Métis Marriages: William Henry Swanson & Ester Edna Saunders

On November 7, 1916, Abitibi Inland Métis Community members, William Henry Swanson and Ester Edna Saunders were married in Chapleau.

William Henry Swanson was born in 1883 on James Bay, the son of George Swanson and Marie McLeod. Working as a laborer for the Hudson’s Bay Company, George Swanson introduced his Métis children to a life deeply rooted in their Métis community. By the 1901 census, William Henry was living in Chapleau alongside many other Métis families, reflecting the strong community ties that shaped his upbringing.

Ester Edna, born in Missanabie in 1896, was the daughter of Charles Saunders and Christina Smith, and the niece of Métis storyteller and clergyman, John Saunders. Raised within a large Métis family, Ester shared the same values of close connection and Métis strength that also defined her future husband, William Henry’s, upbringing.

William and Ester’s 1916 marriage was witnessed by Ester Edna’s sister, Isabella Mabel Saunders, and Willam’s brother, Charles Douglas Swanson. Four years later, these two witnesses married one another, further uniting these Métis families and strengthening bonds of mutual support within their Abitibi Inland Métis Community.

William Henry and Ester remained in Chapleau, where William Henry worked as a trapper. Together they raised the next Métis generation rooted in enduring Métis family and community connections.

See Our Sources

• Swanson - Robinson VMFL

• Saunders - Leblanc VMFL

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