Nettie Germain (née Tourville) (1837-1907)

Three of Charles Tourville’s and Sophie Arpajou‘s daughters, Dométhilde, Marie-Édesse and Philomène, gave me such a hard time for so long. Let me explain.

Dométhilde, the sixth child of our couple, was born March 14, 1837, in Saint-Hughes, and was baptized on the next day in Saint-Jude Parish. Right after her was born Marie-Édesse on February 16, 1839, probably in Vermont as she was baptized much later, on July 7 of the same year in Saint-Jude Parish.

Now, if we look at the 1840 US Census for Addison County in Vermont, for the town of Ferrisburgh, Charles Tourville is most probably the man listed with his family under the name of Charles Doulville, living rather close to Peter Larrow, married to his niece Catherine LaCount.

NameAge in 1840 US CensusActual Age at June 1, 1840
CharlesMale 40 to under 5038
SophiaFemale 30 to under 4029
CharlesMale 10 to under 1511
SophiaFemale 5 to under 1010
Peter StephenMale 5 to under 104
DométhildeFemale under 53
Marie-ÉdesseFemale under 51

Even with the little age discrepancy for each of the family members, I am pretty confident that this is the family of Charles Tourville and Sophie Arpajou.

The next document I have and that is listing all the living minor children’s ages is a tutorship act dated as of September 25, 1851.

NameAge Listed in Tutorship ActActual Age
Étienne (Peter Stephen)1616
Marie-Édesse1412
Philomène1014
Julie88 (according to 1900 US Census; baptismal act was never found)
Louis67
Joseph55

Remember about my big mistake mentioned in Matilda’s post published less than two years ago? When I was looking at Marie-Édesse’s and Philomène’s names, I came to one conclusion: the notary made a mistake; Marie-Édesse was born in 1839; she is supposed to be 12, not 14; and Philomène is probably Dométhilde, born in 1837, as she should be 14 not 10; the notary probably just mixed up the order of the girls’ birth.

Marie-Édesse, I thought, was the woman named Edith listed in the 1850 US Census, age 11, born 1839, alias Mary, who married Dwight Daniels about 1858 in Ferrisburgh or Vergennes.

As for Philomène, she was the one who married Edward Beauchemin in Chateaugay, NY.

So when I discovered that Nettie, mentioned in Matilda’s post, I couldn’t believe it. Where does she come from?

As you know, I was checking out LaQuires’ index cards when I saw this name: Nettie Tourville, mother of a child, father was Joseph Saint-Germain. Philomène, Nettie, Dométhilde… It had to be the same person.

So imagine my surprise while perusing at Burlington’s St. Marys Church baptismal records in Vermont, when I found a baptismal act for a woman named Philomène in 1841! I was all mixed up! And the confusion was not over yet.

One thing for sure: Dométhilde and Marie-Édesse were both alive in 1840 as per the ages listed in the US Census for that year. But now that I had a baptismal act for a daughter named Philomène, I had to go back to the drawing board:

  • Dométhilde, born March 14, 1837
  • Marie-Édesse, born February 16, 1839
  • Philomène, born before May 16, 1841

Suddenly, the listing of said tutorship act made sense:

  • The real Dométhilde was called Marie-Édesse; she was 14.
  • The real Marie-Édesse was dead (she would have been 12 in 1851).
  • Philomène was Philomène, age 10!

Noteworthy fact: If the real Marie-Édesse was dead by 1851, could she have been “Estelle” who was buried in St. Patrick’s cemetery lot with her parents?

Let’s go back to Nettie.

In the census as well as in Vermont vital records, the first name Nettie is consistently used.

In church records, it’s another story though. Netty is identified as Ada, Adeste and Adela.

Adeste? For Édesse? Adela? For Dométhilde? Why, Nettie, why…? I was going nuts! I searched for a death record for Nettie and luckily I got it. She died in Brandon, Rutland County, Vermont:

Place of Death: Brandon, Vermont
Full Name: Nettie Germain
Sex: Female
Status: Married
Age: 69 years, 3 months, 27 days
Occupation: Housewife
Birthplace: Canada
Name of Parents: Charles and Nettie Turville (sic)
Date of Death: August 3, 1907
Cause of Death: Heart Disease

If we compute Nettie’s age when she died with her death date, we will come up to March 6, 1838, as a birthdate, the date inscribed on the tombstone. It would not be the first time that the birth year given is off by one year. The fact that the day and month of birth is given as just 8 days off the real date leads me to believe that in fact Nettie was Dométhilde, alias Marie-Édesse, Ada, Adeste or Adela. The age given in the three following censuses tends to confirm this:

  • 1870, born about 1836
  • 1880, born about 1836
  • 1900, born March 1836

Now, at this point, you may argue that Nettie might only be another daughter born in March 1836. This is doubtful because she would have been born only seven months after her brother Peter Stephen.

Further to our review of the 1850 US Census for Chateaugay, New York, we had assumed that Sophie Arpajou was already dead. The fact that three of the minor children are missing (Peter Stephen, Dométhilde and Philomène) is rather confusing. As Charles was a widower, he probably got help from family to take care of some of the children.

Thank God for that 1851 inventory after death!

So, what about Edith, age 11, listed in the 1850 US Census for Chateaugay? There are two possibilities: she could have been the “real” Marie-Édesse, who died between 1850 and 1851; or maybe she is Dométhilde called Edith with the wrong age?

Confused? You’re not alone! To conclude, here are the three sisters:

  • Dométhilde (alias Nettie, Adeste, etc.), born March 14, 1837, in Saint-Hughes, died on August 3, 1907, in Brandon, Vermont. She was buried in St. Marys Cemetery of said town. She married Joseph Saint-Germain about 1857.
  • Marie-Édesse, born February 16, 1839, probably in Vermont, died before September 25, 1851. She might be Estelle who was buried with her parents in St. Patrick’s Cemetery (no burial date).
  • Philomène (alias Mary or Mary P.), born before May 16, 1841, in Vermont, married to Dwight Daniels about 1858, probably died in Grand Haven in the late 1870s or early 1880s (she is the topic of one of my most notorious cold cases).
Tombstone of the Germains in St. Marys Cemetery in Brandon, Vermont [Personal Collection of Diane Tourville]

Tombstone of the Germains in St. Marys Cemetery in Brandon, Vermont [Personal Collection of Diane Tourville]


Mrs. Joseph Germain died suddenly Saturday morning at her home near the station. She was 69 years of age and beside a husband is survived by five daughters and two sons. [Middlebury Register, Middlebury, Vermont, Friday, August 9, 1907, page 3]


Mrs. Peter Blair, Mrs. William Kent and Mrs. Felix Cole were called to Brandon Sunday by the death of their mother, Mrs. Joseph Germain of that town, who died rather suddenly, at age of 69 years. [Middlebury Register, Middlebury, Vermont, Friday, August 9, 1907, page 10]