Martin Chartier (1650 - aft. 1725)

Born 1 Jun 1650 in Poitiers (St-Jean-de-Montierneuf), Poitou, France

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1725 after age 74 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Martin Chartier migrated from France to New France.

Per fichier origine, he is cited as being in the Pittburgh area in 1725. He was a fur trader. Considered unmarried as no record can be found to the contrary. [This contradicts what others have written about him; see below.]

Fur Trader

"Martin Chartiere changed the face of the fur trade in Maryland. Originally a French Canadian, he lived along the Illinois River circa 1680-1688, and is mentioned in the journals of La Salle.[The papers of La Salle are at Indiana University, the Glenn A Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Ohio Valley-Great Lakes Ethnohistory Archives, The Miami Collection. They can be read on-line (in French and English] ^[1]

Relations with the Shawnee

A French-Canadian, "given such a bad character by La Salle in 1680," led the Shawnee to the head of Chesapeake Bay in 1692.

"Circa 1688-1692 Chartiere led the Pequea (Peckue/Piqua/Pickaway) band of the Shawnee as they wandered in the Midwest, looking for a place to settle. By 1692, he had brought them to the head of Chesapeake Bay, where their settlement caused a stir Archives of Maryland 4: 517-9."^[1]

When they removed to the banks of Piquea Creek, he went and lived with them until about 1707. In 1704, he was examined by the governor of Philadelphia and described as a Frenchman living among the Shawnee on the Conestoga [river?]. In 1707, he had a trading house at Pequehan. In Feb 1708, he (along with James LaTort and Peter Bezaillion) were reported to have built homes -- probably trading posts-- along the upper Potomac. He served as an interpreter for the Shawnee at Conestoga conferences in 1711 and 1717. That same year (1717) he was granted a tract of land on the east side of the Susquehanna, land intended for his son Peter Chartier. He died there in 1718. Peter is said to have followed his father's example and married a "Shawnee squaw."^[2]

"On 24 Feb. 1707/8, it is recorded in the Pennsylvania Provincial Council that the Indians protested that “Mitchel”, a Swiss, Peter Bezalion, James LeTort, Martin Chartier, a “boy” from Phila., Frank from Canada, and a Frenchman from Va., had built houses upon the Potomac. Mitchel (Michel) was the leader... They had made a trading camp at Harper’s Ferry in 1706 [Source: Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 29: 3-4.] Because they were not licensed to trade in this area, these men were evicted, and further white trade is not found along the upper Potomac till years later. This is an instance where a treaty with the Natives was enforced, and white encroachment was withdrawn."^[1]

1710: Part of First White Settlement west of Susquehanna River

“We find that the next recorded account of a white man's passing through our county was that of Martin Chartier, the white leader of the Shawnee Indians, in the year of 1695, as they were migrating to the Ohio River from Virginia. This tribe arrived on the great East-West Trail at Alliquippa's Gap, by the Warriors' Trail. Since the East-West Trail crossed over the ridge at the Willows, east of the Narrows, this migration may have been a factor in the location of the first permanent settlement by a white man west of the Susquehanna River.

Records in the Library of Congress show the following: the first permanent white settlement west of the Susquehanna River was made in 1710, by one John de-Burt and wife Mary Seaworth, the daughter of Martin Chartier and his Indian wife. It has been established that the name de­ Burt later became Dibert. Records in Deed Book "A" in Bedford County Court House show copies of warranties to Christopher Dibert, taken out by his son Michael in 1766, in Cumberland County. In one Michael mentioned; "This is the land my Father returned to, which was his Father's (John) settlement." Doing much research, not only in Bedford County but in Virginia, Humphrey Dibert found that John and Mary Dibert and seven of their twelve children were massacred by the Indians in 1732. The five that escaped made their way back to their kin in Virginia. Of the three sons and two daughters, only one, Charles Christopher, returned to Bedford County.^[3]

1718: Early Settler of Conestoga Township (Pennsylvania)

Martin Chartier is one of many names first taxed after the settlement of Conestoga Township. Most of these men were traders with the Indians in the area.^[4]

Notes

Fichier Origine

CHARTIER, Martin 240833

Statut: Célibataire

Date de baptême: 01-06-1650^[5]

Lieu d'origine: Poitiers (St-Jean-de-Montierneuf) (Vienne) 86194

Parents: René CHARTIER et Madeleine Ranger

Première mention au pays: 1667

Occupation à l'arrivée: Migrant arrivé avec ses parents

Décès ou inhumation: États-Unis, 1725

Remarques: Marchand de fourrures, il est cité en 1725 dans la région de Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanie. Les actes suivants sont à Poitiers (St-Jean-de-Montierneuf). Un frère et deux soeurs sont b. : Pierre (pionnier), le 16-09-1646 ; Jacquette, le 03-02-1649 et Jeanne-Renée (pionnière), le 09-08-1652. Sa mère est inhumée le 30-01-1658. Ses grands-parents paternels sont Pierre Chartier et Marie Paillé. Ses grands-parents maternels sont François Ranger et Marguerite Bourcier.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Corinne Hanna, "Early Traders on the Upper Potomac," link
2. ↑ The Wilderness Trail, vol. 1, pp 170-171
3. ↑ Bedford County Heritage Committee. 1971. The kernel of greatness: an informal bicentennial history of Bedford County. Bedford County. (2007 reprint) p. 14 & 15. F157.B25 K4 2007
4. ↑ The Wilderness Trail, vol 1, pp 162-163
5. ↑ Bapt. image Fichier - AD-86
6. ↑ Fichier origine 240833 Martin Chartier 2019 Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie//Québec Federation of Genealogical Societies

• Source: S-2042798155 Repository: #R-2138462561 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=18183279&pid=307
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