Church Record Sunday: Elisabeth Lemieux’s 1891 Burial Record

Elisabeth, also known as Isabelle, is my maternal 3x great-grandmother.

The ninth child of Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Anne (Séguin) Lemieux, Elisabeth was born on December 16, 1810 in LaPrairie, a community on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River facing Montreal.

In January 1828, Elisabeth married François Desgroseilliers in nearby Châteauguay. The following year, her elder sister Jovite (1808-1893) married Joseph Desgroseilliers, François’ brother. (One day I’ll write an article about how they are sometimes confused as one couple in online family trees.)

Elisabeth and François had eleven children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. About twenty years after François’ death in 1853, Elisabeth left her home in Châteauguay County, Quebec for Russell County, Ontario. Her children Aurélie, François, and Pierre (my 2x great-grandfather) also moved to Ontario about that time.

Elisabeth died in Embrun, Russell County, Ontario on July 14, 1891. [1] Her death registration, however, states that she died on July 15. [2] The funeral took place two days later (July 16) at St-Jacques church, followed by burial in the parish cemetery.

Elisabeth Lemieux burial record (Ancestry)

My transcription of Elisabeth’s burial record (original lineation indicated by / ):

Le seize Juillet, mil huit cent quatre vingt onze / Nous soussigné Vicaire, avons inhumé dans le / cimetière de cette paroisse, le corps de Isabelle / D. Lemieux, décédée avant-hier a l’âge de quatre- / vingt-deux ans, épouse de feu François Desgro- / seillers [sic], cultivateur de cette paroisse. Étaient / presents Onésime Desrosiers, Amable Bourdeau / et autres de cette paroisse, qui ainsi que le fils / François Desgroseillers [sic], n’ont pu signer. / Lecture faite. [signé ChsSdeCarufel Ptre]

My English translation of the record (original lineation indicated by / ):

The sixteen July, one thousand eight hundred ninety one / We undersigned Vicar, have interred in the / cemetery of this parish, the body of Isabelle / D. Lemieux, deceased before yesterday at the age of / 82 years, spouse of the late François Desgro- / seillers [sic], farmer of this parish. Were / present Onésime Desrosiers, Amable Bourdeau / and others of this parish, who along with the son / François Desgroseillers [sic], could not sign [their names]. / Reading done. [signed ChsSdeCarufel Ptre]

I noticed a couple of minor errors in Elisabeth’s burial record. One, she was 80 years old (not 82) when she died. Two, her late husband François never lived in Embrun (he died in Châteauguay County, Quebec), so could not have been a cultivateur de cette paroisse. Someone present at the funeral, possibly a family member, likely gave these incorrect details to the vicar, the recently ordained Charles Sicard de Carufel. [3]

Sources:

1. St-Jacques (Embrun, Ontario), parish register, 1884-1891, page no. 531 stamped, entry no. S.25 (1891), Isabelle Lemieux (written as Isabelle Lemieux, indexed as Isabelle Desgroseillers) burial, 16 July 1891; St-Jacques parish; digital images, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 22 September 2015).

2. “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947”, digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 22 September 2015), entry for Isabelle Desgroseilliers (written as Isabelle Desgroseilliers, indexed as Isabelle Desposeillien), 15 July 1891; citing Archives of Ontario, Registrations of Deaths, 1869-1938, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, series MS935, reel 62.

3. Cyprien Tanguay, Répertoire Général du Clergé Canadien […] (Montréal, 1893, 514); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/ : accessed 11 July 2018), entry for Charles-Olivier Sicard de Carufel.

Copyright © 2018, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Birth of François Desgroseilliers in 1804

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the anniversary of the birth of my maternal 4x great-grandfather, François Desgroseilliers (See François Desgroseilliers’ 1783 Baptism Record.) Today I’m writing about the 211th anniversary of the birth of his eldest son François.

François fils is my maternal 3x great-grandfather. He was born on 22 September 1804 and baptised that day in St-Joachim parish church in Châteauguay, Lower Canada (now the province of Quebec). [1]

François Desgroseilliers’ baptism record (FamilySearch.org)

His baptism record, seen above, reads:

“Le vingt deu[x]ieme de Septembre l’an mil huit cent quatre par / nous a été baptisé françois né de ce jour du legitime Marriage / de françois degrossellier laboureur et de Louïse roi. le parrain / ambroise degrossellier et la marraine Catherine merlot qui / n’ont Su Signer de ce requis.”

In English:

“The twenty second of September of [1804] by / us was baptised françois born of this day of the legitimate marriage / of françois degrossellier laborer and of Louïse roi. the godfather / ambroise degrossellier and the godmother Catherine merlot / [no one] knew how to sign [their names] [as requested].”

François had five brothers (Joseph, Michel, Charles, Jean-Baptiste, Jean-Baptiste, and Gabriel) and four sisters (Marie, Louise, Marie, and Sophie). When he was 23 years old, François married Elisabeth (Isabelle) Lemieux in January 1828. They had eleven children, born between 1829 and 1852, before François died in August 1853.

Source:

1. St-Joachim (Châteauguay, Quebec), parish register, 1797-1818, p. 150 recto, entry no. 108, François Degrossellier [sic] baptism, 22 September 1804; St-Joachim parish; digital image, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979”, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ : accessed 21 September 2015). To access these browsable-only images, follow this path from the FamilySearch homepage: Search > Records > Canada > Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979 > [Browse] > Châteauguay > Saint-Joachim-de-Châteauguay > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1797-1818 > image 175 of 659.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

François Desgroseilliers’ 1783 Baptism Record

Today – 15 July – is the 232nd anniversary of the birth of my 4x maternal great-grandfather, François Desgroseilliers.

Louis François Desgroseilliers's baptism record (Ancestry.ca)

He was born on 15 July 1783 and received the names "Louis François" at his baptism that day in Montreal’s Notre-Dame church. [1] The officiating priest, Ch. Ecuier, noted that the infant was born vers midi [about noon] and that his godparents Pierre Migneron and Marie Celeste Caillé, who were present, declared they could not write their names.

François, as he was known as an adult, was the eighth of thirteen children of Joseph Prosper and Charlotte (Lunegand) Desgroseilliers, who married in 1772 in Châteauguay, now a suburb of Montreal.

When I first researched my mother’s ancestors, I found François’ date of birth of 6 March 1782. I didn't make a note of where I got it, but believed it was the correct date. (It never occurred to me to think it might be incorrect.) Years later, I came across a family tree (either on a personal website or in a public tree at Ancestry) that said François was born on 15 July 1783.

I decided to check Joseph Prosper and Charlotte’s family file in an online database. I was surprised to find two sons similarly named: François and Louis François. [2] The François born in 1782 died when he was six months old in August 1782. [3] He was therefore not my ancestor.

I made a beginner genealogist’s mistake: I assumed that the François I had originally found was the only one by this name in his family. I didn’t take the time to compare the information against other documentation, such as his baptism record. I also didn’t look for a death or burial record in case he had died young.

Sources:

1. Notre-Dame (Montreal, Quebec), parish register, 1781-1785, p. 185 recto, no entry no. (1783), Louis François Desgroselliers [sic] baptism 17 July 1783; Notre-Dame parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 11 January 2012).

2. “Dictionnaire”, database, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) (http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca : accessed 211 January 2012), Joseph Prosper Bouchard Dorval Desgroseilliers – Marie Charlotte Lunegent Beaurosier, Famille no. 48279).

3. Notre-Dame (Montreal, Quebec), parish register, 1781-1785, p. 86 verso, no entry no. (1782), Francois Dégroselier [sic] burial 31 August 1782; Notre-Dame parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 11 January 2012). The priest recorded that François was interred in the cimétière des pauvres [in the paupers’ cemetery] in the presence of his parents.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Ancestors 2015: #2 Louise Roy

I’m participating in “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition” by Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small.

For the 2nd week of this challenge, I used the optional weekly theme (King) and chose Louise Roy (ca 1768-1839). Her last name “Roy [Roi]” is French for “king”.

For many years, this maternal ancestor (my 4x great-grandmother) had presented some puzzling challenges.

For example, her date and place of birth were unknown, other than she was possibly born about 1768, based on her approximate age of 71 at her burial in December 1839. [1]

The name of her father was known (Joseph Roy), but not her mother’s.

Her only known sibling was a brother, who also named Joseph Roy.

Both her father and brother were present as witnesses when she married François Desgroseilliers on 17 October 1803 in the village of St-Constant, south of Montreal. [2] According to her marriage record, Marie Louise (as she is described) resided in that parish and was the widow of a certain Jacques [Rusman?].

In June 1802, newborn Jacques [Rusneau?] was baptized in St-Constant. He was the son of Jacques [Rusneau?], merchant, by his wife Marie Louise Roy. Infant Jacques’ godparents were Constant [Capinel?] and Marie-Anne Viau. [3] The parish priest added important details: baby Jacques’ father was deceased and his godmother Marie-Anne was his grandmother and the wife of Joseph Roy. I became aware of this child’s existence when I searched for Louise’s marriage to François in an online genealogy database. [4]

I searched, but didn’t find a [Rusman?] – Roy marriage or a burial for Jacques père; neither record seems to exist in the province of Quebec. [5]

About two years ago, I viewed the “Famille” file of Joseph Roy and Marie Suzanne Viau Lespérance at Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH). [6] One of the couple’s daughters is named Marie Louise; she was born on 4 August 1777 in La Prairie and died on 11 December 1839 in Ste-Martine. Since my ancestor Louise died on 11 December 1839 in Ste-Martine, the Marie Louise in the Roy – Viau file is presumably the woman who married François Desgroseilliers in 1803.

I still had a problem, though. I didn’t know how PRDH’s database concluded that the Marie Louise who was born in 1777 was the same one who died in 1839. No spouse is shown for her in the list of Roy children, so I don’t know if she married Jacques [Rusneau?] and then François Desgroseilliers. (Marriages are shown in the “Mariage /Lieu” column of a family file only if they took place before 1800.)

It didn’t take long for this mystery to unravel.

When I first looked at Marie Louise’s parents’ family file at PRDH, I didn’t click on her name to view her personal file. I did recently, though, to prepare this blog post. As expected, her individual file contained a repeat of her name, those of her parents, and her dates and places of birth and death, but it also held a surprise: it listed a child named Marie, an “Enfant hors-union” (a child [born] outside of marriage). [7] There wasn’t a date or place of birth for this daughter, but when I clicked on Marie’s name and got her own “Individu” file, I saw her full name: Marie Desgroseilliers Prosper. [8]

I’m now satisfied that the Marie Louise who was born in 1777 to Joseph Roy and Marie Suzanne Viau Lespérance, is the woman who married at some unrecorded date and location a man named Jacques [Rusneau?], by whom she had a son, who did not survive. Within a few months, she then became pregnant and had a daughter Marie, born possibly in the summer of 1803. Shortly after this event, she married François Desgroseilliers, the father of her child Marie.

Louise Roy is no longer a ‘puzzling’ ancestor.

Sources:

1. Ste-Martine (Ste-Martine, Quebec), parish register, 1839, p. 42 verso, no entry no., Louise Roy burial, 13 December 1839; Ste-Martine parish; digital image, “Le LAFRANCE”, Généalogie Québec (http://www.genealogiequebec.com : accessed 10 January 2015).

2. St-Constant (St-Constant, Quebec), parish register, 1803, p. 33 recto, no entry no., François Dégrosellier [sic] – Marie Louise Roy marriage, 17 October 1803; St-Constant parish; digital image, “Le LAFRANCE”, Généalogie Québec (http://www.genealogiequebec.com : accessed 12 February 2014).

3. St-Constant (St-Constant, Quebec), parish register, 1802, p. 16 verso, no entry no., Jacques [Rusneau?] (indexed as Raimau) baptism, 19 June 1802; St-Constant parish; digital image, “Le LAFRANCE”, Généalogie Québec (http://www.genealogiequebec.com : accessed 10 January 2015).

4. “Genealogy Francois Desgroseilliers”, database, Genealogy of Canada (http://www.nosorigines.org/ accessed 7 September 2013).

5. “Le LAFRANCE”, database, Généalogie Québec (http://www.genealogiequebec.com : accessed 7 September 2013). A search for Marie Louise’s first marriage record and Jacques’ burial record prior to 19 June 1802 (when they are stated to be a legitimately married couple at their son’s baptism) proved negative.

6. “Dictionnaire”, database, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) (http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca : accessed 19 June 2013), Joseph Roy – Marie Suzanne Viau Lespérance, Famille no. 45865.

7. “Dictionnaire”, database, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) (http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca : accessed 10 January 2015), Marie Louise Roy, Individu no. 873059.

8. “Dictionnaire”, database, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH) (http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca : accessed 10 January 2015), Marie Desgroseilliers Prosper, Individu no. 738464. The lack of a date of birth or baptism for Marie in her “Individu” file suggests that she was not baptized. A child born outside of marriage was not necessarily refused the Sacrament of Baptism, so it seems odd that this event is not listed in Marie's file.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.