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The Detroit Shoemaker
At the age of eleven, shoemaker apprentice Hyacinthe Reaume dreamed of working in the vibrant fur trade like his father and uncles. He longed to join his voyageur father on one of his trips, despite its grueling labour and the dangers of traveling across frigid waters for long periods of time.
An opportune pair of blue shoes led to his courtship and marriage to Agatha LaCelle.
Years later, in 1733, Hyacinthe and Agatha, along with their two children, made the long, arduous trip from Montreal to Fort Pontchartrain in sparsely populated Detroit, where he would combine his two passions of shoemaking and fur trading. Their life would be forever changed. They experienced daily hardships and tragic losses, having survived the French and Indian War, the British takeover of the fort, and Chief Pontiac's Uprising.
Living through the most tense and critical days in Detroit's history, theirs is a story of courage, perseverance, acceptance, and enduring love.
An opportune pair of blue shoes led to his courtship and marriage to Agatha LaCelle.
Years later, in 1733, Hyacinthe and Agatha, along with their two children, made the long, arduous trip from Montreal to Fort Pontchartrain in sparsely populated Detroit, where he would combine his two passions of shoemaking and fur trading. Their life would be forever changed. They experienced daily hardships and tragic losses, having survived the French and Indian War, the British takeover of the fort, and Chief Pontiac's Uprising.
Living through the most tense and critical days in Detroit's history, theirs is a story of courage, perseverance, acceptance, and enduring love.
198 pages, Hardcover
Published April 13, 2023
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 28, 2025
This book took me completely by surprise. Not usually a genre I read, I was quickly consumed by the story of a French family who emigrated from France, settled in Montreal, and then helped to establish the cities of Detroit and Windsor.
The author's research is extensive and meticulous, tracing her family's roots back several generations.
The story delves into Canada's fur trade and French migration south along the St. Lawrence Seaway to the birth of Detroit, in the form of Fort Pontchartrain.
The level of survival skills and determination of our pioneering ancestors is nothing short of amazing.
Every local history buff should snag a copy of this book.
The author's research is extensive and meticulous, tracing her family's roots back several generations.
The story delves into Canada's fur trade and French migration south along the St. Lawrence Seaway to the birth of Detroit, in the form of Fort Pontchartrain.
The level of survival skills and determination of our pioneering ancestors is nothing short of amazing.
Every local history buff should snag a copy of this book.
September 7, 2023
I found this to be an interesting story woven around the history of the author’s family in the early 1700s. With the prologue and intermittent paragraphs providing historical background, the author has spun a tale that takes us back to the joys, and hardships, of a family living in that time.
The book caught my eye at a local bookstore, and I found it quite enjoyable.
The book caught my eye at a local bookstore, and I found it quite enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews