Honouring Elizabeth Dusome (nee Longlade)

Elizabeth Dusome (nee Longlade) was the matriarch of a large community-minded Métis family whose service and connections have spanned generations.

Elizabeth Longlade was born in 1859 into a large Métis family—eventually reaching ten siblings—within the richly interconnected Métis community at Penetanguishene. Elizabeth’s father, Louis Longlade, had been born on Drummond Island in 1816 and relocated to Penetanguishene with his parents, Charles—a War of 1812 veteran—and Josephine Longlade, and much of their Métis community in 1828 after the island was ceded to the Americans by the British. 

From their land grants “across the bay” from the small British naval outpost in Penetanguishene harbour, the Longlade family remained active and married extensively within the Upper Great Lakes’ Métis families, contributing to its deep endogamy and distinctive Métis kinship from Penetanguishene to northern Lake Superior. 

In 1879, Elizabeth married local Métis fisherman Henry Dusome. In 1867, Henry had witnessed the marriage of his sister, Elizabeth Dusome, to his future wife Elizabeth’s brother, William Charles Longlade. Elizabeth and Henry’s marriage was witnessed by Henry’s sister, Matilda Dusome, and Elizabeth’s brother, Francis Longlade. 

The couple soon settled in nearby Tiny Township. Together, Elizabeth and Henry Dusome grew their own large and loving family. In 1901, Henry, Elizabeth, and eight of their children were numerated at Tiny as “F.B” (French breed). 

Elizabeth Dusome’s (nee Longlade) family continued being active in the Georgian Bay Métis Community and larger Upper Great Lakes region, further contributing to both the Longlade and Dusome families’ long traditions of service. Elizabeth’s son, Jacques (Jack) Dusome, for example, volunteered to join the Canadian forces during the First World War. 

In his enlistment papers, Jack Dusome lists his mother, Elizabeth Dusome (nee Longlade) as his next-of-kin, highlighting the enduring bond between mother and son that Elizabeth undoubtedly held with each of her children. 

Elizabeth Dusome’s (nee Longlade) legacy continues to live on through her descendants, who continue to contribute to the richness and resiliency of their Georgian Bay Métis Community to this day.

See Our Sources

• Dusome-Clermont Family VMFL

• Jacques (Jack) Dusome’s WWI Service Records

• Letter from William Baxter to the Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1898

• Dusome-Clermont Family Vignette

• Longlade Family VMFL

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