Jean Baptiste Lafleur m. Valérie Dion, CT or MA (USA)

Question

Trying to identify this couple:

Jean Baptiste Lafleur & Valérie Dion

They had at least one child:

- Uldégonde Lafleur (known later in life as Lumina Lafleur, she married Édouard Sorel on 10 Jul 1899 in Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Québec.

Lumina's baptism record from the Church of St. Edward, Stafford Springs, CT, lists her as Aldegonde Marie, child of Jean Batiste Lafleur and Valeria Dion, born in Stafford Springs on January 7, 1879 and baptized the next day. Sponsors were Joseph Lafleur and Angelina Leclerc.

I am looking for a marriage date/location for Jean Baptiste Lafleur & Valérie Dion, most probably in Connecticut or Massachusetts (I was told they lived in Holyoke for quite awhile). Jean Baptiste may also have been born in the USA according to a Canadian census who listed Lumina's parents' birth countries. Ideally, this marriage record would point me towards their respective parents.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Lumina's marriage in 1899 in St-Jean-Baptiste de Rouville to Édouard Saurel names her parents ''fille mineure de feu Jean Baptiste Lafleur et de Valérie Dion, de Holyoke ''. Named present at the wedding on her side was ''Télesphore Dion, oncle maternel et subrogé tuteur de l'épouse''

I also find another marriage for a ''Purilina Lafleur'' to Arthur St-Denis on 30 April 1904 in Montréal (Immaculée-Conception) with the same named parents, ends with ''de cette paroisse'', unclear if that refers to just her or her parents also, the wording is almost always ambiguous in these.  She is of age.

Looking at the signatures of the two women involved, doesn't appear to be the same girl, Lumina's Ls are quite distinctive.  Likely a sister though.

Comments

Found another one:

Yon-212 (Marie Valérie Yon, born 3 Feb 1851) daughter of Olivier Dion and Hélène Baillargeon)

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I figure the one born in 1852 is the right one, she had a brother of the right name.

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That’s the one I’m leaning towards as well. However, on the 1901 census, Théophile and Delphine’s neighbor is a Raoul Blanchard married to a Valérie (which could be Dion-671)...

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I added Dion-675 (Télesphore) and his wife. Hopefully I can piece these things together as I find more sources.

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1891 census (Saint-Jean-Baptiste):

Lumina and Purilina are listed in Télesphore and Delphine's household ("nièce" in both cases). Télesphore parents (Antoine and Ovide) are also present. I think this further reinforces the theory that the Valérie who married the elusive Jean Baptiste Lafleur is Télesphore's sister.

EDIT: I therefore merged Dion-665 into Dion-664.

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nice find 

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Also, Blanchard-5564 (Marie Blanche Blanchard), daughter of Raoul Blanchard and Dion-671 (Valérie Dion). Baptized in Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 1895. Godfather was... Télesphore Dion (yes, Dion-664's brother), who happens to live next door to the couple on the 1901 census.

I suspect Dion-671 is the same person as Dion-664 but she remarried after Jean Baptiste Lafleur passed away. Raoul Blanchard is a few years younger than Dion-671 and the timing looks about right. I bet finding the marriage record for the Raoul Blanchard - Valérie Dion couple would answer some of the questions.

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not finding the Raoul Blanchard-Valérie Dion marriage, I do however find 2 marriages of that couple's children:

Donat Blanchard married Nathalie Robert 26 Sept 1910 Pointe-Olivier (St-Mathias)

Blanche Blanchard married Joseph Aldéric Brodeur 20 Oct 1914 St-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville, note that on this record Valérie Dion is listed as deceased.

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I dug around in various censuses and also found Raoul's baptism record. Interestingly, Raoul Blanchard (Blanchard-5545) is Marie Valérie Dion (Dion-664)'s cousin. This wouldn't be the first case of cousins marrying, obviously. I'm still trying to confirm that Dion-671 and Dion-664 are the same person.

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Among the people who sign the marriage record between Donat Blanchard and Nathalie Robert is ''Laymina Lafleur'', same signature as on Lumina's marriage except a small part, no relationship stated.

Answer 2

Familysearch.org has a number of records, here is one

"France, Saône-et-Loire, registres paroissiaux et d’état civil, 1530-1892," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:734C-JL3Z : 16 January 2019), Jean Baptiste Lafleur, 20 Jan 1825; citing Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, Birth, Archives Departementales du Saône-et-Loire (Departmental Archives of Saône-et-Loire), France; FHL microfilm 008303833

Cites parents as Christophe Lafleur and Virginie Lamberge.

Comments

Thanks but that's from the wrong side of the Atlantic ocean. The people I'm referring to were French Canadians.

Answer 3

Mass records for this time period (1850-1880) are online at American Ancestors. No results. I don't know how comprehensive they are. Connecticut records are here https://www.ctatatelibrarydata.org/marriage-records/ No results. But once again I don't know how comprehensive they are.

Try looking for them in the 1850-1870 US Censuses. They do not absolutely confirm parents, but might give you names of the adults (possibly parents) they were living with, before their marriages.