Together in Life and Labour

Loyalty to family has long been a foundational value for Métis in the Upper Great Lakes, including the Georgian Bay Métis Community, both before and after its relocation from Drummond Island in 1828. This observation was made by many, including A.C. Osbourne, who wrote about the community’s Métis families in 1902:

“Fidelity, however, was a marked characteristic among them … This also explains the apparent anomaly of numerous couples, with large families … ” 

Georgian Bay Métis Community members Charles and Elizabeth Longlade (née Dusome) exemplified this dedication to each other and their family through a lifelong partnership that extended to their professional pursuits.

A 1942 Toronto Star article highlighting Elizabeth’s exemplary and long life includes stories of the Métis matriarch’s memories of working alongside her beloved husband Charles: “Mr. and Mrs. Longlade worked together most of their life, he a choreman, she as a cook, in many lumber camps.”

At ninety-five, Elizabeth reflected on a life shared with Charles, marked by unwavering partnership, loyalty, and dedication to one another until his death four years earlier. Together, over the course of their seventy-two-year marriage, they not only built shared careers but also a proud Métis family of four children and twenty-six grandchildren.

See Our Sources

• Daughter of Red River Native, Toronto Star, May 8, 1942

• The Migration of Voyageurs from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene

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