David (Pontbriand) Pombrio (1874 - 1918)

Born 5 Jan 1874 in Sciota, Clinton, New York, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Ada (Nadau) Pombrio — married 5 Oct 1898 in Saint-Monica, Barre, Washington, Vermont

Descendants

Died 2 Oct 1918 at age 44 in Barre, Washington, Vermont, USA

David Engaged as a Stone Mason.

David (Pontbriand) Pombrio was born in New York.

Biography

From, The Pombrio Family in Clinton County, New York by Susan L. Pombrio

David Pombrio eldest son of Joseph P. Pombrio and Matilde Bruso born on the 5th of January 1873 Sciota, New York. In 1892 he was listed as living at home it was some time after that that he left to find work in Nashua, New Hampshire in the mills. He most likely left with a group of other young men from the area for we find a strong connection between the families of Clinton County, New York and Nashua, New Hampshire. I can not determine the exact dates that he lived there, but we know that he was living in Barre, Vermont and working as a granite cutter in the quarries in 1898 when he married Addie Neddo. They were married on the 5th of October 1898 [1] at St. Monica's Church [2] [3] in Barre. The pastor P. M. McKenna officiated at the nuptial Mass.

Wedding Announcement

The bride [4] was born on the 22nd of October 1877 or the 13th of November 1876 in Mooers, New York. Though the 1877 date is widely accepted her baptism was recorded on March 18th 1877 at St. Ann's Mooers Forks, New York. Her Godparents were Joseph Desjardin and Henrietta Desjardin.

Addie was the daughter of Philippe (Felix) Nadeau [5] and Emma Longway (Langlois). After losing her mother during the summer of 1888 at the young age of eleven her father would soon move the family from Lyon Mountain, New York to Barre, Vermont where he ran a blacksmith shop.

We know that Addie could read and write in English and it may have been the language of the household since all of the letters and postcards in my possession were written by her in English. We can also glean from one of the postcards home that the family supported a woman's Right to Vote. The postcard was sent by her son Lyles to his grandparents.

We can also determine that this was a typical French-Canadian household living in the northeastern United States at this time in history. English was beginning to replace French, schooling was becoming more important and the families were leaving the farms and heading to centers of industry such as Nashua, New Hampshire and Lowell, Massachusetts.

The following letter was written by Addie around the summer 1917. Barre, VT

Dear Folks at Home,

We are all well here at the present and hope you are all the same. David and the boys are working everyday all but Oral he left work to go to school and suppose you know that Floyd is back. He had his finger broke and all jammed up so had to come home it is better now shed but don't like it very well. He gets paid $2.00 per day and so does Virgil. There is lots of work here and big pay and there is lots of folks leaving Barre going down country to work. Father came here with Floyd but has gone back. David says we are going after Christmas we are having lonesome weather it is raining today and I hate to think of the Long winter coming. Must tell you about the baby, I named her Ivas Marie and we all think she is the cutest baby we ever see and she is just as good as can be she sleeps most all the time. We could have went to see you last Sat. with Wm. Abair folks they went to Canada to his folks they wanted us to go but we could not leave. The boys are always saying they are going to grandpa's for Christmas, would like to have you come for X-Mass do you think you can? Mother must tell you that we had very poor luck we planted a lot but did not get hardly anything, our potatoes are rotten and they are going to be nigh. Again this fall we pay .50 per lb for butter .10 a quart for milk, .50 for eggs, sugar .10 lb ... I don't know what people will do if it keeps on having to pay $3.50 for a load of stove wood, and $10.00 for coal. I just got a card from Ellis (1), he is in Valley City, North Dakota. I was awful surprised to [hear] from him hadn't heard from him for a long time. Hope father is better. Is George (2) working in Montreal yet? Is Henry (3) working in the same place? This is all it is supper time. The kids are coming in good-bye.

From, Addie

P. S. This is all for this, write soon. Love from Addie and Dave

The Spanish Flu

The following excerpt is taken from the article, “The Spanish Flu: World War I’s most prolific Killer,” published by North Country Notes by Mary Anne Ducharme (2X great-granddaughter of Aurelie Pontbriand), in January 2019. The North Country Notes is published by the Clinton County Historical Association. The full article was published in “The Antiquarian” in 2002.

Beulah Lavarnway (Donovan, née Trombley) was born in 1908, and her brother Hersey Trombley was born in 1914, the children of Aurelie Pontbriand and Wilbur Trombley of Chazy. In an oral history, Beulah testified to the sudden onset of the flu. She made a pie feeling well but became too ill to put it in the oven. Hersey recalled the nightmares when he had the flu, though he was only 4 at the time. Both remembered cousins orphaned by the epidemic coming to live with their grandparents in Sciota.

The whole family had been sick at the Trombley house. Dr. Swift of West Chazy, summoned by phone from Patenode’s Store in Ingraham, dutifully came, examining Aurelie, who was also afflicted with asthma and unable to leave her bed. Her toddler, Doris Trombley, and other children Roy Trombley, Beulah, and Hersey, were delirious with pneumonia. Wilbur, less sick than the others, kept up the fires to ward off the biting cold and cared for his family as best he could. They all survived in this family. Their cousins’ family wasn’t so lucky.

One morning in late January, Joseph Pombrio came to Aurelie Trombly’s house with a coffin. He had heard she was dead. She wasn’t, but it was little wonder he came with a coffin. It had been only weeks since he lost his son, David, his daughter-in-law, Addie Neddo, and two grandchildren to the Spanish Flu. David, a stone mason, had lived in Barre with Addie and their seven children. Their oldest son was overseas in the Navy [Editor Note- he was training at Newport, RI]. The other children ranged from 17 years to a few months old.

Tombstone—St. Monica’s Cemetery

David died first, his body on the floor of the kitchen where he collapsed. Addie was helpless to move him. A day later, she watched as her son Ellis (Editor’s Note: It was Lyles who) died in his bed, a boy of 16. Addie died next, also in the kitchen, trying to prepare food for her family. Virgil, at the age of 17, died in the room where Ellis (sic) had passed six days before.

The older children, Oral Pombrio, Max Pombrio and Audrey Pombrio, did what they could to care for Ivis Marie Pombrio, an infant, and five-year-Old Doris, but it was clear that they would all soon die without intervention. So Anna (Lucy Nadeau Eager), Addie’s sister, stayed in the house with the children, nursing them through a long and difficult convalescence. [Editor Note- Oral, Doris and Ivas were with Lucy at the house, they did not fall ill, the remaining children were brought to the hospital.]

This drama was played out so many times in the North Country that there is scarcely a family with roots here that was not touched and forever altered by the outbreak. And the Spanish Flu is more than dead history. With all our advances in medicine and science, we remain close to the brink. In 1918 all anyone had to do to get the disease was breathe. That has not changed.

Children

1. Floyd Ellis born 23 Jan 1900 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. He married Beatrice Millette on 30 Nov 1920 in Nashua, Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He died 28 May 1966 in Burlington, Middlesex, Massachusetts and was buried in Plattsburgh, New York. He is the known father of 1 daughter.

Spanish Flu Memorial

1. Virgil Anthony born 3 Sep 1901 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. He died during the Spanish Flu Epidemic on 10 Oct 1918 in Barre, Washington, Vermont.
2. Marvin Joseph Lyles born 6 Sep 1902 in Barre, Washington, New York. He died during the Spanish Flu Epidemic on the 4 Oct 1918 in Barre, Washington, New York.
3. Aurel David born 20 Apr 1904 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. He married Blanche Elizabeth Naomi Larrivée on 2 Sep 1933 in St-Peter, Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York. He died 17 Dec 1981 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York. He was the father of 3 known children.
4. Maxwell Philip born 11 Jul 1906 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. He married Marie Anne Ida Corine Soucy on 26 Dec 1931 in Nashua, Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He died on 28 Oct 1953 in Nashua, Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He was the father of 3 known children.
5. Audrey May born 22 Aug 1908 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. She married Ralph Lewis Dragoon on 22 Mar 1927 in Sciota, Clinton, New York. She died on 1 May 1991 in West Chazy, Clinton, New York. She was the mother of 6 known children.
6. Madeleine born 22 Mar 1912 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. She died that same day 5 hours later. This was a premature birth.
7. Dorothy Loraine born 14 May 1913 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. She married Loyal Emmet Stone on 24 Jun 1935 in Sciota, New York. She died in a traffic accident on 7 Feb 1983 in Eustis, Lake, Florida. She was the mother of 5 known children.
8. Infant born and died 23 Apr 1915 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. Premature birth as a result of a fall.
9. Ivis Marie born 20 Jul 1917 in Barre, Washington, Vermont. She married Albert J. Paro on 12 May 1937 in St-Louis-de-France Sciota, New York. She died 10 May 1990 in Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York. She was the mother of two known children.

Sources

• Baptism St. Louis de France Sciota, NY Baptism; 5 Jan 1874
• Vermont, Death Records, 1909-2008; Barre 2 Oct 1918
• Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908; Barre 5 Oct 1898
• St. Monica Barre, VT Marriage; 5 Oct 1897 and Burial; 2 Oct 1918
• "New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL8K-WZL : 25 September 2017), David in entry for Maxwell Pombrio and Anne Ida Soucy, 26 Dec 1931; citing Nashua, , New Hampshire, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord; FHL microfilm 2,069,874.
• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7W39-HS3Z : 18 October 2019), David Pombrio, 1917-1918.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZZ6-TCW : 20 August 2017), David Bobria in entry for Joseph Bobria, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 1, sheet 4C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 0819; FHL microfilm 1,254,819.
• "New York State Census, 1892," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ9G-47F : 18 August 2019), David Bambia, 1892; citing Altona, E.D. 01, county offices, New York; FHL microfilm 863,412.
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMPW-PKC : accessed 5 May 2019), David Pombrio, Barre city Ward 6 & 1, Washington, Vermont, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 217, sheet 11A, family 254, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,694.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPFF-4KW : accessed 16 November 2019), David Ponebrio, Barre Ward 4, Washington, Vermont, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 211, sheet 8A, family 136, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1617; FHL microfilm 1,375,630.
• "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7W39-HS3Z : 6 March 2020), David Pombrio, 1917-1918.
• "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQT-MDRZ : 29 November 2018), David Pombrio and Addie Neddo, 5 Oct 1898; citing Marriage, Barre, Washington, Vermont, United States, various town clerks and records divisions, Vermont; FHL microfilm 005487208.
• "Vermont Deaths and Burials, 1871-1965", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8R9-1FV : 28 January 2020), David Pombrio in entry for Virgil Anthony Pombrio, 1918.
• "Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KNSD-TMK : 6 December 2014), David Pombrio in entry for Lyles Pombrio, Death, 04 Oct 1918, Barre, Washington, Vermont, United States; from "Vermont, Birth Records, 1909-2008," "Vermont, Death Records, 1909-2008," "Vermont, Marriage Records, 1909-2008," and "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908." Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2010); citing Vital Records Office, Vermont Department of Health, Burlington and New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston.
• "New Hampshire Death Certificates, 1938-1959," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV3Q-RN61 : 15 March 2018), David Pombrio in entry for Maxwell Philippe Pombrio, 28 Oct 1953; citing Nashua, Hillsboro, New Hampshire, United States, p. No 4342-4882, New Hampshire Division of Vital Records, Concord.

See Also

• Brault, Gerard J. The French Canadian Heritage in New England. Kingston/Montreal:McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986.
• Ducharme, Mary Anne. “The Spanish Flu: World War I’s most prolific Killer.” Publisher Clinton County Historical Association. North Country Notes. Plattsburgh, New York:Jan. 2019
• Hazen, Celeste P. John Pember, A History of the Pember Family in America. np, 1939.
• Pontbriand, Benoit. "Briand dit Sansregret (Pontbriand)." Lifelines. Spring 1992:63-86.
• [6] The Killer Flu
• Find A Grave: Memorial #167614981
• FamilySearch.org profile: David Pontbriand; free-use site, login required to view profile and source documents; profile created through membership collaboration; date accessed: 9 May 2019

Footnotes

1. Ellis is Addie's brother.
2. George is David’s brother.
3. Henry is David’s brother.