COMING TO AMERICA PART I — Echoes of the Frontier: Ancestors on Both Sides of the Fur Wars

In the vast, untamed wilderness of 18th-century North America, where dense forests whispered secrets and rivers carved paths of fortune, the French and Indian Wars unfolded not just as clashes of empires, but as a desperate scramble for control over the lucrative fur trade. This series of conflicts, spanning from 1688 to 1763, pitted the Kingdom of Great Britain and its colonies against France and its allies, with Native American nations caught in the crossfire—often allying based on trade ties and survival. The fur trade was the lifeblood of New France, driving exploration, alliances with Indigenous peoples, and economic ambitions that fueled evangelization and settlement.  

Beaver pelts, in particular, were prized in Europe for fashionable hats, creating a booming market that transformed the continent's landscape. French traders, known as coureurs de bois, ventured deep into the interior, forging bonds with tribes like the Huron and Algonquin, while British colonists pushed westward, disrupting these networks and igniting rivalries.  The wars disrupted vital trade routes, such as the Fox-Wisconsin waterway to the Mississippi, and escalated tensions over regions like the Ohio Valley and Hudson Bay—territories essential for dominating the fur economy.  For families like ours, these weren't abstract historical events; they were personal sagas of hardship, resilience, and tragedy, with ancestors entangled on both the French and British sides.

Imagine the misty banks of the St. Lawrence River or the shadowed trails of New England forests: places where European dreams of wealth clashed with Indigenous realities, and where ordinary pioneers like our forebears risked everything for a foothold in this new world. The fur trade wasn't just commerce; it was a web of alliances and betrayals that shaped destinies. French dependence on Native partnerships for furs led to intermarriages and cultural exchanges, while British expansion often meant displacement and conflict.  These wars, often mirroring European dynastic struggles, didn't always align perfectly in timing but inevitably spilled over into colonial skirmishes. Here's a chronological overview of the key North American conflicts and their European counterparts:

Years	North American War	European War	Treaty	Key Fur Trade Impact
1688–1697	King William's War (1st Intercolonial War)	War of the Grand Alliance (Nine Years' War)	Treaty of Ryswick (1697)	Disrupted French trade routes; Iroquois raids targeted French allies like the Huron, aiming to monopolize beaver pelts.
1702–1713	Queen Anne's War (2nd Intercolonial War)	War of the Spanish Succession	Treaty of Utrecht (1713)	British gains in Acadia and Newfoundland weakened French fur access; Native alliances shifted as trade goods flowed unevenly.
1744–1748	King George's War (3rd Intercolonial War)	War of the Austrian Succession (including War of Jenkins' Ear)	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)	Raids on trading posts intensified; French forts like Louisbourg fell temporarily, threatening supply lines for pelts.
1754–1763	The French and Indian War (4th Intercolonial War; War of Conquest in Quebec)	Seven Years' War	Treaty of Paris (1763)	Culmination of fur rivalries; British victory ended French control in North America, reshaping trade and leading to Pontiac's Rebellion over unfair British policies.

These wars were preceded by the brutal Beaver Wars (mid-1600s), where the Iroquois League decimated rivals like the Huron to control the Great Lakes fur supply, setting the stage for European involvement. 

A Pioneer Midwife's Perilous Path: Denise Lemaitre of La Prairie, New France

Our 9th great-grandmother, Denise Lemaitre (born around 1636 in Paris), embodies the grit of New France's early settlers. Orphaned young after her mother's death, she was raised in the Hôpital de La Pitié, a royal institution for children of the poor.  There, she trained as a midwife—a skill that would define her later life. Recruited by Jeanne Mance as one of the first "Filles du Roi" (King's Daughters - disputed), Denise sailed from La Rochelle on the plague-ridden ship St-André in 1659, enduring a harrowing voyage marked by disease, rancid food, and scarce water.  Upon arrival in Québec, she nursed the sick before paddling to Ville-Marie (Montréal).

Her first betrothal to André Heutibise ended tragically when he was mortally wounded by Iroquois in her arms.  Undeterred, she married Pierre Perras dit Lafontaine, a barrel-maker from La Rochelle, on January 26, 1660. They built a life in La Prairie, farming 40 acres (10 cultivated) with cattle, as noted in the 1681 census. Their two eldest sons vanished into the deep forests as fur traders—coureurs de bois chasing beaver pelts amid the dangers of the trade.  Denise and Pierre had ten children; you descend from daughter Marguerite Perras dit Fontaine (born 1665).

Pierre's death in 1684 left Denise with assets like two farms, a barn, stable, eleven cattle, and six pigs—but it wasn't enough. She turned to fur trading with Catholic Iroquois to support her family, a risky venture in a frontier riddled with raids.  Remarrying François Cahel in 1684 brought brief stability, but his death in 1687 forced her back to midwifery. Tragedy struck again on October 29, 1691, when Iroquois massacred her at age 55 in Côte St-Lambert—a martyr to the colony's volatile edges.  Her story highlights the fur trade's dual role: a lifeline for survival, yet a spark for deadly conflicts.

A Sergeant's Sacrifice: John Plympton of Deerfield, New England

On the opposing side, our 9th great-grandfather, Sergeant John Plympton (born 1620 in Lincolnshire, England), arrived in America penniless around 1635, indentured for his passage.  Settling in Dedham, Massachusetts, he rose as a farmer and military leader, earning the affectionate title "Old Sergeant Plympton." By 1672, he gained rights to land in Pocumtuc (Deerfield), a frontier outpost vulnerable to raids. 

When King Philip's War erupted in 1675—a precursor to the larger French and Indian conflicts—John, as Deerfield's chief military officer, joined the fight against Native forces resisting colonial expansion.  He served with distinction, attaining captain rank. But peace was fleeting. On September 19, 1677—two years after his son Jonathan's death in battle—John and others were rebuilding Deerfield when captured by a band under Sagamore Ashpelon (or Aspelon).  Marched to Canada near Fort Chambly (close to La Prairie, ironically linking our ancestors' worlds), he was burned at the stake, while most captives were ransomed.  Leaving a widow and 13 children, John's fate underscores the brutal toll of territorial disputes fueled by fur trade ambitions, as British settlers encroached on lands vital to French-Native networks.

Bringing the Era to Life: James Fenimore Cooper and N.C. Wyeth

To immerse in this turbulent time, few works capture the spirit better than James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, chronicling frontiersman Natty Bumppo's adventures amid the fur trade and wars. Set between 1740 and 1804, the series—including The Last of the Mohicans (1757, during the French and Indian War)—blends romance, conflict, and the clash of cultures. N.C. Wyeth's vivid illustrations, with their dramatic forest scenes and heroic figures, truly evoke the era's raw energy.

A Soldier's Legacy in New France: Michel Vielle and the Régiment de la Reine

Fast-forward to the war's climax: Our 5th great-grandfather, Michel Vielle dit Cossé (born ~1724 in Cossé, France), served in the 2nd Battalion of the Régiment de la Reine during the Seven Years' War.  Arriving in Canada in 1755 under Captain Guillaume de Montbrais—a leader known for raiding parties with Native allies—Michel fought in pivotal battles like Lake George (1755), Fort William Henry (1757), and Carillon (1758), where French forces repelled British advances.  The regiment endured harsh winters along the Chambly River and clashed in Sainte-Foy (1760) before Montréal's capitulation.  Whether wounded, captured, or choosing to stay, Michel remained in New France, marrying Marie Elisabeth Marier in 1761.  His sons, Joseph and Michel, carried the fur legacy forward as voyageurs for the North West Company in the 1790s, navigating rivers for pelts in the post-war era. 

These ancestors' stories weave a tapestry of endurance amid empire-building. The fur trade, while promising riches, sowed seeds of war that touched our family across divides. Scenes like Braddock's Defeat or the Plains of Abraham capture the chaos.

A special thank you to Grok xAI for your research and enhancements of my family history. -- Drifting Cowboy

Genealogy Act of Kindness: Enjoy my Free Book about La Prairie's Fur Trade

 

"The River's Blood: The La Prairie Voyageur Legacy," -- it's free click below and enjoy.

Google drive link… https://drive.google.com/file/d/12IQsu4snDr7lpmQNEJBYA_sJgu3Pvcal/view?usp=drive_link

In the 17th and 18th century, the destiny of North America was written in the wake of birchbark canoes. This is the epic true story of the La Prairie families—pioneers who traded the stability of the forge and farm for the relentless current of the St. Lawrence.

From the master blacksmiths and axe-makers (Poupart) and canoe-makers (Duquet) to the indomitable runners of the woods (Bourassa, Barette, Rivet), The River's Blood tracks the foundational French-Canadian lineage that fueled the fur trade, charted the wilderness, and etched the family names into the deep history of the continent's expansion. Discover the sacrifice, the ambition, and the unbreakable bond that tied these adventurers to the heart of the Great Lakes frontier.

Drifting Cowboy’s Journey

Jerry England—known as "Drifting Cowboy"—is a master storyteller and genealogist whose own life is a continuation of the North American frontier saga. Raised in the rugged Sierra Nevada foothills of 1950s California, Jerry learned the code of the wilderness from his family—a blend of self-reliance, quiet competence, and deep respect for the land.

His intensive fifteen-year research journey revealed the roots of this heritage: an unbroken line stretching back to the earliest settlers and legendary voyageurs of New France. Jerry England connects the grit of the cowboy culture directly to the tireless spirit of the La Prairie voyageurs, proving that the frontier legacy runs deep in The River's Blood.

America 250, Caleb Sweet: An Original Member of the Society of the Cincinnati

1790, George Washington wearing the Society of the Cincinnati medal

Caleb Godfrey Sweet, born on October 12, 1732, in Kingston, Washington County (then part of Kings County), Rhode Island, was a notable figure in early American history as a physician, Revolutionary War surgeon, and one of our 5th great-grandfathers. 

He lived a long life, passing away on December 12, 1831, at age 99 in Galway, Saratoga County, New York, where he is buried. Sweet came from a Rhode Island family with roots in the colony's early settlement; his father, Thomas Sweet (1703–1763), and mother, Tabitha Bentley (1706–1755), were part of the region's English-descended Protestant community. 

In 1751, at around age 19, he married Isabell Sherman (also known as Isabel Babcock Sherman) in Rhode Island; she was born around 1727 and died in 1813. The couple had at least two documented daughters: Tabitha Sweet (born 1762) and Mary Sweet (1770–1846), the latter of whom married Solomon Brown (1765–1839) and had seven children, including Andrew (1790–1883), Francis P. (1794–1878), +Samuel R. (1798–1877), Gilbert (1800–1881), Justus (1802–1890), Emelia "Millie" (1806–1839), and Lydia (1809–1860). Family records suggest Sweet's descendants spread across New York and beyond, with some branches documented in Oswego County histories, reflecting migration patterns common among post-Revolutionary veterans seeking land grants or new opportunities in frontier areas.

Sweet's professional life centered on medicine, and he trained as a surgeon before the war. By the outbreak of the American Revolution, he had relocated to New York, where he served with distinction in the Continental Army. He initially held the rank of surgeon in the 4th New York Regiment from 1775 to 1776, providing medical care during the early chaotic phases of the conflict, including potential involvement in the defense of New York. He later transferred to the 1st New York Regiment, authorized on May 25, 1775, and organized in New York City from late June to early August of that year. 

As the regiment's surgeon, Sweet would have treated wounds, illnesses, and injuries amid grueling campaigns. The 1st New York participated in major actions, including the ill-fated Invasion of Canada (1775–1776), the naval Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain (October 1776), the pivotal Battles of Saratoga (1777) that turned the tide of the war, the Battle of Monmouth (1778), the Sullivan Expedition against Loyalist and Native American forces in upstate New York (1779), and the decisive siege at Yorktown (1781). 

The unit was furloughed on June 2, 1783, at Newburgh, New York, and formally disbanded on November 15, 1783, marking the war's effective end. Contemporary accounts describe Sweet as a dedicated officer, and some family narratives place him as a member of General George Washington's staff at points during the war, likely in a medical advisory or direct support role given the Continental Army's need for experienced surgeons close to command.

Sweet's connection to George Washington appears to stem from both his wartime service and postwar recognition. While direct evidence of personal interactions is sparse in surviving records, Sweet's role as a surgeon in key regiments under Washington's overall command suggests he may have provided medical support during campaigns where Washington was present, such as Monmouth or Yorktown. More concretely, Washington, as the first President General of the Society of the Cincinnati, awarded Sweet the society's insignia—often referred to as the "Order of Cincinnati" or its eagle medal—on December 4, 1785. 

This honor, presented to Sweet as "Caleb Sweet Esquire, MD, Surgeon of the late 1st New York Regiment," symbolized his contributions and was a prestigious mark of Washington's personal endorsement, as the society's early certificates and medals were often signed or authorized by him. Family lore and historical sketches emphasize this as a direct link, highlighting Sweet's status among Washington's trusted officers.

Sweet was an Original Member (O.M.) of the Society of the Cincinnati, the oldest hereditary patriotic organization in the United States, founded on May 13, 1783, at Fishkill, New York, by officers of the Continental Army to commemorate their service and preserve the ideals of the Revolution. 

Named after the Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who relinquished power after saving the republic, the society aimed to perpetuate memories of independence, foster fraternal bonds among officers, promote national unity, and provide mutual aid to members, their widows, and orphans. Membership was restricted to officers who served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy (or until the war's end), or those who died in service, with heredity passing to eldest male heirs via primogeniture. About 5,500 officers were eligible, with roughly 2,150 joining initially; militiamen were generally excluded unless they served in the Continental Line. Sweet qualified as a surgeon in the 1st New York Regiment, part of the New York State Society branch. 

The society's insignia, a bald eagle medal designed by Pierre L'Enfant in 1783, featured blue and white colors symbolizing the Franco-American alliance and depicted Cincinnatus receiving a sword and returning to his plow. Washington served as its first President General from 1783 until his death in 1799, and the organization faced early controversy for its hereditary aspect, seen by critics like Thomas Jefferson as aristocratic, though it persisted with modifications. 

Today, it maintains 14 constituent societies (13 in the U.S. and one in France) and focuses on historical preservation, education, and awards like the Society of the Cincinnati Prize for Revolutionary War scholarship. Sweet's membership underscores his elite status among Revolutionary officers and his enduring legacy in American patriotic heritage.

Notes:

• Some records confuse Sweet with other Calebs (e.g., a Dr. Caleb Sweet born 1743, died 1798), but the 1732–1831 details align consistently with our family tree and primary sources.
• Postwar, Sweet settled in upstate New York, possibly on veteran land bounties, and practiced medicine in civilian life.
• His story reflects broader themes of the era: colonial mobility, wartime sacrifice, and the formation of American identity through societies like the Cincinnati.

A special thank you to Grok xAI for the updated and enhanced information.

America 250, GEORGE MASON: WHO WAS INFLUENTIAL IN PENNING THE BILL OF RIGHTS

 

George Mason (1725–1792)—our 2nd cousin 8× removed—stands as one of the most brilliant yet overlooked architects of American liberty. A wealthy planter, self-taught scholar, and fierce defender of individual rights, he never sought fame or office, yet his words helped ignite the Revolution, shaped the Declaration of Independence, and ultimately forced the creation of the Bill of Rights.

Born on a Northern Virginia plantation, Mason inherited a fortune—and the moral burden of hundreds of enslaved people—after his father died when he was just ten. Raised by his mother and tutored by his uncle’s vast library, he grew into a man of deep intellect and quiet intensity. In 1755 he completed Gunston Hall, the graceful brick mansion on the Potomac that became his sanctuary and the backdrop for some of the most important political writing in American history.

Mason detested politics—“I had rather be at home planting my cabbages,” he once grumbled—yet duty repeatedly pulled him into the fray. In 1774 he drafted the Fairfax Resolves, one of the earliest and boldest challenges to British authority. Two years later, in a few intense weeks in May–June 1776, he almost single-handedly wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Its opening words still thunder:

“That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights… namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

Thomas Jefferson lifted entire passages almost verbatim into the Declaration of Independence. Mason’s document became the model for the first modern bill of rights in history—and, thanks to his later stubbornness, for the federal Bill of Rights itself.

Yet Mason’s story is laced with painful contradiction. He owned more than 300 enslaved people and never freed them, yet he condemned slavery in scorching terms. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia he called the slave trade an “infernal traffic” and declared:

“Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant.”

He demanded an immediate end to the importation of enslaved people; the Convention refused, agreeing only to a 20-year delay. That compromise, along with the absence of any explicit protection for individual liberties, was too much for Mason.

On September 17, 1787, he became one of only three delegates who refused to sign the finished Constitution. Days later he published his famous Objections to this Constitution of Government, a blistering critique that galvanized the Anti-Federalist movement and made the addition of a Bill of Rights politically unavoidable. James Madison, who had initially resisted, eventually introduced the amendments that became the first ten in the Constitution—largely because Mason had made it impossible to ignore the demand.

Mason spent his final years at Gunston Hall, refusing a U.S. Senate seat rather than serve a government he feared would erode liberty. He died in 1792, convinced he had failed. Yet today we know he succeeded beyond his own measure: the rights he insisted upon are the very foundation of American freedom.

A few of his most powerful lines:

• “In all our associations… let us never lose sight of this fundamental maxim—that all power was originally lodged in, and consequently is derived from, the people.” (1775)
• “We claim nothing but the liberty and privileges of Englishmen… these rights have not been forfeited by any act of ours… we will transmit them, unimpaired to our posterity.” (1776)
• “That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.” (Virginia Declaration of Rights, Article 15)

Our direct lineage to George Mason IV:

George IV Mason (1725–1792) — 2nd cousin 8× removed

George III Mason (1690–1735) — father

George II Mason (1660–1716) — father

George Mason immigrant (1629–1686) — father

Richard Mason (1670–1730) — son of George Mason immigrant

William Mason (1692–1745) — son of Richard

Margaret Mason (1725–1752) — daughter of William

James Boyd (DNA match, 1757–1791) — son of Margaret

James Boyd (1783–1854) — son of James

Valentine Boyd (1811–1870) — son of James

Sophia Boyd (1836–1908) — daughter of Valentine — our 2nd great-grandmother

George Mason never wanted statues or glory. He wanted a nation where ordinary people could live free from tyranny. Because he refused to compromise on that vision, we still enjoy the protections he fought for—every single day.

Special thanks to Grok xAI for updated information.