I haven’t seen my godmother much as she died when I was only 5 years old. But I do remember her. And such memories have nothing to do with the magnificent young girl pictured in this photo at age 16. She is so beautiful, she looks like a Hollywood actress of the 1920s! What about her eyes! As her parents had a hard time making ends meet, I am also surprised she was able to go to a photographer. Is it possible that there were photos of the other children that would be lost today?
Statistics
Letter L: 9% for the Hubou-Tourvilles’ first names.
Louis, Louis, Lewis, Louis, Louis and Louis again! Larry, Léopold. A few Lillie, Lizzie, Lottie. And Lucie, Lucienne, Lucille!
Kind of Funny
Lulu!
The 2016 ChallengeAZ is proposed by Sophie Boudarel of La Gazette des ancêtres
I’m cheating again since dealing with the letter K is difficult, especially in French! Kathryn Hoban—from Wilkes-Bare, Pennsylvania—was the wife of Jesse Herndon Tourville—from St. Louis, Missouri—a very colourful man who was a palmist. Married in Niagara Falls in 1905, the couple’s life was so astonishing that I could easily write a novel about it. Kathryn is the first person for whom I have discovered a picture in a newspaper. I would have never thought old newspapers would prove so helpful to get to know what a person looked like except, of course, for recent obituaries.
Very recently, I found this picture of John Trowville. You may remember that I went to South Hero, Vermont, just a few weeks ago. Born about 1838 in the same town, he lived there most of his life, except for the years he was a private in the Civil War, having fought with the Vermont 13th Infantry Regiment, Company H. I do not have that many pictures of Civil War soldiers so I’m glad I got this one! John reminds me of a famous French actor that you may or may not know, Jean Rochefort.
I was a bit disappointed when I realized I had no picture of Isabelle Tourville. And then I remembered that I had seen a picture of her in Hanover, New Hampshire, a book of the Images of America series—a collection that I just love. These books feature photos telling the story of little towns or neighborhoods across the United States. I cannot post her picture, but same can be viewed by clicking on the book link 
Isn’t it a wonderful picture? I am still amazed that I have the chance to actually discover the face of someone born in 1821! But let me do proper introductions first. This is Hyacinthe Tourville. To help you understand how you may be related to him, Hyacinthe is the grandson of Michel Tourville and Catherine Marié as well as the nephew of Charles Tourville and Sophie Arpajou. He lived his whole life in Saint-François-de-Sales—he was even buried in the parish cemetery. Married twice, he lost his first wife after only four years of marriage.
Graziella Tourville was born in 1891, in Saint-François-de-Sales. She is the granddaughter of Hyacinthe Tourville and Marguerite Meunier. Her first name is really typical of the end of the 19th century’s trend when practically all female first names ended with the letter “A”, like Gratia, Rosa, Ida, Priscilla, Georgiana, Florida and so many others. How old do you think she is in this picture? Probably not more than twenty years old. As she got married at 22, I believe that this picture was taken well before that.
This picture is a victory for me. How many times have we written the name of a child in our tree and that he vanished without leaving a trace? Son of Alphonse Tourville and Valérie Rose, baptized Joseph-Charles-Alphonse in 1868, in Montréal, I found him under the first name of Alphonse in the 1880 US Census in Chicago. Years later, a descendant of Alphonse and Valérie send me photos, including this one. Who is he? I asked. Frederick, he answered, who died at age 22 in 1891. Two documents proved his existence, one picture brought him to life.
While doing my genealogical research, I couldn’t help notice that among the characters who have fascinated me over the years, were several Étienne. The first that comes to mind is Étienne Tourville, also known as Peter Stephen, who lived in Vergennes, VT, and Chateaugay, NY (pictured above). Then my 4X great-grandfather who died at 95 years old! How could I forget Étienne Arpajou, a.k.a. Peter Parish, that I have sought after for so long? And Étienne Brunet, of Saint-Sorlin, my friend 
I have much admiration for Doralice Tourville. My great-grand-aunt, born in 1855, left Lachenaie with her family to settle in Montréal in 1862. Shortly thereafter, her father passed away. For years, the family moved from one tenement to another. Doralice was a tobacco cutter at MacDonald Tobacco as was her sister Elmire. At a time when fewer than 20% of the Montrealers owned their house, with her salary and her sister’s, she managed to help her mother buy a house. This house was owned by the Tourvilles for about a century.
When my aunt gave me that picture, more than twenty years ago, I couldn’t believe that he was my great-great-grandfather Charles Tourville, born in Lachenaie, in 1840, as I knew he was a carpenter. I then thought he looked so much like a notary on that picture. A closer observation reveals he actually had the same physical features as his sister Elmire. When my uncle died about ten years ago, I inherited a lot of funeral cards, including Charles Tourville’s. Well, it was him indeed. Dear aunt, please accept my apologies for having doubted you!