Gabriel Pinsonneau dit Lafleur & Castorland, N.Y.

 

Castorland, N.Y., Franco-Americana Colonia, 1796. Rulau NY-51, Bronze, 32mm

LEFT (Reverse Image) Ceres, holding cornucopia and tap handle, standing by tree from which liquid is flowing into vessel; beaver below AND Reverse Text: SALVE MAGNA / PARENS FRUGUM / D. V. RIGHT (Obverse Image) Head of female, left AND Obverse Text: FRANCO-AMERICANA COLONIA / CASTORLAND / 1796 / DUV.

‘Beaver fever’: French Emigres in Castorland 

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/adirondacks-almanack/beaver-fever-french-emigres-in-castorland/

1796 Castorland Jetons were given to board members of the company that oversaw a French colony in New York State known as Castorland. The name of the coin derived from the beaver laying at the base of the reverse (no, it is not a dog) -- "castor" was the French word for beaver, an important source of income for early settlers of the region. Castorland Jetons are classified as Originals and Restrikes, though there is some shading of these terms, as it appears the coins given to board members were struck over several years. The "purest" Originals will have no rust at the handle on the right side of the reverse, nor will they have even the faintest whisper of a crack at the S of PARENS. Later states begin to rust at the pot handle, then begin to crack at the S. Eventually, the crack leads to wide and extensive sinking of the die in the right reverse field. Where to place the line between Original and Restrikes is problematic, but PCGS recognizes both non-rusted and rusted examples as Originals. Any coins with a crack at PARENS are considered a Restrike.

Castorland Jetons were restruck in silver, copper, and gold. Planchets range from very thin to very thick. The edges of the Originals are always reeded; restrikes come with either plain or reeded edges. Restrikes will have an edge hallmark and/or a word signalling the metal composition ("Argent" for silver or "Cuivre" for copper). Curiously, the edge markings are almost always positioned perfectly on the edge below the beaver. The Paris Mint still produces Castorland Jetons for collectors, but their style and finish is completely different from that of the Originals.

Castorland was the location of a courageous but heartbreaking attempt to settle the western edge of the Adirondacks in the late 18th century.

But little would be known of this history if it had not been for William Appleton, Jr. who, in 1862, stumbled across the Journal of Castorland in a Paris bookstand. Castorland…the English translation means ‘Land of the Beaver’… was overseen by Simon Desjardins and Peter Pharoux, who kept a detailed record of the Paris based La Compagnie de New York (Company of New York) from July 1793 until April 1797.

Castorland was a 210,000-acre tract stretching from Lake Ontario into the Great Wilderness known today as the Adirondack Mountains. The main settlement was near the confluence of the Black and Beaver Rivers in present day Lewis County.

Beaver country

An abundance of beaver seemed to be a guarantee for success. Beaver pelts were in huge demand for waterproof hats, coats, and French high fashion. But the Castorland prospectus contained misleading and inaccurate information about the area and its resources. For example, the prospectus claimed that, “in the winter… beneficent snow, which uniformly covers the ground, protects the grain, fertilizes the earth, and assures abundant harvests.”

The report neglected to mention that the region is also noted for extreme snow accumulations of five feet or more, short summers, poor soil, and un-navigable rivers. The first settlers were shocked to find several large waterfalls between Castorland and Lake Ontario, making travel and transport of goods nearly impossible. But there was no way to verify the accuracy of the prospectus and the potential for great profits seemed quite realistic.

Land speculator William Constable had paid a mere 20 cents an acre for the 4 million acre Macomb Purchase in 1791. In 1792, New York Company paid Constable 50 cents an acre for 210,000 acres, and the Company sold lots to the first Castorland shareholders at $1.48 an acre. These shareholders, in turn, expected to quickly double their investment.

Land of promise?

Castorland was meant to be a utopian community for French émigrés fleeing the French Reign of Terror. The French Revolution was in full swing when Constable was in Paris looking for investors and aristocrats were looking for asylum wherever they could find it.

By 1792 thousands of aristocrats and their families had been killed by angry mobs. Castorland promised “all the benefits of liberty with none of the drawbacks.” But as soon as the New York Company arrived in America they were swindled and mistreated at every turn. They were purposely sold moldy flour, overcharged for everything from cider to horses, and in 1797 New York State passed a law that prevented the French émigrés from owning land.

By this time, however, not many French landowners remained. Giardiasis, or beaver fever as it is known today, had driven many of the settlers away. The sickness was widespread and no known cure existed.  It never occurred to them to purify, or stop drinking the water. Ironically, the very animal that promised wealth and security for the French settlers was a major reason for the downfall of the colony. 

Another reason for the Castorland failure was the tragic death of one of its founding fathers. On September 20, 1795, after more than a week of steady rain, Simon Desjardin drowned while trying to cross the swollen Black River in present-day Watertown. After his death, morale declined and within a few years the settlement fell apart. Much of the land fell into the hands of James LeRay who sold a large parcel to Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. Bonaparte built four luxury homes about 12 miles north of Castorland (Lake Bonaparte) and spent his summers there for over a decade in the early 1800s.

Works cited

Desjardins, Simon and Pierre Pharoux. Castorland Journal: An Account of the Exploration and Settlement by French Emigres in the Years 1793 to 1797. Translated by John A. Galluci. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2010.

Pilcher, Edith. French Refugees in the Western Adirondacks, 1793 – 1814. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1985.

Sylvester, Nathaniel, Bartlett. Historical Sketches of Northern New York and the Adirondack Wilderness. Troy, NY: William H. Young, 1877.

Webster, Clarence, J. “French Emigres in the Wilderness.” New York State Tradition 17, no. 2, Spring 1963, 43-47.

Pictured here: The 1796 Castorland Jeton. These coins were given to La Compagnie de New York board members. The animal lying at the bottom of the coin’s reverse side is not a dog! It is the settlement’s namesake, the beaver. According to Stack’s & Bowers coin auctioneers there are fewer than ten of these coins in existence, valued at over $10,000 each.

Our connection to Castorland

Sometime between 1840 and 1850 our 3rd great-grandparents would settle in what was Castorland at Watertown, NY or what is now Rutland, NY.

Gabriel Pinsonneau dit Lafleur (aka Gilbert Passino) 3rd great-grandfather

Birth 3 MAR 1803 • La Prairie (Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine), Quebec

Death 16 DEC 1877 • Natural Bridge, Jefferson, New York, USA

S/o Gabriel Pinsonneau (Pinsono) 1770–1807 voyageur AND Marie Louise Vielle DNA match 1780–1813 s/o voyageurs

AND

Marie Emélie Meunier dit Lagacé (Lagassé) 3rd great-grandmother

Birth 28 MARCH 1808 • Chateauguay, Monteregie Region, Quebec, Canada

Death 28 JUNE 1883 • Huntingdon, Monteregie Region, Quebec, Canada

D/o Jean-Baptiste Meunier (Mignier) DNA match dit Lagacé (Lagasse) voyageur

1777–1832 AND Marie Angelique Baret (Barette) dit Courville DNA match

1779–1851 d/o voyageur

Gilbert would eventually relocate, before 1864, to Natural Bridge, NY (part of Wilma, NY) on the Indian River.

I’ve always believed that Gabriel (Gilbert) who descended from seven generations of coureurs des bois and voyageurs probably augmented his farming income by running a winter trapline in the Adirondacks.

An interesting side note: Gabriel was buried on what is now part of Fort Drum.

Fort Drum, NY History

The military history in the Fort Drum and Jefferson County area goes all the way back to the American Revolution and late 18th Century, when a string of small forts guarded the US-Canadian frontier against possible British invasion. In 1809, these forts helped guard against smuggling.

A gift from Gemini AI…

The Silent Frontier: Fort Drum and the American Revolution

While Fort Drum is a modern military installation (established as Camp Hughes in 1908 and Pine Camp in 1921), the land it occupies in Jefferson and Lewis Counties, New York, was a strategic "no man's land" during the American Revolution.

To understand its role, one must look at the geography of the Black River Valley and the proximity to Lake Ontario.

1. The Geography of Conflict

During the Revolution, the area now known as Fort Drum was part of the vast, densely forested wilderness of Northern New York.

• The Iroquois Territory: This land was primarily the territory of the Oneida and Onondaga nations. Because the Oneida were the only nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to side with the Americans, this region became a dangerous buffer zone between American-held lands to the south and British-held Canada to the north.
• The Waterways: The Black River, which borders the modern installation, was a potential (though difficult) travel route for scouting parties moving between the St. Lawrence River and the Mohawk Valley.

2. Lack of Formal Fortifications

Unlike Fort Stanwix (Rome, NY) or Fort Ticonderoga, there were no major stone fortifications on the Fort Drum lands during the Revolution. The British maintained a heavy presence at Carlton Island (in the St. Lawrence River near Cape Vincent), while the Americans clung to the Mohawk Valley.

• Scouting and Skirmishing: The area was used by Loyalist Rangers (such as Butler’s Rangers) and British-allied Indigenous warriors for "hit-and-run" raids on frontier settlements.
• The Sullivan Expedition (1779): While the main thrust of this American campaign against the Iroquois was further south and west, the fear of British counter-attacks through the Black River wilderness kept American forces on high alert throughout the North Country.

3. The Post-War Transformation: Castorland

The significance of Fort Drum’s land really began the moment the Revolution ended, as the "wilderness shield" was partitioned for settlement:

• The Macomb Purchase: After the war, the new American government sought to settle the northern frontier to "lock down" the border against British Canada. This led to the massive Macomb Purchase (1791), which included the Fort Drum lands.
• The Castorland Company: In the 1790s, a group of French aristocrats fleeing the French Revolution formed La Compagnie de New York to create Castorland ("Land of the Beaver"). They purchased a large tract along the Black River, including portions of what is now Fort Drum. While the colony of elites largely failed due to the harsh winters and rugged terrain, it established a permanent "French Magnet" in the North Country.

4. Connection to Your Research: Gabriel Pinsonneau (Gilbert Passino)

For a genealogist focusing on the Pinsonneau line, Fort Drum is not just a historical site, but a hallowed one. The migration of your ancestor Gabriel Pinsonneau (often Americanized as Gilbert Passino) represents the second wave of French influence in the region.

• Settlement and the Black River: Before 1850, Gabriel Pinsonneau followed the established trade and migration routes from La Prairie, Quebec, into the Black River Valley. This area, once the "Castorland" dream, became a practical home for French-Canadian families who brought their skills in timber and farming to the New York frontier.
• The Lost Village of Leraysville: Gabriel settled in the area of LeRay, a town that existed before the military expansion. He was part of a tight-knit community of French-speaking settlers who bridged the gap between the old world of New France and the burgeoning American Republic.
• Buried on Fort Drum: One of the most poignant links to your heritage is that Gabriel Pinsonneau is buried within the current boundaries of the Fort Drum installation. When the Army expanded Pine Camp in 1941, it absorbed several civilian cemeteries. Gabriel remains there—a silent witness to the transformation of the "wilderness shield" into a modern bastion of defense.

5. Historical Synthesis

For your lineage, Fort Drum sits at a fascinating crossroads:

• The Schenectady Connection: Your 10th great-grandfather, Hendrick Christiansen (c. 1575–1625), was the Dutch mariner who founded Fort Nassau. His descendants in Schenectady were the "front line" that northern raiding parties targeted during the Revolution. The wilderness of Fort Drum was the very territory those raiding parties crossed.
• The Voyageur Route: The St. Lawrence River, just north of Fort Drum, was the highway for your La Prairie ancestors.

Summary

Fort Drum was not a battlefield of the Revolution in the traditional sense; it was a wilderness shield. Its importance lay in its ruggedness—an impassable forest that forced the British to stick to the lakes and rivers. For your ancestor Gabriel Pinsonneau, it was the land where the "Code of the Pines" and the French-Canadian voyageur spirit finally took root in American soil, leaving a permanent mark in a cemetery that the modern Army now stands guard over.

Gilbert would relocate, bef. 1864, to Natural Bridge, NY