Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye
Encyclopedia
Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (November 9, 1717 – November 15, 1761) was a French Canadian
fur trade
r and explorer who took part in extending these activities westerly from the Great Lakes
during the eighteenth century, an enterprise for which he and other members of his family were largely responsible. He was the youngest, but perhaps the most significant son of Pierre La Vérendrye.
Louis-Joseph joined the family business in 1735, travelling west from his home with his father.
He assisted in re-establishing Fort Maurepas in 1736 and building Fort La Reine
in 1738. From Ft. La Reine, he and his father travelled to Mandan country later that same year. In 1739 and 1740, he went north from Fort La Reine and explored Lake Winnipeg
, Lake Manitoba
, Lake Winnipegosis
and the Saskatchewan River
as far as the area of the present day The Pas.
In 1742, he and his brother François
, along with two other Frenchmen, returned to the west. They journeyed southwest as far as, probably, the Big Horn Mountains
. On January 1, 1743, they saw the Rocky Mountains
. Their return journey took them through present day Fort Pierre, South Dakota
where they buried a lead plaque. This plaque was unearthed in 1913 and is an important artifact of the exploration of the western prairies.
By late 1743, Louis-Joseph's father, Pierre La Vérendrye, was forced to resign as commandant of the poste de l’Ouest. The new commandant, Nicolas-Joseph de Noyelles de Fleurimont
, retained the services of La Vérendrye’s sons during his tenure, which began in 1744. Louis-Joseph was post commander at three posts, the most important one being Fort Kaministiquia
.
The elder La Vérendrye again became western commandant in 1747, while Louis-Joseph returned to New France with Noyelles. He provided services to both Noyelles and Governor Beauharnois
while expecting and intending to rejoin his father at the western posts. Before he made that return, his father returned east and died in 1749.
Louis-Joseph spent the next while settling his father's financial affairs, and subsequently entered into partnership with Luc de la Corne
, in the fur trade. His brother François
was an interpreter for the partnership.
In 1756, Louis-Joseph obtained a three-year appointment as commandant of the poste de l’Ouest. He carried out this enterprise through agents, as he was personally involved in military matters during the Seven Years' War
. He was succeeded as western commander in 1758, by Charles-René Dejordy de Villebon
.
He died while returning to France, when the ship, Auguste
sank at sea.
Louis-Joseph was probably the first European to reach the Rocky Mountains. It is difficult to reconstruct his route or identify the tribes he met. The mountains he saw were probably the Big Horn Mountains
but they may have been only the Black Hills
. Some older writers have placed him as far west as Montana. The Mandan village was probably near New Town, North Dakota
at the former Verendrye National Monument
. There is even some doubt about which of the Vérendrye brothers made the journey since they are not clearly distinguished in the original documents.
In 1738 the elder La Vérendrye visited the Mandan village and left two men to learn the language. Next year they reported back that every summer the Horse People (Gens du Chevaux) visited the Mandans to trade. The Horse People said that they knew of white men to the west who lived in stone houses and prayed to the Master of Life while holding what looked like husks of corn (books). In 1740 he sent is son Pierre to the Mandans to contact the Horse People. They did not arrive and Pierre returned in 1741.
On 29 April 1742 the Chevalier La Vérendrye and his brother (most likely Louis-Joseph and François) and two other Frenchmen left Fort La Reine
and reached the Mandan village on 19 May. There he waited for two months for the Horse People. When they didn't show up, he found two Mandan guides and marched, apparently on foot, for twenty days west southwest seeing many animals but no people. He describes multi-colored soils, which implies he was in the Badlands along the Little Missouri River (North Dakota)
. By 11 August they reached the 'Mountain of the Horse People' (possibly White Butte
). The guides would go no further so they stopped and built a camp and lit signal fires. On 14 September they met the Handsome People (Beaux Hommes, perhaps Crow or Blackfeet) and stayed with them for 21 days. They then headed south southwest meeting the Little Foxes (Petits Renards, possibly a branch of the Cheyennes) and then the 'Pioya' (Kiowa?). On 19 November they reached the Horse People. These were in a state of desolation because all their villages had been destroyed by the Snake People (Gens du Serpent, either Shoshones or a general term for enemy). The Snake People had destroyed seventeen villages, killed the men and old women and taken the young women to be sold on the seacoast. The Horse People said that they had never been to the sea since the route was blocked by the Snake People. They suggested going to the Bow People (Gens de l'Arc, guesses are Pawnee, Cheyenne and western Sioux) who were the only tribe brave enough to fight the Snakes. They marched southwest meeting the Gens de la Belle-Riviere (possibly the Belle Fourche River
) and reached the Bow People on 21 November. (Note the large number of different tribes met in the period 9 to 21 November. Perhaps they had left the Badlands.)
The Bow people had many horses and lodges large enough to hold the Frenchmen's baggage. The French quickly learned a bit of their language, implying that it was Algonquian like Cheyenne and therefore similar to the Cree that they already knew. The Bow chief said he knew of the Spanish from captives and could repeat a few words of their language. He said these 'French who are at the sea coast' had many slaves who were happy and did not run away. They had officers and priests and used horses to work the land. The Bow People also mentioned the destruction of the Villasur expedition
twenty years before. There were many people in camp since the Bows were gathering to fight the Snakes who were in the "great mountains near the sea". The tribe continued moving, sometimes south-southwest and sometimes northwest, gathering more warriors as they went. Soon there were over 2,000 warriors and their families. On the first of January, 1743 the French had their first sight of the mountains. The Bows left the women and children in camp and moved toward the enemy. François stayed behind to guard the baggage (January 9th) while Louis-Joseph and the two other Frenchmen accompanied the warriors. On the 'twelfth day' they reached the mountains, which were described as thickly-wooded and apparently very high. (This and the distances involved imply the Big Horns rather than the Black Hills.) Scouts returned and reported that they had found a Snake village which had been hastily abandoned. This caused consternation since many assumed that the Snakes had detected them and had left to attack their camp while the warriors were away. The chief tried to stop them but most headed for the camp to protect their women and children. The entire war party broke up and Louis-Joseph had no choice but to follow. Louis-Joseph says that he reached the Bow village 'on February 9th, the second day of our return journey'. It is difficult to explain this discrepancy in time. There was no further sign of the Snake People.
On 19 March they were back on the Missouri River at Pierre, South Dakota
. His journal does not mention passing the Black Hills which is hard to explain if he really was at the Big Horn Mountains. At some point they had acquired horses which may explain their rapid journey. Here they stayed with the Gens de la Petite Cerise (Little Cherry People, possibly Chokecherry
People. A common guess is Arikaras but their language was easy to learn, implying Algonquian or Souian). Here they met a man who had been brought up among the Spanish who said that they were twenty days away on horseback, but the journey was dangerous because of the Snakes. At Pierre they buried a lead plate which was discovered in 1913 (see below). They left Pierre on 2 April and reached the Mandans on 18 May. Their journal says nothing about the Missouri River although they were travelling parallel to it. On the 27th they joined a party of about 100 Assiniboines who were going to Fort La Reine. They met a Sioux war party which quickly withdrew because of the many Assiniboines and the French guns. They reached Fort La Reine on 2 July 1743.
Since they had not found a route to the Pacific nor a source of furs, their journey was not followed up.
Problems: In 1851 the Vérendrye journals were found in the French archives by Pierre Margry. The second journal describes the journey of "the Chevalier de la Vérendrye and one of his brothers" who are otherwise unnamed. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography gives some evidence for Louis-Joseph as the Chevalier and François for the brother. This is followed here. Hubert Smith reverses the two brothers but offers no evidence. Burpee has Pierre as the Chevalier, which is probably a bad guess. Other writers are careful to say Vérendrye's sons without being specific.
All the tribal names are guesses. Most writers think that the brothers reached the Big Horn Mountains, but there nothing that would absolutely exclude the Black Hills. The Mandan village was at one of the points where the Missouri flows south and somewhat west. The elder Verendrye gave its latitude as 48°12' which is about 10 miles north of any point of the Missouri. If the reading was not too inaccurate it implies a northern location. The New Town site seems to have been first suggested by Libby in 1916. Hubert Smith thought that the Mandans were not that far north at the time and tentatively suggested a site near Bismarck. We will probably never know, but the New Town location is as good as any.
The lead plate is six by eight inches and similar to ones placed in the Ohio valley. The front has a die-stamped Latin inscription referring to Louis XV, Pierre La Verendrye [either father or son] and the year 1741. On the back is hastily scratched "Placed by Chevalier de Lave; [garbled] Louis la Londette, A Miotte; 30 March 1743". Londette and Miotte are probably the two other Frenchmen who are otherwise undocumented. The garbled part was first read as "t b St" for Toussaint, assumed to be the first name of Londette. Hubert Smith read "Lo Jost" for Louis-Joseph. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography has "tblt" for Tremblet or Trembey, part of François' name.
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
fur trade
North American Fur Trade
The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, exchange, and sale of animal furs in the North American continent. Indigenous peoples of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning...
r and explorer who took part in extending these activities westerly from the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
during the eighteenth century, an enterprise for which he and other members of his family were largely responsible. He was the youngest, but perhaps the most significant son of Pierre La Vérendrye.
Louis-Joseph joined the family business in 1735, travelling west from his home with his father.
He assisted in re-establishing Fort Maurepas in 1736 and building Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine was built in 1738, one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River where present day Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, stands, the...
in 1738. From Ft. La Reine, he and his father travelled to Mandan country later that same year. In 1739 and 1740, he went north from Fort La Reine and explored Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
, Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba is Canada's thirteenth largest lake and the world's 33rd largest freshwater lake. It is in central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which is named after the lake...
, Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake...
and the Saskatchewan River
Saskatchewan River
The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...
as far as the area of the present day The Pas.
In 1742, he and his brother François
François de La Vérendrye
François de La Vérendrye was the third son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye. He was born at Sorel, New France in 1715 and was active in his father's trade activities from Fort Kaministiquia to the North Saskatchewan River.In 1738 he was part of his father's expedition to Mandan...
, along with two other Frenchmen, returned to the west. They journeyed southwest as far as, probably, the Big Horn Mountains
Big Horn Mountains
The Big Horn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately 200 miles northward on the Great Plains...
. On January 1, 1743, they saw the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Their return journey took them through present day Fort Pierre, South Dakota
Fort Pierre, South Dakota
Fort Pierre is a city in Stanley County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Pierre, South Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,078 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stanley County. Lily Park, in Fort Pierre, is situated at the mouth of the Bad River. The...
where they buried a lead plaque. This plaque was unearthed in 1913 and is an important artifact of the exploration of the western prairies.
By late 1743, Louis-Joseph's father, Pierre La Vérendrye, was forced to resign as commandant of the poste de l’Ouest. The new commandant, Nicolas-Joseph de Noyelles de Fleurimont
Nicolas-Joseph de Noyelles de Fleurimont
Nicolas-Joseph de Noyelles originally resided in Rochefort, France but came to New France in 1710 to begin his military career as an ensign in the regular colonial troops. He married in 1718 and, because of a strong family friendship with Governor Charles de Beauharnois, he received favorable...
, retained the services of La Vérendrye’s sons during his tenure, which began in 1744. Louis-Joseph was post commander at three posts, the most important one being Fort Kaministiquia
Fort Kaministiquia
Fort Camanistigoyan, now standardized as Fort Kaministiquia, located at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River on Lake Superior in what is now northwestern Ontario, Canada, was established in 1717 by Zacharie Robutel de la Noue following the restoration of the system of trading permits by...
.
The elder La Vérendrye again became western commandant in 1747, while Louis-Joseph returned to New France with Noyelles. He provided services to both Noyelles and Governor Beauharnois
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois was a French Naval officer who served as Governor of New France from 1726 to 1746.Charles had two brothers who also impacted the history of New France...
while expecting and intending to rejoin his father at the western posts. Before he made that return, his father returned east and died in 1749.
Louis-Joseph spent the next while settling his father's financial affairs, and subsequently entered into partnership with Luc de la Corne
Luc de la Corne
Luc de la Corne, also known as Saint Luc, was the son of Jean-Louis de La Corne and the brother of Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne. As in the case of most of his contemporaries, he was an officer in the colonial regular troops. He had a varied and courageous military career which earned...
, in the fur trade. His brother François
François de La Vérendrye
François de La Vérendrye was the third son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye. He was born at Sorel, New France in 1715 and was active in his father's trade activities from Fort Kaministiquia to the North Saskatchewan River.In 1738 he was part of his father's expedition to Mandan...
was an interpreter for the partnership.
In 1756, Louis-Joseph obtained a three-year appointment as commandant of the poste de l’Ouest. He carried out this enterprise through agents, as he was personally involved in military matters during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. He was succeeded as western commander in 1758, by Charles-René Dejordy de Villebon
Charles-René Dejordy de Villebon
Charles-Rene Dejordy de Villebon was from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec. He was a military man, joining the colonial regular troops as a cadet. By 1749 he had been promoted second ensign and was sent as second in command to a post in Baie-des-Puants, Wisconsin...
.
He died while returning to France, when the ship, Auguste
Auguste (ship)
Auguste was a full rigged sailing ship which sank at Aspy Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1761 while carrying exiles from the fall of New France. Auguste was a former French privateer ship which had been captured by the British and converted to a merchant ship...
sank at sea.
The Verendrye brothers journey to the Rocky Mountains
Big Horn Mountains
The Big Horn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately 200 miles northward on the Great Plains...
but they may have been only the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
. Some older writers have placed him as far west as Montana. The Mandan village was probably near New Town, North Dakota
New Town, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,367 people, 488 households, and 318 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.6 people per square mile . There were 512 housing units at an average density of 760.9 per square mile...
at the former Verendrye National Monument
Verendrye National Monument
Verendrye National Monument was a federally protected area in the U.S. state of North Dakota from 1917 to 1956. In the latter year it was withdrawn as a national monument. It is located in southwestern Mountrail County, west of the city of New Town...
. There is even some doubt about which of the Vérendrye brothers made the journey since they are not clearly distinguished in the original documents.
In 1738 the elder La Vérendrye visited the Mandan village and left two men to learn the language. Next year they reported back that every summer the Horse People (Gens du Chevaux) visited the Mandans to trade. The Horse People said that they knew of white men to the west who lived in stone houses and prayed to the Master of Life while holding what looked like husks of corn (books). In 1740 he sent is son Pierre to the Mandans to contact the Horse People. They did not arrive and Pierre returned in 1741.
On 29 April 1742 the Chevalier La Vérendrye and his brother (most likely Louis-Joseph and François) and two other Frenchmen left Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine
Fort La Reine was built in 1738, one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River where present day Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, stands, the...
and reached the Mandan village on 19 May. There he waited for two months for the Horse People. When they didn't show up, he found two Mandan guides and marched, apparently on foot, for twenty days west southwest seeing many animals but no people. He describes multi-colored soils, which implies he was in the Badlands along the Little Missouri River (North Dakota)
Little Missouri River (North Dakota)
The Little Missouri River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 560 mi long, in the northern Great Plains of the United States. Rising in northeastern Wyoming, in western Crook County about west of Devil's Tower, it flows northeastward, across a corner of southeastern Montana, and into South Dakota...
. By 11 August they reached the 'Mountain of the Horse People' (possibly White Butte
White Butte
White Butte is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of North Dakota. At an elevation of 3,506 ft , it is a prominent butte in Slope County, in the Badlands of the southwestern part of the state....
). The guides would go no further so they stopped and built a camp and lit signal fires. On 14 September they met the Handsome People (Beaux Hommes, perhaps Crow or Blackfeet) and stayed with them for 21 days. They then headed south southwest meeting the Little Foxes (Petits Renards, possibly a branch of the Cheyennes) and then the 'Pioya' (Kiowa?). On 19 November they reached the Horse People. These were in a state of desolation because all their villages had been destroyed by the Snake People (Gens du Serpent, either Shoshones or a general term for enemy). The Snake People had destroyed seventeen villages, killed the men and old women and taken the young women to be sold on the seacoast. The Horse People said that they had never been to the sea since the route was blocked by the Snake People. They suggested going to the Bow People (Gens de l'Arc, guesses are Pawnee, Cheyenne and western Sioux) who were the only tribe brave enough to fight the Snakes. They marched southwest meeting the Gens de la Belle-Riviere (possibly the Belle Fourche River
Belle Fourche River
The Belle Fourche River is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is part of the Mississippi River watershed via the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers....
) and reached the Bow People on 21 November. (Note the large number of different tribes met in the period 9 to 21 November. Perhaps they had left the Badlands.)
The Bow people had many horses and lodges large enough to hold the Frenchmen's baggage. The French quickly learned a bit of their language, implying that it was Algonquian like Cheyenne and therefore similar to the Cree that they already knew. The Bow chief said he knew of the Spanish from captives and could repeat a few words of their language. He said these 'French who are at the sea coast' had many slaves who were happy and did not run away. They had officers and priests and used horses to work the land. The Bow People also mentioned the destruction of the Villasur expedition
Villasur expedition
The Villasur expedition of 1720 was a Spanish military expedition intended to check the growing French presence on the Great Plains of central North America...
twenty years before. There were many people in camp since the Bows were gathering to fight the Snakes who were in the "great mountains near the sea". The tribe continued moving, sometimes south-southwest and sometimes northwest, gathering more warriors as they went. Soon there were over 2,000 warriors and their families. On the first of January, 1743 the French had their first sight of the mountains. The Bows left the women and children in camp and moved toward the enemy. François stayed behind to guard the baggage (January 9th) while Louis-Joseph and the two other Frenchmen accompanied the warriors. On the 'twelfth day' they reached the mountains, which were described as thickly-wooded and apparently very high. (This and the distances involved imply the Big Horns rather than the Black Hills.) Scouts returned and reported that they had found a Snake village which had been hastily abandoned. This caused consternation since many assumed that the Snakes had detected them and had left to attack their camp while the warriors were away. The chief tried to stop them but most headed for the camp to protect their women and children. The entire war party broke up and Louis-Joseph had no choice but to follow. Louis-Joseph says that he reached the Bow village 'on February 9th, the second day of our return journey'. It is difficult to explain this discrepancy in time. There was no further sign of the Snake People.
On 19 March they were back on the Missouri River at Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
. His journal does not mention passing the Black Hills which is hard to explain if he really was at the Big Horn Mountains. At some point they had acquired horses which may explain their rapid journey. Here they stayed with the Gens de la Petite Cerise (Little Cherry People, possibly Chokecherry
Chokecherry
Prunus virginiana, commonly called chokecherry, bitter-berry, or Virginia bird cherry, is a species of bird cherry native to North America, where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the Deep South and the far north.-Growth:It is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall...
People. A common guess is Arikaras but their language was easy to learn, implying Algonquian or Souian). Here they met a man who had been brought up among the Spanish who said that they were twenty days away on horseback, but the journey was dangerous because of the Snakes. At Pierre they buried a lead plate which was discovered in 1913 (see below). They left Pierre on 2 April and reached the Mandans on 18 May. Their journal says nothing about the Missouri River although they were travelling parallel to it. On the 27th they joined a party of about 100 Assiniboines who were going to Fort La Reine. They met a Sioux war party which quickly withdrew because of the many Assiniboines and the French guns. They reached Fort La Reine on 2 July 1743.
Since they had not found a route to the Pacific nor a source of furs, their journey was not followed up.
Problems: In 1851 the Vérendrye journals were found in the French archives by Pierre Margry. The second journal describes the journey of "the Chevalier de la Vérendrye and one of his brothers" who are otherwise unnamed. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography gives some evidence for Louis-Joseph as the Chevalier and François for the brother. This is followed here. Hubert Smith reverses the two brothers but offers no evidence. Burpee has Pierre as the Chevalier, which is probably a bad guess. Other writers are careful to say Vérendrye's sons without being specific.
All the tribal names are guesses. Most writers think that the brothers reached the Big Horn Mountains, but there nothing that would absolutely exclude the Black Hills. The Mandan village was at one of the points where the Missouri flows south and somewhat west. The elder Verendrye gave its latitude as 48°12' which is about 10 miles north of any point of the Missouri. If the reading was not too inaccurate it implies a northern location. The New Town site seems to have been first suggested by Libby in 1916. Hubert Smith thought that the Mandans were not that far north at the time and tentatively suggested a site near Bismarck. We will probably never know, but the New Town location is as good as any.
The lead plate is six by eight inches and similar to ones placed in the Ohio valley. The front has a die-stamped Latin inscription referring to Louis XV, Pierre La Verendrye [either father or son] and the year 1741. On the back is hastily scratched "Placed by Chevalier de Lave; [garbled] Louis la Londette, A Miotte; 30 March 1743". Londette and Miotte are probably the two other Frenchmen who are otherwise undocumented. The garbled part was first read as "t b St" for Toussaint, assumed to be the first name of Londette. Hubert Smith read "Lo Jost" for Louis-Joseph. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography has "tblt" for Tremblet or Trembey, part of François' name.
See also
- Sons of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer. In the 1730s he and his four sons opened up the area west of Lake Superior and thus began the process that added Western Canada to the original New France in the Saint Lawrence basin...
:- Jean Baptiste de La VérendryeJean Baptiste de La VérendryeJean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
(b. 1713) - Pierre Gaultier de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois was the second son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye...
(b. 1714) - François de La VérendryeFrançois de La VérendryeFrançois de La Vérendrye was the third son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye. He was born at Sorel, New France in 1715 and was active in his father's trade activities from Fort Kaministiquia to the North Saskatchewan River.In 1738 he was part of his father's expedition to Mandan...
(b. 1715) - Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (b. 1717)
- Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye