Francois-Xavier Kaneraktatie Delisle & Marie-Anne Kakwirahes Leborgne of Kahnawake | Series: Familes of Caughnawaga | Links Restored

Crystal Anifantis – a Delisle descendant – left this message in a comment box yesterday-

“I am trying to find information on my Great Grandparents.  The were born 100% Mohawk Indian on the Kahnawake reservation in Canada in the early 1900, my Grandmother’s name was Cecila Deer (died in the 1930′s) and my grandfather’s name was Angus Delisle, they had 6 children together: Ralph (deceased), Irene (deceased), Ester, Betty, Josephine (my grandmother DOB: 4/18/1933) and Loyd (all their last names was Delisle).  Any information on my grandparents sibling and grandparents’ parents would be a start or their dates of birth and date of death would help me.” 

This was one of the toughest searches I’ve done in awhile! As always there is the challenge of the combined Native and European surnames – and the fact that with the Iroquois naming pattern names  mutate through the generations. Added to this, the Ancestry.com records are frequently incomplete or mispelled. My breakthrough came with the birth certificate above, when I was able to find the marriage certificate of Mike Delisle and Mary Norton at the Centre Genealogique. From this I was able to extend this  family tree by one more generation. Other information is being shared privately with C. Anifantis.

Information 1

FIRST GENERATION

Francois-Xavier Kaneraktatie Delisle (son of Michel Tehowenkarakwen) was born on 1 Jan 1867 in Caughnawaga. Francois-Xavier married Marie-Anne (aka Mary Anne) Kakwirahes Leborgne on 13 Feb 1893 in Kahnawake Laprairie Quebec. Marie Anne’s parents were Moise Tesokwen Leborgne (son of Louis Skanenrati Leborgne and Marie-Anne Kakwirahes Kelly) and Odile Rufiange Champagne (daughter of Olivier Rugiange Champagne and Sophie Laberge). Marie was born on 1 Nov 1876 in Caughnawaga and died after 1911.

Children from this marriage according to 1901/1911 census

+ 2 M i. Ignace/Angus Delisle was born on 2 Feb 1893 in Kahnawake (Laprairie, Quebec).  3 F ii. Anna Delisle was born on 1 Nov 1896 in Kahnawake.   4 F iii. Marie Delisle was born on 1 Nov 1897 in Kahnawake. 5 F iv. Josephine Delisle was born on 4 Jul 1900 in Kahnawake.  6 M v. Michel Delisle was born in Feb 1903 in Kahnawake.  7 M vi. Joseph Delisle was born in Nov 1908 in Kahnawake.

 

SECOND GENERATION

Ignace/Angus Delisle (Francois-Xavier Kaneraktatie 1) was born on 2 Feb 1893 in Kahnawake. He  married Cecila Deer. She died after 1933.

Children from this marriage were:

8M i. Ignace (Angus) Walter Ralph Delisle 14 Mar 1932  9 F ii. Irene Delisle.  10 F iii. Ester Delisle.  11F iv. Betty Delisle.  12F v. Josephine Delisle ( born on 18 Apr 1933). 13M vi. Lloyd Delisle.

Sources:

Crystal Anifantis, Ancestry.com, Canada Census 1911., Canada Census 1901.,

Le Centre de généalogie francophone d’Amérique.

 

Information 2

E.J. Devine , in his book  Historic Caughnawaga discusses the fact that many Iroquois captives – when given the chance – did want to return to their original society. One of these captives was a certain James Delisle who became the forefather of the Kahnawake Delisles.

“The English prisoner Delisle,” wrote Sieur Douville, commandant at Caughnawaga in 1750, in a letter addressed to the governor-general, “came to see me to tell me that I may have the honour of informing you that he does not wish to return home; that when he told the English he would go he had not sufficiently reflected. His father is no longer alive and the laws of his country are such that the one who has to be ransomed on borrowed money is boimd down to work until he pays back the amount; that he preferred being a slave among the Indians rather than live among his own people where there is no religion.” ‘ He, therefore, decided to remain with the Indians by whom he was well treated…….” 1.This voluntary exile, James Delisle, is presumably the ancestor of a numerous posterity at Caughnawaga. — Caughnawaga Archives.

 Information 3

While researching Shawlee Canadien’s ancestors Jean Baptiste Raientonni Canadien & Malvina McComber  I came across the fascinating story of the men from Kahnawake who accompanied a Colonel Wolseley to Egypt to rescue Major-General Charles George Gordon from Khartoum. More than fifty Kahnawake men were invited because of their great skill in navigating the Rapids, a skill which would be needed to navigate the cataracts along  the Nile river. There was an F. Delisle along on that trip. I know this because he was granted an Egyptian Medal by Queen Victoria. Of course I don’t know if this is a direct ancestor of C. Anifantis, but he would seem to be from your extended family!

 

Related Posts: 

The Iroquois of Kahnawake

 

Do you have information on the Kahnawake Delisles ? If you’d like to share it with me – or if you prefer to work privately with  Crystal Anifantis, then just drop me a line in the Comment Box below!