The Bangle Files: #29 | Louis Bangle (~1798-1838)

In this post and in the one to follow, I would like to bring up some Bangles whose ancestry hasn’t been confirmed yet. At first, I thought we could get in touch with Ol’ Blue Eyes whom I “met” at the National Archives in England last summer.

Let’s start from the beginning.

The earliest trace we have for Louis Bangle is his enlistment as cited in the Glengarry Fencibles Regiment Description Book in the February 27, 1816 entry. He declares being an 18-year-old labourer of Cornwall, and a native of Terribone (Terrebonne), Lower Canada.

The next trace disclosing vital information about him is his marriage record from the Trinity Anglican Church, in Cornwall. He declares being 19 years old when he marries Angélique Duhaut dite Jasmin, 24, on October 6, 1817. The record mentions that his parents consented to the marriage as Louis was a minor.

If his age is accurate in both cases, he would have been born between October 7, 1797, and February 26, 1798. Hence, it would be unlikely—yet not impossible—for him to be the son of William Bangle and Marie Tourville whose son André was born in February 1797 and their daughter Madeleine in September 1798. There is an average two-year gap between their other children’s births.

That being said, no one else but John Bangle and his wife Marie-Louise Couvillon who were married on February 8, 1796, in Montreal (both were from Terrebonne) could also be potential candidates. Despite this lasting ambiguity, having a proof of his birthplace is a huge step in this endless quest for Louis’ ancestry. There were no further male Bangles living in the Terrebonne area at that time.

An additional important information regarding Louis Bangle’s family is contained in his marriage record: the name of an uncle, Baptiste Rochon. So far, no Rochons could be connected to the family of Marie-Louise Couvillon (or even the one of Josephte Allaire, John’s first wife, if the uncle would have been a step-uncle for him) or of Marie Tourville.

Just like Louis, Baptiste Rochon was in the military for more than seven years in the Canadian Fencible Infantry Regiment.

Should we now address the religion issue? So, Catholic or Protestant? That is the question, my friend! Why was Louis Bangle married at an Anglican Church in Cornwall? Because he was staying there at that time and no Catholic priest was available? Please note that four out of the six children of Louis and Angélique were baptized in the Catholic Church of Saint-Régis. At least, we are positive that Angélique Duhaut dite Jasmin was Catholic. Although we haven’t seen Louis’ name as a godfather in the Church records, these are telling us that—Catholic or not—he was a labourer from Massena. Therefore, Louis is listed in the 1820 and 1830 US Census, as a resident of Massena, St. Lawrence County, New York.

We still have to determine in which cemetery Louis was buried, but thanks to the online newspapers, we have learned that he died from eating vegetable poison, on Friday evening, June 1, 1838.

VEGETABLE POISON—A respected correspondent at Racket River, under date of June 4, writes us as follows:

“A most painful occurrence took place in this town, (Massena) on the evening of Friday, the 1st instant.—The family of Mr. Lewis Bangle, a very industrious inhabitant of this town, gathered as they supposed a quantity of the root of Sweet Cicely, but which proved to be a species of the Cicuta or Water Hemlock. Mr. B. and severy of his children in the early part of the evening ate freely of the root, and were soon attacked with spasms and all the concomitant symptoms attendant upon vegetable poison having been received into the stomach. Mr. B. after two hours of excruciating distress expired. For some time the lives of three of his children hung in precarious suspense, but finally yielded to medical treatment. Mr. B. has left a large family to mourn his untimely exit.

It is but a few years since the life of a Mrs. Ward was destroyed at the same place and from the same cause.” [St. Lawrence Republican, June 12, 1838, page 2]

For the four older children of Louis and Angélique, we have located their baptismal records at Saint-Régis Catholic Church, in Quebec (east of Massena, NY, and just across the river from Cornwall, Ontario):

  • William (Guillaume), birth unknown, baptized January 31, 1819;
  • John (Jean-Baptiste), born December 23, 1820, baptized December 25, 1820;
  • Louis, born December 1, 1822, baptized December 25, 1822; and
  • James (Jacques), born February 26, 1825, baptized May 22, 1825.

For their two younger children, we had to rely on different kinds of sources:

  • Sophia, born December 15, 1828 (as per her death record); and
  • Mary, born 27 Sep 1832, died at 43 years, 7 months, 1 day, on April 28, 1876 (as per her tombstone).

One should not pass by the fact that Angélique Duhaut Jasmin’s mother was godmother to Joseph—born out of wedlock, baptized on April 8, 1810, at age 10 days, parents unidentified, at Saint-Régis Catholic Church—and that the priest was the godfather. Joseph was most likely Angélique’s child as he was later living with her and her husband Louis, and was known as Joseph Bangle. As Louis was barely 19 in 1817 (he would have been 12 in 1810 when Joseph was born), I am somewhat reluctant to suggest that he be Joseph’s birth father.

Well, that takes care of Louis. I cannot wait to chat about two elusive brothers that I love chasing around.

See you in two weeks!


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

6 thoughts on “The Bangle Files: #29 | Louis Bangle (~1798-1838)

  1. Hi Diane, interesting. Could Baptister Rochon be married to one of the sisters of William or John Bangle? You only mention that you do not see a relation to the wives…
    Hope you are well, I enjoy reading your blog 🙂
    Denise

    • Thank you Denise. Very good question!

      Ah! I should never take it for granted that people knows this family as well as I do.

      The only sister is Catherine Bangle and she married Jacob Schmidt, a soldier who was also an immigrant. He didn’t have any family in Quebec. As for other brothers, Peter died in 1790, if I remember well, unmarried, and the other one didn’t leave any trace. Endless quest as you can see 😉

  2. That was a wonderful post and summary for us “other” Bangles!!!
    I was wondering–were there any Rochons in Terrebonne at the time?
    Have we considered that John may have been the father of Louis, but that Louis’ mother may not have been Marie-Louise Couvillon?

    • Thank you LeRae 🙂

      Rochon is a common surname. Yes, they are Rochons in Terrebonne. Someone has made a huge book on Rochons in Quebec and Baptiste is not there. I found no Jean or Jean-Baptiste or Baptiste who have “disappeared” around the time he was in the Regiment. They either died as babies or were married in Quebec.

      John was married to Marie-Louise Couvillon in 1796 and he was still married to her in 1820. If the mother was another woman, Louis would be born out of wedlock, we have no clue who she would be. And I don’t think that is the case. He would not have the name of his father. Maybe the Rochon “uncle” was not a real uncle but more like a mentor. Who knows? Still searching 🙂

  3. Thank you. You may not remember, but we met in 2008 in Salt Lake. The genealogists there steered me away from the Bangle family (thinking Bing might be a dit name), and thought I should check the Rochons. I didn’t find anything conclusive of course. I’m so glad you keep searching.

    • Hi LeRae, I remember you very well! 🙂

      I don’t think he gave you bad advice though, we have to check all possibilities. I have a Lefebvre who married a Tourville somewhere in my tree. His name was Bean or Bing in the records in Vermont. Before you asked me, yes, I checked all Lefebvres and Rochons as well 🙂

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