Métis Marriages: Corbiere & Nolin

In 1842, John Corberiere and Marie Madeline Nolin of Sault Ste. Marie were married at Ste. Croix, a church located at Wikwemikong to the southwest of Killarney. Their wedding was witnessed by Charles Lamorandiere, whose family had established the “little Métis village” at Killarney.

Because of the scarcity of churches in the Upper Great Lakes region in the early 1800s, Métis people often traveled long distances for these important life events and to witness them alongside family and community. As one of the few churches in the region in the mid-1800s, many Upper Great Lakes Métis marriages are documented in the Ste. Croix church register. 

Eight years after their wedding, John signed the 1850 Petition of Sault Ste. Marie Métis, alongside members of many well-known Métis families–including the Biron, Boissonneau, Cadotte, Lesage, Nolin, Sayer, and Labatte families. 

John continued to work close to home as a fisherman and trader, supporting their growing Métis family of nine children, all born in Sault Ste. Marie. Their household reflected and reinforced the community connections and traditions in which they were deeply involved.

By 1901, Marie was living with her son Joseph, his wife, and their children, many of whom continued Métis kinship connections for generations.

See Our Sources

• Corbiere-Nolin VMFL

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• 1850 Sault Ste. Marie Métis Petition

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