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The First Lady of Mackinac Island

How one UP woman became the forerunner in fur trading

Story by Larry Chabot

Sketches by Mike McKinney

Mackinac Island – a magic isle in the Straits of Mackinac just off St. Ignace, famed for its fudge and banning of nonessential motor vehicles. And so rich in history, it seems that something memorable happened every few feet.

The island was a major center of the North American fur trade, where Native American canoes full of pelts pulled up to tempt buyers looking for deals. Amidst the piles of pelts and trading goods were rough and raucous men… and a single, solitary female who was the equal of any man there. She was the widow Madeline La Frambois, who ran furs in Michigan Territory (Michigan was not yet a state). Although her work took her up and down eastern Lake Michigan, her “office” and home were on Mackinac Island.

Known as “The First Lady of Mackinac,” she thrived in a traditionally male occupation, which required hard work and constant travel against fierce competitors. Because of her success in a man’s world, a Grand Rapids newspaper called her “Michigan’s most successful female pioneer.” Sadly, both her husband and father were murdered, leaving her a single mother coping with a fur trading business. And she pulled it off.

She had been born Marguerite-Magdelaine Marcot (but answered to Madeline) on Mackinac Island in 1780 to fur company agent Jean Baptiste Marcot and his wife Marie, daughter of a Native American chief. (Some claim she was born in Niles). While the family was living on the island and Madeline was only three, her father was killed in Wisconsin in 1783.

At the tender age of 14, she married 29-year-old fur-trader Joseph La Framboise in a Native American

ceremony (they later repeated Catholic vows) and became his business partner. But like his father-in-law, Joseph was also murdered, as he knelt in prayer in a cabin near Grand Haven. He was only 41. When the murderer was brought to the widow, she forgave him because of her deep religious beliefs. The Beaver Wars

The fur business was a powerful economic force in Madeline’s time. When European fur-bearing animals became scarce from over-hunting, clothiers turned to the wilderness of North America and its abundant wildlife to clothe the elite. The fur business was marked by such intense competition that violence was ever present. The long, bitter conflict is forever known as the Beaver Wars. (Author note: My ancestor, Jean Poisson, was killed in the Beaver Wars in 1652.)

Beaver, sable and marten furs were especially prized. Because fur is waterproof, beaver skins made into felt hats kept Europeans warm and dry. Their craving for beaver and other furs lasted more than 200 years. Native American men trapped the animals, and women prepared the pelts for market. Every fall, traders provided knives, tools, kettles, flints for starting fires, guns and ammunition, alcohol, blankets, beads and other goods to the Native Americans to get them through the trapping season. The trappers returned in the spring to settle accounts and trade their furs. The buyers then sailed big canoes loaded with pelts to Montreal for shipment to Europe.

Madeline La Framboise and her husband, Joseph, were in perfect position to satisfy these customers, and developed a fur trade through a string of more than 20 trading posts in Michigan Territory and assembled goods to trade with the trappers at Mackinac Island. Madeline Takes Over

After Joseph’s murder, Madeline earned a trader’s license and took control of the business, managing an increasing number of trading posts and expanded territory. Historian Erica Emelander called Madeline “one of the most successful fur traders in the Northwest Territory of the United States… Michigan’s first prominent businesswoman,” with most of her business and her home centered on Mackinac Island. Success brought great wealth, allowing her to send her children, Joseph and Josette, to fancy schools in Montreal.

John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company dominated the fur trade during this period, but Madeline was able to compete with him pelt-for-pelt until 1818, before European clothiers were switching to other materials. When the fur business stalled in the 1830s, she had already sold part of her business to Astor and her trading posts to other buyers.

She was 48, and her children were now adults. Young Joseph followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming one of North America’s top traders. Daughter Josette married Benjamin Pierce, commander of the military fort on Mackinac Island. Benjamin’s brother Franklin was later elected the 14th president of the United States in 1853, but Josette had already died in childbirth by then, and so never had the chance to refer to her brother-in-law as the president.

Meanwhile, Madeline built a fabulous home and settled in on her favorite island. Although fluent in several languages and Native American dialects, she was illiterate until teaching herself to read and write after her retirement. She donated land for a new St. Anne Catholic church, which had been established in 1670. Her generosity helped to keep the parish going when it had no regular priest.

She was a willing godmother at many baptisms at St. Ann’s, a frequent witness at many marriages, benefactor

Madeline La Framboise built a formidable fur-trading company, keeping step with the leading traders and amassing great wealth, all on her own.

of a Native American school, and taught religious classes for children. Her many acts of charity earned her the honorary title of “First Lady of Mackinac” and a spot in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

Madeline died at home on April 4, 1846 and was buried under the church altar beside her daughter and grandson. The remains were later relocated to a crypt in the churchyard. Her home is now the site of the Harbour View Inn, where the original floor plan is intact with its parlor, eight fireplaces and original four bedrooms.

She rests forever on her magic Mackinac Island.

About the author: Larry Chabot, an Ontonagon native, worked his way through Georgetown University and was then employed at White Pine Copper Company for 32 years, before moving to Marquette with his wife, Betty. He is a freelance writer who has written for several publications, including over 150 articles for Marquette Monthly.