“How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill
If you’re not well acquainted with Ireland – I’d like you to try a little experiment.
Close your eyes for a moment. Think about Ireland and the Irish. What comes to mind?
Till recently, I would see shamrocks and leprauchans – St. Patrick’s Day in Montreal – terrorist explosions on nightly newscasts during the 60s/70s – the Book of Kells – the Potato famine – Lord of the Dance – the White House Kennedys. Well, this summer I brought this little history volume along on my canoe/fishing trip and it’s definitely expanded my views of Ireland and the Irish.
How the Irish Saved Civilization is the first in a series of books organized around Thomas Cahill’s notion of Hinges of History. He invites us to shift our focus away from wars and “narratives of human pain” and focus instead on the “moments when someone did something for someone else, saved a life, bestowed a gift, gave something beyond what was required by circumstance”.
This book really tells three stories. The first is the birth and spread of Western civilization from its Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman roots. The second is about pre- and post-Christian Ireland and some core Irish beliefs and aesthetics that run through both cultures. And finally, the third is the story of how Read more »
Bridges Over The St-Lawrence River(4): Victoria Jubilee Bridge, 1905
This is a historic, turn-of-the-century image of Montreal’s Victoria Jubilee Bridge.
MONTREAL, Victoria Jubilee Bridge
Dating the postcard
A handwritten notation on the front says “Montreal, le 6 dec. 1905″ and the two legible postmarks confirm that the postcard was indeed mailed in December of 1905. I’ve been unable to decipher the Manitoba postmark.
Reverse of Vintage Postcard: Victoria Jubilee Bridge
Sender of postcard
Mlle G. Brouillet, 476 rue Rachel, Montreal, P.Q.
The name Graziella Brouillet was written on the front so I did a little genealogy research and found two women by that name who were living in Montreal in the early twentieth century.
1.Graziella Brouillet (daughter of Pierre Brouillet and Emilie D’Arminault-Rolland) who married Fernand St-Georges (son of Joseph St-Georges and Odile Dubois) in Immaculee-Conception parish (Montreal) on May 19th, 1908.
2.Graziella Brouillet (daughter of Guillaume Brouillet and Rosilda Girouard) who married Armand Frechette (son of Achille Frenchette an Mathilda Olivier) in the same parish on November 7th, 1911. She then married Joseph Bergeron (son of Thomas-Louis Bergeron and Laure Bouchard) on September 29th, 1923 once again in Immaculee-Conception parish.
After narrowing it down to two Graziellas, and with the postcard address in hand, I consulted Lovell’s historic street directory for Montreal and found that there was a William Brouillet who had a grocery at 476 rue Rachel in 1906.
William is the English equivalent of the name Guillaume, so now I’m confident that the sender of this postcard was Graziella Brouillet, daughter of Guillaume Broullet and Rosilda Girouard. (Please see note from reader Pierre Brouillet below)
Recipient of postcard
Mr. J.A.P. Merizz, Hotel Imperial, Winnipeg, Man.
While looking for information on the Hotel Imperial, I discovered a great history webpage called Winnipeg: Then and Now by the Manitoba Historical Society which contains Edwardian views of Winnipeg AND a great essay on the value of vintage postcards to our study of history. They have a postcard of the Empire Hotel in Winnipeg and I’m wondering whether this might be the Hotel Imperial on my postcard.
Handwritten message on back of postcard
Monsieur
Ayant vu votre annonce dans votre (“votre” crossed out) le samedi je me suis permis de vous envoyer cette carte pour vous demandez si vous voulez corresponde avec moi.
Je suis …
English Translation of the message:
Having seen your announcement in (“your” crossed out ) on Saturday, I’m permitting myself to send you this card to ask whether you want to correspond with me. I am ………………
I wonder whether this was a request to be a penpal?
A Final Note
1. P.Q. = Province Quebec – New abbreviation is QC
2. As I child I also learned to write the letter “Q” something like the number “2″
Related Posts:
Index: Vintage Postcards of Quebec
- Bridges Over The St-Lawrence River(1): Honore Mercier Bridge, Quebec
- Bridges Over The St-Lawrence River(2): Jacques Cartier Bridge
- Bridges Over The St-Lawrence River(3): Victoria Jubilee Bridge, Montreal, Quebec
- Vintage Postcard: United We Stand, British Empire Ensigns
Note from reader Pierre Brouillette
Very interesting! Maybe you want to know that W. Brouillet, grocer, was still in business in 1944 in the telephone book of Montreal but moved to 434 Milton.
Sure this Graziella was a relative, she had the same address in 1905 but I don’t know why Guillaume used the English form of his name (if it’s the case). But it’s plausible, because I found another William Brouillet who named his first son Guillaume.
Merci, Pierre!
Caraquet in Vintage Postcards(3): Celebrating CMA2009
This is the third historic image of Caraquet in a series that I’m publishing to celebrate the 2009 Acadian Congress taking place this August in New Brunswick.
Caraquet N.B., Le Couvent
For more postcards of Gloucester County (N.B.) please see
A Canadian Family Headstone: Sylvestre Theriault, 1915 (Tombstone Tuesday)
St.Simon & St.Jude Roman Catholic Cemetery
Grande Anse, New Brunswick, Canada
SYLVESTRE THERIAULT
7 January 1915
A la memoire de Sylvestre Theriault
Decede le 7 janvier 1915 a l’age de 85 ans
R.I.P.
Genealogy Notes: Sylvestre Theriault was the son of Dominique Theriault (son of Jean Baptiste Theriault & Genevieve Pinet) and Tharsile Blanchard (daughter of Desiree Blanchard and Madeleine Cormier). Siblings of Sylvestre included:Henriette (m. Isaac Landry), Dominique (m. Phoebee Landry),Pascal (m.Adelaide Landry), Nazaire (m. Vitaline Poirier). Sylvestre married Francine Pinet and then Genevieve Bourque.
Related Posts:
A Canadian Family Database: Some BOUCHER Marriages
Boucher
Acadian and/or French Canadian Marriages
Male | Female
Boucher, Edouard | Desilva/Dassylva Portugais, Emilie
10 Aug 1847 Quebec Capitale-Nationale QC CAN
Boucher, Ferdinand | Theriault, Marguerite
21 Oct 1919 St-Gabriel Rimouski-Neigette Bas-St-Laurent QC CAN
Boucher, Firmin | Leger, Judith
1795 Caraquet Gloucester NB CAN
Boucher, Francois Galeran | Gotreau, Jeanne
16 Nov 1701 Cap-St-Ignace Montmagny Chaudieres-Appalaches QC CAN
Boucher, Isaac Lagace / Mignier, Justine
22 Jul 1872 Quebec Capitale-Nationale QC CAN Read more »
Evelyn in Montreal: Boucher m. Gagnon, 1874
Diane Szabo wanted information on Edmond Boucher and Celine Gagnon.
Information
Edmond Boucher and Celanire Gagnon were married in the parish of St-Gabriel in Stratford (Wolfe) Quebec. Edmond’s parents were Joseph Boucher and Louise Bourque, while Celanire’s parents were Joseph Gagnon and Marie Tourigny. The marriage took place in 1874 on May 16th.
Related Post:
What the heck is podcasting? Ask Dick and Mike!
In a recent article What the Heck is Podcasting? Dick Eastman talked about this recent technology which allows genealogists to publish audio files online and even design their own “radio” shows. I’ve been reading Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter for several years now but this article caught my eye because my post on the Irish Aylwards of Shippagan, New Brunswick, was included in an podcast just last week.
If you’d like to see a great example of podcasting on a genealogy/history site, then you must visit the Irish Roots Cafe, where Michael (Mike) C. O’Laughlin supplements traditional media like book publishing, radio and blog with a premium series of podcasts organized around three themes: Irish Families Worldwide (where A Canadian Family appears), Irish Song & Recitations and the Irish in America. He also uses a form of computer-generated blog reader to display his show notes for upcoming editions of Irish Roots Cafe.
Dick Eastman says that “podcasting is spreading like wildfire” and I imagine that “wildfire” might be a good analogy because it might be a bit of a fad that flares up and then dies down again. But I certainly think that it has something to offer family historians in at least three ways:
- Podcasts are perfect for sharing certain types of family history information (e.g. oral interviews, songs) where much of the flavour can be lost in the transcription.
- Some people are just great oral communicators – what a wonderful way to shine!
- Podcasts will be a boon for the visually-challenged.
MAJOR INDEXES
VINTAGE POSTCARDS
Index: Vintage Postcards – Quebec
Index: Vintage Postcards – New Brunswick
Index: Vintage Postcards – Assorted
GENEALOGY
Index: Quebec & New Brunswick Cemeteries
New cemeteries – Val Brillant & Grande-Riviere
Index: Kahnawa:ke & the Iroquois | QC/ON
Recently updated
Index: Early French Canadian Pioneers
Newly updated with surname variations
Index: Theriaults | France – Acadie – NB – QC
Index: Mignier Lagaces | France – QC – NB
Index: Legers | France – Acadie - QC – NB
Index: Luces | Channel Islands – QC
Index: Evelyn in Montreal
Updating
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Index: Recent Family History
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