My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: Y for Yattaw

I am so grateful to the parish priest of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu! In 1799, had he not rehabilitated the marriage of Joseph Guertin [Yattaw in Vermont] and Marie-Françoise Chartier—married in Vergennes on December 26, 1798—I would have never known that his parents were Pierre Guertin and Marie-Angélique Allaire. Marie-Françoise was Peter and Polly Chartier‘s daughter. Their first three children were baptized in Quebec. Starting 1806, the subsequent children were born in Vermont. The Yattaws are among the oldest French Canadian families living in Vergennes. Joseph’s name appears on the Vergennes Voters List in 1815.


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My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: W for Water Street

I have always been a devoted fan of old maps. Especially those on which the land owners’ names are mentioned. I am indeed looking at a very informative 1871 map of Vergennes: there, on South Water Street, just east of Otter Creek, I read familiar names from my research such as Amblo (Imbleau), Douglass (Daudelin), Danyo (Daignault), Domino (St-Sauveur dit Dominé), Balduke (Bolduc), Garno (Galarneau), and so many. Mr. C. Sheller—Mitchell Rock and Elizabeth Cutler’s son-in-law—also resides on this street. That’s probably where the Rocks were living since Elizabeth died in that house in 1872.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: V for Vergennes

Last summer, while I was in Vergennes, I asked someone to tell me how to pronounce the city’s name. And surprisingly, she said that I got it right—it’s a French name! It was indeed named after Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes (1719-1787), a Frenchman who played a role in supporting the rebels during the American Revolutionary War.

You might actually assume that my favourite place in town is the county clerk’s office where you may find vital records, land records, naturalization index, voters list index, tax records, and burial records. Well, let’s not forget the Black Sheep Bistro!


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: R for Rock

The Rock family, or Frenière dit Desrochers, is my new pet project. The prime suspects—siblings Gabriel, Mitchell, John, and Elizabeth—are featured in censuses, voters lists, and vital records for the city of Vergennes.

Gabriel married Appoline Blain in 1802 in Saint-Luc Parish in Lower Canada—their daughter was baptized there in 1803. In October 1805, the family lives in Vergennes where Gabriel bought a piece of land. If we have a marriage proof for Elizabeth—she married Joseph Labonté in Vergennes in 1810—, such is not the case for Mitchell and John, who were married between 1805-1815.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 110 Words: O for Ostiguy

Have you ever heard of Philomène Ostiguy dit Domingue? Born in 1843, in Saint-Mathias, Québec, she was better known as “Captain Phil”—being the first American woman to be licensed as a pilot and master for steamboat navigation in 1877. Her first husband, Louis Daniels, operated the daily ferry The Water Lilly between Vergennes and Westport, NY, while she ran excursion trips on her steamboat The Victor on Lake Champlain, and Otter Creek. She even transported wealthy passengers from Vergennes to New York City for a night at the opera! After her husband’s death, she carried on with the family business, The Daniels Boat Line. She died in 1929.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: J for January

Mitchell January—Janvier in Québec—was living in Vergennes at least since 1833 when he married Louise Labonté, daughter of Joseph Labonté and Élizabeth Rock. They will have 13 children. He died between 1870 and 1880. But unfortunately for us, unless you were an important figure in town, obituaries were uncommon at that time. Was Madelin January, deceased in Vergennes in 1870, at age 95, his mother? In that case he could be Michel Deschenaux dit Janvier, born in Trois-Rivières in 1808, son of Michel Deschenaux dit Janvier and Madeleine Bodin dit Benoît. Definitely an interesting path to follow.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: G for Genealogy

Genealogy has many faces. For some, it might simply be to find their paternal ancestor. For others, searching for all their ancestors becomes a never-ending quest. As for me, curiosity and passion led me to investigate. While working on my Hubou line, I located some living in Ferrisburgh and Vergennes, Vermont. While they didn’t stay for long—just a few years—I must say I stuck around, interested in what happened to some of their relatives and neighbours. I am fortunate enough not to live too far from Vermont and thus being able to visit once in a while.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: C for Chartier

While working on a project like mine, discoveries come from all kinds of sources. I first “met” Peter/Pierre Chartier—born in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu in 1756—in a Revolutionary War Pension File application made by his wife, Polly Robinson. Peter marries Polly—Marie-Françoise Robinet—in New York State shortly after the war. He dies in Vergennes in 1820. Besides, their respective identity was corroborated owing to two of their children baptized in 1787 (parish of Chambly). Clearly, I had found in this family probably the oldest French Canadians living in Vergennes in the early 1800s.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: B for Bixby

The Bixby Memorial Free Library is located on Main Street, in Vergennes. It has a large collection of historical newspapers, and genealogy items. Moreover, the Vermont Collection has everything a history buff needs to read about the city, area, and the State of Vermont.

It was named after William Gove Bixby, born in 1829 in Vergennes where he spent most of his lifetime and died in 1907. To everyone’s surprise, Bixby—he had told no one of his wishes—had bequeathed funds for the establishment of a public library in his hometown. The first cornerstone was laid in September 1911.


To Learn More About my Vermont Project, click here.


Abraham Sorrell(3)—What the 1850 US Census for Ferrisburgh Doesn’t Tell

vermont 2016

Abraham Sorrell, who lost his life from injuries sustained in the Civil War’s Wilderness Battle in May 1864, had married three times. His Civil War pension file offers an incredible portrait of people living in Ferrisburgh in 1850 and beyond.

After having read the testimony left by his first wife, Eliza Sears, and by his second wife, Eliza Carpenter, let’s take a look at what Eliza Carpenter’s sister, Catherine Palmer, had to say about the two lovebirds.

I will publish a short biography of each person concerned in the last post of this series. Enjoy!

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