The Cadotte family is a North American family of European and Indigenous American ancestry that became prominent during the North American Fur Trade.

The founder of the Cadottes originated from mainland France and came to the new world in the 17th century and later married a Métis woman as an adult. Later generations such as Jean-Baptiste Cadot and Michel Cadotte would go on to marry children of tribal chiefs.

Many Cadottes appear many times in popular culture and numerous places in both Canada and the United States are named after them.

Surname The surname Cadotte is a Canadian spelling of the French surname Cadot (meaning little dog). Over time the surname Cadot became Cadotte. The surname for Mathurin Cadot was sometimes spelled as Cadeau.

It is unclear when the transition from Cadot to Cadotte occurred. A ledger from the Cadotte family indicates when this shift may have happened, the book first spelled the surname as Cadotte in 1798. A 1803 contract with North West Company, spells it as Cadotte. A brother of Michel uses the surname in a 1795 contract. It is very likely the family adopted the name Cadotte before the 1800s. (To keep the article constant and to avoid confusion all family members born before the 1750s will go by the surname Cadot.)

First generations

Mathurin Cadot According to journalist Robert Silbernagel, the first Cadotte family member to settle around Lake Superior was Mathurin Cadot.

Mathurin was born to René Cadot and Renée Rusgande in 1649 in mainland France, he later moved to the Americas in his youth. It is unknown when exactly he arrived in New France.

According to author Walter O'Meara, he came to Sault Ste. Marie in 1671. According to journalist Robert Silbernagel, Mathurin was at the convocation in Sault Ste-Marie the same year.

Mathurin Cadot possibly started a fur business illegally as a coureur des bois sometime during the 1670s and early 1680s. In 1686 he gained an official license to legally trade with the natives (mainly with the Odawa).

In 1688, records say he married a woman named Marie-Catherine Durand in Montreal. Catherine was a métis of Wendat ancestry. Mathurin and Catherine would produce many children, the children include: Marie Joseph Cadot (1689–1746) Marie Louise Cadot (1690–1708) died in childhood. Jean-Francois Cadot (1693–1743) Charles Cadot (1695–1763) Marie Jeanne Cadot (1697–1759) René Cadot (1699–1749) Mathurin Cadot Jr (1701–1777) He later on retired in 1690 and moved to a farm near Montreal. He turned his business over to the half-brother of his wife. Mathurin Sr would die in 1729 at the age 80 in Batiscan, Québec.

Second generation Mathurin Cadot Sr's sons would also engage in the fur trader. Jean-Francois only did one trip to Michilimackinac in 1712. René and Charles on the other hand did numerous trips to Michilimackinac in the early 1700s. The brothers would use the money they earned from the fur trade to buy homes in St. Lawrence Lowlands and settle families. René would go on to marry Marie Louise Proteau and Charles would go on to marry Denise Thouin.

Jean-Francois would go on to marry Marie-Josephe Proteau and later on Marie Françoise Rivard, Jean-Francois and Marie-Josephe Proteau would give birth to the following:

Joseph Louis Cadot (1722–1730) died in childhood. Jean-Baptiste Cadot Alex Cadot (1725–1757) Charles Cadot (1727–1779) August Cadot (1728–1772) Michel Cadot (1729–1784) Marie Joseph Cadot (1730–1737) died in childhood.

Jean Baptiste Cadot Sr. & Wives

Wives of Jean Baptiste Cadot

Catherine Cadot Catherine was an Ojibwa woman (her Ojibwa name isn't known), she was a relative to Biauswah (II) and possibly part of the Loon clan (Maang Dodem). She was the second wife of Jean-Baptiste Cadot.

After Jean-Baptiste Cadot's death she married a voyager named Louis Ducharme dit Nez Rouge. She had a daughter with Louis named Thérèse Ducharme. Catherine would die after 19 May 1819.

She had the following children with Jean-Baptiste Cadot:

Augustin Cadotte (ca. 1770–1825) Charlotte Cadotte (ca. 1779–1851) Joseph Cadotte (ca. 1778- ca 1836) Marie Cadotte (ca. 1791–1851)

Athanasie Cadot

Children with Athanasie Athanasie Cadot and Jean-Baptiste Cadot had the following children: Marie Renée Cadotte (1756–1786), survived to adulthood. Charlotte Cadotte (1759–1768), died in childhood. Jean-Baptiste Cadotte Jr., survived to adulthood. Michel Cadotte, survived to adulthood. Joseph Cadotte (1767–1773), died in childhood.

Michel & Madeline Cadotte

Madeline Cadotte

Michel Cadotte

Children of Madeline & Michel She had the following children with Michel Cadotte:

Michel Cadotte Jr Marguerite Cadotte: She was born on December 15, 1788 on Chippewa River. Jean Baptiste Cadotte (1790): He never married and left no known children. Augustin Cadotte (February 2, 1794 - April 28, 1872) Étienne Cadotte: died in childhood due to being shoot my a musket in 1803. Julie Cadotte Mary Cadotte Antoine Cadotte: born on April 18, 1803 at La Pointe and died after 1860 census and before the 1870 census.Antoine had a son named Frank. Charlotte Cadotte Joseph Cadotte: (1807- died sometime around 1849)

Jean Baptiste Cadotte Jr

Michel Cadotte Jr.

Benjamin Cadotte Benjamin Cadotte was a distant cousin of Michel Cadotte and worked as a clerk for his cousin then later employed by American Fur Company.

Benjamin’s family were the first settlers in Superior, Wisconsin. Later on an anveune in the town was named after him.

William Whipple Warren

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