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Blasts from the Past: Unraveling Our Families’ Explosive Histories
The adage “if you play with dynamite, you’re bound to get blown up” resonates deeply within both my wife’s and my family histories, each marked by a harrowing tale of dynamite. The intriguing part? These incidents occurred within a few years and few miles from each other, despite my wife being a Southern Peach and…
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Tanguay’s Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families
One of the sources widely used by English speaking descendants of French-Canadians is Tanguay’s Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes or Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families. It’s a relatively simple research tool that can be use to identify the kinship between different French-Canadians prior to 1763
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September of 1658 in Montreal
An interesting series of events occurred in Montreal during September of 1658 which historians have failed to adequately document. The men of the Grand Recrue who had signed 5 year commitments with Chomedey sieur de Maisonneuve now found themselves in Montreal and at the end of their contract term. Most of these men would settle…
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1835 Marriage of Charles Martelle and Archange Hémeri
This is an analysis of the marriage record for Charles Martin and Mary Emery dite Codere of Highgate, Vermont, my 3rd great-grandparents Determining kinship often involves sifting through evidence, a process that, while straightforward in many cases, can sometimes morph into a meticulous investigation requiring deep analysis of all available data. Imagine each piece of…
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Lewis Martin Pension Packet #219698 – Pages 28-30
Three pages of Lewis Martin’s pension packet provide an intriguing look into the postmaster of Highgate Center opinion of the Martin family.
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The Parentage of Nora Williams
I learned a new word today: the word was gallimaufry, and it means “a confused jumble or medley of things.” That word will accurately describe my investigation into the parentage of Nora!
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Vincent Croteau and Jeanne Godequin
Here’s a story of a man named Vincent, and a maiden named Jeanne, and how they, on 22 Sep 1669, inside the home of Lady Bourdon in the city of Quebec, came together to sign a contract of marriage in front of the Notary Romain Bequet. This couple’s legacy is largely seen in the progression…
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Grandma’s Grandma was an Indian
Grandma’s Grandma was an Indian. Or was it Grandma’s Great-Grandma? That is the legend that was passed down to me from my father, and to him by his mother. While the tribe and details changed depending on who I talked to in the family – some had grandma’s grandma as a full-blood, one cousin claimed…
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Louis Hébert, the first European settler of Quebec
In Quebec City, the Louis Hébert Monument stands in the corner of the garden of the Hôtel-de-Ville. The work of Canadian sculptor, Alfred Laliberté, the statue represents Louis Hébert, the first European settler of Canada, standing on the plinth, offering to God the first sheaf of wheat harvested on Canadian soil. At the base of…
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Certified genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow, created a program by which she encourages genealogists to write about 52 ancestors each week over the whole year. Since I was making a renewed effort to actually put down on paper all the stories my 40 years + research has accumulated, I thought in 2021 that I would take…
