Manitoba Historical Society
     Keeping history alive for over 141 years
 

Pay & Donate in the MHS Online Shop

Endangered Top 10
LG History
Awards
2020

Fundraising Dinner 2020
MHS
Fundraising
Dinner
2020

Endangered Top 10
Endangered
Top 10
2019

Jens Munk at Churchill
Field Trip:
Churchill
2020

Manitoba History No. 90
Manitoba
History
No. 90

Memorable Manitobans of 2019
Memorable
Manitobans
of 2019

War Memorials in Manitoba
War
Memorials
in Manitoba

This Old Elevator
This Old
Elevator

Abandoned Manitoba
Abandoned
Manitoba

Memorable Manitobans
Memorable
Manitobans

Historic Sites of Manitoba
Historic Sites
of Manitoba

Events in Manitoba History: Louis Riel and his Councillors (circa 1869)

It is alleged that, in late 1869 or early 1870, a photographer entered Hugh F. O’Lone’s Red Saloon, a bar near the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street in Winnipeg (the site now buried under a widened Portage Avenue), and took a photograph of Louis Riel surrounded by several other men, said to be his “councillors.” Some sources have drawn the conclusion that the men were members of Riel’s Provisional Government.

Riel and his Councillors

Louis Riel and his Councillors (circa 1869)
Source: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, A13-5.

Back row (L-R): Bonnet Tromage, Pierre Delorme, Thomas Bunn, Xavier Pagé, Andre Beauchemin, Baptiste Tourond, Thomas Spence. Middle row (L-R): Pierre Poitras, John Bruce, Louis Riel, William O’Donoghue, François Dauphinais. Front row (L-R): Hugh (or Bob) O’Lone, Paul Proulx.

The identity of the photographer for the photograph is, as yet, unknown but speculation falls on two men known to have been working in the Red River Settlement around this time: Joseph Langevin or Ryder Larsen.

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Louis “David” Riel (1844-1885)

Memorable Manitobans: Provisional Government of Manitoba, 1870

Sources:

“A ghastly find. Are they the remains of Thomas Scott?,” Manitoba Free Press, 18 September 1896, page 1.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 1 January 2019

Back to top of page
   


To report an error on the above page, please contact the MHS Webmaster.

Home  |  Terms & Conditions  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy  |  Donations Policy

© 1998-2020 Manitoba Historical Society. All rights reserved.