François Alfred Brault (1871 - 1927)

Born 10 Apr 1871 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Roseanne (Desmarais) Brault — married 23 Sep 1893 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York, USA

Descendants

Died 24 Jan 1927 at age 55 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York, USA

This profile is part of the Clinton County, New York One Place Study.

Biography

From, Brault--The Journey by Lynette Baker Dow

Born April 10, 1871, my great-grandfather, Francois Alfred Brault, became quite successful in Plattsburgh. A Franco-American guide, written in 1925, states that Fred (short for Alfred) Brault was an entrepreneur. He, also, owned land and participated in elections. Fred and John B. Boissey started a contracting and building business in 1903. They also manufactured concrete building blocks. Boissey and Brault built the chapel portion of St. Peter's Church and the Ecole St. Pierre (boy's school--known as the green school) in 1906. Francois Alfred Brault married Roseanne Desmarais at St. Peter's Church September 23, 1893. My grandmother, Mary Grace Brault, came into this world, at home, on August 11, 1909, in Plattsburgh. She recalls her grandmother living in her house with her immediate family. Treatment and up bringing of boys and girls in her family was essentially equal. Her sister, Catherine, who lives in Arizona, and one of her brothers, played piano. All the children in her family attend D'Youville Academy (girl's school) and Ecole of St. Pierre (boy's school) at St. Peter's. Catholicism involved all facets of the life for the family. Before dinner Grace was always said. As a teenager, she enjoyed going to the movie theater on Sundays. The family owned cars, including a Studebaker and a Nash.

The Family Car

The family routinely listened to the radio. My grandmother remembers listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio, she classifies him as a wonderful President.

The events of World War I seem far away to my family, and we were not touched in a personal way by its effects.

Prohibition had a great effect on Clinton County. In the early 1920s, the federal boarder patrol began stopping illegally smuggled liquor from entering the United States from Canada. One route commonly used, ran from Quebec to Plattsburgh, then south to Albany. The waterway, of Lake Champlain, was also used for the transport of illegal alcohol.

Bootleggers came in many forms. They were so called because they often hid a flask of liquor in their boot. There were the professional, as spoke of above, who was likely to be an outsider. a local person might traffic for more than his personal use. He might be your neighbor, even a relative. Most local people who trafficked were known by the community. Proving it was another matter. There were also the causal bootlegger, those who might go across the border, get a drink or two there, then bring some back home for later. As you might imagine many skills were employed in the smuggling of booze.

Fred died on the 24 Jan 1927 in Plattsburgh of a heart attack.

Sources

• FamilySearch.org profile: Francis Alfred Brault; free-use site, login required to view profile and source documents; profile created through membership collaboration; date accessed: 7 May 2019
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZZF-663 : 20 August 2017), Frederic Brown in entry for Frank Brown, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 33, sheet 488A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 0820; FHL microfilm 1,254,820.
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS65-V6R : accessed 19 July 2019), Fred Brow, Plattsburg Township Plattsburg village, Clinton, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 29, sheet 13A, family 241, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,018.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5Q7-1H9 : accessed 19 July 2019), Fred Brow, Plattsburg Ward 4, Clinton, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 32, sheet 8B, family 163, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 932; FHL microfilm 1,374,945.
• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ2Q-FF7 : accessed 18 July 2019), Fred Brault, Plattsburg Ward 4, Clinton, New York, United States; citing ED 31, sheet 2B, line 90, family 43, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1095; FHL microfilm 1,821,095.
• New York, County Marriages, 1847-1849; 1907-1936
• "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CL-R8XS : 18 March 2019), Fred Brault in entry for Lewis Masella, 23 Jun 1913, Clinton, New York, United States; citing ref. ID , county clerk offices from various counties, New York; FHL microfilm 1,029,874.
• "New York State Census, 1892," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ9P-C7C : 11 March 2018), Fred Brow, 1892; citing Plattsburgh, E.D. 02, county offices, New York; FHL microfilm 863,412.
• "New York State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKMY-HSX : 19 July 2018), Fred Brow, Plattsburgh, Ward 04, E.D. 04, Clinton, New York; citing p. 27, line 41, various county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 863,413.
• "New York State Census, 1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9NM-2Z4 : 8 November 2014), Fred Rrow, Plattsburgh Ward 02, A.D. 01, E.D. 04, Clinton, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing p. 09, line 48, state population census schedules, 1915, New York State Archives, Albany.
• Baptism Record, St. Peter's Church Plattsburgh, NY 1871:7
• Saint Peter’s Parish Plattsburgh, New York, 1853-1909 Births
• Burial Record, St. Peter's Cemetery Plattsburgh, NY, District 14, Section N, Lot 4
• Marriage Record, St. Peter's Church, NY 1893:535
• Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Clinton County, New York; 1921:133, 173
• Find A Grave: Memorial #186966949
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPSZ-ZY8D : 29 March 2018), Francis Alfred Brault, 1927; Burial, Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York, United States of America, Saint Peters Cemetery; citing record ID 186966949, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.