A Canadian Family

Genealogy, Family History & Vintage Postcards

A Festival of Postcards (3rd Ed.) SIGNS – Call for Submissions


A Festival of Postcards Logo  http://acanadianfamily.com

The first two issues of A Festival of Postcards (Wheels and Main Street) brought together dozens of bloggers from all over the world and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we all come up with for the 3rd edition of our Festival!

Our theme for the July Festival is – SIGNS - and as usual, it can be interpreted as strictly or as loosely as you wish!  For instance you could share a postcard with a sign that appears on a building or beside the road, but you could also share “signs” that stand as symbols for something else. In the Western world common symbols include: the cross (Christianity), red and white striped poles (barbershops), and the bowl and serpent (pharmacies).

Blog Carnival Submission Form: A Festival of Postcards (due: July 20)

A FESTIVAL OF POSTCARDS – Headquarters



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June 30, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Grave Could Not Keep His Real Place of Birth by Peter Lagasse

This is one of a series of Guest Posts by Peter Lagasse, a descendant of Andre Mignier dit Lagace and Jacquette Michel through Basil Mignier/Lagace and his first wife Madeleine Leclerc/Francoeur. In today’s article Peter doesn’t only give us more information about his American Lagasses; he also lets us “look over his shoulder” as he unravels a family mystery.

Guest Post 3: Peter Lagasse

The Grave Could Not Keep His Real Place of Birth

My father, Roland Paul Lagasse, pictured here around 1910, had always been told he, along with his mother Agnes Louise Ross, were born in Flint, Michigan, USA. It was stated September 11, 1909, Flint, Michigan, on his Social Security form and on his obituary years later. His mother never had an actual birth certificate for my father since there had been a fire destroying the vital records in Flint, Michigan. At least, that was the story shared by his mother and we had no reason to question her.

I, therefore, began in Flint, Michigan to find any evidence of my father’s birth. I began seeking for border crossingsRoland Paul Lagasse 1909 from Canada of the Ross family heading to Michigan. I knew Canada had been my grandmother’s ancestral home and expected to find her parents coming to Michigan. The search hit a brick wall. My next stop would be Flint, Michigan City Hall.

I wrote to the city clerk stating who I was looking for and also the information that we had been told about the fire destroying some early vital records. I waited with anxious anticipation. I, finally, received the long awaited email. The Flint, Michigan, city clerk shared there had been a fire but could not verify if it had effected my father’s records. Then came a complete surprise. All Michigan birth records were protected from the public until the record was 110 years old. I would have to wait until 2019 to even learn if Michigan even had a birth certificate of my father. Another brick wall raised before me, but I would not be hindered in my search. I, instead, went to my genealogy helpers.

I contacted various forums on genforum.genealogy.com. Emails came flooding in about various leads. There was information on a Manifest of Alien Passengers of a Lagasse family of three coming into the United States on July 1910 through Newport, Vermont. They were coming from St Flavian, Quebec, after visiting the father of Joseph Lagasse. St Flavian was the birth place of my grandfather, Joseph Guadias Lagacé, and his place of burial. What was intriguing in this border crossing manifest was the information about the son, also called Joseph Lagasse. It stated he had been born in 1909 in Cap Chat, Quebec! Could this really be my father?

Another Manifest of Passenger list dated December 1911 shared of a Roland Lagasse accompanied by his mother returning from Mechen, Quebec after visiting his grandfather and heading to Portland, Maine, to his father Goudias Lagasse. This seemed possible since my father’s dad was know as Goudias as well as Joseph and had lived in Portland, Maine. However, unlike the earlier manifest, my father’s birth place was stated as Portland, Maine. Read more »

June 30, 2009 Posted by | . | , , | 1 Comment

A Festival of Postcards (2nd Ed.) – Main Street

A Festival of Postcards Logo

A Festival of Postcards –  Main Street

Welcome to the second edition of A Festival of Postcards – a blog carnival where we  share our love of vintage and modern postcards. Whether you’re a casual or serious collector, whether postcards are your primary focus or just an addition to your study of genealogy, art or social history, it makes no difference. If you love postcards, you’ve come to the right place!

This issue is called MAIN STREET -  but our postcards come from all over the world so you shouldn’t be surprised  if you find yourself  looking at a rue principale or a High Street instead. So without further ado, here are the Main Street postcards presented in the order in which I received them!

Feature Article

Winging It - Main Street - A Festival of PostcardsOur feature article this month is by Alex Coles who blogs out of Auckland, New Zealand. Alex’s family history/genealogy  blog  is called Winging It – a clever play on words because her main project is a one-place study of Wing (Buckinghamshire). Winging It is a must visit for anyone who wants to see examples of fine writing. In her piece for this Festival – A walk home along High Street, Wing, Buckinghamshire – Alex uses her storytelling skills to draw us right into the postcard. What a treat!

New: Alex has also published: A Walk Home – Postscript

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calicoghostGenealogy blogger TCasteel of Tangled Trees starts us off in sunny California on America’s west coast with a postcard of the now-deserted 19th century silver mining settlement Calico Ghost Town.

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FestivalCrowes NestElizabeth P. Crowe takes us to the America’s eastern coast with a postcard of her  hometown in Navarre Beach, Florida posted at Crowe’s Nest Genealogy.

Elizabeth’s was the first of two “watery” postcards!

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FestivalJudith

Judith Richards Shubert presents The Grande Canale – What a Main Street! posted at Genealogy Traces, saying, “This postcard picturing the Grande Canal in Venice was purchased by my mother-in-law in the 1960s when visiting there. To me it is the PERFECT main street! A watery one.”. What a wonderful Main Street!

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FestivalSheila

UK blogger Sheila of A Postcard a Day shares a postcard of centuries old Tenterden High Street, a town that used to host sheep and cattle fairs. Sheila is following in the postcard collecting tradition of her father and as her blog title indicates, she posts one postcard a day!

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FestivalDisney

And for a change of pace don’t miss Lara’s Cards and More Blog where Lara has published a postcard of Mickey and Minnie on Main Street in Florida’s Walt Disney World.

Lara is a native Russian who now blogs from Minnesota.

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FestivalPostcardy

Lynne of Postcardy (home of Postcardy Scavenger Hunt) shares 2 postcards again this month.One is the traditional  Original Main Street, Sauk Centre, Minnesota posted at Postcardy while the other is the somewhat more quirky  St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Festivaldonna

Donna presents Bavarian Main Street posted at What’s Past is Prologue, saying, “This festival has been so much fun!”

Donna weaves a wonderfully warm story of family history and friendship across the sea.

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FestivalMoultrie

Denise Olson presents Neptune Grill posted at Moultrie Creek, saying, “Postcards provide memories of earlier days and favorite places that are now gone. The Neptune Grill is a fond childhood memory – now preserved as part of my postcard collection.”

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FestivalLinda

Linda Stienstra presents One Hundred Years ago on West James Street posted at From Axer to Ziegler, saying, “Just a fraction of what Lancaster, Pennsylvania is all about; a very small fraction at that!”

For those who don’t already know, Linda also blogs about cemeteries!

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FestivalVickie

Vickie Everhart presents PFF/Festival of Postcards :: Main Street in Rockdale posted at .: BeNotForgot :: begotten & ne’er forgotten :., saying, “This collage features an old Rockdale postcard with the caption — Main St. north from I & G. N. Depot, Rockdale, Texas. My 2nd great-grandparents were on this Main St. in October of 1876 — when Rockdale was just 2 years old — and I was there on the 14th of this month — now that Rockdale is 135 years of age!”

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FestivalRandy

Randy Seaver (host of Saturday Night Fun with Randy) presents Postcard: A Tijuana Barbecue at his  Genea-Musings blog. Randy recounts his grandfather’s interest in postcards – I wonder what Randy’s grandfather would say if he could see his grandson blogging online about postcards!

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FestivalJane

M. Diane Rogers presents Festival of Postcards -2nd Edition – Main Street – Western Canada posted at CanadaGenealogy, or, ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’.

Rogers uses this lovely black and white, multi-view card and accompanying article to educate us about pioneer immigration to western Canada in the twentiety century.

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FestivalJohnGasson

John Gasson presents A Festival of Postcards – Main Street (Sussex style) posted at The Wandering Genealogist, saying, “We don’t have Main Streets over here in England, just High Streets, this is a rural village High Street from 1905.”

John’s is the second postcard this month that depicts a UK location.

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FestivalLinda

Ohio blogger Linda Hughes Hiser presents A Festival of Postcard 2nd Edition: Main Street posted at Flipside, saying, “My grandparents home in Woodlawn, PA…not main street, but a main street to me!”

Linda spends “a good deal of time traveling to the various towns where my ancestors lived, taking photos of cemeteries, homes, points of interest, etc”

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festivallinecum

Stephanie Lincecum presents A Main Street in Macon (Georgia, U.S.A.) at her blog Lincecum Lineage. Stephanie has analyzed the postcard and then used another document to tie it into her own family heritage.

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FestivalBeaulieuMary Beaulieu presents Main Street, USA posted at AncestorTracking, saying, “A picture of middle America from a bygone time.” this is Mary’s tagline: “Documenting my search for information on elusive ancestors and tracking my progress through the wilds of the Internet”.

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Shades of the Departed - Main Street - A Festival of Postcards

Have you ever wondered how to determine whether a postcard is an RPPC – a Real Photo Postcard ? Do you have any idea how to date a postcard? Once again footnoteMaven of Shades Of The Departed(last month’s featured author) is helping us out – this time with her post   .. Sometimes Main Street Is The Whole Town.

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Our next entry is from the New Delhi blogger Abishek  of Abishek’s Postcrossing Blog . Abishek is Abishek Postcrossing Blog - Main Street - A Festival of Postcardsthe Festival’s first  participant from India. He’s a postcard collector specializing in  ”postcards of UNESCO sites from all over the world”. This month he presents  a Lithuanian card depicting the   Church of St Theresa.

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A Canadian Family - Main Street - A Festival of PostcardsEvelyn Yvonne Theriault blogs about Acadian and French Canadian genealogy and over at A Canadian Family. This month she’s sharing a Main Street frequented by her Lagace ancestors of Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada

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Lay Hoon is our first Malaysian postcrosser. Her blog is Travelpostcard Blogspot and she particularly enjoys map postcards such as the one she’s presenting this month that includes the main street of Olstzyn, Poland.

TravelPostcards - Main Street - A Festival of Postcards


Late arrival due to a snafu!

Judy's Postcards Plus - Main Street - A Canadian Family

Main Street America from Judy at Judy’s Postcards!

This concludes the Main Street issue of A Festival of Postcards. Please feel free to use any of the logos or links shown below – and I hope you will be able to join us for the July  issue

A FESTIVAL OF POSTCARDS –  Signs

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Logos and Links For Your Site!

LOGOFestival

LOGOFestivalWishYou

A FESTIVAL OF POSTCARDS – Headquarters

A Festival of Postcards (2nd Ed.) – Main Street

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June 24, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , | 12 Comments

Happy St-Jean Baptiste to all of us here in Quebec!

June 24th was originally just the religious Feast Day of St John the Baptist (St-Jean Baptiste), Quebec’s patron saint buQuebec National Flagt now it is also Quebec’s national holiday (fete nationale). It’s one of the most important days in modern-day Quebec – somewhat like July 1st for Canadians and July 4th for Americans.

The holiday is somewhat controversial – especially in other parts of Canada – because it has become associated with Quebec nationalism and the struggle for the preservation of the French language, but it is ultimately every Quebecker’s holiday – whatever their language or ethnic origin.

Montreal always celebrates la St-Jean Baptiste with a big parade and a big show. This is a video of one such show back in the mid-1970s.



June 23, 2009 Posted by | . | , , | Leave a Comment

Index: Evelyn in Montreal

Evelyn in Montreal is a series of posts in which I chronicle some

of the work I have done with other family historians and genealogists.

Some has previously appeared at Genforum or Rootsweb.

rivaurenardchildrenwhole

A-L

Albert m. Michaud

Allain m. Bond

April m. Desrosiers

Arbour m. Fregeau

Aube m. Lapointe

Beaudoin m. Morin

Begin m. Champagne

Blais m. Cantin

Blondeau m. Bedard

Francois Blondeau m. Nicole Rolland des Pelletier

Boileau m. Minier (Meunier/Mignier/Lagace) Pt.1

Boileau m. Minier (Meunier/Mignier/Lagace) Pt.2

Boucher, Edmond m. Gagnon, Celanire  Just added

Bourque m. Bourque

Brennan m. Kelly

Bruneau m. Lamoureux

Caron m. Rossignol

Carver m. Kerrigan

Casavant m. Chabot

Castonguay m. Therrien

Charette m. Ranger

Chartrand m. Thibault

Chouinard m. Theriault

Danis m. Maheu

Delisle, Ignace Kaneratahere  married Seguin, Elisabeth Kaherori

Pierre (Pedro) dit le Portugais m. Jeanne Greslon / Laviolette

Doucet, Mary Martha

Frame m. Crawford

Godin m. Pinet

Grenier, Alfred m. Pepin, Philomene

Guitar/Lagace

Handly/Hanley m. Corbin, Adele & Pleau, Leger m. Hanley, Rebecca

Helie/Breton, Pierre m. Bisson, Catherine  Just added

Lacroix m. Vachon

Lagace/Richard Line from Quebec

Lagace m. Thiboutot

Lagasses of Maine/Massachusetts/New Hampshire

Lajeunesse , Nicolas m. Marguerite Barbier

Lauzier, Louis Roy m. Beaulieu, Marie  Just added

Levesque, Francois Robert m. Aubert, Marie Charlotte  Just added

M-Z

McClure, Auguste m. Cote, Elise | McClure, Olivier m. Dumas, Henriette

Menard, Isaie m. Sibue, Alma & Menard, Joseph m. Bissonnette

Mercier, Joseph m. Coquiere, Marie Genevieve

Migkelhart, Jean Baptiste (Anglehart)

Morand, Pierre m. Barbe, Sophie

Nadeau, Louis m. Vandal, Louisa &  Nadeau, Joseph m. Tanguay, Esther

Paquette m. Brule

Patry, Napoleon m. Maheu, Oliva

Perrin, Charles m. Rivest, Odile

Perrin, Felix m. Rochon, Delina & Ouellet, Luce

Pineau, Marcellin m. St.Laurent, Apolline

Poirier, David m. Paulhus, Anna

Roberge m. Masse

Robitaille m. Cote

Rouillard m. Coulombe, Montreal

Rouleau, Pierre & Jean Baptiste

Theriault, Lambert m. Fortin, Domitille

Vincent, Louis m. Chevrefils, Marie Eulalie

June 21, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , , | Leave a Comment

Mystery RPPC Postcard: (Pt.2) 1920s Quebec Alphonse Turgeon & George Martineau

This is the second post about a “mystery postcard” I picked up on eBay last year. In a former post I mentioned that there was a notation on the back with the names Alphonse Turgeon and George Martineau, and I listed some Quebec Alphonse Turgeons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today I’m sharing some close-ups of that postcard and listing some George Martineaus from the same period.

Detail 1

MysteryHouseFrontDetail

Detail 2

MysteryHouseFront Detail2


George Martineau – Quebec Marriages 1880 – 1920

MARTINEAU Georges-Narcisse-… AUGE Marie-Ada-Alvine-…

1896

Québec, Québec-Vill…
MARTINEAU Georges-Hector BENOIT Clara

1914

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
MARTINEAU J.Georges Alcide CARON Alexina

1920

Laurierville, Mégan…
MARTINEAU Georges COURCY Elise

1919

St-Apollinaire, Lot…
MARTINEAU Georges DORAIS Albina

1904

Montréal, Île-de-Mo…
MARTINEAU Georges DUBE Exilia

1898

St-Herménégilde, St…
MARTINEAU Georges GAUTHIER Rosalie

1886

St-Théodore-d’Acton…
MARTINEAU Georges JUBINVILLE Donalda

1907

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
MARTINEAU Georges LACAS Marguerite-Marie

1906

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
MARTINEAU Georges-Elie LECLERC Alice

1892

Québec, Québec-Vill…
MARTINEAU Georges MERCIER Marie Anne

1898

Coaticook, Stanstea…
MARTINEAU Georges TURGEON Elisabeth Anna

1902

Plessisville, Mégan…
MARTINEAU Georges VERDON Virginie

1891

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
MARTINEAU Georges VEZINA Éva

1906

St-Michel-de-Bellec.

Related Posts:

Mystery RPPC Postcard: (Pt.1) 1920s Quebec(?) Alphonse Turgeon, George Martineau(?)

Index: Vintage Postcards of Quebec

Early French Canadian Pioneers: The Turgeons of Quebec

June 21, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , | 1 Comment

Early French Canadian Pioneers: The Turgeons of Quebec

Turgeon, Charles | Pasquiere Lefebvre

about 1649

Turgeon, Jacques | Marie Jean

November 26th, 1704

Turgeon, Marie-Claire | Abel Sagot de Laforge

October 15th, 1665

Turgeon – Variations and associated surnames

Guay, Toussaint

Related Posts:

Early French Canadian Pioneers of Quebec

Mystery RPPC Postcard: 1920s Quebec(?) Alphonse Turgeon, George Martineau(?)

June 20, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , | 2 Comments

Mystery RPPC Postcard: (Pt.1) 1920s Quebec(?) Alphonse Turgeon, George Martineau(?)

For PFF this week I though I’d share this postcard that languished on eBay for several months. I bought it because it intrigued me. There’s a cryptic notation on the back and I think it would be a wonderful addition to someone’s family history – but whose family precisely?

MysteryHouseFront

Transcript: Avant le demenagement de la maison Alphonse Turgeon e(?) George Martineau(?) avant

MysteryHouseBack

demamagement de la maison … 1920

Translation: Before the moving “of the house” or “from the house” Alphonse Turgeon and George Martineau … before the moving of the house … 1920

In the next few weeks I’ll be sure to post more about this “mystery postcard”, A little sleuthing is definitely in order!

For now, here is a list of “Alphonse Turgeons” who were married in Quebec between 1880 and 1920.

TURGEON Alphonse BISSON Dolorès

1920

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
TURGEON Alphonse BLANCHET Elmire

1909

St-Henri, Lévis, QC…
TURGEON Alphonse BLOUIN Marie

1881

Québec, Québec-Vill…
TURGEON Alphonse BOUCHER Délia

1908

Québec, Québec-Vill…
TURGEON Alphonse CAMIRÉ Claudia

1909

Princeville, Arthab…
TURGEON Alphonse CHABOT Alice

1910

Armagh, Bellechasse…
TURGEON Alphonse COUTURE Lydia

1913

St-Joseph-de-Ham-Su…
TURGEON Alphonse FILLION Célina

1891

Ste-Marie, Beauce, …
TURGEON Alphonse JOLICOEUR Marie-Anne

1909

St-Isidore, Dorches…
TURGEON Alphonse LEGENDRE Winifride

1883

St-Bernard, Dorches…
TURGEON Alphonse LIZOTTE Marie

1902

St-Onésime-d’Ixwort…
TURGEON Alphonse MAJOR Aurore

1917

Montréal, Ile-de-Mo…
TURGEON Joseph-Alphonse MICHAUD Alice-Yvonne

1919

Lévis, Lévis, QC, C…
TURGEON Alphonse RICHARD Aurore

1914

St-Claude, Richmond…
TURGEON Alphonse ROBITAILLE Délina

1907

Warwick, Arthabaska…
TURGEON Alphonse SAMSON Florida

1893

Lévis, Lévis, QC, C…
TURGEON Alphonse TARDIF Hildegarde

1917

Ste-Hélène, Kamoura…
TURGEON Alphonse THEBERGE Emma

1905

St-Philémon, Bellec…
TURGEON Alphonse TURGEON Marie

1895

Ste-Marie, Beauce, …

Source: Centre de genealogie francophone d’Amerique

Related Posts:

Mystery RPPC Postcard: (Pt.2) 1920s Quebec(?) Alphonse Turgeon, George Martineau(?)

Index: Vintage Postcards of Quebec

Early French Canadian Pioneers: The Turgeons of Quebec

June 19, 2009 Posted by | . | , , , , , | 9 Comments