111:, which was in direct violation of the Hudson Bay Company's monopoly. In 1849, Chief Factor John Ballenden arrested Sayer, André Goulet, Hector McGinnis, and Norbert Larond of Grantown as they were about to leave on a trading trip to Lake Manitoba. They were brought to trial before the General Quarterly Court of Assiniboia on May 17, 1849.
126:, under immense pressure from the presence of numerous armed MĂ©tis, levied no fine or punishment. The MĂ©tis cried, "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.
34:. He `was arrested and tried in 1849 for independent trading. Although he was convicted, the judge levied no fine or punishment. Effectively the HBC could no longer use the courts to enforce its monopoly in the Red River region. It gave up its ownership of
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On the day of the trial, a crowd of armed MĂ©tis men gathered outside the courtroom, ready to support their MĂ©tis brother. They demanded that Sayer be tried by a jury of his own choosing and to be allowed to take fellow MĂ©tis into the court with him.
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1779 appears in the
Manitoba census of 1834 and in the update of 1835. However, it seems to be a copyist error as the name above lacks its date, which is given to Pierre instead. The error is corrected in the formal census of
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1801 is from the fact that when he enlisted with the Hudson Bay
Company in 1828, he stated that he was 27 years old. That is shown on the Servants List of 1828 and gives him 1801 as the year of his birth.
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wife, on March 2, 1835, at St. Francois Xavier. Josephte, who was born around 1795 to 1807, was baptized the same day as the wedding. She and Sayer had eight sons and four daughters together.
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1803 is found on the censuses of 1833 and 1838. Pierre’s grandson, Alexander Henry Sayer, also stated that his grandfather was about 14 years old when he enlisted as a voyager in 1818.
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On March 2, 1835, according to the St. Francois Xavier
Catholic Church marriage records, Sayer married Josephte Frobisher, the elder daughter of fur trader Alexander Frobisher and his
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in the Swan River
District and then stayed on as a Steersman from 1829 to 1832. In 1832, he was freed from his service in the Hudson Bay Company and moved to Grantown, near the
248:
Goulet, George R.D. and Terry Goulet. “Free Trade and the Sayer Trial” in The Métis: Memorable Events and
Memorable Personalities. Calgary: FabJob Inc., 2006: 101-108.
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In 1870 the trade monopoly was finally abolished, and trade in the region was opened to any entrepreneur. The company had earlier relinquished its ownership of
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from 1818 to 1821, the year of the union of the North West and Hudson Bay companies. From 1828 to 1829, he worked for the Hudson Bay
Company as a Bowsman at
270:
Stanley, Della M. M. “Pierre-Guillaume Sayer.” Dictionary of
Canadian Biography, Vol. VII (1836-1850). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988: 776-777.
232:
157:, who had started the mission and became its first parish priest in 1864, officiated. The witnesses were Baptiste Lavallée and Pierre Chartrand.
153:, Pierre Guillaume died on August 7, 1868, at the age of 75. He was buried at St. Laurent the next day, August 8, 1868. Father Laurent Simonet
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Stubbs, Roy St. George. “Adam Thom” in Four
Recorders of Rupert’s Land. Winnipeg: Peguis Publishers, 1967: 1-47.
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with the McTavish, McGillivray & Company on April 7, 1818, as was registered by the notary J.-G. Beek at
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Sayer was born
October 18, 1799, "he natural son of John Sayer of the parish of Sainte Anne," and an
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Sayer's birth year is documented as variously between 1779 and 1807 in different original sources.
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http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/14587.Sayer,%20Pierre%20Guillaume%20(b.%201803).pdf
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Public
Archives of Manitoba St. François Xavier Catholic Church marriage record, M 15 page 21
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According to the Hudson Bay Archives, Pierre Guillaume worked for the North West Company at
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Although Sayer was allowed to select a jury of his own, he was still found guilty. Judge
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1793 is the date given in the registry of his death and burial at St. Laurent, Manitoba.
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27:(HBC) of the fur trade in the Red River region. Ultimately this led to its end.
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1796 is given on the census of 1849, the year in which he was tried in court.
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73:. The contract is preserved in the Archives Nationales du Quebec.
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in 1868, and the monopoly was officially ended in 1870.
69:. He was hired to work in the areas controlled by the
54:, indicate that he was baptized on July 21, 1815.
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19:(October 18, 1799 – August 7, 1868) was a
262:. Vol. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.).
23:fur trader who challenged the monopoly of the
30:After leaving the HBC, Sayer moved near the
185:1807 is from the censuses in 1835 and 1843.
276:Western Law Times, Vol. 2, 1891: 12-15.
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149:According to the church records at
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256:. In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.).
114:Sayer was backed by MĂ©tis leader
259:Dictionary of Canadian Biography
229:Encyclopedia of the Great Plains
50:woman, Marguerite. Records from
225:"Pierre-Guillaume Sayer Trial"
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315:People from Red River Colony
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264:University of Toronto Press
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331:
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103:Sayer had been trading to
254:"Sayer, Pierre Guillaume"
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63:Ste Anne, Bout de l'Isle
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135:Rupert's Land Act 1868
17:Pierre Guillaume Sayer
300:Canadian MĂ©tis people
252:Morton, W.L. (1988).
151:St. Laurent, Manitoba
109:Pembina, North Dakota
65:, in the west of the
52:Pointe-Claire, Quebec
290:Canadian fur traders
211:Barkwell, Lawrence.
86:Red River Settlement
57:Sayer enlisted as a
32:Red River Settlement
25:Hudson's Bay Company
139:Canadian Parliament
71:North West Company
67:Island of Montreal
305:MĂ©tis fur traders
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233:David J. Wishart
223:Regehr, Ted D.,
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78:Cumberland House
59:coureur des bois
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137:enacted by the
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310:1799 births
295:1868 deaths
161:Birth dates
284:Categories
190:References
145:Later life
133:under the
82:Fort Pelly
124:Adam Thom
107:, now in
243:Sources
48:Ojibway
235:, ed.
170:1835.
99:Trial
21:MĂ©tis
93:Cree
42:Life
155:OMI
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88:.
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