I have a story about another of those interesting women who accompanied her husband to Penetanguishene -- Marie Marguerite Graveraet. With a surname like that, one has to wonder how she became part of the Drummond Island social and economic scene. If she is who I think she is, then her family played a prominent role in the settlement of Detroit and Marquette, Michigan, long before she and her husband, Charles Cote, paddled their way to Tiny Township. A.C. Osborne in The Migration of Voyageurs" writes: "GREVEROT, Marguerite, became the wife of Charles Cote. She was buried in Lafontaine" He also lists another person with a similar surname: Pierre Grevote. As part of the research on the Cote and Graveraet families, I undertook a search for any reference to these surnames. Nothing turned up for Pierre and I honestly have no idea what happened to him or even who he was - another one of Osborne's Mystery People. But I did uncover references to another Greverot that got through Osborne's net. In the early St. Ann's Church registers there is a baptism for Lucie GRAVEROT, daughter of Joseph and Lucie Marie Thompson. The couple lived at "The Narrows" in 1837. Likely this is the same fellow who appears in Pioneer Papers in Section 4, pages 10 and 11, Reminiscences of a Pioneer, John Steele. Mr. Steele recounts a story of meeting a young man named "Graverod" near Warminster, on the road between Coldwater and Orillia in 1832. It is rather a sad story but one worth reading if you have the time. Heather Bertram and I could not find any further references to this couple or their child in this vicinity after the 1837 baptism. Perhaps one of you has this couple in your database and can give us an ending to the story of Joseph and his Lucies. Charles Cote, Marguerite's husband, states in the 1861 census for Tiny and Tay that he was born about 1799 in Montreal. There are at least 2 babies in the Quebec baptismal records who could have been our Charles and probably a few more born after the 1799 date who also qualify. So in the absence of definitive information as to which set of parents owned him, we will leave him an orphan of sorts. Marguerite claims she was born about 1811 on Mackinac Island and thus our claim to her being a "Drummond Islander" is established. Charles also states that he and Marguerite were married in 1824. Something is not right here. Either he robbed the cradle or neither of them had a very good memory. If they actually did marry in 1824, then there was a ten year span before the first of their 12 children was born in 1834. A ten year drought and then a rush of 12 children? Marguerite's last child was born in 1861 so her birth year of 1811 is suspect also. Women in those days got the child bearing business over with by the time they were in their late forties. The apparatus was usually worn out with overuse before they reached age 50. So probably Marguerite was a teeny bit older than what she claimed to be in 1861. Vanity, thy name is woman! Charles settled in Tiny Township eventually; 16th Concession, lot 16, right in the heart of Lafontaine! Having been a mere child at the time, he missed the action in the War of 1812-15 in the Great Lakes so could not lay claim to a parcel of land by virtue of his loyalties in the War. When he arrived in that area from Montreal and how long he stayed before pulling up stakes and heading across Georgian Bay is unknown, at least by me. The first record for this family appears in the St. Ann's register under events for the year 1835. Interestingly, some of the children do not appear in the baptismal registers at all. Makes one wonder where they were and what these two were up to prior to 1835. Marguerite's and Charles' children married into many of the early Lafontaine/Tiny settler families. Some recent writings claim that the Drummond Island Metis families faced discrimination by the early French Quebec families who also settled in this area. The Cote family is a prefect example of the intermingling of these two groups and if discrimination was a problem you would not have known it by the childrens' choices for life partners. The sons and daughters of Charles and Marguerite married into the Brunelle, Sauve, Robillard, Juneau and Charron-Ducharme families - all recent arrivals from Quebec. And this is not the only family where this type of intermarriage occurred. By the third generation of the Cote family they had added Messier, Gervais, Gendron, Labatte, Lafreniere, Precourt, Latendresse, Boucher and Grozelle to the surname mix -- many DIers but also many settlers from Quebec. Graveraet is an unusual name for this area, no matter how it is spelled, and it is unique even amongst the many surnames in Michigan. We do know Marguerite was born in Michigan so the probability of her being related to the Graveraets of Michigan is very high. Her descendants should look to the history of Detroit for the Graveraets who were New York Dutch silversmiths located in the city from about 1785. One of the earliest settlers in Marquette in the Upper Peninsula was Henry G. Graveraet who married Charlotte Livingstone. Both were highly regarded for their services to the government and the Chippewa Indian Nation. An abbreviated outline of the family follows. Sources are available on request. Contributions to the history of this family are welcome and please be kind if you have corrections. We look forward to seeing many members of this family in September 2008 when we will honour all the Drummond Island Families. Charles COTE' was born about 1799 in Montre'al, Ile de Montre'al, Que'bec. He died in 1869 in Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario Marie Marguerite GRAVERAET / GREVEROT was born about 1812 in Mackinac, Michigan. She died at age 60 years in 1873 in Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. Charles COTE' and Marie Marguerite GRAVERAET / GREVEROT were married in 1824 in an unknown location. i. Marguerite COTE', born about 1835, Tiny Township, Simcoe County, Ontario; married Joseph MESSIER, in 1856, St. Ann's Church, Penetanguishene, Ontario. ii. Adelaide COTE', born in 1834, Tiny Township, Simcoe County, Ontario; married Honore BRUNELLE, in 1851, St. Ann's Church, Penetanguishene, Ontario; died in 1864, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. iii. Charles COTE', born in 1836, Ontario; married Caroline JUNOT / JUNEAU, in 1863, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. iv. Francois COTE', born about 1838, Ontario; married Marie Marguerite CHARRON DUCHARME, in 1863, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario ; married Elisabeth GERVAIS, in 1876, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario; died before 1933. v. Marie COTE', born in 1839; married Antoine LABATTE, in 1855, St. Ann's Church, Penetanguishene, Ontario; died in 1856, Thunder Bay, Simcoe County, Ontario. vi. Gonzague (Louis de Cosaque) COTE', born in 1841, Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario; married Louisa MESSIER, in 1863, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario, married Marie ROBILLARD, in 1885, St. Margaret's Church, Midland, Ontario; died in 1905, Waubaushene, Simcoe County, Ontario. vii. Julie COTE', born in 1843, Ontario; married Michael BOUCHER, in 1865, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. viii. Joseph COTE', born in 1848, Tiny Township, Simcoe County, Ontario ; married Zoe SAUVE, in 1869, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario; died in 1915, Penetanguishene, Ontario. ix. Christine COTE', born in 1849, Penetanguishene, Ontario; married Nazaire RAINVILLE, in 1870, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. x. Pierre COTE' was born in 1852 in Penetanguishene, Ontario. xi. Victoire COTE', born in 1854, Penetanguishene, Ontario; married Stanislas GARO, in 1871, Ste-Croix Church, Lafontaine, Simcoe County, Ontario. xii. Francis Xavier COTE' was born in 1861 in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Pam Tessier Research Co-ordinator Genealogy & History Research Centre Penetanguishene Centennial Museum & Archives 13 Burke St., Penetanguishene, ON L9M 1C1 705-549-2150 www.pencenmuseum.com genealogy@pencenmuseum.com