Norman Kittson - Family

Family

Norman Kittson had been married three times. His first wife, Élise Marion (1831-1868) a Métis from the Red River Colony. She was a daughter of blacksmith Narcisse Marion and the sister of Roger Marion (1846-1920), a conservative Member of Parliament. Kittson had many friends among the Red River Métis including a first cousin, Ambrose Lépine, who was an associate of Louis Riel. The Marion family, however, were opposed to Riel's Red River Rebellion. When Élise died in 1868, Kittson took her body back to St. Boniface for burial among her family and childhood friends. He then married the Swiss Sophia Perret (1817-1889), daughter of Abraham Perret (also sometimes spelt Perry), and finally he married Mary Cochrane (1842-1886). In total, Kittson was the father of nine children by his three wives. Kittson died 10 May 1888 in a dining car after ordering dinner while traveling on the Chicago and North Western Railway towards St. Paul. It was said of him that "he gave willingly but not ostentatiously to charitable causes".

Kittson left an estate of over one million dollars to be divided between his children. In 1894, an Indian by the name of Margaret Robinson declared that she had been married to Norman Kittson in 1833, and produced a copy of the supposed marriage certificate. However, her claim for over half a million dollars turned out to be false on the account that much of the information given on the certificate was incorrect, namely that Wisconsin - where it was written that they had been married - had not existed at that time.