Guillaume Sayer
Encyclopedia
Pierre Guillaume Sayer was a Métis
fur trader whose trial was a turning point in the ending of the Hudson's Bay Company
's (HBC) monopoly of the fur trade in North America
.
Pierre Guillaume’s birth year varies between 1779 and 1807 in the original sources. However, family tradition, the oldest Manitoba censuses and the HBCo servant’s list of 1828 favor a date of birth around 1801 to 1803. With this date he would be in his early twenties and his wife, Josèphté, about sixteen when their eldest son, Edouard, was born May 17, 1823. According to her baptismal records at St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba, Josèphté was born in about 1807.
Sayer enlisted as a voyageur
with the McTavish, McGillivray & Company on April 7, 1818. His inscription was registered by the notary public J.-G. Beek at Ste Anne, Bout de l'Isle
at the western end of the Island of Montreal
. He was hired to work in the areas controlled by the North West Company
. The contract is preserved in the Archives Nationales du Quebec.
According to the Hudson Bay Archives, Pierre Guillaume worked for the North West Company at Cumberland House
from 1818 to 1821, the year of the union of the North West and Hudson Bay Companies. From 1828-1829, he worked for the Hudson Bay Company as a Bowsman at Fort Pelly
in the Swan River District and then stayed on as a Steersman from 1829-1832. In 1832, he was freed from his service in the Hudson Bay Company and moved to Grantown near the Red River Settlement
.
When he enlisted with the Hudson Bay Company in 1828, he stated that he was 27 years old. This is shown on the HBCo Servants list of 1828 and gives him 1801 as the year of his birth.
On March 2, 1835, according to the St. Francois Xavier Catholic Church marriage records: Guillaume Sayer, son of John Sayer and an Ojibwe woman named Marguerite, married Josèphté Frobisher, age about 28 years according to her baptismal record of the same day, the daughter of Alexander Frobisher and Marguerite, a Cree
woman.
Sayer had been trading to Norman Kittson
in Pembina, North Dakota
, who was in direct competition to the HBC. Sayer was accused of illegal trading of furs and was brought to trial in Upper Fort Garry
on May 17, 1849 by the Court of Assiniboia
. He was backed by Métis leader Louis Riel Sr.
. During the trial, a crowd of armed Métis men gathered outside the courtroom, ready to support their Métis brother peacefully or by force if necessary. They demanded that Sayer be tried by a jury of his own choosing and that he be allowed to take fellow Métis into the court with him. Although being allowed to select a jury of his own, he was still found guilt by them. Judge Adam Thom
, under immense pressure from the overwhelming number of armed Métis, levied no fine or punishment. With the cry, "Le commerce est libre! Le commerce est libre!" ("Free Trade! Free Trade!"), the HBC could no longer use the courts to enforce their monopoly on the settlers of Red River. In 1870 the trade monopoly was abolished and trade in the region was opened to any entrepreneur. The company relinquished its ownership of Rupert's Land
under the Rupert's Land Act 1868 enacted by the Parliament of the newly formed Dominion of Canada
.
According to the church records at St. Laurent, Manitoba, Pierre Guillaume died August 7, 1868 and was buried at St. Laurent the next day, August 8, 1868, at the age of 75 years. Father Laurent Simonet Omni, who started the Mission and became the first parish priest in 1864, officiated. The witnesses were Baptiste Lavallée and Pierre Chartrand.
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
fur trader whose trial was a turning point in the ending of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
's (HBC) monopoly of the fur trade in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Pierre Guillaume’s birth year varies between 1779 and 1807 in the original sources. However, family tradition, the oldest Manitoba censuses and the HBCo servant’s list of 1828 favor a date of birth around 1801 to 1803. With this date he would be in his early twenties and his wife, Josèphté, about sixteen when their eldest son, Edouard, was born May 17, 1823. According to her baptismal records at St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba, Josèphté was born in about 1807.
Sayer enlisted as a voyageur
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
with the McTavish, McGillivray & Company on April 7, 1818. His inscription was registered by the notary public J.-G. Beek at Ste Anne, Bout de l'Isle
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703...
at the western end of the Island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
. He was hired to work in the areas controlled by the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
. The contract is preserved in the Archives Nationales du Quebec.
According to the Hudson Bay Archives, Pierre Guillaume worked for the North West Company at Cumberland House
Cumberland House
Cumberland House was a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in London, England. It was built in the 1760s by Matthew Brettingham for Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany and was originally called York House...
from 1818 to 1821, the year of the union of the North West and Hudson Bay Companies. From 1828-1829, he worked for the Hudson Bay Company as a Bowsman at Fort Pelly
Fort Pelly
Fort Pelly was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The fort was probably named after Sir John Pelly, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company...
in the Swan River District and then stayed on as a Steersman from 1829-1832. In 1832, he was freed from his service in the Hudson Bay Company and moved to Grantown near the Red River Settlement
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
.
When he enlisted with the Hudson Bay Company in 1828, he stated that he was 27 years old. This is shown on the HBCo Servants list of 1828 and gives him 1801 as the year of his birth.
On March 2, 1835, according to the St. Francois Xavier Catholic Church marriage records: Guillaume Sayer, son of John Sayer and an Ojibwe woman named Marguerite, married Josèphté Frobisher, age about 28 years according to her baptismal record of the same day, the daughter of Alexander Frobisher and Marguerite, a Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
woman.
Sayer had been trading to Norman Kittson
Norman Kittson
Norman Wolfred Kittson was variously a fur trader, steamboat-line operator, and railway entrepreneur.-Fur trader:...
in Pembina, North Dakota
Pembina, North Dakota
Pembina is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 592 at the 2010 census.The area of Pembina was long inhabited by various indigenous peoples...
, who was in direct competition to the HBC. Sayer was accused of illegal trading of furs and was brought to trial in Upper Fort Garry
Fort Garry
Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar. Fort Garry was named after Nicholas...
on May 17, 1849 by the Court of Assiniboia
Assiniboia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.- District of Assiniboia:...
. He was backed by Métis leader Louis Riel Sr.
Louis Riel Sr.
Louis Riel Sr. was a farmer, miller, Métis leader, and the father of Louis Riel.Born in Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, Riel was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, dit L’Irlande, a voyageur, and Marguerite Boucher, a Franco-Ojibwa Métis. The Riel family moved back to Lower Canada while Louis...
. During the trial, a crowd of armed Métis men gathered outside the courtroom, ready to support their Métis brother peacefully or by force if necessary. They demanded that Sayer be tried by a jury of his own choosing and that he be allowed to take fellow Métis into the court with him. Although being allowed to select a jury of his own, he was still found guilt by them. Judge Adam Thom
Adam Thom
Adam Thom was a teacher, journalist, lawyer, public servant, and recorder.- Biography :Adam Thom was born in Brechin, in the Tayside region in Scotland. His father was Andrew Thom, a merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Bisset.He entered the King's College in 1819 and obtained a Master of Arts in 1824...
, under immense pressure from the overwhelming number of armed Métis, levied no fine or punishment. With the cry, "Le commerce est libre! Le commerce est libre!" ("Free Trade! Free Trade!"), the HBC could no longer use the courts to enforce their monopoly on the settlers of Red River. In 1870 the trade monopoly was abolished and trade in the region was opened to any entrepreneur. The company relinquished its ownership of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
under the Rupert's Land Act 1868 enacted by the Parliament of the newly formed Dominion of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
According to the church records at St. Laurent, Manitoba, Pierre Guillaume died August 7, 1868 and was buried at St. Laurent the next day, August 8, 1868, at the age of 75 years. Father Laurent Simonet Omni, who started the Mission and became the first parish priest in 1864, officiated. The witnesses were Baptiste Lavallée and Pierre Chartrand.