directory information tree
* dit (unit), a ...
'' L’Irlande, a
voyageur
The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...
, and Marguerite Boucher, a Franco-
Chipewyan Métis. The Riel family moved back to
Lower Canada while Louis was a child. He was educated in
Quebec, learning the trade of
carding
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...
wool. He joined the fur trade with the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1838 and was stationed at
Rainy River,
Ontario, where he fathered a daughter named Marguerite in 1840. He left the HBC in 1842 and returned to Quebec with the intention of joining the priesthood at the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate at
Saint-Hilaire, but withdrew a year later.
[Goldsborough. "Memorable Manitobans: Louis Riel Sr. (1817-1864)", Manitoba Historical society](_blank)
/ref>
He returned to the Canadian West
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada– ...
, settling in the Red River Colony on a river lot in Saint-Boniface (now a district of modern Winnipeg, Manitoba). He married Julie Lagimodière, daughter of voyageur Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière
Jean-Baptiste Lagimodi̬re (25 December 1778 in Trois-Rivi̬res, Quebec Р7 September 1855 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) was a French-Canadian trapper employed in the fur trade by the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land.
Lagimodière ...
and Marie-Anne Gaboury in January, 1844. Together they had eleven children, and by all accounts formed a devout and close-knit family.
Riel established a number of businesses in the Red River Colony. In 1847, he opened a small mill on his farm with the support of chief factor John Ballenden
John Ballenden ( – 7 December 1856) was one of the Scottish fur traders that the Hudson’s Bay Company recruited to administer that trade in North America.
Ballenden started as an apprentice at York Factory, Rupert's Land in 1829 and was ...
with the hope of establishing a fulling mill operation in the settlement. However, Riel had little success with his fulling mill. He also attempted to open and operate a carding and grist mill to grind grain and card wool for the Grey Nuns of St. Boniface,"Grey Nuns", ''Canadian Encyclopedia''
/ref> hence his title of "miller of the Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
", but to little success.Guillaume Sayer Pierre Guillaume Sayer (October 18, 1799 РAugust 7, 1868) was a M̩tis people (Canada), M̩tis fur trader whose trial was a turning point in the ending of the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of the fur trade in North America.
Life ...
in his trial in May 1849. This trial was a defining moment in the fall of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. Riel continued to fight for the rights of the Métis and was instrumental in them gaining representation on the Council of Assiniboia and for French to be used in the Assiniboia courts as well as English.
His son Louis was likely influenced greatly by his father's actions. Louis Jr. continued in his father's steps to become the most famous Métis leader and the "Father of Manitoba
Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its firs ...
". When Louis Riel Sr. died January 21, 1864, his death was mourned by the entire settlement.
See also
*Sara Riel
Sara Riel (October 11, 1848 – December 27, 1883) was the first Métis Grey Nun from Red River. She is best known as the sister of Métis leader Louis Riel. Born in 1848 in the Red River settlement to parents Jean-Louis Riel and Julie Lagimodi� ...
References
External links
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riel Sr., Louis
1817 births
1864 deaths
Métis politicians
Canadian Métis people
Louis Sr