French Canadians Living in Ferrisburgh, VT in 1850: #5 Marie Lepire

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Marie Lepire is listed in the 1850 US Census for Ferrisburgh. She is referred to as Mary Fosha on Page 312 (stamped), Line 41, Household 291, with the following persons listed, respectively, on lines 40 and 42 for her husband Mitchiel and son Batase and five other children on the next page, on lines 1 to 5:

  • Mitchiel Fosha
  • Batase Fosha
  • Anthony Fosha
  • Fransis Fosha
  • Sophia Fosha
  • John Fosha
  • Mary Fosha

Mitchiel is Marie’s husband, Michel Forcier, and the others are some of their children, Batase, Anthony, Fransis, Sophia, John and Mary. The surnames Fushia, Fosha, Forcier and Fortier were sometimes used in various records. For instance, on her death record, Marie is known as Marie Lepire Forcier, but her sons Joseph and John died in California and were known as Fusha.

And… Surprise! Marie’s paternal ancestor is from Portugal!

marie lepire

Name Transcribed from the 1850 US Census:Fosha, Mary
Last Name:Lepire
First & Middle Name:Marie
Sex:F
Original Surname in Québec:Lepire
Earliest Known Paternal Ancestor:Sebastian Henne married to Anne Consalue. From the parish of St-Martin, diocese of Braga, Portugal. Their son Martin Pire Henne was immigrated to New France. He married Françoise Du Faye from Champagne, France, in Québec's Notre-Dame Parish on 15 Oct 1674.
Status:Born in Québec; came with spouse and children
Parents' Name:Antoine Lepire & Marie Lambert
Parents' Marriage Date & Place:9 Nov 1801, Yamaska (Saint-Michel), Richelieu, Québec, Canada
Spouse:Michel Forcier
Marriage Date & Place:6 Feb 1826, Yamaska (Saint-Michel), Richelieu, Québec, Canada
Other Spouses:N/A
Vital Information:
Birth Date & Place:7 May 1805, Yamaska, Richelieu, Québec, Canada
Baptismal Date & Place:7 May 1805, Yamaska (Saint-Michel), Richelieu, Québec, Canada
Death Date & Place:16 May 1892, Holyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts
Burial Date & Place:aft 16 May 1892, South Hadley Falls Cemetery, South Hadley Falls, Hampden, Massachusetts
Naturalization Date & Place:N/A
Land Owner in Ferrisburgh:No
Military:N/A
Religion:Catholic
Life Before Ferrisburgh:Born and married in Yasmaska (Saint-Michel Parish), Marie Lepire and her husband Michel lived there until they left for Ferrisburgh, Vermont, around 1836. They shortly came back to Québec as their son John W. (Jean) was baptized in Saint-Aimé in 1843.
Life After Ferrisburgh:Marie, a widow by 1860, was living in Vergennes. In 1870, she was in the household of Leon Pomeroy of that city as a domestic servant and in 1880, she was living with the family of her son John W. As he left for California around 1885, it's probably then that she made her home in Holyoke, MA where her daughter Sophie was living with husband Frank Guertin. Marie Lepire died in Holyoke in 1892 and was buried in South Hadley Falls cemetery.
Notes:Information was taken from the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 US Census, Vital Records for the town of Vergennes, Vermont and Holyoke, Massachusetts, Parish Repertoire of Burlington and Vergennes, Vermont and Collection Drouin (Quebec parish records).

Last Updated: January 28, 2016


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