Church Record Sunday: Mathilde Belair’s 1923 Burial Record

Mathilde Cloutier, second wife of my paternal great-grandfather Pierre Belair, died 95 years ago on 16 April 1923. [1]

Pierre’s first wife, Angélina Meunier, died in July 1896, leaving behind seven children, including my grandfather (Pépère) Fred, who was only six years old.

A year later, Pierre married Mathilde Cloutier, who was born and raised in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Pontiac County, Quebec, like Pierre and his family. They had five children: two sons and three daughters.

Mathilde’s burial record doesn’t indicate the cause of death (such records rarely did), but she was 62 years old at her death. Her husband was present at the funeral on 18 April, along with their son Joseph, my grandfather’s eldest half-brother.

I don’t know what kind of relationship Fred had with his stepmother. I wish I had thought of asking him when he was older after I got interested in genealogy.

Mathilde Cloutier burial record (Ancestry)

The burial record above reads in French:

Ce dix-huit avril mil neuf cent vingt-trois / je soussigné curé de cette paroisse ai / inhumé dans notre cimetière le / corps de Mathilde Cloutier, épouse / de Pierre Belair, de cette paroisse / et y décédée avant-hier âgée de / soixante ans. Etaient pré / sents Pierre Belair, Joseph Belair et autres parents et amis qui ne / revinrent pas après le service. 
[signed] Hector Yelle, ptre

My English translation:

This 18 April nineteen hundred and twenty-three / I undersigned [parish priest] of this parish have / interred in our cemetery the / body of Mathilde Cloutier, wife of Pierre Belair, of this parish / and who died [the day] before yesterday aged of / sixty years. Were pre / sent Pierre Belair, Joseph Belair and other relatives and friends who did not / return [to the church] after the [burial] service. 
[signed] Hector Yelle, [priest]

Source:

1. Ste-Cécile (Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec), parish register, 1918-1930, p. 95 verso, entry no. S.11 (1923), Mathilde Cloutier burial, 18 April 1923; Ste-Cécile-de-Masham parish; digital images, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 March 2018).

Copyright © 2018, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Church Record Sunday: Pierre Belair’s 1941 Burial Record

Seventy-five years ago, my paternal great-grandfather Pierre Belair died on 6 May 1941.[1] He was 89½ years old, the father of 16 children (ten predeceased him), and outlived three wives.

I first saw Pierre’s burial record when I visited Ste-Cécile-de-Masham (now La Pêche), Gatineau County, Quebec in the 1980s. The parish church secretary allowed me to look at and photocopy family records from Ste-Cécile’s sacramental registers. Years later, I got the opportunity to re-view my great-grandfather’s burial record after I got a subscription to Ancestry.ca. The image, my transcription and my translation are from that site.

Pierre’s burial record (above) reads in French:

Le huit mai mil neuf cent quarante et un, nous soussigné / curé avons inhumé dans le cimétière de cette paroisse / le corps de Pierre Bélair époux de feues Anna Meunier / Mathilde Cloutier et de Rosalie Lavictoire, décédé en / cette paroisse, muni des derniers Sacrements de l’Eglise / le six du courant mois à l’âge de quatre-vingt-dix / ans et cinq mois. Furent présents Joseph Bélair, Paul / Bélair et autres qui ont signé. Lecture faite.
[signed Paul Bélair / Joseph Bélair / J.R.X. Filiatreault ptre curé]

My English translation:

The eight May one thousand one hundred forty one, we undersigned / [parish priest] have interred in the cemetery of this parish / the body of Pierre Bélair spouse of the late Anna Meunier / Mathilde Cloutier and of Rosalie Lavictoire, died / in this parish, provided with the last Sacrements of the Church / the six of the current month at the age of ninety / years and five months. Were present Joseph Bélair, Paul / Bélair and others who signed. Reading [of this record] done.
[signed Paul Bélair / Joseph Bélair / J.R.X. Filiatreault parish priest]

Most of my CRS posts end about here, but today I’m adding something else: a summary of what I learned about Pierre from this record.

One thing I didn’t learn, though, was if my grandfather Fred, Pierre’s younger son, attended his father’s funeral. His name is not recorded as being present, but I suspect that he wasn’t there. Fred, who lived in the small village of Fauquier in northern Ontario, might not have received the sad news in time to make the journey to Masham.

Source:

1. Ste-Cécile (Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec), parish register, 1930-1943, p. 326 (stamped), entry no. S.7 (1941), Pierre Bélair burial, 8 May 1941; Ste-Cécile-de-Masham parish; digital images, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 1 March 2012).

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wedding Wednesday: Liard – Janvry (Belair)

This Friday (July 17) marks the 110th anniversary of Délia Janvry dit Belair’s first marriage. She was my paternal grandfather Fred Belair’s elder sister.Born in April 1885, Délia married Charles Liard on 17 July 1905 in Ste-Cécile, the R.C. parish church in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec. [1]

Liard – Belair marriage record (Généalogie Québec.com)

The marriage record, seen above, is in French. The officiating priest, J. Eug[ène]. L. Limoges, vicar of Ste-Cécile, recorded that two banns of marriage were announced (published) during Sunday Masses and that a dispensation was granted for the third bann. Charles is described as the fils majeur (son of age) of his parents Xavier and Félanise [Phelonise] (Moreau) Liard, residents of Ste-Cécile parish. For her part, Délia is described as the fille mineure (minor daughter) of her parents Pierre Janvrie [Janvry dit Belair] and the late Angélina Meunier, also of this parish. There were no impediments to the marriage. The young couple received the nuptial blessing in the presence of Charles’ father Xavier and of Pierre Janvrie, as well as plusieurs autres parents et amis (many other family and friends). Three people signed the sacramental register: Délia, a woman named Claire Gauvreau (possibly her friend, who married the following month), and Pierre Janvrie. This Pierre is not likely Délia’s father, but instead her eldest brother, also named Pierre, who was literate. [2] I’ve never seen my great-grandfather Pierre’s signature, because he didn’t sign or was unable to sign his name in his family’s baptism, marriage, and burial records.

After Charles’s death in 1918, Délia married widower Isaïe Brazeau in March 1919 in Ste-Cécile parish. Isaïe, who was twice mayor of Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, died in 1954. Délia died on 30 December 1972 in Hull, Quebec.

Sources:

1. Ste-Cécile (Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec), parish register, 1899-1908, folio 131 (recto)/p. 262 (stamped), entry no. M.15 (1905), Charles Liard – Délia Janvrie [sic] marriage, 17 July 1905; Ste-Cécile parish; digital image, “Le LAFRANCE”, Généalogie Québec (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/ : accessed 9 July 2015).

2. Ste-Cécile (Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Quebec), parish register, 1899-1908, folio 165 (recto)/p. 330 (stamped), entry no. M.8 (1907), Pierre Belair – Elisa Barnabée [sic] marriage, 9 July 1907; Ste-Cécile parish; digital image, “Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection, 1621-1967”, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 27 April 2010). Délia’s father Pierre was present at her brother Pierre’s wedding. The priest noted that only the bridal couple could (and did) sign their names in the sacramental register.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Census Sunday: The Belair Family and the 1891 Census

1891 census of Canada (Masham, Quebec) [1]

My great-grandfather Pierre Janvry dit Belair, his wife Angélina and their children were enumerated on the 1891 census of Canada. [2]

Pierre’s son Fred, my grandfather, was born in late 1889, so this census marks his first appearance on a federal Canadian census return.

Cropped version of 1891 Masham census

The Belair family, as seen in the above cropped image version of the Masham 1891 census, consisted of head of family Pierre (39), his wife Angélina (35), and their children Pierre (10), Paul (9), Angélina (7), Marie (5) [usually known as Délia], and Jean Bte (1) [my grandfather Fred].

The enumerator did not sign his name nor did he date the return. Enumerators were instructed to gather information “as it applied at midnight, when April 5 turned into April 6”. [3]

The Belair family home, described in Column 4 as “B1/3 “, was a one-story wooden house with three rooms. [4] Other details include the family members’ place of birth (Q, for the province of Quebec), religion (C.R., for Catholique Romain [Roman Catholic]), and that only mother Angélina and elder sons Pierre and Paul could read and write.

Sources:

1. 1891 census of Canada, Masham, Ottawa, Quebec, population schedule, subdistrict BB, p. 31, family 113, Pierre Jeanvry [sic] household; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 July 2007); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-6412.

2. 1891 census of Canada, Masham, Ottawa, Quebec, pop. sched., subdist. BB, p. 31, fam. 113, Pierre Jeanvry [sic] household.

3. Dave Obee, Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census (Victoria, BC: Dave Obee, 2012), 135.

4. Census of 1891, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1891/Pages/about-census.aspx : accessed 1 May 2014), “About the 1891 Census: Common Abbreviations – Other”. Some of the abbreviations found on the 1891 census forms, including those for residential buildings, are explained on the LAC website. The unnamed enumerator wrote in French, thus the B in “B1/3” stands for bois (wooden).

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

A Day in My Ancestor’s Life – Pierre Belair

Last month, I made my first attempt at recreating “a day in my ancestor’s life” when I wrote about my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair; you can read her story here. I’m following up that post with a go at another ancestor: my paternal great-grandfather Pierre Belair (1851-1941). (I began the research for this article a few weeks ago, but I'm just posting the finished product today.)

Note: The questions below are courtesy of the tip of the day (“Pick A Day”) for 18 November 2013 at Genealogy Tip of the Day.

Pierre Belair as a young man

I picked 6 April 1891, when the third census for the Dominion of Canada was held. I don’t know if Pierre and his family were enumerated that day (the date is left blank on the census form), but enumerators were instructed to gather information “as it applied at midnight, when April 5 turned into April 6”. [1]

April 6 was a Monday. [2]

I didn’t find weather data for Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, where Pierre lived. Instead, I chose Montreal, where the temperature hovered between -5.6 and 0.0 on Sunday 5 April and between -3.9 and 3.3. on 6 April. [3]

• Where was my ancestor living?

Pierre lived in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, a rural community in Ottawa (now Gatineau) County, Quebec. His home was a farm house, a short distance from the village.

The Belair home (taken in the 1980s)

• Who was in his (her) household?

Besides Pierre, there was his wife Angélina (née Meunier) and their children Pierre (age 10), Paul (9), Angélina (7), Marie (5) and Jean-Baptiste (1). [4] (Jean-Baptiste, aka Fred, was my grandfather, and he was more like 1½, because he was born in December 1889.)

1891 census of Canada [5]

(Pierre's family is on the last seven lines.)

• What was the ancestor’s occupation?

Pierre was a cultivateur (farmer). He did his own work without the help of an employee, according to the census. [6] It’s too bad that the agricultural schedule of the 1891 census has not survived in manuscript form, because it would be interesting to get details about his crops, livestock and such. [7] Based on family tradition, though, Pierre engaged in general farming.

• What was the ancestor's age?

Pierre was 39 years old.

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

Nationally, the country’s third census had begun. A few days earlier, a newspaper worried about a “census curiosity”. The unnamed reporter wondered how the census would be able to reveal if “there are any Canadians in Canada except French Canadians”. The reporter noticed there were only two columns for nationality on the census form: “country or province of birth” and “French Canadians”, and none for “native [-born] Canadians”. [8]

Previously, but probably still in the public’s mind, was the general election that took place last month on 5 March 1891. Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservative party was re-elected at the federal level, but in the County of Ottawa where Pierre resided, the Liberal party outweighed the Conservatives. [9]

Also in the public’s mind was the Springhill mining disaster of 21 February 1891. The Nova Scotia coal mine explosion left “125 dead and dozens more injured”. The newspaper reported the latest financial contributions – amounts between 25 cents and $5.00. [10]

• What was going on locally/regionally?

One local/regional story was the continuing work of the rail line from Hull to Maniwaki of the “Ottawa and Gatineau Railway Company”. The project began in 1871, but construction didn’t start until some years later. The first section that linked Hull to Wakefield was only completed in 1891. [11]

• Were my ancestor's parents alive?

Pierre’s parents Paul and Angélique (Lalonde) Belair were alive, but I wasn't able to locate them on the 1891 census, despite a page-by-page search of the images at Ancestry.ca. The couple doesn't appear to be living in the households of their other children or in the households of Paul's surviving siblings Esther (in Montreal), Mathilde and Elisabeth (in Masham), and Denis (in Gloucester Township, Ontario).

• Were my ancestor's siblings alive?

Pierre had only one sibling living in Masham: his youngest sister Adèle and her husband Jean-Baptiste Milliquette. They had two children, and were the godparents of Pierre’s youngest son Fred. Adèle and her family lived close to Pierre, because they appear on the census two households away from his property.

His other sister Lucie and younger brother Emilien lived with their respective families in Onslow, Pontiac County, Quebec. His younger brothers Jean-Baptiste and Paul lived in Hull, Ottawa County, Quebec with their families. Finally, Pierre’s eldest surviving brother Joseph moved to Ontario in about 1883, where he, his wife Emilie Berton and their children lived.

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

The village’s only Roman Catholic church is dedicated to Ste-Cécile. It’s where Pierre was baptised and married, and where his children were also baptised. Angélina was a devout woman, so it's likely that Pierre and his family attended Mass the previous day, the first Sunday after Easter. The parishioners would have heard Father A.-G. Lyonnais preach the Liturgy in Latin, since the vernacular (native language of the people) was not used until the 1960s. Curé Lyonnais was relatively new to Masham, having arrived in the community in October 1889. [12]

• Who were my ancestor's neighbors?

Some of Pierre’s neighbors were Jean-Baptiste and Elmire Meunier (Angélina’s brother), Victor and Marie Robert, Antoine and Sydonie Giroux, and his own sister Adèle and her family. Other nearby families included those of Moïse and Marie Martineau, Joseph and Justine Martineau, Louis Rose père, and Louis Rose fils and his wife Sophie née Martineau, Pierre’s first cousin.

Some Thoughts

Although I don’t know for sure, I’d like to think that Pierre had a somewhat good life. At 39 years old, he was married, the father of five (living) children, had property that he worked himself to support and feed his family. He lived in the community where he was born and raised, and where a sister and close relatives also lived.

Pierre couldn’t read or write, but that didn’t stop him from sending his sons Pierre and Paul to school, because they could read and write, according to the census.

Speaking of the census, I wonder if Pierre was the one who gave his family's details to the enumerator? Did his children gather nearby to listen and perhaps comment among themselves about their father's responses? Did Pierre have to ask Angélina about such-and-such a child's age, or did he know all of their ages by heart?

Politically, Pierre was a constituent of a traditionally Conservative county, so perhaps he voted Conservative in the March election. If so, he would have presumably been pleased when Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, came back to power for a sixth term. What if he was a Liberal, though? Did he cheer the victory of merchant C.R. Devlin, the Liberal who won the election in Ottawa County, but feel disappointed at his party’s overall loss? [13]

Sources:

1. Dave Obee, Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census (Victoria, BC: Dave Obee, 2012), 135.

2. “Perpetual Calendar”, infoplease (http://www.infoplease.com/calendar.php : accessed 11 December 2013).]

3. “Historical Climate Data”, Climate – Government of Canada (http://climate.weather.gc.ca : accessed 7 December 2013), “Montreal”.

4. 1891 census of Canada, Masham, Ottawa, Canada, population schedule, subdistrict BB, p. 31, family 113, Pierre Jeanvry household [indexed as Jeansey, but written as Jeanvry]; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 July 2007); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-6412.

5. 1891 census of Canada, Masham, Ottawa, Canada, pop. sch., subdist. BB, p. 31, fam. 113, Pierre Jeanvry household.

6. 1891 census of Canada, Masham, Ottawa, Canada, pop. sch., subdist. BB, p. 31, fam. 113, Pierre Jeanvry household.

7. Obee, Counting Canada, 137.

8. “A Census Curiosity”, The [Ottawa] Evening Journal, 4 April 1891, p. 4, col. 1; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 8 December 2013), Newspapers & Publications.

9. “History of Federal Ridings since 1867”, database, Parliament of Canada (http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/FederalRidingsHistory/HFER.asp : accessed 10 March 2014), “General Elections”.

10. Nova Scotia, Canada, Men in the Mines (http://www.novascotia.ca/nsarm/virtual/meninmines/default.asp?Language=English : accessed 9 December 2013), “The Springhill Mine Disasters of 1891, 1956 and 1958”. Also, “The Springhill Disaster – another handsome addition to the relief fund”, The [Ottawa] Evening Journal, 6 April 1891, p. 2, col. 4; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 8 December 2013), Newspapers & Publications.

11. “History of the Municipality of La Pêche”, database, Municipalité de La Pêche (http://www.villelapeche.qc.ca/index.php/en/la-peche/history : accessed 11 December 2013). Also, “Up the Line: The Railway from Hull to Maniwaki”, database, Outaouais Heritage WebMagazine (http://outaouais.quebecheritageweb.com/article/line-railway-hull-maniwaki : accessed 11 December 2013).

12. Hector Legros, prêtre, Histoire de LaPêche et Masham (Hull, Quebec: Evêché de Hull, 1966), 113.

13. “History of Federal Ridings since 1867”, database entry for “General Elections”. The County of Ottawa was Liberal-Conservative (aka Conservative) since August 1867, and then went Liberal in March 1891.

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Ancestors: #7 Angélina Meunier – My great-grandmother

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 7th week of this challenge, I chose my paternal great-grandmother Angélina Meunier (1855-1896).

I don’t know much about my great-grandmother Angélina. There doesn’t seem to be any photographs of her that, if taken, have survived. She died when my grandfather Fred, her younger son, was only 6 years old. It’s strange, now I think about it, that I don’t ever remember asking my Pépère questions about her. If I had, what kind of memories would he have had of his mother?

Would he be able to tell me what she looked like physically, if she was short or tall, if she was petite, medium or large build, if she had blonde, brown, black or red hair, or if her eyes were blue, brown, green or hazel?

Would he be able to tell me what kind of personality she had, if she was quiet or outgoing, if she was calm and poised, or if she was active and adventurous?

Would he be able to tell me what kind of interests she had, if she like to sew, knit, paint, garden, or if she even had time to enjoy hobbies and activities?

With my grandfather gone 23 years ago, I know only what the records tell me – and what they might suggest – about his mother.

Her baptism record tells me that Angélina was born on 4 August 1855 in the rural community of Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Gatineau County, Quebec. The eldest child of farmer Ménésippe Meunier and his wife Louise Drouin, she had seven brothers and three sisters (one of whom died as an infant). According to the 1861 census, the family lived in one-story log house.

Angélina seems to have been close to her family, because she named some of her children after them. For example, my grandfather was named after her father, and four other sons were named after her brothers Jean-Baptiste, Louis, Cyrille and Gédéon. Also, her mother was godmother to an elder son, while three brothers and one sister were godparents to her younger children.

At 24 years old, Angélina was the first of her family to marry. She and Pierre Janvry dit Belair, whom I wrote about last week here, exchanged wedding vows on 9 September 1879 in Masham’s parish church. Their first child, son Pierre, was born the following year. Seven boys and three girls followed with more or less regularity every two years until 1896.

That summer, on 22 July 1896, Angélina gave birth to her 11th child, Joseph. Sadly, he lived only a few hours. Four days later, Angélina died on 26 July. She was 40 years old. Her widower and seven children survived her.

Her funeral was largely attended. Twenty-three women, all dames de la Congrégation de Ste-Anne, signed their names in the sacramental register. I think that action on the part of those women reveal a great deal about Angélina, does it not?

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Ancestors: #6 Pierre Belair – Spellings and Misspellings of His Name

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 6th week of this challenge, I chose my paternal great-grandfather Pierre Belair (1851-1941).

Pierre Janvry dit Belair (1851-1941)

Pierre was the fourth child and third son of Paul Janvry dit Belair and his wife Angélique Lalonde. Born on 1 December 1851 in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Gatineau County, Quebec, Pierre had five brothers and three sisters. He died on 6 May 1941 in Masham.

When I first started looking for him in documents and records, it was challenging to find him. Indexes, in particular, were tricky. Being new and inexperienced at genealogy research, I tended to search for him using only one spelling of his name – Janvry. (I figured since I was told it was spelled that way, that’s what I would look for.) It took me awhile to figure out I had to be creative in order to locate my great-grandfather.

As I gradually found him, I saw that other people (clerks, priests, and index compilers, for example) were also creative in how they spelled Pierre’s name.

Here’s a selection of the names under which my great-grandfather appears in various databases at Ancestry.ca.

Date: 1851 (The official enumeration date was 11 January 1852.)
Event: census
Name:
- Piter Gnory (census index)
- Peter Gnvry (image)

Date: 24 January 1852
Event: his baptism
Name:
- Peter Gemores (baptism index)
- Peter Geanvrier (image)

Date: 1861 (The official enumeration date was 14 January 1861.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Janovis (census index)
- Pierre Janvris (image)

Date: 1871 (The official enumeration date was 2 April 1871.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Bellaire (census index & image)

Date: 9 September 1879
Event: his 1st marriage
Name:
- Pierre Janvier Beland (marriage index)
- Pierre Janvrise dit Belaire (image)

Date: 1881 (The official enumeration date was 4 April 1881.)
Event: census
Name:
- Jérèmie Piere (census index)
- Jienvril Pière (image)

Date: 1891 (The official enumeration date was 5 April 1891.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Jeansey (census index)
- Pierre Jeanvry (image)

Date: 19 July 1897
Event: his 2nd marriage
Name:
- Pierre Belair (marriage index)
- Pierre Bélair (image)

Date: 1901 (The official enumeration date was 31 March 1901.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Janvrie (census index & image)

Date: 1911 (The official enumeration date was 1 June 1901.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Ganner (census index)
- Pierre Janvrie (image)

Date: 1921 (The official enumeration date was 1 June 1921.)
Event: census
Name:
- Pierre Bélair (census index & image)

Date: 19 January 1926
Event: his 3rd marriage
Name:
- Pierre Belair (marriage index)
- Pierre Bélair (image)

Date: 1935
Event: voters’ list
Name:
- Pierre Belair (voters’ list index & image)

Date: 1940
Event: voters’ list
Name:
- Pierre Bélair (image) (Note: The index is quirky and doesn’t always return individuals’ names in the search results.)

Date: 8 May 1941
Event: his burial
Name:
- Pierre Belair (burial index)
- Pierre Bélair (image)

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Wedding Wednesday: Martineau - Belair



Norbert and Mathilde Martineau Wedding, 1921.


This photo, sent to me over 20 years ago by one of my Dad’s cousins, was taken on Norbert and Mathilde Martineau’s wedding day, 4 January 1921.

The couple, who had known each other all their lives, married in the Roman Catholic church in the village of Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, in Gatineau County, Quebec. Theirs was the first marriage entered in the parish’s register for 1921. The record states that a dispensation for one of the three marriage banns was granted and that there were no impediments to the union. The couple received the nuptial blessing in the presence of Pierre Belair (Mathilde’s father), Isaïe Brazeau (Mathilde’s brother-in-law) and others. Last, Norbert and Mathilde signed their names in the parish register in a clear, legible hand.

Norbert was 24 years old (he had just celebrated his birthday the previous November) and Mathilde was five months shy of her 20th birthday. A younger half-sister of my paternal grandfather Fred Belair, Mathilde was one of five children of Pierre Belair and his second wife Mathilde Cloutier.

I don’t know who took the photograph, but I assume it was either a family member or a friend and neighbor. I also assume that the picture was taken at the Belair family property. (Mathilde in her apron suggests that she just stepped away from her kitchen to go outside for a few moments and be part of the wedding photo.) Norbert and Mathilde (in the centre) are surrounded by their family. Mathilde’s father Pierre is on her right and her mother Mathilde stands on Norbert’s left. Isaïe Brazeau, one of the witnesses, can be seen at the back on the far right of the photo.

Norbert and Mathilde were married for 50 years. He died in June 1971, while Mathilde, who remarried, passed away in April 1973.

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Amanuensis Monday: Deed of Sale between James Nesbitt and Pierre Genvre

An amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

This deed of sale between James Nesbitt and my paternal great-grandfather Pierre Janvry (1851-1941), whose surname is rendered as “Genvre” in the deed, was drawn up on 20 September 1881. It was registered on 29 September 1881. The transcription of this deed appears in quotation marks, with preprinted portions shown in black and handwritten portions shown in red.

“This Indenture made the twentieth day of September one thousand eight hundred and seventy Eighty-one

Between James Nesbitt, of the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa and Province of Quebec farmer

of the one part, and Pierre Genvre of the said township of Masham farmer

of the other part, Witnesseth, That for and in consideration of the sum of three hundred dollars current money of this Province

to the said James Nesbitt

in hand paid by the said Pierre Genvre

at or before the execution of these presents, (the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged

by the said James Nesbitt) he, the

said James Nesbitt

doth hereby grant, bargain, sell and confirm unto the said Pierre Genvre

his heirs and assigns for ever, all that certain lot of land,

situated and being in the township of Masham aforesaid and described as the lot number fifty-five in the fourth range of the Township of Masham aforesaid containing one hundred and twenty-three acres of land in superfic[ies] more or less

To have and to hold the said lot of land and premises hereinbefore granted, bargained and sold, or intended so to be, with their and every of their appurtenances, unto the said Pierre Genvre his heirs and assigns forever

In Witness Whereof, the said parties hereto have hereunto set their hands and Seals the day and year first above written, at the Township of Wakefield in the District of Ottawa, (in duplicate.)

Signed, Sealed and Delivered     James Nesbitt

A. Cates                                   Pierre his Genvre

Isaac B. Yorke                                  x

                                                      mark ”

Source: “Deed of Sale Between James Nesbitt and Pierre Genvre”, dated 20 September 1881; Demoskoff Family Papers, photocopy held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2012. The photocopy, was supplied by Eloi Belair to Yvonne, his cousin, during her visit to his home in Hull, Quebec in the 1980s. Eloi was Pierre Genvre [Janvry]’s grandson.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 36: Ancestors Photos

For which ancestral photograph are you most grateful? Who is in the photo and how did you acquire it? Why does the photo hold a special place in your heart?

Pierre Belair (1851-1941)

I am most grateful for this ancestral photo of my great-grandfather Pierre Janvry dit Belair.

Pierre was the eldest child of Paul and Angélique (Lalonde) Janvry dit Belair. He was born in December 1851 in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham, Gatineau County, Quebec. He lived to a great age, married three times, and had 15 children. Pierre died in May 1941 in Ste-Cécile-de-Masham.

The photo (which is a copy) was sent to me over twenty years ago by my Dad’s cousin Suzanne. My parents and I visited her and her mother (my father’s aunt Almina) in the summer of 1986. After our vacation, Suzanne and I corresponded and she sent me family information and photos.

Pierre’s photo holds a special place in my heart, because it’s the oldest image I have of my patrilineal Belair ancestors and it’s (possibly) the earliest known image of Pierre. (I don’t know when or where the photo was taken, but it appears to be a studio portrait done in the 1870s when Pierre was in his early 20s.)

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff