Discussion Forum of the Upper St.John River Valley website / Forum de discussion du site web de la Vallée Supérieure de la Rivière St-Jean

Did you attend Norm? If so, how was it?

I'm in the middle of reading an excellent history of Acadia that just came out this year. It's a serious history, 600 pages with endnotes, but reads very well and is just fascinating. here's the info: N.E.S. Griffiths, From Migrant to Acadian: A North American Border People, 1604-1755 . Montreal: Mc...

No, I didn't get a chance to do that this time. I also contacted the parish itself and they didn't know anything about this history either.

I just returned from Northern Maine, and was lucky enough to meet Theresa Ouellette, with the Ste Agathe Historical Society. They have an absolutely fabulous historical exhibition; it doesn't open until Father's Day (June 2005), but Theresa was kind enough to let me see it early. There's an old hous...

I just returned from a visit to the valley and happened upon the gravestone of Bridget Finn:

Bridget Finn
wife of William Dee
Died
May 16, 1891
Aged 70 years
RIP

This is in the old St.Louis cemetery across from the church in Fort Kent.

More from our correspondence: I checked the Ste-Luce church records. Here's some more info I found on this family, marriage, births and Antoine's death: Marriage of Antoine Gagné and Marie Nadeau: On 18 August 1845, after the publication of three banns of marriage at our masses, between Antoine Gagn...

I received this query from a visitor: On your index of names for this report ( 1844 land report ) is Antoine Gagne. It indicates that the land he claimed is in Maine is this correct. Is it possible the area being reported is now known as the Sowish Lake area, T18R10. My husband's ggGrandfather was A...

In the Ste Luce church records, from about 1858, some people are identified as being from "St. Joseph". These are people who in the 1860 census are living in what's now Wallagrass, Eagle Lake, part of the town of Fort Kent. The actual church and parish of St. Joseph in Wallagrass wasn't es...

Here is information on the Finn family, from the Ste Luce parish records, from 1842 through 1858: Marriage of William Brown and Hélène Finn married 27 October 1852 William Brown, living in this parish,adult son of the late William Brown and of [?] Donelly of Ireland Hélène Finn, living in this paris...

I've just come across something that is quite interesting in the Ste.Luce church parish registers. It is the act of abjuration or renunciation of Esther Gardner. An act of abjuration in the Catholic Church is where someone who is not Catholic (usually protestant I think), abjures, or renounces their...

One of the mysteries of this family is that I and other researchers have been unable to find a record of marriage for Amable Ouellet and Esther Gardner. They are not included in any of the compilations of Catholic weddings from Quebec, as far as I know, and that is where they came from. But I recent...

For information on this family see this post in this forum:

http://upperstjohn.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=49

In general, Norm's right about precautions around the word "Dutch." But in this case I think they were really Dutch. If you check the above link to the 1822 settlers, you see that Robison Merrithew, listed as Dutch, was indeed probably a veteran of the war of 1812. But he served in the New...

There's a bit more info on Merrithew on this page of my website: http://www.upperstjohn.com/madawaska/militarysettlement.htm#1822 This is a list of veterans of the War of 1812 who were granted land along the St.John River. "Robinson Merrithew" is one of them. The info indicates that he was...

Have you taken a look at the 1851 census of Perth? This family seems to be on this page: http://www.upperstjohn.com/1851/perth1.htm#1 The fact that Maria is listed as "Dutch" and also as born in NB means it is very likely she is descended from a loyalist family from New York (formerly New ...