Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday Family Favorites - Cheesebuttons!

"CHEESEBUTTONS!"
     We made Cheesebuttons earlier this week.  It all started because it's fall, and when it's fall, it's applesauce canning season.  And there is nothing better to serve with applesauce then Cheesebuttons.  When one of my daughters posted just the word "Cheesebuttons!!!!!" on Facebook, her cousins were quick to reply with "When, Where?" 

     Cheesebuttons are one of those family favorites that get handed down from generation to generation, not that it is especially a gourmet treat but because it's a comfort food that evokes memories of days gone by and family connections.  We even joke that if a boyfriend doesn't like them, don't even think about getting engaged!
  
     So where did this family favorite come from?  We don't know for sure but it seems to have its roots in German culture as they are somewhat like spaetzle.  I do know that they were made by my great-grandmother Lena, handed down to her daughter, Ethel and taken over by myself as the family cheesebutton cook.  I've written in earlier blogs about Lena and Ethel and the stories that Ethel wrote about her growing up on the plains of Saskatchewan, Canada back in the early 1900s.  I've come to appreciate even more this meal, knowing the hardships they faced.

     I remember when I was a little girl at my grandmother Ethel's house at lunch time and she would plan on making Cheesebuttons for lunch.  Sometimes she would send my sister and I off to walk to the store to go buy more cheese or even better, she would call my dad, who worked at the grocery store and ask him to bring sausage with him and join us for lunch.  When he did, he usually was joined by others who came home with him for lunch and the famous buttons of cheese.

     Thirty years ago, at my wedding shower, all the attendees were asked to bring a recipe to get me started on the path as a new bride.  My aunt wrote this on her card...

GRANDMA RANDS' CHEESEBUTTONS

1.  See if there are any old hunks of cheese in the refrigerator and grate them up.
2.  Fry some bread crumbs until they burn a little.
3.  Heat up a jar of home made applesauce.
4.  Call the store and tell them to come for lunch and bring some sausage links.
5.  Set the table for 20 people.
6.  Call my Mom and tell her to come over and make cheesebuttons.....Good Luck!

     Over twenty-five years ago, my father reworded a poem as a tribute to my Grandmother where it hung on her wall until she passed away in 1986.  This plaque now hangs in our kitchen. It reads:

ODE TO CHEESEBUTTONS

I am a man well up in years with
simple tastes and few,
But I would like to eat again
a dish my boyhood knew.
A rare old dish that Grandma made
we would eat like gluttons,
This generation knows it not
We call it Cheese and buttons.
I patronized all restaurants where
grub was kept for sale,
But my search up to the present
has been without avail.
They say they never heard of it,
and I vainly wonder why,
For that glorious concoction
was better far than pie.
Applesauce, cheese, links of sausage
and little balls of dough
Were the appetizing units
that filled us with a glow.
When mother placed that smoking dish
upon the dinner table,
And we partook of its delight
as long as we were able.
My longing for that boyhood dish
I simply will not shelf;
If I cannot find it anywhere
I'll make the thing myself!
      There are a few essential tools needed when making cheesebuttons.  First you need a heavy-bottomed pot with well-salted water kept at a simmering boil.  Just enough heat to keep the little blobs of dough quickly cooking before raising to the surface to be scooped up at put into a oven-proof dish.

     Another necessity is a well-worn pig-shaped wooden cutting board.  My father made the one we use back when he was in junior high and it has been in use ever since.  Not that others may work, but this one has a special connection and when you need to "cut" these buttons into the water, the weight and curve of the board feel just right.  My younger sister and her husband made all of my siblings their own pig-board for Christmas one year, a most treasured gift. 

     Also of importance is the cheese.  I've tried spaetzle in restuarants across the country but all seem to serve it with swiss cheese, or a gravy.  Not so with cheese buttons.  It's American cheese.  More specifically, Kraft Deluxe American cheese.  It melts better and tastes better.  You buy a 2 lb block and grate it yourself.  A must.

     You also need to have some buttered breadcrumbs ready.  They are for sprinkling atop the buttons just before serving.  A nice finishing touch.

     And as I've mentioned before, homemade applesauce.  You know, the kind made with tart apples.  Here in Minnesota, my favorite is Haralsons.  And when you make sauce, you have to cook down the apples with the skin still on them.  This causes the finished sauce to be brown in color.  No sissy white sauce for these little dumplings.  The sauce is finished with sugar and a dash on cinnamon.  There is none finer.

     Also on the menu and a must is sausage links.  We made cheesebuttons with links, with patties, as a side dish with pork chops and roasts, but its the links that win hands down.  Used to be the links put out by Armour's that were the best, but we can't find them around in the stores anymore. 

     The batter for this is simple.  For every adult eater (you decide) you need 1 egg, 1 cup of flour and enough water to give it a pancake batter-like
consistency. No, more like wallpaper paste.  A little thicker that pancake batter.  That's it.  Simple. Dumpling-like.  Spaetzle-like.
    
     The one factor though that remains constant is the technique of cutting this batter into the pot of water.  I've told my siblings (some who have made it for their own families) that its all about the water and the sound.  I remember the sounds when I think of learning this technique at my grandmother's side.  The tapping of the knife scraping each little button into the water.  The clicking sound as she tapped the knife against the pot rim to get off the excess water from the blade.  It's important to keep your knife wet so the buttons don't stick.  The sound of cooked buttons as she scooped them into the serving dish.  The sound of sizzling coming from the sausages cooking over on the side counter in an electric skillet.  The occasional burp of the applesauce heating up on the stovetop.  And the chatter of other family members as they set the table for mealtime. 

      I've tried using a spaetzle maker.  It makes the buttons too small and the consistency is all wrong.  I tried it twice.  Then I gave the spaetzle maker away.  Why hold onto the clutter.

      So that is all there is to it.  Put a glob of batter on the pig board.  Cut them into buttons as you drop them into the simmering water.  After they float to the top, scoop the buttons into a dish.  Repeat until there is enough buttons to cover the bottom, and sprinkle with cheese.  Repeat the process.  Top with breadcrumbs and serve with warm applesauce and sausage links.
    

Cheesebuttons!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

October 10 or more lists - Babies galore

My last post on 10 or more children came from my GGGG grandmother from my father's side.  Today I present you with my GGGG grandmother from my mother's tree, Angelique Desjarlais.

Angelique was born 02 June 1765 somewhere in Canada, I believe.  I haven't done much research for this family this far back because it wasn't fast and easy.  Since I am now a member of the MN Genealogical Society, I have a new mission to stop in and research the Trepanier line in more detail.

But, I digress.

Angelique married Jean-Francois Trepanier on 23 Oct 1786 in Reviere du Loup, Louiseville, Maskinonge, Quebec.  From this union came 10 children.

Marie Louise  8 Nov 1787
Francois   03 Apr 1789
Angele   28 Oct 1790
Pierre   28 May 1792
Jean Baptiste   20 Apr 1794
Paul   11 Sep 1796
Marie Archage   13Jun 1798
Louis Abraham   16 Jan 1800
Joseph 08 Aug 1804
Emilie  19 Jul 1807

I have no additional information on them so I have a lot of work to do.  I have some discrepency of names and dates but most of the research on-line follows these dates.

It make me think of the ditty
"A man will work from sun to sun,
A woman's work is never done."
  

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Call to Arms in 1870

    The Fenian Movement started in the 1850's in Ireland.  Its purpose was to fight for Ireland's independance from Great Britian.  After the Civil War in the United States, the Irish-Americans who had fought in the Union Army, banded together to take on the British forts in Canada.  They hoped that by overtaking the major forts and ports in Canada, that the British would conceed and give Ireland her freedom.  The Canadians who had banded together as a military group turned back the resistance of the Fenian Brotherhood.  As a reward they were given 160 arces of land.  In 1899, the Canadian General Service Medal was awarded to those men who had served in the forces that fought the Fenian Raids.

   Michel Brossoit, my 2nd cousin, 4 times removed, fought in the Fenian Raids in 1870.  He served in the 64th Voltigerus de Beauharnois and was awarded a medal for his efforts.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Marriage Certificate - Martin Jensen 1889

Earlier this week, I posted the wording of the certificate of the marriage between my great-grandfather Alexander Brossoit to his sweetheart, Sophie Trepanier.  Today I am posting the marriage certificate of my Great-grandfather Martin Jensen to his bride, Laura Toomb(s).

Certificate of Marriage
State of Minnesota
County of Marshall ss.

I hereby certify, that on the 27th day of November in the year of our Lord and eight hundred and eighty nine at Holland Farm in said County, I, the undersigned, a Minister of the Gospel, did join in the holy bonds of Matrimony, according to the laws of this State, Martin Jensen of the County of Marshall, State of Minnesota, and Laura Toomb of the County of Marshall, State of Minnesota in presence of William Michall, Gussie Toomb, Witnesses.

Alonzo George Washington
Pastor Congregational Church, Stephen (Minnesota)


Gussie, was Laura's younger sister, Augusta.  I do not know who William Michall was.  This will go on my to-do list.  I also don't know what/where Holland Farm was located.  Did it belong to Martin Jensen or the Toomb family?  Another to-do item.   As an aside, Laura's father's name was George Washington Toombs and she had a brother Alonzo.  Must have been a popular name a century ago. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Man of the Year - 1965

   Forty five ago!  That's how long it has been since Rol Glewwe was selected as South St Paul's "Man of the Year".  When South St Paul, MN recently celebrated The EVENT, benefiting "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign, they recognized Rol as a past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.  I add to this acknowledgement an article that ran in the South St Paul Reporter, our local daily paper (but no longer in existence!)

Our Choice For '65 . . .
Man of The Year - Rollin Glewwe
By Lauren Claymen

"He is one of those vital, willing and conscientious personalities on the progress and growth of South St. Paul.  Through his efforts, the community has developed and enlarged.  He is a driving force in its future.

   He is Rollin Glewwe, choice as South St Paul's Man of the Year for 1965.  Glewwe, 34, 138 W. MacArthur, is considered by his friends and co-workers as an individual who when given a task completes it, and then some.

His Beginning
   Born May 2, 1933 in SSP to Reuben and Ethel Glewwe, 147 - 15th Ave. S., he is the only boy in a family of three.  Included are sisters Mrs. Gerald Miller, 1345 - 9th Ave. S. SSP librarian and Lois Glewwe, SSP high school sophomore.
   Throughout elementary, junior and senior high school, Rollin displayed initiative and aggressiveness in what ever he did.  As his mother commented, 'if he was going to break his arm, he would break it good.  He never did anything in a partial manner.'

Started By Packing Potatoes
   Rollin started earning his way in the fifth grade, packing potatoes and oranges at Glewwe Food Store.  He continued there through his high school years, gradually working his way to his present position as Produce Manager.

"Great Want"
   It was during his junior high years that Rollin developed one of his "greatest wants,' owning his own car.  His father was in garage work and the car business.  Rollin wanted a car, but was told he would have to earn money to buy it.  He combined working in the store with a paper route when 14.
  'In two years he saved $115, the amount needed,' Mrs. Glewwe explained. "We bought the car, but he still couldn't drive it because he didn't have a drivers license.  In the months before he received his license, he and a neighbor boy took the car apart and put it together again, shining it so much that we thought they would take the paint off.'
   'When he got his licence he was the happiest boy in the world.  During the winter when the car wouldn't start, the boys would push it to school.  He kept the vehicle for about three years, then junked it,' Mrs. Glewwe stated.

High School Honors
   While at South St. Paul High School he was active in just about everything offered, records show.
    He was junior and senior high president, first president of the Student Council, all suburban conference football player for two years, basketball player, Senior Citizen, an award voted on by the teachers, and given two outstanding seniors, on the 1949 All-State Championship football team (the only championship SSP has won) and was in the top 10 percent of his 1951 graduation class.
   Rollin enrolled at the university of Minnesota, taking a two year general business course.

HS Tragedy
   It was in October 1950 that Rollin suffered a football injury that required two brain operations.  He spent six weeks in the hospital and then weeks at home recuperating.
   His injury brought pressure on high schools to offer insurance protection to football players.

Marriage
   In 1953 he married his high school sweetheart, Joan Brossoit, also a SSP native.  They have four children, Rae Marie, 11, LouAnn, 10, Scott, 5, and Barbara, 3.

Community Activities
   Rollin became active in SSP development by serving on numerous committees.
   He served as past president of the 'S' Club, his high school alumni association, Jaycee secretary, state director twice, vice president and then president.  He was Jaycee DSA winner in 1962, president of the SSP Development Corp., 1966 United Fund president, Chamber of Commerce president in 1965 and is now on the board of Directors, active in politics and is listed in 'Who's Who of Minnesota.'
   Serving as one of the youngest C. of C. presidents, Rollin administered such projects as: Getting $10 million in new industrial plants and facilities, originating first official studies and surveys for renewal of the Concord St. area, forming SSP Development Corp., working on contracts for 2.7 mile of permanent flood wall, finalizing plans fir a $500,000 addition to the SSP Post Office, creating a new city charter commission, establishing a new high for the Chamber budget.

Managers Comment
   Wendall Maltby, Chamber executive manager said that the Chamber year was active and progressive under Rollin.

Outside Hobbies
   During his spare time, which Joan explains isn't much, Rollin is a sign painter for several organizations, enjoys bridge and free-hand painting.
   'He doesn't get a chance to participate in these activities ofter,' Joan explained, 'because of all the committee meetings and outside projects.'"



MORE PHOTOS INSIDE  (See above)


 

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Ancestors' Geneameme

Better late then never, I am playing the Ancestors GeneaMeme as posted on the  Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it is to:
1) Participate in the Ancestors GeneaMeme created by Jill Ball on the Geniaus blog.
2) Write your own blog post, or add your response as a comment to this blog post, in a Facebook Status post or note, or in a Google+ Stream item.
The Ancestors' Geneameme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item


Which of these apply to you?

  1. Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents (Frederich Glewwe, Wilhelmina Kloss, Heinrich Patet, Augusta Hinz, John Hymers, Rozilla Kipp, Frank Nascher, Ursula Marxer, Michel Brossois, Marguerite Legault, Narcisse Trepanier, Victorie Chauvin, Niels Jensen, Maren Sorensdatter, George Washington Toombs, Cecelia Decker)
  2. Can name over 50 direct ancestors
  3. Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents
  4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times (GGrandfather married 3 times) 
  5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist
  6. Met all four of my grandparents
  7. Met one or more of my great-grandparents (Grandma Rands)
  8. Named a child after an ancestor - (Daughter is named after husband's grandmother)
  9. Bear an ancestor's given name/s
  10. Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland (I'll take Scotland)
  11. Have an ancestor from Asia
  12. Have an ancestor from Continental Europe (Germany, Prussia)
  13. Have an ancestor from Africa
  14. Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer (Didn't everyone farm in Minnesota?)
  15. Have an ancestor who had large land holdings (How large is large?  Since they got out of farming at some point, I don't consider land holdings large)
  16. Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi
  17. Have an ancestor who was a midwife (My grandmother was a "wet nurse")
  18. Have an ancestor who was an author Indirectly with aunt publishing family history and grand uncle Harold Stassen and his books.
  19. Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones GGGG grandmother Agnes Rankin Smith, that Scottish relative)
  20. Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng
  21. Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X
  22. Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z (1st cousin 3times removed...Zoa Trepanier)
  23. Have an ancestor born on 25th December (32 with husband's family included.  Youngest is niece Clarissa)
  24. Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day (18 with same perameters)
  25. Have blue blood in your family lines
  26. Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth
  27. Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth (It was close, grandmother born in MN and her sister was born in Canada)
  28. Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century
  29. Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier
  30. Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents (Homestead paper of GGrandfather in Minneaota)
  31. Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X
  32. Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university (Grandmother went to Bemidji Teacher's College)
  33. Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence
  34. Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime (Have digital newspaper article telling of how the horse and buggy were stolen from in front of church during Sunday services)
  35. Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine (A Place We Call Home blog)
  36. Have published a family history online or in print (Details please)
  37. Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries
  38. Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family
  39. Have a family bible from the 19th Century
  40. Have a pre-19th century family bible

Friday, October 14, 2011

In Her Own Words - Aug 1916

     "Mama was a dressmaker and when she brought her sewing machine back from St. Paul it wasn't long before the women of the town and country contacted her to sew for them.  After the fall harvesting was over, Mama and I would go to town for about a week.  We would stay at Mrs. Williams, they had a big house.  I loved to go there -  they had four daughters.  Hazel was older than me, Violet was my age, Myrtle and Inez were younger but we all played together.  I always looked forward to these wonderful times.  Mama would sew for Mrs. Promery, the judge's wife, and Mrs. Lee who taught piano, her husband was the register of deeds.  Mrs. Haddad was from New York and she was very stylish.  Once she gave me some taffeta material for my doll, but Mama made a ribbon for my hair.  Mrs. Menzie had a daughter and when I played with her we always got ice cream, they had the drug store and ice cream parlour.  Mama sewed for everyone.  Hazel, Violet and I were very good friends.  Hazel and Violet used to send for sample products.  I suppose they had access to products because of their father's general store.  It was a wonderful thing to receive little sample bottles of cologne, powder, sachet and various food products.  The girls would give me their duplicates.  Mama would be paid for her work and it meant a lot to Mama.  Papa said that was her own money and she could spend it on anything she wanted.  We had just returned from town that year.  It was dinnertime and Papa, Mama and Grandpa and I were just finishing the noon meal when we got a telephone call for Mama.  It was Mrs. Cassel.  They had just received a telegram for Mama from St. Paul, Minnesota.  Mama's brother Frank had died.  He had been sick but was much better and Mama had decided she wouldn't go home to St. Paul that year.  I remember Papa saying we can get you to town for the morning train and Grandpa said, "What are you going to use for money?"  The finances were combined into one account and Grandpa had used quite a sum to send Grandma and his family back home to St. Paul.  Mama reminded Grandpa of the money she had earned sewing and he remarked that he thought it wasn't necessary for her to make the trip, but Papa said Lena (Mama) and Ethel were going.  So we left for St. Paul to attend the funeral of my mother's older brother, Frank.  We stayed until March.  It would be three years before we visited St. Paul again."

The above story is a continuation of memoirs written by Ethel Hymers Glewwe on her childhood in Saskatchewan, Canada.

October Ten or more Lists - Babies Week 3

Being the mother of five children, I am always amazed when I think back on the mothers of earlier generations who had more children, a LOT MORE children!  I think of how small their houses were, how they did not have indoor plumbing or electricity and all of the entertainment that came from these.  Sure they had books, and my family certainly has many a bookshelf overflowing with the printed word, but still.  All those mouths to feed three times a day, the laundry, even just combing of long hair!  Mothers were certainly saints in my view.

This week I present the next great woman from my family tree who bore many children. Eleven for sure, although some published trees put this number at 12.  But I think she would have been too old for this folly.

My paternal GGGG grandmother Elizabeth Force married Benjamin Kipp when she was 18 years old,  on 20 April 1836 in Burford, Canada.  Within eleven months she gave birth to my GGG grandfather, Hamilton Kipp.  And so I present the Kipps

Hamilton (1837 - 1885)
Isaac (1839 - 1921)
Disree (1840 - 1849)
Henry (1842 - 1930)
Elizabeth Ann (1845 - 1875)
Melissa Jane (1847 - 1929)
Alfred (1849 - 1940)
William ( 1851 - 1852)
Mahlon Taylor (1853 -       )
Cadelia Louisa (1858 - 1918)
William Henry (1862 - 1921)

For those in my family who wonder where this name comes in
Hamilton Kipp married Orilla Lewis.
Their oldest daughter, Rozilla Kipp married John George Hymers,
Their son Francis George Hymers married Caroline "Lena" Nascher
and "now you know the rest of the story".

If I follow others work on the Kipp family they trace the name all the way back to the 1500's to a Ruloff De Kype in Holland/France.  (But as I read more genealogy blogs and footnotes of research done and making sure that what I quote is accurate, I stop much earlier in my claim.)

Saddle City

Below are excerpts from an article written for the South St Paul Reporter, Wednesday, February 20, 1963.  Rollin Glewwe, is just shy of his 30th birthday, past president of the SSP Jaycees, on the Chamber board, and Chairman of the South St. Paul's Chamber of Commerce "Saddle City" committee.

 "  SOUTH ST PAUL _ Continuing, expanded and stepped-up efforts to stimulate and improve retail and other commercial activities in South St. Paul are being launched by the Chamber of Commerce.
   Plans for an aggressive promotional campaign with such objectives were announced at the recent annual meeting of the organization by President Ed Rikess.
   The perennial parking problem is to receive continued attention, this being regarded as one of the prime requisites to any improvement in shopping adventures, opportunities and attractiveness, particularly in the "Downtown" district.
   Creation of some radically new facilities and possible development of new shopping and service areas are among the more ambitious projects which Chamber officers, committees and the membership generally have in mind."


(You have to know that at the time, Concord Street had not yet undergone redevelopment.  There was storefronts and bars up and down Concord.  There was no "Exchange Road" and a separate highway 55.  All traffic came through town, and both Armour's and Swifts were still open.)


   "The "Saddle City" project which is a bold and challenging conception has been proposed as a means of linking effectively the hill and downtown districts, a "split-level" arrangement that would utilize  system of ramps, escalators and other facilities making it easy and attractive for people to park and shop."

It continues....."On a long range basis the plan would include modernization along the west side of N. Concord south of Grand Ave., construction of new and modern fronts on Pitt Street for shops now fronting on the former street, utilization of present and new parking facilities in the area and linking of these with other shops. 
   There would be possibly a civic center on the upper level in the vicinity of and east and south of the public library.
   Glewwe said......."The main shopping center would be a 'side saddle' which in effect would 'marry' the hill and Concord districts with parking ramps and escalators.  Conceivably the plan would include civic features, an indoor pool, YWCA and other quarters."
   "The long range plan for Saddle City is to make it a regional center.  The short range plan is to remodel and rehabilitate Concord Street."

The article finishes up with "Besides being chairman of the Saddle City committee, he is the Chamber director assigned as advisor to the streets, highways and planning commission.  He is also a member of the city planning commission.
   He has carried over from the Junior Chamber of Commerce, of which he is still an active member, some of the projects which he had a part of in undertaking in that organization......He has served as president of the Jaycees and as regional secretary for that organiazation.  He has worked on virtually all of the major Jaycee community projects, such as the safety program, Junior Livestock show, Fourth of July celebration, theatrical productions, queen pagents, state Junior Chamber of Commerce election campaigns and others.
   With this background of civic activity it was not surprising tht he was elected a director of the Senior Chamber of Commerce some four years ago or that he was reelected to another term on that board recently.
   Nor is it to be wondered at that he has been saddled with leadership responsibilities in conncetion with the Saddle City project now high on the Chamber's agenda.
   As becomes a hard-riding member of the "Cowspokes," famed affiliate of the Chamber, he is always "rarin' to go!"
  Somehow he manages to find time to work on community projeucts in addition to his regular vocation on the staff of the Glewwe Food markets."
 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Marriage record Alexander Brossoit 1881

Earlier this week I wandered down the street to the Minnesota Genealogical Society's Library & Research Center.  I had never been there before and didn't know what to expect.  Up 'til now, all of my research has been done on-line or from family collections of cards, legal notices and pictures.  It's funny, the library is only a 1/2 mile down the road and in all of these years, I've never entered before.  But as of Wednesday, I am officially a card-carrying member.  I've only just began to find all of the treasures that can be found there, but I did find the marriage record of my great-grandfather Alexander Brossoit.  It reads:

"On the 26th of December, 1881, after one Publication Bann, no canonical impediment brought forward to the lawful union of the contracting parties, Alexander Brossoit, son of Michel Brossoit of the Mission of St Rosa, Middle River in the State of Minnesota - son of Michel Brossoit and Marguerite Legault, party of the first part ~ and Sophie Trepanier, daughter of Narcisse Trepanier and Victorie Chauvin, party of the second part of this union, exchanged before me their mutual consent, and were united in the holy union of Matrimony in the presence of Godfrid (?) Quenneville and Adelaide Trepanier."                                                    B_____  Joseph Gerard

1858-1896,  Belle River Paroisse ~ St. Simon & Jude, Essex, Ontario
Registres, Photographs a la Paroisse  

October Ten or more - Babies part 2

I forgot to post last Monday's list of family members who had 10 or more babies in the continuing series of "October, tenth month-ten items"  list.  I'll blame it on my youngest's birthday.....But for the next great mother on my list, I present Victorie Chauvin, my great-great grandmother on my mother's side of the family tree.  Victorie, born in 1833 in Ontario, Canada married Narcisse Trepanier on 17 March 1851.  They settled in Belle River, Ontario and had 13 children.

Marie Louise (1854 -     )
Emelie  (1858 - 1937)
Adeline (1858 - 1941)
Sophie (1861 - 1925)  my great grandmother  
Caroline (1863 -    )
Joseph Louis ( 1863 - 1865)
Georges (1869 -     )
Napoleon ( 1870 - 1941)
Phelonise (1873 -     )
Suzanne (1874 - 1944)
Marie ( 1876 -    )
Henrie (1878 -     )
Peter (1878 -      )

Now if I could only read French.  Ancestry.com, for the first fifteen days of October have opened up some of their records, http://www.ancestry.com/.  Of particular interest is the "Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection) 1621 - 1967".  I can find lots of Brossoits and Trepaniers, but most of the records are in French!

Monday, October 3, 2011

October Ten or more lists - Babies

Erin, who writes a genealogy blog called "beehive genealogy" has made October the tenth month/ten things list for her theme.  I like what she is doing for Mondays and so I too will use her theme for my family.

She writes, "In keeping with my Ten Things for the Tenth Month theme, every Monday in October I am going to feature a woman in my family tree who had ten or more babies. I have a lot of respect for these women, and the difficulties they must have had carrying and raising so many children."

I present Martha Patet Glewwe, my great-grandma on my father's side.  She had 16 children.

  1. Ida Freida Glewwe ( 1893 - 1960)
  2. Anna Helen Glewwe ( 1894 - 1941)
  3. Henry G Glewwe ( 1895 - 1896)
  4. Lilly Glewwe ( 1896 - 1896)
  5. Unnamed Glewwe ( 1897 - 1897)
  6. Lille Glewwe ( 1898 - 1898)
  7. Martha Glewwe ( 1899 - 1960 )
  8. Marie Gertrude Glewwe ( 1901 - 1977)
  9. Alma Ruth Glewwe ( 1902 - 1982)
  10. Reuben Benjamin Glewwe ( 1904 - 1986)
  11. Esther Ethel Glewwe ( 1906 - 2000)
  12. Edwin Harold Glewwe ( 1908 - 1987)
  13. Mabel Florence Glewwe ( 1909 - 2006)
  14. Zelma Rose Glewwe ( 1912 - 1990)
  15. Wesley Paul Glewwe ( 1914 - 2000)
  16. Ruth Henrietta Glewwe ( 1915 - 1995)
Amazing!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

October Madness

  When one finally decides to write a blog about their family history, it can get so mind-boggling.  On one hand you want to share stories and pictures and talk about what is current in your life.  But as you do more and more research and read others blogs and truly appreciate what some write and how to best verfiy your facts, and each day goes faster and faster, and you still haven't written anything and the seasons have changed and you should really go outside and ready the backyard before winter sets in....it gets to be overwhelming.  And I think that anyone who takes their research seriously can get bogged down in having the perfect family tree, the perfect blog, the perfect picture and the perfect "stopped in one's tracks" because it can't be perfect.  That's how I feel today.  My beginning attempts at sharing with my family the stories behind the pictures, has left me with four or five boxes of what used to be "somewhat filed away" pictures and articles to a very large pile of stuff that gets moved from floor to desk and closet to bedroom.  And back again.
  
   And what does one write about?  Everyone's life has a story to tell.  I want to know them and share them all.  Let's just start with October babies.  It must be the month or maybe the water....  Currently, in my extended family, my husband and I celebrate 1 daughter's, 2 brothers, 1 sister and 1 close enough and considered sister, and 3 nephews' birthdays.  We won't even get started on the anniversaries. 

    So I wondered how many October birthdays are in my family tree.  Taking a quick peek at the calender put out by "Family Tree Maker", I quickly came to the conclusion that the Trepaniers held the record for family births for this month.  There were 29 births and 10 weddings in the month of October for this prolific line. My great-grandmother on my mother's side was Sophie Trepanier (1861-1925).   I looked in my files for a quick story that I could transcribe about the Trepaniers and came across a letter written March 10, 1999 by Normand Trepanier, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.

   "Just this day, I received your letter and I began to reply immediately.  At first, I ask you to excuse my very poor english....

   I am happy to inform you that I have the name of all your ancestors older or before Francois-Xavier Trepanier, born January 17, 1800, and married with Judith Lagrave.  This Francois-Xavior is at the 6e. generation."

   He continues further in the letter, "The father of Pierre-Francois 2e and the ancestor of all Trepanier is ROMAIN D'ESTREPAGNY, born 19 april 1627 at St-Pierre-de-MUCHEDENT, little village or hamlet, located about ten mils south-East from Dieppe, department of Seine-Maritime in the North of France.  He married Genevieve Drouin, 24 April 1656 at Quebec city.  They had 12 children, 6 boys and 6 girls.  He died 20 March 1702 at Chateau-Richer, Quebec, Canada, aged 75 years old.  He was the son of Charles D'Estrepagny and Marie Marette."

   He ends his letter in his own handwriting, "As I am 84 years old, and soon I will go away for another world ---I give you an address for ask other informations about Romain D'Estrepagny or Trepanier family."............Normand Trepanier

   I have yet to write to the Association des Familles Trepanier, but it's on my list of things yet to follow up on for this family.