One Joseph, Five Names
Joseph Frédéric dit Despard was never lost. He was divided — between two index headings, between two Despard brothers, and between two grooms who shared a wedding day.
This page sets out the evidence behind the case study: which records establish which facts, how the figures in two North West Company volumes were made to agree, how the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ages were held against a Québec baptism, and how the land-claim file and the censuses close the circle in Oregon. Company account books, database cards and pages of the published register edition are not reproduced; what they record is transcribed in tables, each tied to its volume, folio, entry or record number.
This study grew out of Two Families the Trees Merged, which separates Joseph Delard and his Shuswap wife from the Despard couple married the same day. Separating two families properly means knowing both men. Joseph Delard’s fur-trade career is set out in The Steersman’s Ledger; this page does the same work for the other groom.
The Central Problem This Case Addresses
The M5 groom of 21 January 1839 is plainly identified in the register: Joseph Despard, of Saint-Hyacinthe, husband of Lisette, a Chinook woman, father of four children legitimized that day. The difficulty lies in everything compiled since. The published register’s index files the family under two headings, “Joseph” and “Joseph Frederic,” with different life dates. A widely used compilation of Oregon’s French-Canadian pioneers gives him a different father and a birth four years later than the Company’s ages allow. Online trees attach him, or his wife’s family, to Joseph Delard’s Shuswap wife.
The question is therefore one of identity in both directions: whether the Hudson’s Bay Company’s “Joseph Frederick Despard” of Yamaska, the M5 groom, the index’s “Joseph Frederic,” and the French Prairie land claimant are one man — and which Despard household in Québec he came from.
Start from the register, and read the index as a finding aid
Marriage M5 and the bride’s baptism B27 were read in full in the published edition of the Willamette register (Munnick). The groom is “of Saint-Hyacinthe, District of Montreal”; the bride is of the Tchinouke (Chinook); the children are Joseph (12), Marie Anne (5), Rose (3) and Marguerite (one year old the following April). The index’s two Despard headings — one for the husband of the Chinook Lisette, one for a “Joseph Frederic” with a fur-trade biography — were treated as a hypothesis to be tested, not a finding.
Reconstitute the Québec family before choosing a Joseph
The Despard name in Québec descends from Jean Georges Despar, recorded as born in Hungary. Two Despard men married two Jambard women at Rivière-Ouelle — Jean-Félix Frédéric to Marie Judith Jambard in 1787, and Alexandre to Marie Anastasie Jambard in 1793 — so any Joseph Despard of the right age had to be placed in the right household before anything else was attached to him.
The family of Jean-Félix Frédéric and Marie Judith Jambard (PRDH family #83561) contains one Joseph: Joseph Toussaint, born 5 May and baptized 6 May 1793 at Rivière-Ouelle. The register entry was read directly. No Québec marriage or burial follows for him. The family moved with the father’s labouring work — children baptized at Rivière-Ouelle, Saint-André and L’Isle-Verte — and was at Saint-Hyacinthe, on the Yamaska River, from 1801. Both parents’ burial entries were read; neither names an absent son, which is usual.
Read the North West Company books, and make the figures agree
The Hudson’s Bay Company Archives’ name index to the North West Company account books lists “Despard, Joseph” in three volumes: the 1816 ledger (F.4/32, folio 266), the 1820 English River equipment book (F.4/21), and the 1819–1821 servants’ accounts (F.4/36). The two volumes in hand were read against each other. The equipment book opens his account at 192 livres 12 sols and carries him to 241 at Fort William; the servants’ accounts open his 1820 account with a balance of 192.12 and charge him 241 for sundries at Fort William. The same account appears in two books, and the figures agree exactly. The servants’ accounts add that he wintered at Green Lake, in the English River department, at wages of 400 livres — the figure the 1821 dissolution balances (F.4/47) give him, under the district code “E.R.”
Two further volumes were searched. An 1814 Lake Nipissing outfit (F.4/5) pays a Joseph Despard as a middleman, two years before the Company biography’s 1816 entry date; it names him only, and is held as Suggestive. The 1821 Columbia advances (F.4/45) do not name him, consistent with his being in English River that year.
Hold the Company’s ages against the baptism
The Hudson’s Bay Company’s Northern Department abstracts of servants’ accounts (B.239/g) record age, parish and years of service each outfit. Four volumes have been read for him. In 1821 the first abstract writes him “Jos. Fréd.” at Île-à-la-Crosse, wages 400. In 1824 he is aged 31, of Yamaska, a middleman with nine years’ service, in the Columbia — on the line directly below Joseph Deslard of Sorel. In 1826 he is “Joseph Fréd.,” 33, eleven years. In 1834 he is 41, of Yamaska.
Every age points to a birth in 1793 — the year of Joseph Toussaint’s baptism. The parish, Yamaska, names the river on which Saint-Hyacinthe stands. And the abstract twice writes on his own line the name the family carried as a surname: Frédéric.
Tie the Company man to the Oregon household
The Company biography moves him from middleman to trapper and settler on the Willamette by 1837. The donation land claim file (#766) carries the identification forward. Joseph Despard, who signed by mark, swore he had lived on and cultivated his land south of the Willamette since 25 December 1831; that his wife Lisette had died in April 1851; and the certificate of 1868 gave the south half of the claim to “the heirs at law of Lisette Despard his late wife, deceased.” The published register records the Chinook Lisette, wife of Joseph Despard, dying at St. Paul on 27 April 1851.
The censuses close the circle. In 1850 Joseph Despart, 58, lives with Lizette, 40, and with Joseph (23) and Marguerite (13) — two of the M5 children. In 1870 “Jos. Despard,” 81, lives with Mary A. McKay, 38 — the M5 daughter Marie Anne — and her children by three marriages. The husband of the Chinook Lisette, the claimant, and the Company’s Joseph Frédéric of Yamaska are one man.
Weigh the conflicts, and name the limits
Three discrepancies were examined rather than smoothed. His birth year drifts from 1793 in the Company’s books to 1790 by his own oath and 1788 in the compiled index — the same upward drift seen in Joseph Delard’s Oregon ages. His marriage is dated January 1849 in the land-claim papers; the register’s 21 January 1839 governs, and the witness’s statement answers how long he had known them as man and wife. His parish is Rivière-Ouelle at baptism, Saint-Hyacinthe at marriage, Yamaska in the Company’s books and Montreal in a compiled database — birthplace, home parish, river district and civil district respectively, not four origins.
The limits are stated in the Source Inventory: his 1816 ledger account is requested and not yet seen; eleven Company abstracts remain to be read for him; and neither his 1875 burial nor any later record of his daughter Rose has been found beyond compiled sources.
Every source cited in the case study, with transcriptions and analytical notes. Hudson’s Bay Company Archives plates, PRDH database cards and pages of the published register edition are not reproduced; the facts they record are set out in transcription tables, each tied to its volume, folio, entry or record number.
The Baptism of Joseph Toussaint DesparPrimary
| Child | Joseph Toussaint |
| Born | 5 May 1793 — “d’hier,” the day before the baptism |
| Parents | Jean Frédéric Despar and Marie Judith Jambard, of this parish; legitimate son |
| Godparents | Joseph Bérubé; Marie Théotiste [?] Jambard, wife of Joseph Lévesque |
| Father | Absent |
| Officiant | Bernard Panet, curé |
The anchor record. The Company’s abstracts give him age 31 in outfit 1824 and 33 in 1826: a birth in 1793, exactly. The father’s forename is written Jean Frédéric here; other entries give Jean-Félix, and his own burial gives Jean Philippe — one man, identified throughout by his wife.
One Joseph in the FamilyPrimary
| Child | Baptized | Later record |
|---|---|---|
| Jean-Félix | 1788 | Died 1788 |
| Jean-Félix | 1789 | Married 1818, Saint-Hyacinthe (M.-M. Biron) |
| Pierre | 1791 | Married 1814, Saint-Hyacinthe (A. Dussault); died 1832 |
| Joseph Toussaint | 1793, Rivière-Ouelle | No Québec marriage or burial |
| François | 1794, Saint-André | — |
| Marie Judith; Marie Rosalie | 1796, L’Isle-Verte | — |
| A child | 1798, L’Isle-Verte | See the 1798 baptism below |
| Marguerite | 1801, Saint-Hyacinthe | — |
| Louise; Madeleine; Marie Julie | 1804; 1808; 1809 | — |
| Théophile Frédéric | — | Married at Saint-Hyacinthe (Marie Daniel) |
The family follows the father’s work down the south shore and then settles at Saint-Hyacinthe from 1801. That is the parish M5 gives the groom. Saint-Hyacinthe stands on the Yamaska River, which is what the Company’s clerks wrote as his parish.
Gaspard and Bordes — The Name at Its Furthest DriftPrimary
| Child | Théophile (forename from the civil copy), baptized conditionally |
| Father | “Frederic Gaspard,” labourer |
| Mother | Marie Judith Bordes |
Despar becomes Gaspard; Jambard dit Barbe becomes Bordes. The father is again identified as Frédéric. A researcher who searches only “Despard” will not find this child.
Where the Compiled Parentage Went WrongAnalysis
| Element | Joseph’s parents | The compilation’s parents |
|---|---|---|
| Husband | Jean-Félix Frédéric Despar | Alexandre Frédéric/Despard |
| Wife | Marie Judith Jambard | Marie Anastasie Jambard |
| Married | 22 October 1787, Rivière-Ouelle | 1793 |
| Joseph born | 5 May 1793 (baptism B-44) | 24 October 1797 (as compiled) |
| Age in outfit 1824 | 31 — matches the Company’s 31 | 26 — does not |
The compilation correctly has him “said to be from Yamaska” and of Hungarian descent, but attaches him to the wrong brother’s household. Whatever Alexandre’s family contained, a Joseph born in 1797 cannot be the Company’s middleman of 31 in 1824. The two brothers are both recorded in PRDH family #55324, the 1779 Rivière-Ouelle marriage of Jean Baptiste George Despart and Marie Angélique Périllard. Jean-Félix’s 1765 birth at Louiseville comes before that marriage, so whether Périllard was his mother or his stepmother is left open (see Open Research Questions). The identification of Joseph’s own parents does not depend on it.
The Parents’ BurialsPrimary
| Element | Father | Mother |
|---|---|---|
| Name in entry | Jean Philippe Despar | Judith Jean-Barbe |
| Spouse named | Husband of Judithe Jambard, of this parish | Widow of Jean Félix Despart |
| Died | 17 November 1843 | 6 July 1861 |
| Buried | 19 November 1843, Saint-Hyacinthe (Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire) | 8 July 1861, Saint-Dominique, Bagot County |
| Stated age | 81 | “cent ans” |
| Officiant | L. Turcot, priest | F. Rafour [?], priest |
The father’s forename changes again, but his wife and his parish identify him; PRDH links the burial to the same man. The mother’s hundred years is an inflation — she married in 1787. Neither entry mentions a son in the West, and none would be expected to.
One Account in Two Books — Reconciled to the SolCompany Accounts
| Entry | Livres |
|---|---|
| “Joseph Despard Dr.” — balance at head of account | 192.12 |
| Rum (pints, three entries); ¼ bag flour; blue cloth capot; fine cotton shirt; carrot of tobacco; rum | 141 |
| To order on the clerk | 100 |
| Subtotal at Fort William | 241 |
| To sundries — 2½ pints rum | 25 |
| Total | 266 |
| Pasted note: “Please advance Joseph Despard to the amount of Twenty Five Livres. A. Bethune, 19th July” | |
| Debit | Livres | Credit | Livres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1820, to balance | 192.12 | By wages | 400 |
| 3 Oct, to sundries at Fort William | 241 | By balance | 103.12 |
| To 1 pint rum | 24 [?] | ||
| To winter advances at Green Lake | 46 | ||
| Total | 503.12 | Total | 503.12 |
The equipment book’s opening 192.12 and its Fort William subtotal of 241 reappear, unchanged, as the first two debits in the servants’ accounts. Two volumes kept by different clerks for different purposes agree to the sol: this is one man’s account, and it places him in the English River department, wintering at Green Lake, at 400 livres a year. The figure “266” at the head of the equipment-book account is both the account’s total and the folio the index gives for his 1816 ledger account; which it refers to will be clear when that folio is seen.
The Merger Year — English River, Not the ColumbiaCompany Accounts
| Volume | Entry | Wages | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| F.4/47 | “Dispard Joseph” | 400 | E.R. (English River) |
| F.4/45 | Advances on account of Columbia, July–October 1821 | Not named | |
Wages of 400 livres are a middleman’s rate (Joseph Delard, an end man, stands at 600 in the same book). The district agrees with the servants’ accounts and with the first Hudson’s Bay Company abstract. The negative search of the Columbia advances is recorded because it bears on when he crossed the mountains: not before 1822.
A Joseph Despard in 1814Suggestive
| Date | Entry | Capacity | Livres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug 1814 | “Advanced the Men for L.N.” — Joseph Despard | Middleman (ditto) | 24 |
| 31 Oct 1814 | “Paid the Men from L.N. in full” — Joseph Despard | — | 87 [?] |
A Joseph Despard engaged as a middleman for a single season on a Montreal-side outfit, two years before the Company biography’s 1816 entry date. Joseph Toussaint would have been 21. The entry gives no age, parish or figure that carries into his later accounts, so it is held as Suggestive and does not form part of the proof.
The Ages Hold — and the Name Is on His Own LineCompany Accounts
| Volume | Outfit | Fo. | Name | Age | Parish | Yrs | Capacity · district |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g/1 | 1821–22 | 43 | Jos. Fréd. | — | — | — | Wages 400 · Île-à-la-Crosse |
| g/2–g/3 | 1822–24 | Not yet read for him | |||||
| g/4 | 1824–25 | 38 | Jos. | 31 | Yamaska | 9 | Middleman · Columbia |
| g/5 | 1825–26 | Not yet read — expected 32, 10 years | |||||
| g/6 | 1826–27 | 31 | Joseph Fréd. | 33 | Yamaska | 11 | Middleman |
| g/7–g/13 | 1827–34 | Not yet read for him | |||||
| g/14 | 1834–35 | 42 | Despard (given name to be read) | 41 | Yamaska | — | — |
| g/15–g/16 | 1835–37 | Not yet read for him | |||||
Every age read points to 1793, and age and service rise by two between 1824 and 1826, as they should. The volumes not yet read are named in the table, not skipped over. The Company’s biographical sheet for “Despard, Joseph Frederick” gives Yamaska, entry into service in 1816, middleman 1824–29 with Snake Country service, and trapper and settler on the Willamette 1837–42, citing B.239/g/1–22. The sheet is a finding aid; the abstracts are the evidence.
The Marriage of Joseph Despard and Lisette TchinoukeRegister Entry
| Groom | Joseph Despard, of Saint-Hyacinthe, District of Montreal; farmer of this place |
| Bride | Lisette, Tchinouke (Chinook) by nation; baptized the same day (B27) |
| Children legitimized | Joseph (12), Marie Anne (5), Rose (3), Marguerite (one year old the following 18 April) |
| Witnesses | Jean Baptiste Dupati, Pierre Stanislas Jacquet |
| Signatures | Spouses and witnesses could not sign |
| Officiant | F.N. Blanchet, priest |
The same day, priest and witnesses as Joseph Delard’s marriage, M15. The side-by-side comparison of the two entries is set out in the Two Families methodology.
Three Compiled Accounts, ComparedCompiled Sources
| Element | Munnick (annotation & index) | Early Oregonian | Gauthier | The records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Two headings: Joseph; Joseph Frederic | Joseph Frederic | Frédéric/Despard, Joseph | One man |
| Born | 1788 | 1794 (alt. 1788) | 24 Oct 1797 | 5 May 1793 |
| Origin | — | Montreal | “Said to be from Yamaska” | Rivière-Ouelle; Saint-Hyacinthe from 1801 |
| Parents | — | — | Alexandre & Marie-Anastasie Jambard | Jean-Félix Frédéric & Marie Judith Jambard |
| Fur trade | Long Company service; Ogden’s Snake expedition | Arrived 1822 | NWC 1816–21; HBC 1821–37 | NWC by 1820 (1814?); Columbia by 1824 |
| Died | 1875, buried old St. Paul cemetery | 11 May 1875, St. Paul | — | Burial entry not yet found |
Each compilation is right about something and wrong about something else. The index’s fur-trade biography belongs to the M5 groom; the compilation’s Yamaska origin is right and its parentage is not; the database’s death date is the only one given, but its sources are the annotation and a memorial website, so it is not independent evidence. Munnick dates the Snake Country service to 1825–26; the Company sheet gives 1826–27 and 1828–29. Abstract g/5 will settle it.
The Land Claim — His Wife, Her HeirsPrimary
| Document | Date | What it states |
|---|---|---|
| Notification (two forms) | 26 Aug 1852 | “Joseph Despard, a married man of Marion Co.” claims 640 acres beginning on the south bank of the Willamette — part of section 34, T3S R2W, and parts of sections 3 and 4, T4S R2W. Signed by mark; witness Jno. B. Preston. |
| Claimant’s affidavit | 26 Aug 1852 | White settler resident before 1 December 1850; naturalized by certificate of Abia S. Watt, clerk, U.S. District Court, Yamhill County, 13 October 1851; born in Canada, 1790; resided on and cultivated the land from 25 December 1831; married to Lisette Despard, his late wife, January 1849 (as written); she died April 1851. Signed by mark. |
| Witness: John B. Deguire | 26 Aug 1852 | Knew Joseph and Lisette Despard to live together as man and wife from 1849 to April 1851, the day of her death; residence and cultivation from 1 November 1838. |
| Witness: Stephen Lucier | 26 Aug 1852 | Residence and cultivation from 1 December 1831. Signed by mark. |
| Donation certificate 3166 | 31 Jan 1868 | Claim 63 (part section 34, T3S R2W) and Claim 41 (sections 3 and 10, T4S R2W), 637.26 acres; settlement from 1 November 1838; north half to Joseph Despard, south half to “the heirs at law of Lisette Despard his late wife, deceased”. Owen Wade, Register; Henry Warren, Receiver. |
| Tract books | — | T3S R2W p. 32 and T4S R2W p. 48: Joseph Despard and the heirs of his deceased wife; certificate 3166; patented 5 May 1873, vol. 9 p. 366. Neighbours: Lucier, Robert Ady, Robert Newell, D. Weston, Childers. |
| Patent | 5 May 1873 | Serial patent 3166 to Joseph Despard and the heirs of Lisette Despard; T3S R2W section 34; T4S R2W sections 3 and 10. |
| Township plat, T4S R2W | — | Claim of Joseph Despard south of the Willamette, between Peter Beligue and John Gearin and Robert Ady. |
The certificate is the decisive document: it divides the claim between Joseph and the heirs of his late wife, Lisette. Their heirs are the M5 children. The notification describes the claim before survey (sections 3 and 4); the certificate and patent describe it as surveyed (sections 3 and 10). The two settlement dates — 1831 sworn by the claimant and Lucier, 1838 by Deguire and the certificate — are different men’s knowledge, not a contradiction about the land.
Three Censuses, One Household LinePrimary
| Year | Place | Joseph | Household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | Marion Co., O.T., dwelling 80 | Joseph Despart, 58, farmer, real estate $3,000, Canada; cannot read or write | Lizette 40, Oregon; Joseph 23; Margerite 13; Mary 11; Victoire 8 |
| 1860 | Fairfield Pct., p. 288, dwelling 2882 | Jos Despard, 72, farm labourer, personal estate $125, Canada | In the household of F. Bernier |
| 1870 | Fairfield Pct., p. 114, dwelling 997 | Despard Jos, 81, Canada, citizen | Mary A. McKay 38, keeping house; Jos Rivet 21; John Gervais 14; Antoine McKay 10; Rosa McKay 7 |
In 1850, Joseph (12 in 1839) and Marguerite (about one in 1839) are where the M5 clause puts them; Mary and Victoire are not among the M5 children. In 1870 he lives with the M5 daughter Marie Anne, whose three marriages — Rivet, Gervais, McKay — account for the children’s surnames. His age climbs nine years in a decade and fourteen in two.
The Birth-Year ScatterAnalysis
| Source | Stated | Implied birth |
|---|---|---|
| Baptism B-44, Rivière-Ouelle | Born 5 May 1793 | 1793 |
| HBC abstracts g/4, g/6, g/14 | 31 (1824); 33 (1826); 41 (1834) | 1793 |
| 1850 census | 58 | c. 1792 |
| Early Oregonian | 1794 (alt. 1788) | 1794 |
| Land claim affidavit, 1852 | Born 1790 | 1790 |
| 1870 census | 81 | c. 1789 |
| 1860 census | 72 | c. 1788 |
| Munnick index | 1788–1875 | 1788 |
The Company recorded his age exactly; Oregon added years to it. The same pattern runs through Joseph Delard’s record, baptized in 1792 and buried “aged 80.” The index’s 1788 is the far end of the drift, not a second man.
1839 or 1849? The Marriage YearAnalysis
| Source | Date given | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Register, M5 | 21 January 1839 | Original record, made at the event by the officiating priest |
| Claimant’s affidavit | January 1849 | Made thirteen years later, by a man who could not read it; month agrees with M5 |
| Deguire’s affidavit | From 1849 | Answers how long the witness had known them as man and wife |
The land-claim papers read 1849. The register, made at the ceremony, reads 1839, and four children were legitimized that day; a son of 23 is in the 1850 household. The month agrees in both sources. The 1849 date is recorded as a discrepancy and not adopted.
6 May 1793
Baptism of Joseph Toussaint, Rivière-Ouelle. Born 5 May, son of Jean Frédéric Despar and Marie Judith Jambard; father absent; Bernard Panet, curé. Register image examined; PRDH-IGD #596282, individual #457622. The anchor record.
#83561
Family of Jean-Félix Frédéric Despart and Marie Judith Jambard, m. 22 Oct 1787, Rivière-Ouelle. One Joseph among the children; no Québec marriage or burial for him; family at Saint-Hyacinthe from 1801. Father individual #223484, born 1765, Louiseville.
#604365
Baptism of Théophile, L’Isle-Verte, 21 Oct 1798. Parents “Frederic Gaspard,” labourer, and Marie Judith Bordes — the surname at its furthest variant.
GFNA [58247]
Jean Georges Despar, born in Hungary, and the 1779 Rivière-Ouelle marriage to Marie Angélique Périllard. The family record to which both Jean-Félix Frédéric (m. 1787) and Alexandre (m. 1793) are attached — the two brothers who married two Jambard women.
1843 · 1861
Burials of the parents. Jean Philippe Despar, husband of Judithe Jambard, died 17 Nov 1843, buried 19 Nov, Saint-Hyacinthe, aged 81 (PRDH #3005879). Judith Jean-Barbe, widow of Jean Félix Despart, died 6 July 1861, buried 8 July, Saint-Dominique, Bagot (PRDH #5822711). Register images examined.
1820
English River equipment book. “Joseph Despard Dr.” 192.12; outfitted 18–20 July 1820; subtotal 241; total 266; Bethune’s note of 19 July advancing 25 livres. Ancestry, reel 5M5.
fo. 25
Servants’ accounts 1819–1821. Balance 192.12 and Fort William sundries 241 carried from F.4/21; winter advances at Green Lake; wages 400; balance 103.12 carried. HBCA microfilm 5M9.
1821
North West balances at the merger. “Dispard Joseph,” wages 400, district E.R. (English River). Ancestry, reel 5M11.
1821
Advances on account of Columbia, 1821. Searched; he is not named. Negative evidence, consistent with English River service that year.
1814
Lake Nipissing outfit. A Joseph Despard, middleman, advanced 24 livres on 26 Aug and paid off on 31 Oct 1814. Name only; held as Suggestive. Ancestry, reel 5M3.
1821–1835
Northern Department abstracts of servants’ accounts. “Jos. Fréd.” at Île-à-la-Crosse (1821); 31, Yamaska, middleman, 9 years, Columbia, below Joseph Deslard (1824); “Joseph Fréd.,” 33, 11 years (1826); 41, Yamaska (1834).
biographical sheet
“Despard, Joseph Frederick.” Yamaska; entered service 1816; middleman 1824–29 with Snake Country service; trapper and settler on the Willamette 1837–42. A finding aid, citing B.239/g/1–22.
21 Jan 1839
Marriage of Joseph Despard, of Saint-Hyacinthe, and Lisette Tchinouke, with the bride’s baptism. Children Joseph (12), Marie Anne (5), Rose (3), Marguerite (about 1). Munnick, Vancouver, Vol. I.
d. 27 Apr 1851
Death of Lisette, wife of Joseph Despard, St. Paul. Editor’s annotation; agrees with the land claim’s “April 1851.” Original burial entry not yet examined.
pp. 30–31
Munnick’s annotation and index. A fur-trade biography under “Joseph Frederic,” 1788–1875, and a separate heading for Joseph, husband of the Chinook Lisette — one man indexed two ways.
Database
“Despard, Joseph Frederic.” Born 1794 (alt. 1788), Montreal; arrived 1822; married 21 Jan 1839; died 11 May 1875, St. Paul. Compiled from the annotation and a memorial website; not independent evidence.
no. 46
“Ancestry of French Canadians to Oregon prior to 1842” (2013, updated 2017). Yamaska origin and Hungarian descent correct; birth (1797) and parents (Alexandre and Marie-Anastasie Jambard) belong to another branch. Cited only.
cert. 3166
Donation land claim file, 1852–1868. Notification, claimant’s and witnesses’ affidavits, and certificate dividing the claim between Joseph and the heirs of Lisette, his late wife, died April 1851. FamilySearch DGS 007051590, images 308–315.
· plat
Serial patent 3166, 5 May 1873; tract books T3S R2W p. 32 and T4S R2W p. 48; township plat T4S R2W. BLM GLO Records SER-OROCAA 002817; FamilySearch DGS 008431135, images 36 and 51; NARA T1234, roll 57.
1850–1870
Marion County, Oregon. 1850 dwelling 80, with Lizette and the M5 children Joseph and Marguerite; 1860 Fairfield, in the Bernier household; 1870 Fairfield, with the M5 daughter Mary A. McKay. NARA M432, M653, M593.
1792–1869
Joseph Delard of Sorel, the M15 groom. His family, the Shuswap Lisette, and the conflation of the two couples are set out in Two Families the Trees Merged and its methodology; his fur-trade career in The Steersman’s Ledger and its methodology.
fo. 266
His 1816 North West Company ledger account. Digitized but not online; a reproduction has been requested from the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives. It should show his engagement year and opening terms, and whether the equipment book’s “266” refers to it.
unread volumes
Abstracts g/2–g/3, g/5, g/7–g/13 and g/15–g/16. Expected to carry age and service one year at a time from 1822 to 1837; g/2–g/3 should show when he crossed from English River to the Columbia, and g/5 should settle the date of his Snake Country service.
1875
No burial entry or death record found. The 11 May 1875 date rests on compiled sources. The St. Paul register (via the Archdiocese of Portland) is the place to look.
b. c. 1835
Aged three in 1839; absent from the 1850 household. No further record found beyond compiled sources. Probably died before 1850, but not stated until a burial is found.
13 Oct 1851
Papers from the U.S. District Court, Yamhill County. The declaration or final papers may state his birthplace and his year of arrival. Oregon State Archives; National Archives at Seattle.
1814–1816
His Montreal engagement contract. Whether the 1814 Lake Nipissing middleman is the same man would be settled by a notarial engagement naming his parish. Montreal notaries’ records for 1814–1816.
mother
The father’s parentage. Jean-Félix Frédéric was born at Louiseville in 1765, before the 1779 marriage of Jean Georges Despar and Marie Angélique Périllard. His 1765 baptism should name his mother. It does not affect Joseph’s identification.
register entries
M5, B27 and Lisette’s 1851 burial from the original register. Consulted to date through the published edition. Certified copies would allow a fresh transcription from the French.