Pop’s 100th Birthday

Today, we celebrated Pop’s 100th birthday!

Pop on his 100th birthday

Pop is William (Bill) Demoskoff, and he’s my husband Michael’s father. He’s lived at Menno Hospital, a seniors’ residential care facility in the lower mainland of British Columbia for the past two years.

Menno reserved the private dining room for us and even set the table and decorated the room; such a nice gesture!

Just before the meal, Michael wheeled Pop into the main dining room for the staff and residents to sing him “Happy Birthday”. Pop was very touched and thanked everyone.

Nine of us were gathered: Michael, myself, our son Nicholas, my mother Jacqueline, Margaret (my husband’s only sibling), her husband Sid, their sons Ted and Sid and Ted’s wife Nasim.

Margaret and Sid prepared homemade borscht (Doukhobor style) and bread, while Michael and I were in charge of the meat and cheese tray and the birthday cake.

Pop with his birthday cake

After lunch, we toasted Pop with Canada Dry Ginger Ale, and then presented him with gifts. There were also congratulatory messages from The Queen, the Governor-General, the local MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly, BC’s provincial government), and the city mayor.

Michael set up our video camera, and we took lots of photographs.

Back: Sid, Yvonne, Michael, Margaret, Ted and Nasim
Front: Nicholas and Pop

After nearly three hours of partying, it was time to say our goodbyes to Pop, and let him have a well-deserved nap and quiet time.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Friday’s Faces From the Past: Cousin Albert and the Photo

A couple of days ago, my Mom’s cousin Albert Desgroseilliers dropped in on us on his way back to eastern Canada. He was in British Columbia visiting family and to do some fishing.

Albert, who is a few years younger than Mom, is one of the sons of Joseph Desgroseilliers, the youngest brother of Mom’s father Eugène.

I took advantage of Albert’s unexpected visit to ask him some questions about the Desgroseilliers family, and show him some family photos to see if he could identify people, places and events.

Here’s one of the photos he identified for me:

Front, left to right:
Ovide, Donat and Léon Desgroseilliers

Centre, left to right:
Ovila Desgroseilliers, Bob Burdan and Eugène Desgroseilliers

Back:
Armand Desgroseilliers

Albert recognized the location as his uncle Léon’s home on Cache Bay Road in Sturgeon Falls. He added that the man at the back, Armand Desgroseilliers (sporting a brush cut), was a cousin, but couldn’t remember the specifics. I checked my notes on the Desgroseilliers descendants and found that he’s the son of Prosper Desgroseilliers (1877-1925), who was Eugène’s uncle.

The picture was taken in 1957.* Brothers Eugène, Léon, Donat, Ovide and Ovila (in birth order), their cousin Armand, and Eugène’s son-in-law Bob – were probably photographed at the funeral of Albert’s father Joseph, who died on 2 August that year.

* I have another photo with some of the same people in it and that picture is dated 1957. The date, which appears on the outside four corners of the image, was placed there during the printing process.

I suspect that Eugène is present because of Bob. Mom explained that her father didn’t own a car in those days and wouldn’t have been able to afford the trip, so Bob probably offered to drive his father-in-law to Sturgeon Falls from Sarnia (where they lived) so that he could attend the funeral of his youngest brother.

All the men in the photo are deceased, and Bob’s wife, my aunt Simone, passed away last year. Albert’s help with this photo is probably the best we can do in identifying the people and the circumstances.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Ancestors: #24 Olivier Charbonneau

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”.

During the month of June, I’m focusing on distant, immigrant ancestors. And so, for the 24th week of this challenge, I chose Olivier Charbonneau (ca 1607-1687).

Olivier is my 7x great-grandfather, and is number 1212 in my ancestor list. Interestingly, I have a total of 7 lines of descent from Olivier, which makes him my 7x, 8x, 9x and 10x great-grandfather. Through his daughter Anne (born 1657), I descend four times from him, through his son Joseph (born 1660), I descend two times, and from his daughter Elisabeth (born 1664), I descend one time.

Here are some highlights of Olivier’s life.

About 1611:
Olivier is born in Marans, Aunis, France. [1] Other possible dates are about 1607, about 1615, and about 1631. [2]

Unknown date (pre-1654):
Oliver married first Marguerite Roy in France, by whom he was predeceased. [3]

1654:
Olivier married second Marie Garnier in La Rochelle, Aunis, France [4] or about 1656 in Marans, Aunis, France. [5]

5 June 1569:
Olivier and other heads of families from Marans appear in a notary’s office in the port city of La Rochelle to sign up as colonists for New France. [6]

2 July 1659:
Olivier, his wife Marie and their young daughter Anne, along with a group of about 200 others (including individuals, families, and nursing sisters), set sail for the colony of New France on board the 300-ton Saint-André. [7]

29 September 1659:
Olivier and his family arrive in Montreal (known as Ville-Marie), after having landed in Quebec city three weeks earlier. [8]

L'île de Montreal et ses environs.

[The island of Montreal, including “Isle de Jésus” just to the north of it.]

25 August 1662:
Olivier acquires some land. [9]

11 May 1664:
Olivier receives the Sacrament of Confirmation in Montreal. [10]

1666 census:
Olivier and his family are enumerated in Montreal. [11]

1667 census:
Olivier and his family are enumerated again in Montreal. [12]

10 November 1669:
Olivier received a quittance for the sum of 175 livres transacted in the office of notary Basset in Montreal. It took him 10 years to be discharged from his debt of the cost of his transportation to New France. [13]

23 November 1671:
Olivier’s daughter Anne marries Guillaume Labelle; she is the first of his children to marry. [14]

20 November 1674:
Olivier’s first grandchild Antoine Labelle (son of daughter Anne) is baptized in Montreal. [15]

1681 census:
Olivier and his family are enumerated in l’Ile Jésus, north of Montreal. [16]

20 November 1687:
Olivier died in Pointe-aux-Trembles, near Montreal. [17]

Sources:

Image credit: Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R9266-4045.

1. Archange Godbout, Les passagers du Saint-André. La recrue de 1659 (Montréal: Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française, publication no 5, 1964), 72.

2. René Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec (Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 1983), 225. Olivier was born about 1607 (he was 80 years old at his burial), about 1611 (he was 70 on the 1681 census), about 1615 (he was 52 on the 1667 census) or about 1631 (he was 35 on the 1666 census).

3. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

4. Godbout, Passagers, 72.

5. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

6. Godbout, Passagers, 20.

7. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français, 1608-1760, 3 vols. (Montreal: Institut généalogique Drouin, 1958), III: 1359. Also, Marcel Trudel, Catalogue des immigrants 1632-1662 (Montréal: Editions Hurtubise HMH, Limitée, 1983), 419.

8. Godbout, Passagers, 4, and Dictionnaire National, III: 1474.

9. Trudel, Catalogue des immigrants, 419.

10. Godbout, Passagers, 21.

11. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

12. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

13. Godbout, Passagers, 20.

14. Godbout, Passagers, 21.

15. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 619.

16. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

17. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 225.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Surname Saturday: Tomelin

Luchenia (Tomelin) Demosky, centre, holding her son George, with her parents 

Nick and Maria (Terichow) Tomelin, sitting, about 1912.

My husband’s paternal grandmother was Luchenia Tomelin (1885-1960).

Luchenia, sometimes known as Lukeria or Lucy, was born in 1885 in the Russian Empire. As a young teenager, she, her parents, siblings and close relatives immigrated to Canada from Russia in 1899, travelling on the S.S. Lake Huron. [1] I recently wrote about this experience here.

The standard spelling for Tomelin is Tomilin. English spelling variations include Tamelin, Tameelin, Tamilin, Tomelin, and Tomlin. [2]

Tomilin is a patronymic surname, derived from Tomila, a man’s name. [3]

According to the Doukhobor Genealogy Website, Doukhobors surnamed Tomilin “originated from the province of Tambov, Russia in the 18th century”. [4]

By 1905 in Canada, Tomilin families lived in Doukhobor villages in the South Colony in Kamsack District, the Good Spirit Lake Annex in Buchanan District, and the Blaine Lake District in Saskatchewan District, all in the province of Saskatchewan. [5]

Sources:

1. “Passenger Lists for the Port of Quebec City, 1865-1900”, digital images, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/passenger-lists-quebec-port-1865-1900/Pages/introduction.aspx : accessed 28 March 2014), manifest, S.S. Lake Huron, 21 June 1899, p. 24 (penned), entry no. 1445, Lukeria Tomilin [sic], age 13.

2. “Origin and Meaning of Doukhobor Surnames”, Doukhobor Genealogy Website (http://www.doukhobor.org/Surnames.htm : accessed 2 June 2014), entry for Tomilin.

3. “Origin and Meaning of Doukhobor Surnames”, Doukhobor Genealogy Website, entry for Tomilin.

4. “Origin and Meaning of Doukhobor Surnames”, Doukhobor Genealogy Website, entry for Tomilin.

5. “Village-Surname Index for the 1905 Doukhobor Census”, Doukhobor Genealogy Website (http://www.doukhobor.org/SK-Villages-Families.htm : accessed 2 June 2014).

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

52 Ancestors: #23 Jacques Leblanc

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”.

I’m changing directions for the month of June by focusing on distant, immigrant ancestors. And so, for the 23rd week of this challenge, I chose Jacques Leblanc (ca 1636-1710).

Jacques Leblanc is my maternal 8x great-grandfather and is number 1852 in my ancestor list.

He was born between 1636 and 1644, based on his age at various events in his life. For example, he was 22 years old on the 1666 census of New France (now Canada) (giving him a year of birth of 1644), 45 years old on the 1681 census (giving him a year of birth of 1636), and 55 years old in 1695 and 70 years old at his burial (giving him a year of birth of 1640). [1]

Son of Antoine and Madeleine (Boucher) Leblanc, Jacques was originally from the parish of St-Pierre in Pont-L’Evêque in the province of Normandie, in northwestern France. The region is known for its soft cheese (Pont-L’Evêque) and its apple brandy (calvados).

Jacques left his native country for the colony of New France, probably in the mid-1660s. One source states that he immigrated in 1659 as a maçon engagé (mason under contract), [2] but when this information is compared to another source, it appears that it’s a different man with a similar name who ultimately did not make the journey. [3]

“Le séminaire de Saint-Sulpice à Montréal” (1880)

Vieux manoirs, vieilles maisons / Library and Archives Canada / PA-036721

In the late winter of 1666, Jacques was enumerated on that year’s census as a resident of Montreal. [4] He was unmarried and worked as a domestique engagé (domestic under contract) for the Sulpician priests, one of 28 similarly employed men at their Seminary. [5]

That spring, Jacques married Suzanne Rousselin on 6 June 1666 – 348 years ago today – in Montreal. [6] Suzanne, from the province of Bretagne in France, was a fille du Roi, who arrived in 1665. [7]

“In the Village of Charlesbourg” (about 1830), by James Pattison Cockburn, 1779-1847

Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1989-262-21

Jacques and Suzanne eventually settled in St-Claude village in Charlesbourg, now part of Quebec City, where they were enumerated on the 1681 census. Jacques was an habitant, a farmer settler. [8] In time, the couple welcomed nine children: six sons, the youngest of whom is my ancestor Charles, and three daughters.

Jacques died on 14 April 1710 in St-Claude village. He was buried the next day in Charlesbourg. Two days later, his widow Suzanne died. [9]

Sources:

1. René Jetté, Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec (Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 1983), 671.

2. Marcel Trudel, Catalogue des immigrants 1632-1662 (Montréal: Editions Hurtubise HMH, Limitée, 1983), 423. Trudel gives Jacques the name of Jean, dit Jacques, Leblanc, but has him originating in Anjou, France.

3. Archange Godbout, Les passagers du Saint-André. La recrue de 1659 (Montréal: Société Généalogique Canadienne-Française, publication no 5, 1964), 35. Godbout states that Jacques is Jean Leblanc, born in la Flèche [in Anjou, France], but that the name of this aspiring colonist was struck from the role of immigrants of 1659.

4. Hubert Charbonneau and Jacques Légaré, eds., Répertoire des actes de baptême mariage sépulture et des recensements du Québec ancien, 1621–1799 [Table of baptisms, marriages, and burials in old Québec], 47 vols. (Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, ca. 1980–1991), 6: 19, Recensement de 1666: Jacques Lebland [sic].

5. The First Census of New France (Québec) – 1666 (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canbc/HughLArmstrong/qc1666/qc1666.htm : accessed 1 June 2014), Montreal: Jacques leBland [sic].

6. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 671.

7. Peter J. Gagné, King’s Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi, 1663-1673, 2 vols. (Pawtucket, Rhode Island: Quintin Publications, 2001), 2: 504.

8. Charbonneau and Légaré, Répertoire … du Québec ancien, 6: 255, Recensement de 1681: Jacques Leblanc. 

9. Jetté, Dictionnaire, 671.

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.

Maritime Monday: S/S Lake Huron and the Dimovsky Families

S/S Lake Huron [1]

A few months ago, I wrote about a Dimovsky family that sailed on the Lake Superior in January 1899 for Canada; you can read about it here. Today’s post is about two other Dimovsky families who sailed on the Lake Huron in May 1899.

This Friday – June 6 – marks the 115th anniversary of the Lake Huron’s arrival. The ship’s manifest shows two groups of individuals surnamed Dimovsky (a spelling variation of Demofsky). The first group is headed by Savely Dimovksy [2] and the second group is headed by Feodor Dimovky. [3]

Like the same-surnamed family that sailed in January 1899, I don’t know if or how these Dimovksy families are related to my husband. They are the only families by this name on the manifest, which is complete, unlike that of the Lake Superior of January 1899.

The Lake Huron departed on 12 May 1899 “from the Russian port of Batum on the Black Sea. It carried 2,286 Doukhobors from Kars province”. [4] The ship arrived at the port of Quebec on 6 June 1899, and after nearly one month in quarantine, its passengers disembarked in early July.

Sources:

1. Photo of S/S Lake Huron (built 1881), digital image, Norway – Heritage (http://www.norwayheritage.com : accessed 18 January 2014).

2. Steve Lapshinoff & Jonathan Kalmakoff, Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists 1898-1928 (Crescent Valley: self-published, 2001), 67.

3. Lapshinoff, Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists 1898-1928, 75.

4. Lapshinoff, Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists 1898-1928, 49.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Census Sunday: The Beauvais Family and the 1911 Census

1911 census of Canada (Hartwell Township, Quebec) [1]

My great-grandfather Joseph Beauvais and his family were enumerated on the 1911 census of Canada. [2] They lived in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Consolation situated in Montpellier in Hartwell Township.

Joseph’s eldest daughter, Juliette, my grandmother, was born on 30 June 1901, so this enumeration is her first appearance on a federal Canadian census.

Cropped version of 1911 Hartwell Township census

The Beauvais family, as seen in the above cropped image version of the 1911 Hartwell Township census, consisted of head of family Joseph (33), his wife Olivine (33), and their children Ovide (12), Oscar (11), Juliette (9), Marie-Louise (8), Uldège (5), Léger (4), Romuald (3) and Emile (1).

The enumerator Antoine Leduc signed his name at the top of the form and wrote the responses in French. Although he dated the return Juin 17 [June 17], the official census date was 1 June 1911, making it the “first Dominion census taken in June”. [3]

Joseph’s main occupation is being a farmer (cultivateur), but he works additionally as a woodsman (bûcheron), for which he declared that he earned $150 in 1910. Other details include the family’s religion (Roman Catholic), its members’ place of birth (the province of Quebec, except second son Oscar was actually born in New York State, USA), and that the only ones who can read and write are the five eldest children, presumably because they spent 10 months in school during the previous year. The family commonly speaks French.

Sources:

1. 1911 census of Canada, Hartwell Township, Labelle, Quebec, population schedule, subdistrict 15, p. 17, dwelling 126, family 134, Joseph Beauvais household; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 31 May 2014); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm reels T-20326 to T-20460.

2. 1911 census of Canada, Hartwell Township, Labelle, Quebec, pop. sched., subdist. 15, p. 17, dwel. 126, fam. 134, Joseph Beauvais household.

3. Dave Obee, Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census (Victoria, BC: Dave Obee, 2012), 148.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.