~~~Québec Chat News~~~

VOLUME 3, No. 1, Dedember, 2002

 

Submitted by: Host GFS Suzanne

This is a reminder of our bi-weekly meeting on Tuesdays (Franco-Americans), 10:00PM EDT and Fridays (Québec), 9:00PM EDT. I hope to see all of you there.

Québec Chat, Québec Chat Room.
Your Host, Host GFS Suzanne

Directions: Keyword Roots --> Resources --> Regions of the World --> Canada --> Canadian Chats --> Québec Chat Room

From one of us:

Each month, I would like to publish a short article coming from one of YOU, in English or in French! It will be up to you to chose the subject, as long as it remains "genealogically correct".

From Carolannt43 with her permission

Other than his parents, who could even pronounce the name Archelas Hermenengilde? (I suspect the list is a short one.) I had never heard of my great uncle "Archie," my paternal grandfather's older brother, for most of my life, and I never laid eyes on him. My uncle Archie became real to me through my own diligent research, but in the end it was my profound respect for this long-forgotten soldier that brought me to him.

Twenty years ago, when I began taking my family history more seriously, I started making inquiries about this Grenier family of mine. All I'd ever heard-and incorrectly assumed-was that my Grandfather Grenier was an only child. I was shocked when I discovered that he'd had not one, but three, siblings at one point. Since my own father had already passed away by then, I pressed my mother and my dad's younger sister for more information. From them I eventually obtained some vague details about this mystery sibling; I was told, "Come to think of it, your grandfather had a brother who went to France during WWI where he'd served for Canada, was injured, and has not been heard from since." Sadly, they could not even recall his name at first. My aunt was adamant that he succumbed to mustard gas poisoning, but she did not have any supporting evidence as to his actual fate.

Once I'd gotten the relatives into the family history mode, all kinds of information began surfacing, including that my grandfather also had a sister named Diana who had died in a house fire (but that is a story for another day-I promise!) Although I was thrilled beyond belief to discover Archie and Diana, I nevertheless set them aside for a number of years while I was working on other projects. Years passed, but my curiosity about my mysterious uncle never waned.

A few years ago, while surfing the Internet, I stumbled across a Canadian WWI site (http://www.archives.ca/08/08_e.html) and became acquainted with a volunteer from the Canadian Archives in Ottawa. I nonchalantly told this person about my great uncle and asked if anyone could help me solve this missing family puzzle piece. The archivist graciously accepted the challenge and only requested that I send enough dollars to cover the cost of copying and mailing. Before too long, a thick package arrived. I could hardly believe that anyone could work that quickly, but as it was almost Christmas, I felt that Santa had arrived a bit early that year. The hunt for Archie was on.

The documents from the Canadian Archives were quite impressive and detailed. They listed my great uncle's parents' names, his date of death (25 MAY 1943), and that his heroic service had awarded him the British War and Victory Medals. They revealed that "Archie" had boarded a ship named HMS Saxonia, which had left for France from Halifax, Nova Scotia on 18 FEB 1918 and that he had disembarked at Liverpool, England on 4 MAR 1918. Great Uncle Archie was subsequently injured and sent to England to recover, and then returned to an unnamed location in Quebec. That is where the trail grew cold. The report about Archie's injuries focused primarily on his leg, and I was surprised to see no mention of mustard gas. (To this day, the source of my aunt's mustard gas theory remains a mystery.)

A few years before receiving this information from the Canadian Archives, I had been to Quebec on a research trip. While at the National Archives of Quebec at St. Foy, I had looked up an index of Canadians who had served in France during WWI to see if per chance my great uncle was listed. Not only was he there, shockingly there were at least six or more other soldiers with the same first, middle and last names. Since I knew who my great uncle's parents were, my only confusion was over how Archelas Hermenengilde could have ever been such a popular name.

With all the many details now at my fingertips, I was disappointed that the Canadian government could not tell me where Archie had eventually died and been buried. Surely, this soldier had received a pension for many years, so where was it received? Uncle Archie was still an enigma begging to be solved, and my frustration only served to strengthen my curiosity.

Fortunately, some big breaks arrived in the form of my "network" connections. I sent a few e-mails and made a few phone calls to two of my best Quebec contacts. My colleague, Sylvie Tremblay, who is an avid Quebec researcher and is presently employed at the Archives in Ottawa, was residing in Quebec at the time. Sylvie was able to inform me that my Archie was indeed listed in a particular death index. He was listed as having died at Ste. Anne's, but as there are approximately 25 Ste. Anne's in the Province of Quebec, this was hardly the break I was waiting for.

Next I contacted a colleague of Montreal. Her husband was a government employee and he had some thoughts on where a soldier's home might be located. They suggested Ste. Anne de Bellevue in Montreal, as there was a well-known soldiers home located there. I telephoned them and Uncle Archie was indeed listed in their database, and he had in fact died at Ste. Anne de Bellevue in Montreal. Unfortunately, they had no idea as to where he was buried. As it happens so often in genealogical research, I was confronted by one stumbling block after another. 'X' never marks the spot, and the hunt was still on.

What worked once might work again, I figured, so back to the Canadian Archives website I went. Impressively, they had an 800-phone number just for inquiries about veterans. All I needed to do was to fax the information to them with names, dates and anything else I knew about my ancestor. To my delight I received an immediate return phone call informing me that my uncle was buried in the Veteran's Section of Notre Dame des Neiges (Our Lady of Snows) Cemetery in Montreal. The archivist even gave me the row and lot number-my dear great Uncle Archie was found! (Having this information would serve me well as there are nearly a million gravesites at Notre Dame des Neiges.) Visit the website at: http://www.cimetierenddn.org/i-cnddn.asp

My years of research had finally led me to the location of my great uncle's final resting place. But the victory didn't feel complete to me, as I only had my uncle in the form of certificates and other paperwork. I felt I needed to pay respect to Uncle Archie-a hero and source of family pride I had been unaware of for too long-in person. But was I really so driven that I could justify making a special trip all the way to Montreal just to visit a gravesite?

As I pondered just how far I would go in my quest, the answer came to me in the form of a flyer from the popular Quebec Genealogical Society announcing their Spring 2002 Conference in Montreal. As this conference was specifically for those with English ancestors in the Province of Quebec, I had the perfect excuse to attend. I might get some new clues about an elusive English ancestor who fought on the side of the English during the War of 1812, and visit Notre Dame des Neiges at the same time. Voila!

On May 30, 2002, we flew to New York City and at Penn Station boarded a train that would take us to Montreal to finally "meet" my Great Uncle Archie!

On a gloriously sunny Monday morning, we took a taxicab to Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. The place was just hopping with well-dressed visitors, black limousines, and assembly-fashioned funeral processions. From my childhood memories of living in Maine, I suddenly recalled that many burials are held-off during the wintertime due to the snow and frozen ground. After a late winter in the Montreal area, I think some folks were making up for lost time, and it seemed we had possibly picked the busiest day to make our visit. One of the hostesses told us that this cemetery is not walk-able and that we would need to go by car. When I told her that we had come all the way from California, she quickly said she would try and get one of the caretakers to guide us. After a time our hostess came to tell us that there wasn't anyone available due to the fact that there were numerous services on that day, but that she would take us on her lunch hour if they could spare her, which meant more waiting for us. Having come this far we were willing to wait! However, when she arrived with her car, I could see how busy they still were, so if she were willing, she could stay in the office and I would drive her car myself. She graciously agreed and handed me the keys to her van. With map in hand we navigated the narrow roadways, after only a few wrong turns we eventually found the well-maintained Veteran's section.

Surrounded by lovely trees and in a rather sheltered area of this vast expanse of land, there was Great Uncle Archie's gravesite, military marker and all. I had so wanted to put flowers on his grave but as the only ones available at the gift shop were artificial, I resisted. However, as I stood on Great Uncle Archie's grave I wistfully hoped that somehow he would know that someone in his family had not forgotten him and the sacrifice he had made for his country.

As Montreal is several hundred miles from Great Uncle Archie's hometown of St. Pierre de Broughton in Beauce County, I was now left to wonder why he had not been returned to his family for burial. As the year was 1943 and WWII was raging, I can only surmise that the cost would have been too much of a burden for his mother (my great-grandmother, Delia Couture), who was then his only remaining relative in Canada. Perhaps one mystery that will forever remain unsolved is whatever became of the two honorable medals awarded to Great Uncle Archie.

Prior to our trip to Quebec, I had discovered that there were other relatives from my maternal side of the family also buried at this cemetery. Although we had the exact location, we could never find their gravesites or any markers. I inquired as to how it was possible that as many as fifty individuals from the same family had been laid to rest there without a single marker on display. The answer came that some families don't care to purchase tombstones and that is the way it was. The last burial of record for this gravesite had been approximately twenty years ago, and the cemetery official did give me the name of the current owner of the plot. So, there is hope yet to find a living descendant from this clan. I sense another research project coming on.

My hunt for my great uncle Archie has come to an end, but I firmly believe that he knows that his family's refound pride in him will last forever.

Web Site to visit:

NA - Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force

A Few Québec Surnames:

ABRAHAM, ALBERT, ALLARD, ANDERSON, ARCHAMBAULT, ARMURY, ARSENAULT, ASSOUR, AUBERT, AUCLAIR dit LECLERC, AVARD

BADAILLAC dit LAPLANTE, BANLIAC, BARIL, BARTLETT (BERTHELET), BASTIEN, BEAUCHAMP, BEAUPRÉ, BÉLANGER, BERGERON, BERNIER, BERTRAND, BÉRUBÉ, BISSOT, BLANCHARD, BOUCHER, BOUDROT, BOUSQUET, BOUTET, BRAZEAU, BRODEUR, BROUSSEAU, BRULÉ, BRUNEL (BRUNELLE), BRUNET

CARON, CARRIER, CASAVAN, CAYÉ, CERÉ, CHAGNON dit LAROSE, CHAPDELAINE, CHAPUT, CHAREST, CHARETTE, CHARON, CHARTIER, CHINIQUY, CHORET, CHOUINARD, COUTIER (Clukey), CONSTANTINEAU, CONTANT, de CORDÉ, COUILLARD, COURCHESNE, COURTIN, COUSINEAU, CÔTÉ, CREVIER dit DUVERNAY, CROMP, CUSSON, CYR

DAIGLE, D'AILLEBOUST, DAMOURS, DANIS, D'ARGENTEUIL, DAVENPORT, D'AVIGNON, DEGUIRE, DEMERS, DENAULT, DENIS, de la RONDE, DEROCHER, DESAUTELS, DESJARLAIS, DESJARDINS, DESLANDES dit CHAMPIGNY, DESPINS, DESROCHERS, DESROSIERS (Laniel dit Desrosiers), DEVOST, DION, DIONNE, DODIER, DOMINÉ dit ST-SAUVEUR, DOUCET, DRAPEAU, DROGUE, DUFRESNE, DUHAMEL, DUMAIS, DUMONT, DUPUIS, DUQUET, DUTILLY

FARIBAULT, FAUTEL, FONTAINE, FORTIN, FRÉGAULT

GABOURY, GAGNÉ, GAGNON, GAMELIN, GAREAU, GAUDET, GAUDRY, GAUTHIER, GAUVIN, GENDREAU, GIGUÈRE, GIRARD, GIROUX, GODIN, GOES de GREY, GOSSELIN, GRANDMAISON, GRONDIN, GUÉRET dit DUMONT, GUERTIN, GUIMOND or GUIMONT, GUYON or DION

HACHÉ dit GALLANT, HAMON, HATFIELD, HÉBERT, HERVIEUX, HÉTU, HOUDE, HOULE, HUDON dit BEAULIEU, HUNAULT, HUS

JACOB dit LANGLAIS, JARRET de VERCHÈRE, JARRET dit BEAUREGARD

KIPP, KNAPP

LABERGE, LABONNE, LACHANCE, de LACORNE, LADUE, LAGACÉ, LALANCETTE, LANGLAIS, LAMOTHE, LAMOUREUX, LANDRY, LAPLANTE, LAVALLÉE, LEBEL, LEBRUN, LECLERC dit LAFRENAYE, LEDUC, LEGARDEUR, LÉGER, LEMAÎTRE dit AUGER, LEMAY, LEMAIRE (LAMAIRE, LAMER), LEMIEUX, LEMOYNE de LONGUEUIL, LEPROHON, LEVASSEUR, LÉVESQUE, LOEDEL, LUSSIER

MAGUET dit MAILLÉ, de MANTHET, MARCEAU, MARIER, MARQUIS, MARTEL, MARGANE de LAVALTRIE, MARION, MARTIN, MARTIN-BEAULIEU, MELANÇON, MÉNARD, MERCIER, MESSIER, MICHAUD, MICHON, MIGNAULT dit LABRIE, MIGNIER dit LAGACÉ, MIVILLE dit DESCHÊNES, MONET, MONTREUIL, MOREAU

NADEAU, NADON, NAULT dit LABRIE

OUELLET

PARÉ, PARENT, PECAUDY, PELLETIER, PEPIN, PEPIN dit LACHANCE, PERRAULT, PETIT, PHILIPPEAU, PIUZE, POITRAS, PRÉVOST, PRIMOT

QUEVILLON

RACINE, RAMEZAY, ROBICHAUD, POIRIER, RAYMOND, RAYNAUD dit BLANCHARD, RIVARD, ROBERT, ROBIDOUX, ROCHON, ROLLAND, ROULEAU, ROY, ROY dit DESJARDINS et LAUZIER

SAUCIER, SAVOIE, SÉDILOT dit MONTREUIL, SÉNÉCAL, SÉNÉCHAL, SICARD, SOUCY, ST-GERMAIN, ST-LAURENT

TALBOT, TARIEU de LANAUDIÈRE, TÉTRAULT, THÉRIAULT, THIBAULT, TRUDEAU, TRUDEL

VAILLANCOURT, VALADE, VALIN, VANASSE dit BASTIEN, VEL dit SANSOUCY, VERONNEAU, VIGNEUX

This is YOUR newsletter! if you want to add surnames, if you find interesting web sites, if you want to publish an article, just send them to HOST GFS Suzanne@aol.com and I will publish them.

Don't forget to visit GenealogyForum on the web:

The Genealogy Forum

http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/

See you in the Chat Room
HOST GFS Suzanne :-))

© 2002 GFNEWS, a monthly publication of the Golden Gate Genealogy Forum, Inc. of Franklin, MA.
(America Online Keyword: roots.) The Editors welcome your ideas and articles,
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© 2002 Graphics By Carol, All Rights Reserved