How to search this blog? – And much more…

Updated 31 March 2022

I know it must to hard to find your ancestor on Our Ancestors or one of your ancestor’s photo on the Internet, so feel free to ask because everything is free on Our Ancestors and its sequel Our Ancestors II.

.

Courtesy Dennis Lagasse IV

This is why I am posting this image so you can find the search button on the left.

If you type a name into the search box, you might find lost ancestors I wrote about. Of course if the name is “Sorel” then you might find articles I wrote on the town of Sorel in Quebec also…

More updates down here on the sequel to Our Ancestors.

Posts featured on Our Ancestors II

About Our Ancestors II

Our Ancestors II

Keeping their memories alive

Monday morning – Comparing moustaches

Tuesday morning- Just imagine

Wednesday morning – Just imagine one last time

Where to start?

Sunday morning – 18 October 2020 – Who says genealogy has to be boring?

Sunday morning – 25 October 2020 – How to start?

Where should I start? Maude Powe

Where should I start? Arthur Joseph Myers

Where should I stop?

Where to stop – Old photos

Where to stop – William Costello

Where to stop – Francis William Powe

Written in 2011

Remembering Harvey Louis Lagasse Jr

It’s not over till it’s over…

You can always write a comment or use this contact form. Make sure your email address is entered correctly. No need to have a Website.

How far does the Quesnel family tree go? – Redux

I got this comment yesterday on a post that I had published on January 28, 2011. This is what Matt Kinnell had written… 

Hi there. I recently discovered that Quesnel was the original spelling for my family name, which knocked around from Quesnel to Canell to Canal and finally to Kinnell as ancestors of various degrees of literacy moved back and forth between the US and Canada. The best I can tell I descend from the Dominique Quesnel (1776-1849) line, so it seems we may be cousins of some form.

Thanks for sharing this article!

This is the original article Matt is talking about.

Click here.

I have modified it a little.

Rosina Quesnel is my maternal grandmother, and as many people looking for their roots, I found much valid information on the Internet. Rosina is a direct descendant of Olivier Quesnel who was a gunsmith in the 1600s.

In this picture Rosina Quesnel is seen with her first husband Venance Paiement. Venance was baptized “Valence” by the priest who was thinking his given name was Valence… like Valencia a town in Italy. Sometimes such errors are found in the parish registers.

On the Internet Georges de Quesnel is often linked to be the father of Pierre de Quesnel who married Marie Poulard, these two being Olivier Quesnel’s parents. Olivier Quesnel is known to be the ancestor of the Quesnel descendants in North America. As I searched for Rosina Quesnel’s roots, I stumbled on this information posted on Ancestry…

This information is supposedly taken from this book: Les Quesnel 1488 – 1983 Du Château de France à l’Amérique, Volume 1, aux Éditions Quesnel de Fomblanche, éditeur Albert Aimé Quesnel.

Olivier Quesnel is linked to French nobility…

IV PIERRE NICOLAS DE QUESNEL seigneur des seigneuries Du Fresne et des Brosses, chevalier de l’Ordre du Roi, capitaine de 50 chevaux légers, épousa Barbe Le Blanc, veuve d’Estienne Le Prévost, qui était fille d’honneur de Catherine de Médicis, qui épousa d’Henri II, 3 enfants:
1. Georges
2. Anne
3. Helene

I searched for more information and found that Georges de Quesnel was married to Charlotte Malvoue who was a widow…

I found this information in a book dated 1879. On page 230 it says Georges de Quesnel did not have any descendants.

Modification done on March 31, 2022

Transcript of part of  page 230

Louis de Quenel fut créé chevalier en 1519; il était mort avant le 18 août 1524. Françoise Le Boeuf, veuve de Louis de Quenel, chevalier, rendit hommage pour Le Fresne en 1532 (1).

Jean de Quenel, fils de Louis, fut après lui seigneur du Fresne.

En 1568, Pierre de Quenel, sieur du Fresne, chevalier de l’ordre du Roi, gentilhomme de sa maison, gouverneur de Conches pour Henri III, épousa Hélène de Beaumaître, fille d’honneur de Catherine de Médicis.

La postérité masculine des de Quenel, s’éteignit en la personne de Georges de Quenel, esc., seigneur du Fresne, marié a Charlotte Malvoue. Cette dame était veuve, sans enfants, lors de la maintenue de noblesse de la famille, le 13 janvier 1668.

Translation

The male descendants of the de Quenels ended in the person of Georges de Quenel, esc, lord of Le Fresne, married to Charlotte Malvoue. This lady was a widow, without children, at the time of the maintenance of nobility of the family, on 13 January 1668.

Quenel: bandé d’or et de gueules; au franc quartier d’or, à la croix de gueules, chargée de cinq coquilles d’argent.

Anne de Quenel, soeur de Georges, porta la seigneurie de Fresne dans la famille de Sarcilly, par son mariage avec Claude de Sarcilly, esc., seigneur et patron d’Ernes (2).

Pierre de Sarcilly, esc., fils de Claude, épousa Catherine d’Alençon et fut après lui seigneur du Fresne; sa fille et son héritière, Catherine Claire, épousa Guy de Marguerit, esc., sieur d’Aisy, dont elle eut Philippe-Auguste de Marguarit qui épousa, le 25 novembre 1714, Marie-Anne Edeline, dont il eut cinq enfants.

Charlotte – Elisabeth du Fresne, hériliere de Guy Philippe-Auguste de Marguerit, était en 1780, dame du Fresne; elle épousa le 28 mars 1797, Louis-Alexandre de Gueroult.

End of the modification

This is the link to the book.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=D_wsAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22bre%2…

People have often linked Olivier Quesnel to Georges de Quesnel who was part of the French nobility.  I have found no official record of a link between Olivier and Georges.

Pierre Nicolas Quesnel, who supposedly married Barbe Leblanc, can’t be Olivier Quesnel’s grandfather as seen in many family trees which took that info from Mr. Quesnel’s book. 

I don’t know where Mr. Albert Quesnel took this information about Georges de Quesnel’s descendants because I don’t have a copy of his book and I can’t verify  his source.

I also found that Hélène Beaumaistre, not Barbe Leblanc, was Catherine de Médicis’ lady in waiting as found in the excerpt. I don’t know where the name Barbe Leblanc came from except in Mr. Quesnel’s book.

If you can shed some light on all this, I would appreciate it very much…

Next time on Our Ancestors II more about more descendants of Olivier Quesnel.

 

An Ancestry DNA test with a thank you note…

You have to go back to this post to understand this one.

Kelly wanted more information about Etienne Myers who was in fact Étienne Lemaire, son of Jean-Baptiste Lemaire and Marie-Louise Dumas.

I had no idea Jean-Baptiste Lemaire had remarried after the death of his first wife Mariane Paquet until I got a comment from someone who had done extensive research on the Lemaire family. I already had all their children with Onésime.

Jean-Baptiste Lemaire and his wife Mariane Paquet (Paquette) actually had twin daughters in January 1835 – Onesime and Marie, they share the same baptism notation. Unfortunately Mariane Paquet died within a few days of their birth.

Both Onesime and Marie married their spouses in Henryville in the early 1850’s, settled in the area and raised their families.

Here attached is the baptism record for Onesime & Marie. I can provide you with other screen images on Marie Lemaire if you’d like. As you may already know, Onesime was born in Henryville on January 22nd 1835, baptised on the 24th. Her baptism record has her name (looking like Ansime) but it follows with ‘et Marie’ (and a name that may be Verville? Aurille ? ) – meaning ‘and’ her twin sister Marie.

The margin of the notation also has the ‘et’ between the names of the two sisters. The facing page in the record book on the 28th of January notes the burial of Mariane Paquette spouse of Jean-Baptiste Lemaire’.

Marie Lemaire (that Verville? name is never mentioned again) married Ambroise Comeau in Henryville on October 21, 1851 (note the index for this record in Ancestry is Ambroise Comire). The marriage record noted Marie Lemaire as ‘fille mineure de Jean-Baptiste Lemaire et de feue Marie Lariviere’. Ambroise Comeau was a farmer – descended from Acadians that escaped the deportment and came to Quebec in the 1750s.

That line was a focus of my research, and I’ve been able to trace it back to Pierre Comeau who came to Port Royal in the 1630s. Ambroise and Marie had, as was usual, a large family. In the 1881 census, still living in Henryville, they had 9 living children, between ages 24 and 4.

One of those children is my great-grandmother, so Marie Lemaire is my great-great-grandmother. The couple are listed together in the 1891 census, now the census subdistrict is called St-Anne-de-Sabrevois.

Ambroise passed away in 1896. Marie Lemaire passed away in Sabrevois on March 7, 1917 at the age of 82. And as her death notation gives her age – that is another confirmation that Marie is the twin sister of Onesime.

Hope this information is of interest & of use. Let me know if you have any questions or would like some of the other screen images from the church notations, I’d be glad to provide.

…

I wasn’t sure if you knew about Marie as your blog entry that I commented on only mentioned Onesime as his daughter. By all means you can include this up for your blog. … however there is more to the story …

Last night I was thinking of Jean-Baptiste in 1835- around 50 years old, newly widowed, and with two newborn girls. I figured it was very possible that he remarried, so I did a bit more digging late last night and found: January 7th, 1836 – Henryville, St-George-de-Noyan church “Jean Baptiste Lemaire veuf de Marie Anne Paquet” married “Louise Dumas veuve de Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne”. So not only did he remarry – his second wife was also a widower. Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne was buried July 21 1834 in Napierville (died of cholera? at age 45).

I was curious how old Louise might have been – so to help find her baptism record I found her first marriage record to see who her parents were. The one I found that is likely them is:

January 29, 1821 – L’Acadie – Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie – marriage between Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne and Louise Dumas. Unfortunately her father’s first name isn’t entirely clear (Pierre maybe?) nor her mother’s whole name (Marie Anne … ?).

It was very likely that Louise Dumas would be younger than Jean-Baptiste Lemaire, so I did a quick check to see if they had any children together. And it appears they did.

Baptised in Henryville & with parents shown as Jean-Baptiste Lemaire and Louise Dumas

Michel Napoleon Lemaire – May 8, 1838

Marie Henriette Lemaire – July 3, 1841

? Israil Lemaire- August 4th, 1843

Alexandre (?) Lemaire – September 10, 1845

Edouard Lemaire- October 3, 1846

Celestin ? Lemaire – July 27, 1851

There could be other children, these are the ones that I found by limiting my search to Henryville and looking at a few of the baptism records for ‘Lemaire’.

And a search in the 1861 census, taken before Jean-Baptiste died later that year, show Jean-Baptiste at age 78 living with Louise Dumas – age 54, their son Israël age 17, and the child born in 1851 (who’s name is still undecipherable, marked down as a male). That would mean Louise Dumas was born around 1807, and would have been around 14 yrs old when she first married.

So that’s where my curiosity led me last night, the twins Onesime & Marie had some half-siblings to play with (and Louise Dumas could have had children with Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne that were still young).

There’s a lot of different angles there for you to explore and write about. And now I see that someone else commented on your blog page a few years ago, inquiring about Israel Lemaire, so I guess you may have known that Jean-Baptiste remarried Louise Dumas and had further children of his own.

Going back to my original purpose for getting in touch with you, if you would like any further questions about Marie Lemaire, sister to Onesime, I’d be happy to answer them.

JP

To be continued…

Quote…

There’s a lot of different angles there for you to explore and write about. And now I see that someone else commented on your blog page a few years ago, inquiring about Israel Lemaire…

I never saw Kelly’s comment until last December!

Request – Étienne Lemaire

I am working on my family tree.

I have a John Baptiste Myers, sometimes called Brockmyer. But when I look closer at his son, Israel Etienne (or Etenne Israel) Myers birth certificate it looks like it says Lemaire.

He married Marie Louise Dumas, but I am having so much trouble finding real info. I’m just not certain of his last name because if they are all documented wrong, how do I find out who is really his family?

Are these any relations to your family?

Thank you, Kelly

Every time I get requests I always try to help and to follow up on it. This time I didn’t and I was surprised to receive a package last week.

An Ancestry DNA test with a thank you note.

To be continued…

 

In Memoriam Lionel Lagasse 1931 – 2021

Sometimes words cannot express the sadness you have felt when you have learned the death of a family member.

Lionel Lagasse was a second cousin. He was the son of Levi Napoleon Lagasse and Marie-Louise Dubé.

Lionel is seen here again with his mother Marie-Louise.

Lionel was an only child.

With his son’s help, he has been a most important contributor to Our Ancestors with all the photos his father Levi Napoleon had taken during the early 1900s.

This one his father Levi Napoleon didn’t take.

Lionel had a photocopy where he had written some notes.

Without knowing it Lionel was spot on.

I then took over and Lionel’s son kept sending more and more of his father’s precious old photos so I could identify who were these people.

Lionel had preserved everything even negatives.

I turned them all into positives. This one is Lionel’s grandfather Dennis Lagasse III holding a very young baby.

The baby is unknown.

Most of Lionel’s photos had no captions, so most people were strangers.

However Lionel did not need a caption for this one.

These newly weds were Lionel’s parents. The date is August 4, 1930.

Sometimes all that is left to remember loved ones are old photos most often with people just wanting to be remembered.

Sometimes words cannot express the sadness you have felt when you have learned the death of a family member.

Onésime and her twin sister Marie

Genealogy is like a black hole… Once you are attracted to it, it’s impossible to escape.

Maybe someone had said this before, but it popped up in my head last Wednesday morning as I was replying to GP who is a loyal reader.

You have to be a loyal reader to follow me in my black hole since 2009. This is how this trip to the unknown began last week if you are new to this blog.

The Lemaire Family – Onésime had a twin sister!

The image above show two soldiers of the Hesse-Hanau Jäger Corps. You can start here to know more about the Hesse-Hanau Jäger Corps.

https://www.tfcg.ca/hesse-hanau-soldiers-canada

Excerpt

Our German Ancestors:
the Hesse-Hanau Jäger Corps

When we think of the men and women who came to Canada centuries ago, we normally think of the French and English, and perhaps the handful of colonists from other European countries that figure in our family trees. When we think of the soldiers that were sent here, our minds might go to the Carignan-Salières regiment, whose men stayed in great numbers after their service, and who appear in many French-Canadian family trees.

In light of this, it may be surprising to find out that about 10,000 French Canadians have a German soldier as an ancestor. Enter the Hesse-Hanau Jäger Corps…

I had written a lot about the Lemaire or Myers family on Our Ancestors. This is the first time I wrote about it.

What’s in a Name?

Next time, maybe a follow-up on this comment made in 2018…?

Hello,

I am working on my family tree. I have a John Baptiste Myers, sometimes called Brockmyer. But when I look closer at his son, Israel Etienne (or Etienne Israel) Myers birth certificate. it looks like it says Lemaire. He married Marie Louise Dumas, but I am having so much trouble finding real info. I’m just not certain of his last name because if they are all documented wrong, how do I find out who is really his family? Are these any relations to your family?

Thank you, Kelly

The Lemaire Family – Onésime had a twin sister!

All comments are always most welcomed on Our Ancestors.

This comment is most valuable because of the research put in by a reader who had added this comment earlier…

Jean-Baptiste Lemaire and his wife Mariane Paquet (Paquette) actually had twin daughters in January 1835 – Onesime and Marie, they share the same baptism notation.

Unfortunately Mariane Paquet died within a few days of their birth. Both Onesime and Marie married their spouses in Henryville in the early 1850’s, settled in the area and raised their families.

If you would like to know more information on Marie Lemaire please get in touch with me.

Then there was this first email exchange…

Hello Pierre,

Here attached is the baptism record for Onesime & Marie. I can provide you with other screen images on Marie Lemaire if you’d like.

As you may already know, Onesime was born in Henryville on January 22nd 1835, baptised on the 24th. Her baptism record has her name (looking like Ansime) but it follows with ‘et Marie’ (and a name that may be Verville? Aurille ? ) – meaning ‘and’ her twin sister Marie.

The margin of the notation also has the ‘et’ between the names of the two sisters.

The facing page in the record book on the 28th of January notes the burial of ‘Mariane Paquette spouse of Jean-Baptiste Lemaire’.

Marie Lemaire (that Verville? name is never mentioned again) married Ambroise Comeau in Henryville on October 21, 1851 (note the index for this record in Ancestry is Ambroise Comire).

The marriage record noted Marie Lemaire as ‘fille mineure de Jean-Baptiste Lemaire et de feue Marie Lariviere’.

Ambroise Comeau was a farmer – descended from Acadians that escaped the deportment and came to Quebec in the 1750s.

That line was a focus of my research, and I’ve been able to trace it back to Pierre Comeau who came to Port Royal in the 1630s.

Ambroise and Marie had, as was usual, a large family. In the 1881 census, still living in Henryville, they had 9 living children, between ages 24 and 4.

One of those children is my great-grandmother, so Marie Lemaire is my great-great-grandmother.

The couple are listed together in the 1891 census, now the census subdistrict is called St-Anne-de-Sabrevois.

Ambroise passed away in 1896. Marie Lemaire passed away in Sabrevois on March 7, 1917 at the age of 82. And as her death notation gives her age – that is another confirmation that Marie is the twin sister of Onesime.

Hope this information is of interest & of use. Let me know if you have any questions or would like some of the other screen images from the church notations, I’d be glad to provide.

JP

Then a second email…

Pierre,

I wasn’t sure if you knew about Marie as your blog entry that I commented on only mentioned Onesime as his daughter. By all means you can include this up for your blog.

… however there is more to the story …

Last night I was thinking of Jean-Baptiste in 1835- around 50 years old, newly widowed, and with two newborn girls. I figured it was very possible that he remarried, so I did a bit more digging late last night and found:

January 7th, 1836 – Henryville, St-George-de-Noyan church “Jean Baptiste Lemaire veuf de Marie Anne Paquet” married “Louise Dumas veuve de Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne”. So not only did he remarry – his second wife was also a widower.

Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne was buried July 21 1834 in Napierville (died of cholera? at age 45).

I was curious how old Louise might have been – so to help find her baptism record I found her first marriage record to see who her parents were.

The one I found that is likely them is:
January 29, 1821 – L’Acadie – Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie – marriage between Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne and Louise Dumas. Unfortunately her father’s first name isn’t entirely clear (Pierre maybe?) nor her mother’s whole name (Marie Anne … ?).

It was very likely that Louise Dumas would be younger than Jean-Baptiste Lemaire, so I did a quick check to see if they had any children together. And it appears they did.

Baptised in Henryville & with parents shown as Jean-Baptiste Lemaire and Louise Dumas

Michel Napoleon Lemaire – May 8, 1838

Marie Henriette Lemaire – July 3, 1841

? Israil Lemaire- August 4th, 1843

Alexandre (?) Lemaire – September 10, 1845

Edouard Lemaire- October 3, 1846

Celestin ? Lemaire – July 27, 1851

There could be other children, these are the ones that I found by limiting my search to Henryville and looking at a few of the baptism records for ‘Lemaire’.

And a search in the 1861 census, taken before Jean-Baptiste died later that year, show Jean-Baptiste at age 78 living with Louise Dumas – age 54, their son Israël age 17, and the child born in 1851 (who’s name is still undecipherable, marked down as a male). That would mean Louise Dumas was born around 1807, and would have been around 14 yrs old when she first married.

So that’s where my curiosity led me last night, the twins Onesime & Marie had some half-siblings to play with (and Louise Dumas could have had children with Louis Paquet dit Lamontagne that were still young).

There’s a lot of different angles there for you to explore and write about. And now I see that someone else commented on your blog page a few years ago, inquiring about Israel Lemaire, so I guess you may have known that Jean-Baptiste remarried Louise Dumas and had further children of his own.

Going back to my original purpose for getting in touch with you, if you would like any further questions about Marie Lemaire, sister to Onesime, I’d be happy to answer them.

JP

To be continued…

Another note

Updated 29 November 2021

Written on August 20, 2021

This was a post I had in the draft section since 2014. It was written after this one…

A note I had left behind…

Yesterday’s note led me to this one.

LAGASSE, Eugene F.

Eugene F. Lagasse, 79, of Railroad Ave., Chester died at home on Friday, (October 28, 2005). He and his wife Norma (Joy) were married for 54 years. Gene was born in Bristol, on June 8, 1926, son of the late Harvey and Maude (Powe) Lagasse Sr.

He was an Army Veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He was a member of St. Joseph’s Church, Chester as well as the Knights of Columbus. He was employed as an engineer at Conrac Corp, Old Saybrook for 37 years, and he presently worked for the Essex Product Group.

Gene was an avid golfer and was active in civic organizations over the years. He was so happy to have lived to see his beloved Red Sox win the 2004 Championship. He and Norma wintered in Panama City Beach, FL.

Besides his wife Norma, he is survived by his two sons, James of Warrenton, VA and Gary of Colchester; his daughters, Susan Sticht and Mary Lagasse both of E. Haddam; his eight grandchildren, Stephen Jr., Nicole, Wayne, Jacqueline, Cassidy, Eugene, Amanda and Kyle, and great grandson Caleb, and his brother Robert of Bristol. He was predeceased by his son, Stephen Sr. and his brother, Harvey Jr.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, Oct., 31 at 9 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, Rte 154, Chester followed by burial with Military Honors in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Friends may call at the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main St., Centerbrook TODAY, from 2-4 p.m. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Hospice and Palliative Care of Middlesex Hospital, 28 Crescent St., Middletown 06475.

Lagasse, Eugene F.

Another obituary

October 29, 2005

LAGASSE, Eugene F. Eugene F. Lagasse, 79, of Railroad Ave., Chester died at home on Friday, (October 28, 2005). He and his wife Norma (Joy) were married for 54 years. Gene was born in Bristol, on June 8, 1926, son of the late Harvey and Maude (Powe) Lagasse Sr.

He was an Army Veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He was a member of St. Joseph’s Church, Chester as well as the Knights of Columbus. He was employed as an engineer at Conrac Corp, Old Saybrook for 37 years, and he presently worked for the Essex Product Group.

End of the draft post

This is Eugene’s headstone.

Stephen Lagasse

Eugene’s memorial on Find A Grave was transferred yesterday with this message…

Hello Pierre,
I have transferred Stephen’s memorial to you. Treat him well, as I am sure you will.
Perry

Where should I start?

Photo

I guess this is where I should start, but I am not sure.

Obituary for Maude F. Lagasse (Aged 96)

I had been researching Maude Powe since 2009 when I found I had a cousin who was a bombardier on a B-24.

lagassemilitary2~6

Readers who have been following me since God knows when know all about My Forgotten Hobby. I have been building model airplanes since 1958.

IMG_20210808_112516645~2

This is why I was so excited when I found out in 2009 about Harvey Louis Lagasse Jr.’s story on the Internet.

Harvey Lagasse 2

Harvey Lagasse

Robert Lagasse had told his brother’s story and I followed up on it.

Yesterday I got a message on Ancestry and this is what I got in return beside Maude Powe’s photo and obituary.

lagassemilitary2~2

Arthur Joseph Myers, son of Julien Myers and Agnes Lagasse

lagassemilitary2~3

William Costello, brother of Margaret Costello, wife of Frank Arthur Powe

lagassemilitary2~4

Harvey Louis Lagasse Sr., husband of Maude Powe

lagassemilitary2~5

Francis Powe son of Frank Powe and Margaret Costello

lagassemilitary2~7

Eugene F Lagasse, son of Harvey Louis Lagasse Sr.

lagassemilitary2~9

Mark E Lagasse, son of Harvey Louis Lagasse Jr.

lagassemilitary~2

Frank Arthur Powe, husband of Margaret Costello

Now where should I start revisiting the past?