52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #12: Philomène Leblanc (1847-1915)

PhilomeneI discovered recently that I have an Acadian line. I am very excited about this because I have never done any serious research about that line.

My paternal great-grandmother, Philomène Leblanc, married Joseph Tourville on April 30, 1883, at Ste-Brigide Church in Montréal. Joseph had lost his first wife, Georgiana Dufault, six months earlier. With seven young children still living, he was probably looking for a new wife to help him raise the children.

Philomène was born on July 8, 1847 and baptized the next day in St-Jacques-de-l’Achigan in Québec. Her parents were Pierre Leblanc and Émilie Gaudet, all of Acadian ancestry. Her father was a farmer first in St-Jacques and then in St-Liguori-de-Montcalm. They left St-Liguori for Montréal shortly after Émilie’s death in July 1873. After her father’s death in 1879, Philomène was living with her sister and brother-in-law. According to the Lovell Directory and 1881 Canadian Census, she was a dressmaker. When she married Joseph, she was almost 36 years old. She had 6 children with Joseph, all died in infancy except the first-born, my grandfather Ovila.

Philomène died on May 5, 1915, at age 67 in Montréal and is buried in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery.

Philomène Leblanc (1847-1915), my paternal great-grandmother, was an Acadian.

Philomène Leblanc (1847-1915), my paternal great-grandmother, was an Acadian.

Since I have been looking for her four ancestral lines, I learned so much. I am very much interested as of what happened to my 4th great-grandparents who were deported to Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1755. On my next trip to Salt Lake City, I hope to get some work done on that fascinating line!


52 Ancestors / 52 Weeks is an idea proposed by Amy Johnson Crow. Link on the image for more details about it.

52 Ancestors / 52 Weeks is an idea proposed by Amy Johnson Crow. Link on the image for more details about it.