Nault ancestor shares his family’s history

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/11/2017 (2984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Derrick Nault has become a valuable resource for the St. Vital Historical Society.

To date, he has provided copies of documents containing first-hand reports of the arrest of Andre Nault, and of a sheriff’s officer who had a chance 1873 meeting with Louis Riel, who was riding south to the U.S.A.

It was Riel’s stoppage of Canadian surveyors on Nault’s haying privilege in 1869 that began Manitoba’s march to becoming a province.

So, who is Derrick Nault?

“Andre Nault, cousin to Louis Riel and descendant, like Riel, of the explorer Jean-Baptiste Lagimodiere, is my great-great grandfather,” Nault wrote in an email. “Marie-Anne Gaboury (the “Mother of Red River”) is my great-great grandmother. Andre’s son, Alexandre Nault, is my great grandfather. Alexandre was married to Mathilde Carriere, a daughter of Damase Carriere (a Métis martyr at Batoche) and Marie-Pelagie Parenteau (a niece of Gabriel Dumont).

“So Damase was also my great-great grandfather. My father was Bernard Gabriel (Gib) Nault. He grew up in Fort Garry, which was at one time St. Vital. His father was Alberic (later ‘Bert’) Nault and his mother was Alice Patricia Vermette, sister to Yvonne Vermette Riel, the wife of Honore Riel.”

Nault grew up in Beausejour, and obtained his BA and MA degrees in history at the University of Manitoba.

“At one point, I lived on University Crescent, possibly right on Andre Nault’s River Lot 12 without knowing it,” he wrote.

Nault earned his PhD in history from Queen’s University before teaching at the University of Calgary. He is now at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

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The St. Vital Historical Society’s 2018 calendar will be available at the annual general meeting on Sat., Nov. 18. The cost is $5 each, or three for $10, and the calendars, which are chock full of great photos celebrating St. Vital history, make great stocking stuffers.

Anyone purchasing a 2018 historical society membership for $15 will receive a free calendar.

The money goes a long way to keep the St. Vital Museum up and running. Contrary to common belief, the museum is operated by volunteers and does not receive government grants.

The museum, located in the 103-year-old fire hall at 600 St. Mary’s Rd., is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Weekday group tours can be booked by emailing tours@svhs.ca.

The museum will be closed Nov. 11 for Remembrance Day. The annual general meeting, usually held on the second Saturday of November, will be held on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. in the museum, next to the Red River cart.

Bob Holliday is president of the St. Vital Historical Society and a community correspondent for St. Vital. Email him at docholliday@me.com