Marie-Anne (GABOURY) LAGIMODIÈRE (c1782-1875)
Born at Maskinonge, in the Parish of Three Rivers, on 14 August 1780, she was the daughter of Charles Gaboury (?-?) and Marie Anne Tessier (?-?).
At the age of fourteen she became an assistant housekeeper at the rectory at Maskinonge. It was here she met, and later married, Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (1778-1855) on 21 April 1806. They had eight children: Reine Lagimodière (1807-1893), Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (1808-1886), Josette Lagimodière (1809-1897), Benjamine Lagimodière (1811-1891), Appolline Pauline Lagimodière (1813-1865), Romain Lagimodière (1819-1905), Julie Lagimodière (1820-1906, mother of Louis Riel), and Joseph Lagimodière (1825-1864).
Pioneer
She insisted on accompanying her husband back to the Northwest, where he was employed at Pembina by the Hudson’s Bay Company. They left shortly after their wedding for the North-West, arriving at Pembina in August. It is said Madame Lagimodière was the first white woman in the West. On 06 January 1807, she gave birth to a daughter, Reine, who is reputed to have been the first white child born in the Red River country. The Lagimodières were the first to settle and raise a family on the Prairies.
In 1818 they moved to St. Boniface where Marie-Anne lived until her death. Legends about her courage are common among Franco-Manitobans.
She died 14 December 1875 in St. Boniface and is buried in the St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery. She is commemorated by Ecole Marie-Ann-Gaboury in Winnipeg. She was selected posthumously as a Manitoba Women Trailblazer.
Sources:
- Reprinted with permission from Manitoba Historical Society and updated.
- Death Registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
- Church Records, Quebec.
- Grave Markers, Find a Grave.
- The Canadian Encyclopedia.
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