Sibling Saturday: The Children of Olivier and Elizabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse

Olivier and Elizabeth Vanasse are my paternal great-grandparents. Olivier was born on 4 February 1863 in Chapeau, Pontiac County, Quebec (then known as Canada East). He was the sixth and youngest child of Olivier and Elizabeth (Frappier) Vanasse. Elizabeth was born on 11 September 1862, also in Chapeau. She was the third of thirteen children of Joseph and Marie (Guérard) Vanasse.

Olivier and Elizabeth Vanasse (ca 1930s)

Olivier and Elizabeth were first cousins, their fathers being brothers. They married in the summer of 1889 and lived in Chapeau, where Olivier farmed. He and Elizabeth had nine children, who all survived to adulthood. Olivier died on 7 December 1944 at home. About 1946, my great-grandmother moved to Ottawa, Ontario to live with her daughter Mary. She died there on 1 September 1947.

Children of Olivier and Elizabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse

1. Mary Vanasse
Mary was born on 1 April 1890 and died, unmarried, on 21 September 1951.

2. George Vanasse
George was born on 13 October 1891. On 15 June 1920, he married Louisa Potvin (1902-1996) in Bourget, Ontario. Louisa was the sister of Clément Potvin, who married George’s sister Celia. George and Louisa had seven children. George died on 22 March 1976 in Ottawa.

3. William (Willie) Vanasse
Willie was born on 23 February 1893 and died on 13 May 1955 in a veterans’ hospital in London, Ontario. He was unmarried. Willie served in World War I.

4. Cecilia (Celia) Vanasse
Celia was born on 6 January 1895. She married on 14 June 1921 in Ottawa Clément (Clem) Potvin (1895-1987). Clem was the brother of Louisa Potvin, who married Celia’s brother George. She and Clem had two children. Celia died on 3 September 1986 in Ottawa.

Olivier and Elizabeth Vanasse (centre, back) with their children
Mary (centre, left) and Joe (in uniform) and (front, left to right)
Celia, Aggie, and Dave (ca 1939)

5. Julia (Julie) Vanasse
Julie was born on 31 August 1896. She married on 28 October 1926 Fred Belair (1889-1991) in Ottawa. Julie and Fred had six children, including my father Maurice. She died on 19 March 1967 in Timmins, Ontario.

6. Joseph (Joe) Vanasse
Joe was born on 23 January 1898. He married on 19 August 1942 Stella (Shirley) Ranger (1920-2010) in Chapeau. Like his elder brother, Joe served in World War I. He and his wife Stella had two children. Joe died on 23 March 1973 in Ottawa.

7. Corinne (Cora) Vanasse
Cora was born on 20 August 1900. She married Francis (Frank) Milks (1900-1968) on 5 November 1921 In Ottawa. Cora and Frank had five children. She died on 11 April 1977 in Ottawa.

8. David (Dave) Vanasse (Venasse)
Dave was born on 3 May 1903. He married on 12 June 1929 Louise St-Martin (1911-1991) in Chapeau. They didn’t have children of their own, but adopted a boy. Dave died on 28 May 1979 in Pembroke, Ontario.

9. Agnes (Aggie) Vanasse
Aggie was born on 12 September 1905. She married on 2 September 1935 Frederick (Fred; Freddie) Burchill (ca 1907-1989) in Chapeau. Fred was a British home child. He and Aggie had three children. Aggie died on 28 June 2000 in Ottawa.

Celia, Julie, Cora, and Aggie Vanasse (1962)

My grandmother Julie lived a couple of houses from mine when I was a child, so I knew her very well. I never met great-aunt Mary and great-uncle Willie, who passed away before I was born. I don’t believe I ever met George, Joe and Dave, but might have the year my family went to Ottawa on vacation in 1969. When I was a teenager, I visited Celia, Cora, and Aggie on a few occasions at their homes in Ottawa. I loved those visits with my great-aunts, because they were a link to my beloved grandmother after she passed away.

Copyright © 2018, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Photo Consultation Part III – Vanasse Family

This blog post is the third and final article of a three-part series in which I write about the help I received from photo detective Maureen Taylor during a recent photo consultation. For the two previous installments, see Photo Consultation with Maureen Taylor and Photo Consultation Part II – Pierre Janvry dit Belair.

This picture of my Vanasse great-aunts and uncles (my father’s maternal relatives) was sent to me as a digital image by my cousin Nancy in the spring of 2013.

Seated at the front (left to right) are George, his sister Corinne (Cora) and his brother William (Willie). At the back (left to right) are his sister Agnes (Aggie), his wife Louise, his brother David (Dave), his sister Cecilia (Celia), and his brother Joseph (Joe). Missing from the group are parents Olivier and Elisabeth, and sisters Mary and Julie (my grandmother).

Here are Maureen’s thoughts about this picture:

• A studio portrait (painted background, heavy furniture, carpet).
  
• It could be part of a series of photos taken at the same time.
  
• Presumably a wedding photo, since Louise is less likely to be included with the family while unmarried to George.
  
• The men all wear different collars and ties. Joe (back, far right) appears to be “a bit of a dandy”, judging by the style of his collar.
  
• Joe has a protective hand on Willie’s shoulder.
  
• Cora (centre, front) and Celia (back, right) are fashionably dressed. Maureen added that she’s never seen Cora’s style of necklace.
  
• Aggie (back, far left), who’s about 14 years old, is “dressing younger than her age”. Her hair (in banana curls) and dress reflect a “very youthful style”. She could be dressed by an older person instead of having the chance to make her own fashion choices.
  
• Louise’s “dress is way too big”. She seems to have borrowed it from someone “taller and much larger in the chest”.

My impressions:

I believe this photo was taken in June 1920, when George (born in 1891) married Louise Potvin in Bourget, Russell County, Ontario. Louise’s dress with its shiny, heavy fabric, so different from what her sisters-in-law are wearing, suggests the picture was taken on a special occasion. Until Maureen pointed out how big Louise’s dress is, I hadn’t noticed how much fabric appears on her left sleeve.

If I’m correct about the year, the Vanasse brothers and sisters gathered for this photo less than two years after the end of the Great War (1914-1918). Willie (born in 1893) and Joe (born in 1898) both served overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Poor Willie came back home shell-shocked and spent a number of years in veterans hospitals. I get the feeling that Willie and Joe were particularly close, and that Joe feels protective of his elder brother. I also think that Celia (born in 1895) is close to her youngest brother Dave (born in 1903), since she’s holding onto his arm.

Dave’s skin is darker than any of his brothers and sisters. His skin tone might be due to genetics: both his parents are great-grandchildren of Aboriginal women.

I'm grateful that my cousin Nancy shared this wonderful Vanasse family photo with me. I dearly loved my grandmother Julie, who died when I was eight and half years old. After her death, I felt privileged to have known her sisters, particularly Celia, who I used to visit at her home in Ottawa when I was there at university.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wedding Wednesday: Four Sisters at a June Wedding

Sixty-five years ago today, my grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair, seen here on the far left, attended the wedding of her niece Marvel Milks to Charles Cosenzo on 4 June 1949 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With Julie are her sisters (left to right) Agnes (Mrs. Fred Burchill), Cecilia (Mrs. Clem Potvin) and Cora (Mrs. Frank Milks).

I didn't know this photo existed until I saw it for the first time at my Aunt Darlene's home when I visited her last month during my trip to Ontario. She gave it to me, along with other family memorabilia, for which I'm truly grateful, because I love seeing any and all photos of my beloved Mémère Julie.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.