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.

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday: Thomas Vanasse


Thomas Vanasse gravemarker.

Thomas was a first cousin of my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair. He was born on 22 December 1905 in Chichester, near Chapeau, Quebec as the 13th child and youngest son of Michel and Célestine (Ranger) Vanasse. (Note that Thomas' year of birth is incorrectly shown on his gravemarker.)

Thomas died on 5 December 1983 at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C. took charge of the funeral and burial arrangements. (His patient file didn’t indicate any next of kin, and his death registration wasn’t registered by a family member.) Thomas was buried in Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery, which has scenic views of the North Shore Mountains.

It’s too bad that my family never met Thomas and that my father Maurice never knew he had a cousin living nearby in the city. This past August, my husband Michael and I were in Vancouver and we took the opportunity to visit Mountain View Cemetery. We located Thomas' grave situated in a pathway that lies between the plots running north to south. I was glad to see that the granite marker was in good condition. We took a few photos, said a prayer, and then continued with the rest of our day. 

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Sympathy Saturday: Cousin Richard

43 years ago, my cousin Richard passed away. He was killed in a car accident on 4 October 1969 in North Bay, Ontario. He was only 18 years old.

Richard was the eldest child of René and Madeleine (Desgroseilliers) Legault. Born on 2 February 1951 in Sarnia, Ontario, Richard was the first of seven sons in a family of eight children. His sister Lise was the only daughter.

Richard on his first birthday, 1952.

When he was a baby, Richard and his parents moved to Kirkland Lake in northeastern Ontario, where his siblings were born. I didn’t know my cousin Richard all that well, because he was a few years older than me, and I have only a few memories of him. 

Aunt Madeleine with her eldest children, Christmas 1959.
Richard is on the right at the bottom of the picture.

My family lived about 2 hours away in Timmins and we’d often travel to Kirkland Lake to spend a weekend there. I loved visiting my Legault cousins. When we were with them, my sister and I would have lots of fun playing with our naturally exuberant cousins. We even didn’t mind getting teased by them, because it was good-natured and we felt special getting all this attention from our cousins.

In the fall of 1969, my Mom found out she was expecting a baby (my brother Raymond) the following spring. It wasn’t long after she told us her good news that we got a phone call. Cousin Richard was dead. My aunt, uncle and cousins’ lives were forever changed. Mom went to Kirkland Lake to be with her sister for Richard’s funeral. My sister and I stayed with our aunt Joan in town, while Dad was away at work.

In February 2006, Richard’s youngest brother Gérard died suddenly while driving home in London, Ontario. They are buried next to their father René, who died two years ago.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Friday, October 05, 2012

Funeral Card Friday: Darcy Philippe




This funeral card is in memory of Darcy Philippe, a nephew of my paternal grandfather Fred Belair. The card measures 10.5 cm long by 5.5 cm (about 4" x 2"). It was one of the items I received from my Aunt Darlene Belair when she sent me a box of family memorabilia some years ago.

Darcy was the sixth son and seventh child of Alexis and Angélina (Belair) Philippe. He was born on 17 February 1914 in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Gatineau County, Quebec. He was baptised “Darcide Didace Philippe” three days later in the local parish church.

Tragically, Darcy lost his parents when he was only two years old. His young mother Angélina (she was only 32 years old) died in July 1916 in Masham, while his father Alexis died of typhoid fever a few weeks later that August. After their parents’ deaths, he and his siblings were sent to live with various family members. The youngest child, one-year-old Lorenzo (Lawrence) was adopted by family friends and took their surname. His only sister Délia later became a nun. As Sister Ste. Philippe de Neri of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception, Délia was a teacher in Rome and Cuba.

I don’t believe I ever met Darcy, but I knew some of his nieces, because they and their parents lived in Timmins, where I was from.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Mary Vanasse

Mary Vanasse (1890-1951)

A lovely photo of my paternal great-aunt Mary, taken about 1910, possibly in Pontiac County, Quebec.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.