Funeral Card Friday: Cecilia (Brazeau) Caron

Front of card

This funeral card is in memory of Cécilia Brazeau, épouse bien-aimée (beloved wife) of Michel Caron, who died on 25 December 1956. The card measures 10 cm x 5.5. cm (approximately 3¾” x 2¼”).

Back of card

I received this card with family memorabilia either from my Aunt Darlene or my Aunt Joan in the 1980s or 1990s.

I don’t know if or how Cécilia is related to my family, but from basic research I did, she might have been someone who knew my grandparents Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair when they lived in northeastern Ontario during the 1940s and 1950s.

Cécilia, born about 1881, was the daughter of Léon and Célina (Gauthier) Brazeau. She married on 22 June 1903 in Notre-Dame-du-Laüs, Labelle County, Quebec, Michel Caron, son of Paul and Zoe (Gauthier) Caron.

Cécilia and Michel had at least six children: three sons (Domina, Emilien and Gérard) and three daughters (Marie-Emilia, Sonia and Yvette). The family lived in the township of Montjoy and next door in Timmins, Ontario from about 1937 through the 1950s.

After Cécilia’s death, presumably in Timmins, Michel lived there with his daughter Yvette and her husband Aldéric Lafontaine.

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Philip Casacove

Gravemarker of Philip Casacove

Philip Casacove (né Cazakoff) was my husband’s maternal uncle. His obituary can be read here.

The third, but second surviving son of George and Polly (Poznekoff) Cazakoff, Philip was born in July 1911 in Simeonovka (aka Semenovo), a Doukhobor village near Arran, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Philip legally changed his name to ‘Philip Gordon Casacove’ in July 1948. A few weeks earlier in June, he married Mary Abrosimoff in Vancouver, British Columbia. The couple had two daughters, Donna and Elizabeth.

Philip died thirty-seven years ago on 16 December 1976. He was buried four days later at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. His wife Mary, who died in 2002, is interred beside him.

His gravemarker reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY

PHILIP G. CASACOVE

1911 – 1976

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: Philip Casacove

Obituary of Philip Casacove, 1976

Philip is my husband’s maternal uncle, being an elder brother of his mother Ann. He passed away thirty-seven years ago tomorrow (December 16).

Philip was the third child of George and Polly (Poznekoff) Cazakoff, Doukhobor immigrants who left Russia in 1899. He changed his surname from Cazakoff to Casacove in the summer of 1948.

Philip married twice and had children by both unions. He was survived by his (second) wife Mary and their daughters Donna and Elizabeth.

Source:
“Casacove”, obituary, undated clipping, from unidentified newspaper; Demoskoff Family Papers, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2013. Yvonne received an assortment of family memorabilia (including Philip’s obituary) in January 2012 from her father-in-law William (Bill) Demoskoff.

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Church Record Sunday: Fred Belair’s Baptism Record

Fred Belair's baptism record*

My paternal grandfather Fred Belair always maintained that he was born on 18 December 1889. I had no reason to doubt him; after all, he should know, shouldn’t he?

One summer in the 1980s, I visited my Pépère Fred’s hometown of Ste-Cécile-de-Masham in Gatineau County, Quebec. While there, I took the opportunity to do some research in the local Roman Catholic church’s sacramental registers. I looked for my Pépère’s baptism record on or about December 18th, but didn’t locate it. I searched a few pages before and after that date, but only found the record when I went as far back as December 1st. That’s when I found entry no. B.81 for Jean-Baptiste-Ménésippe Bélair. I knew I had the right person, because my grandfather’s real name was Ménésippe. But I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the date of birth – 26 Novembre dernier (26 November last). My goodness! My grandfather was, according to this document, born in late November, not in mid-December.

My grandfather Fred once told me that his baptism record was incorrect, because a fire had destroyed the church’s records. But, during my visit, I asked the secretary if there ever was a fire at Ste-Cécile’s. She told me, yes, there had been a fire a long time ago, but that the records were saved.

I wasn’t about to argue this point with my beloved Pépère. He was in his 90s, by then, and had celebrated his birthday on December 18th for as long as my family could remember, that it didn’t matter too much on what day he was born.

* Source: Ste-Cécile-de-Masham (Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec), parish register, 1887-1898, p. 42 recto, entry no. B.81 (1889), Jean-Baptiste-Ménésippe Bélair baptism, 1 December 1889; Ste-Cécile-de-Masham parish; digital image, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 July 2007).

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.