Who was my third grandmother? Which one of these women married Moyse Hypolite  Fortin? Were they cousins? Were there mistakes in the information I was finding? I needed answers.

Genealogy requires exact details and facts in order to get the story right. As a new genealogist I learned this very quickly.

In the case of my third great grandmother there were conflicting reports. One day I would find Henriette Bertrand in Ile Perrot and then later find an Henriette Bertrand in Vaudreuil. The dates varied by only two years and they fit in with the time frame of my third great grandfather.

The two communities are very close to one another, a matter of only a few kilometers.

It soon became apparent that there were in fact two Henriettes. I found the baptismal  document on line for Henriette 2. The discovery made me realize that perhaps I had been researching the wrong person.

At this point I needed clarification. I made a visit to Centre d’histoire La Presqu’íle in Vaudreuil and was able with the help of the archivist learn for certain which of the Henriettes was the correct one. Now I had what appeared to be a monumental task ahead. Research had  been done for Henriette 1 thinking she was the right person.  Now, this lineage was of little value as she was not one of my ancestors. This meant  starting over with Henriette 2 and tracing her line.

The archivist was very helpful finding documentation and pointing out the right direction to proceed.

This was indeed a valuable lesson and I am grateful having  learned it early on in my research. It has constantly been a reminder that before making the next move, make certain you have as many exact verified facts as possible  about the particular person you are researching. That way you can avoid  mistakes.

The following two documents were found on Ancestry-Drouin Collection

Baptism:

Burial

Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1967

Name: Henriette Bertrand Event: Enterrement (Burial) Burial Year: 1815-1900 Burial Location: Montebello, Québec (Quebec) Source Information: Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Comparison of data for the two Henriettes

Henriette Bertrand   1                                                                    Henriette Bertrand 2

Born:  December 28, 1811 in Vaudreuil                                  Born March 7, 1813 in Ile Perrot

—————————————                                                       Died November 5, 1838

Mother:  Apoline St. Julien                                                           Mother:  Scholastique Sabourin

Born: Nov 6. 1783 in Vaudreuil                                                 Born:  1789 in Rigaud

Died:  Aug 2, 1834 in Vaudreuil                                                 Died:  July 28 1821 in Rigaud

—————————————                                                       Married: September 12 1831 in Montebello

Father:  Francois Vital Bertrand                                                  Father: Francois Joseph Bertrand

Born:  Jan 4, 1780 in Vaudreuil                                                   Born 1784

Died:  July 11, 1859 in St. Joeph du lac                                      Died:  1832 in Ste Justine de Newton

In 1832 Henriette  2   married Moyse Hypolite Fortin, my third great grandfather. She died November 5, 1838 at the age of twenty-five  in Montebello,  having given him a daughter, Leocadie Fortin, my great-grandmother and a son, Louis.

       

               Centre d’histoire La Presqu’íle

Achives regionales de Vaudreuil Soulanges

431 BC St. Charles

Vaudreuil-Dorion J7V 2N3

http://www.chlapresquile.qc.ca