Charles Beaupre (1784 - 1819)

Born 25 Dec 1784 in Quebec, Lower Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Marie Josephte (Plante) Beaupre — married 6 May 1811 in Sandwich, Windsor, Essex, Upper Canada

Descendants

Died 16 Sep 1819 at age 34 in Amherstburg, Essex, Ontario, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Kathy Mcilwaine [send private message] and William Matthews [send private message]

Biography

Seaman Charles Beaupre served in the Provincial Marine in the War of 1812
Service started: 1812
Unit(s):
Service ended: 1814

There has been much confusion between Francis Charles Beaupre and Charles Beaupre. Not only did they share the name of Charles but their wives were both named Josette and their children had the same names as well. It was discovered in collaboration with other Beaupre researchers that the two men were brothers. Hopefully this biography will help to sort out the information.

Charles Beaupre, the younger brother, was born December 25, 1784. He was baptized the same day at Basilique Notre-Dame, Quebec City, Quebec, Lower Canada . He was the son of Pierre Beaupre and Marie Martin. Charles was Pierre and Marie Anne's fifth son.^[1]

Sometime before 1811, Charles moved to Amherstburg, Essex, Ontario. The Amherstburg Royal Navy Dockyard was located there from 1796- 1813 at the mouth of the Detroit River. In 1796, Fort Amherstburg was chosen as the site of a new dockyard for the construction of Provincial Marine vessels after the former site at Detroit was ceded to the United States. It was the only British naval base west of Kingston and located on the Detroit River, with easy access to Lake Erie and Lake Huron. The dockyard comprised a large storehouse, two blockhouses, a timber yard with a saw pit, and a wharf. The blockhouses flanked the yard, with Fort Amherstburg and the town of Amherstburg on either side, with the dockyard overlooking the channel which ran between it and Bois Blanc Island. The dockyard was further protected by defenses constructed on the island which watched over the entrances to both ends of the channel. The establishment of the dockyard was directly linked with the growth of the town of Amherstburg, with many inhabitants working at the dockyard.^[2].

Charles secured a position with the Provincial Marine Service as a mariner/ seaman. The Provincial Marine was a small Canadian hybrid navy ... naval in work but not military in administration. It came under the command of the governor and commander of the forces in British North America and was superintended by the Quarter Master General's Department of the army. Provincial Marine vessels were used to transport troops and government stores in peace time, with the capability of being transformed into fighting vessels if necessary. However, the nature of their peace time work tended to produce small, shallow draft vessels that were not well suited to naval use.^{[3] [4]}

On May 6, 1811, Charles married Josepht (Josette) Plante, daughter of Antoine Plante and Marie Josepht Lebeau in Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Sandwich/ Windsor, Essex, Ontario. Windsor is a short distance from Amherstburg. The marriage record indicated that Charles' parents were Pierre Beaupre and Marianne Martin of the parish of Sainte Genevieve, seigneurie de Berthier district of Montreal, Lower Canada and Josepht's parents were as mentioned above of the parish of Assumption Church. The ceremony was conducted by the priest Fr. J. B. Marchand. ^[5]. Despite what the record said this church was not in Detroit, Michigan but in Sandwich/ Windsor, Ontario. Fr. Marchand took charge of the parish in from 1796 until his death in 1825. This was a very large parish. In 1801 it had approximately 500 members. ^[6]

Together Charles and Marie Josepht (Josette) had two sons and one daughter. Their first child was Charles born July 15, 1812 and baptized September 16, 1812 in Assumption RC Church in Sandwich/ Windsor by Fr. J.B. Marchand.^[7] Their second child, Sophie, was born November 19, 1815, and was baptized in the parish of St. Jean in Amherstburg by Fr. Marchand.^[8] Fr. Marchand was responsible for the "satellite" parishes in Amherstburg and Chatham. Their third child was Edward who was born April 19, 1818 and baptized May 11, 1818 in St. Jean Parish in Amherstburg. This time Fr. Marchand's assistant Fr. Joseph Crevier performed the service. It is interesting to note that Edward's godparents were Charles' brother Amable and his sister-in-law Soulange Fortin, wife of Charles' brother Prisque. ^[9] Neither of the godparents signed the register. It is thought that Amable worked in Amherstburg . It is unknown how long Amable lived there. Just six months after Charles' son was born, Amable's daughter Emilie was born in Amherstburg. Charles was the godfather for Emilie.

In the seventeen years of its existence, the Amherstburg Navy Yard was the hub of the British Naval presence on the upper Great Lakes. In May,1813 the Provincial Marine Service mariners were called into service by the Royal Navy during the early days of the War of 1812. According to the Library and Archives Canada- British Military and Naval Records, Charles was wounded on Lake Erie, June 23, 1813.^[10] He would not have been a trained soldier.

In 1815, Charles' father Pierre composed a poem sometimes referred to as "The Beaupre Song". In it he expressed how proud he was of all his sons and sons-in-law when they showed allegiance to the King by becoming involved in defending Canada against invasions by the Americans during the War of 1812. A verse was assigned to each man. The verse devoted to Charles went as follows:

"If you, my poor Charlie, come back to your father and tell me of agony bravely endured. Though a leg you have lost on the banks of the Grand River, We'll shout "long live the King" when at last you are cured."

It is thought that perhaps the wound that occurred on June 23, 1813 might have been the loss of his leg. This is a guess.

At the Battle of Put-in-Bay, Ohio on September 10, 1813, a pivotal naval battle also known as the Battle of Lake Erie occurred. It was at that battle that the American military forces gained complete control of Lake Erie along with its ports and dockyards. Sadly on September 13, 1813, the Amherstburg Navy Dockyard was destroyed by the Canadians themselves. Since the Americans won the Battle of Lake Erie it was assumed that they would take over the navy yard. Rather than having their supplies, ships and buildings taken over by the Americans, the Canadians burned everything to the ground. Amherstburg retained a reduced military presence following this event but the town would no longer be a British Naval Base on the upper Great Lakes.

Charles, Josephte and their son Charles chose to remain in Amherstburg. Their next two children were born and baptized there in the St. Jean parish. According to the Library and Archives Canada- British Military and Naval Records, Charles sent a letter to Sir Peregrine Maitland "Praying for confirmation of his (land grant) in the Town of Amherstburg on January 20, 1819. ^[11]

Sadly, tragedy struck on September 16, 1819 although there is a mystery associated with it. On this date Charles Beaupre died at age 33. His burial record however indicates that he was not buried until November 7, 1819. It has been speculated that Charles drowned September 16 but his body was not recovered until November. This speculation is based on the fact that Charles had been a mariner and that tumultuous storms were not uncommon on Lake Erie. The record revealed that his younger brother Prisque Beaupre was present at the burial.^[12]

Charles left behind his wife Josepht/ Josette along with their three children Charles (7), Sophie (3), and Edward (1). Charles was buried in the St. Jean de Baptiste Cemetery in Amherstburg. Since Josette moved with her sons to Ohio several years later, she is not buried alongside Charles. ^[13]

Burial - Saint John The Baptist Cemetery Amherstburg, Essex County, Ontario, Canada

Charles married Marie Plante on 6 May 1811 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan only to die seven years later. Charles and Marie had three children: Charles, Edward, and Sophia.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1091/images/d13p_16120088?pId=30828629
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amherstburg_Royal_Naval_Dockyard
3. ↑ http://www.warof1812.ca/provmarine.htm
4. ↑ http://nhsm.ca/media/11.LincolnMilitiaCasualtiesPensions.pdf
5. ↑ https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1111&h=203213&ssrc=pt&tid=53393263&pid=132201184937&usePUB=true
6. ↑ https://assumptionparish.ca/about/history/
7. ↑ https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1111&h=146003&ssrc=pt&tid=53393263&pid=132244838206&usePUB=true
8. ↑ https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1109&h=130353&ssrc=pt&tid=53393263&pid=132244838302&usePUB=true
9. ↑ https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/1109/images/d13p_32180655?pId=130498
10. ↑ https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/mass-digitized-archives/british-military-naval-records-index/Pages/item.aspx?PageID=414733.. page 890
11. ↑ https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/mass-digitized-archives/british-military-naval-records-index/Pages/item.aspx?PageID=414733... page 891
12. ↑ https://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1109&h=130535&ssrc=pt&tid=53393263&pid=132201184937&usePUB=true
13. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50564426/charles-beaupre

See also:

• William V. Matthews
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKJ-5GRW : 10 September 2021), Charles Beaupre, ; Burial, Amherstburg, Essex, Ontario, Canada, Saint John The Baptist Cemetery; citing record ID 50564426, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.