52 Ancestors: #13, Eva May (Woodward) (Taylor) Rabideau

Eva May "Evie" Woodward, my great-grandmother, was born 27 Jan 1871, in Holland, Vermont, the third of six children of Uriah Sawyer Woodward and Mary Washburn.¹ Not long after her birth, Uriah and Mary moved to Dummer, Coos County, New Hampshire, where Eva first appears in the 1880 census.²

1880 U.S. census, Dummer, Coos, N.H., Uriah Woodward household

On 6 Sep 1887, Eva married David Taylor in the nearby town of Milan.³ They lived in Dummer and had a son, Ernest, in 1892, but in 1894 she sued for divorce,⁴ receiving custody of Ernest.

David Taylor–Eva Woodward marriage, 1887, Milan, N.H.

David Taylor–Eva Taylor divorce, 1894, N.H.

Eva married Peter Louis Rabideau in Berlin, New Hampshire, on 3 Nov 1894.⁵

Peter L. Rabideau-Evie M. Taylor marriage, 1894, Berlin, N.H.

Eva and Peter lived in Milan for over 25 years, raising Eva's son Ernest and their three daughters (Ermine, Glenna, and Thelma).^{6, 7} The three oldest had married and left home by 1920.⁸

Peter L. and Eva M. (Woodward) Rabideau, date unknown⁹

1900 U. S. Census, Milan, Coos, N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

1910 U. S. Census, Milan, Coos, N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

1920 U. S. Census, Milan, Coos, N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

Thelma also married in 1923, but that didn't leave Eva with an empty nest. In 1922 daughter Glenna had divorced her first husband and remarried – with custody of her three-year-old son, Wilfred Thibeault, going to his grandmother Eva.¹⁰ By 1930, Eva and Peter had moved to Dummer with their grandson.¹¹ Daughter Ermine and her husband and two children were by then living in Norway, Maine, and around 1934, Eva, Peter, and Wilfred relocated to Norway.¹² There, Wilfred met Elizabeth "Babe" Perry/Poirier and married her in 1939; in 1940 the newlyweds were still living with the Rabideaus.¹³

1930 U. S. Census, Dummer, Coos, N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

1940 U. S. Census, Norway, Oxford, Maine, Peter L. Rabideau household

Eva and Peter Rabideau, probably in Norway, Maine, July 1940¹⁴

Child of Eva Woodward and David Taylor:

1. Ernest Taylor, b. Feb 1892, married Erma Twitchell

Children of Eva Woodward and Peter Louis Rabideau:

1. Ermine Mona Rabideau, b. 1897, married Howard E. Tyler
2. Glenna Marie Rabideau, b. 1899, married (1) John Thibeault, (2) William G. Murphy, (3) Paul Costanza, (4) William Anderson
3. Thelma J. Rabideau, b. 1905, married (1) Glenn Swan, (2) Earl Brann

Eva M. Rabideau obituary, 1953

Peter and Eva remained in Norway until Peter's death in 1946.¹⁵ Eva apparently returned to Milan sometime after his death,¹⁶ then, around 1951, moved to the home of her grandson Wilfred, in Cumberland Center, Maine, where she died 24 Aug 1953.¹⁷ Eva and Peter are buried together in Hillcrest Cemetery in Milan.¹⁸

My descent from Eva May Woodward:

• Eva May Woodward + Peter Louis Rabideau
• Glenna Marie Rabideau + William George Murphy (my maternal grandparents)

Peter L. and Eva M. Rabideau gravestone, Hillcrest Cemetery, Milan, N.H.

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

---

SOURCES

1. "Eva M. Rabideau" obituary, Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, 25 Aug 1953, p. 2; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=oQQVFBP0nzwC : accessed 28 May 2013). Gives her date of birth and parents' names. The place of birth is given incorrectly as Milan, N.H.; her census and marriage records all note her birthplace as Vermont (the record of her marriage to Peter specifies Holland, Vt.).
2. 1880 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Dummer, ED 38, p. 4D, dwelling 32, family 33, Uriah Woodward household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 2 May 2012). 
3. “New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Mar 2014), David Taylor-Evie Woodward marriage, 1887.
4. “New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947,” David Taylor-Evie M. Taylor divorce, 1894.
5. “New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947,” Peter L. Rabideau-Evie M. Taylor marriage, 1894.
6. 1900 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 268, aheet 4B, dwelling 85, family 86, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 9 Dec 2010). 
7. 1910 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 67, aheet 3A, dwelling 33, family 34, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 9 Dec 2010).
8. 1920 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 53, aheet 3B, dwelling 58, family 60, Peter L. "Rabadeau" household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Mar 2014).
9. Dummer Bicentennial Committee, History of Dummer, New Hampshire, 1773-1973 (Dummer, N.H.: Dummer Bicentennial Committee, 1973), p. 52.  
10. Divorce decree, Glenna M. Thibault vs. John W. Thibault (5 Sep 1922), Colebrook, Coos County, New Hampshire; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, photocopy of original privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Whereabouts of the original is unknown. “Glenna M. Thibault of Berlin ... Libellant against John W. Thibault of said Berlin Libellee ... Custody of Wilfred Thibault committed to Eva Rabideau of Milan, N.H. ...”
11. 1930 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Dummer, ED 4-27, sheet 3A, p. 279 (stamped), dwelling 36, family 78, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Aug 2012).
12. "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); states "He came here [Norway] 12 years ago from Milan."
13. 1940 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Norway, ED 9-38, sheet 9B, household 205, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 4 Apr 2012).
14. Photo of Eva and Peter Rabideau, probably in Norway, Maine, July 1940; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia. This photo came from a photo album compiled by one of the Rabideaus' granddaughters, the author's mother, from whom she inherited the album in 1993. The "July 1940" date is in her handwriting.
15. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary.
16. "Norway News Briefs" column, Portland (Maine) Press Herald, 12 Sep 1950, p. 25; digital images, NewpaperArchive (http://newspaperarchive.com/portland-press-herald/1950-09-12/page-25 : accessed 13 Jan 2014); "Mrs. Eva Rabideau of Milan, N. H., formerly of Norway, is visiting her grandson, Ronald Tyler and Mrs. Tyler."
17. "Eva M. Rabideau" obituary.
18. Hillcrest Cemetery (Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire), Peter L. and Eva M. Rabideau marker, read and photographed by the author, 11 Oct 2013.

Ahnentafel of Chester F. Kirk

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to post a brief five-generation Ahnentafel and pedigree chart for each of my four grandparents, starting this week with my paternal grandfather, Chester Frank Kirk.

Pedigree of Chester Frank Kirk (click on the image for a larger view)

1 Chester Frank KIRK. He was born in Warren, ME, on 10 Sep 1857. Died on 13 Jul 1939 in Lewiston, ME; he was 81. He was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME, on 15 Jul 1939. Occupation: Clockworks machinist and veterinary surgeon; mechanic.

He married Mary Milliken HODSDON ca 1901-03 in prob Andover, ME.

2 Silas KIRK. He was born in Warren, ME, on 9 May 1827. Died on 9 May 1909 in Lewiston, ME; he was 82. He was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME. Occupation: Carpenter and mechanic. Cause of death: Old age and nephritis.

He married Sarah C. SUKEFORTH on 12 Jun 1856 in Warren, ME.

3 Sarah C. SUKEFORTH. She was born in Washington, ME, on 31 Mar 1838. Died on 26 May 1905 in Freeport, ME; she was 67. She was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME. Cause of death: Softening of brain.

4 Jabez Bradbury KIRK(PATRICK). He was born in Warren, ME, on 10 May 1800. Died on 26 Feb 1884 in Warren, ME; he was 83. He was buried in Newcomb Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: Carpenter and shipwright.

He married Abigail FAULKNER on 13 Nov 1825 in prob Warren, ME.

5 Abigail FAULKNER. She was born in Maitland, Douglas Twp, Hants Co, NS, on 14 Oct 1808. Died on 4 Oct 1891 in Warren, ME; she was 82. She was buried in Newcomb Cemetery, Warren, ME.

6 Simon SUKEFORTH. He was born in Washington, ME, ca 1813. Died on 13 Aug 1874 in prob Washington, ME; he was 61. He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington, ME. Occupation: farmer.

He married Jane MILLER abt 1832-33.

7 Jane MILLER. She was born in Friendship, ME, on 30 Jul 1810. Died on 29 Apr 1879 in Washington, ME; she was 68. She was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington, ME.

8 John KIRKPATRICK 2d. He was born in Warren, ME, in 1773. Died on 13 Dec 1825 in N. Warren, ME; he was 52. He was buried in Town Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: Farmer.

He married Nancy STARRETT on 26 Aug 1798 in Warren, ME.

9 Nancy STARRETT. She was born in Warren, ME, in 1777. Died on 22 Apr 1834 in Warren, ME; she was 57. She was buried in Town Cemetery, Warren, ME.

10 Edward FAULKNER.

He married Margaret MORRISON.

11 Margaret MORRISON.

12 Robert SUCKFORTH. He was born in Union, ME, ca 1780-88. He was born in Appleton, ME. Died in 1860-1870 in Washington, ME; he was 80. Occupation: farmer.

He married Mary/Polly MILLER ca Jul 1807 in prob Hope, ME.

13 Mary/Polly MILLER. She was born in Friendship or Waldoboro, ME, in 1775. She was born ? 1790. Died ca 1850-60 in Washington, ME; she was 75.

14 William MILLER. Died aft 1837 in Friendship, ME.

He married [--?--] [--?--].

15 [--?--] [--?--].

16 John KIRKPATRICK. He was born in Scotland ca 1734. Died in Jun 1785 in Warren, ME; he was 51. He was buried in Old Settlers' Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: cooper.

He married Ann BRADBURY on 3 Nov 1758 in Falmouth (now Portland), ME.

17 Ann BRADBURY. She was born in Falmouth (now Portland), ME, on 3 Jan 1736. Died on 19 Jan 1817 in Warren, ME; she was 81.

18 Col. Thomas STARRETT. He was born in Warren, ME, in 1738. Died on 22 or 31 Jan 1822 in Warren, ME; he was 84.

He married Rebecca LEWIS on 3 Jun 1762 in Dedham, MA.

19 Rebecca LEWIS. She was born in Dedham, MA, on 8 May 1743. Died on 26 Jun 1813; she was 70.

20 Robert FAULKNER. He was born in prob County Tyrone, Ireland, ca 1733.

He married Hannah FAULKNER.

21 Hannah FAULKNER. She was born in County Monagan, Ireland.

24 Andreas SUCHFORT. He was born in Hannover, Sachsen, Germany, ? 11 Jan 1755. Died aft 1840 in Washington, ME; he was 84. Died ? 1840 in Waldoboro, ME; he was 84. Died ca 1830 in Washington, ME; he was 74. He was buried in Metcalf Cemetery, Appleton, ME.

He married Catherine NEWBERT ca 1778.

25 Catherine NEWBERT. She was born in Broad Bay, MA, ca 1764. She was born ca 1760-62. She was born in Waldoboro, ME, ? 1766. Died aft 1840 in prob Hope, ME; she was 76.

26 [--?--] MILLER.

He married Margaret [--?--].

27 Margaret [--?--]. She was born in Germany ca 1753. Died aft 1850; she was 97.

28 William MILLER. He was born ca 1750.

Index

[--?--]
    [--?--]    15
    Margaret (ca1753 - >1850)    27
BRADBURY
    Ann (1736 - 1817)    17
FAULKNER
    Abigail (1808 - 1891)    5
    Edward    10
    Hannah    21
    Robert (ca1733 - )    20
HODSDON
    Mary Milliken (1882 - 1965)    spouse of 1
KIRK
    Chester Frank (1857 - 1939)    1
    Silas (1827 - 1909)    2
KIRK(PATRICK)
    Jabez Bradbury (1800 - 1884)    4
    John (ca1734 - 1785)    16
    John 2d (1773 - 1825)    8
LEWIS
    Rebecca (1743 - 1813)    19
MILLER
    [--?--]    26
    Jane (1810 - 1879)    7
    Mary/Polly (1775 - ca1850)    13
    William ( - >1837)    14
    William (ca1750 - )    28
MORRISON
    Margaret    11
NEWBERT
    Catherine (ca1764 - >1840)    25
STARRETT
    Nancy (1777 - 1834)    9
    Col. Thomas (1738 - 1822)    18
SUCHFORT
    Andreas (?1755 - >1840)    24
SUCKFORTH
    Robert (ca1780 - 1860)    12
SUKEFORTH
    Sarah C. (1838 - 1905)    3
    Simon (ca1813 - 1874)    6

52 Ancestors: #12, Dolly C. (Brister) Rand

Dolly C. Rand death record, 1904

Dolly Clifford Brister, my great-great-grandmother, was born 7 Feb 1818, in Byron, Oxford County, Maine, the third of six daughters of Enoch and Sally (Chamberlain) Brister.¹

It's hard to say just what brought Dolly to Roxbury, Massachusetts, where, on 11 Feb 1842,² she married Nahum Alonzo Rand (a farmer and stone mason) – perhaps it had something to do with her father having originally come from Andover, Mass., or maybe one of her sisters had married and was living near Boston. They remained in Roxbury until about 1849 and their first four children were born there. The third, a son named Ezra D., died before his second birthday from "dropsy on the brain," and when another son was born the following year, they gave him his brother's name, Ezra Davis.

1850 U.S. census, Nahum Rand household, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

By the 1850 census, they had moved north to settle in Andover, Maine,³ where they had four more children.^{4, 5}

1860 U.S. census, "Naam" Rand household, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

1870 U.S. census, Naham Rand household, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

Over the years, most of their children married, several moving away to Philadelphia. By 1880, the household included not only the two youngest (still unmarried) children, but also the widowed Ezra Davis, returned from Philly, and his three sons, as well as yet another grandson, Walter (Kate's son).⁶

1880 U.S. census, Naham Rand household, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

Children of Dolly Brister and Nahum Rand:

• Nahum Alonzo Rand, Jr., b. 1842, married Lois Minerva Cutting
• Sarah Elizabeth Rand, b. 1845, married Edward Rhodes
• Ezra D. Rand, b. 1846, d. 1847
• Ezra Davis Rand, b. 1848, married (1) Mary A. Crutchley Homan, (2) Augusta A. (Pulsifer) Buker, (3) Margaret Amber
• Asenath Matilda Rand, b. 1851, d. 1871, unmarried
• Kate Maria Rand, b. 1855, married Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon
• Samuel P. Rand, b. 1857, never married
• Annie Grace Rand, b. 1860, married Frank Roberts

Dolly was widowed in 1884 when Nahum died in Philadelphia (apparently while visiting their oldest son, who had moved there before 1880). At the time of the 1900 census, she was living with her bachelor son, Samuel P. Rand, and her daughter and son-in-law, Frank and Annie Roberts.⁷

1900 U.S. census, Samuel P. Rand household, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

Dolly died 26 Sep 1904 from stomach cancer⁸ and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Andover.⁹

Dolly C. Rand monument, Woodlawn Cemetery, Andover, Oxford County, Maine

My descent from Dolly Brister Rand:

• Nahum Alonzo Rand + Dolly Brister
• Kate Maria Rand + Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon
• Mary Milliken Hodsdon + Chester Frank Kirk (my paternal grandparents)

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

---

SOURCES

1. “Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com, (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Apr 2012), Dolly C. Rand, 1904.
2. "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850," database and digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, AmericanAncestors.org (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 23 Mar 2014), Nahum Rand and Dolly Bristor marriage (1842), Roxbury, Mass.; citing Vital Records Of Roxbury, Massachusetts To The End Of The Year 1849 (Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1925), vol. 2, p. 332.
3. 1850 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 397 (penned), p. 199 (stamped), dwelling 94, family 101, Nahum Rand household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2012).
4. 1860 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 67, dwelling 492, family 491, “Naam” Rand household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 12 Mar 2012).
5. 1870 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 11, dwelling 66, family 69, Naham Rand household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 11 Mar 2012).
6. 1880 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, ED 116, p. 4D, dwelling 36, family 40, Naham Rand household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 11 Mar 2012). 
7. 1900 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, ED 177, sheet 7B, dwelling 166, family 168, Samuel P. Rand household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Mar 2014).  
8. “Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922,” Dolly C. Rand, 1904.
9. Woodlawn Cemetery (Andover, Oxford County, Maine), Dolly C. Rand monument, read and photographed by the author, 15 Aug 2012.

52 Ancestors: #11, Flora Ann (McDonald) Murphy, Woolen Weaver

My great-great-grandmother, Flora Ann McDonald, was born 2 May 1832,¹ on Prince Edward Island (possibly in Charlottetown), Canada, to William and Flora (Wilson) McDonald.² Around 1853 she married William Murphy, a sawyer and carpenter, probably in or near Vernon River, PEI.³

Flora and William had ten children:

1. Dominic, b. 1854, married Rose Ann McIntyre in Bloomfield, PEI
2. Lot, b. ca 1856-59, married Nora Kelleher in Newburyport, MA
3. Flora Ann, b. 1856, married John Sanphy in PEI
4. Mary, b. 1858, married John Cummings in Newburyport
5. James, b. 1860, possibly died young?
6. Martha, b. 1863, married Edward Perkins in Newburyport
7. Daniel, b. 1865, emigrated to Newburyport
8. Catherine ("Kate"), b. 1868, married Patrick Hart in Newburyport
9. Elizabeth ("Lizzie"), b. 1871, married George Blackwell in Lawrence, MA
10. William, b. 1873, died young

By the time of the first nominal census in 1881, the family was living in Georgetown, Kings County,⁴ and the four oldest children had left home: Dominic was a farm laborer in Prince County; Flora Ann had married John Sanphy and lived nearby; and the whereabouts of Lot and Mary are not known (though they are known to have later emigrated to Massachusetts). The youngest, William, must have died young, because he never appeared in a census.

1881 Canada census, Georgetown, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy household

Ten years later, the rest of the children had left, most having emigrated to Massachusetts – although Dominic, with his wife and children, was now living next door to his parents. Flora was listed as a "woolen weaver" in the 1891 census.⁵

1891 Canada census, Lot 51, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households

1901 Canada census, Lot 51, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy household

Flora and William appeared in one more Canadian census, in 1901,⁶ before finally following their brood to Newburyport, Massachusetts, around 1904-06.⁷ After William died in 1909, Flora moved to Lawrence, Mass., to live with her daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law George Blackwell.⁸

1910 U.S. census, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Flora Murphy in George "Blackwall" household

Sometime between the 1910 census and Feb 1911, she moved to Lowell, where she was living with daughter Kate and son-in-law Patrick Hart when she died on 22 Feb 1911, of "senility." She was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Newburyport, where William had been buried two years previously.⁹

Death certificate for Flora (McDonald) Murphy, 22 Feb 1911, Lowell, Mass.

My descent from Flora Ann McDonald:

• William Murphy + Flora Ann McDonald
• Dominic Murphy + Rose Ann McIntyre
• William George Murphy + Glenna Marie Rabideau (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.)

---

SOURCES

1. 1901 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 5, dwelling 37, family 38, William Murphy household; database and digital images, Library and Archives Canada, (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca : accessed 20 Feb 2012). While this census lists supposedly "exact" dates of birth, other censuses and her death certificate indicate a birth year of anywhere from 1831 to 1837.
2. "Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915," database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Mar 2014), Flora Murphy death certificate #351 (stamped), registered no. 273, Lowell, Massachusetts, 22 Feb 1911. The certificate lists her parents and gives Charlottetown as her birthplace. Her reported age of 74 implies a birth year of 1836 or 37.
3. The year is an estimate based on the Dec 1854 birth of their first child, Dominic. While baptismal records for Dominic and Lot have not been located, their third through seventh children were baptized at St. Joachim's Church in Vernon River, making it a likely location for their marriage as well.
4. 1881 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Georgetown Common & Royalty, pp. 3-4, dwelling 11, family 11, William Murphy household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012). Flora's reported age of 50 implies an 1831 birth year.
5. 1891 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 10, families 34-35, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households ; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012). Flora's reported age of 58 implies an 1833 birth year.
6. 1901 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 5, William Murphy household.
7. No immigration records have been found, but city directories show a William Murphy arriving in Newburyport around this time; Flora's husband William died in Newburyport in 1909. The 1884 immigration year given on the 1910 census is clearly a random fabrication, as she was demonstrably resident in Canada through 1901. It's worth noting that an 1884 immigration is also given for her daughter Elizabeth, who would have been only 11 (or 13 if you go by her baptismal record) at the time. I suspect the informant (possibly her husband?) pulled a year out thin air for both of them.
8. 1910 U.S. Census, Essex County, Massachusetts, Lawrence, ED 350, sheet 42A, dwelling 550, family 769, Flora Murphy in George "Blackwall" [Blackwell] household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Feb 2014). Flora's reported age of 74 implies an 1835 or 36 birth year.
9. Flora Murphy death certificate.

52 Ancestors: #10, Jacques Robidas-Manseau, Sergent de compagnie de Crisafy

One advantage to a Roman Catholic French-Canadian lineage is the wealth of records kept by the Church of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Marriage records generally include the names of the parents of the bride and groom, and married women are almost invariably referred to by their maiden names. What more could a genealogist want? The only downside is that those "baptêmes, mariages, et sepultures" are recorded in French. Still, with the aid of Google Translate, it's fairly easy to decipher the "boilerplate" language of the records, and I've been able to trace my maternal grandmother's Rabideau line back to my immigrant 8th great-grandfather Robidas.

Jacques Robidas dit Manseau¹ was born in 1665² in Saint-Nicolas, diocese of Le Mans, Province of Maine, France.³ His parents were Gabriel Robida, a "maître-cordonnier" (master shoemaker), and Anne Crespin.⁴

Baptism of Jacques Robida, 1665

Jacques learned his father's trade, but came to Quebec some time before 1692 in the military, achieving the rank of sergeant in the "compagnie de Crisafy" and taking part in the war against the Iroquois.⁵ On 14 Jan 1692, Jacques married Louise de Guitre in Basilique Notre-Dame in Montréal.⁶

Marriage of Jacques Robidas dit le Manseau and Louise de Guitre, 1692

When the French finally made peace with the Indians, he left the military and became a colonist, settling, around 1699, at la Baie-Saint-Antoine (called la Baie-du-Febvre after the first seigneur, Jacques le Febvre) on the south shore of Lac Saint-Pierre.^{7, 8}

Carte cadastrake (cadastral map) of Baie-du-Febvre, 1708–1712

Jacques and Louise had ten children, six of who lived to adulthood. After Louise's death in 1732, he married again, on 7 Jan 1734 at the age of about 68, to Marie Madeleine Minville,⁹ and fathered another son before dying on 10 Aug 1741.¹⁰

Marriage of Jacques Robida and Marie Madeleine Minville, 1734

Burial of Jacques Robida dit Le Manseau, 1741

Children of Jacques Robidas and Louise de Guitre:

1. Gabriel, b. 1692
2. Francoise, b. 18 Dec 1694 (d. as infant)
3. Marie, b. 18 Dec 1694 (d. as infant)
4. Isabelle, b. 15 Apr 1696
5. Michel, b. 15 Apr 1696 (d. as infant)
6. Marie-Charlotte, b. 25 Mar 1698 (d. as infant)
7. Francoise, b. 2 Sep 1699
8. Jean-Baptiste, b. 1702
9. Madeleine, b. 1704
10. Louis, b. 21 Feb 1705

Child of Jacques Robidas and Marie Madeleine Minville:

11. Joseph, b. 16 Mar 1735

My descent from Jacques Robidas dit Manseau:

• Jacques Robidas-Manseau + Louise de Guitre
• Jean-Baptiste Robidas-Manseau + Josephte Pepin
• Jean-Baptiste Robidas + Therese Lefebvre-Senneville
• Jean-Baptiste Robidas + Marie Jeanne Lupien
• 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.)

---

SOURCES

1.  The "dit" name Manseau signified that the family was "of Mans." Occasionally it was expanded to "dit le Manseau" ("of Le Mans"). Often the "dit" was omitted and the surname hyphenated as Robidas-Manseau. Some descendants used the surname Robidas alone, while others used Manseau alone. Robidas seems to appear interchangeably with Robida. In later years some of the family spelled the name Rabida or Rabidas and eventually it evolved to Rabideau.
2. I don't have the faintest idea where I got that baptismal record. It does give the year as 1665, but I can't decipher the month and date.
3. Joseph-Elzéar Bellemare, Histoire de la Baie-Saint-Antoine, dit Baie-du-Febvre, 1683-1911 (Montréal: Imprimerie "La Patrie", 1911), p. 457; digital images, Our Roots/Nos Racines (http://www.ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=3984 : accessed 11 Dec 2013). The "compagnie de Crisafy" probably refers to either Antoine, Marquis de Crisafy, or his brother Thomas. Both brothers captained companies that were sent to New France in 1684 by Louis XIV.
4. Basilique Notre-Dame (Montreal, Quebec), Registre de Baptêmes, Mariages, Sépultures, 1681-1694, unpaginated (image 152), Jacques Robidas dit le Manseau and Louise de Guitre marriage (14 Jan 1692); database and digital images, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967,” Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search : accessed 1 Jul 2012); citing Gabriel Drouin, comp., Drouin Collection (Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin). 
5. Bellemare, p. 457.
6. Basilique Notre-Dame (Montreal, Quebec), Registre de Baptêmes, Mariages, Sépultures, 1681-1694, unpaginated (image 152), Robidas-de Guitre marriage (14 Jan 1692).
7. Bellemare, p. 457.
8. Bellemare, unpaginated map, "Carte Cadastrale de M. de Catalogne 1708-1712". The map appears to be a folded sheet inserted before the title page. A cadastral map or "cadastre" is a map or survey showing land ownership, boundaries, property lines, etc.
9. St-François-du-Lac (Yamaska County, Quebec), Registre de Baptêmes, Mariages, Sépultures, Vol. 3, 1733-1748, unpaginated (image 10), Jacques Robidas and Marie Madeleine Minville marriage (7 Jan 1734); database and digital images, “Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967,” Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search : accessed 1 Jul 2012); citing Gabriel Drouin, comp., Drouin Collection (Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin).
10. Paroisse de St. Antoine de la Baie du Febvre (Baieville, Quebec), Registre Vol. 1 1686-1773, unpaginated (image 150), Jacques Robida dit Le Manseau burial (10 Aug 1741); digital images, "Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.com : accessed 13 Jul 2012).