marie lasselles

Marie Theresa Lasselle” In his article, “Marie Theresa Lasselle,” Dennis M. Au explores the life of Marie Theresa Lasselle and gives a rare look into women who were involved in the fur trade. Lasselle was born May 1, 1735 and as Au explains, Lasselle grew up in Montreal where she was part “ of the upper class, her parents evidently sent her off to school.” Au claims that it was rare in that time that girls in Canada were able to get an education. Lasselle married Jacques Lasselle III, a fur trader, in 1765 and had five children together. Au goes on to explain that the family moved to Kekionga- where they created a family business. Au writes that the American Revolution led her to Detroit and then Montreal, where she is separated from her husband who dies in 1791. Lasselle went through times of poverty but recovered. Her children eventually created their own business and supported her. Au states that the children focused on importing, land and mainly fur- which proved unstable and soon went into decline; Lasselle kept her children stable in times of decline. On September 29, 1819 Lasselle passed away. Au claims that Lasselle's self portrait that is well known in the Monroe County Historical Museum and “is an extremely rare glimpse of a southeastern Michigan eighteenth century pioneer and ranks among the oldest surviving portraits completed in Michigan.” A look in the life of women in the fur trades is uncommon, although women lived in the settlements, most women weren't illiterate. Au points out that Marie Lasselle was literate and artistic, allowing people an opportunity to see inside the fur trade from a woman’s side.