French Canadians Living in Ferrisburgh, VT in 1850: #8 Marie Cognac

vermont 2016

Mary Sorrell (née Cognac) is listed in the 1850 US Census for Ferrisburgh. She is referred to as Mary Sorell on Page 306 (stamped), Line 18, Household 190, with the following persons listed, respectively, on lines 17 and 19 to 21:

  • Oliver Sorell
  • Joseph Sorell
  • Mary Sorell
  • Oliver S. Sorell

Oliver is Mary’s husband, and the others are some of their children, Joseph, Mary (baptized Marie-Virginie) and Oliver S. Information about the children’s place of birth is accurate. We can therefore assume that Mary and her family emigrated to Ferrisburgh between 1847 and 1849.

oliver sorrel

Name Transcribed from the 1850 US Census:Sorell, Mary
Last Name:Cognac
First & Middle Name:Mary
Sex:F
Original Surname in Québec:Cognac dit Léveillé or Coignat
Earliest Known Paternal Ancestor:Jean-Claude Cognac & Marie Perreault from L’Abergement-de-Varey, Ain Department, France. Their son Pierre, born about 1729, came to New France as a soldier from the Douglas Company, Languedoc's Regiment. He married Josephte Lefort on 21 Feb 1757 in Chambly. He was buried there on 20 Mar 1789.
Status:Born in Québec; came with spouse and children
Parents' Name:Antoine Cognac & Marie Dubuc
Parents' Marriage Date & Place:12 Apr 1825, Chambly (Saint-Joseph), Chambly, Québec, Canada
Spouse:Oliver Sorrell
Marriage Date & Place:6 Feb 1844, Chambly (Saint-Joseph), Chambly, Québec, Canada
Other Spouses:N/A
Vital Information:
Birth Date & Place:Abt 1830, probably Marieville, Québec, Canada
Baptismal Date & Place:Unknown
Death Date & Place:16 Jul 1898, Ferrisburgh, Addison County, Vermont
Burial Date & Place:19 Jul 1898, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery, East Charlotte, Chittenden, Vermont
Naturalization Date & Place:N/A
Land Owner in Ferrisburgh:To be determined (from the probate files of her husband, Oliver)
Military:N/A
Religion:Catholic
Life Before Ferrisburgh:At the time of her marriage, Mary was living in Chambly, where she probably grew up after her father died in Marieville in 1833. After her marriage, Mary lived in Chambly probably until she left for Ferrisburgh between 1847 and 1849. Their eldest is baptized in Saint-Mathias in 1845, where Oliver was a farmer.
Life After Ferrisburgh:Mary lived in Ferrisburgh until her sudden death in 1898. She was the mother of eight children. Mary wrote her will on March 31, 1897:

"I Mary Sorelle of Ferrisburgh in the County of Addison and State of Vermont do make and publish this my last will and testament as follows:
~ I give devise and bequeath to my daughter Rose B. Thompson my bed and bedding that I now use and all my wearing apparel.

It is my will that forty dollars be expended by my son Charles O for my burial and ten dollars for masses for the repose of my soul, and that the same be repaid to him out of my estate.

All the rest residue and remainder of my estate I give devise and bequeath to my four sons Oliver, Adolphus, Damase and Charles O. in equal shares […]."
Notes:Information was taken from the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 US Census, Parish Repertoire of Burlington, Vergennes and Charlotte, Vermont, Addison County Probate Records, Find-a-Grave Website and Collection Drouin (Quebec parish records).

Last Updated: February 18, 2016


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