Métis Marriages: Labatte & Berger, Pt. 2

Georgian Bay Métis Community members Michel (Michael) Labatte and Archange Berger (Bergé) were married on June 3, 1845 at St. Ann’s Church in Penetanguishene, further strengthening the already-deep multigenerational bonds between the Georgian Bay Métis Community’s many Métis families.

Michel and Archange’s marriage was witnessed by fellow Georgian Bay Métis Community members, including Marie (Mary) Berger and James Solomon, whose Métis family—like the Bergers and Labattes—had relocated to Penetanguishene from Drummond Island following the island’s surrender to the United States by the British after the War of 1812. 

Serving as witnesses to important life events of other Georgian Bay Métis Community members, like James Solomon and Marie Berger did for Michel Labatte and Archange Berger’s 1845 marriage, is an example of fictive kinship—voluntary relationships that a person freely chooses to establish—that demonstrates the richness and diversity of the many deep relationships between the Métis of Penetanguishene.

Métis marriages, like that of Michel Labatte and Archange Berger, provided important opportunities for fictive and affinal relationships to both form and strengthen, and have ultimately enabled the Georgian Bay Métis Community to remain distinct and resilient over generations.

See Our Sources

• Labatte Family VMFL Document

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• Additional Submissions to the MNC Expert Panel

• The Migration of Voyageurs from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene in 1828

Mini Word Search

Have fun with the facts by completing today's mini word search.