him one of the most prominent race horse owners in the country. His filly, Glidelia, won the 1880 Alabama Stakes. In 1882, with his brother, James, they had purchased Aristides Welch's renowned stud farm at Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, and the bulk of its bloodstock at Chestnut Hill for $100,000. In 1884, the Kittson's colt, Rataplan, won the prestigious Travers Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course. Kittson's sons, Louis and James, were both well-known horsemen and managed Erdenheim after their father's death. They sold the studs at auction in 1896. 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 spelled Perry), and finally he married Mary Cochrane (1842–1886). Kittson fathered 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 1.2 million dollars to be divided between his children. One Margaret Robinson declared that she had been married to Norman Kittson in 1833 as shown on a marriage certificate she produced. Her claim for a third of the estate dollars was denied, as neither the locale nor the state (Wisconsin) where the marriage supposedly took place was then extant, the priest named on the certificate was in Ohio in 1833, and the type of paper on which the certificate was printed was of more recent origin. Papers Papers of Norman W. Kittson are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. They include fur trade account books (1851–1853, 1863–1866) and miscellaneous papers pertaining to lands, accounts, and other investments. Notes and references Footnotes References Minnesota Place Names – People Information. Accessed 2006-07-16. External links Memorable Manitobans – Norman Kittson Norman