central cemetery middleboro, ma

Yesterday we were driving home from buying some very delicious peaches at Ashley's Peaches in Acushnet and we decided to stop at a cemetery in Middleboro on the way home. I was not sure which cemetery one of my Raymond ancestors was buried at (Priscilla (Raymond) Glaziur - my 4th great grandaunt), but I knew it was one in Middleboro.

I had borrowed the book, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts, from the library a couple of months back and found Priscilla listed. I was hoping that if I found Priscilla I may also find her parents, my 5th great grandparents, Cynthia (Dunham) Raymond and her husband Samuel Raymond. From memory, I thought the cemetery was Central Cemetery, so we stopped there and walked around looking for any Dunhams, Raymonds, or Glaziurs. There were some Dunhams and some Raymonds, but they were not familiar names to my tree and the deaths were more recent than what I was looking for. We did not find Priscilla either, but we had all four of our children with us and it was a hot day. Needless to say we did not look at every headstone.

I took some pictures of the headstones but none are in my family. I looked up my notes for Priscilla, and found we were at the wrong cemetery anyway. Priscilla is buried at the cemetery at the green - which I believe is now Parish Cemetery. I had my iPhone with me at the time and could have looked this information up on my previous blog post, but I did not. That is fine though, as no cemetery walk is wasted. Next time I will stop at the Parish Cemetery though and hopefully find Priscilla.

Here are some pictures of some Dunhams and Raymond headstones:

google+

I have been trying to stay current in genealogy - I usually read genealogy blogs of interest to me through my google reader on my iphone. This has worked very well when I find the time to read, but I think right now I have almost 200 blog posts to read. I recently also joined Google+, and have added some geneabloggers to follow. I just watched the webinar from Legacy Family Tree, Google+ the Next Big Thing and found ways to search for geneabloggers on Google+. I added a few to my circles and look forward to seeing the information added to my stream. I did find an interesting post from Joan Miller, a video on explaining relationships between people, Consanguinity - Made Simple by Lisa Lee. I am sure I will be looking back to this video frequently as cousin relationships still confuse me.

george clinton cowing and lydia helen french

George Clinton Cowing married Lydia Helen French on May 1, 1863, in Hingham, MA; they were both about 22 years old.  They were married by George Lincoln, day preacher. Their marriage was recorded in both the South Scituate town records and Hingham. There is a little bit of information on their preacher, George Lincoln in the Hingham 1893 book vol. 1 part 2. 

George and Lydia are my third great-grandparents. George grew up in the town of Weymouth. His father, Joshua, was a farmer on Commercial Street in East Weymouth in the year 1873, according to that years Weymouth Directory; but both George and his father were listed as boot makers in Weymouth in the 1860 Census.  Lydia grew up in South Scituate (later known as Norwell).  Before Lydia and George were married, she worked as a boot fitter in Scituate (1860 census p1; p2).  I wish I knew the story of how their lives crossed paths from different towns and how they eventually met, but I do not have these little details. Perhaps they worked at the same shoe factory, although I would think they worked closer to their homes as there were many shoe factories in the area.

Around the time George and Lydia were married, the civil war draft was enacted. This was the first time the US enacted a mandatory conscription, for men the ages of 20-45. I was not able to find George in the database on ancestry of U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 - I am not sure why. I tried browsing, but I found it difficult to find the congressional district for Weymouth or Hingham. Also, the names do not seem to be in perfect alphabetical order or by town. I tried searching for George C without Cowing, and I tried searching for Weymouth, but there were no results. I am not sure if George even registered for the draft, but I would think that he would have had to legally. I know you could pay someone to take your place as a substitute but I think this only happened if you were called from the draft register; so you would still have to register. A person could also pay 300 dollars to stay out of the war; but again, you would still first have to register and only pay if your name was called.

I did find an article from NARA's publication, Prologue, (Winter 1994, Vol. 26, No. 4) which explains these records. In this article, it does state that the consoloditated lists were not always complete and some records were lost. Perhaps this is why I am unable to find George in this ancestry database. George's brother, Charles G Cowing, and some of George's uncles did fight in the Civil War, as they are listed in another database on ancestry, U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865. I was not able to find any of these men in the Civil War draft register either; but they could have enlisted on their own, rather than register for the draft. I do find it interesting that George did not enlist in the Civil War on his own, as the Cowing family did seem to be interested in slaves' rights and abolitionism (see previous posts), but maybe as a newly married man, he was looking forward to starting a family and did not want to risk his life in a war.

Even though George did not fight in the Civil War, I am sure he heard many battle stories from those he knew that fought. His brother in law, Charles Hayward, his sister Elizabeth's husband enlisted at the age of 19 (before he met Elizabeth). According to his death record in 1892, Charles was imprisoned at Andersonville during the war. I did not know anything about this prison until I looked it up on Wikipedia - very troubling description and images. It would be interesting to obtain Charle's Civil War pension, to see how he ended up at the prison and how long he was there.

Lydia and George were about 23 years old when they had their first child, Mary Elizabeth born about 1864. The next year they had another daughter, Helen (my 2nd great grandmother); then their first son, George, in 1868. The 1865 Massachusetts Census has George and Lydia enumerated below Freeman and Joanna French, Lydia's parents.  They may have been living with them or maybe next door; but by the 1870 census it seems they moved a little down the street onto Washington street to a place of their own. The 1879 South Scituate map shows the location of George C Cowen residence. The map also shows Lydia's father Freeman, near the pond, still very close by. George and Lydia stayed in South Scituate, George working in the shoe industry, for the rest of their married life.

1879 South Scituate map shows the location of George C Cowen residence


George and Lydia did have a fourth child, but not until 1880, 12 years after their third child.  Lydia and George were about 39 years old when they had this last child, Percy. I would imagine that was tough to have another baby 12 years after your last one. I am sure their daughters Mary (age 16) and Helen (age 15) were helpful in raising Percy for the years before they were married in 1884 and 1885. At age 16 in 1880 Mary was no longer in school according to the census and would be at home the most.

I found an interesting bit of information on George when I searched for him and his family in the Massachusetts City Directories database on ancestry.com. George C Cowing is listed in the Hanover 1898 directory as belonging to the organization of The Temple of Honor, Corner Stone Lodge, no. 22. (He was living in Norwell, but the meetings were at Union Hall in Hanover, MA). I did not know anything about this organization, so I did some google searches. Most of the search results included information on the Odd Fellows organization, as I believe part of their organization was Temple of Honor and Temperance. I was not sure this was the right club that George belonged to as the Hanover directory also lists separately an Odd Fellows Organization and their members, which would have met at the Odd Fellows building in Hanover. I decided to look in google books for any references to The Temple of Honor, and I believe I found what I was looking for in a couple of books. One book, the History of the temperance reform in Massachusetts, 1813-1883, by George Faber Clark page 72, has an entire chapter on the Temple of Honor.




This excerpt triggered my memory of a document my mother gave me some time ago about an ancestor pledging not to drink alcohol.  I could not remember who signed this, until I looked up the document in my small box of family papers.  My scanner does not seem to be working, so I took a picture of it. 

This document is for Ethel F. Stoddard, George's granddaughter (my great grandmother).  It is from the Massachusetts Abstinence Society, signed in 1894.  Ethel would only have been 6 years old, I cannot imagine that she actually signed it.  It does seem that George and his family however felt very strongly against consuming alcohol that they would have their granddaughter at only age 6 pledge to not drink.  I did not know my great grandmother Ethel, nor did my grandmother talk much about her, but I wonder if she continued with her grandfather's strong beliefs.

George and Lydia had many losses in the late 1880s. In 1887, Lydia's mother Joanna died. Less than a year later, George's father, Joshua Cowing died in February of 1888. The following year Lydia's father also died in 1889. George's mother would live for another four years after her husband Joshua dies.

Unfortunately, George only lives 7 years after his mother's death. George died on October 4 1899, in Norwell, MA at the age of 58. The town record of his death states he died of heart disease, dropsy. I fould George's gravestone at the Washington Street Cemetery in Norwell with his daughter Helen and his son in law Arthur Stoddard. Sadly, George's wife is not buried with him, or at least there is no stone or engraving for her.

I am not sure when Lydia died, but I was not able to find her in the Massachusetts Vital Records online through familysearch or americanancestors.org. The records only go up to 1915, perhaps she lived past this date. She also could have married again, and listed under her new married name, although I was not able to find a new marriage record for Lydia either.   Her other daughter Mary is buried at Fairmont Cemetery in East Weymouth.  A volunteer from findagrave.com took a picture of Mary's stone for me, which is multisided.  I am not sure if Lydia is on another side of the stone, but it does look to be a family stone for Mary's husband's family, the Gardners.  I will have to visit the cemetery and check to see if Lydia is buried with them.

stone of Mary Cowing Gardner (George and Lydia's daughter) at Fairmount Cemetery, East Weymouth

photo by hammer on findagrave.com

I also have to search for her other two children to see if she is buried with them.   I did find her parent's gravesite at Liberty Plain cemetery in Hingham, but I did not see Lydia there either.   (See Update under to do list)


to do list:

1. Find where Lydia Helen French Cowing is buried (and when she died) (UPDATE: Ancestry.com has added a new database since I wrote this post - Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 - which is an index created by the Holbrooks of vital records throughout the state of Massachusetts.  I was able to find Helen L Cowing, which states she died in 1919 and actually is buried at Washington Street Cemetery in Norwell, MA.  So she did not remarry, and maybe she is buried with her husband and her name just is not on the stone.  Or maybe she is buried at another plot.)
2. Find if George did register for Civil War - also interesting to note that the 1870 census he lists his name as John Cowing - was he hiding his name.
3. Find land records for George C Cowing in Scituate, Plymouth County. Probably moved to own house in Scituate between 1865-1870. County Boundaries can be determined at this website : Historical County Boundary Maps - BETA
4. Find George's probate 1899 Norwell, MA - plymouth county (UPDATE: found probate docket - see post here)

joseph labrecque and marie anna raimond

Joseph Labrecque and Marie Anna Raimond were married on April 29, 1851 on the Ile D'Orleans, Quebec, in the parish of St. Jean. They were my 3rd great grandparents, and the first generation of Labrecques in my direct line to move off the small island to the mainland area of Quebec. I was not able to locate the marriage contract from the Marriage Contract website of the National Archives Quebec.

Joseph and Marie Anna were both born and grew up on the Ile D'Orleans. Marie Anna Raimond's family may have moved to the island before she was born, but her father was born in St. Louis, Kamouraska, Quebec; not on the island. The Labrecques; however, had lived on the island since the 1600s.

Soon after Joseph and Marie-Anna were married, they moved off the island. Joseph was 22 years old and Marie Anna was just 19 years old. The 1851/1852 Census of Canada East has Joseph and Marie living in the sub district of St. Flavien, Lotbinière county, in the area that was then known as Canada East (Quebec). They were living in a one story house with another couple, Gabriel Valliere (age 45) and Calostique Metaye (age 27). Although this couple was older, I am guessing they knew at least Calostique fairly well, as she was also born on the Ile' D'Orleans. By 1852, parish records show Joseph and Marie Anna belonged to the parish of St. Croix, Quebec, where they had their first four children baptised between the years of 1852 and 1856. St. Flavien and St. Croix are only about 6 miles apart; both parishes must have been fairly rural as Joseph is listed as a "cultivateur", or farmer.

In October of 1856, there is one record of their son Joseph's death recorded in the parish of St. Roch, Quebec. It looks like they left the area of St. Croix in 1856, heading a couple of miles north, closer to the island they grew up on. Around 1857, they may have moved back to the parish of St. Jean on the island, as their 5th child, Joseph, was baptised in the parish there. They did not stay on the island long as their next child, Achilles, was baptised in the Beauport section of Quebec City in 1859, a year and a half later. Their next child, Moise, was christened in the parish of St. Roch in 1861; however, their last 6 children's baptism's were recorded again at the the parish of La Nativité de Notre Dame, Beauport, Quebec.

Beauport and St. Roch sections of Quebec


View Joseph Labrecque and Marie Anna Raimond in a larger map

The later census records I have found for this family support that they lived in the sub district of Beauport from 1861 to at least 1881. [1] I am not sure why their children were baptised in different parishes unless they moved back and forth between areas. Perhaps they were renting and moved to where they could afford. The area of Beauport and St. Roch are close though, so maybe they did not move and just baptised Moise at a different parish. Maybe that is where his godparents attended mass and they decided to have him baptised there. The record does however state, "de cette paroisse" (of this parish). Beauport and Saint Roch are both close to the Il D'Orleans, just on the west side of the St. Lawrence River. They may have moved to this area to be closer to the island where their parents lived. Even though the bridge to the island was not built at this time, perhaps they took a boat to the island sometimes to visit family.

Joseph's occupation also changed with this move by 1856 from farmer to "menusuir", or carpenter [2]. Maybe moving closer to the city of Quebec provided better working opportunities as a carpenter, or maybe he changed professions because they moved away from farming land. His employment did not seem to stay consistent though, as it changed frequently within the parish records of his children. The 1861 Census has Joseph as "journalier', day laborer. By 1871 his job is listed as "meunier", which is miller; apparently still working with wood. The records starting in 1873 have a new job listing, mecanicien. According to babylon.com, translates to mechanic, a bit different than a carpenter or miller. By the 1881 census, and up until the 1901 census, Joseph has an occupation of "charretier". I have found a couple of translations of this profession as wagoner, carter or teamster. The 1901 census states he was an employer, not an employee. The 1881 and the 1901 census also list education information. According to these censuses, Joseph was unable to read or write, I am guessing in either French or English. I did find this a little surprising, but I am not sure what education was available to him. Marie Anna; however, was able to read and write, and the 1901 census also states she could speak English. She must have been a great source of guidance to her husband with her knowledge.

While Joseph was out supporting his family financially, Marie Anna gave birth to at least 13 children. The last child was born in 1876, when Joseph was 47 and Marie Anna was 43. Since there were so many children I created a one generation descendant report from my Legacy software. I am not sure I am happy with the Google Sites format, although I have not had the chance to play with it much. I am usually a big fan of all things Google, so I will have to work on this. I am also not sure the descendant report itself is the best way to display all the information on their children - I think a more concise view may be better, listing only children's names and birth and death dates.

I have spent some time on ancestry.com trying to find records for Joseph and Marie Anna's children. Sadly, many of their children died at very young ages. Their first daughter died at age 11, their third child died at age 2, their fourth child died before the age of 5. Their 8th child died at age 1, their 10th child died before the age of 12. Their last three children died before their first birthdays, one at birth and was unnamed. The French Canadian parish records are a great resource for vital records in Quebec, but the death records do not list the cause of death. I am guessing that the cause of most children's death were some common childhood diseases. I could not imagine losing 8 children. How sad it must have been to experience all these losses. (the deaths occurred in the following years : 1856, before 1861, 1863, 1864, 1871, 1873, 1877, and one before 1881) [3].

Not only did Joseph and Marie Anna lose many children from death, but at least three of their children also left Canada to go to the United States before 1900. One was my 2nd great grandfather, Achilles Labrecque, in addition to his older brother Eugene and his younger brother Moise [4]. As a result of all the childhood deaths and emigration, Joseph and Marie Anna would have only 2 out of their 13 children living in Quebec after 1900, Marie Virginia Mathilda and Joseph.

Joseph and Marie Anna's ninth child, Marie Virginia Mathilda (Labrecque) Senechal [5] is living in Beauport, Quebec in 1891; the same district her parent were living in, in 1881. She is the only member of this family I have been able to find in the 1891 census, but I assume her parents are still living close by. I was not able to locate Marie Virginia in the 1901 census, but I did find her death recorded in the Beauport parish record in 1908.

Their fifth child, Joseph Labrecque and his family were living in Beauport, Quebec in 1881; the same district as his parents at that time. Joseph and his growing family did move out of Beauport to the ward of Jacques Cartier by 1901, while his parents Joseph and Marie Anna had moved to the St. Vallier district of Quebec, on the other side of the St. Lawrence River. (Marie Anna's mother, Justine Turcotte Raimond was still living until 1899 on the Island, in St. Jean parish; directly across the river from St. Vallier - maybe the moved to be closer to her.) By the 1911 census, Joseph and Marie Anna's son, Joseph, had moved to the St. Vallier district also. Joseph and Marie Anna are not recorded in the 1911 census; however, as they were not living at that time. Both of their death records are recorded in the Beauport parish, not St. Vallier. Perhaps they moved back to Beauport, or maybe they were just buried in Beauport, at the church they spent most of their lives with. Marie Anna died at the age of 74 in December of 1906, and Joseph died only a month later, in January of 1907 at the age of 77. They were fortunate to spend 55 years together.

Map of joseph labrecque and maria anna raimond family
1851-1907


View Joseph Labrecque and Marie Anna Raimond in a larger map

The Roman Catholic church at Beauport was the La Nativité de Notre Dame de Beauport. According to the eglisesdequebec.org website, the church that is standing now was built in 1917-1918, and is the 5th church built at Beauport. This is not the church that was standing while Joseph and Marie Anna were sill living. As their death records are from La Nativité de Notre Dame de Beauport, I assume they are both buried at this cemetery. There is a website that lists burials from this church, interment.com. I am not sure if all the names were recorded at this cemtery, but I do not find Joseph and Marie Ann Labrecque. I look forward to visiting someday to try to locate them.

links of interest:
1. Wikipedia's Timeline of Quebec history (1867 to 1899)
2. Wikipedia's Timeline of Quebec history (1900 to 1930)

notes:
1. I was not able to find them in the 1891 census.
2. breakdown of Joseph's occupation throughout the records:

marie's baptism - cultivateur: farmer
no occupation stated for eugene, joseph (1st), marie hermine, achilles, charles jean
baptist, joseph alphonse baptisms
Moise, joseph (2nd), marie virginia mathilda baptisms, joseph (1st) death - menusuir:
carpenter
marie florine baptism, Marie Florine death - meunier: miller
unnamed labrecque bapt, joseph arthur baptism and death - mecanicien: mechanic?

1852 cultivateur: farmer
1856, 1857, 1861,1867 menusuir: carpenter
1861 census journalier: day laborer
1871 census meunier: miller
1871 meunier: miller
1873, 1876, 1877 mecanicien: mechanic?
1881 - 1901, charretier: wagoner, carter, teamster

3. I was not able to locate entries for death in the parish registers for their children Marie Florine or Joseph Alphonse, but they were not listed as children in their next census with Joseph and Marie Anna's family - most likely had died by the time the census was taken.
4. Joseph and Marie Anna's oldest son Eugene was in Cook County Illinois by 1897, they year he was married. He was an oiler for a railroad. He died in Illinois in 1931. Their son Achilles, my 2nd great grandfather, was in Massachusetts by 1888 when their son George was born in Cambridge, MA. Achilles died in Quincy, MA in 1937. Joseph and Marie Anna had one more son, Moise, move to the United States. I found a record of birth for a son of Moise, Harry, in Amesbury, MA in 1894. I have lost track of Moise after 1894, I am not sure if he moved back to Canada, but I could not find census or death records for he or his wife, Sarah. I found their son Harry living with his Aunt and Uncle (his mother's brother) in Wisconsin when he was only 16 in 1910.
5. It seems she was called Exilda or Esilda in the records.

memorial day

We just celebrated Memorial Day, which made me wish that I had spent some time at the cemeteries. I am not sure why I did not go out, I think that my kids would not have appreciated spending one of the first nice weekends walking through cemeteries searching for ancestors.

It did get me thinking of which cemetery I most wanted to visit. About once a week I drive past the Hanover Center Cemetery. I always glance at the stones as I drive by looking for familiar names. One of my third great grandmothers, Maria (Harding) Stoddard is buried in Hanover according to her death record. Maria died in Norwell on August 11, 1908. I have yet to take the time to try to find her though. I thought rather than going to a cemetery this Memorial Day, I would focus on finding where exactly Maria is buried.

I called the Cemetery department for Hanover, which is in the Public Works department. I spoke with a very nice person who looked in her records for Maria, but was unable to find her. She looked under both Harding and Stoddard. She also searched for Maria's husband, David Stoddard, but no luck. She said there were about two pages of Stoddards though; unfortuantely, not from my family.

I then emailed the Quincy Public library to ask for a look up of Maria's obituary for me. I have had so much luck emailing and getting Patriot Ledger newspaper articles and obituaries from the librarians in Quincy. Again, no luck this time. The librarian stated that most of the obituaries during this time were from Braintree, Quincy, and Weymouth.

I searched a little bit to see if there were other newspapers in Norwell or Hanover during the early 1900's, but I did not come up with any. I think my next step would be to visit the local libraries, Norwell and Hanover, to see if they have any advice. I also came across a South Shore Genealogical Society website, which would be interesting to see what kind of information they have. I emailed them for information on membership, but their website does not look to have been updated since 2009.

I am more determined now to find where Maria is buried and finally visit her.

UPDATE: (sept 2013)
I found Maria!  I went to the Union Cemetery, Assinippi, in Hanover, MA to try to find some Stoddards that were referenced in a deed to have bought land in this cemetery.  According to Plymouth deed 76(261), Hezekiah Stoddard, my 5th great grandfather, (Maria's husband David Stoddard's grandfather), would be buried here.  I went looking for him, and came across the stone for David T Stoddard and Maria Harden Stoddard, buried with three of their children, David, Henry and Joseph.  I was not expecting to find them here, but I am so happy I did!  (I never did find Hezekiah, but I think that his stone has either faded or is missing)

From memorial day maria harden stoddard

benjamin whiton and joanna gardner

I know that the names of one set of my 6th great-grandparents are Benjamin Whiton and Joanna. I know this because my 5th great grandfather, their son Benjamin Whiton (b 1772), died in 1858 and the death index for the South Scituate vital records on americanancestors.org lists Benjamin and Joanna as his parents. This death record also states Benjamin was 85 years old when he died, and was born in Hingham. According to the Hingham records available on americanancestors.org, a Benjamin Whiton and a Joanna Gardner married in Hingham on April 27, 1766. This was the only Benjamin Whiton in Hingham listed on the Hingham index marrying a Joanna during this time. As of now, this is the best documentation I have that Benjamin Whiton and Joanna Gardner are my 6th great grandparents.

The History of the Town of Hingham (1893), also came to the conclusion that Benjamin and Joanna Gardner are Benjamin's parents; as seen in the excerpt below from google books:



The book has a bit more information on the couple than I have been able to find using only online resources. I was only able to locate the birth records of two of their children on americanancestors.org, Benjamin (mentioned above b. 1772 d. 1858) and Joanna (b. 1768). The Hingham book has my 6th great grandparents having 6 children in Hingham. My guess as to where the authors found this information would be church records, land records, or probate.

Rather than writing a post on information I have on Benjamin and Joanna, I am going to focus on how I will eventually go about finding these church records, land records, and probate records. These documents will provide further evidence that Benjamin and Joanna are who I think they are.

My first step will be to go to the Hingham Public Library as it looks like they have a large collection of historical documents for the town of Hingham, including vital records. The NEHGS database online that I have access to seems to only be a handwritten transcription of Hingham records, so looking at copies of the original documents may provide more information. In these birth records I would be looking for Joanna's last name, hopefully Gardner, and other children of Benjamin and Joanna.

The Hingham Public Library also produced a list of other historical documents which may be of interest. One item I would be looking for is a deed or will of Joanna Gardner's father to see if he mentions Joanna and her husband Benjamin Whiton, further evidence that Joanna's last name is Gardner. The resource list for Hingham Public Library states they hold some Hingham deeds. According to the History of Hingham book, Joanna's father was John Gardner who died in Hingham in 1802.


Joanna Gardner's family from History of the Town of Hingham, vol 2 (1893)


If Hingham Public Library does not have the deeds or probate I am looking for, I will next have to find these records at the courts. Hingham was part of Norfolk County until 1803, so I need to find a probate book which indexes records in Norfolk and maybe even Plymouth County since the year is so close to the change in counties. There is a book titled, Probate index, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1793-1900, which would tell me if John Gardner created a will. Hingham Public Library does not hold this book though, but the New England Historic Genealogical Library does. The actual records are also on microfilm at NEHGS and the Family History Centers. The Family History Centers also hold microfilm of Land records - Deeds, 1793-1890 for this time period from Norfolk County. I will have to do the same for Plymouth County probate and deeds - both at Family History Center. The NEHGS library also holds Plymouth County probate index and records.

I do have some idea of where Benjamin and Joanna may have lived in Hingham. Gathering information from historical maps, census, and the Hingham history book, I wrote about Benjamin's land in another post. It would be great to find the deeds or probate relating to these land transactions.

While I was researching another ancestor in Hingham, George Lane French (whose grandson would marry Benjamin's grandaughter), I came across a resource that may also provide information on the Whitings in Hingham. There are church documents available for the First Church in Hingham, records by Reverend Ebenezer Gay, which the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historical Genealogical Society both hold. From all the information I have on the Whitings though, it seems they lived in the Southern part of Hingham. Therefore, they may not be listed in these documents which are from the First Parish, not the Second Parish. The document that the Massachusetts Historical Society holds does state in the description that it contains some information on the Second Parish though. I am not sure if the Hingham Public Library holds similar documents, but they may be included in their Hingham Vital Records 1633-1900 on microfilm, as this is how the NEHGS catalogs the document in their library.

I have not been able to find a similar document for the Second Parish which lists births, marriages and deaths for Hingham. The only book I found that might contain some information is Two hundred years in South Hingham, 1746-1946, at the NEHGS library. This looks to be a history of the Second Church of Hingham, so it probably does not contain much vital records.

Once I find more information on Benjamin and Joanna, I will write a little about their life together in Hingham. I produced a lengthy to do list below organized by repository; hopefully I will be able to visit at least one library in the near future. I also searched the cenuses for 1790-1810, as these are the censuses available when Benjamin and Joanna were supposedly living. I will put all this information together in another post, but have noted my thoughts below.

Looking at census :

1790 Hingham,
Benjamin Whiting Senior: 1 male over 16, 1 female (prob. Benj. parents)
Benjamin Whiting Junior: 3 males under 16 (Joseph, Archelaus, Luther); 1 male over 16 (Benj), 2 females (Joanna, Asenath) (but where would his son Benjamin be - he would be abt. 18 years old in 1790 - but not married yet - maybe he is apprenticed somewhere - he becomes a blacksmith)

1800 Census, Hingham
Benjamin Whiton Jr.: 1 male 16-25 (Luther or Joseph, Benj. and Archelaus are married), 1 male 45 and over (Benjamin), 1 female 26-44 (Asenath - did she marry), 1 female 45 and over (Joanna)
Benjamin Whiton: 1 male 45 and over, 2 females 45 and over (probably Benj. parents - and maybe a mother in law)
1800 Census, Hanover (actually Scituate on lower page)
Benjamin Whiting: 2 males under 10 (Jared and Richard), 1 male 26-44 (Benjamin), 1 female 26-44 (Lydia)

1810 Census, Hingham
Benjamin Whiton: 1 male 26-44 (Luther or Joseph or Archelaus whose wife died), 1 male 45 and over (Benj), 1 female under 10 (? maybe archelaus daughter elizabeth - mother died, archelaus enlisted in 1812), 1 female 26-44 (Asenath)

to do:

Hingham Public Library :
1. vital records on microfilm
    a. see if Joanna's last name is listed on birth record of their son Benjamin
    b. find birth records of other children of Benjamin and Joanna
    c. find marriage record of Benjamin and Joanna - does it provide any more information
2. look for deeds and/or probate records for Benjamin Whiting Sr.(d.1806) and John Gardner (d.1802) to see if they list Benjamin and Joanna or their children.
3. look at George Lincoln's Diary
4. book on the History of the Second Church of Hingham, Two hundred years in South Hingham, 1746-1946 : the story of a church and a community / by Donald F. Robinson

NEHGS:
1. vital records - contains Rev. Ebenezer Gay for First Parish - maybe has info on second parish
2 book History of Second Church, Two hundred years in South Hingham, 1746-1946 : the story of a church and a community / by Donald F. Robinson
3. probate index and records on microfilm for norfolk county, MA - looking for information on John Gardner and Benjamin Whiton, Sr. linking parents to Benjamin and Joanna.
4. probate records and index for plymouth county - looking for information on John Gardner and Benjamin Whiton, Sr. linking parents to Benjamin and Joanna.
5. book on Whiting Genealogy : The Whiton family in America and genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Whiton (1635).
6. book on Whiting family : Memoir of Rev. Samuel Whiting, D.D., and of his wife, Elizabeth St. John, with references to some of their English ancestors and American descendants / William Whiting. Also a database online at americanancestors.org
7. There are three pages in the NEHGS library catalog when you search under subject Whiting Family.

Massachusetts Historical Society:
1. town records - contains Ebenezer Gay records but also contains some Second Parish information

Family History Centers :
1. probate index and records on microfilm for norfolk county, MA - looking for information on John Gardner and Benjamin Whiton, Sr. linking parents to Benjamin and Joanna.
2. land deeds for Norfolk County - looking for information on John Gardner and Benjamin Whiton, Sr. linking parents to Benjamin and Joanna.
3.  do the same for Plymouth County probate and deeds

pierre labrecque (1786)

Pierre Labreque was my fourth great grandfather. He was born on the Ile D'Orleans, Quebec, Canada. Pierre is a descendant of Pierre Labrec who was born in the 1600s in St. Jacques, Dieppe, Normandie, France and one of the first settlers of the Ile D' Orleans.

Pierre Labreque was born on April 22, 1786, and baptised the same day at the parish of St. Jean on the Island. He was the first child of Pierre Labreque and Marie Catherine Godbout. He came from a large family of 11 brothers and sisters.

Pierre lived his entire life on the Ile D'Orleans. Life on the island was probably a little isolated at this time as the only way across the river was by boat or crossing over the ice in the winter. Some history of the island can be found at the Ile D'Orleans tourism website. I am guessing the original settlers that were granted land on the island divided and passed on their land to their children. If families were as large as Pierre's, they would quickly run out of land to give to their children; which would result in descendants eventually leaving the island. Pierre was the oldest child in his family which probably enabled him to stay on the island while some of his siblings did settle off the island with their new families.

Picture of the St. Jean Church on the Ile D'Orleans
from the Tourisme Ile D'Olreans website

When Pierre was 26 years old he married Margueritte Audibert dit Lajeunesse on October 5, 1812 at the parish of St. Jean. They had one child together, Marguerite, before his wife died in 1816. Pierre married again at the age of 35 to my 4th great grandmother, Euphrosine Blouin, on February 4, 1822 at the same parish. They had at least seven children together; Pierre was 56 when he his last child, Sarah, was born (Euphrosine was 43).

Pierre was in his early 50's when his mother and father died in the 1830's. He was already married at this time, so I am not sure if he was living on land of his own or on his father's farm. They also could have received land from Euprhosine's family, or perhaps even his first wife's family. This information would come from notary records, but I would need to find which notaries recorded information for the island during this time period before I can find the documents.

The 1851/52 Census of Canada has Pierre and Euphrosine still living in St. Jean parish of the Ile D'Orleans. They are listed with their son Pierre, seemingly on the same land, living in a one story brick house. The 1861 census does not have the parish noted, but Pierre and his wife are in district 8 on the island; this time listed with their son Ferdinand, not Pierre. (I will have to find out which district this is). By the 1871 census, they are listed in the parish of St. Laurent, again with Ferdinand, district 148. In all the records that I have found for Pierre, his occupation is listed as cultivatuer or agriculteur (farmer). There were many river pilots and boatsmen on the island, but it seems most of my ancestors were farmers on the Ile D'Orleans.

At least two major historical events occurred in Pierre's lifetime. The first was the cholera outbreak of 1832 in Quebec. A ship from Ireland brough sick passengers to Canada, which resulted in a fast outbreak of Cholera in Quebec. One Canadian History website states the outbreak resulted in the death of a tenth of the quebec population. I am sure it was a frightening time for Pierre, especially since he had a son, Ferdinand, born in July of 1832. Ferdinand and everyone else in Pierre's family survived the outbreak though, perhaps it was not as bad on the island. The other historical event was the Patriot's War, or the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838. The French Canadians fought against the Colonial English that held power over Lower Canada, but failed. I am not sure how invovled residents on the Ile D'Orleans were with this rebellion, but since the Ile D'Orleans was part of Lower Canada, they would continuosly be affected by the government of England (note 1).

Pierre died in October of 1879; living a long life of 93 years, surviving his wife by two years. He also survived all eleven of his siblings except one; Joseph, who died one year later (note 2). Pierre was fortunate to have all seven of his children still living when he died, leaving him at least 59 grandchildren, all born before Pierre passed (note 3). That number seems too large to even imagine. Pierre also had at least thirteen great grandchildren by the time he died in 1879 (note 4).

Although Pierre was recorded last as living in the parish of St. Laurent in 1871; his death was recorded in the parish of St. Jean. I assume he was also buried in the St. Jean parish cemetery.

notes:
1. There were many reorganizations of Canada throughout Pierre's lifetime. When Pierre was born, Quebec was known as the province of Quebec, under Birtish rule. The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, allowing Lower Canada (now Quebec), to retain French law and institutions; while accomodating the newly English speaking residents of Upper Canada (now Ontario) with English Laws. The French Canadians of Quebec did not always comply with British rule though, and during the 1830s, groups organized which eventually led to the Rebellion of 1838. The French Patriots failed though, wich resulted in the Act of the Union in 1840, uniting Upper and Lower Canada, creating the Province of Canada. Lower Canada (Quebec) was now unofficially called Canada East. This organization lasted until the British North American Acts of 1867, when Upper Canada became Ontario and Lower Canada became Quebec, under the new Confederation of Canada.
2. I was unable to find death records of 3 of his sisters, but I was also not able to find any of them in the 1881 Canadian Census. One sister, Anathalie, most likely died before 1868 as her husband remarries in 1868. Another sister, Mary Magdalane, I did not find a marriage or any census records for, so I am assuming she died early. The last sister, Marguerite, was in the 1871 census, but I did not find her in the 1881 census.
3. I did not find any children for one of his daughters, Angelle, but the rest of his 7 children had many children of their own.
4. Twelve of the great grandchildren came from children of his daughter Scholastique and the other one from his son Pierre. He may have had more great grandchildren that I have not found from his many grandchildren.


to do:
1. find notary record of marriage for pierre labrecque and euphrosine blouin.  UPDATE : I found a research guide on marriage contracts from the Library and Archives Nationales du Quebec. I did a search on their database of marriage contracts and found that the notary who recorded his second marriage was Alexis Cote. I am amazed that this database exists and that I missed it before - how easy that was to find the notary. The library notes that the actual contract is available on microfilm, Centre d'archives de Québec, CN301, S69.
2. look at 1825 census for Lower Canada - for Pierre Labrecque (1876) who would have been married to Euphrosine and had two children by then. It is a head of household census only - microfilm 584017 at Family History Library. Not much new information would be provided outher than parish they lived in.
3.  look at 1831 census for Lower Canada - for Pierre Labrecque (1876) would have been married with five children.  This is also a head of household census - but provides much more information such as crops, farm animals, acerage, rent, etc. microfilm 1375926 at Family History Library.
4. look at 1842 census for Lower Canada - for Pierre Labrecque (1876) - also a head of household census - but provides information on land, etc. microfilm 1375931 at Family History Library - in catalog - states missing after Montmerency County.
5. find any notary records for probate or land transactions - look to see who was notary at Pierre's year of death on the Island - since there is a database for marriage contracts - start by searching for a marriage record on the island for the year 1879 and noting the notary. There are some databases on probates from the Library of Archives Quebec - but did not find a Pierre Labrecque on the island in the database. Not sure if the database covers the island, it covers only certain judicial districts. I think Ile D'Orleans is under the Quebec judicial district, which would mean it should be in the database though.

links:
1. previous blog post on Pierre's parents, Pierre Labrecque and Marie Godbout: also includes information on parish of St. Jean and information on finding notary records.