Robidoux family

The Robidoux family is a large French-Canadian and North American family network associated with the expansion of New France and the later development of the American West. Its documented lineage is traced to Manuel Robidou, who was born around 1620 in Santa Maria, Galicia, Spain. Some older accounts incorrectly described him as being from Paris, but the available evidence does not support that identification. The family’s early history is rooted in the movement of people between France, New France, and the communities that developed along the St. Lawrence River. Manuel’s son André Robidou crossed to New France in 1661 after entering an engagement contract in La Rochelle to work as a river sailor. He arrived in Quebec aboard La Marguerite and subsequently received land concessions on Île d’Orléans and at Côte Lauzon. André worked in river transportation and appears in the 1666 Quebec census as a sailor. In 1667 he married Jeanne Denote, one of the Filles du Roi, women sent to New France by the French crown to encourage marriage and population growth. The couple later moved to La Prairie, where several of their children were born. Their descendants became part of one of the established family networks of colonial Canada. Guillaume Robidou, André and Jeanne’s son, continued the family’s connection with the colonial economy. Born in La Prairie in 1675, he married Marie Françoise Guérin in Montreal in 1697 and moved to Longueuil in 1705. He entered the fur trade during a period when that business remained central to the economy of New France. Guillaume and Françoise had thirteen children, including Joseph Robidoux I, and their descendants spread through several generations of Quebec society. Joseph Robidoux I continued in the fur trade during the eighteenth century. He lived through the military conflicts that reshaped New France, including the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in which two of his sons were killed. As the fur trade weakened and French colonial power declined, members of the family increasingly looked south and west for commercial and settlement opportunities. Joseph’s children and later descendants moved toward Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and other communities connected by the Great Lakes and Mississippi watersheds. Joseph Robidoux II represents an important transition from the Canadian colonial setting to the expanding interior of North America. He and his family became associated with movement through the Chicago Portage and relocation toward St. Louis, while other relatives settled in Detroit. His descendants included Joseph Robidoux III, whose children included Joseph Robidoux IV, Antoine Robidoux, and Louis Robidoux. These men became associated with exploration, the fur trade, the opening of overland routes, and the establishment or development of settlements in the western United States. Joseph Robidoux IV is commonly known as the founder of St. Joseph, Missouri. Antoine Robidoux became associated with the western fur trade and with Fort Uncompahgre in present-day Colorado. Louis Robidoux is identified with the founding and early development of Riverside, California. Through these and related branches, the family participated in the movement of people, goods, and information across the American frontier during the nineteenth century. The family’s historical reputation has been preserved through genealogical research, regional histories, expedition records, and literary references. Members of the family appear in discussions of the Lewis and Clark era and in accounts of frontier figures such as Kit Carson. The family has also been referenced in popular historical writing, including James Michener’s novel Centennial. Today, the Robidoux name is distributed across North America, and descendants remain involved in documenting and preserving the family’s genealogy and historical legacy. The Robidoux family is therefore best understood not as a commercial brand but as a historically prominent lineage connected to colonial Canada, the trans-Mississippi West, and the settlement of parts of the United States.

The documented family history begins with Manuel Robidou, born around 1620 in Santa Maria, Galicia, Spain. Although some genealogical accounts have identified him as a native of Paris, the available evidence does not establish that claim. His son André Robidou was born around 1643 and crossed to New France in 1661 after contracting to work as a river sailor. He traveled from La Rochelle through the Atlantic and the Gulf of St. Lawrence before reaching Quebec aboard La Marguerite. André received land concessions in 1664 at locations corresponding to present-day Saint-Laurent on Île d’Orléans and Côte Lauzon near Lévis. He continued to work in river transport and served aboard a royal galiotte in 1665. The 1666 Quebec census recorded him as a sailor living with merchant Eustache Lambert. In 1667 he married Jeanne Denote in Quebec. Jeanne was one of the Filles du Roi, whose migration formed part of the French crown’s effort to increase the population of New France. André and Jeanne had five children and moved to the seigneurie of La Prairie around 1671. André died in Montreal in 1678, while Jeanne later remarried and became an ancestor of two large Canadian family networks. Their son Guillaume Robidou, born in La Prairie in 1675, married Marie Françoise Guérin in Montreal in 1697. The couple moved to Longueuil in 1705 and raised a large family. Guillaume entered the fur trade, an occupation that linked settlements along the St. Lawrence with Indigenous trading networks and the wider commercial system of New France. Their son Joseph Robidoux I was born in 1701 and continued the family’s association with the trade. Joseph Robidoux I lived during the decline of the eighteenth-century fur economy and the military conflicts between France and Britain. Two of his sons, François and Antoine, died during the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Joseph’s children subsequently began moving toward American settlements such as Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis. This migration reflected both changing commercial conditions and the political transformation of the former French territories. Joseph Robidoux II, born in 1722, married Marie Anne Le Blanc and became associated with the family’s movement south and west. Members of the household traveled through the Chicago Portage toward St. Louis, while other relatives settled in Detroit. Joseph III and the generations that followed expanded the family’s presence across the interior of North America. Among the best-known later descendants were Joseph Robidoux IV, Antoine Robidoux, and Louis Robidoux. Joseph IV is identified with the founding of St. Joseph, Missouri. Antoine became known as a fur trader in the trans-Mississippi West and was associated with Fort Uncompahgre in Colorado. Louis is associated with the founding and development of Riverside, California. These branches connected the family to the nineteenth-century opening of trade routes, frontier settlement, and exploration. The family has been discussed in relation to the journals of Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis and Clark expedition, as well as accounts involving Kit Carson. Its history has also entered popular historical culture through James Michener’s Centennial. Modern descendants are spread across North America, and published genealogical and regional studies continue to examine the family’s role in the history of New France and the American West.

• 1778

  Deaths of Joseph Robidoux I and Joseph Robidoux II

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Both men died in 1778, one in Yamaska, Quebec, and the other in St. Louis, marking the family’s continuing transition between Canadian and American settings.

• 1759

  Robidoux family members affected by the Battle of the Plains of Abraham

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Two sons of Joseph Robidoux I, François and Antoine, died during the battle that transferred Quebec to British control.

• 1705

  Move to Longueuil

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Guillaume and Marie Françoise moved from the La Prairie area to Longueuil, where they raised their family.

• 1697

  Guillaume marries Marie Françoise Guérin

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Guillaume and Marie Françoise married in Montreal and later established their household in Longueuil.

• 1675

  Birth of Guillaume Robidou

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Guillaume Robidou was born in La Prairie, becoming part of the first North American-born generation of the lineage.

• 1667

  André Robidou marries Jeanne Denote

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  André and Jeanne married in Quebec, establishing a major North American branch of the family.

• 1664

  André receives land concessions

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  André received concessions on Île d’Orléans and at Côte Lauzon in the St. Lawrence region.

• 1661

  André Robidou migrates to New France

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  André Robidou entered a work contract in La Rochelle and traveled to Quebec as a river sailor aboard La Marguerite.

• 1620

  Birth of Manuel Robidou

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Manuel Robidou was born around this time in Santa Maria, Galicia, Spain, according to the family’s documented lineage.

• Expansion into the American West

  [1]Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org

  Later descendants became associated with St. Joseph, Missouri; western fur trading; Fort Uncompahgre; and Riverside, California.

A historical family lineage associated with colonial settlement, river transport, the fur trade, exploration, and frontier community formation in Canada and the United States.

1. 1Robidoux familyen.wikipedia.org