Tuesday, December 18, 2012

In Memoriam: Fred Belair

Today – December 18 – marks the 123rd anniversary of my paternal grandfather Fred Belair’s birth. Although his baptismal record states that he was born on 26 November 1889, my Pépère Fred once told me that he didn’t believe he was born in November and that someone at the church must have written an incorrect day and month of birth on his baptismal record. Years later, December 18th would be a very special day for my family for three reasons: it was my grandfather's birthday, my parents' wedding anniversary (they married on December 18, 1954) and my younger sister's birthday (born on December 18, 1960).

Born and baptised in Sainte-Cécile-de-Masham, Gatineau County, Quebec, Canada, Fred was the seventh child and fifth son of his parents Pierre and Angélina (Meunier) Belair. He received the names “Jean-Baptiste Ménésippe” at his baptism in the local parish church. Although he used either of his baptismal names as a child and young adult, he preferred to be known as Fred as an adult.

In the summer of 1896, Fred suffered a tragedy when his mother died a few days after giving birth to her eleventh child, a son Joseph who lived two days. His mother Angélina was only 41 years old. With seven surviving children, widower Pierre remarried within a year of his wife’s passing. Fred’s father and new stepmother Mathilde had five children, two sons and three daughters. (After Mathilde died in 1923, Pierre married a third time, to widow Rosalie Lavictoire.)

About 1911, Fred left home to seek work as a labourer in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA. During World War I, Fred worked in a munitions factory. During the 1910s and 1920s, Fred also worked in the shipyards of Wisconsin and Minnesota and on the railroad in Canada. He was employed as an ironworker for the Dominion Bridge Company in Montreal in the late 1920s-early 1930s. Later, in the 1940s, Fred was a cook in lumber camps in northern Ontario, Canada.

Fred and Julie Belair on their wedding day 1926
Fred and Julie Belair on their wedding day, 1926.

In October 1926, Fred married Julie Vanasse in Ottawa. They met through his half-sister Almina Belair, who was one of Julie’s friends. After their wedding, Fred and Julie settled in a part of Ottawa known as LeBreton Flats, which was a poor working area west of the city centre. While here, their first child, Maurice, was born in August 1927. Later, another son and two daughters completed the family unit.

Fred and his family lived in many places in the 1930s and 1940s, including Timmins, Ontario and Blue Water, near Sarnia, Ontario. After they returned to Timmins in the 1950s, Fred retired and he and Julie settled in a small apartment. After Julie passed away in March 1967, Fred continued to live in their one-bedroom home. It wasn’t until advanced old age that he moved to Peterborough, Ontario to live with his daughter Darlene.

In October 1989, Fred’s family and friends gathered in Timmins to celebrate his 100th birthday.

Fred Belair with his children on his 100th birthday 1989
Fred with his children on his 100th birthday, 1989.

Fred died in Peterborough in January 1991; he was 101 years old. His funeral took place in Timmins, and he was interred next to his beloved Julie.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Three Young Doukhobor Women

Three young Doukhobor women, dressed in traditional clothing.

Mary and Mabel Tomelin and Mabel Demoskoff about 1918-1920 probably in Saskatchewan, Canada
Left to right: Mary and Mabel Tomelin and Mabel Demoskoff, about 1918-1920,
probably in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Follow Friday: Voyageurs Contracts Database

While doing background research for a post I’m preparing about my Métis ancestry, I came across a very interesting website. It’s the Voyageurs Contracts Database, which is part of the Centre du patrimoine [Heritage Centre] located in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, Canada.

If you have Métis or French-Canadian ancestors who were involved in the fur trade (for example, a voyageur*), you’ll find this database really useful. The main page of the Voyageurs Contracts Database explains that its database “includes data from approximately 35,900 fur trade contracts signed in front of Montreal notaries between 1714 and 1830. […] The information collected from the contracts includes: family names, parishes of origin, hiring company, length of contract, destination(s) […]” and more.

* A “voyageur” is a French term that means ‘traveler’. “Voyageurs were the canoe transportation workers in organized, licensed long distance transportation of furs and trade goods in the interior of the continent. [They] were highly valued employees of trading companies, such as the North West Company […] and the Hudson's Bay Company […]”. (Source: Wikipedia contributors, "Voyageurs," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyageurs&oldid=418895640 : accessed March 16, 2011).)


Shooting the Rapids by Frances Anne Hopkins
Shooting the Rapids (1879)
 (Image source: Frances Anne Hopkins, Library and Archives Canada, acc. no. 1989-401-2, c002774.)

I searched for my ancestor “Toussaint Laronde” using the Database’s Quick Search page. I put “toussaint” in the keywords field and “laronde” in the names field. There were two results; both were my Toussaint. I then clicked ‘Details’ for the results and found items like date, place and length of his contracts, his functions, his wages, and his destinations. (The contracts are dated 13 April 1803 and 28 July 1821.) Next, I clicked ‘Select’, and then ‘View Selections’, where I requested copies of Toussaint’s contracts. In my email, I also asked for the total cost and how I could pay. The archivist promptly answered my questions and said I could pay with PayPal, cheque or money order.

I’m now waiting anxiously for the mail to arrive with paper copies of the microfilmed version of Toussaint’s voyageur contracts!

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday: Clara Strukoff

Two days ago on Sunday, I posted Clara's obituary. Today, I’m following up that post with a scanned image of her gravemarker. Clara is interred in the U.S.C.C. Doukhobor Cemetery in Grand Forks, British Columbia.

Clara Strukoff gravemarker
Clara Strukoff gravemarker.

Clara's gravemarker reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
CLARA R STRUKOFF
1955  1981
BUDDED ON EARTH TO BLOOM IN HEAVEN


Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sunday's Obituary: Clara Strukoff

Clara, my husband’s cousin, was the youngest daughter of George and Marie (Jmieff) Demoskoff. She died of cancer on 18 November 1981 in Trail, British Columbia, 31 years ago today. Clara was only 26 years old and the mother of a little girl Tracey. She was interred in the U.S.C.C. Doukhobor Cemetery in Grand Forks, British Columbia.


Clara Strukoff obituary 1981
Clara Strukoff obituary, 1981.

Source: “Strukoff”, obituary, undated clipping [November 1981], from unidentified newspaper; Demoskoff Family Papers, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2012. Yvonne acquired an assortment of family memorabilia (including Clara’s obituary) in January 2012 from her father-in-law William (Bill) Demoskoff.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wedding Wednesday: Vanasse - St Martin

David and Marie Louise Vanasse Wedding 1929
David and Marie Louise Vanasse Wedding, 1929.

A lovely country wedding photo of my paternal great-uncle David Vanasse and his bride Marie Louise St-Martin. David, 26 years old, was the son of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse. Marie Louise, who was just 18 years old, was the daughter of Charles and Emélie (Brunet) St-Martin.

The couple (seen on the far right in the photo) married on 12 June 1929 in St-Alphonse parish church in Chapeau, Pontiac County, Quebec. Their marriage record states that one bann was published and that a dispensation was granted for the other two banns. The witnesses were Leo St-Martin (Marie Louise's brother) and Agnes Vanasse (David's sister), who appear on the far left in the photo.

Some of David's family and relatives spelled their surname "Venasse", but my grandmother Julie (Julia) always spelled her surname "Vanasse".

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday: Fred and Julie Belair

Fred and Julie Belair gravestone.
Fred and Julie Belair gravemarker.

My paternal grandparents, Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair, rest in Timmins Memorial Cemetery in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Fred was the fifth, but third surviving son of Pierre and Angélina (Meunier) Belair. Julie was the fifth child and third daughter of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse. Fred and Julie married in October 1926 in Ottawa, Ontario. (You can read about their marriage at Sentimental Sunday: Fred and Julie Belair.) My grandmother passed away in March 1967 in Timmins. My grandfather, who survived her by nearly 24 years, died in January 1991 in Peterborough, Ontario.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Matrilineal Monday: Eugène Desgroseilliers

My maternal grandfather Eugène Desgroseilliers' matrilineal line is relatively long: it extends 12 generations. His matrilineal ancestry reaches back to the early 1600s to his 9x great-grandmother Marie Bruyère who was born and died in France. Marie and her husband did not immigrate to New France (Canada). Their daughter Marie, probably born in Cognac, Saintonge, France, arrived in Montreal in November 1653.

Eugène Desgroseilliers's Matrilineal Ancestry:

1. Eugène Desgroseilliers (1900-1960)
m. 1925 Juliette Beauvais

2. Clémentine Léveillé (1878-1969)
m. 1899 Albert Desgroseilliers

3. Cordélia Racette (1849-1928)
m. 1870 Joseph Léveillé

4. Marcelline Gagnon (1831-1918)
m. 1847 Joseph Racette

5. Marguerite Ducasse (1804-1872)
m. 1823 Charles Gagnon

6. Marguerite Charland (1788-after 1851)
m. 1802 François Ducasse

7. Geneviève Rouillard (1756-1815)
m. (1) 1773 Jean-Baptiste Charland

8. Marie Josephe Truchon (1726-1784)
m. (2) 1750 Pierre Rouillard

9. Marie Josephe Charpentier (1698-1729)
m. 1720 Pierre Truchon dit Léveillé

10. Françoise Hunault (1667-1748)
m. (2) 1691 Gilles (Jean) Charpentier

11. Marie Lorgueil (about 1636-1700)
m. 1654 Toussaint Hunault

12. Marie Bruyère (?-?)
m. Pierre Lorgeuil

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Friday, November 09, 2012

Lapierre Golden Wedding Anniversary

Almina (Belair) Lapierre was the half-sister of my paternal grandfather Fred Belair. She was born on 8 July 1902 in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec. She was the fourth child and youngest daughter of Pierre Janvry dit Belair by his second wife Mathilde (Domitille) Cloutier. Pierre had 11 children, including my grandfather, by his first wife Angélina Meunier, and 5 children by his second wife Mathilde. 

Almina married Alexandre Lapierre on 9 November 1927 in Masham. I don’t believe that I ever met Alex, who died in 1981, but I knew Almina, because I met her at her daughter Suzanne’s home in Aylmer, Quebec in the early 1980s. I remember being thrilled and honoured to meet her: she was my grandfather’s only surviving sibling by that time when my Dad and I visited her. She was very kind to us, and didn’t mind my asking her lots of questions about my grandparents Fred and Julie. She and my Mémère Julie were great friends and I loved hearing her reminiscences of when they were young.


English translation:

Golden Wedding [Anniversary]
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Lapierre, née Almine Bélair, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. They were wed on 9 November 1927, at Masham, where they resided until 1954, when they established themselves at North Onslow and they live presently at Quyon, where the celebration took place. They have two daughters and five sons and count fifteen [16] grandchildren. On this occasion, a mass of thanksgiving was celebrated at the parish church by abbot Gary Cain, priest. The singing was performed by Eleanor Foran and the McKenny sisters. A reception followed bringing together numerous family and friends.

Source: "Noces d'or", undated clipping, 1977, from unidentified newspaper; Belair Family Papers, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2012. Yvonne acquired this newspaper clipping possibly from her aunt Joan (Belair) Laneville in the 1990s.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Workday Wednesday: The Pipeline Accident

You are born, grow to adulthood, work at a job you like, marry, have a family, and you think, “Life’s good.”

But, life has a way of taking unexpected turns.

My father experienced such a turn. Thirty-four years ago today, his life changed dramatically.

Dad was a welder, since about 1952. He didn’t start out that way, though; it just kind of happened while working for Shaw Construction of Sarnia, Ontario. (To read about how my Dad’s welding career began, see Workday Wednesday: Maurice Belair, Welder.)

In the fall of 1978, Dad worked in Bracebridge, Ontario, about two hours north of Toronto. He often left our hometown in search of work when welding jobs were scarce in Timmins. Mom, my sister, my brother and I missed Dad a lot when he was away, but we looked forward to when he’d come home for a few days.

November 7, 1978 was a typical Tuesday. After supper, Mom got ready to go out to see friends. About 7 pm, the telephone rang. A man wanted to speak to our mother. I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt uneasy about this phone call. Within a few minutes, Mom told us that Dad had been in an accident at work. She called Dad’s sisters to let them know what had happened, and then called one of Dad’s best friends. He immediately offered to drive Mom to Bracebridge. She thanked him and then quickly packed a suitcase. Jack and Mom drove the four or five hours it took to reach the hospital. Dad’s sister Darlene, who lived not too far away in Peterborough, met them there. They found Dad seriously hurt, but in stable condition.

Many years later, after my father’s death, I found something I never knew existed. Among Dad’s personal effects, I noticed a sheet of paper on which he had written a few lines. The graph paper was about 13.5 cm x 21.5 cm (approximately 5 ½ by 8”), with Canron’s company logo in blue ink on it. I was surprised and somewhat shocked when I realized that Dad had written about his 1978 accident.

Maurice Belair's summary of his pipeline accident.
Maurice Belair's summary of his pipeline accident.

With just a few words, Dad explained what happened to him on that fateful day. He was welding in a trench one afternoon when its walls suddenly caved in, burying him alive. His co-worker saved his life by pulling him out to safety. Dad was taken to South Muskoka District Memorial Hospital in Bracebridge. He spent about two weeks there recovering from his injuries. After he came home to his grateful family, Dad continued to recuperate. It was a slow recovery. In time, Dad healed physically, but he wasn’t the same person he was before his accident. By the following spring, Dad didn’t want to go back to work.

After 25 years, Dad chose to quit welding professionally. He also decided to accept his brother’s recent offer of starting a trucking business with him. And so, in the summer of 1979, our family moved to British Columbia, where Uncle Ray, who lived here since the early 1950s, welcomed us.

This time, life didn’t take an unexpected turn; Dad created his own.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Veterans' Week 2012: Relatives Who Served In WW I and WW II

Veterans' Week November 5 to 11. A young boy placing a poppy on a grave.

I'm participating in the remembrance challenge for Veterans' Week as seen at Veterans' Affairs Canada website. This article is the second in a series I've prepared for my blog as a way of honouring the memory of my relatives and those who served Canada in times of war and peace.

Relatives Who Served in WW I and WW II

The following list features some of my relatives who served in World War I and World War II. Other, more distant relatives also served in both Wars. As far as I know, none of my ancestors (my parents, my grandparents and great-grandparents) served in either War. The only people in this list that I personally knew were my great-uncles Jean-Marie and Jean-Paul Beauvais and my father's cousin-in-law Joseph Saucier.

World War I

Name: Ovide Desgroseilliers (1884-1959)
Relationship: Ovide was my mother Jacqueline's great-uncle. He was the youngest son of Pierre and Flavie (Lepage) Desgroseilliers. Ovide married Anna Maurice in 1913 and lived in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario.
Rank / Branch: Sergeant / 163rd (Canadien-Français) Battalion.
Note: Ovide also served three years in the 97th Regiment (Algonquin Rifles) during the South African War.

Name: William Vanasse (1893-1955)
Relationship: William was my father's maternal uncle. He was a younger son of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse.
Rank / Branch: Private / Canadian Forestry Corps.
Note: I wrote about some of William's war experience here.

Name: Joseph Vanasse (1898-1973)
Relationship: Joseph was my father's maternal uncle. He was a younger son of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse.
Rank / Branch: Private / Canadian Forestry Corps.
Note: Joseph was awarded the British War Medal.

World War II

Names: Jean-Marie Beauvais (1921-2010) and Jean-Paul Beauvais (1921-2003)
Relationship: Jean-Marie and his twin brother Jean-Paul were my mother Jacqueline's maternal uncles. They were the youngest children of Joseph and Olivine (Hotte) Beauvais.
Rank / Branch: [unknown to me]
Note: I don't believe that either Jean-Marie or Jean-Paul went overseas during World War II. Jean-Marie was posted at CFB Chilliwack, British Columbia for a time.

Jean-Marie and Jean-Paul Beauvais
Jean-Marie (left) and Jean-Paul Beauvais.

Name: Ernest Belair (1919-1944)
Relationship: Ernest was a second cousin of my father Maurice Belair. He was the son of Cléoplas and Anna (Favreau) Belair, who lived in Kenora, Ontario.
Rank / Branch: Private / Lake Superior Regiment (Motor), RCIC.
Note: Ernest was killed in action on 13 October 1944 in Belgium. He is buried in the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Maldegem, Belgium.

Name: Marvel Milks (1925-2012)
Relationship: Marvel was my father Maurice's first cousin. She was a daughter of Frank and Cora (Vanasse) Milks, of Ottawa, Ontario.
Rank / Branch: Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS).
Note: I don't believe that Marvel served overseas during World War II.

Maurice Belair with his cousins Lucille Potvin and Marvel Milks.
Maurice Belair with his cousins Lucille Potvin (left) and Marvel Milks (right).

Name: Joseph Saucier (1922-1993)
Relationship: Joe was the husband of Lucille (Lou) Potvin, a first cousin of my father Maurice. Joe was the son of Victor and Rosanna (Beaupré) Saucier.
Rank / Branch: Sergeant.
Note: Joe also served in the Korean War.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Veterans' Week 2012: Private William Vanasse, WWI Veteran


Veterans' Week November 5 to 11

Yesterday, I wrote about what Canadians can do to remember Veterans' Week this year. Here is the first in a series of articles I'm posting on my blog as a way of remembering those who served Canada.

Private William Vanasse, WWI Veteran

My great-uncle William Vanasse was my paternal grandmother's elder brother. A younger son of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse, he was born on 23 February 1893 in Chichester, Pontiac County, Quebec.

William Vanasse with his brother Joseph and sister Cecilia.

I know few details about my Dad's Uncle Willie: he lived on his father's farm on Allumettes Island, was a soldier in World War I, and suffered from shell-shock. Wanting to know more about him and his war experience, I decided to look for William's recruit papers last year at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website. His attestation papers provided minimal information about him when he enlisted in June 1917. For example, he was 24 years old, was 5’8” tall, had brown eyes and black hair, was unmarried, worked as a bushman (roller and trailcutter), and had never previously served in a military force. (Although his younger brother Joseph also served in WWI, it seems that neither their brothers George nor David did.)

Now that I knew some basic details, I ordered William’s World War I complete service file from LAC and received it by email a few weeks later as a 39-page PDF document. As I examined William’s regimental paperwork, I learned that he was sent overseas in August 1917, just 43 days after he enlisted, sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the S.S. Grampian.

S.S. "Grampian" of the Allan Line.
(Photo source: William James Topley / Library and Archives Canada / PA-010252. Online MIKAN no. 3398145.)

He disembarked in Liverpool, England after a 13 day voyage and reported to his base at Sunningdale, near Windsor. William spent the next ten months occupied with railway construction and forestry duties with the Canadian Forestry Corps. (The CFC was created in 1916, because the British government needed wood in the early years of the War. It was easier to recruit skilled Canadian lumberjacks to work in the forests of England, Scotland, and France than to import lumber from Canada.) The following year, in June 1918, William was transferred to France where he spent the next 6½ months, before returning to England in January 1919. He was demobilised a few weeks later, arriving back in Canada that March.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any mention of battle fatigue or shell shock in William’s medical file, although influenza and “flat feet” are reported. Despite the lack of documentary evidence for shell shock, personal family knowledge attests that William was a casualty of this serious disorder.

William never married. He died, aged 62, at the Veterans’ hospital in London, Ontario on 13 May 1955 after a prolonged illness. His obituary stated that “he served overseas with both the infantry and construction battalions” in World War I. William’s funeral was held in Ottawa and he is buried there in Notre-Dame Cemetery.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Family History Through the Alphabet – Z is for ...

Z is for Zacharie Cloutier.

Last week, I wrote about Xainte Dupont in X is for ... For the last letter of the alphabet, I'm turning my attention to Xainte's husband Zacharie Cloutier, my maternal ancestor (ahnentfal no. 3374). To see how other bloggers have responded throughout this fantastic challenge, take a look at Family History Through the Alphabet.

Early Years

In about 1590, Zacharie was born in Mortagne, Perche, France. The date is approximate, based on his reported ages of 76 and 77 on the 1666 and 1667 censuses of New France. The eldest of nine children, Zacharie was the son of Denis Cloutier and his first wife Renée Brière. According to Behind the Name: the etymology and history of first names, Zacharie is the French form of the Biblical name Zechariah, meaning "Yahweh remembers". As for his family name, often spelled Cloustier in those days, it is an occupational name describing a nail maker. (Clou = nail; cloutier = nail maker.)

When he was about 18 years old, Zacharie's mother died a few months after giving birth to a child that did not survive. Renée was buried on 1 May 1608 in Mortagne. Denis remarried later that year with Jeanne Rahir (Gaultier), the banns being read in early November at St-Jean parish church in Mortagne. This union produced four children, providing Zacharie with three half-brothers and a half-sister.

Marriage

On 18 July 1616, Zacharie married a widow, Xainte Dupont, at St-Jean church. The couple welcomed its first child, a son named like his father, who was baptised there in August 1617. In time, young Zacharie was joined by two brothers and three sisters. All, except for Xainte who died young in September 1632, survived childhood and immigrated to Canada.

Recruitment

In the early 1630s, entrepreneur Robert Giffard recruited skilled workers in his native Perche to help build and populate the fledgling colony of New France. Men like Zacharie, a master carpenter who specialized in large-scale construction work, were in high demand. Accordingly, Zacharie became an engagé when he entered into a notarized contractual agreement with Giffard in March 1634 in which he promised his skills in New France for five years. For his part, Giffard conceded a generous portion of land from his own seigneurie to Zacharie on which to settle. Zacharie named his new property La Cloutièrerie; it consisted of 1000 arpents (about 400 hectares) in Beauport near Quebec.

Departure

After he settled his affairs in Mortagne, Zacharie made his way to the port city of Dieppe in May 1634. At about 44 years old, he left his homeland forever and sailed towards a new life on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Other Perche recruits, including my ancestor Jean Guion (Guyon), travelled with Zacharie that spring.

New France

After a voyage of six weeks, the immigrant ship arrived in Quebec on 4 June 1634. Soon, Zacharie set to work. He must have been a strong, robust and courageous individual. He laboured not only as a carpenter to fulfill the terms of his contract, but also toiled as a colonist to clear the land on his property and build a home and a life for his family. Although Zacharie could not write, he signed documents by making his mark in the shape of an axe.

Death

In 1670, Zacharie sold his property. He and his wife spent their remaining years with one of their sons at Château-Richer. After a long and productive life (he was about 87 years old), Zacharie died on 17 September 1677. He was buried the next day at Château-Richer. Xainte survived him until 1680.

Zacharie, the founder of the Cloutier family in Canada, is sometimes known as the ancêtre de tous les canadiens français (the ancestor of all the French Canadians). Are you perhaps one of his descendants?

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Monday, October 29, 2012

1953 Sarnia Tornado

While reading Frankenstorm: Great-Grandpa Would Not Have Known it was Coming at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog, it occurred to me that my mother Jacqueline lived through her own "Frankenstorm": the 1953 tornado in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

On the afternoon of 21 May 1953, Mom (who was 19 years old) was visiting her eldest sister Mariette and her husband Jack at their home in Sarnia. A thunderstorm suddenly appeared. Mom went out on the wide front porch and to her amazement, saw large hailstones falling. She called to her sister to come outside and see this force of nature. Unbeknownst to them, though, a tornado was raging in parts of the city. Mercifully, the storm didn’t touch Aunt Mariette’s house or street. The next day, Mom and a friend went to inspect the damage, taking pictures of the destruction.

A street near Aunt Mariette's house:

1953 Sarnia Tornado

Shoemaker's on George Street:

1953 Sarnia Tornado

The back of Front Street, Sarnia:

1953 Sarnia Tornado

The tornado had first touched down about 4:30 p.m. in Smiths Creek, Michigan, USA, and then moved on to nearby Port Huron.[1] The storm crossed the St. Clair River and headed for Sarnia, where it caused severe damage to homes and downtown businesses. The tornado continued throughout Lambton (where Sarnia is located) and Middlesex counties in southwestern Ontario. It left seven dead, 40 injured, and 500 homeless, as well as causing $59.7 million in damages.[2]

Sources:

1. Wikipedia contributors, "1953 Sarnia tornado", Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1953_Sarnia_tornado&oldid=480675229 : accessed 29 October 2012).

2. "Signifcant tornadoes of the 19th and 20th centuries", database, Public Safety Canada (http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/em/nh/to/to-sig-eng.aspx : accessed 29 October 2012). Note: This article specifies that quoted "damage figures are in year 2000 dollars".

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sentimental Sunday: Fred and Julie Belair

Fred and Julie Belair
Fred and Julie Belair, 1926.

This is one of those pictures in my family photo albums that I get sentimental whenever I see it. It is a beautiful studio portrait of my paternal grandparents Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair, taken on their wedding day on 28 October 1926 – 86 years ago today.

I don't know anything about their courtship, other than they met through Fred's half-sister Almina (Belair) Lapierre, who was a good friend of Julie's. (Almina and Julie worked as domestics in private homes in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in the 1920s.)

My grandfather and grandmother were almost 37 years old and 30 years old, respectively, when they married. Their wedding took place at St-Jean-Baptiste RC church in Ottawa. I don't even know if they had a honeymoon.

The original photograph was set in a lightweight easel-style cardboard picture frame that measures 22 cm x 15 cm (approximately 8 1/2" x 6").

Fred appears to be sitting on a stool or low bench, while Julie looks comfortable in a fabric-lined wicker chair. They look relaxed and confident. They are well-dressed: Fred is sporting a three-piece suit and Julie is fashionable in a drop-waist, long-sleeved dress. A pearl ring can be seen on Julie's left hand. Fred has wavy red hair, but the colour does not show up in the photo. Julie, who had dark hair, wears typical 1920s bobbed hair and round eyeglasses. A painted background adds atmosphere to the portrait.

My grandparents were married for 40 years. Julie died in March 1967; Fred passed away in January 1991. I miss you, Mémère and Pépère.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Family History Through the Alphabet – Y is for …

Y is for (Marguerite d') Youville.

Inspired by Donna Pointkouski's post earlier this week (X is for Xavier), in which she writes about St. Francis Xavier, I decided to post a brief biography about Marguerite d'Youville, the first saint born in Canada.


Marguerite d'Youville
Marguerite d'Youville

Born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais on 15 October 1701 in Varennes, Quebec, Marguerite (as she was known) came from distinguished stock. Her father Christophe du Frost, sieur de la Gesmerays (La Jemmerais), was originally from Brittany, France. An officer, he reached the rank of captain the same year his daughter Marguerite was born. Her mother Marie-Renée Gauthier was a co-heiress of the Varennes seigneurie, owned by her father René Gauthier, sieur de Varennes, the governor of Trois-Rivières.

After a failed engagement to a young nobleman, Marguerite married François You on 22 August 1722 in Notre-Dame church in Montreal. François, also known as Youville de la Découverte or simply Youville, was the son of Pierre You, a companion of Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. Pierre was with the famous explorer when he claimed the Mississippi basin (Louisiana) for the French king in 1682.

A fur merchant, François also engaged in contraband activities, selling alcohol to the Amérindiens. He often left his young family to fend for itself. When François became mortally ill in July 1730, Marguerite nursed him with compassion. Now his widow with two young sons, she had to cope with François' debts and ruined reputation. (The couple's other children, a son and two daughters, died as infants. A sixth child, born posthumously in February 1731, also died as an infant.)

After her husband's death, Marguerite chose to move forward with her life and be of service to others. Soon, she and three women formed a little group to help the poor of Montreal. New France of the 1730s didn't have provisions or social programs to care for women who were elderly, infirm, widowed, or without family support. In December 1737, Marguerite and her companions formalised their arrangement by forming a lay community dedicated to Christ and to serving anyone in need. After years of caring for the poor and disadvantaged, Marguerite and her group received royal permission to found a new religious order in June 1753: the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal. Marguerite was the Order's first superior.

The call to the religious life was strong in Marguerite's family. Two of her brothers, Charles and Joseph, as well as a maternal uncle, became priests. One of her mother's sisters joined the Ursuline nuns in Quebec City. Later, Marguerite's own sons François and Charles joined the priesthood.

Marguerite and her religious sisters, known as the Grey Nuns, did not live a cloistered life in Montreal. They were active in their community and accepted anyone at their door, at first in their modest rented house, and later at the Hôpital Général, when they took over its management in 1747. (Note that Marguerite's hospital should not be confused with Montreal General Hospital, which was founded in 1819.) The sisters went where they were needed, whether it was the local home of someone afflicted with smallpox or further afield in Oka, some distance away, to care for the Aboriginals.


Grey Nuns' Hospital in 2009.

Photo source: Wikipedia contributors, "Grey Nuns' Hospital," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey_Nuns%27_Hospital&oldid=515189623 : accessed October 26, 2012).

After years of devoted service to her Order, Marguerite's life drew to a close. She died after suffering a stroke on 23 December 1771 in Montreal at the Hospital where she had worked with charity, dedication, skill and courage.

Marguerite's path to sainthood began in April 1890 when Pope Leon XIII declared her Venerable. Later, in May 1959, Pope John XXIII beatified Marguerite; she was now Blessed. On 9 December 1990, she was canonised by Pope John Paul II; she was now Saint Marguerite. Her feast day is celebrated on October 16.

Marguerite's tomb rests in a chapel dedicated to her in Saint-Anne Basilica in Varennes, her birthplace.

While preparing the biography of this remarkable woman, it occurred to me that some of my ancestors might have been patients in Marguerite's Hôpital Général. I did a quick search and found a candidate: Barbe Pilet, widow of Toussaint Raymond dit Passe-Campagne, my paternal ancestors. Barbe, born in 1667 in Boucherville, Quebec, died on 2 January 1757 at the Hôpital Général in Montreal. She was buried there the next day. Now that I know that Barbe was taken care of by the Sisters of Charity, it's tempting to imagine that Saint Marguerite d'Youville herself might have given comfort to my ancestress.

For more information about Saint Marguerite d'Youville, visit les Soeur Grises de Montréal. To read what other bloggers have written throughout this A to Z challenge, take a look at Family History Through the Alphabet.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Family History Through the Alphabet – X is for …

X is for Xainte Dupont.

Xainte Dupont is my 9x maternal great-grandmother. She was born in about 1595 or 1596, based on her ages on the 1666 and 1667 censuses. An approximate year of birth of 1583, according to her age of 97 stated in her burial record, is not likely correct.

Xainte’s parents are unknown, but she was probably from Mortagne in Perche, a county in Normandy, France. She married Michel Lermusier on or about 26 February 1612 in Mortagne. They did not have children. As his widow, Xainte married Zacharie Cloutier on 18 July 1616 in Mortagne. Her name is spelled “Saintes Du Pont” at this marriage.

Zacharie, a master carpenter, signed a contract with Robert Giffard in March 1634 in which he promised his services to him for a five year term. Giffard, who recently became a seigneur, recruited colonists mostly from Perche to help populate the fledgling colony of New France. Towards that end, Giffard granted a concession of land known as an arrière-fief to Zacharie to help him settle. Zacharie named his new property La Cloutièrerie (or La Clousterie). These 1000 arpents were located in Beauport, a few miles from Quebec.

Xainte may or may not have come to New France at the same time as Zacharie when he sailed from Dieppe in the spring of 1634. Sources differ on the arrival date, but it was either that year or perhaps two years later in 1636. They and their children were among the earliest families to settle in New France.

The first time Xainte appears in a record created in New France is at the marriage of her daughter Louise on 26 October 1645 in Quebec.

The Cloutier couple resided at La Cloutièrerie for over thirty-five years until Zacharie sold his land in 1670. He and Xainte then lived with one of their sons at Château-Richer. Zacharie died on 17 September 1677, while Xainte, who survived him by nearly three years, died on 13 July 1680. They are buried in Château-Richer.

Xainte and Zacharie had six children, three boys and three daughters, born between 1617 and 1632 and all baptised in Mortagne. I descend from their youngest child Louise (1632-1699) by her second husband Jean Mignault dit Châtillon. I also have a connection to their elder daughter Anne (1626-1648), who married as his first wife my ancestor Robert Drouin. (I descend through him by his second wife Marie Chapelier.)

Zacharie has been called the ancêtre de tous les canadiens français (the ancestor of all the French Canadians). This claim to fame is well deserved: the immigrant couple formed by Zacharie and Xainte has the distinction of being the ancestors of the largest number of married descendants before 1800 – an astonishing 10,850! (This bit of genealogical trivia is courtesy of Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique (The Research Program in Historical Demography) at http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/.)

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Matrilineal Monday: My Father’s Matrilineal Line

My father Maurice’s matrilineal line is short – it’s only six generations. His matrilineal ancestry goes back to his great-great-great-grandmother Marie Kekijicakoe, who was born about 1793. Marie was possibly Ojibwa (Chippewa, Algonquin) from the Lake Nipissing region of present-day Ontario, Canada.


Maurice Belair’s Matrilineal Line:

1. Maurice Belair (1927-1996)

2. Julie Vanasse (1896-1967)

3. Elisabeth Vanasse (1862-1947)

4. Marie Guérard (1840-1917)

5. Euphrosine Laronde (ca 1820-between 1852 – 1861)

6. Marie Kekijicakoe [Kekijicoköe] (ca 1793-between 1846 – 1870)


I plan on writing an article or two about what I’ve found so far about my Métis and Aboriginal heritage in a future article on my blog.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sunday's Obituary: Polly Cazakoff

Mrs. Polly (née Poznekoff) Cazakoff was my husband's maternal grandmother. Her Russian name was Polya, a diminutive of Pelageya.

Polly Cazakoff obituary, 1971.

Source: "Mrs. Polly Cazakoff", undated clipping, 1971, from unidentified newspaper; Demoskoff Family Papers, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2012. Yvonne acquired an assortment of family memorabilia in January 2012 from her father-in-law William (Bill) Demoskoff, including this obituary of his mother-in-law Polly, who died on 4 June 1971.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Sébastien Hervet, Ancestor of the Harvey family of Quebec

Last January, I wrote a brief biography about Sébastien Hervet in the genealogical newsletter I publish for my family. (I sometimes like to "branch out" genealogically and research my brother-in-law's French-Canadian ancestors and my great-nephew's American ancestors.) Sébastien is the 6x great-grandfather of my brother-in-law Gabriel. I’ve adapted slightly this article for my blog, so that a wider audience can learn something about the ancestor of the Harvey family of the province of Quebec.

Birth

In 1642, a sixth child and fourth son was born to Gabriel Hervet and his wife Marguette Laurillo in Blois. The child, named Sébastien, was baptised there on 28 June 1642 in the Bourg-Moyen abbey.[1] Blois, an ancient city, is located on the banks of the Loire River between Orléans and Tours in central France. Its famous château de Blois was once a residence of French kings, including Louis XII who was born there in 1462.[2]

Sébastien’s father and uncle were tinsmiths, while other paternal relatives were tanners, merchants, and law clerks. His mother Marguette (a diminutive of Marguerite) came from a well-to-do merchant family. At her wedding, she brought a dowry of mille livres en argent and a trousseau of bed linen and tablecloths.[3] The Hervet family lived in relative comfort and prosperity. At the marriage of their daughter Renée in 1653, Gabriel paid a dowry of 1500 livres.[4]

Career

Sébastien was only eight years old when his mother died and not quite 12 years old when his father remarried. In due course, Sébastien followed in his father’s footsteps and began his training as a tinsmith. The Hervet men, whose home included a workshop and store, fabricated household objects like dishes, candelabras, and basins, as well as church objects like stoups (vessels placed at the entrance of a church containing holy water).[5]

Father and son’s close work collaboration came to an end with Gabriel’s death in October 1660.[6] The family experienced a change in fortune at this time, not only because the head of the family died, but also because the well-to-do clientele of Blois and its surroundings left the region after its benefactor prince Gaston d’Orléans died in February earlier that year.[7] (Gaston, son of King Henri IV and brother of King Louis XIII, often resided at the château de Blois. A court gathered at Blois, companions of the prince, as well as officials, nobles, musicians, and various other attendants whose presence influenced the social and financial character of the city.)

New France

In the spring of 1662, Sébastien’s sister Renée, her husband Hippolyte Thibierge and their two sons left for New France.[8] Soon after, brother Gabriel followed their sister to the French colony. It wasn’t long after his brother’s departure that Sébastien decided to join his siblings; he left for Canada about 1670-1671. The exact date is unknown, but it was before October 1671, because Sébastien was a witness at a marriage that month in Quebec.[9] Ten years later, he was living in Montreal, where he was enumerated on the 1681 census as "Sébastien Hervé". He was 33 years old, unmarried, with no occupation indicated.[10] He also had 15 arpents en valeur (cleared land).[11]

Marriage

At the rather advanced age of 46, Sébastien married at Notre-Dame in Quebec on 10 January 1689.[12] His bride Françoise Philippeau was a young widow with three children. The couple had five children of their own (three sons and two daughters) between 1689 and 1700.[13] Sébastien returned to Blois, France on two or three occasions, the last time in April 1708 to claim his share of an inheritance.[14]

Death

Sébastien died on 15 April 1714 in the Hôtel-Dieu of Quebec.[15] He was buried the following day in Quebec.[16]

Family Name

Sébastien and Françoise’s second son, also named Sébastien, was the only surviving son who married and had Hervet descendants. Over the years, he family surname changed gradually from Hervet, to Hervé, and later to Harvey.

Sources

1. Fichier Origine, database (http://www.fichierorigine.com : accessed 19 December 2011), entry for Sébastien Hervé/Hervet. Also, Ghislain Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, Mémoires de la Société généalogique canadienne-française (volume 62, numéro 2, cahier 268, été 2011), 138.

2. Château Royal de Blois (http://www.chateaudeblois.fr/?lang=en : accessed 14 October 2012), “Royal Residence during the Renaissance”.

3. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 136.

4. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 139.

5. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 139.

6. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 140.

7. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 140.

8. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 141.

9. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 141.

10. “Histoire des Canadiens-Français 1608-1880: origine, histoire, religion, guerres, découvertes, colonisation, coutumes, vie dome[stique, sociale et politique, développement, avenir]”, digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 15 October 2012), V: 69; citing Benjamin Sulte, Histoire des Canadiens-Français 1608-1880 : origine, histoire, religion, guerres, découvertes, colonisation, coutumes, vie domestique, sociale et politique, développement, avenir, 8 vols. (Montréal: Wilson & Cie., 1882-1884).

11. Sébastien's 15 arpents equal about 12.67 acres (area) or 13.78 acres (length). "Conversion des unités de mesure, de longueur et de superficie", database, Ressources naturelles et faune Québec(http://foncier.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/conversion/ : accessed 16 October 2012).

12. René Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec (Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 1983), 567, “Sébastien Hervé”.

13. Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec, “Sébastien Hervé”.

14. Le Mauff, “Des Hervet blésois aux Harvey québécois”, 142.

15. Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec, “Sébastien Hervé”.

16. Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec, “Sébastien Hervé”.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: On the Town


Desgroseilliers sisters, 1959.
 
The Desgroseilliers sisters (all six of them), photographed at a club in 1959. Left to right: Jeanne d'arc, Madeleine, Simone, Mariette, Jacqueline (my Mom), and Normande.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.