Marie-Angélique Cuillerier dite Beaubien

http://www.wmich.edu/fortstjoseph/docs/women-of-new-france.pdf

"The Benefits of a Good Wife When the British arrived at Detroit and in the Great Lakes in 1760, after their victory in the French and Indian War (Seven Years War), they had to fit themselves into a French and Native world in order to succeed politically and economically. Marrying local women from wealthy merchant families helped them do so. Marie Angelique Cuillerier was one of these rich young women. She was the niece of the last French commandant of Detroit and her father had a close relationship with local Native groups. Within a few years after the British had taken control of the fort at Detroit, Marie Angelique’s father Antoine had helped the Ottawa leader Pontiac make plans to take the fort back from the British. Pontiac’s plan to lay siege to the fort was foiled in advance, but it was rumored that if he had succeeded, Antoine Cuillerier would have become Detroit’s commandant. In 1761, Superintendent of Northern Indian Affairs William Johnson came to Detroit to assess the attitude of the Native nations of the Upper Country to the British and to hold conferences with them. He kept a diary of his trip as he traveled from his home among the Mohawk in New York to Detroit and recorded his activities and impressions. He participated in the round of social events at Detroit and at a ball held in his honor, he met and danced with Marie Angelique Cuillerier. William was so taken with her that he later began a correspondence with Marie Angelique. However, William Johnson would not be the only man who would express an interest in Marie Angelique. That same year, the merchant James Sterling arrived in Detroit to engage in the Indian trade. He had left a profitable business at Niagara and expected to enjoy immediate success at Detroit, but soon met with disappointment. Sterling spent his first few years at Detroit trying to gauge the tastes of his French and Native clientele. The wife of one of his business partners back East sent down her used clothing, thinking the local French women at Detroit would eagerly buy them. Sterling sent the clothes back each time, saying the French women viewed them as unfashionable. Sterling lacked the family contacts that the French merchants had, which stretched across the Upper Country into other French and Native communities, and this cost him dearly. Although he could speak and write French, Sterling was forced to pay for an Indian language interpreter—a Mohawk man who could speak English, French, and other Native languages. Sterling also needed extra money to buy a furnished home on a street in the fort that was in a desirable location for trade. When purchasing the house proved too expensive, he rented instead, and had to pay what he considered an exorbitant rate. After Sterling married Marie Angelique Cuillerier his luck suddenly changed and he began to succeed in trade at Detroit. He no longer competed with the rich French families for trade because he had joined them! In a letter to a friend written after his marriage, he reported that Marie Angelique’s skills and talents led to his success in the Indian trade. He described Marie Angelique as prudent, smart, an experienced businesswoman, and the best interpreter of Indian languages at Detroit. Moreover, the Indians greatly respected her family. Once they were married, Marie Angelique’s father Antoine offered to take James Sterling to the different posts in the Great Lakes to sell his goods. Antoine also gave his new son-in-law houses at Fort Detroit, money, and furs. The Indians flocked to Sterling’s house and told him that they did not want to trade with anyone else but him. His marriage to Marie Angelique allowed Sterling to eliminate the costs of an interpreter, the rent on his house in the fort, and the need to hire agents to transport his goods to the other posts in the Great Lakes. His marriage partner was also his trade partner, and she was very knowledgeable about the local economy at Detroit. Marie Angelique’s skills and experience in the fur trade and her family connections made the difference between failure and success for her British husband."

from:  Women of New France Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project Booklet Series, No. 1 Department of Anthropology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5306

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