Church Record Sunday: Hubert Neveu’s 1853 Burial Record

Hubert Neveu died 165 years ago this month in July 1853. He is my paternal 4x great-grandfather and is somewhat of an ancestral brick wall. For example, I haven’t found a birth or baptism record for him and I don’t know who his parents are.

Born about 1777, Hubert was a voyageur in the fur trade. He married Josephe Pitabanokwe (var. Petabanokwe), an Algonquin, in August 1818. They were the parents of at least 11 children, including Louise Neveu, the great-grandmother of my grandmother Julie Vanasse.

Hubert died between July 8 -14, 1853. His burial record doesn’t indicate the exact date, only that it was in the second week of July of that year and that he was buried in the church cemetery of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel in LaPasse, Renfrew County, Ontario. [1]

Hubert Neveu burial record (Ancestry)

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

Dans la seconde semaine de Juillet a été inhumé dans le cimetière / de cette mission le corps de Eubert Neveu agé de 76 ans. Témoins / Antoine Lavoie et J. Baptiste Lanvin. [signé L.C.A. Ouellet]

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

In the second week of July was interred in the cemetery / of this mission the body of Eubert Neveu aged 76 years. Witnesses / Antoine Lavoie and J. Baptiste Lanvin. [signed L.C.A. Ouellet]

Source:

1. Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel (LaPasse, Ontario), parish register, 1851-1943, p. 6 recto, entry no. S.2 (1853), Eubert Neveu [sic] burial, July 1853; Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel parish; digital images, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 20 September 2014).

Copyright © 2018, Yvonne Demoskoff.

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.

Darlene Belair (1935-2016)

Aunt Darlene – Dad’s sister – died early this morning in hospital in Peterborough, Ontario, surrounded by her loved ones. She had been unwell for the last few years with multiple health issues, including COPD, diabetes, and dementia.

Darlene was the youngest surviving child of Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair. Born “Marie Lilianne Darleen” on 18 October 1935, Darlene had three older siblings: Maurice (my father), Jeanne (Joan), and Raymond (Ray).

Darlene (back, right) with her parents and brothers and sister, 1956

Although born in Cochrane in northern Ontario, the Belair family lived in nearby Fauquier, where my grandparents relocated from southern Ontario during the Depression. Later, they moved to Timmins, where Darlene and her brother Ray went to elementary school. Later still, Darlene was educated at Académie Sainte-Marie in Haileybury, Ontario, a boarding and day school for girls run by an order of nuns.

After she moved to Peterborough in the early 1960s, Darlene worked at various jobs, including managing a convenience store and owning and operating a taxi cab in the 1980s. She was also a factory worker at Western Clock Company (Westclox) and at Outboard Marine Corporation.

Darlene with her great-nephew Nicholas, 2014

I’m glad that I had a chance to see my Aunt a couple of years ago when my husband and our son visited my home province of Ontario. I was happy to be with Darlene once again, because I always felt that she and Dad were a lot alike – they resembled each other, were hard workers, loved animals, and both had a sense of humor and loved to laugh.

Rest in peace, tante Darlene.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: David Venasse

Great-uncle David was my grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair’s youngest brother. Some of the family spelled their last name Vanasse, others spelled it Venasse.

David, the eighth of nine children of Olivier and Elizabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse, was born on 3 May 1903 on Ile des Allumettes, Pontiac County, Quebec. He married Louise St-Martin in June 1929 and they adopted a son, Glen.

I don’t think I ever met David or Louise, but my Dad used to talk about his Uncle Dave to me.

A resident of Pembroke, Ontario, David passed away of cancer on 28 May 1979 in Queensway-Carleton Hospital in nearby Ottawa, Ontario. [1] His funeral took place three days later in Petawawa, just north of Pembroke, and he was interred in Chapeau on Ile des Allumettes. [2]

David’s death was a great blow to his wife Louise and to his surviving sisters Celia and Agnes, who were devoted to their brother.

Sources:

1. Agnes (Vanasse) Burchill (Ottawa, Ontario) to “Dear Joan”, letter, 1 June 1979; privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2016. Yvonne received assorted family memorabilia, including this letter, from her aunt Joan (Belair) Laneville when she visited her home in May 2014. Joan was Agnes’ niece.

2. “Venasse”, obituary, undated clipping, 1979, from unidentified newspaper; privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2016. Yvonne received assorted family memorabilia, including this obituary, from her aunt Joan (Belair) Laneville when she visited her home in May 2014. Joan, David’s niece, received it from his sister Agnes (Vanasse) Burchill in a letter to Joan dated 1 June 1979.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Friday’s Faces from the Past: François and Julia Gagnon and Family

Isn’t this a splendid family photograph? It features François and Julia (Vanasse) Gagnon and their young family in the summer of 1902. They lived in Chapeau, Pontiac County, Quebec. My grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair was named for her aunt Julia, who was 30 years old in this picture. [1]

The photo came in a letter that my Aunt Joan received from her cousin Gladys in the late 1990s. Joan then gave it to me when I visited her in May 2014. Gladys was the granddaughter of Julia (1872-1956), who married François (1859-1949) in Chapeau in June 1895.

Left to right: Julia holding Victor (b. 1901), Albertine (b. 1897), François holding Richard (b. 1900), and Mae (b. 1895).

Young Albertine (4½ years old in the picture) would later be my father Maurice’s godmother at his baptism in 1927. I’ve written about her and her sister Cora (not yet born when the photo was taken) in Sibling Saturday: Albertine and Cora Gagnon.

Source:

1. Gagnon family photograph, 1902; privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Hope, British Columbia, 2016. Gladys (Holden) Santry sent the photograph of her maternal grandmother and her family in a letter to her second cousin Joan (Belair) Laneville between 1996 and 2002. (Gladys dated and identified the individuals by name and age on the back of the photo.) Joan then gave the letter and photograph to her niece Yvonne when she visited her aunt’s home in May 2014.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: George Vanasse

George’s obituary is the second one that appears on my blog today. Earlier, I posted the obit of my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair.

George and Julie were the younger children of Olivier Vanasse and his wife (and first cousin) Elisabeth Vanasse. George, the eldest son, was born on 13 October 1891. He and his siblings – Mary, William, Cecilia, Joseph, Corinne, David and Agnes – grew up on their parents’ farm on Ile des Allumettes, Pontiac County, Quebec.

In June 1920, George married (Marie) Louise Potvin in her hometown of Bourget, Russell County, Ontario. They and their seven children (three sons and four daughters) lived most of their lives in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.

George died on 22 March 1976 – forty years ago this Tuesday. His funeral was held two days later in St. Sebastian (Roman Catholic) church, with interment in Notre-Dame cemetery in Ottawa. [1]

I don’t believe I ever met my great-uncle George, but I had the opportunity to visit his eldest child Jeanne (Jean) at her home in the 1980s, while on vacation in Ottawa.

Source:

1. “Ontario, Canada, The Ottawa Journal (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1885-1980”, digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 2 July 2013), Georges Vanasse [sic] death notice; citing The Ottawa Journal, 23 March 1976, p. 36, col. 7; City of Ottawa Archive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: Julie Belair

My dear grandmother Julie died on Sunday 19 March 1967. [1]

My sister and I were only 6½ and 8½ years old, respectively. We were told of Mémère’s death the next morning, while getting ready for school. Marianne and I were in the small living room of our apartment and could see Dad a few feet away in the kitchen. He looked so sad standing by the counter.

Mémère Julie suffered from asthma and sometimes needed an oxygen tent at home. I don’t remember the days leading up to her death, and don’t know if she had been poorly before going to the hospital one last time.

I have only a vague memory of being at the funeral home. I think it was evening, and I was there with my parents. I watched people come and go in the sombre and dimly lit room.

I don’t remember the funeral, which took place at our parish church, half a block away from our home, three days later. It was at 9 a.m., according to the obituary, so Mom must have arranged for my sister and I to miss school that morning. It was a cold, snowy day and we needed to wear our winter coats, hats and mitts. I remember being at the cemetery, though, because I can still see myself and others standing in a small building for the committal service. (It was winter time in Timmins, so the interment was postponed until better weather.)

Forty-nine years have passed since that day, but I still miss my grandmother Julie and keep her close to me in my heart.

Source:

1. “Belair”, obituary, The Daily Press (Timmins, Ontario), 21 March 1967, p. 9, col. 5.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: Clement Potvin

“Uncle Clem” was my father’s maternal uncle. He married Cecilia (Celia) Vanasse, an elder sister of Dad’s mother Julie, in June 1921.

A man of slight build, Clem was a quiet person. I remember my family's visits to Ottawa in the 1970s and how we'd always find him happy. Uncle Clem didn’t say much, but he always had a smile on his face.

He died on 20 August 1987, age 92, less than a year after Celia passed away. They are interred in Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa.

Source:

“Clement Potvin”, obituary, undated clipping (1987), from unidentified newspaper; Demoskoff Family Papers, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2014. Yvonne received the original clipping from her Aunt Joan (Belair) Laneville when she visited her home in May 2014.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wedding Wednesday: Belair – Murphy

On a summer’s day sixty-three years ago, my uncle Ray married Emily Murphy. Their marriage took place on 8 August 1952 at the Anglican church in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Ray was the younger son of my grandparents Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair, while Emily was a daughter of William and Emily (Grisenthwaite) Murphy. Emily was born and raised in B.C., but Ray was originally from Ontario, although born in Montreal. My uncle came west in the early 1950s and settled near the village (now town) of Hope, about two hours east of Vancouver.

I don’t have a picture of Ray and Emily’s wedding, but the above photo is part of a series of the earliest photos of them as a couple in my parents’ old albums. Ray and Emily are on the right and pose with his parents. The picture was taken in December 1957 when they visited his parents Fred and Julie at their home in Timmins, Ontario.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sympathy Saturday: Accidental Death of William Brennan

It’s been 75 years since the accidental death of William Brennan in August 1939, and four years since I first learned about him while researching my grandmother Julie’s relatives.

William John Brennan was a younger son of James Brennan and Olivine Fleury. He was born on 4 January 1892 at Trout Lake, and baptized one month later in Sheenboro, Pontiac County, Quebec. [1]

William suffered a double tragedy when he was less than two years old: his parents died within months of each other in late 1893. He and his infant sister Rose Mary went to live with their maternal grandparents, while their elder brother went to live with a maternal uncle.

In April 1914, William married Mary (Minnie) Vanasse in Chapeau, Pontiac County, not long after his sister Rose Mary married Minnie’s brother Francis Guy Vanasse there in September 1912. [2]

Francis Guy and Minnie were first cousins of my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair, who was a bit younger than they were.

William and Minnie had seven children: one son and six daughters, of whom four survived. A year after the birth of their fourth child, the Brennan family moved from rural Chapeau to the mining town of Cobalt, Timiskaming District, Ontario in 1922. [3]

Grand View Avenue, Cobalt. [Ont.] (1924)

One summer’s night in 1939, William was walking on a highway when he was struck by a “half ton panel truck owned by Pardon’s Service Station” on “the main road not far from the O’Brien Mill at Mileage 104”, a few miles north of Cobalt. [4] The accident occurred about 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, 19 August, 1939. William was taken to Cobalt Municipal Hospital, but did not regain consciousness. He died at 1:35 p.m. the following day. [5]

Unfortunately, it appears that William was under the influence of alchohol at the time of the accident. A witness “had seen Brennan ‘staggering’ about the middle of the road going toward Cobalt” and the attending doctor at the hospital attested that “there was ‘a strong odor’ of liquor on [Brennan’s] breath”. [6]

Later, a coroner’s inquiry “held the circumstances to have been accidental, ‘with no blame attached to the driver of the truck’ […]”. [7]

William’s funeral took place on 23 August 1939 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church. He is interred in Ste. Therese Cemetery, Cobalt. [8]

Photo credit: John Boyd / Library and Archives Canada /

Sources:

1. St. Paul the Hermit [St. Bridget] (Sheenboro, Quebec), parish register, 1873-1893, p. 335 (printed), entry no. B.3 (1892), William John Brennan baptism, 1 February 1892; St-Paul the Hermit [St. Bridget] parish; digital image, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 8 September 2010). William’s parents were residents of Sheen[boro] township at his baptism, suggesting that he was born there. Alternatively, William was born in “Trout Lake, Quebec”, according to the 1925 death registration of his daughter on which his wife Mary (Minnie) was the informant. (“Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1936 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947”, digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : 15 September 2010), entry for Bernadette Brennan, 13 October 1925.)

2. St-Alphonse (Chapeau, Quebec), parish register, 1914, p. 6 recto, entry no. M.3, William John Brennan – Minnie Venasse [sic] marriage, 20 April 1914; St-Alphonse parish; digital image, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 8 September 2010).

3. “Mrs. Brennan 90 years old and still going strong”, Temiskaming Speaker, 21 March 1979, p. 12a, col. 3; digital images, World Vital Records (http://wvr.paperofrecord.com : accessed 12 September 2010), Newspapers and Periodicals.

4. “Jury Exonerates Driver In Saturday Accident”, Temiskaming Speaker, 24 August 1939, p. 1, col. 7; digital images, World Vital Records (http://wvr.paperofrecord.com : accessed 12 September 2010), Newspapers and Periodicals.

5. “Jury Exonerates Driver In Saturday Accident”, Temiskaming Speaker, 24 August 1939.

6. “Jury Exonerates Driver In Saturday Accident”, Temiskaming Speaker, 24 August 1939.

7. “Jury Exonerates Driver In Saturday Accident”, Temiskaming Speaker, 24 August 1939.

8. “Jury Exonerates Driver In Saturday Accident”, Temiskaming Speaker, 24 August 1939. Also, Find A Grave, digital image (http://findagrave.com : accessed 15 August 2014), photograph, gravestone for William John Brennan (1892-1939), Find A Grave Memorial no. 72899549, Sainte Therese Cemetery, O'Brien, Timiskaming District, Ontario.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Workday Wednesday: The Bridge Accident

My grandfather Fred Belair was a steel worker for the Dominion Bridge Company in the 1920s and early 1930s. While working on the new bridge in Montreal, Quebec in the afternoon of 5 August 1929, he was “struck by [an iron] beam which fell on him”. He sustained a “fractured right thigh and open fracture of the leg”. [1]

His accident was reported in at least two Montreal newspapers: in English in The Gazette and in French in La Presse [2]. Both articles misspelled his surname (Blair instead of Belair).

The Gazette (6 August 1929)

La Presse (6 August 1929)

This new bridge must have been Montreal Harbour Bridge (renamed Jacques Cartier Bridge in 1934) that Dominion Bridge constructed between 1925 and 1930. [3]

S.S. "Duchess of Richmond" passing under Montreal Harbour Bridge, Montreal, P.Q. (1936)*

* Photo credit: Canada. Dept. of Interior / Library and Archives Canada / PA-044424.

The accident was serious enough to keep my Pépère Fred in Notre-Dame hospital for a few weeks. I wonder how my grandmother Julie coped during his hospitalization? Not only did she have their two year old son Maurice (my father) to care for, she  was also eight months pregnant.

Fred was still in Notre-Dame when Julie gave birth there to a baby girl (my Aunt Joan) on September 1st. How was life for their little family once Fred and Julie were back at home? Did my grandfather return to work or did he lose his job because of his enforced absence from the Dominion Bridge Company? How did they manage to pay their hospital bills? Did neighbors help my grandmother care for her newborn and toddler? (As far as I know, they didn't have relatives living with them in Montreal.)

I don’t know if or what kind of operation my grandfather might have needed during his hospital stay. Come to think of it, I also don’t know who cared for my Dad while both his parents were in hospital. Somehow those details were never brought up in any of the conversations I had about this subject with my grandfather, my Dad or my Aunt.

One thing I do know, though, is that my grandfather Fred was left with a slightly shorter leg and walked with a bit of a limp.

Sources:

1. “Bridge Worker Hurt”, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), 6 August 1929, p. 5, col. 5; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.ca : accessed 4 May 2011).

2. “Accident au nouveau pont de Montréal”, undated clipping, ca August 1929, La Presse, Montreal, Quebec; privately held by Joan (Belair) Laneville, 2014. Joan, who was Fred’s elder daughter, allowed her niece Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff to scan the image while visiting her home in May 2014.

3. Wikipedia contributors, "Jacques Cartier Bridge", Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jacques_Cartier_Bridge&oldid=613822624 : accessed 4 August 2014).

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Census Sunday: The Vanasse Family and the 1921 Census

1921 census of Canada (Chichester Township, Quebec) [1]

My paternal grandmother Julie Vanasse was enumerated on the 1921 census of Canada. [2] She, her parents and some of her siblings lived in rural Chichester, Pontiac County, Quebec.

Julie was born on 31 August 1896, so her presence on the 1921 census marks her third appearance on a federal Canadian census.

Cropped version of 1921  Chichester Township census

The family’s surname is spelled Venasse on the above images, but is indexed Vinson in the census database at Ancestry.ca.

There were eight members in the household: head of family Oliver (54), wife Elizabeth (54), and children Mary Ann (31), Willie (28), my grandmother Julia (24), Joseph (23), David (18) and Agnes (15). Three other children, eldest son George, and younger daughters Celia and Cora, lived in their own homes or in other communities.

Although the census form is bilingual (French and English), the responses are in English. I don’t see a date on this return, but the official census date was 1 June 1911. [3]

Oliver is a farmer. He owns his house, which is constructed of wood and has four occupied rooms. [4] The family is Roman Catholic, all its members were born in the province of Quebec, Oliver cannot read or write, his wife Elizabeth can write, and all their children can read and write. The family speaks French and English.

The thing that strikes me the most interesting about my Vanasse great-grandparents’ family on this census is that almost all of their unmarried children lived at home. I would expect to see teenager Agnes and perhaps her 18-year-old brother David still at home, but the others are between 23 and 31 years old and of an age to be living in their own homes or working out of town. I like to think that this nearly complete household means that they were a particularly close and united family.

Sources:

1. 1921 census of Canada, Chichester Township, Pontiac-Témiscamingue-Abitibi, Quebec, population schedule, subdistrict 7, p. 7, dwelling 49, family 49, Oliver Venasse [sic] household; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 8 August 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada, Sixth Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2013. Series RG31. Statistics Canada Fonds.

2. 1921 census of Canada, Chichester Township, Pontiac-Témiscamingue-Abitibi, Quebec, pop. sched., subdist. 7, p. 1, dwel. 49, fam. 49, Oliver Venasse [sic] household.

3. Dave Obee, Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census (Victoria, BC: Dave Obee, 2012), 160.

4. “1921 Canada Census Enumerator Instructions”, Ontario (Upper Canada) Genealogy and History - 1921 Canada Census Information (http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/1921canadacensusinformation.html : accessed 2 August 2014), entries no. 73, 77 and 78.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sibling Saturday: Maurice Belair, the eldest of six

Maurice in early 1928

Today – August 2 – would have been my father’s 87th birthday. He passed away 18 years ago, but his family does not forget him, and later today we will spend time remembering him when we visit his grave.

Dad was the eldest of his parents Fred and Julie’s six children. Dad and his little sister who died at birth were born in Ottawa, where my grandparents married in October 1926. The next two children, Joan and Ray, were born in Montreal, Quebec, where my grandfather Fred was an ironworker. After my grandparents settled in northern Ontario in the mid-1930s, their fifth child Darlene was born at the hospital in Cochrane. The last child, a little boy named Joseph, was born at home in Fauquier, but he lived only one hour.

My aunts and uncles in birth order:

• Maurice, born 2 August 1927, died 6 May 1996

• An unnamed daughter, born and died 29 June 1928

• Jeanne (Joan), born 1 September 1929

• Raymond (Ray), born 19 January 1931

• Darlene, born 18 October 1935

• Joseph, born and died 31 January 1937

Maurice (right) with his baby sister Joan and their cousin Lucille (left), 1930

Dad (centre) with his brother and sisters and their young cousins, about 1941

Dad (centre) with his mother Julie and his brother Ray and sister Darlene, about 1943

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Update to 52 Ancestors #5 Julie Belair

Earlier this year in January, I profiled my grandmother Julie Belair in 52 Ancestors. In that article, I wrote how there were certain “unknowns” about my Mémère Julie – things like how did she and my grandfather Fred meet, where did she live before and after she married, and such.

One of my research goals during my recent trip to Ontario was to ask my aunts Joan and Darlene (Julie’s daughters) to help me fill in those blanks. They couldn’t answer all my questions, but I’m grateful they could help with some of them.

Julie (Vanasse) Belair, 1926

For example,

• Did Julie accompany my grandfather when he worked as a cook in lumber camps? If so, who took care of her younger children during these times?

I must have got it wrong many years ago, because I always believed that my grandfather Fred was the cook in lumber camps. Aunt Joan told me that it was my grandmother Julie who was the cook and that my Pépère Fred was a bushworker.

• Was there an obituary for Julie? (I have one for my grandfather Fred, but I’ve never seen one for my grandmother.)

Yes, there was, and it appeared in the Timmins Daily Press. I located it when I went to the Timmins library during my visit there in May and made a photocopy from the microfilmed edition. A couple of days later, Aunt Joan found her copy (an original) and I scanned it for my records.

• I have Julie’s death certificate, but I’d like to see her death registration, because it potentially contains more useful information.

When I visited Aunt Joan, I helped her fill out the online death registration forms for her parents. Within a couple of weeks or so, she received their respective “Statement of Death”. Aunt Joan made copies for herself, and then sent the originals to me. (Thanks, Aunt Joan!) Unfortunately, one of the “more useful [pieces] of information” I was hoping to see on the documents (cause of death) doesn’t appear on the statements.

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.

52 Ancestors: #8 Olivier Vanasse – Husband, Father, Farmer

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has issued herself and her readers a challenge for 2014. It’s called “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”, and as Amy explains, the challenge is to “have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor”.

For the 8th week of this challenge, I chose my paternal great-grandfather Olivier Vanasse (1863-1944).

Olivier Vanasse

I never knew this great-grandfather (he died quite a few years before I was born), but my father Maurice and his sister Joan knew him. I remember just a couple of things of what they told me about Olivier. For example, when they were very young (less than 5 years old), they visited his property, a farm, at Chapeau. Then, a few years later, Dad and Aunt Joan and their parents Fred and Julie (one of Olivier’s daughters) lived at Chapeau, when Fred ran a gas station there. One day, I'd like to take a trip to eastern Canada and visit Chapeau in Pontiac County, Quebec and see the Vanasse farm for myself. I'll have to first contact a cousin, though, to get its exact location and find out if it's still in the family.

My great-grandfather Olivier was born on 4 February 1863 in Chapeau, Pontiac County, Quebec. He was the youngest child of his parents Olivier and Elisabeth (Frappier) Vanasse. Olivier’s older siblings were Michael (1853-1933), Julia (1854-1895), Henriette (1856-1883), John (1858-1931) and Elizabeth (1860-1953).

Olivier didn’t look too far to find a bride when he married in July 1889. He chose his first cousin, Elisabeth Vanasse (1862-1947), who like him, was born and raised in Chapeau.

The couple’s first child, Mary, was born the following spring in April 1890. A son, George, soon followed in October 1891, and then seven more children between 1893 and 1905: William, Cecilia (Celia), Julia (Julie), Joseph, Corinne (Cora), David and Agnes (Aggie). My grandmother Julie was their fifth child.

According to his obituary, Olivier retired from farming in 1919. He and his family continued to live on their property, where he died on 7 December 1944; he had been ill for two years.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

A Day in My Ancestor’s Life – Julie (Vanasse) Belair

I got the idea for this blog article when I read the tip of the day for 18 November 2013 at Genealogy Tip of the Day.

The object of the exercise is to:

“Pick a day in your ancestor's life. Try and answer the following questions as of that date:

• Where was my ancestor living?
• Who was in his (her) household?
• What was the ancestor's occupation?
• What was the ancestor's age?
• What was going on nationally on this date (at this point in time)?
• What was going on locally/regionally?
• Were my ancestor's parents alive?
• Were my ancestor's siblings alive?
• Where would he (she) have gone to church the previous Sunday?
• Who were my ancestor's neighbors?”

I picked 2 August 1927, the day my grandmother Julie gave birth to my father. It was a Tuesday. [1] The forecast was mostly fine, with moderate winds. [2] The average temperature was 15.6 C, with a low of 9.4C and a high of 21.7C. [3]

Julie (right), who was expecting my father, with her sister-in-law Almina (1927)

• Where was my ancestor living?

Julie and husband Fred lived in Ottawa, Carleton County, Ontario, Canada. Their home was located at 62 Lloyd Street. [4] My grandfather never made big wages, so he and Julie likely lived in an apartment. Lloyd Street was in the working-class neighborhood known as LeBreton Flats, located near the downtown core, west of the Parliament Buildings and south of the Ottawa River.

Aerial view of Ottawa (1927)

• Who was in his (her) household?

There were at least two people in the household, Julie and Fred. I don’t know if they lived by themselves or shared accommodations.

• What was the ancestor’s occupation?

My grandmother didn't work outside of the home at the time of my father’s birth. If she worked at “other than household duties”, it would have been noted on the birth registration form. [5]

• What was the ancestor's age?

Julie was 30 years old. (She turned 31 at the end of the month.)

• What was going on nationally on this date (at this point in time)?

Canada was celebrating the diamond anniversary of its Confederation (1867-1927).

• What was going on locally/regionally?

HRH the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor) and his younger brother HRH Prince George, were visiting Canada. “Thousands of citizens” gathered on Parliament Hill and gave them an “exceedingly cordial welcome” on their arrival in Ottawa on Tuesday, 2 August 1927. [6]

Also, the third World’s Poultry Congress was on its second-to-last day. The well-attended event at Lansdowne Park showcased poultry and educational exhibits, and featured international speakers from countries like Canada, USA, Italy, Germany and Egypt. [7]

• Were my ancestor's parents alive?

Both my Dad’s parents were alive.

• Were my ancestor's siblings alive?

Dad was his parents’ first-born child, so, he didn’t yet have siblings.

• Where would he (she) have gone to church the previous Sunday?

Julie probably attended Sunday mass at St-Jean-Baptiste church, located at the corner of Empress and Primrose streets. It was probably her local parish, because that’s where she married the previous October, and where my father was baptised a week after he was born. St-Jean-Baptiste had served the French-Canadian community of the LeBreton neighborhood since 1872. Sunday mass might have been said by curé Bernard Doucet, O.P. [8]

• Who were my ancestor's neighbors?

I don’t know who my grandmother’s neighbors were. (I don’t have access to a 1927 city directory to Ottawa, but I hope to find one some day.) Based on where she lived in LeBreton Flats, though, many were probably from the same background: working folk, French-Canadian, and Roman Catholic.

Some Thoughts

I wonder how my grandmother Julie spent the last few days before my father’s birth? Did she spend some of her time viewing the poultry exhibits at Lansdowne Park (all that walking might not have been a good idea during her last trimester)? Would she have preferred listening to the band of the Governor-General’s Foot Guards who performed on Parliament Hill that Sunday afternoon? [9] Or, did she spend her time quietly at home, making sure she had all she needed for her baby’s layette and her hospital stay? [10]

Sources:

Image of Ottawa: Canada. Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys / Library and Archives Canada / PA-015557.

1. “Perpetual Calendar”, infoplease (http://www.infoplease.com/calendar.php : accessed 31 January 2014).

2. “Record and Forecast of the Weather”, The Ottawa Evening Journal, 2 August 1927, p. 1; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 31 January 2014), Newspapers & Publications Records.

3. “Historical Climate Data”, Climate – Government of Canada (http://climate.weather.gc.ca/ : accessed 31 January 2014), “Ottawa”.

4. Ontario, birth registration, no. 1927-05-020795 (1927), Maurice Melvin Belair; Office of the Registrar General, Thunder Bay.

5. Ontario, birth registration, no. 1927-05-020795 (1927), Maurice Melvin Belair.

6. “Great Throngs Loudly Acclaim Notable Guests”, The Ottawa Evening Journal, 2 August 1927, p. 1; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 31 January 2014), Newspapers & Publications Records.

7. “Women Speak to Poultry Men Today’s Session”, The Ottawa Evening Journal, 2 August 1927, p. 1; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 31 January 2014), Newspapers & Publications Records.

8. “Historique”, Paroisse St-Jean-Baptiste (http://www.stjeanbaptiste.ca/ : accessed 31 January 2014).

9. “Guards’ Concert Greatly Enjoyed”, The Ottawa Evening Journal, 1 August 1927, p. 4; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 31 January 2014), Newspapers & Publications Records.

10. Ontario, birth registration, no. 1927-05-020795 (1927), Maurice Melvin Belair. The physician in attendance was J. M. Laframboise, MD, so my grandmother presumably had her baby in a hospital. (The hospital’s name does not appear on the registration form.)

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sibling Saturday: Albertine and Cora Gagnon

Albertine and Cora Gagnon, 1920s

This lovely picture is a copy I’ve had in my photo collection since the 1980s or 1990s. I think it was given to me by one of my paternal relatives, a Vanasse cousin of my Dad’s. The photo was probably taken in the early 1920s, and judging by the background, it must have been a studio portrait.

The fashionably dressed young women are sisters Albertine and Cora Gagnon. (I’m not certain which sister is on the left, but I think it's Albertine.) They were the younger daughters of François (Frank) and Julie (Vanasse) Gagnon, who married in the early summer of 1895 in Chapeau, Pontiac County, Quebec. [1] Julie was the maternal aunt of my grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair.

Albertine, baptised “Mary Abby”, was born on Christmas Day 1897, while Cora, baptised “Anna Cora Josephine”, was born on 19 December 1902, both in Chapeau. [2]

The girls had seven brothers and sisters: Mary (b. 1896), François Richard (1900-1955), Victor (1901-1923), Mary Albina (b. 1904), Robert (1906-1991), Bridget (b. 1909), and Jeanette (b. 1911).

The eldest of the Gagnon children, Mary, was probably the first one to leave the family home for nearby Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, because she married James H. Brown there in 1918. [3] Her younger sisters Albertine and Cora soon followed her to Ottawa.

In October 1926, Albertine was a witness at my grandmother Julie’s wedding to Fred Belair at St-Jean-Baptiste church on Empress Street in Ottawa. [4]

A few months later, in February 1927, Cora married William Guy Holden at Notre-Dame Basilica on Sussex Drive in Lower Town, Ottawa. Her sister Albertine was one of the witnesses. [5]

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica exterior [6]

A close bond existed between my grandmother Julie and Albertine, because Julie asked her cousin to be part of another important event in her life – the christening of her first-born child, Maurice, my father. Albertine and Julie’s brother David Vanasse, as godfather, were present at my Dad’s baptism on 9 August 1927 at St-Jean-Baptiste church. [7]

In early 1937, Albertine (who had just turned 39 years old) married Dosithé Mainville on 20 January in Christ Roi church, at Argyle Avenue and Bank Street, Ottawa. [8]

I don’t think I ever met either Albertine or Cora, although Cora (and some of her other sisters) lived in Timmins, Ontario (where I’m from) for quite a few years. It’s possible that I met her when I was little, but have forgotten the occasion(s).

Of the two sisters, Albertine died first, in 1968. She is interred in St. Alphonse de Ligouri Cemetery in Chapeau. [9] Cora died five years later in 1973, and is interred in Whitney Cemetery, Porcupine, Cochrane District, Ontario. [10]

Sources:

1. St-Alphonse (Chapeau, Quebec), parish register, 1895, p. 16 recto, entry no. M9, François Gagnon–Julie Vanasse marriage, 26 June 1895; St-Alphonse parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 21 June 2010).

2. St-Alphonse (Chapeau, Quebec), parish register, 1902, p. 24 verso, entry no. B.91, Anna Cora Josephine Gagnon baptism, 21 December 1902; St-Alphonse parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 18 January 2014). Also, St-Alphonse (Chapeau, Quebec), parish register, 1897, p. 27 verso, entry no. B.83, Mary Abby Gagnon baptism, 26 December 1897; St-Alphonse parish; digital image, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 18 January 2014).

3. Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil (Ottawa, Ontario), parish register, 1913-1930, p. 89 (stamped), entry no. M.15 (1918), James Brown–May Gagnon [sic] marriage, 10 September 1918; Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil parish; digital image, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 19 January 2014).

4. St-Jean-Baptiste (Ottawa, Ontario), parish register, 1909-1968, p. 136, entry no. 28 (1926), Jean Baptiste Belair–Julie Venance [sic] marriage, 28 October 1926; St-Jean-Baptiste parish; digital image, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 July 2007).

5. Basilique Notre-Dame (Ottawa, Ontario), parish register, 1926-1933, no page number, entry no. M.9 (1927), William Guy Holden–Anna Cora Josephine Gagnon marriage, 26 February 1927; Basilique Notre-Dame parish; digital image, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 19 January 2014).

6. Wikipedia contributors, "Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Notre-Dame_Cathedral_Basilica,_Ottawa&oldid=592169804 : accessed January 27, 2014).

7. St-Jean-Baptiste (Ottawa, Ontario), parish register, 1909-1968, p. 802, entry no. 93 (1927), Maurice-Melvin Bélair [sic] baptism, 9 August 1927; St-Jean-Baptiste parish; digital image, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 July 2007).

8. Christ Roi (Ottawa, Ontario), parish register, 1930-1953, p. 87 (stamped), entry no. M.1 (1937), Dosithé Mainville–Mary Albertine Gagnon marriage, 20 January 1937; Christ Roi parish; digital image, “Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 18 January 2014). Christ Roi, founded in 1930, closed down as a parish church in 2001. (Source: “Région pastorale – Ottawa”, Diocèse d’Ottawa (http://www.missa.org : accessed 27 January 2014), Christ Roi.)

9. RootsWeb.com, St. Alphonse de Ligouri RC Cemetery, digital images (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cangmg/quebec/pontiac/allumett/stalplig/index.htm : accessed 19 January 2014), photograph, grave marker of Albertina Mainville [sic] (1897-1968), Chapeau, Quebec.

10. RootsWeb.com, Whitney Cemetery, Porcupine, digital images (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~murrayp/cochrane/porcupin/whitney/index.htm : accessed 19 January 2014), photograph, grave marker of Cora Holden (1902-1973), Porcupine, Ontario.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.