Newspaper Nuggets — Médard Tourville (1822-1872): His Disappearance from Records Explained

The name of Médard Tourville was challenging me on my Most Wanted List for way too long. Still, I knew he died between 1871—he was listed on the Canadian Census for that year—and August 1873, when his son Olivier was married. Continue reading

The Bangle Files: #31 | Life for Marie Tourville’s Children After William Bangle’s Passing

Once the main subject of our research has died—William Bangle (1765-1821) in our case—we typically tend to forget about the widow and divert our attention to the children, usually only after their marriage. I will indeed focus on Marie Tourville in my next post, but what I am most interested in here is how this family unit worked. Continue reading

The Mystery of Louise Tourville’s Birthdate (née Corriveau) (~1800-1875)

Cousin Denise was searching in vain for the baptismal record of Louise Corriveau (“our” Louise—as we will call her here for ease of reference—was married to her ancestor François Tourville/Courville), when she contacted me and correctly pointed out that one of our Louise’s sisters was called… Marie-Louise. I thought what an interesting puzzle that is!

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My 2018 French ChallengeAZ in 100 Words: Z for Zezare

Let’s end this challenge with one of the funniest surname variations I have ever found in the Ferrisburgh Town Vital Records. I was in Salt Lake City, leaning over the microfilm reader, when I noticed a family name ending in “ville”. Who is this? Isn’t it Sophie Tourville’s marriage I am trying to establish for years? Yes, it is! The bride is indeed Sophie Tourville—or Sophia Curville as per the record—and the groom is Joseph Giguère—spelled Joseph Zezare! Isn’t this the proof that sometimes indexes are not that useful and that you need to go through everything?


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Ovila Tourville (1885-1950) and the Gas Main Leak

The first time I went to Europe, I was quite young and still living at home with my parents. While abroad, I had noticed that all the people I visited were using gas ranges for cooking and I really liked that.

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Montréal Newspaper Nuggets: David Tourville (1867-1908)

We know from her obituary that Julie Tourville née Bélisle has left four children in mourning at the time of her death in 1912. Just before her, in 1908, passed away her last-born child, David Tourville. Continue reading

Genealogy Investigations in Missouri and Illinois #2: Sophie Rousselle and her three—or four—husbands

Sophie RousselleÉmilie‘s sister and third-born child of Pierre Rousselle and Françoise Gagné—was born on November 19, 1807. She was baptized one month later, on December 20, at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, in Florissant, Missouri.

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Montréal Newspaper Nuggets: Charles Tourville (1840-1916)

Charles Tourville is my great-great-grandfather. He was born in Lachenaie in 1840. He moved to Montréal with his parents and siblings in 1862, and married three years later my great-great-grandmother Marie-Louise Lascelle. Continue reading

Manitoba Newspaper Nuggets: Marie-Louise Tourville (née Labelle) (1858-1931)

Residential Brandon. Looking West. Credit: Albertype Company/Library and Archives Canada/PA-031622

As you may remember, some of Prosper Tourville and Julie Bélisle’s children emigrated to the West. While daughters Marie-Louise and Julia, and son Magloire (Mack) settled in Montana—Marie-Louise will actually return with third husband to Montréal—, their son Napoléon and wife Marie-Louise Labelle had chosen Brandon, Manitoba as their home—and so did Napoléon’s brother David.

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Genealogy Investigations in Missouri and Illinois #1: Charles Tourville and Émilie Rousselle

By now, you ought to know about my passion for Tourvilles living in Missouri. What basically started with the sole objective of coming up with the death places and dates of Charles Tourville and Émilie Rousselle’s two daughters turned into an extensive and captivating research project—a real obsession. Continue reading