Canada Project Updates (May 2023)

Question

The Canada Project has been very active in the last few months, and we wanted to share some of the great work our team has been doing, and give well deserved credit for a fun and productive 2023 so far.

There are three major things that we've been pushing forward on. 

• There's been tons of movement on the First People's Project (including lots of effort by Peggy Watkins, Christine, and Amy Gilpin), including 
  • a sticker resign (especially refining and correct wording about and location and membership) 
  •  project pages 
  • naming conventions
  • categories
• Steady interest in the Trans-Canada Trail. The Trail has been great for the Canada Project in a number of ways: Education in sourcing and formatting. Helping people gauge their interest in active project work. And integrating new and enthusiastic members into teams and subprojects.
  • We've had  3-5 new sign ups a month
  • about 20 active hikers
  •  35 members completed since initiation
•  There's been exciting progress happening on the Monthly Connection Project. Great work Russel Butler, and participants. We've cut the number of Canada Project profiles that were unconnected in half since the start of the year, with more to come.
  • the May Challenge is completed but stay tuned for June! 

More generally, we've also got a lively, and helpful Discord group. Lots of our recent members have been really participatory (shout outs to Kathryn Lake, Kathryn Nass, Liza Gervais)! Recent topics of work and discussion have been around petitioning FamilySearch to add correct historical names for our project areas (historic Manitoba), reforming the category structure for Saskatchewan (it's overwhelming right now, with over 300 subcategories, shout out to Shirley Thompson for taking this up).

WIthin the project, we have a lot of cross-project expertise that's been really helpful in the last few months: in the areas of categories, cemeteries and religious congregations (shout out to Doug). I'd also highlight that our members have been really good at adding recently deceased notables (eg):

• Timothy Gregg Bachman (1951-2023) 
• Randolph Bachman OC OM
• Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr
• Patricia Ruth Hamilton (1937-2023)
• James Leo Egan (1921-2000)
• Hazel Mary Muriel (Journeaux) McCallion CM (1921-2023)

Let us know if you'd like to join the project, or participate in any capacity in these project initiatives! And congratulations again to everyone who's been so helpful, and fun to work with.

Answer 1

I’m interested in the Canada project.. I have a few documents that are potentially tied to my greats, but are in French or really fancy cursive.. do we have anyone who can help with that kind of stuff?

Comments

Yes, we do. I know that a bunch of us can read French and decipher old handwriting.

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I will help with your french fancy cursive they are very hard send me a link.

Answer 2

I would like to join the project. My McRae ancestors arrived from Scotland and settled in Glengarry (John McRae and family) and Prescott (Donald McRae and siblings) in the 1820's.

Answer 3

Interested in the Ireland family who emigrated from north England to Burlington , Ontario in the early 1800s.

Richard Hornsby

Answer 4

I have Canadian Roots going back to 1767, with Isreal Kenney (Kinney) my GGG Grandfather. I believe there are still many descendants in New Brunswick.

My GGGrandfather, William Scoullar, husband of Mary Kenney, was born in Scotland, and migrated with his parents to St John in 1800 at the age of two. He was a member of the Provincial Legislature for two terms in the 1840s and 50s. His step-sisters married and remained in St John.

All his twelve children left Canada, however two Grandsons, Edwin Sayer Scoullar and Andrew William Scoullar remained in British Columbia. There are descendants still there.

Answer 5

BTO will show as connected tomorrow

Answer 6

I knew my great-grandmother, Adeline Marchand, born Tessier, was Indian, but I have discovered, through genealogical research, that she had roots in Akwesasne, so she was Mohawk through her mother, Catherine Robidoux, daughter of Joseph Etienne Robidoux and Marguerite Gendron.

Further research - on how the Robidoux, descendants of a Spanish sailor, could have become Mohawks - revealed the existence of the "White Indians", white settlers who integrated indigenous communities.

Comments

Joseph Étienne Robidou and his  wife Marguerite Gendron are both of strictly French origin except for André Robidou, who was indeed born in Spain.  Their place of residence does not change that, so they are not in the least Mohawk or ''Indian'.

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At a family reunion, in Pawtucket, RI, I saw a photo of my great-grandmother Adeline (daughter of Catherine Robidoux). She had very pronounced Indian features. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to that photo.

In an article about the Indian presence in Laprairie, I read that the Jesuits brought Mohawk families in Laprairie. One of the families was called Robidoux.

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you're going to have to take extra care to trace them on paper, so they don't get attached to the wrong lines then.

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Thank you. Catherine Robidoux is a rather mysterious figure and different genealogical sites give her different dates of birth (up to 6!) and two sets of parents! But PRDH, which is a Université de Montréal research program on historic demography, has found a baptism registration, giving a date and the names of the parents as Joseph Etienne Robidoux and Marguerite Gendron. According to an American cousin, our great-grandmother, Adeline Marchand (born Tessier), Catherine's daughter, was a "Blackfoot Indian". I was doubtful about the "Blackfoot" part, since our family originates from the Eastern Townships and New England, thousands of miles from Blackfoot country. Mohawk makes much more sense. The locations fit. La Prairie de la Magdeleine appears often along the line and that was "Indian lands".

Joseph Etienne died in Raquette, NY (Mohawk territory) and was buried in St. Regis (Akwesasne) Quebec.

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interesting, Catherine Robidou born to Joseph and Marguerite Gendron was born on 1 June 1806, in Beauharnois, baptised on the 2nd in Ste-Jeanne-Chantal church of Île Perrot. baptism IGD (membership)

Catherine's mother remarried with Basile Javy dit Blénier in 1825 in St-Régis, Basile is a widower listed as resident of Akwesasne.  Marguerite gets listed as living in Raquette River NY.  So there's your first indication of connection to native lands.

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Thank you Danielle. That was the information I got from PRDH. I was surprised to learn that Catherine had been born in Beauharnois. When I started my genealogy online, I found that Joseph Etienne had died in Raquette and was buried in St.Regis (now Akwesasne).

Answer 7

Thank you, Brad and everyone who is working on this project!

I am just a dabbler so i can't commit to project work, but i can cheer you on! And i do!

My commitment to connectedness is to monitor the Unconnected Profiles for likely descendants of the families who came on the Lovey, and get those profiles connected if possible.  

Answer 8

I have to second what Shirlea wrote. I also greatly appreciate all the work going into every aspect of this project! So thank you Brad along with the entire team. Seeing Marie Miteouamegoukoue, considered a First Peoples of Canada as well as a member of the Algonquin Nation, as my tenth great grandmother is unbelievable and very cool.

Despite a French Canadian / Norman Surname, I can't speak a bit of French, so I also appreciate all those that put in the time to translate the profiles!

Brian Quesnell (Quesnel, Quesnay, Chesnel, Kenel, Caisneto, etc, etc...)

Comments

Hi there, cousin Brian!  Looks like we are 9th cousins from way back in the days of New France, with common ancestors Marguerite Balan and Mathieu Guay, married 17 Aug 1695.