Eli & Apoline (Caron) Robillard of Connecticut

Eli Robillard b.1861
son of Pierre & Philanese (Ducharme) Robillard

married Pauline (Apoline) Caron  c.1888

Buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in New London, Connecticut

(findagrave.com)

Robillard Family History

 
Robillard:  Of French origin; first seen in Normandy

One of the first settlers of this surname in Quebec was Claude Robillard who arrived in New France in 1663.

(click image to enlarge chart)

Robillard Family Genealogy Forum

Robillard on Geni

The 1684 Baptism Record of Nicolas Robillard

   

From the Quebec Vital and Church Records 

 Drouin Collection

is the 1864 baptism record for our 7th Great-Grandfather,

Institut Généalogique Drouin

Nicolas Robillard,

son of Claude Robillard & Marie Grandin.

 

 

(click image to enlarge) 

Paroisse La-Visitation

Champlain, Quebec

 ~ ~ ~

1830 Quebec Marriage Record of Lambert Robillard & M. Amable Salais

 

(click to enlarge)

(Margin): M. Lambert Robillard + Marie-Amable Salais.

(Act): on February 22, 1830, after publishing 3 marriage "bans" at the sermons of our parish masses and also at the masses of the parish of Ste-Anne, as it appears by the certificate of messire Fortin, curé of that place, dated from the 21 of the current (month), between Lambert Robillard, living in the parish of Ste-Anne, son of age of Joseph Robillard and of Josephte Minville of the parish of Ste-Anne, on one side, and Marie-Amable Salais from this parish, daughter under age of deceased François Salais, farmer in his lifetime, and of Rosalie Lafleur from this parish, as no objections was found, we undersigned priest of Ste-Geneviève have received their mutual consent and gave them the nuptial blessing in the presence of (?), brother-in-law, of Jean-Baptiste (?), friend of the bride, of Joseph Robillard, father of the groom, of Joachim Robillard, his brother, who, as the spouses and the witnesses declared they were not able to sign.

(Transcription by genealogy friend, Pierre, who very generously assists me with French-Canadian records - Thank you!)

The Brick Wall Crumbles: Ancestors of Pierre Robillard

  
With the wonderful assistance of Muriel and the American-Canadian Genealogical Society, I was finally able to locate the marriage record of Pierre Robillard, identify his parents, and establish his ancestry.

~ ~ ~

Where They Worked: Whitman Mills, New Bedford, Massachusetts

   
Listed as the place of employment for Arthur Robillard on his 1917 WW1 Draft Registration Card (seen below),  

Whitman Mills is a historic mill complex located  in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The mill was built in 1896 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

 ~ ~ ~

Solving the Robillard Puzzle

   
I am getting closer to solving the question of:
"Who were Pierre Robillard and Philomene Ducharme?"
(see  two previous posts).
With the help of ACS researcher, Muriel, a probable 1860 census record has been located:

 We find this family residing in Alexandria, Jefferson, New York - on the border with Ontario and within easy river or possibly train travel from Quebec.

Looking at this record we can easily match the First names Peter and his two oldest children Mary Jean and Charles.  The wife's name is different from what we know. Two possible reasons: Philanese/ Philomene is not her baptismal name or the census taker had some communication problems.  It is noted in Peter's column that he could not read or write.  They were from Quebec and spoke French which might have also posed a problem with this census taker.

Peter's occupation as is correct as I found him in later census records with an occupation of Carriage maker.

The ages of the 2 children match known birth dates for Mary Jane and Charles, and later census and other records indicate that the three oldest children were born in New York.  This lines up - especially since we see Charles listed as 1 month old (even though NY was not noted by the census taker).

The next step is to try to locate the baptism records for these two children to validate the names and surname spelling and ensure we have the correct family. To do so we have ordered a microfilm of St.Patricks church records. I am hopeful that this same microfilm might also contain the elusive marriage record of Peter Robillard and Philanese.
Now, in two or three weeks I may finally have some answers to so long running questions (fingers crossed).

~ ~ ~

Acts of Genealogical Kindness:Transcription of Baptism Record

  
Below is a transcription of the baptism record from the parish of Lavaltrie, Quebec, of Pierre Robillard seen in the previous post.

Bonjour Theresa,

Yes, the act is about twins. Here is the translation :
Margin: B(aptims) Pierre and Marie Robillard.

Act : On January 30th one thousand eight hundreds and thirty, by we priest "curé" undersigned have been baptized Pierre and Marie born today from the legitimate marriage of Jacques Robillard, farmer in this parish (in this parish is written in the margin), and Marie Payet. Godfather of Pierre was Pierre Harnois and the godmother Charlotte Robillard. Godfather for Marie was Laurent Robillard and the godmother was Thérèse Hénault, whom with the father could not sign.
(signed: H. Gagnon ?)

A very special "Thank You" to Pierre - my 'go to' person for French translations!
It is so kind of you to take time out of your day to assist in my genealogy related queries. It is very much appreciated.

~ ~ ~

Seeking French Canadian Research assistance

Identifying Pierre Robillard

For a while now I have been trying to determine the parentage of Pierre Robillard.  We have a birth date from his death certificate (son, Charles, was informant) of 27 Jan 1830 - place of birth: Canada; parents: Unknown
We also have from census records that he was born March 1831, Canada.
A daughter has in her 1891 census record that her father was born in Quebec.

Pierre (aka Peter/Petre) married Philanese/Philomene Ducharme (b. Nov 1836)- c.1856 place unknown.
I have not been able to locate a marriage record...yet.
To date, finding more information on these two ancestors has been frustrating.
Today, though, I located a baptism record that might be a match for our Pierre. 

The baptistm record is dated 30 January 1830 which would fall in line for a 27 January birth.  I am excited...this could be the break I have been searching for, but again, I think more information is needed to confirm it as belonging to our Pierre.   
Any thoughts, hints, or suggestions?

Below are the known children of Pierre (Peter) and Philomene (Ducharme) Robillard:

~  ~ ~

52 Weeks Challenge 42:Queries: Locating a Marriage Record

   
Seeking assistance in locating the marriage record (and hopefully the parents of): 
Pierre Robillard believed to be b. 27 Jan 1830, Quebec (Death cert.) or Aug 1831 (census records); parents not known
&
Philomene Ducharme (fist name also seen as: Philamina, Philanese)
believed to be b. Nov. 1836 Quebec (census records); parents not known

Year of marriage c.1856 (from census records - 1900 census states married for 44yrs)
First known child:  Mary Jean Robillard  b. Feb 1858 in New York.
Death certificates of Pierre had parents listed as 'unknown'.
Last record of Philomene was the 1920 census where she was residing at the home of her granddaughter, Mary  Virginie (St. Jean) Rainville, in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Thank you.

Madness Monday - Mary Robillard St. Jean of New Bedford afflicted by involutional melancholia

involutional melancholia:  a form of depression that occurs in late middle age, sometimes accompanied by paranoia; a former term for a state of depression that occurs during the climacteric (menopause of women); agitated depression occurring at about the time of menopause  It is now treated as a major depressive episode.

In the case of Mary Robillard St.Jean - she spent the last 6 weeks of her life in the Taunton Massachusetts State Hospital. Information for her certificate of death was taken from hospital records. It appears her parents took responsibilty for her and her husband's name is marked as unknown (although I imagine the parents knew quite well who the spouse was). She is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in New Bedford, MA - the same cemetery as her parents. Her death certificate, located using pilot.familysearch.org in the Massachusetts Death Records collection, allowed me to learn her mother's maiden name of Ducharme.

Madness Monday - Pierre Robillard: Parents Unknown

Using the relatively new FamilySearch.org pilot site, I was finally able to locate a death record for our ancestor Peter (Pierre) Robillard.

We now have a date and cause of death, but, much to our dismay, his parents are listed as unknown! He married Philomena Ducharme c. 1856 and had several children - one of which was his oldest son, Charles, the informant on the death record.  Apparently Peter did not speak much about his family since Charles did not know his grandparents names.
What we did get from the record is a date of birth  - but even this cannot be taken as absolute fact, since the date of birth conflicts with ages sited in census records...a fairly common problem for researchers.  But at least it is another point of reference when researching baptism records.  In any case I am still on the hunt for his parentage.

Occupation: Wheelwright

(image source: History of Work)
  
One of our French-Canadian Ancestors: 

1900 census: Peter (Pierre) Robillard of Norwich, New London, Connecticut; Age: 63; b. Aug 1831 Canada; wife: Philomene Ducharme b. Nov. 1836 Canada; Occupation: wheelwright

A wheelwright is a tradesman who builds or repairs wheels for carts or wagons. The wheels were traditionally made from wood and were banded by iron tires. Sometimes bone or horn were used for decorative purposes. The iron hoop or 'tire' was supplied by the blacksmith. Wheelwrights were sometimes also referred to as a wainwright. The word, wainwright, is the combination of the root words 'wain' (a large wagon for farm use) and 'wright' (a worker or maker). In modern times, wheelwrights continue to make and repair a wide variety of wheels for horse-drawn vehicles used in farming, equine competitions, and historical events. One such wheelwright shop is located in Colonial Williamsburg creating the wheels for the carriages used in the historic district.

~ ~ ~