52 Ancestors: Francois Xavier Christie (1866 - 1922)

Well, here is my next ancestor post.  I was relectant to write it as I feel they are all starting to sound the same and don't provide much information or interesting facts. So far most of my ancestors have the same story; they are born, raised, marry, earn a living as a farmer or marry a farmer, have children and die all in the same area.

This week I am writing about my Great Great Uncle Francois Xavier Christie. Francois was the last child of William Christie and Tarsiel Arseneau and the brother of my Great Grandfather Alexander Christie. He was born about Dec 8, 1864 in Peter's River, between Bathurst and Beresford, New Brunswick, Canada. I have not been able to find baptism or birth records to verify his birth date; this  birth date was taken from census records. I'm pretty confident that this is the correct year and month, as his age has been consistently reported since 1871 and there were several times December was listed as his birth month.

Francois like his older siblings went to school at a young age (6) and continued until he was at least 16 years old learning to read, write and speak English. On Nov 10, 1890 when Francois was just shy of his 26th birthday he married Margaret Comeau. His brother William was one of his witnesses;who two weeks later married Margaret's sister Marie Anne. Francois and William lived, in the parish of Beresford, village of Robertville, next door to each other and raised their families side by side until at least 1901. When he was first married Francois earned a living as a labourer, by the time of the 1901 census he was earning a living as a farmer and had three children (2 sons and a daughter). In 1911, he was still living and farming in Robertville however his family had grown by another 2 sons. In 1918 Francois would become a widower and would raise his last two sons alone.

On Dec 12, 1922 in Saint Therese parish, Robertville, New Brunswick, Francois would die. The death certificate states that the cause of death is no medicine. His burial is listed as the catholic cemetery at St. Therese, NB.

52 Ancestors (2015) - Marin Comeau (182? - 1899) Tracadie to Inkerman New Brunswick

Another year and another 52 Ancestors challenge.  I didn't quite make it to 52 ancestors last year. I only managed to write about 31 ancestors, but that was 31 more ancestors than I had written about before and as a result I conducted a lot more research.

This week I'm writing about my Great Great Great Grandfather Marin Comeau. He was the Grandfather of my Great Grandmother Elizabeth Lebreton. I have not been able to find any record of his birth or baptism so I am not sure when or where he was actually born. All records seem to point to him being born in Tracadie, Gloucester county, New Brunswick sometime in the 1820's.

Marin married Charlotte Drisdelle August 2, 1853 in Tracadie at the St.Jean Baptiste et Ste Joseph parish. The witnesses to his marriage were Victoire Drisdelle and Michel Lebreton, possibly a relative but as yet undetermined. Unfortunately their entry in the parish registry did not include the names of their parents so I am at a bit of a brick wall in determining who their parents were.

Marin and Charlotte had at least 2 daughters born in Tracadie; Heloize born November 2, 1854 and Margaret (my Great Great Grandmother) born October 19, 1856. Sometime between the birth of Margaret and October 1858 Marin moved from Tracadie to the Inkerman area of Gloucester county, New Brunswick.

On October 26, 1858 Marin married Celeste Roussel in Inkerman at St. Michel parish. Their witnesses were Paschal LaClare and Marie Como (relative of Marin's ?). Again neither of their parents were listed in the parish registry of their marriage, still no link to Marin's parents.

I have been unable to find any record of where Marin lived between 1858 and 1871 but I assume it was in the Inkerman area. In 1871, Marin, Celeste and Margaret were living in Inkerman in the same household as another family (Isiah, Ann, John and Elizabeth Albert). Marin's occupation was listed as Farmer and Shingle Maker. In 1881, Marin was earning a living as a day labourer. He and Celeste were living on their own in a household next door to Margaret and her family. By 1891, Marin and Celeste were living with Margaret and her family with no occupation being identified for Marin.

Death came to Marin on April 9, 1899 as a result of contracting consumption (tuberculosis).

Marin Comeau Death Certificate from NB Archives