George Osias LeBlanc (When were you born??)

  My Great Grandfather, George Osias LeBlanc, went through life using the birth-date of 9 April 1870. Was this really the correct date of birth?

  The first record of George using the birth year of 1870 is on the 1880 census of Oswego New York. Subsequent United States census for the years of 1910-1940 give his birth year as "1870", based on his stated age, and the 1900 United States census of Spencer Twp Minnesota lists his birth more specifically as "Apr 1870". To lend further credence to the 1870 birth are George's headstone and death certificate.

 

   Baptism, Saint-Anicet, Quebec (Under the name of Joseph Jean Baptiste?)

  George was the ninth or tenth child of thirteen or fourteen siblings born and baptized in Saint-Anicet Quebec. In a Catholic Parish where all vital records where recorded, there is no baptism for George. Searching for George's birth and baptism everywhere throughout Canada and the United States has produced no birth record.

  In Saint-Anicet, where George should have been baptised, I found a baptism of 19 April 1869 for a supposedly unknown sibling named "Joseph Jean Baptiste". The only mention of this name "Joseph" in the family is at his baptism. The name of "Joseph Jean Baptiste", beginning with the 1871 census of Saint-Anicet, seems to have disappeared. A search of all parish records in Canada and the United States for a death of an individual by this name has come up empty.

  I believe "George" and "Joseph Jean Baptiste" are possibly the same person.
1. Their birth dates are similar: 9 April and 19 April.
2. The 1871 census of Saint-Anicet Quebec lists George under the name of         "Ozais" age 2. (George Osias would have been only 1 year old if born in 1870,       while the age of 2 would fit the age of the Joseph born in 1869)
3. George's siblings were all born at least 15 months apart, yet for George to have     been born in April 1870, he would have been only 12 months after his previous     sibling and 9 months before his next sibling. While it is medically possible for        George to fit in between the siblings, it is highly unlikely.

  George's correct birth date is a mystery that may never be proved. Whatever his real birth date, he lived a long eventful life to the age of Seventy-Nine or Eighty years old.


 

Margaret Agnes Wilkeson

  (The following is from a collaboration with my cousin Anne Cassidy)

  Margaret (Maggie) Agnes Wilkeson, my 2nd great-Grandmother,  was born March 6, 1854 in St. Joseph County, Indiana. Margaret was the sixth child born to George Wilkeson and Margaret Keefer. (Subjects of earlier posts)

  Margaret spent the first fifteen years of her life growing up in Warren Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana. She moved with her parents to Earlville, Delaware County, Iowa around 1869. In 1871 the family moved onward to Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa where they finally settled.

  A very pregnant Margaret, seven months, married Aldrich (Jack) Jackson Reynolds on October 14, 1874 in Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa. Jack was the brother of Margaret's sister's husband. From the marriage would come one son and two daughters. One of the daughters died before the age of three.

  Margret became a widow at the age of forty-four, when her husband was killed in a shooting accident on 11 August 1898 . (See earlier post) After her husband's death, Margaret lived with her daughter, Nellie in 1900. She was living with her son, Charles and his family in 1910.

  Margaret died on January 10, 1912 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska from a heart attack at age 57. While she was preparing to leave on a train to Fort Dodge to visit her son she had a fainting spell and it is understood that she never regained consciousness. She was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa.

Pierre Rollin dit Maconais

  Pierre Rollin dit Maconais, my 5th Great-Grandfather, was born about 1732 in France to Pierre Rollin and Francoise Gathier. Pierre was my last ancestor to arrive in Quebec from France, circa the 1750's, from the Parish of Saint Clement, Macon France.

                              Rollin-Forest Marriage

  Pierre, at the age of about twenty-nine,  took for his bride a thirteen year old Madeleine Forest. (Subject of a previous post)
 http://leblancroots.blogspot.com/2011/05/theodose-forest-orphan-of-french-and.html  The couple was married at the Parish Church of Sainte-Anne de Bellevue, Quebec on 15 June 1761.

  Pierre and Madeleine would reside in Les Cedres Quebec through the mid 1770's, Vaudreuil Quebec through 1781, and would finally settle in Chateauguay Quebec. From the marriage of Pierre and Madeleine would come thirteen verified children, five daughters and eight sons. Pierre and Madeleine may have had three to four more children, but parish records to verify this are missing for their first nine years of their marriage.

                          Burial Record of Pierre Rollin

  Pierre died at the age of sixty-six on 19 February 1798 and was buried two days later in Chateauguay Quebec

Elisabeth Smith of Hardwick Massachusetts

  Elizabeth Smith, my 6th g-Grandmother, was born about 1717 in Hardwick Massachusetts. Elizabeth was the first child born to Benjamin Smith and his second wife Experience Curtis.

  Elizabeth's mother died before her fifth birthday and her father re-married a Hannah Phillips on 23 April 1724. Elizabeth grew up in Hardwick in a "blended" family with six siblings, three brothers and three sisters from three mothers.

  On 3 July 1739, in Hardwick, Elizabeth married a James Robinson. The couple would operate a farm in the Hardwick area and from this marriage would come eight children, three sons and five daughters.

  Elizabeth lived her entire life in Hardwick, where she died at the age of eighty-three in 1800. She is buried at the Hardwick Central Cemetery of Hardwick Massachusetts.

Josephine Anna Weber

  Josephine Anna Weber, my Great Grandmother, was born on 3 May 1873 in Mount Calvary Wisconsin. Josephine was the fourth of nine children, five girls and four boys, born to Peter Weber and Pauline Flatz. (Subjects of earlier posts)

  Josephine would grow up in Mount Calvary, moving with her family to Superior Wisconsin in 1890 at the age of seventeen. Shortly after moving to Superior Wisconsin, Josephine's father contracted Pneumonia and passed away. Josephine would live with her widowed mother in Superior until 1902.

                           Clarke-Weber Wedding Photo

  On 21 October 1902, in Superior Wisconsin, Josephine married a George F Clarke (Subject of an earlier post). From this marriage a daughter, Lois, would be born on 18 August 1903. On the morning of 27 September 1904, Josphine's husband supposedly went to work at his job with the railroad and never returned. Josephine would support herself and her daughter, for the next eight years, working as a live in maid and as a restaurant worker. Josephine was granted a divorce from her husband on the grounds of abandonment on  12 April 1911.

  Soon after Josephine's divorce, she married a Charles Foster. The couple would farm in Springbrook Wisconsin where they would have a daughter named Marion. Josephine's second husband would die on 15 April 1936.

Josephine's two daughters would move to Southern California, and Josephine followed to live near her family Josephine died in Bellflower California on 17 September 1965, at the age of ninty-two, and was buried next to her second husband in Earl, Wisconsin

Etienne LeBlanc (A 100 word essay)

  Etienne LeBlanc is the most interesting Ancestor I have. .He was born in Grand-Pre, Acadia. At a young age,  he was deported with his family to the American Colonies and imprisoned throughout  the “French and Indian War“ By 1776, Etienne was back in Quebec, and enlisted in the American Continental Army fighting the British to establish The United States. During the war, Etienne found the time to marry and father three children, and had his family with him at Albany NY at the end of the War. After the War, Etienne returned to Quebec and died there in 1834.

Jean Baptiste Quintin dit Dubois

  Jean Baptiste Quintin dit Dubois, my 8th g-Grandfather, was born on 16 may 1668 at Pont-Scorff, France. Jean Baptiste was the son of Claude Quintin and Claudine Lafalune and was the fourth of eight siblings to be baptized at Saint Aubin, the Parish Church of Pont-Scorff, France.

         
                   
 
  In 1688, at the age of twenty, Jean Baptiste arrived in Quebec as a Marine in the Lagloiserie Company of French Marines. The Marines formed the core of the New France military,  protecting Quebec from 1682 through 1755. Jean Baptiste would remain in Quebec for the rest of his life
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troupes_de_la_marine

  On 17 Jan 1695, at the age of twenty-eight, Jean Baptiste took for his wife a Marie Jeanne Delpe. The couple were married in the parrish of Sainte-Anne, in the town of Varennes Quebec. The couple lived in Varennes for the first few years of their married life, where the couple had their first three children.

  By 1700 Jean Baptiste would move his family to Repentigny Quebec. In Repentigny the family would grow with the birth of twelve more children for a total of fifteen all together.

  Jean Baptiste lived in Repentigny Quebec for the rest of his life, dying there on 1 March 1742 at the age of seventy-three.

For family genealogy see:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I384771

Martha Woodbridge

  Martha Woodbridge, my 8th Great Grandmother, was born in Stanton, Wiltshire, England on 15 Jun 1658. She was the daughter of Reverend John Woodbridge (subject of an earlier post) and  Mercy Dudley, who had temporarily returned to England from Massachusetts.

  Martha returned to Massachusetts with her parents and married on 8 July 1680 a Cpt Samuel Ruggles (subject of an earlier post). Martha and Samuel would have ten children, six daughters and four sons. Martha would live to the age of eighty dying in 1838 in Billerica Massachusetts.

  While Martha's life may have seemed uneventful, she was part of a family which had an impact on early Massachusetts history.

  Martha's maternal Grandfather Thomas Dudley and her uncle Simon Bradstreet were Governors of Massachusetts Bay Colony. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Simon_Bradstreet_1854.jpeg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dudley

  Martha's Uncle, Joseph Dudley, was a Governor of  Massachusetts Colony.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Dudley

  Martha's uncle, Benjamin Woodbridge, was the first graduate of Harvard College
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Woodbridge

  Martha's Aunt, Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet, was the first published poet of New England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Annebradstreet.jpg

  Martha's Grandson, Timothy Ruggles, would become a Politician and later a Tory Leader in the war of Independence, being banished to Nova Scotia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Ruggles_(Nova_Scotia_politician)

  Martha's Great Granddaughter, Bathsheba Spooner, would have the distinction of being the first women tried and excuted by a court of The United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathsheba_Spooner

For Family Genealogy See: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I340

Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe

  Nicolas Audet, my 9th Great-Grandfather, was born on 12 July 1637 in Mulais, Poitou France. Nicolas was the second of four children born to Innocent Audet and Vincende Reine.

                  Baptism at St Pierre, Mulais, France

  This year of 2013 marks the 350th anniversary of Nicolas Audet's arrival in the New World in 1663, where Nicolas would assume the surname of "Lapointe". Nicolas's early years in Quebec would mainly be in the employment of Monsignor Laval, Lord of Beaupré and île d'Orléans.

  On 22 June 1667, Monsignor Laval granted Nicolas 3 Arpents of land. Nicolas would continue to obtain more land throughout his life as he was in possesion of 75 Arpents of land upon his death.

  On 15 September 1670, at Ste-Famille, Isle d' Orleans, Quebec, Nicolas took for his wife a Madeleine Despres. From this marriage would be born eight son's and three daughters.

                     Plaque honoring Nicolas Audet in Mulais France

  Nicolas died at the age of sixty-three on 9 December 1700 and was buried the following day at St Jean, lle d' Orleans, Quebec

For Family Genealogy See:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I14949

Patrick Powers and Nancy Kiley

                           From Ireland to Iowa

  Patrick Powers and Nancy Kiley, my 3rd Great-Grandparents, were from County Cork,  Ireland. They married in Ireland about 1847 and had three children, a son and two daughters, born in Ireland from 1848 through 1850. Nancy Kiley evidently spent the first years of her married life in a pregnant state as she had the three children in a twenty-nine month period.

  In 1851, the Powers family immigrated to the United States first settling in New Jersey. Patrick Powers would work as a laborer in order to feed his growing family. Nancy Kiley would continue to do what she did best in that she bore four more children in New Jersey between the years 1851 and 1856. (This made seven children born in a period of seven years and six months)

  In 1856, the Powers family moved on to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where Patrick would continue to work as a laborer to support his family. While at Fond du Lac, Nancy would give birth to her final four childern. Nancy and Patrick would have ten children in an eleven year period.

  The Powers family made their final move around 1864, when they moved to Iowa. They would purchase a small farm near Fort Dodge Iowa and remain farmers for the rest of their lives.

  Nancy Kiley would die on 13 December 1876 and Patrick Powers would follow her in death on 19 August 1888. Nancy Kiley and Patrick Powers are buried in The Corpus Christi Cemetery of Fort Dodge Iowa.

                 Wording of Plaque placed in front of Farm

  The Kiley-Powers farm would remain in the family through three generations and was honored as a "Century Farm" for being in the same family for over 100 years. When the last "Powers" living on the family farm died without any heirs the farm was willed to the Iowa State University Agricultural Foundation. Unfortunately Iowa State University sold the property without informing the Foundation of their acquisition of the farm, and the proceeds from the sale were used for projects un-intended in the will. An agricultural scholarship in the name of Kiley-Powers is maintained to this day by the University

For Family Genealogy See:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I16968

Michel Graton

  Michel Graton, my 3rd great-Grandfather, was born in the town of Saint-Eustache Quebec on 29 July 1800. Michel was the youngest of ten children born to Joseph Marie Graton and Marie Louise Plouf.

            Baptism record at Saint-Eustache Parish Church

  On 13 August 1822, a twenty-two year old Michel took for his bride a sixteen year old girl by the name of Louise Rollin. The couple were married in the town of Beauharnois Quebec and from this marriage would be born thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters.

              Marriage of Michel Graton and Louise Rollin

  The family would live and farm in the southwest part of Quebec, primarily in the Huntingdon Quebec area.

  In 1870, Michel's wife of forty-eight years passed away and was buried in Huntingdon Quebec. Michel would move to Prescott Ontario to live with one of his son's where he died at the age of eighty-eight on 5 April 1889. Michel was buried at the St Isadore Church in Prescott Ontario.

For family genealogy see:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I611

Mercy Dudley (A Governor's daughter and Reverend's Wife"

                                   Painting of the "Arbella"

  Mercy Dudley, my 10th g-Grandmother, was born on 27 September 1621 in Oakley, Northampton, England. Mercy was the youngest child born to Thomas Dudley and Dorthy Yorke.
 
  In 1630, at the age of nine, Mercy moved to the new world with her family as part of "The Winthrop Fleet" aboard the ship "Arbella".  Mercy's father would serve on and off as Govenor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her family originally settled in Newtown (present day Cambridge), moved to Ipswich and then onto Roxbury.

  At the age of Seventeen, Mercy married a John Woodbridge on 20 May 1639 at Andover Massachusetts. The couple would have twelve children, of which eleven would reach adulthood.

  Mercy's husband would teach school and become an ordained Minister at the urging of her father. In 1647, the couple would return to England, where her husband taught the Gospel for the the next seventeen years.

  On 27 July 1673, Mercy and her husband returned to the new world on the ship "Society". and they  would ultimately settle in Newbury Massachusetts. Mercy would die, at the age of sixty-nine,  in Newbury on 1 July 1691 and  was buried at the "First Parish Burying Grounds".

Blaise Juillet dit Avignon

                          Baptism at Saint-Agricol France

  Blaise Juillet, my 10th g-Grandfather, was born on 16 February 1611 in Avignon France. He was baptized on 26 February 1611 at Saint-Agricol Parish, the son of Jean Juillet and Gabrielle Barbarine.

  On 21 April 1644, at the age of thirty-three, Blaise contracted to go to Ville-Marie (Montreal) Quebec as a becheur (wood cutter). The contract was to last for three years, but Blaise chose to remain in Quebec. In 1848, Blaise was offered a concession of land in Montreal of which he took title in November of 1650.

  On  2 February 1651, Blaise married an Anne de Liercourt at Trios-Rivieres Quebec. The couple would reside in Montreal and from this marriage was  born two daughters and two sons.

                             Burial at Montreal Quebec

  On 19 April 1860, Blaise was involved in a battle with the Iroquois Indians. While trying to flee in a canoe, the canoe overturned and Blaise drowned in the river. Blaise was buried the next day in Montreal.

For family genealogy see:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I15247

My Otis Family of Dover New Hampshire

  My Otis family was one of the early families of Dover New Hampshire. On the night of 28 June 1689, in what would be called "The Cocheco Massacre", two generations of my family would be killed and a third generation would become captives of Indians and sold in Quebec "New France".

  Richard Otis, my 8th g-Grandfather and the patriarch of the Otis family in Dover, was murdered in his bed. His two year old daughter was also murdered and his wife and youngest daughter were taken captive to Quebec. Three other daughters of Richard, from a previous marriage, were originally taken captive and rescued a few days after the massacre.

  Stephen Otis Sr., my 7th g-Grandfather and son of Richard above, was killed on the night of the massacre. Mary Pittman, my 7th g-grandmother and wife of Stephen, was presumed killed in the massacre as she was never heard from again.

  Nathaniel Otis, my 6 g-Grandfather and subject of a previous post, was taken to Quebec along with his elder brother "Stephen Jr" and sister "Rose" All three of the siblings would grow up and marry, remaining  in New France.

For Further reading see:  http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/doverhistory/cocheco.htm

For family genealogy see: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I15195

Esther Dupuis (A farmer's wife)

                       Baptism of Saint Regis Parish

  Esther Dupuis, my 3rd great Grandmother, was raised as the daughter of a Judge and would become the wife of a farmer. Esther was born in Saint-Anicet Quebec and baptized on 9 July 1821 by the Parish Priest of Saint-Regis Quebec. Esther was the daughter of Louis Dupuis and Genevieve LeBlanc (Subjects of previous posts)

                   Marriage Record of Saint-Anicet Quebec

  On 21 November 1843, Esther married an Augustin Dubreuil in Saint-Anicet Quebec. The couple would have nine children born in Saint-Anicet, seven daughters and two sons, while operating a farm.

  Esther died, at the age of sixty-two, in Saint-Anicet on 25 March 1883 and was buried in the Parish Cemetery.

For family gemealogy see: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I676

Elizabeth Weld (Early Pioneer of Roxbury Massachusetts)

               Grave at Eustice Burial Grounds in Roxbury

    Elizabeth Weld, my 9th g-Grandmother, was born on 9 May 1625 in Sudbury England. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Weld (subject of an earlier post) and Elizabeth Shatswell.

  At the age of seven, Elizabeth traveled to the New World with her parents, arriving in Massachusetts on the ship "William and Francis" in June of 1632. Her family would be one of the earliest families of Roxbury Massachusetts.

  At the age of fifteen, on 30 March 1641, Elizabeth married an Edward Denison of Roxbury. Elizabeth and Edward would have thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, of whom only four would live to adulthood.

  Elizabeth's husband Edward would die in 1668 and she would remain a widow for the next forty-nine years residing in Roxbury. Elizabeth would die at the age of ninety-one on 5 February 1717 and was buried at the Eustice Burial Grounds of Roxbury.

For family genealogy see: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I371

The Dubreuil Daughters From Saint-Anicet Quebec

  My 3rd g-Grandparents, Augustin Dubreuil and Esther Dupuis, had seven daughters in Saint-Anicet Quebec. Five of the seven Dubreuil daughters would play a part in my ancestry with  my LeBlanc and Graton branches.

          Esther Dubreuil                       Francois Graton

  1. Esther Dubreuil was born on 21 March 1845 in Saint-Anicet Quebec. Esther would be the first of three Dubreuil sisters to marry three Graton brothers She married, in Saint-Anicet, Francois Graton on 4 October 1870. The couple would have eight children born in Saint-Anicet, before emigrating to Aitkin Minnesota.

                                     Melanie Dubreuil

  2. Melanie Dubreuil was born in January of 1855 in Saint-Anicet Quebec. She was the second Dubreuil sister to marry a Graton brother, when she married Maurice Graton on 6 Jun 1875 in Saint-Anicet. The couple would have four children, born in Quebec, before they emmigrated to Aitkin Minnesota. In Aitkin Minnesota the couple would have an additional two children.

                     Damas Graton         Sons of Genevieve Dubreuil

  3. Genevieve Dubreuil was born on 10 April 1858 in Saint-Anicet Quebec. She was the third sister to marry a Graton brother, when on 24 February 1881, she married Damas Graton in Saint-Anicet. The couple would have seven children of which three sons and three daughters would survive infancy. Damas and Genevieve would emmigrate to Aitkin Minnesota.

                Antoine LeBlanc       Genevieve Dubreuil
 
   4. Marguerite Dubreuil was born on 21 dec 1853 in Saint-Anicet Quebec. Marguerite married Antoine LeBlanc on 5 November 1877 in Saint-Anicet. The couple would have ten children of which four would reach adulthood. Like her sister's, Marguerite and her family would emmigrate to Aitkin Minnesota.

  5 Virginie Dubreuil was born about 1844 in Saint-Anicet. She married an Adolphas Villeneuve and the couple would have seven children. Unlike her sister's, Virginie's family would settle in upstate New York.

  The story of the Dubreuil sisters and their families would become intertwined in that;

  Melanie (2) would become a widow in 1915. Her sister Marguerite (4) would die around 1920, and Melanie would marry Marguerite's widowed husband Antoine LeBlanc.

  Esther (1) would have a daughter named Helena. The younger brother of Marguerite's (4) husband would marry the daughter Helena and become my g-Grandparents George LeBlanc and Helena Graton.

  Esther (1) would have a son named Steven and Virginie (5) would have a daughter named Marie. Steven and Marie, first cousins, married each other.





 

 

 

Catherine Richert (A woman of Alsace France)

        (Example of a Costumed Woman of Urhwiller France)

  Catherine Richert, my 4th g-Grandmother, was born in the Alsace town of Uhrwiller on 20 December 1800. Catherine was the daughter of Johann Michel Richert and Maria Elizabeth Kieffer.

     (Marriage Record of Catherine Richert and Peter Kieffer)

  On 24 November 1823, in Uhrwiller, a pregnant twenty-two year old Catherine married a Peter Kieffer (subject of a previous post). Catherine would give birth three months after her marriage to a daughter named Margaret. (Subject of a previous post). Catherine would give birth to another daughter in Uhrwiller in 1826.

  Around 1828, Catherine and her family would leave Alsace for the "New World", first stopping in Canada, where Catherine gave birth to her third daughter. Catherine's family would settle in Ohio for awhile where Catherine gave birth to another daughter and two sons. Catherine's family would finally settle in Northern Indiana where her final child, a daughter, was born in 1840.

  Catherine would spend her last twelve years of life as the wife of her farmer husband in Cleveland Township, Indiana, where she died on 2 November 1852. Catherine was buried at the Salem Cemetery in Granger Indiana.

For family Genealogy see: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I20008&style=TEXT