Émilie Tremblay (née, Marie-Émilie Fortin; January 4, 1872 – April 21, 1949) was one of the first white women to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

gold fields. She was French-Canadian and the founder, and first president, of the Society of the Ladies of the Golden North. She was also president of the Yukon Order of Pioneers Auxiliary. A businesswoman, she owned and operated a store in the

in what is now a heritage building.

Biography

Tremblay was born in 1872 in

Hébertville Hébertville () is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in Quebec, Canada. History Hébertville was founded in 1849 and is named for the priest Nicolas-Tolentin Hébert (1810-1888), the son of Jean-Baptiste Hébert, a Patriot representative ...

, (Notre-Dame-d'Hébertville)

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Her father, Cleophas Fortin, moved the French-Canadian Catholic family to

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

; her mother was a school teacher. Tremblay received her education at the grammar school associated with the Sisters of the Congregation of St-Roch convent. Her family moved to

Cohoes, New York Cohoes ( ) is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's ...

around 1887. It is there that, in 1893, she met and married Pierre-Nolasque "Jack" Tremblay (died July 16, 1935). He was from

, but had made a fortune on a mining claim at Miller Creek. After honeymooning, they traveled over 5,000 miles before reaching Fortymile on June 16, 1894. She was one of the first white woman to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the

gold fields, years before the Klondike Gold Rush. They made their home at Miller Creek in a one-room log cabin that had been previously occupied by miners. Glass bottles served as window panes. They grew radishes and lettuce on the sod roof which they had turned into a garden. They returned to Cohoes in November 1895, then travelled to Quebec City and Montreal, before returning to Cohoes where Tremblay nursed her sick mother for two years. In March 1898, they left again for the Yukon, settling in

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. Jack prospected from 1898 to 1913, earning enough to be well off but not rich, allowing them to travel through Europe for several months. The couple had no children, but adopted a niece, Emily. In 1913, after Jack's retirement, the couple moved to Dawson. Here, they bought a building at the corner of King Street and Third Avenue, and Tremblay opened a dry goods shop, "Madame Tremblay's", while they lived in the apartment above. This store is now a heritage building. In 1922, Tremblay founded and was the first president of the Society of the Ladies of the Golden North, and in 1927, she served as president of the Yukon Order of Pioneers Auxiliary. After Jack's death in 1935, Tremblay traveled to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to attend the "Ladies of the Golden North" convention, and to Quebec City where she received honors from the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, of which she was a life member. She was honoured with a lifetime membership and received a commemorative medal in 1937 at the coronation of King George VI. She traveled to

Saguenay, Quebec Saguenay ( , , ) is a city in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City by overland route. It is about upriver and northwest of Tadoussac, located at the confluence with the St. ...

where she described her adventures, and then to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, before returning to the Yukon to sell her shop. In 1940, at the age of 67, Tremblay married the gold miner Louis Lagrois, six years her elder, moving with him to a log cabin at

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

. In August 1946, she visited

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to attend the annual convention of the former Yukon Pioneers. Her last years were spent in a retirement home in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

where she died in 1949. The first

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

school in the Yukon, Ecole Emilie-Tremblay, is named in her honor.

References

External links

''Emilie Tremblay: A Bibliography of Archival and Library Material Available in the Yukon Archives'' (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremblay, Emilie 1872 births 1949 deaths Franco-Yukonnais people People from Alma, Quebec Settlers of Canada Canadian explorers