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.
Statistics
Letter G: near 5% for the Hubou-Tourvilles’ first names.
Wow, so many George, Georgette and Georgiana! A few Geneviève, Germaine and Gertrude. More recently Gilbert, Gérard, Gérald, Gustave, Grace, Gratia and Graziella were quite common.
Kind of Funny
When I hear the first name Godfroid, I always think of a butler character in a movie.

The 2016 ChallengeAZ is proposed by Sophie Boudarel of La Gazette des ancêtres
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!
I must confess Blanche is one of my favourite given names. And I adore this picture of Blanche Tourville Brown—Peter Ovide Tourville and Anna Schenot’s elder daughter—born in Nebraska in 1899, herein appearing with her two daughters, Nadine and Betty Jean, born in 1919 and 1922 respectively. The first time I saw it, I couldn’t help thinking of
Oops, breaking my own rules! Adolida was my maternal grandmother, not a Tourville. Her first name was chosen by her illiterate mother, likely after an actress. I was told she hated it. Catholic sisters didn’t like it either as it was not a saint’s first name. “What kind of parents do you have? A name like Table or Chair wouldn’t have made any difference!” Well, she was not the only one named like this. I found four others in the 1921 Canadian Census (two of them were born the same year as my grandmother). Do you know any Adolidas?
As you know, we have identified three children from
The scene takes place in the Notary Public Joseph Turgeon’s office on March 10, 1789. Marie-Dorothée,