The American Revolution was time of flux for many citizens who were loyal to the British. These Loyalists sought refuge in towns north of the border in an area known as the Eastern Townships. They settled and formed communities and built their churches
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In this database you will find the locations of births, marriages and deaths of these early settlers.
Right Click the title below to open the database in a new window:
The Loyalist Churches of Stanstead, Sherbrooke and West compton 2014
The American Revolution left profound marks on the development of the areas of Brome-Missisquoi, the Upper Richelieu Valley and South Shefford. The Americans who wished to remain loyal to the British Crown fled the United States. These Loyalists came from the northern states and settled very close to the border. Within a short period of time they began to develop many small communities, from Abercorn , near what is now the Vermont border to St. Armand near Missisquoi Bay..
This compilation describes the many towns and villages that emerged from the late 1780s to this day. Their churches contained documents of birth, marriages and deaths that have been preserved and are available in various archives.
The contributions of these Loyalist can be found throughout the area. Many of the churches are still standing and are a tribute to their perseverance.
Click on the link: Loyalist Churches in Brome Missiquoi
Upper Richelieu Valley and South Shefford
This compilation, prepared by Montreal genealogist Jacques Gagné, looks at the churches frequented by Loyalists who settled in three regions of Quebec in the late 18th century: Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers) and Sorel, east of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River, and Saint-Jean (St. Johns) and Chambly, south of Montreal on the Richelieu River. It outlines the histories of these churches and where to find surviving records.
Click on the link: Loyalists Churches Sorel – Three Rivers
Following the War of the American Revolution, those who had remained loyal to the British felt compelled to leave the newly independent United States. While most settled in what is now Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec’s Eastern Townships, some moved to the Gaspé Peninsula of eastern Quebec. This is a region of interior forests and mountains and of fishing villages along the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The newcomers settled in towns and villages such as Matapédia, Bonaventure, Percé, Gaspé and New Carlisle. Their neighbours were of French Canadian, Acadian and Micmac ancestry, and most were Roman Catholic. The newly arrived English-speaking, Protestant Loyalists needed their own places to worship and to record their births, marriages and burials.
At first, these needs were met by Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries, but eventually the newcomers built churches of their own. This compilation lists the churches they founded and the ministers who served the English-speaking community. It guides the genealogist to the various places where their records are kept, including government and church archives, and the library of the Quebec Family History Society.
The compilation also mentions the records of the Gaspé residents who came from Jersey and Guernsey, in the Channel Isles, and the early settlers from Scotland. The introduction pays tribute to two individuals who researched and documented the lives of the English-speaking residents of the Gaspé, Kenneth Annett and David J. McDougall, and tells researchers where to find their work.
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The Europeans in Québec Lower Canada and Québec
Churches of the Scandinavian, Baltic States, Germanic, Icelandic people in Montréal, Québec City, Lower St. Lawrence, Western Québec, Eastern Townships, Richelieu River Valley – The churches of immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia. Lithuania, Iceland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria plus those from Eastern European countries – Churches which were organized in Québec from 1621 to 2005. Also included within this document you will find a number of book titles relating to the subject.
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The Archives nationales du Québec in Montréal on Viger Avenue are the repository of a wonderful and unique collection of books of marriages, baptisms, deaths of French Canadian families who left the Province of Québec between 1840 and 1930 for destinations in Western Canada, especially in Alberta and Manitoba.
Monsieur Daniel Olivier, former archivist at the Bibliothèque de la Ville de Montréal on Sherbrooke Street East, the latter no longer in operation, referred to for years as Salle Gagnon was responsible with the assistance of his associates for the acquisition of many of the books of marriages, baptisms, deaths, and burials outlined in this research guide.
Madame Estelle Brisson, former archivist at the Archives nationales du Québec on Viger Avenue East in Montréal with the assistance of her associates was also responsible for the acquisition of many of the books of marriages, baptisms, deaths, and burials outlined in this research guide compiled by Jacques Gagné.
Click on the link The French Canadians in Western Canada
Family lore says that my ancestor Joseph Arial had many meetings with Louis Riel in the basement of a hotel he owned. The story might be about a hotel in St. Boniface that may have served as a hide-away for the Métis hero and later burned to the ground or it may be referring to a hotel owned by his son Joseph Gabriel, who ran his own hotel in Gleichan* (near Cluny), Alberta.
How does a genealogist go about proving such a story? The family legend might refer only to my great great great grandfather or his son, or it may combine the exploits of both.
My first challenge was figuring out the timing. Louis Riel was born in the Red River Valley in 1844 and was hanged for treason on November 16, 1885.[1]
Then I began searching through the names and dates of my ancestors’ lives.[2]
Joseph Arial was the first of my ancestors who left Quebec. He was born in 1812 in St. Roch and died on November 4, 1880 in St. Boniface, Manitoba, where he is buried. His wife was Julie Belleau dit LaRose who was born the year before he was. The two were married in St. Roch on September 4, 1832. St. Boniface is on the south side of the Red River, so the location is correct, although he would have been much older than Riel.
His son, Joseph Gabriel was married to Marie Sophie Bernard in St. Boniface, Manitoba on August 8, 1887. Their hotel would be too late to have anything to do with Riel. Joseph’s wife is important to my story, however, because her mother was born in 1838 in St. Anne-des-Chênes (Oak Point), just down the river from where Riel would be born six years later. Her mother, Sophie Henault Canada was also born in the Red River Valley, so there were roots that went back years. The possibility that Sophie’s parents, Charles-Henault-Canada and Marie Gris, knew Louis Riel’s parents, Julie Lagimodières and Jean-Louis Riel, who were married in the chapel of St. Boniface Cathedral on January 21, 1844 were high.
That isn’t proof though.
My next step will be to verify the guests at the marriages of Joseph Gabriel and Marie Sophie and the marriage of Julie Lagimodières and Jean-Louis Riel, but in the meantime, perhaps what happened after Riel’s death will tell us more.
So far, the only information I have comes from Fred Jones in his story called “Blackfoot Reserve. ” He speaks about Gabriel Arial running a hotel. He writes:
My first impression of Gleichen was when we arrived by way of Calgary from the Blood Reserve. We stayed in the Palace Hotel, owned by a French Canadian named Mr. Gabriel Arial, and I think he built it. Some of the Old Timers seem to think it was originally build of logs, but I had seen parts of it torn down and repaired here and there with no logs under the sheeting, but the rough boards were hand-sawn with the old, long ripsaw, and iron nails were used. The style was what you might call early Western, and no luxuries were provided. The rooms contained a bed, chair, washstand and plain dresser, a big jug full of cold water and a smaller jug, for drinking. If you needed more water you took your jug downstairs and outside, to the well. A kerosene lamp provided light.
The Arials welcomed us, and were very hospitable. So were the cockroaches and bed bugs, but that was the usual thing in any dwelling in those days. There were no insect repellents, except kerosene and pyrethrum powder and these failed to attain victory. A a standoff was the best to be hoped for, as the walls were hollow and the plaster cracked so the enemy could retreat and fight another night.
I went to school later with the Arial boys and girls. The hotel was later sold to Brosseau Brothers, and the Arials moved to Edmonton.
I think we arrived in Gleichen about 1896 or 1897, as the C.P.R. roundhouse was still there and I think it was moved to Calgary in 1898. (As I recount these many events, please consider that they happened over seventy years ago. They may be kind of sketchy and not follow in proper sequence and some that made an impression then, may not have been as important as others that might have been forgotten.)[3]
Is this Gabriel my grandfather? I don’t know for sure yet, but I think so. My grandfather was called Gabe after his father and he grew up in Edmonton. My grandmother also moved to Cluny as a child and that’s where they met. This Gabriel Arial may also have been a cousin though, so I still have much more verification to do.
[1] All the facts about Louis Riel and his life in this story come from Maggie Siggins’ book “Riel A Life of Revolution” Harper Collins, Toronto, 1994.
[2] For this part, I relied on the handwritten notes of Mary Alice Kite and my grandmother, Ann Marguerite Arial. My grandmother learned how to do genealogy from Mary Alice and she knew my great grandparents personally. She would have confirmed their parents’ and grandparents’ names with them. She also collected photos of the family, which I now have. Few of the people can be easily identified now.
[3] The Prairie Hub, by John Julius Martin, Rosebud, Alberta, The Strathmore Standard, 1967, p. 160.
*An earlier version of this story spelled Gleichen incorrectly.
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
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
French Canadians in Ontario
This compilation “French Canadians in Ontario” consists of lists of the many of the churches throughout Ontario where our French Canadian ancestors migrated and explains where the document of births, marriages and deaths are located for the many parishes.
This compilation is a useful tool for those who may not know exactly where these records are now located. Many can be found at BanQ, the national archives located on Viger Street in Montreal, Quebec.
Highlight the file below and right click to open link in a new window
A simple act followed by a statement can be life-changing. Such was the case for Kaarlo.
Several years of study at Michigan College of Mines in Houghton, Michigan had prepared Kaarlo, a young Finnish boy from Ashtabula, Ohio for a career in the mining industry. He had worked as a cook on the ore boats on the Great Lakes and knew he wanted something more fulfilling, much as he loved sailing the lakes.
In 1928 he graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering. There was a job waiting for him at Royal Tiger Gold Mines in Breckenridge, Colorado. He packed his Model T Ford and set out for the west with high hopes and dreams of creating a good life, doing something he truly enjoyed.
It wasn’t long after arriving at the mines that he found the owner-manager tampering with the assays (the device used to measure gold). Once the owner realized that the young man was aware of his actions, he ordered him to be “out of town by sundown!”. Kaarlo didn’t back down and stated that he would leave as soon as he could get his car on a railroad car to carry it over the mountains.
Dreams of working in the gold mines were crushed. Being young and a go-getter, he immediately contacted the College to see if they knew of any openings for newly graduated engineers. They responded that there were openings in Canada in the nickel mines in Copper Cliff, Ontario. It was time to head north.
The Big Nickel in CopperCliff, Ontario, now part of Greater Sudbury
Kaarlo Victor Lindell crossed in to Canada on the 31st of January 1929 at Bridgeburg, Ontario1 with hopes and dreams of a rewarding career and a new challenge. He found a room in a boarding house and began working for the International Nickel Company(INCO) and never looked back. He spoke Finnish and soon made friends with his coworkers, among them many Finns. His employer took advantage of his knowledge of Finnish and in 1934 was sent to Northern Finland where he was actively involved in opening a nickel mine in Petsamo. In 1939 that part of Finland was seized by the Russians.
Along the way he met a pert, pretty, vivacious young lady, named Estelle (Esty) and sought her hand. They were married on September 6th 1930 in Sudbury. In the meantime Kaarlo had legally changed his name to Karl and took religious instruction in the Catholic faith having been a Lutheran all his life.
In 1939 with WW11 on the horizon Karl wanted to serve his new country. He became a naturalized citizen on the 8th of August 19392, however, with four children and a fifth on the way, (me) his services were needed in the nickel industry. He remained at work for INCO. Nickel production was crucial for ammunition during the war years.
Royal Tiger Gold Mines thrived from 1918 and into the 1930s, however, it declared bankruptcy in 1938 and in 1973 the town and all the buildings in it were torched to keep the “hippies” from squatting.
Northern Ontario, on the other hand has over time developed and prospered.
It is interesting to speculate how Kaarlo’s life might have been, especially if he had stayed in Colorado?
I would not be here to tell the story!
Genealogy Ensemble 
