I Love/Hate French Records

A family friend and fellow genealogy enthusiast recently showed me that he was able to use French records in the Drouin Collection to take Mary Rose Statuto’s family back another couple generations. This has been exciting and helpful. I’ve used the Drouin Collection when researching my Goulet ancestors, but I have always found them frustrating for two main reasons. First, they are in French. Second, they are often hard to read due to the condition of the documents. Still, thanks to my friend and these records, I am now going further back into my father’s family than I have ever been able to before. 

Mary Rose Statuto’s parents were Peter Statuto and Marie Therrien. On their marriage record, Peter’s family is listed as Carmenandonio and Carminella. Marie Therrien’s parents are recorded as Hubert Therrien and Mathilda Grondin. After finding this, I immediately searched for Hubert and Mathilda in earlier Canadian records. What I found was a family on the 1881 and 1891 Canadian census for Nicolet, Quebec, Canada.

Hubert and Emilie Therrien - Nicolet, Quebec, Canada 1881

As you can see, there is a problem. Hubert Therrien was listed, even an appropriately aged Marie was listed, but Mathilda was not. I saved the records until I could know more about the family, as I did not feel secure in just claiming these people as ancestors without more evidence. That evidence was shown to me last weekend. 

A friend sent me an email showing how he had used French-Canadian baptismal and marriage records in the Drouin Collection to connect the family in the census to the Hubert Therrien I had been looking for. I had come across only some of the records my friend pointed out to me and had put them aside because I could not read the French. However, now having taken the time to look at these records more closely I can honestly say I love/hate French records. 

 I had obviously used records in the Drouin Collection when researching my Goulet line, but most of the records I needed had English translations I could find. Goulet is a very well researched surname. Therrien is also a well researched surname, but I needed to connect my Therriens to other Therrien families in order to compare research. 

 As it turns out, Emilie Therrien (nee Boisvert) is the second wife of Hubert Therrien, which I would have seen if I had not embraced laziness and actually struggled to look at the French marriage records of Hubert. 

Hubert Therrien and the interestingly named Domithilde (not Mathilda) were married in 1870 in Quebec. Domithilde died in 1874. The very next year Hubert married Emilie Boisvert, who appears in the 1881 census. On the 1875 marriage record of Hubert and Emilie, it very clearly states “Hubert Therrien, veuf de Domithilde Grondin.” The term, “veuf de,” I came to learn meant “widower of.”

Enter Hubert Therrien, widower of Domithilde Grondin . . . .

I am still working on creating a direct translation of both of Hubert’s marriage documents. They are hard. In addition, I cannot really claim this discovery as my own. My friend had made the connection already and basically showed me. I have been inspired, however, to begin translating additional documents associated with this family.

I began with Marie and Hubert Therrien’s baptismal records. Using some Spanish, some online translating, and not a small amount of patience, I was able to (I think) correctly translate a good portion of these documents. I must admit, any corrections and additions to my translations are welcome. 

Marie Therrien - Baptismal Record

My translation of the above record:
The 20th of February
One Thousand eight hundred seventy (one?) We, priest …………………………have baptized Marie Euthichienne born the same day, of the legitimate marriage of Hubert Terrien (cultivator?) and of Domithilde Grondin of this parish. The godfather was Michael Terrien cultivator, father of (the father or brother of the child?) and the godmother was Angelique Bussiere grandmother of this ………………………………………….    ……………………………………………………………………………

Hubert Therrien - Baptismal Record

My translation of the above record: 
The 19th of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty four. We, priest …………….  have baptized Hubert born the day before of the legitimate marriage of Michael Terrien (cultivator?) and of Angelique Bussiere of Saint Zepharin. …............
…………Godmother Marie Louise Therrien …………………………………   …………… ………………… ……………………………………….

If I have the translation correct, I am assuming the occupation of cultivator simply meant farmer. Also, I am unclear if the godfather of Marie was her grandfather, who was named Michael Terrien, or an uncle of the same name. 

So, as I said, I love/hate these French documents. Obviously, they are a gold mine of family information. They carefully include parent names and godparents, who were generally related in some way. They also include birth dates, which can otherwise be hard to find. However, they are very difficult to read. Not only are they in French, which is not much of a hindrance in 2014, but they are extremely difficult to make out clearly. I showed them to the French teacher at my school and he said it was impossible.

However, I have absolutely taken a lot from these records. Not only the names of the previous generation, but the siblings of Marie Therrien. In my post concerning Peter Statuto's run-ins with the law, I came across a man named Philip Terien, who had stolen a chain and had stashed it in Peter’s basement. I had noted that a man with a very similar name appeared on the 1920 Census showing Mary Rose Statuto living with her sister Amelia Gilman in Pepperell. At the time, I wondered how the man might be related. Now, based on names listed on the 1881 census I can be fairly certain that Phillipe (or Philip) Therrein was the uncle of Mary Rose. 

Though I still don’t know the paternal ancestry of my grandfather, Peter Francis Daley, tracing his mother’s family is now the closest I’ve come to learning where my own father’s family came from. In my future research, I hope to trace the Therrien family back even further using these French records. I know my Goulet line came from Normandel to New France during the Percheron Immigration. The Therrien family probably has a similar history. I aim to find out.

Jacques Goulet 1615 - 1688

I have not written much about my mother’s side of my family on this blog, so I thought I would correct that with my next few posts. In addition, I thought it might be interesting to go backwards from my oldest known maternal ancestor to some of my most recent maternal ancestors. Since that is my chosen pattern, I will start with my 10th great grandfather, Jacques Goulet. 

Jacques Goulet is one of the oldest ancestors I have on my family tree for which I can prove a documented connection. Since the amount of people one shares common ancestors with increases the further one goes back into history, I am sure this same statement could be said for a lot of family historians. Luckily for all of us, Jacques’ history is pretty well researched.

Jacques Goulet was born in Normandel, France on April 17, 1615. Normandel is an area in the Lower Normandy region of France. The parents of Jacuqes were Thomas Goulet (b. 1612) and Antoinette Felliard. Thomas and Antoinette also had two daughters; Louise Goulet (b. 1619) and YvonneGoulet (b.1622).

Like his father, Jacuqes Goulet was wheat miller. He worked on a farm in France called Le Chatelets. In November 12, 1645,  Jacques Goulet married Margeurite Mulier at St. Pierre Church in La Poterie-au-Perche, France. This church is still standing. 

St Pierre Church - Source

Jacques Goulet was recruited to make the journey to Quebec by an investor in the Company of One Hundred Associates, which was a French company specializing in immigration and fur trade in the New World. He, his wife, and sister became part of a large group of immigrants from the Perche area of France who left their homes in exchange for land in the New World. This high rate of immigration from a single place was called the Percheron Immigration.

There remains a plaque at the St. Pierre Church in La Poterie-au-Perche commemorating the departure of Jacques Goulet and his sister. It reads (translated in English of course), “To Jacques Goulet born on April 17, 1615 in Normandel and Louise Goulet, born Poterie on July 26, 1628, wife of René Le Tarte, left La Poterie for Canada. “I Remember” The phrase "Je Me Soviens" (I Remember) would later become the official motto of Quebec, perhaps signifying an intentional connection to their past and their ancestry as French immigrants.

The Plaque at St. Pierre's - Source

After arriving in Quebec, Jacques and Margeurite had their first child. Ultimately, the couple would have 11 children in New France.

- Genevieve – b. 28 Oct. 1646
- Nicolas – b. 14 Dec. 1647 (Great Grandad x9)
- Jacques – b. 9 April 1649
- Rene – b. 27 Oct 1650
- Louis – b. 26 Aug 1653
- Charles – b. 1656
- Thomas – b. 24 March 1660
- Francois – 1664
- Antoine – b. 20 Aug. 1666
- Joseph – b. 27 March 1669
- Margeurite – b. 27 June 1675

In Quebec, Goulet continued his work as a miller. He became very successful, doubling the amount of land he owned between 1667 and 1681. He owned a gun and also a horse, which was apparently rare in colonial Quebec. Jacques died at the age of 73 on 26 November 1688. He is buried in the cemetery at L’Ange-Gadien.

Jacques Goulet and Mageurite became the common ancestors of almost all of the Goulets in North America. People from all walks of life; actors, politicians, artists, authors, singers; can all clame to be directly descended from Jacques. So far he is one of the only pioneer ancestors I have on my tree and I certainly share him with quite a crowd. I think it would be common to find that the Goulets might even be related to two separate French-Canadian branches of your family.

My branch of the Goulet family remained in Quebec until my great-great grandfather, Pierre Joseph Goulet (b. 29 Jan 1866) arrived in the US in 1874. Pierre married Marie Cedulie Gagnon (b. 1866) in Fall River, Ma in 1887. throughout their lives the two were both employed as mill workers in Fall River, Ma and in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

I’ve always known a bit about my French-Canadian ancestry while growing up. However, I only realized how extensive it really was as an adult. My maternal grandmother, Jeanne Josephine Goulet (1917  - 1998), spoke French as her first language while growing up in a household with a French-Canadian father and a Belgian mother. My mother and aunts often recall speaking French with their grandmother as young children. However, my mother will admit she would need practice to pick it back up. Sadly, though my grandmother was fluent, I never heard her or her cousins speak French during their lives at all. As for me, I know very little.

My maternal grandmother (Grammy) Jeanne Josephine Goulet -  right

Though enculturation and assimilation have erased a good deal of my French heritage, I now feel a greater connection to it than I ever had before. Along with Ireland, I absolutely want to visit Normandel, France and probably Quebec first. There are so many Goulet connected places to visit it's astounding. Until then all I can say is “Je Me Soviens”  - “I remember.”