Church Record Sunday: Possible Burial Record of Pierre Janvry dit Belair

Burial record of Pierre Vrille (1848)

Some years ago, a correspondent shared with me the burial record of someone who was possibly our common ancestor. It was for a man named Pierre Vrille, who died on 26 December 1848 and who was buried two days later in the parish of St-François-de-Sales in Pointe-Gatineau, now in Gatineau County, Quebec.

The burial record can be seen in “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967” at Ancestry.ca, but the image is almost unreadable. He appears there as “Pierre Vielle” in the database index, but as “Pierre Vrille” in the record. [1] A more legible image is available at FamilySearch.org, seen above in a cropped version. [2]

This record, written in French and signed by Father J. Ginguet, adds that the burial took place in the parish cemetery and that the witnesses were Jean Marie Lacloche and François Lacloche. No mention is made of a wife for Pierre, however.

The following points suggest that Pierre Vrille is the same man as Pierre Janvry dit Belair, my paternal great-great-great-grandfather:

• Vrille pronounced in French sounds like the second syllable in Janvril(le), a variant of Janvry.

• Pierre Vrille was born about 1773, based on his age (“soixante et quinze ans” – 75 years old) at his burial. [3]

• Pierre Janvry dit Belair was born on 2 March 1772. [4]

• Pierre Janvry dit Belair resided in Aylmer in 1843 [5] and in nearby Hull in 1845. [6] Aylmer, Hull, Pointe-Gatineau and neighbouring communities merged in 2002 and became the city of Gatineau. [7]

• Pierre Janvry dit Belair died after 2 September 1845 (when he was present at his son’s marriage) [8], but before 29 September 1851 (when his widow remarried). [9]

• There is no burial record for a Pierre Janvry or Pierre Belair between 1845 and 1851 in the province of Quebec. [10]

Sources:

1. St-François-de-Sales (Pointe-Gatineau, Quebec), parish register, 1847-1857, p. 29 verso, entry no. Sépulture 16 (1848), Pierre Vrille (written as Vrille, indexed as Vielle) burial, 28 December 1848; St-François-de-Sales parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 4 March 2009).

2. "Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-28004-12486-60?cc=1321742&wc=9RL6-FMH:17434701,17434702,17552101 : accessed 12 August 2014), Pointe-Gatineau > Saint-François-de-Sales-de-Templeton > Index 1847-1876 Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1847-1874 > image 118 of 580, Pierre Vrille burial.

3. St-François-de-Sales, parish register, 1847-1857, p. 29 verso, Pierre Vrille burial, 28 December 1848.

4. Ste-Geneviève (Pierrefonds, Quebec), parish register, 1756-1775, no p. no., no entry no. (1772), Pierre Janvery [sic] baptism, 2 March 1772; Ste-Geneviève parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 23 March 2008).

5. St-Paul (Aylmer, Quebec), parish register, 1841-1851, p. 89 verso, entry no. M.19 (1843), Louis Poulin – Esther Jeanvril marriage, 5 September 1843, St-Paul parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 1 March 2012). Pierre and his wife Scholastique are residents “de ce Township” (of this township) at their daughter Esther’s marriage in 1843.

6. St-Paul (Aylmer, Quebec), parish register, 1841-1848, p. 250, no entry no. (1845), Paul Jeanvril – Angélique Lalonde marriage, 2 September 1845, Missions d’Aylmer parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 1 March 2012). Pierre and Scholastique were “de Hull” (from Hull) at their son Paul’s marriage in 1845.

7. Wikipedia contributors, "Gatineau", Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gatineau&oldid=620823900 : accessed 12 August 2014).

8. St-Paul, parish register, 1841-1848, p. 250, Paul Jeanvril – Angélique Lalonde marriage, 2 September 1845.

9. St-Camillus (Farrellton, Quebec), parish register, 1851-1868, p. 17 verso, entry no. M.7 (1851), Joseph Clemens – Scholastique Michel [sic] marriage, 29 September 1851; St-Camillus parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 4 March 2009). Scholastique is described as “widow of Pierre Belair” in her marriage record.

10. “Le LAFRANCE”, database, GénéalogieQuébec (www.genealogiequebec.com : accessed 12 August 2014). A search for a burial record for “Pierre Janvry” (including Janvril and Jeanvril) or “Pierre Belair” between 1845 and 1851 proved negative.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.