Fonds med-143 - LaFramboise family fonds

John LaFramboise was born in March 5, 1850(?) at the Red River settlement, today's Winnipeg (or possibly at Moose Mountain district, North West Territories). He was named after Captain John Palliser, the great explorer. His parents were Francois LaFramboise and Marie Trottier. Shortly afterwards his birth, John's father moved west to the prairies adjacent to the Cypress Hills to trade and hunt for buffalo. They passed a few winters at the Red Deer Forks, near the ruins of Fort Chesterfield, which his great grandfather helped to build for the North West Company in 1791. After a few years in the west, John became a noted buffalo hunter. He was known to have killed 20 buffalo in one run on several occasions. He also killed hundreds of deer and antelope after the buffalo were killed out. He also killed a few grizzly bears in the Cypress Hills and on the South Saskatchewan River. He killed the last buffalo bull in the immediate vicinity of Medicine Hat in 1885. He located the animal a mile east of Chapace Lake, running it down near McKay Spring, about 25 miles Northeast of Medicine Hat. In 1876 he was one of the scouts on a punitive expedition under General Nelson A. Miles of the United States Army, their quarry being Sitting Bull, the great Sioux chief. But Sitting Bull fled into British territory near the present town of Assiniboia, where the United States army could not touch him. That was right after the Custer massacre. John was also the scout that located the camp of Chief Joseph, the noted chief of the Nez Perce, on Beaver Creek, south of where Fort Assiniboine was built three years later. John worked for the U.S. government about eight years after the building of Fort Assiniboine in 1879 in Montana territory, 17 miles southwest of the present town of Havre. Coming back to Canada he lived in Medicine Hat for a number of years, later moving to Saskatoon. He moved to Maple Creek in 1909 where he resided until his death. John married Margarette/Marguerite/Margaret (nee Cayan) ca. 1877, eldest daughter of the late Alexander Boudreau dit Caen dit Cayan and Marie McGillis, at Blackfoot Crossing, near the present village of Cluny, Alberta. They had 5 sons and 3 daughters: Gabriel, David, Isadore, Peter, William, Marie (Mrs. Isadore Montour), Mrs. Frederick Montour and Lizzie (Mrs. Thomas Prassas). The LaFramboise family were of Metis heritage. Margarette died April 20, 1939, at the age of 80, in Maple Creek, and John later passed away in Maple Creek on May 29, 1944 at the age of 96 years. Isadore married Marie-Rose (nee Trottier), and Patrick "Paddy" LaFramboise was born to them on July 29, 1903. He was born in Medicine Hat and lived on "Moccasin Flats" near Strathcona Island. Isadore, alias "Mexican Pete", spent much of his life in prison because of horse rustling. He was imprisoned in Edmonton at the time Paddy was born, but escaped to see his new son. Later he returned on his own accord. He was pardoned in 1914, and went overseas to fight in the war where he was wounded twice and gassed. Following the war, he came back to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan where he later died in May, 1952, at the age of 72. Marie-Rose worked for Captain William Parker of the NWMP. Paddy was raised by a woman named Margaret Ledou, who was also known as a Cree medicine woman. He began riding horses at the age of 3, and even rode milk cows from the town herd as a boy. At the age of 14 he began riding in professional rodeos. In 1930, he became the Pony Express Champion in Washington, and also became the Pacific Coast Cow Milking Champion and Wild Steer Riding Champion. His last rodeo was in 1958, when he met his wife Lucille (nee Stewart). Lucille was a nurse at the Colonel Belcher Hospital in Calgary. Paddy decided to get his RN certificate, and started working also at the Colonel Belcher, as a male nurse in 1960. In 1967, he returned to Medicine Hat and became involved in the Senior Citizen's Advisory Council at the Veiner Centre for close to 3 years. Due to poor health, he was forced to move back to Calgary. In February 1988, Paddy visited Medicine Hat and was interviewed by the Medicine Hat News.