Michel Gagnon and Charlotte Charest
Michel GAGNON
was born about 1803. He was married to Charlotte CHAREST
(daughter of Michel CHAREST and Marie-Louise BOUCHER) on 15 Apr 1828 in Kamouraska.
They moved from Kamouraska to Madawaska in June 1831.
Record of marriage of Michel Gagnon and
Charlotte Charest (click on image for larger view)
(Thanks to Raymond A. Page, Jr. for this image)
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Translation of marriage record:
The 15th of April 1828, after the publication of three banns of
marriage announced at our parish masses, between Michel Gagnon, farmer,
adult son of Jean-Michel Gagnon, blacksmith, and of the late Marie Tardif,
his mother and father, of this parish, and of Marie-Charlotte Chorette,
minor daughter of the late Michel Chorette and of Marie-Louis Boucher,
her father and mother, also of this parish, We, the undersigned priest,
not having discovered any obstacle to this marriage, have received their
mutual consent, and have given them the nuptial blessing with the present
ceremonies of our mother the Holy Catholic Church, in the presence and
consent of Jean-Marie Landry, friend of the groom, Cyprien Phocas, also
his friend; of Laurent-Paschal Fortin, step-father of the bride and
of Charles Pelletier, her friend, who, along with the couple, declared
that they did not know how to sign their names.
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Michel and his family appear to first have stayed with his half-brother Prospère,
since Michel and Charlotte's daughter Céleste is recorded as having been
born at Ste-Luce, the location of a chapel in what is today Frenchville, which
is where Prospère and his family settled. Neither Prospère
nor Michel appeared in the 1831 survey of Madawaska, taken in July and August
of that year, probably because they did not own any land, and the survey dealt
mostly with land ownership (the 1833 census lists both of them as "tenants").
By November 1833, Michel and his family were living in the area of St-Léonard
on the north bank of the St.John; he appears in the 1833
New Brunswick Census of Madawaska (p.5), as Michael Gagnion, living
with his wife, one boy and one girl, and is described as a "tenant",
that is, as not owning his own land. He had sown 5 bushels of potatoes and harvested
80. He did not sow any other crops, nor did he own any livestock. He, like about
one-third of the households of the Madawaska Settlement, was listed as "poor"and
as "requiring immediate assistance."
The family appeared in the 1851 New
Brunswick census, in St.Léonard, p.10. Michel is listed as 50 years
old, Charlotte as 44, living with their nine children. Michel's profession is
listed as "farmer-proprietor." He is listed as having come to New
Brunswick in June 1831. Michel appeared in the 1861 New Brunswick census
in St. Léonard, p.6, aged 61, "Canadian," Roman Catholic, Farmer,
living with wife Charlotte (age 55, born in Canada) and 8 children. (Poitras,
"Recensement 1861 Census, Comté de Victoria," p.194)
Charlotte
CHAREST died on 28 Jun 1891 at the age of 84, and was buried in Assumption
Cemetery in Grand Falls. [There is a Michel Gagnon buried in the same cemetery, death date May 1889, but that is a different Michel, who was 18 at the time of his death from drowning. See his death certifcate at the bottom of this page. Thanks to Jean-Guy Poitras for this information.]
Michel GAGNON and Charlotte CHAREST had the following children:
i. Hilaire GAGNON
was born on 6 Jun 1830 in Kamouraska, Québec. He was married to Basilisse
MICHAUD (daughter of Isaac MICHAUD and Suzanne SANSFAÇON) on 11
Sep 1857 in Van Buren, Maine. He appears in the 1861 New Brunswick census
in St.Léonard, p.2, which lists him as being born in Canada (Québec).
Hilaire GAGNON died on 11 May 1899 in Grand Falls, New Brunswick.
ii. Céleste GAGNON was born on
18 Dec 1831 at Ste-Luce, and was baptized at St-Basile. She was married to
Thomas PELLETIER (son of Joseph PELLETIER and Angélique PELLETIER)
on 21 Oct 1850 in Van Buren, Maine. She appeared in the 1851
New Brunswick census in St.Léonard, p.5. She appeared in the 1861
New Brunswick census in St.Léonard, p.5. In both she is listed as being
a "native" born in New Brunswick. Céleste GAGNON died on
25 Jun 1921 in St-André, New Brunswick.
iii. Marie GAGNON was born on 22 Dec 1834 and baptized
at St-Bruno Church in what is today Van Buren, Maine.
iv. Urbain GAGNON was born about 1836. He was
married to Marie RIVEST (daughter of Adélaïde RIVEST) 8
Oct 1866 in Van Buren, Maine.
v. Damase GAGNON was born about 1840. He was married
to Marguerite POWERS (daughter of Thomas POWERS and Helen FARRELL)
on 2 Oct 1850 at Van Buren.
vi. David GAGNON was baptized on 16 Feb 1840
at St.Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine. He was married to Marie-Anne MAZEROLLE
(daughter of François MAZEROLLE and Angélique PARENT) on 18
Oct 1868 in Van Buren. He was married to Angélique LAFOREST
(dauther of Pierre LAFOREST and Angélique CASTONGUAY) on 3 Nov 1883
in Caribou, Maine.
vii. Hubert GAGNON was baptized on
11 Jun 1842 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine.
viii. Alexandre GAGNON was baptized on 19 May
1845 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine.
ix. Demerise GAGNON was baptized on 28
May 1847 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine. She was married to William
MICHAUD (son of Dominique MICHAUD and Suzanne ROY) on 28 Aug 1900 at Grand
Falls, New Brunswick.
xi. Joseph GAGNON was baptized on 16 Mar
1849 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine. He was married to Marie MICHAUD
(daughter of Isaac MICHAUD and Suzanne SANSFAÇON) on 27 Apr 1872 in
Van Buren, Maine. He was married to Euphemie RAYMOND (daughter of Bénoni
RAYMOND and Charlotte LAVOIE) on 13 Feb 1882 in Caribou, Maine. He was married
to Modeste CORBIN (daughter of Guillaume CORBIN and Lucie RINGUETTE)
on 3 Nov 1890 in Parent, New Brunswick.
xii. Michel GAGNON was baptized
on 1 Jun 1851 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine.
xiii. Pierre GAGNON was baptized on 23
May 1852 at St. Bruno's Church, Van Buren, Maine. He was married to Marcelline
BERNIER (daughter of Marcel-François BERNIER and Julienne SANSFAÇON)
on 19 Jun 1871 in Grand Falls, New Brunswick.
xii. Thomas GAGNON was baptized on 7 Apr 1853
in St-Leonard, Victoria Co., New Brunswick. He was married to Bibianne
MICHAUD (daughter of Isaac MICHAUD and Suzanne CONSINGY dite SANSFAÇON)
on 21 Jul 1873 at Assumption Church in Grand Falls, New Brunswick.
For information on further descendants of this family, see
the website
of Ray Page
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Note: The Dictionnaire Généalogique de Madawaska includes
an Élisabeth Gagnon as a child of Michel and Charlotte:
Élisabeth Anne GAGNON was married
to Pierre ROSSIGNOL (son of Alexandre ROSSIGNOL and Angélique
CARON) on 26 May 1867 in Van Buren, Maine.
However she is not listed among their children baptized at St. Bruno's church,
where their previous and subsequent children were baptized, nor is there an
Élisabeth listed with this family in the 1861 New Brunswick census.
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Death certificate of 18 year old Michel Gagnon who died 19 May 1889 and is buried at Assumption Cemetery in Grand Falls
(thanks to Jean-Guy Poitras for this image)
Click on image to enlarge
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Last revised 20 Jan 2022