The Bangle Files: #17 | Another Look at John Bangle’s Children

BANQAs you know, we have identified three children from John Bangle’s first marriage to Josephte Allaire: Marie-Catherine, Jacques (who died as an infant), and Marie-Dorothée.

You may also recall that we have found out another daughter from John Bangle—and probably from Josephte Allaire—named Josephte. She was married to Joseph Fontaine on January 26, 1801, at Sorel’s Catholic Church. As she was a minor at such time, one thing that we do know with certainty is that she was born after 1780. Her burial record dated January 19, 1832, states her age as being 49, she thus would be born about 1783.

I reviewed the baptismal acts of Joseph Fontaine and Josephte’s 18 children, and three acts really stand out:

  • The first child, Joseph, baptized in 1801, had for godparents Joseph Dusang (a dit name for Fontaine) and Marie-Louise Devis. We can assume that this Marie-Louise is most likely Josephte’s stepmother. Joseph Dusang could be Joseph’s father. Remember that John Bangle not being a Catholic could not be godfather.
  • The third child, Louise, baptized in 1806, had for godparents Alexis Lagrave and Catherine Davis. The latter cannot be Catherine Bangle Smith not only because she was never known as Davis but because above all she was not a Catholic. However, Catherine Davis might be Josephte’s sister, Marie-Catherine, born in 1786. She would have lived at least until she was 20 years old!
  • The fourth child, Marie, baptized in 1807, had for godparents Antoine Hus and Marie Davids. Said Marie Davids is most probably Josephte’s sister Mary who married William Hogan in Sorel in 1810. Now, would Mary be Marie-Dorothée born in 1786?

fontaineallI also came across an act from Sorel’s Notary Public Henry Crebassa, dated November 8, 1802, about John Davis Jr, 18 years old, of Sorel, signing a 3-year-voyageur contract as a middleman. He is with his father, Jean Davis, authorizing his son. John Davis Jr would then be born about 1784. I perused through the Sorel records and haven’t read about any other Davis this early in Sorel who would be from another family. Only in the 1820s do we find a Davis family from England. I have no proof whatsoever that this John is a son of John Bangle and Josephte Allaire but he might be. What happened to him, I have no idea. I haven’t found any other clues about him.

At this point in our research, our findings are as follows (names in blue have been validated, name in green is an assumption) :

  • Josephte, born about 1783
  • John, born about 1784
  • Catherine, born 1786
  • Jacques, born 1788
  • Marie-Dorothée, born 1789
  • Mary*, unknown

(*Might be born Marie-Dorothée)

Next time, we will take a look at another possible child of John Bangle. I know this is a long-awaited post from a lot of people!


For related posts about The Bangle Files, please refer to the Introduction Page

8 thoughts on “The Bangle Files: #17 | Another Look at John Bangle’s Children

  1. It’s like you are writing a novel, telling us about all the characters in the story. Each week we wait for the next installment. 🙂

    • Oh! thank you Judy.

      But remember, it’s every other week 😉

  2. I finds your writings very interesting and lots of understanding the times. I would not have caught the idea of one not being a catholic. Good work- will await your up coming history lesson. Thank you!

    • Thank you Shirley!

      It’s a long process but I think it’s worth it. This way, we notice all the little details 😉

  3. I wondered where the Allaires came from on my DNA test. The Allards too. The Allards seem to be related to Mary Soucy/Succese but I am not descended from her. This leaves me totally confused as I don’t know the John Bangle you are talking about. I really need to figure this out better. I lost my big Bangle database in the cloud when they made a change and I have just been putting it all back together pice by piece. I am descended from Louis Bangle and Angeline Caswell. Maybe Jim can figure out the connection for me. I’m lost. I really enjoy your posts and thank you for sharing your research.

    • Hi Bette,

      Thank you for your comment 🙂

      I will talk about Louis Bangle next time. Remember that we don’t know who is Louis’ father. You may go back to my earlier Bangle posts. I have put in a tree with the children of Adam Bangle and Marie Devis, i.e. John, William and Catherine (who all have descendants).

      Diane

  4. One more fun read in the episodes of Family Bangle! Thank you Diane. 🙂

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