You might be related.  Start your tree to find out. It's free!

We’ll search our network daily and notify you when we find family tree matches.

Start your tree
Added by dorpurr

Catherine Annennontak Arendanki

1649-1708
Born: Huron Nation, Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Died: Batiscan, 1654506, Quebec, Canada

Footprints
 
Family Members
  • Getting family members ...
 
Life Story
  • Birth

  • Marriage

  • Story: Catherine Jeanne Annennontak - Huron - "Creature Of God" ("Créature De Dieu")

    <p><span style="font-family: arial; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre">Catherine Jeanne Annennontak - Huron - &quot;Creature of God&quot; (&quot;Cr&eacute;ature de Dieu&quot;)</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family: arial; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre">Catherine Jeanne Annennontak&#39;s </span>first marriage was at the age of 13 years to Jean Durand - at Quebec City (in the what is now known as the Basilica of Quebec) in 1662. When Catherine becomes a widow in 1672, she marries Jacques Couturier, and in 1679, her third marriage is with Jean Lafond (son of Etienne de Lafond and Marie Boucher, the sister of Pierre Boucher).&nbsp;</p>

  • Death

  • Story: Catherine's Story II

    <span>Jean Durand was born in 1640, the son of Louis and Madeleine Malvand at Doeuil-sur-le- Mignon, St. Onge, France. The contract he signed to come to Canada to serve as a colonist for three years, states he was about 20 years old. He was to receive passage to and from Canada, board and room and 75 livres per year, payable at the end of each year.<br><br>He sailed from LaRochelle on &quot;Les Armes d Amsterdam&quot; at the beginning of April, 1660 and arrived at Quebec the latter part of May. The three years of service was with Charles Gautier. His life, like all colonists during that period, was quite varied-- farming, fishing, lumbering, etc. It also included serving in the Militia, because during that time all colonists lived in constant fear of the Iroqouis indians. In fact, Pierre Pinelle, his close friend and neighbor at Cap-Rouge, was murdered by them. The gun was a necessary adjunct to the plow.<br><br>It was during this period that the King of France decided to send young girls to Canada to become the wives of the colonists. They were called the &quot;King&#39;s Daughters&quot;. On October 3, 1661, Jean Durand was engaged to one of these, Marie Fayette. They were to be married at a later date so we nearly had a King&#39;s daughter for an ancestor, however, before the wedding date arrived, they changed their minds, cancelled their engagement on January 12, 1662, and on her third engagement she married Nicholas Huot on July 24, 1662.<br><br>The next girl to capture Jean&#39;s heart was a young indian maiden who had been a refugee from the massacre of the Huron Missions by the Iroquois in 1648. This mission is known as Martyr&#39;s Shrine at Midland, Ontario. Her parents, Nicolas Arendanki and Jeanne Otri-ho-Andet lived at the parish mission of La Conception. Nicolas was one of the first Indian Chiefs to embrace the Christian religion and was well known to the missionaries Brebeuf Lalemant and Isaac Jogues and others who were martyred during the massacre. Nicolas was among the missing and no doubt suffered martyrdom like many others on that fateful day.<br><br>Jeanne, who had given birth to Catherine in 1648, was left destitute without any means of support. She, along with many others under the care of Father Chaumonot, fled to the Petun Indian Country, who were friends of the Hurons. This is described in great detail in the Jesuit Relations. The refugees that survived the hardships and starvation lived in exile until June 10, 1650, when some 300 christian hurons, with the help of the surviving missionaries and french soldiers, embarked in canoes for their long voyage to the Isle of Orleans. Those that survived the shipwrecks, hardships and accidents on the way arrived at the Isle of Orleans on July 23, 1650.<br><br>Catherine and her mother, who were among the survivors, were in poor health. During the summer of 1654, she was placed in the Ursuline convent of Quebec. Catherine remained under the tutelage of the nuns where she was taught not only the french language but also the french way of life. It was an objective of the Ursulines, the Jesuits, the Intendant, including the King, to educate the young indian maidens to eventually become suitable wives to the french colonists. Laval, the first bishop of Canada arrived june 16, 1659, and about two months later administered the sacrament of confirmation to a good number of young girls, french as well as indian. Catherine was among this group. The records show &quot;confirmed at the Ursuline convent August 10, 1659 Catherine, Huron, age 10.&quot; It was only 3 years later, September 29, 1662, that Catherine and Jean Durand signed a contract to be married. The contract reads as follows:<br><br>&quot;In the presence of Guillaume Andouart, secretary to the Administrative council, established at Quebec, by the King, notary in New France and the undersigned witnesses, here present Jean Durand dit Lafortune, son of Louis Durand and Madeleine Malvande, his father and mother from the burg of Deuil near the village of St Jean d&#39;Angely in the Xaintonges, party of the first part, and Catherine Huronne.... party of the second part, both in the presence of their relatives and friends here named, Charles Gautier, Lord of Bois Verdun, Denis Duquet, a resident of Quebec, Jean Guyon, Pierre Pinel, Jean Drouart on behalf of the first part. Martin Boutet, representing and taking place of the father of the said Catherine Huronne, Dame Magdeleine de Chauvigny, widow of the late Charles de Gruel, while living the Baron of Pelletierie, Miss Thienette Deslprey, widow of the late Guillaume Guilmot, Esq., Lord Duplessis de Querbodo, Laurent Dubocq resident of this country have recognized and !<br>witnessed..............<br><br>Three days later, September 26, they exchanged their marraige vows in the parish church of Quebec, known today as the Basilica. The authentic copy of this document reads as follows:<br><br>In the year of our lord, one thousand six hundred and sixty two on the 26th day of September after engagement and publication of one bann (having given dispensation for the other two) read at mass the 24th of September and discovering no legitimate obstacle, I, Henri de Bernieres, priest of this parish, having questioned Jean Durand, son of Louis Durand and Madeleine Malvande, father and mother, from the parish of Doeuil, vicarage of Xaintes in Xaintonge, party of the first part, and Catherine Annenontak, Huron daughter of Nicolas Arendanki and Jeanne Otre-ho-Andet, father and mother, from the town of St. Madeleine in the Conception parish, in the land of the Hurons, party of the second part, and having received their mutual consent, I solemnly joined them in marriage and gave them the marriage blessing, in the presence of witnesses: Rev. Fathers&#39; Lalemant, Superior, and Francois LeMercier of the company of Jesus Martin Boutet known as St Martin, Mr Jean Madry, etc. Signe!</span>

  • Story: Catherine's Story

    <div>Courtney Cadotte</div> <span>II. Catherine, from another source (Heather Cadotte Armstrong):<br><br>Catherine was a Huron Indiai. Her family was originally from &quot;Huronia&quot; in the Hudson River Valley. Her family then fled to the Georgian Bay area.<br> <br>Perhaps the following historical overview of Catherine will provide you with a better understanding of movements of the Hurons.<br> <br>Catherine Annennontak was born in 1649. It was the moon of Falling Leaves, (October) of 1648 that a tiny,<br>bronze-tinted baby girl was born in a bark covered long house of the Huron&#39;s at Georgian Bay, near Lake Huron. The French<br>missionary, Chaumonot, baptized her with the name of Caterine Annannontok, and affectionately dubbed her Belle Fleur de Bois,<br>(Beautiful Flower of the Woods). Her father, Nicolas Arendanke, was one of three principal chiefs of the Bear Clan. Both he and his wife, Jeanne<br>Otrihoandet, were baptized by the black-robed Jesuits who came among their native peoples some years before. &quot;Katerie,&quot; strapped<br>securely in her colorful, beaded cradle-board on her mother&#39;s strong back looked like a tine sepea-toned doll with raven-black hair, bright<br>obsidian eyes, a pug nose, and a little mouth constantly moving. Originally, there were approximately 25,000-30,000 Hurons living peacefully<br>in an area, roughly 40 by 20 miles, called &quot;Huronia&quot;. Since the coming of the white man in the early 1600&#39;s, many of the Hurons perished<br>from starvation and the white man&#39;s diseases.<br> <br>A far greater disaster struck in March 1649, when thousands of ferocious Iroquois from the Hudson River Valley attacked<br>and practically annihilated the entire Huron Nation, including the five North American Martyrs. Only about 300 Hurons, mostly women, children,<br>the infirm and the elderly escaped to nearby St. Joseph&#39;s Island. One of the survivors, carried to safety by her loving mother was Catherine.<br>Sadly, her chieftain father was tortured and/or killed outright by the Iroquois on March 17th, 1649, while defending his people.<br>After three months of hiding and recuperating from wounds and sickness, the surviving band of Hurons made a desperate dash<br>for freedom by paddling their birch-bark canoes through hostile territory. Their perilous 1,500 mile escape route took them<br>from Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, along the French River, across Lake Nipissing, down the Ottowa River, along the mighty St. Lawrence, past<br>the Lachine Rapids to Montreal Island, finally arriving at the Fortress City of Qu&#39;ebec. They arrived on July 28, 1649, six weeks after<br>their journey began.<br> <br>Kateri, Catherine&#39;s mother, and the other survivors of the Great Massacre were settled on the nearby Ile d&#39;Orleans. On July 21st, 1654,<br>Catherines&#39;s heroric mother was suddenly cut down by fever, leaving her five year old, an orphan. The little Indian Princess was then bought to the Ursuline convent in Quebec City where she was raised and educated by the Catholic nuns there. She was so beloved by them, that they called her, La Petite Cr&#39;eature de Dieu, (Little Creature of God) On Sept. 23rd, 1662, the Belle Fleur de Boise contracted to marry Jean Durand, dit LaFortune, a soldier of the famous Carignan regiment. He was previously engaged to a fickle Parisienne who broke her promise to him and to a subsequent suitor before finally marrying her third choice. The soldier and princess wed at Quebec City on Sept. 26th, 1662 in the presence of many officials and friends. Jean signed his name &quot;J.Durand,&quot; while 14 yearr-old Kateri, signed her name &quot;Catherine Huron.&quot; During their nine years of happy marriage, they were blessed with three children; Marie, Ignace and Louis. Both sons and the husband of Marie (Mathurine Cadot), became adventurous voyageurs, (canoe-men), who engaged in the lucrative fur trade between Montr&#39;eal and the Great Lakes and the Pays d&#39;en haut, (high country, the west). Early in 1672, Kateri received a terrible shock. Her husband Jean died suddenly at the premature age of 35 years. Whether by accident, disease or tomahawk, Jean Durand left the &quot;Creature of God&quot; a young widow with three small children. The oldest was five years old, ironically, the same age at which Kateri had become orphaned.<br> <br>During those dangerous and hard times, it was necessary to forego the usual mourning period, so Catherine chose, from several<br>suitors, Jacques Couturier, a 26 year-old Norman French bachelor as her second husband. The nuptials were at Quebec City on June 26th, 1672. To<br>this union there were six enfants de le deuxieme lit (children of the second bed), namely: Charles, Jacques, (died in infancy), Genevieve,<br>Denis dit Joseph, Jean-Francois, and Catherine(died one month old). Like their step-brothers before them, Charles, Joseph, and Jean-Francois<br>became voyageurs and Coureurs de Bois (wood runners/rangers). Again, however, Kateri sadly lost her husband, Jacques, prematurely at the age<br>of 31 years. He succumbed to an epidemic of measles and scurvy during the year 1687-1688, in which over 1,400 people perished, nearly<br>one-eighth of the French population. Ten years later Kateri married a third time, on August 26th, 1697, to Jean de Lafond, (1646-1716), widower<br>of Catherine Senecal. He brought into this union three remaining dependent children from the eight begotten from his first wife.<br>His mother was a sister to the first Governor of Three Rivers and the founder of Boucherville. It should be noted that Kateri<br>signed herself, Catherine Durant on the marriage contract and Catherine Annannontak on the civil register. Shortly after this time, her heart<br>was again broken by the loss of two of her sons in the flower of their youth. Ignace Durand died on Nov. 30th, 1697 at the age of 28 years, and<br>Charles Couturier died on April 23rd, 1699, at the age of 26years. There were no children born to her third and final marriage.<br> <br>A decade passed before the final curtain came down on the life story of the Amerindian Princess. Catherin &quot;Kateri&quot;, Annannontak- Belle Fleur de<br>Bois, The Little Creature of God - was taken from life&#39;s scene by an epidemic of yellow fever, called the French, Mal de Siam, (lit. Siam<br>Sickness- perhaps like the 20th century Asian Flu). She had lived 60 summers in two cultures. Her sacred memory evokes the motto of Quebec<br>Province, exemplified on it&#39;s auto license plates: Je Me Souviens, (I Remember). Let us remember with pride this bronze-tinted<br>Native American as she really was, a beautiful, courageous, faithful, well-educated, intelligent (she spoke several languages), living,<br>resourceful and humble individual. </span>

  • Story: Caterine Annannontok - Belle Fleur De Bois

    <p>Catherine was a Huron Indian. Her family was originally from &quot;Huronia&quot; in the Hudson River Valley. Her family then fled to the Georgian Bay area.<br><br>Perhaps the following historical overview of Catherine will provide you with a better understanding of movements of the Hurons.<br><br>Catherine Annennontak was born in 1649. It was the moon of Falling Leaves, (October) of 1648 that a tiny, bronze-tinted baby girl was born in a bark covered long house of the Huron&#39;s at Georgian Bay, near Lake Huron. The French mssionary, Chaumonot, baptized her with the name of Caterine Annannontok, and affectionately dubbed her Belle Fleur de Bois, Beautiful Flower of the Woods). Her father, Nicolas Arendanke, was one of three principal chiefs of the Bear Clan. Both he and his wife, Jeanne Orihoandet, were baptized by the black-robed Jesuits who came among their native peoples some years before. &quot;Katerie,&quot; strapped securely in her colorful, beaded cradle-board on her mother&#39;s strong back looked like a tine sepea-toned doll with raven-black hair, bright obsidian eyes, a pug nose, and a little mouth constantly moving. Originally, there were approximately 25,000-30,000 Hurons living peacefully in an area, roughly 40 by 20 miles, called &quot;Huronia&quot;. Since the coming of the white man in the early 1600&#39;s, many of the Hurons perished from starvation and the white man&#39;s diseases.<br><br>A far greater disaster struck in March 1649, when thousands of ferocious Iroquois from the Hudson River Valley attacked<br>and practically annihilated the entire Huron Nation, including the five North American Martyrs. Only about 300 Hurons, mostly women, children, the infirm and the elderly escaped to nearby St. Joseph&#39;s Island. One of the survivors, carried to safety by her loving mother was Catherine.</p><p>Sadly, her chieftain father was tortured and/or killed outright by the Iroquois on March 17th, 1649, while defending his people.<br>After three months of hiding and recuperating from wounds and sickness, the surviving band of Hurons made a desperate dash<br>for freedom by paddling their birch-bark canoes through hostile territory. Their perilous 1,500 mile escape route took them<br>from Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, along the French River, across Lake Nipissing, down the Ottowa River, along the mighty St. Lawrence, past the Lachine Rapids to Montreal Island, finally arriving at the Fortress City of Qu&#39;ebec. They arrived on July 28, 1649, six weeks after their journey began.<br><br>Kateri, Catherine&#39;s mother, and the other survivors of the Great Massacre were settled on the nearby Ile d&#39;Orleans. On July 21st, 1654, Catherine&#39;s heroric mother was suddenly cut down by fever, leaving her five year old, an orphan. The little Indian Princess was then bought to the Ursuline convent in Quebec City where she was raised and educated by the Catholic nuns there. She was so beloved by them, that they called her, La Petite Cr&#39;eature de Dieu, (Little Creature of God) On Sept. 23rd, 1662, the Belle Fleur de Boise contracted to marry Jean Durand, dit LaFortune, a soldier of the famous Carignan regiment. He was previously engaged to a fickle Parisienne who broke her promise to him and to a subsequent suitor before finally marrying her third choice. The soldier and princess wed at Quebec City on Sept. 26th, 1662 in the presence of many officials and friends. Jean signed his name &quot;J.Durand,&quot; while 14 yearr-old Kateri, signed her name &quot;Catherine Huron.&quot; During their nine years of happy marriage, they were blessed with three children; Marie, Ignace and Louis. Both sons and the husband of Marie (Mathurine Cadot), became adventurous voyageurs, (canoe-men), who engaged in the lucrative fur trade between Montr&#39;eal and the Great Lakes and the Pays d&#39;en haut, (high country, the west). Early in 1672, Kateri received a terrible shock. Her husband Jean died suddenly at the premature age of 35 years. Whether by accident, disease or tomahawk, Jean Durand left the &quot;Creature of God&quot; a young widow with three small children. The oldest was five years old, ironically, the same age at which Kateri had become orphaned.<br><br>During those dangerous and hard times, it was necessary to forego the usual mourning period, so Catherine chose, from several<br>suitors, Jacques Couturier, a 26 year-old Norman French bachelor as her second husband. The nuptials were at Quebec City on June 26th, 1672. To this union there were six enfants de le deuxieme lit (children of the second bed), namely: Charles, Jacques, (died in infancy), Genevieve, Denis dit Joseph, Jean-Francois, and Catherine(died one month old). Like their step-brothers before them, Charles, Joseph, and Jean-Francois became voyageurs and Coureurs de Bois (wood runners/rangers). Again, however, Kateri sadly lost her husband, Jacques, prematurely at the age of 31 years. He succumbed to an epidemic of measles and scurvy during the year 1687-1688, in which over 1,400 people perished, nearly one-eighth of the French population. </p><p>Ten years later Kateri married a third time, on August 26th, 1697, to Jean de Lafond, (1646-1716), widower of Catherine Senecal. He brought into this union three remaining dependent children from the eight begotten from his first wife. His mother was a sister to the first Governor of Three Rivers and the founder of Boucherville. It should be noted that Kateri signed herself, Catherine Durant on the marriage contract and Catherine Annannontak on the civil register. Shortly after this time, her heart was again broken by the loss of two of her sons in the flower of their youth. Ignace Durand died on Nov. 30th, 1697 at the age of 28 years, and Charles Couturier died on April 23rd, 1699, at the age of 26 years. There were no children born to her third and final marriage.<br><br>A decade passed before the final curtain came down on the life story of the Amerindian Princess. Catherin &quot;Kateri&quot;, Annannontak- Belle Fleur de Bois, The Little Creature of God - was taken from life&#39;s scene by an epidemic of yellow fever, called the French, Mal de Siam, (lit. Siam Sickness- perhaps like the 20th century Asian Flu). She had lived 60 summers in two cultures. Her sacred memory evokes the motto of Quebec Province, exemplified on it&#39;s auto license plates: Je Me Souviens, (I Remember). Let us remember with pride this bronze-tinted Native American as she really was, a beautiful, courageous, faithful, well-educated, intelligent (she spoke several languages), living, resourceful and humble individual. </p>

 
 
Do you know more about this person's life story? Contact profile creator dorpurr
Errors OccurredX
Errors Loading Page_