James Curtis Bird married Elizabeth Montour -

Time to dig into the Montour side of the Bird/Montour/Flett Family:

James Curtis Bird married Elizabeth Montour and they had 9 children - the fourth of whom was Chloe Bird who married James Flett and brought the family to Oregon.

Elizabeth Montour was born on March 30, 1821 in Red River Settlement, Ruperts Land, Canada.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Nicholas Montour Jr. and a native American born about 1789 in Edmonton Canada who died on November 1, 1834 in Winnipeg.

Nicholas Montour Jr was the son of Nicholas Montour see below

Nicholas Montour 1756 to August 6, 1808 was the son of Andrew Montour 1720 to 1772

Andrew Montour was the son of Carondawanna, an Oneida war chief and Elizabeth Catherine "Madame" Montour see below

Elizabeth Catherine "Madame" Montour was the daughter of Pierre Couc

Pierre Couc dit LaFleur 1624 m 1657 to Marie Miteouamigoukoue (Mite8ameg8k8e)

http://www.leveilee.net/ancestry/couc1.htm

Nicholas Montour (1756 – August 6, 1808) was a fur trader, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.

He was born in the province of New York in 1756, the son of Andrew Montour and Sarah Ainse, and the grandson of Madame Montour. In 1774, he was employed as a clerk in the fur trade by Joseph and Benjamin Frobisher on the Churchill River in what is now Manitoba and later worked in what is now Saskatchewan. Montour owned shares in the North West Company. In 1792, he retired from the fur trade and settled at Montreal; he became a member of the Beaver Club there. In 1794, he bought the Montreal Distillery Company from Isaac Todd and his partners. In 1795, he purchased the seigneuries of Pointe-du-Lac (also known as Normanville or Tonnancour) and Gastineau. Montour also owned land along the Thames River in Upper Canada, which he inherited from his mother. He also purchased and later sold the seigneuries of Pierreville and Rivière-David (also called Deguire). In 1796, Montour was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Saint-Maurice. He was named a justice of the peace for Trois-Rivières district in 1799. In the same year, he took up residence at Pointe-du-Lac.

He died on the seigneury of Pointe-du-Lac in 1808 and was buried at Trois-Rivières.

Andrew Montour (c. 1720–1772), also known as Henry Montour, Sattelihu, and Eghnisara,[1] was an important métis interpreter and negotiator in the Virginia and Pennsylvania backcountry in the 1750s and 1760s.

Montour's date of birth is unknown; historian James Merrell estimated it to be 1720.[2] Montour was of European and Native American ancestry. His mother was Madame Montour, a well-known, influential interpreter whose exact identity is uncertain; she was probably of French and Native ancestry.[3] She spoke several languages and often served as an interpreter between Europeans and Native Americans. Andrew Montour's father was Carondawanna, an Oneida war chief.

Montour shared his mother's gift for languages. He spoke French, English, Delaware, Shawnee, and at least one of the Iroquoislanguages.[4] Comfortable with both Native Americans and Europeans, he made a good living as a translator for several colonial governments. In 1742 when Count Zinzendorf met Montour he wrote that Montour looked "decidedly European, and had his face not been encircled with a broad band of paint we would have thought he was one."

In 1745 he accompanied Weiser and Shikellamy on a mission to Onondaga where the federal capital of the Iroquois confederation was established. In 1748 Weiser recommended Montour as a person especially qualified to act as an interpreter or messenger and Montour was presented to the Pennsylvania council of the proprietary government.[5]

Throughout the French and Indian War Montour sided with the British and worked, at various times, for Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Sir William Johnson's Indian Department. He was with George Washington before the battle at Fort Necessity, and was also one of the few Native Americans to travel with Edward Braddock. So strong was his influence with tribes in the Ohio River Valley that the French put a bounty on his head. Montour was murdered by a Seneca Indian in 1772.

Montour County, Pennsylvania, is named for Andrew Montour.[6] The Montour School District, a comprehensive public school system located 16 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also bears his name.

Andrew had a number of children, who he hoped would also live in both white and Native American worlds. His son John Montourfollowed in his footsteps and became a well-known negotiator, translator and go-between.

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http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=35404

http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Montour__Elizabeth.html

Montour, Elizabeth Catherine (Madam)
Born: c.1667, in Trois Rivières, Quebec
Died: c.1750, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Vocations: Interpreter

Abstract: Madam Montour, a mixed French and Indian woman, was probably born around 1667 in Trois Rivières, Quebec. While most of the documentation of her life is contradictory, it is widely accepted that she was raised by an Indian tribe after the age of ten. As an adult, she interpreted between the Indian tribes and the English colonies, making peace possible between the starkly different cultures. Her famous son, Andrew Montour, continued her work after her death. A Pennsylvania county, town, stream, and mountain are all named for her, honoring her work easing the strain between Indian and colonial life. She died around 1753 in Harrisburg.

Biography:

Elizabeth Catherine Montour, more widely known as Madam Montour, was born around 1667 at Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Much of her biography is unknown or debatable. This uncertainty extends even to her first name, which is most widely assumed to be Elizabeth Catherine. Her father was most likely Pierre Couc, a Frenchman, and her mother was an Algonquin whose name is unknown. Montour said that she was kidnapped by either the Iroquois or the Five Nation Indians as a ten-year-old child after the tribe killed her father during war. She claimed to have been raised by her captors. Another account asserts that she was captured when she was an adult and living among the English. There is evidence suggesting that she spent the lion’s share of her youth in Michigan at Forts Mackinac and Detroit in the 1700s due to her family’s involvement in the Indian trade. Either way, exposure to native tribes led to her later prestige as an interpreter across Pennsylvania and New York.

It is assumed that Montour married the Seneca brave Roland Montour while living in the New York area, taking his surname. Little is known of him, their marriage, or his death. Some believe that Montour never married him at all, but instead carried the name “Montour” with her since birth. In about 1711, Montour moved to Albany where her brother Louis was serving as an interpreter. Within a year of Montour joining her brother in Albany, he was murdered while conducting trade. Because of her extensive knowledge of both Indian and English languages (English, German, Algonquin, Iroquois, and French), Montour remained in Albany to replace him. She was hired by Robert Hunter, Governor of New York, to aid in communication between the Indian tribes and the English colonies. Because Montour was illiterate, she was considered a “cultural broker,” mostly advising on the content of speeches and messages rather than composing them herself. In Ian Kenneth Steele and Nancy Lee Rhoden’s The Human Tradition in Colonial America, Montour is described as, “a complex and multi-faceted individual who moved easily between native and settler communities, facilitating informed communication between different cultures.” It is said that she attended conferences in Albany and Philadelphia, often using her influence to prevent wars. While her work between cultures was extremely successful for the English, it was detrimental to the French. The Governor of Canada tried to sway her allegiances and her abilities to the French side upon noticing her immense influence among the Indian tribes. The Governor even offered her a raise in compensation, which was notable since she was already being paid the same as a man. These attempts were unsuccessful since Montour was a known friend to the British.

During her time in Albany, Montour married an Oneida chief, Carondawanna. It is uncertain whether there were other marriages after Roland Montour and before Carondawanna, mostly because they may have occurred under Indian custom and therefore without record. Together Montour and Carondawanna moved to the village of Otstuagy, Pennsylvania, which would later be named Montoursville in her honor. She welcomed the British into town, while still serving to ease the strain of colonialism felt by the tribes in Pennsylvania. Montour was the mother to three famous children: Louis, Margaret, and Andrew Montour. Louis also served as an interpreter, but was killed during the French and Indian War; Margaret became the leader of a town close to Montoursville, named “French Margaret’s Town;” Andrew became an extremely important negotiator and interpreter in the Virginia and Pennsylvania regions. Andrew’s aid to tribes and settlers was so important that the French wanted him dead. Instead, he was murdered by a Seneca Indian in about 1772.

For at least the second time, Montour was widowed in the spring of 1729 when Carondawanna was killed fighting the Catawba in the Carolinas. Montour inherited the title of “Queen of the Iroquois” on the west branch of the Susquehanna and became an important leader of the Susquehanna River Valley, a popular stop for Moravian missionaries. She continued to rule the French and Indian town of Otstuagy. This mix led to a cultural hybrid, mixed with European and Indian customs. Count Zinzendorf, a Moravian missionary, writes about his experiences in Otstuagy: Records from Andrew Montour imply that Montour lost her sight while living with him during her later years.

Montour died between 1745 and 1753 probably near Harrisburg, then Harris’s Ferry. Montour County, town, stream, and mountain bear her name, recognizing the areas where her extensive influence on early colonial communication was prominent.

Sources:

• Auken, Robin Van. “‘Madam’ Catherine Montour.” Historic Williamsport. 2007. Williamsport Sun Gazette. 26 Sept. 2008. .
• Hunter, William A. “COUC, ELIZABETH? (La Chenette, Techenet; Montour).” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Volume III. Ed. John English. 2003. University of Toronto/Université Laval. 29 Sept. 2008.
• Maggiemac. “Elizabeth Catherine Montour.” History of American Women. 8 Aug. 2008. 26 Sept. 2008. .
• Parmenter, Jon. “Isabel Montour: Cultural Broker on the Frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania.” The Human Tradition in Colonial America. Ed. Ian K. Steele and Nancy L. Rhoden Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1999.
• Struble, George G. “Madam Montour, White Queen of the Iroqouis.” French Review 28 (May 1955): 498-502.

This biography was prepared by Stephanie Misko, Fall 2008.

Pierre Couc

Shortly after the founding of the first French settlement in Canada, Quebec City, a young French soldier by the name of Pierre Couc (also spelled Couck, etc.), born in Cognac, France, in 1624, arrived in the wilderness that Canada was then. Behind in Cognac, he

left his parents, Nicolas and Elizabeth Templair Couc of the La Fleur branch (in French, dit) of the Couc family.

Jesuit missionaries had been working with the Indians of the Huron Confederacy on Georgian Bay. In 1634 they had built their principal mission there. But in 1640 old enemies of the Hurons and their French allies, the Iroquois of New York, began a campaign to

destroy the Huron Confederacy, which they did in 1648-1650. It was to fight the Iroquois that young Pierre Couc was sent to New France (Canada) during these years. But the Iroquois succeeded in driving west of Lake Michigan the Hurons and all the interior Indians

friendly to the French.

More than their British counterparts in North America, the French intermarried with the Indians. Couc, who had settled in Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers) on the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and Montreal, was married April 16, 1657, by the Jesuit priest,

Father Gagueneau, to Marie Metiwameghwahkwe of the Algonquin Nation.(She was probably a Huron.) The Dictionnaire Genealogique lists her birth date as 1631. [Another source lists the marriage year as 1647, but since there were no children until 1657 and then there were children at regular intervals, it would appear 1657 was the correct date.]

In 1652 Couc was still in the military. That year was an especially difficult one for New France. The Iroquois carried out a constant surveillance of the small boats which plied the St. Lawrence River. On May 21, across the river from Trois-Rivieres, soldier Couc was attacked and wounded. (Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Vol.VIII, p.29)

By 1660 Couc had left the military. On January 10, the Provost of Trois-Rivieres recorded that Pierre Dizy brought a lawsuit against Pierre Couc dit Lafleur, a former soldier of the garrison.(Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Vol. VI, p.94) That August a neighbor gained title to a stone wall which separated his property from that of Pierre Couc. (Our Canadian Ancestor, Vol.VII, p.189) About this time, the heirs of a man named Gille abandoned half of their real estate patrimony to Jacques Fournier dit Laville and Pierre Couc dit Fleur-de-Coignac. (Vol.VII, p.189, Our French-Canadian Ancestors) On March 4, 1662, Etienne deLafond rented a farm for five years from Madeline and Pierre "Coucq" dit Lafleur. (Vol.

VI, p.192 Our French Canadian Ancestors) On November 26, 1664, Pierre Boucher, Pierre Lefebvre, and Jean Cusson, sagacious men of their era, arbitrated a dispute between Father Jacques Fremin and Pierre Couc dit Lafleur. (Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Vol. VI, p.137.) The decade ended rather tragically for the Coucs: Jean Rattier dit DuBuisson murdered their daughter, Jeanne, in 1669. (Our French-Canadian Ancestors, Vol.IX, p.8)

A fort had been established at Trois-Rivieres in 1635. A 1663 map shows a mere fifty or so lots, one belonging to Couc. He was clearly one of the earliest residents. The land of the Couces was located on the southwestern corner of Rue St.Pierre and Rue St.Michel, two blocks from the "Fleuve St.Laurent" (St.Lawrence River).

Church records at Trois Rivieres and the Dictionnaire Genealogique show that the Couces had nine children: Jeanne, 1657, who was murdered in 1679; Louis, 1659, who in his adult life assumed the surname Montour; Angelique, 1661, who married a man named St.Corney in 1692; Marie, 1663; Marguerite, 1 June 1664, who married Jean Masse-Lafart dit Maconce or Macons (1657-1756), a famous coureur-des-bois who finally settled at Detroit, where he died at ninety-nine; Pierre, April 5, 1665, who was the father of Pierre III, born

5 April in St. Thomas, Pierreville; Elizabeth, 1667; Madeleine, born 1669, who married Maurice Menard; and Jean-Baptiste, born 1673, married Anne Sauvagesse, had a son JeanBaptiste II born 27 November 1706 at Lachine, now a suburb of Montreal.

The Dictionnaire Genealogique gives January 8, 1699 as the date of death for Marie Couc, but there is no date listed for Pierre Couc. A Jean Couc, who was married to Marguerite _______, may have been a brother of Pierre's. Jean's daughter Marie-Julienne, was born

13 April 1763 in Quebec.