Antoine Ephrem Cartier

Antoine Ephrem Cartier (1836–1910) was a businessman famous for helping develop the beginnings of Ludington, Michigan, in the nineteenth century.

Antoine's Manistee home 1861 - 1877

Antoine was born in the Trois-Rivières regional county municipality, Canada, of Quebec area on May 16, 1836. He was baptized in Maskinongé village on May 17. As a boy he was a laborer on the family farm in Canada, however had no interest in agriculture. Since much of his time was needed on the family farm, he received little schooling.

In 1852, when Antoine was 16, his father died. He moved away from the family farm in Canada and went to Chicago in the fall of 1854. There he became a laborer involved with lumber. He stayed there just a few months and then moved to Manistee, Michigan. At first he was a logger driving and directing logs down the Manistee River. Later he did this also on the Pere Marquette River at Ludington.

Antoine became a United States citizen, according to his Naturalization papers, on February 27, 1870. He is the first in this Cartier line to become a United States citizen.

Marriage and family

Antoine married Eliza N. Ayers in Manistee on December 3, 1859. They moved from Manistee to Ludington in 1877 with their family of 8 children. There was a ninth child, a daughter who died in infancy.

Ludington House

Antoine built a Victorian style home at the northeast corner of Ludington Avenue and Lavinia Street near downtown Ludington in 1878. Presently it is a Bed and Breakfast called "Ludington House".

Antoine Cartier's Ludington house,
c. 1880 sketch

Antoine Cartier's Ludington house,
June 2010

Antoine's father is Jean-Baptiste Cartier Jr. Jean Jr. was a farmer born at his parents farm estate in the Maskinongé area of Quebec by the river of the same name. Antoine's grandfather (Jean-Baptiste Cartier Sr.) was born at Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec. Antoine's mother's name was Rosalie (Courchesne) Cartier. Antoine's siblings were six brothers and two sisters. Of as 1895 there were only 4 siblings living besides himself.

Antoine is related to and can trace his family line back 400 years to Jacques Cartier, the famous French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France. There is an extensive detailed family history genealogy self-published by Morgan E. Cartier (Antoine's grandson, Warren Antoine Cartier's son) on display at the "Ludington House" that shows his family line going back to Jacques Cartier.

"Cartier Genealogy"

According to a 1957 genealogy book written by Morgan Cartier (grandson of Antoine) Antoine Ephrem Cartier's father is Jean Baptiste Cartier Jr (1790–1846); whose father is Jean Baptiste Cartier (1757–1816); whose father is Francois de Salles Cartier (1725-1763); whose father is Guillaume Cartier II (1693-1742); whose father is Guillaume Cartier (1653-1719) being the first in the family line to be born a Canadian; whose father is Julian Cartier (1618–1665) being the first in the family line to be a Canadian immigrant (in 1649); whose father is Claude Cartier (1586–1642); whose father is Jean Cartier (1563–1598); whose father is Francois Cartier (1542–1575); whose father is Allaine Cartier (1509–1574); whose father is Raoulette Cartier (1489–1562); whose father is Etienne Cartier (1467–1549); whose father is Jean Cartier (1428–1488). Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), the famous French explorer who claimed Canada for France, is a son of Jacques Jamet Cartier (1458–1509); whose father also is Jean Cartier (1428–1488) since Jacques Jamet was Etienne's older brother by 9 years.

“La Famille Cartier de Sorel”

French Canadian historian Albert Ovila Cartier in 1936 shows in his history book "La Famille Cartier de Sorel" the following:

• Guillaume Cartier Sr was the son of Julien Cartier and Françoise Bourdain. Albert shows Guillaume being born in Drain (diocese Nantes in Brittany), France. Albert says also Guillaume Sr was a miller and a farmer in Neuville, Canada, after immigrating from France in 1684. According to the marriage record Guillaume, when 32 years old, married Marie Etiennette Garnier in 1685 when she was 18 years of age on January 18, 1685. They had the following children; Nicolas (1696-1758), Francoise (1688-1721), Louise-Angelique (1690-1736), Guillaume Jr (1693-1736).
• Guillaume Cartier Jr (1693-1742) married Marie-Claude Gamelin. They had the following children; Marie-Louise (1723-1778), Francois-de-Salles (1725-1770), Jeanne-Therese (1726-?), Genevieve (1727-1727), Joseph (1728-1729), Joseph II (1739-1779), Michel (1732-1737), Jean-Bte (1736-?), Angelique-Verinique (1738-1814), Pierre-Modeste (1739-?), Louis (1740-1820), Michel II (1742-1743).
• From François de Salles (1725-1770) is a child called Jean-Baptiste Sr (1757-1816), who has a son called Jean-Baptiste Jr (1790-1846) who is the father of Antoine Ephrem Cartier.

Anecdotes of the ancestors of Antoine Ephrem Cartier

According to genealogist Michel Potier in 2013 and his Association called Les Cousins de la Marquise

• Antoine Ephrem Cartier's father is Jean Baptiste Cartier Jr (1790–1846); whose father is Jean Baptiste Cartier (1757–1816); whose father is Francois de Salles Cartier (1725-1763); whose father is Guillaume Cartier II (1693-1742); whose father is Guillaume Cartier (1647-1719) being the first in the family line to immigrate from France to Canada (in 1684).

Guillaume Cartier Sr:

• Guillaume (English name William) is Antoine's great, great, great grandfather.
• Morgan Cartier of above "Cartier Genealogy" of 1957 claims Guillaume has a birth record of 1653 at la Pointe aux Trembles near Quebec City and has a baptismal record there. Historian Michel Potier claims he was really born at Drain in Anjou, France. A baptismal record from the Church of Drain is of 19 February 1647.
• There is a marriage recorded between Marie Etiennette Garnier and Guillaume Cartier in the city of Neuville of 1685 in Québec, Canada.
• There is a death certificate for Guillaume Cartier at St-François-du-Lac, Co. Yamaska, Québec, showing he died May 31, 1719.

Julien Cartier:

• Morgan Cartier of above "Cartier Genealogy" of 1957 claims Guillaume's parents immigrated to Québec in 1649, however Potier claims they always lived at Drain and never sailed to Quebec. Morgan claims Julien was killed by Iroquois indians in 1665 up the St. Lawrence River away from Quebec. Potier claims Julien (Guillaume's father) died at Drain in 1660.
• Morgan Cartier of above "Cartier Genealogy" of 1957 claims Guillaume was a miller at la Pointe aux Trembles near Quebec City. Morgan claims Julien was wealthy and owned much land near Quebec, being referred to as Seigneir Cartier (a title for a large land owner). Portier claims Guillaume's father (Julien) was always employed in France (never going to Quebec).

Claude Cartier:

• Morgan Cartier of above "Cartier Genealogy" of 1957 claims Antoine's great great, great, great grandfather is Claude Cartier (the father to Julian Cartier), however Potier claims Claude Cartier was Guillaume’s cousin that was born in 1677, some 30 years after Guillaume.
• Morgan Cartier of above "Cartier Genealogy" of 1957 claims Antoine has a family relationship with Jacques Cartier (the famous exployer that claimed Canada for France). Potier claims no relation has ever been established through genealogy records that prove this.

• Cartier, p. 44
• Cartier, p. 41
• ^ Cartier, p. 45
• Portrait And Biographical Record Of Northern Michigan
• Powers, p. 1187 Antoine E. Cartier traced his lineage back to French origin and was a descendant of the American explorer of the name.
• Ludington Record Appeal obituary article, March 3, 1910; p. 1 "City Mourns Chief Citizen" Born in the direct line of the great exployer, the Cartier blood throbbed through his veins.
• Cabot, p. 38 Born near Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Antoine E. Cartier (1836-1910) was kin of the exployer Jacques Cartier.
• Cartier, pp. 1-66
• ^ Cartier, p. 34
• Cartier, p. 30
• Cartier, pp. 10, 12
• ^ la Famille Cartier de Sorel 15 MB French
• Baptismal Certificate of Marie Étienne Garnier, Baptized on 14 April 1666 in the Mission de Sillery, Québec
• Les Cousins de la Marquise
• Guillaume CARTIER QUARTIER family history
• Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.
• Guillaume's birth record which shows Julien "Quartier" (just an old spelling of the Cartier name) and his wife Françoise Bourdin.
• Marriage Certificate: Guillaume Cartier Quartier & Marie Étiennette Garnier, Married on 18 January 1685 in St-François-de-Sales, Neuville, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec
• Marriage record information
• Burial Certificate for Guillaume Cartier Quartier
• Cartier, p. 33
• Cartier, p. 32
• Cartier, pp. 9-11

Antoine became a partner in the Dempsey-Cartier firm of Manistee in 1873 with Jim Dempsey. The Dempsey-Cartier firm purchased and renovated the Green & Millmore sawmill of Manistee and made lumber from northern Michigan white pine. They changed the name of the company to Cartier & Dempsey.

Sometime around 1877 Antoine purchased the Stanchfield mill and considerable timerland and property around Ludington. In 1882 the mill was sold to Butter's Company. Antoine then purchased the shares of the Cartier mill owned by William Allen and George Goodsell and developed the Cartier Lumber Company by 1892.

Approximately 1878 Antoine was a partner with D. L. Filer in the large lumbering firm Cartier & Filer. It operated a sawmill and store. As of 1882 Antoine was half owner of Danaher & Cartier (a shingle mill business) and a member of Dempsey, Cartier & Company at Manistee.

Antoine became a large stockholder in the Northern Michigan Transportation Company from 1904 to 1910.

His business axioms were simple.

Antoine was a mayor for Ludington in 1880 and 1881. He was also a member of the city council for 4 years in Manistee. Antoine supported the Democratic party.

The Cartier family line has been of the Catholic faith for hundreds of years. Antoine's faith was also Catholic and he supported the local Ludington parish St. Simon church of which he was a member.

Cartier Coat of Arms

• A poor workman faults his tools.
• Do not throw an opportunity over your shoulders.
• Never buy anything you cannot use, no matter how cheap it is.
• When I cannot walk, I'll crawl. When I cannot crawl I'll roll; but I'll get there.
• And it is wisely written - arise from your sleep with a smile on your lips and a song in your heart.
• I have never seen a successful man who lies in bed in the morning.
• It is true - you are not fully dressed until you have put on a smile.
• If you owe a dollar, pay it. If someone owes you, collect it.
• The world's work starts at 8 A.M. Get at it!
• Always have a leaning post - always! If you have no one to lean on, you have to be IT. And when you are IT, you are alone and it is tough.
• All mankind are heir to troubles and no one is interested in yours, so keep them to yourself.
• I would sooner come to a decision and be wrong, than vacillate.
• A Gentleman takes two cocktails before dinner. Period.
• Quit moaning and count your Blessings.
• Never be afraid of anyone or anything.

Antoine died March 1, 1910 and was buried in the Pere Marquette cemetery at Ludington on March 4.