Nicholas Joseph Auger's Family
Nicholas (Joseph) Auger ~1800-1885
Present day reasoning for marriage in western societies centers on individualism, instead of a collective society perceptive. The purpose of marriage is cultural, and has changed over time. As an Indigenous man during Nicholas Auger's era, marriage brought families, communities and Nations together, strengthening ties and creating kinship ties. It was a normal practice during the fur trade era for fur trade employees to marry into the First Nation's communities. First Nations expected this of the fur trade forts.
As was the custom of the day, Nicholas Auger married into the First Nation's communities, were he lived at the time and had three wives, according to HBC records. Cecilia(Cecile), NWT, Fort Simpson, born at Fort Simpson NWT. Marie Kawmeauwatumageu (Cree/Metis) and Amelie (born by the the Nass (Nisga'a). Amelie married Nicholas (Joseph) Auger in a church ceremony on March 14, 1853. Cecilia and Marie were Country wives, meaning they had traditional ceremonies. Cecilia and Amelie, with many of their children moved to the Colquitz Creek Community, situated on the on the unceded territories of the Songhees, when Nicholas became a Victoria Voltigeur in 1851.
The family endured two epidemics, perhaps due to the access of vaccines provided by HBC. The measles epidemic tore through Nisg̱a'a Nation Territory, by the Nass river (Fort Simpson) in 1848 (1847-1850). In 1862 - 1863 small pox arrived. As Hudson Bay Company(HBC) employees, they would have had access to the newly developed vaccine.
Catherine Auger
Catherine Auger (Metis/First Nations - Fort Simpson NWT), was born March 16, 1831 in Fort Simpson NWT. Her father was Nicholas (Joseph) Auger, and mother Cecilia (Cecile).
When Catherine's dad became a Victoria Voltigeur she moved to the Colquitz Creek Village with her family, and married HBC employee William Cook. Their first born was born the same year.
Joseph Auger
Catherine's brother, Joseph Auger (Metis/First Nations - Fort Simpson NWT), was born in 1844 at the Nass, Fort Simpson, BC. His mother was Cecilia(Cecile), Native American, born at Fort Simpson NWT and father, Nicholas, was French and Iroquois (Haudenounee).
In 1858 gold fever had brought the worse of the worse from San Francisco to Fort Victoria, according to Douglas. Fears over being annex by the Americans had grown, leading Douglas to write to Britain about his concerns. It was during these unsettling times, on December 8, 1859, Joseph Auger arrived from Fort Simpson, BC, to be with his family. The night he arrived, he was murdered. His body was found the next morning.
Celeste Auger
Celeste Auger (French, Haudenounee and Nisg̱a’a), was born in 1837 at the Nass, Fort Simpson, BC. His parents are Nicholas (Joseph) Auger and his wife Amelie (Nisg̱a’a). Nicholas, Amelia and other family members moved to Fort Victoria in 1851.
John Cook
Fort Victoria Brick Project: Bellow, John Cook, was the grandson of Nicholas (Joseph) Auger, through daughter Catherine Auger (born Fort Simpson NWT). Catherine's mother was Cecilia (Indigenous, born Fort Simpson NWT).
Growing up in a fur trade family, John was the first generation born on Songhees Nation Territory, and not a Hudson Bay Company employee. John worked as a farrier. His mother, Catherine Auger, was a teenager when she moved to the coast with her very large family in 1851 when British Columbia was created.
