Pierre Lemay Dit Delorme

Pierre Lemay Dit Delorme I (b. 1773-1853) accompanied Alexander Mackenzie on his historic expedition to the Arctic Ocean in 1789, as one of four voyageurs.  The crew was in search of the Pacific Ocean, however their travels mistakenly took them to the Arctic Ocean. Pierre was a prominent guide  and voyageur who was listed as being in the Athabasca District as early as 1804 in North West Company documents. His descendants have remained in the Jasper and Grande Cache area since his early arrival in the Rockies.

Pierre Lemay worked as a guide for the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1812 to 1821. He was a French Canadian who spoke French and was baptized by the Catholic church. He married a Metis woman named Marguerite Cardinal in 1813. Marguerite’s parents were Jacques Cardinal and Lizette Maskegon. Marguerite’s father’s parents were Joseph Cardinal (French) and Louise Lizette Maskegon Frobisher (metis). Marguerite and Pierre Lemay conceived two sons named Augustin Delorme and Pierre Delorme II (b.1817-1888).

According to the Canadian census, Augustin Delorme died before 1846. Before his passing, Augustin married Isabelle Wanyandie Nee Karakontie who was  born in 1820-1889. They had a son named Pierre Delorme (born around 1840) who was buried in Big Graves, a son named Narcisse Delorme (born 1841) and a daughter Marie Delorme born 1842 at Lac St. Anne. Marie Delorme (Grey) married Pierre Grey in 1868 near the Rocky Mountains. Pierre Delorme, Marie Delorme and Narcisse Delorme all shared a half sister and half brother named Betsy Nipissing nee Wanyandie and Vincent (Basa) Wanyandie. Following the death of  their father Augustin Delorme, their mother Isabelle married Jean Baptiste Wanyandie, a mixed blood Iroquois, which suggests a blood relation between the Delorme and Wanyandie families. Vincent’s grandson is Tom Wanyandie who currently resides in Wanyandie Flats in Grande Cache, Alberta.

Son of Augustin and Isabella Delorme, Pierre Delorme was born around 1840 at Jasper House. He married Suzanne Delorme Nee Joachim (daughter of Pierre Joachim and Marie Walker/Waniyandie who were both Metis). Suzanne Delorme Nee Joachim lived at Jasper house and was born in 1850. Pierre and Suzanne gave birth to six children.  Three of their sons (Edward, Daniel and Alexis) drowned and died in the Athabasca River in 1887. Their daughter Isabella was born at Jasper House in 1871 and died in 1872 at the Baptiste River (Berland), Alberta. She is  buried at Little Graves Flats in Alberta. The cause of her death still remains unknown. The other 2 sons were named Phillippe and Peter (also known as Pierre Junior).

Pierre and Isabelle’s son, Peter (Pierre Junior) Delorme married Filamon Desjarlais (from Batoche area in Saskatchewan) and they had two children, a son and a daughter. Their son was named Louis Delorme (1904-1992) who married Flora Joachim in 1929. Louis Delorme was adopted by Pierre Grey because both his mother and father died during the 1918 flu epidemic which left him as an orphan at fourteen years of age. Pierre Grey raised Louis for a period of time during which he received a formal education. Louis’s sister died of pneumonia as a young girl and was buried at Kvass Flats. Her grave is located on a hillside overlooking the Smoky River valley, near Findlay Springs, Alberta.

Louis Delorme was most notably known for his trapping and guiding skills. He was one of the first licensed guides in the Province of Alberta and remained a guide and outfitter for over sixty years. He would sell his furs at Entrance, Edmonton, and Edson to help supplement his family’s income. Louis was a first-rate trapper and highly respected for his skills as a businessman. In his younger days, Louis participated in several Rodeos. He won on a number occasions for the bare back events, including the 1936 Hinton Rodeo and at the Rio Grande Rodeo near Grande Prairie.  Louis even appeared in a Hollywood movie, ‘River of no Return’ starring Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe and Rory Calhoun, which was filmed in Jasper. Due to his legacy within the Grande Cache area, Mount Louis located east of Grande Cache, was named in his honor.

Louis Delorme married Flora Joachim (daughter of Adam Joachim and Fresnine Moberly) and they had fourteen children together, Walter, Charlie, Ernie, Gordon, Roland, Ronnie, Helen, Eileen, Florestine, Bertha, Colin, Gardner, Morris and Delphine. Several of their sons became guides such as, Walter, Charlie, Ernie, Gordon and Ronnie. Daughters Helen (Hallock) and Eileen were skilled trail cooks. All of Louis’s children were accomplished mountain men and women. In later years, Louis’s son, Gordon Delorme became an outfitter. Many of Louis’s grand children have followed in his footsteps, acting as mountain guides.