Louis Robida AKA Rabida AKA Rabideau: 52 Ancestors #76

Louis Robida, my second great-grandfather and #28 in my Ahnentafel, was born on 23 Apr 1850 in Warwick, Arthabaska, Quebec, Canada, the oldest of twelve children of Louis Robida and Marie Deshaies dit St. Cyr. He was baptized when he was five days old at Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska Parish, with his uncle Damas [Thomas] Robida as his godfather and Marie Célina Chenard (relationship unknown) as his godmother.¹ (An odd coincidence that his godmother had the same forename as Louis's eventual first wife; Célina, while not rare, is not the most common name in Catholic Quebec.)

Baptism of Louis Robida, 28 Apr 1850

The 1851 census for most of the Arthabaska townships is missing, so we don't see Louis until 1861 in Chester, Arthabaska, 11 years old at his next birthday and with two considerably younger siblings, a brother and a sister (age 4 and 2); three other children had been born and presumably died between Louis and the younger children.²

1861 Canada East census, Chester West, Arthabaska, Louis "Rabida" household

By 1869 Louis, 19, had emigrated south to Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, where on 25 September "Lewis Robadeau" declared intentions of marriage with "Cyntha Criaque" (Marie Célina Cloutier).³

Marriage intentions for "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 25 Sep 1869

Presumably they carried out those intentions, and in June 1870 the census-taker enumerated Lewis and Silena Rabideau, with two-month-old Lewis Jr., in Milan. Louis was a farm laborer, and owned no real estate.⁴

Lewis Rabideau household, 1870 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

Over the next ten years, they had at least three more children (a six-year gap between "Loi" and the next child almost certainly indicates at least one, and possibly two, stillbirths or infant deaths) and moved to Berlin, where Louis was working in the paper pulp mill.⁵

"Loi" Rabida household, 1880 U.S. Census, Berlin, Coos, New Hampshire

Children of Louis Rabideau and Célina Cloutier:

1. Peter Louis (AKA Louis/Lewis Jr.) (1870-1946), m. Eva Woodward (my great-grandparents)
2. Xalia (abt 1875-??), apparently died young
3. Marie (abt 1878-1960), m. Toussaint "Louis" Croteau
4. Adeline (abt 1879-1934), m. Thomas Castonguay Jr.

Célina died in 1881, and Louis apparently remarried almost immediately – unsurprising, considering that he had three children under the age of 6. Louis's new wife, Marie Beatrice Croteau, gave him three more sons in the next seven years.⁶ (Premature twin sons, born in 1884, did not survive.)

Children of Louis Rabideau and Marie Beatrice Croteau:

5. Thomas Henry (1882-1958), m. (1) Alphonsine Reneau, (2) Josephine Picard
6. Unnamed twin boys (1884-1884), premature
7. Francis "Frank" Lewis (1885-1956), m. Albina Dumas
8. Melvin L. (1888-1908), died unmarried

In 1885 Louis purchased land in Milan from Cyrus Hamlin and Harrison Rogers – from each an "undivided half of Lot. No. (18) eighteen Range five" in the "second division of lots" in Milan.⁷ An 1892 atlas map of Milan shows property owners L. Rabideau (most likely the lot Louis purchased in 1885) and J. Rabideau⁸ (Louis's brother Jim, who bought land in 1890⁹).

Detail from 1892 map of Milan, N.H., showing L. Rabideau and J. Rabideau homesteads

By 1900, Louis's three living sons by Beatrice were still at home, while Célina's children were long gone from the household. (One of them, Marie, was in fact married to Marie Beatrice's half-brother Toussaint "Louis" Croteau and had four children of her own. See Marie (Rabideau) Croteau and The Croteau Connection for that story.) Louis was listed as a farmer, owning mortgaged property.¹⁰

Lewis Rabideau household, 1900 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

Louis's last appearance in the census was in 1910, still on his mortgaged farm in Milan with wife "Bessie," their two older sons, Thomas and Francis, and Francis's new wife.¹¹ (Youngest son Melvin had died of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1908.) Beatrice died in 1914, her death registration indicating she had been a resident of Berlin for the past two years,¹² so Louis apparently had given up farming and moved back to Berlin in 1912.

Louis Rabideau household, 1910 U.S. census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

On 29 May 1915, Louis Rabideau, of Berlin, sold land in Milan to J. Fred Bell (not the same land he purchased in 1885 – I haven't yet found out what happened to that lot) by warranty deed.¹³ That is the last record I have found concerning Louis. He was not found in the 1920 census, so presumably he died between 1915 and 1920, but as yet I have been unable to find a death record for him, in either New Hampshire or Vermont (where his sons Thomas and Frank had moved by 1920). If anyone reading this has a death, obituary, or burial source for him, please let me know!

A few notes about the family surname: while Louis was born and baptized as Louis Robida, with few exceptions his name was given as Rabideau in U.S. records – most censuses, deeds and mortgages, and his children's birth records. (His forename was given as Louis or Lewis, pretty much randomly.) This may simply represent the way the name was commonly pronounced and spelled by English-speakers in Coos County: Louis himself was illiterate (his deeds and mortgages were signed by mark), so we have no idea how he may have pronounced it. It's worth noting that the one census when he was living in Berlin, 1880, the name was Robida, and that Beatrice's death record and obituary (also in Berlin) gave the surname as Robida and Rabida, respectively. Some of Louis's children, when they married, gave their names as Rabideau (Peter and Thomas [first marriage] and some as Rabida or Robida (Adeline, Marie, Frank, and Thomas [second marriage]). Peter used the name Rabideau for his entire adult life, while Thomas and Frank exclusively used Rabida after about 1920.

My descent from Louis Rabideau:

• Louis Rabideau + Marie Celina Cloutier
• Peter Louis Rabideau + Eva May Woodward
• Glenna Marie Rabideau + William George Murphy
• Kathleen Marie Murphy + Roger Kirk (my parents)

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SOURCES

1. Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska Parish (Arthabaska, Quebec), parish registers, archive copy, 1850, folio 14v, B.42, baptism of Louis Robidas, 28 Apr 1850; digital images, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 20 May 2012); citing “Quebec Catholic parish registers. Quebec County Catholic Parishes, Canada”.
2. 1861 Census of Canada East [Quebec], Arthabaska County, ED 2, Township of Chester West, p. 4 (penned), p. 160 (stamped), lines 24-28, Louis Rabida household; index and digital images, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2012).
3. Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, Births, marriages, deaths 1854-1881, p. 45, "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 1869; digital images, "New Hampshire, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
4. 1870 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, p. 17 (penned) 135 (stamped), dwelling 137, family 130, Lewis Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
5. 1880 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
6. 1900 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 268, sheet 5-A, dwelling 96, family 97, L??is Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014). 
7. Coos County, New Hampshire, Land Records, 1772-1902, Warranty Deeds 38:370-371, Cyrus D. Hamlin to Lewis Rabideau and Harrison W. Rogers to Lewis Rabideau, 1885; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008649649?cat=284086 : accessed 14 May 2019), image 409; imaged from FHL microfilm 8,649,649.
8. "Shelburne, Coos Co. (with) Milan, Coos Co.," Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire (Boston: D.H. Hurd & Co., 1892), p. 293; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 12 May 2019), item 2023270. The map shown above was cropped from the full map.
9. Coos County, New Hampshire, Land Records, 1772-1902, Warranty Deeds 53:78, Luther F. Kingsbury to James Rabideau, 1890; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008650435?cat=284086 : accessed 14 May 2019), image 409; imaged from FHL microfilm 8,650,435.
10. 1900 U.S. census, L??is Rabideau household.
11. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, New Hampshire, Coos County, Milan, enumeration district (ED) 67, sheet 2A, p. 158 (stamped), dwelling 26, family 28, Louis Rabideau household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2014)
12. "New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2012); death of Mrs. Beatrix Robida, 1 Jul 1914, Berlin. 
13. Coos County, New Hampshire, land records, Warranty Deeds 172:99, Louis Rabideau to J. Fred Bell, 1915; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/64945466/person/42130883424/media/bb97dd23-6b29-4ef0-b49b-6ec7893ec255 : accessed 14 Dec 2014), found in Gallery for Louis Rabideau (1849- ) profile in "Sara Jennings and Rob Spittel" public member tree, managed by Sara Spittel.

Marie (Rabideau) Croteau: 52 Ancestors #63

One of my earliest "52 Ancestors" posts, more than four and a half years ago, was a sketch of Célina (Cloutier) Rabideau, my second great-grandmother, about whom I knew – and still know – very little. Besides my great-grandfather, she had three daughters, Adeline, Xalia, and Marie, according to the 1880 census.¹ At the time I wrote that sketch, I had found further records only for Adeline, aside from a single mention in my great-grandfather's 1946 obituary² of a surviving sister, "Mrs. Mary Croteau of East Gardner, Mass." (Adeline had died in 1934.)

The following year, Ancestry published the Social Security Applications and Claims Index database, and suddenly I had one more record for Marie, daughter of Louis Robidas and Celina Cloutier: not only did it provide a birth date and place for her (28 Apr 1879, Berlin Falls, N.H.), it confirmed that she was Mary Croteau in the 1940s.³ So last year, I finally began to follow up on the "Mary Croteau" lead, and see if I could track down great grand-aunt Marie.

There were Croteaus aplenty in Coos County, New Hampshire, by 1900 – indeed, Marie's father Louis Rabideau had married a Marie Beatrice Croteau around 1881, shortly after Célina's death – so the logical first step was to see if she had married one of them. But no marriage of a Marie Rabideau/Robida to a Croteau could be found in the previous decade, and I had to assume she married prior to 1900 because she wasn't found under her maiden name in the census.

With no clue as to where she had married, or her husband's first name, I approached the search from the other end, in Massachusetts. Perhaps she had had children there, and the Massachusetts VRs are detailed, and well-indexed, through 1915. Searching for Croteau children with a mother named Marie Rabideau (or a variant) proved fruitful: a number of births, and almost as many deaths, in Lawrence, Mass., and (earlier) in Maine. The father's name varied, usually Louis but sometimes Toussaint, and Marie (or Mary) was described variously as being born in New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada, but once correlated with the 1900-1920 census records,⁴ it was clear this was all the same family.

Now that I had a first name (or two) for her husband, a marriage search centered on New Hampshire with surrounding states produced an 1894 marriage for Toussaint "Creteau" and Mary "Rabida" (father Louis, mother Mary Rabida) that appeared to fit in with the other available data. The one puzzle was the location of the marriage – the small town of Jamaica, Vermont.⁵ Though both bride and groom claimed to reside there, their connection to the location was a mystery that I left for another day (and another 52 Ancestors post).

Marriage of Toussaint "Creteau" and Mary Rabida, 1894, Jamaica, Vermont

Putting it all together yields the following picture of my great grand-aunt Marie's life.

Marie Rabideau/Robida was born sometime between 1873-1879 in Coos County, New Hampshire.⁶ The birth information of 28 Apr 1879 at Berlin Falls, New Hampshire, from her Social Security application, is plausible enough except for the year: the family was living in Berlin in 1880, but Marie was listed as 2 years old, with a 1-year-old sister, so 1878 is more likely. Lacking a birth record, that census is the most contemporary record we have.

Of course, thanks to the lost 1890 census, the only thing I really know about Marie between 1880 and 1900 is that on 29 Sep 1894, in Jamaica, Vermont, she married Toussaint Croteau, a farmer from Canada.⁷ Exactly 9 months later, on 30 Jun 1895, Marie gave birth to their first child, named Carrie (but by 1900 called Eva).⁸ They must have moved to Milan, New Hampshire, where Marie's father and stepmother now lived, around 1896 or 97 – their second daughter, Lovia, was born there – and by 1898 had moved on to Brunswick, Maine, where they had two sons, Wilfred in 1898 and Leonce in 1900.

Eva, Wilfred, and Leonce were the only children who would live to adulthood; early in 1902 Lovia died from tuberculosis. Marie would bear five more sons over the next five years, but none would survive past early childhood. The first, born in Brunswick in 1902, was unnamed on his birth record; no death record was found, but he was missing in the 1910 census. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Alfred, born there in 1903, died before his first birthday from inflammation of the brain and cholera infantum; his brother Joseph was born prematurely the same day, and died the following day. Eugene, born in 1905, succumbed two and a half years later to membranous croup (probably diphtheria). Within the month, their final child, George, was born – again, prematurely – and died about a month later. Marie was not yet 30.

First Eva, then Wilfred, married six months apart in 1916. In 1920, Eva and her family were still living with Toussaint, Marie, and Leonce in Lawrence, while Wilfred had settled his family in nearby Andover. Leonce married in 1921 and had his own home in Lawrence. At that point, Toussaint and Marie disappear from the Lawrence city directory (Eva and Alexis continued to live at the same address) and I lose their trail for many years, with only fleeting glimpses before their eventul deaths and burials.

A possible candidate for Mary in the 1930 census is the 51-year-old Mary Croteau in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a resident cook at the City Infirmary.⁹ She is listed as married, was born in New Hampshire, and was 15 when first married; though this seems a bit young, it actually matches up with the age in that Social Security application and on her gravestone.

1930 U.S. Census, Worcester County, Mass., Fitchburg, Mary Croteau, servant in City Infirmary

I have yet to discover a trace of Toussaint in 1930. In fact, the only sign of him before his death in 1940¹⁰ is a 1939 Andover city directory listing which shows him as "ret[ired]" and living with his son Wilfred.¹¹ This would explain why he died in Andover, and his death must have been before the census date, as he was not in Wilfred's household by then.

1939 Andover, Mass. directory, entries for "Touissaint" and Wilfred Croteau

 Significantly, there is no parenthetical listing for Mary following his name, though Wilfred's wife Antonia is so listed. The only conclusion I can draw is that they had separated. From the timing of their disappearance from Lawrence, it seems this may have occurred once their last surviving child married and left the nest.

Mary survived her husband by 20 years, though for the remainder of her life she is almost as elusive as he was. I believe she may be the 60-year-old Mary Croteau in the 1940 census, a houseworker in a private home in Winchendon, Mass., born in New Hampshire and in 1935 living in Fitchburg.¹² Not only is this consistent with the Fitchburg Mary from 1930, but Winchendon is adjacent to Gardner, where her brother's obituary places her in 1946; there is also a single directory listing for a Mary Croteau in Gardner in 1943, an assistant cook residing at Gardner State Hospital.¹³ This is so similar to the situation of the Mary Croteau at Fitchburg City infirmary in 1930 that I feel fairly confident that these are all the same person, and that she is "my" Mary.

1940 U.S. Census, Worcester County, Mass., Winchendon, Mary Croteau, servant in Pelletier household

Finally, in the 1951 and 1953 Andover city directories, we get one last glimpse of Mary, now living with her son Wilfred at 43 Beacon Street.¹⁴ She wasn't there in 1949, and 1953 is the last Andover directory in the database, so it's impossible to know how long she stayed there.

1953 Andover, Mass., directory, entries for Mary and Wilfred T Croteau

 I do know that she died in Danvers, Mass., in 1960.¹⁵ That's the site of the Danvers State Hospital, a psychiatric institution, so I have an sad suspicion that her last days may have been spent in dementia. If so, I can only hope that the period was brief.

Toussaint and Marie may have separated in life, but they are buried together in the Bedard-Croteau plot in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Andover, along with Wilfred and Antonia.¹⁶

The children of Toussaint (Louis) Croteau and Marie Rabideau:

1. Eva (born Carrie), b. 1895, Jamaica, Vermont, married Alexis Perron, d. 1950
2. Lovia Orelia, abt 1897-1902
3. Wilfred, b. 1898, Brunswick, Maine, married Antonia Bedard, d. 1973
4. Leonce, b. 1900, Brunswick, Maine, married Emma Dube, d. 1967
5. Unnamed son, 1902-bef 1910
6. Alfred, 1903-1904
7. Joseph Alcide, 1904-1904
8. Eugene, 1905-1907
9. George, 1907-1907

Marie (Rabideau) Croteau is my great grand-aunt (or second great-aunt).


 (This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. 1880 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014). 
2. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary, Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 17 Dec 1946, p. 2; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=IT5EXw6i2GUC : accessed 28 May 2013).
3. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jul 2015); entry for Mary Croteau (Mary Robidas), SSN 014-20-2184.
4. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Maine, Cumberland County, Brunswick, enumeration district (ED) 37, sheet 18B, dwelling 198, family 327, Louis Crotteau household. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 1942, sheet 2B, dwelling 28, family 47, Louis "Crouteau" household. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 115, sheet 13A-B, p. 235 (stamped), dwelling 150, family 246, Toussaint Croteau household. All three viewed as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017).
5. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2017); bride's and groom's cards for "TousSaint Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage, 29 Sep 1894, Jamaica, Vt.
6. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, entry for Mary Croteau (Mary Robidas). Several of her children's birth records state that she was born in "Grovetown," "Grafton," or "Groten;" the nearest possibility seems to be Groveton, a Coos County town some 20-25 miles from the Milan and Berlin locations where I know they lived. I have no other indication that her parents ever lived in Groveton. Her birthplace is also variously noted in other records as Manchester, N.H., Maine, and Canada, so this must be taken with a hefty grain of salt; perhaps it's a corrupted version of "Gorham," where her sister Adeline claimed to have been born, and which is only a stone's throw from Berlin.
7. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, "TousSaint Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage.
8. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 Oct 2018); birth of Carrie Creteau, 30 Jun 1895, Jamaica.
9. 1930 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Fitchburg, enumeration district (ED) 14-159, sheet 20A, p. 38 (stamped), 4904 (penned), line 8, Mary Croteau, servant in City Infirmary; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017). 
10. "Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Dec 2017); entry for Toussaint Croteau, 1940, Andover; citing vol. 2, p. 36.
11. Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, Directory, 1939 (North Hampton, N.H.: Crosby Publishing Co., 1939), entries for "Touissaint" Croteau and Wilfred (Antonia) Croteau, p. 108; database and digital images, "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Dec 2017).
12. 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Winchendon, enumeration district (ED) 14-319, sheet 3A, p. 4310 (stamped), household 42, Mary Croteau, servant in Alfred Pelletier household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017).
13. Gardner [Massachusetts] Directory, 1943 (New Haven, Conn.: The Price & Lee Co., 1943), entry for Mary Croteau, p. 141; "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (accessed 6 Oct 2018).
14. Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, Directory, 1951 and 1953 (North Hampton, N.H.: Crosby Publishing Co., 1951-1953), entries for Mary Croteau and Wilfred T (Antonia) Croteau, p. 174 (1951) and 183 (1953); "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (accessed 7 Oct 2018).
15. "Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980" (accessed 3 Oct 2018); entry for Mary (Robidas) Croteau, 1960, Danvers; citing vol. 43, p. 27
16. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi  : accessed 28 Jul 2017), memorials 176316476 and 176316496 for Toussaint Croteau and Mary Robida Croteau, with digital photo of Bedard-Croteau monument; both by "TECK" (13 Feb 2017); citing Sacred Heart Cemetery, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, plot S.

A Valentine's Day Marriage: 52 Ancestors, #59

Valentine's Day has been around for a long time, and while I don't know if it was because of that association, at least half a dozen couples in my collateral lines chose the 14th of February to get married.

The most recent of these Valentine's Day marriages (that I know of) took place 131 years ago, when my third great-granduncle Thomas (Damase) Robida took Caroline Mariage as his second wife on 14 February 1887.

Thomas was the youngest child of Jean-Baptiste Robida and Divine Louise Girardeau, born 29 Mar 1833 in Pointe-du-Lac, Quebec.¹ At 23, he married Louise Brown on 16 Sep 1856 in Saint-Micolas, Levis County.² (Two of Louise's sisters married two of Thomas's nephews, Joseph and Hubert-dit-Philibert, sons of Thomas's brother Joseph. Joseph was the oldest child, 18 years Thomas's senior.) They lived for several years in Saint-Camille, Wolfe County, Quebec, but by 1869 had moved to Stoke in Richmond County.

Thomas and Louise had seven children (at least; there's an eight-year gap between Thomas and the twins where I haven't turned up any baptisms, highly unusual for a French-Canadian Catholic family):

• Louise (b. 1857, probably d. young)
• Marie Lumina "Lumina" (1858-1914), m. Joseph BeauchËne
• Marie Louise Délinas "Délina" (b. 1860)
• Thomas Oliva "Thomas" (1861-1902), unmarried
• Martiel Alfred "Alfred" (twin, b. 1869)
• Rose Victoria "Rose" (twin, b. 1869)
• Jean Alphonse "Alphonse" (1873-1941) m. Léda Benoit

Louise died 23 Apr 1885 and was buried in Saint-Philémon-de-Stoke Parish cemetery.³

Almost two years later, Thomas remarried on Valentine's Day 1887, at Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in Sherbrooke.⁴

Marriage of Thomas Damase Robida and Caroline Mariage, "le quatorze fevrier mil huit cent quatre vingt sept"

 His second wife, Caroline Mariage, nearly 20 years his junior (and only 9 years older than her oldest step-son Thomas), immediately began providing him with a second family, giving birth to seven children over the next eight years:

• Marie Victoria Antoinette "Marie"(b. 1887), m. Zacharie St. Cyr
• Marie Rosa "Rosa" (b. 1889), m. Joseph Marchand
• Unnamed son (1890-1890)
• Marie Anne Emérance "Emérentine" (1891-1917), unmarried
• Jean-Baptiste (b. 1892), m. Alexina Robidoux
• Unnamed son (1894-1894)
• Marie Louise (b. 1895), m. Honoré "Henry" Longchamp

Thomas died, probably in Stoke, sometime between 12 Aug 1912 (when his daughter Marie Louise married, she was described as "fille mineure de Thomas Robidas" - not "feu Thomas")⁵ and 15 Oct 1917 (when his daughter Emérentine was buried and described as "fille de feu Thomas Robidas").⁶ I have been unable to find a burial record for him, but he is almost certainly buried in Saint-Philémon Parish cemetery in Stoke-Centre, with his first wife and his daughters Lumina and Emérentine.

Caroline removed to Bromptonville, Richmond County (probably with her son Jean-Baptiste), and remarried there in 1919, to Nazaire Croteau.⁷ She died 24 Jan 1937 at St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Sherbrooke and is buried in Sainte-Praxéde-de-Brompton-Falls Parish cemetery in Bromptonville.⁸

(This post was inspired by the "Valentine" prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. La Visitation Parish (Pointe-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, vol. 3 (1828-1840), folio 77r, B.12, baptism of Damas Robida, 30 Mar 1833; digital images, "Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979", Family Search (https://familysearch.org : accessed 20 Nov 2015) > Pointe-du-Lac > La Visitation-de-la-Pointe-du-Lac > Index, baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1749-1825 Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1744-1840 > image 625 of 731.
2. Saint-Nicolas Parish (Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, vol. 1856, folio 20r, unnumbered marriage of Thomas Robida and Louise Brown, 16 Sep 1856; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 Jun 2012); Saint > St-Nicolas > 1856 > image 20 of 29; citing Gabriel Drouin, comp., Drouin Collection, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.
3. Saint-Philémon-de-Stoke Parish (Stoke Centre, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, vol. 1885, folio 5r, S.6, burial of Louise Brown, 25 Apr 1885; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2018); S > Stoke > Centre > 1885 > image 5 of 15.
4. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Parish (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, vol. 1887, folio 4v-5r, M.4, marriage of Thomas Damase Robida and Caroline Mariage, 14 Feb 1887; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Dec 2014); S > Sherbrooke > St-Jean-Baptiste > 1887 > image 5 of 30.
5. Saint-Philémon-de-Stoke Parish Registers, vol. 1912, folio 10r, M.6, marriage of Honoré Longchamp and Marie Louise Robidas, 12 Aug 1912; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2018); S > Stoke > Centre > 1912 > image 11 of 21.
6. Ibid., vol. 1917, folio 10v, S.17, burial of Emérentine Robidas, 15 Oct 1917; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2018); S > Stoke > Centre > 1917 > image 12 of 16.
7. Sainte-Praxède-de-Brompton-Falls Parish (Bromptonville, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, vol. 1919, folio 10r-v, M.3, marriage of Nazaire Croteau and Caroline Mariage, 24 Mar 1919; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2018); B > Bromptonville > St-Praxède > 1919 > images 11-12 of 46.
8. Ibid., vol. 1937, folio 2r, S.2, burial of Caroline Mariage, 27 Jan 1937; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Feb 2018); B > Bromptonville > St-Praxède > 1937 > image 3 of 33.

52 Ancestors: #36, Jean-Baptiste Robidas (1787-1854)

My immigrant 8th great-grandfather, Jacques Robidas-Manseau, named his fifth son Jean-Baptiste – the first in a string of four successive "Jean-Baptiste Robidas" in my ancestry. The great-grandson and namesake of that first Jean-Baptiste was my fourth great-grandfather.

My 4x great-grandpa was born and baptized on 16 December 1787 in Baie-du-Febvre, Quebec, the third child of Jean-Baptiste Robidas and Marie Jeanne Lupien. (He was actually the second child of the family to bear the name; their first child, born in 1784 and named after his father, had lived only six months.) His baptismal sponsors were his aunt (his father's sister) and her husband, Monique Robida and Louis Beaulac.¹

Baptism of Jean-Baptiste Robida, 16 Dec 1787

Jean-Baptiste married Divine Louise ("Ludivine") Girardeau on 21 November 1814, at La Visitation-du-Pointe-du-Lac parish in Pointe-du-Lac, Quebec,² which was Divine's birthplace.

Marriage of Jean-Baptiste Robidas and Divine "Girardot", 21 Nov 1814

 They had at least twelve children:

1. Joseph (1815-1888), married Dorothee Boudreau
2. Jean-Baptiste (1818-1877), married Rose-de-Lima Gauthier
3. Margueritte (1820-????)
4. Theodule (Jan 1822-Sep 1822)
5. Julie-Emilie (1823-bef 1893), married Ignace-dit-Augustin Gauthier
6. Theodule (Mar 1825-Dec 1826)
7. Jean-Richard (Apr 1827-Jun 1827)
8. Marie Marguerite (1828-1901), married Louis Mosly-Reid
9. Marie (1829-1893), married Georges Paquin
10. Joseph (1830-????)
11. Louis (1832-1921), married Marie Deshaies-St. Cyr
12. Thomas Damase (1834-aft 1911), married 1) Louise Brown-dit-Luke, 2) Caroline Mariage

Jean-Baptiste died on 14 June 1854 at Stanfold (Princeville), Arthabaska, Quebec. He was buried on 17 June in the Saint-Eusèbe-de-Stanfold parish cemetery.³

Burial of Jean-Baptiste Robida, 17 Jun 1854

My descent from Jean-Baptiste Robidas:

• Jean-Baptiste Robidas + Divine Louise "Ludivine" Girardeau
• Louis Robidas + Marie Deshaies-Saint Cyr
• Louis Rabideau + Marie Célina Cloutier
• Peter Louis Rabideau + Eva May Woodward
• Glenna Marie Rabideau + William George Murphy (my maternal grandparents)

(Note: This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge at No Story Too Small.)

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SOURCES

1. Saint-Antoine-de-la-Baie-du-Febvre Parish (La-Baie-du-Febvre, Quebec), parish registers, vol. 2, 1773-1784 and 1795, folio 17v, baptism of Jean-Baptiste Robida, 16 Dec 1787; digital images, "Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 16 Sep 2014), path: Saint-Antoine-de-la-Baie-du-Febvre > Saint-Antoine-de-la-Baie-du-Febvre > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1773-1812 > image 206 of 903. This is the church (Presbytere) copy.
2. La Visitation-de-la-Pointe-du-Lac Parish (Pointe-du-Lac, Quebec), "Registre de la Paroisse de la Visitation de la Pointe du Lac 1814," folio 5r/5v, marriage of Jean-Baptiste Robidas and Divine "Girardot", 21 Nov 1814; digital images, "Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 16 Sep 2014), path: Pointe-du-Lac > La Visitation-de-la-Pointe-du-Lac > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1749-1759, 1786-1829 > image 685 of 917. This is the courthouse (Greffe) copy.
3. Saint-Eusèbe-de-Stanfold Parish (Stanfold or Princeville, Quebec), parish registers, 1849-1856, folio 113r, burial of Jean-Baptiste Robida, 17 Jun 1854; digital images, "Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 16 Sep 2014), path: Princeville > Saint-Eusèbe-de-Stanfold > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1849-1876 > image 182 of 702.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #4, Célina (Cloutier) Rabideau

For ancestor #4, I'm going to depart from the pattern of previous profiles, and focus on an ancestor about whom I know very little: Célina Cloutier, my second great-grandmother, wife of Louis Rabideau. Célina represents one of my biggest brick walls – the only one of my eight maternal g-g-grandparents whose origin and parents I have not yet been able to identify. Almost everything about Célina is a mystery: her parents, her place and date of birth, where she is buried, and even her exact name.

The first inkling we have of Célina is in the 25 Sep 1869 record of marriage intentions¹ in Milan, New Hampshire between "Lewis Robadeau," age 19, and "Cyntha Criaque," age 17 (implying birth ca. 1851-52), both residents of Milan and both born in "Lancristof."² His parents are given (Lewis and Mary Robadeau), but hers are not. And while it may seem a leap to connect "Cyntha Criaque" with "Célina Cloutier", bear with me as I trace the connections.

Marriage intentions for "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 25 Sep 1869

Not quite seven months later, their first child was born. A baptismal record from Saint-Michel-de-Sherbrooke Parish (Sherbrooke, Quebec) gives the baby's date of birth.³ Roughly translated, it says "The 11th of July 1870, we baptized Louis, born the 15th of April last of the legitimate marriage of Louis Robida, laborer, and Célina Cloutier. Godfather Louis Robida, godmother Marie St. Cyr..." The baby's godparents are Louis's parents, named in his marriage intentions. Baby Louis was not born in Sherbrooke, however; census and other records (including the 1870 U.S. census two months after his birth) all give his birthplace as New Hampshire. No doubt this explains the three-month delay between his birth and baptism: his parents waited until they could travel back home so the grandparents could witness the baptism of their new grandson.

Baptismal record for Louis Robida

Célina appears in just two U.S. censuses. In 1870, "Silena" Rabideau, age 21 (implying birth ca. 1848-49), is living in Milan with husband Lewis, age 20, and Lewis Jr., age 2 months, born in April in New Hampshire – matching the birth date from his baptismal record.⁴

Lewis Rabideau household, 1870 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

By 1880, "Loi" (age 31) and "Salina" Rabida have three more children, all daughters, and are living in Berlin.⁵ Despite a major discrepancy in "Salina's" age (she's again listed as 21, probably a slip of the pen for 31), and the odd spelling of several names, it seems fairly certain that this is the right family; "Loi" père et fils are both about the right ages, both parents were born in Canada, and all the children were born in New Hampshire

"Loi" Rabida household, 1880 U.S. Census, Berlin, Coos, New Hampshire

As far as I know, Célina died 24 Jan 1881 in Berlin, "a. 25 [sic]."⁶ Louis remarried (to Marie-Beatrice Croteau) almost immediately; the 1900 census indicates they had been married 19 years, and their first son, Thomas, was born in Feb 1882, followed by Francis and Melvin at three-year intervals.⁷

Lewis Rabideau household, 1900 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

So far I have located only one marriage record among Célina's children which names both parents, that of Adeline ("Allene" in the 1880 census), which gives her parents as Louis Rabida of Milan Corner, N.H., and "Marie Clouthier", deceased.⁸ (This is the only record where her name is given as Marie, but it was extremely common for Catholic girls in Quebec to be given Marie as a first forename; most likely she was baptized Marie Célina.)

Thomas Castonguay - Adeline Rabida marriage, Brunswick, Maine, 1899

Her brother Louis's marriage record, unfortunately, does not give his mother's name, and I have found no further records of Xalia or Marie. By the time he married, young Louis had become Peter L(ouis) Rabideau, probably to distinguish himself from his father.⁹

Peter L. Rabideau - Evie M. Taylor marriage, Berlin, New Hampshire, 1894

Finally, we come to my great-grandfather's obituary.¹⁰ Peter L. Rabideau was "born April 15, 1870 at West Milan, N.H., the son of Lewis and Cynthia Cloutier Rabideau." Here we have confirmation that Peter L. really is Louis/Lewis Jr. – his date of birth and his mother's surname – and the only other appearance of his mother's name as Cynthia, making it credible that the "Cyntha Criaque" of the marriage intentions is actually Célina Cloutier. The surviving sister and half-brothers mentioned also link him to Louis Rabideau and both his wives.

In summary, we know that:

• Her name was probably Marie Célina Cloutier, sometimes called Cynthia.
• She was born in Quebec ca. 1848-1852, possibly in Saint-Christophe d'Arthabaska.
• She married Louis Rabideau after 25 Sep 1869, probably in Milan, N.H.
• She had four children, Louis/Lewis Jr. (aka Peter L.), Xalia, Marie, and Adeline/Allene.
• She died probably 24 Jan 1881 in Berlin, N.H.

Do any of my readers have any other information about Célina/Cynthia Cloutier, her parents, or her daughters Xalia and Marie? If so, please leave a comment, or contact me by email. I'd love to be able to fill in those blanks on my tree!

(Note: This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge at No Story Too Small.)

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SOURCES

1. Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, Births, marriages, deaths 1854-1881, p. 45, "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 1869; digital images, "New Hampshire, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
2. This appears to be a corruption of "Saint-Christophe" with an "L" substituted for the "S"; in the script of time, the two capital letters are easily confused, though in this case the letter definitely appears to be an "L". The town clerk may have copied the information into the permanent register from a loose page written by someone else. Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska is a parish municipality in Arthabaska County, Quebec, close to the location where Louis Robida (Célina's husband) and his parents were enumerated in the 1861 Canada East census.
3. Saint-Michel-de-Sherbrooke Parish (Sherbrooke, Quebec), Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1869-1874, pp. 140-141, baptism 146, Louis Robida, 1870; digital images, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900,” FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org : accessed 18 May 2012).
4. 1870 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, p. 17 (penned) 135 (stamped), dwelling 137, family 130, Lewis Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
5. 1880 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014). 
6. Marshall Kenneth Kirk, comp., Ancestry of Kathleen Murphy Kirk, ca 1990, Kirk-Murphy Family Charts, privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia. This chart, inherited from the suthor's brother, gives the date and place of death (and quotes the age, which is almost certainly incorrect) and states that the death was "recorded at Holy Family [Church], Gorham [N.H.]." So far I have not found among his papers an actual document or copy from which the information was obtained.
7. 1900 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 268, sheet 5-A, dwelling 96, family 97, L??is Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
8. “Maine, Marriage Records, 1705-1922,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Jun 2012), Thomas Castonguay Jr. and Adeline Rabida, Brunswick, Maine, 1899.
9. “New Hampshire, Marriage Records, 1637-1947,” index and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 1 Apr 2012), Peter L. Rabideau and Evie M. Taylor, Berlin, New Hampshire, 1894.
10. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary, Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 17 Dec 1946, p. 2; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=IT5EXw6i2GUC : accessed 28 May 2013).