Tarsiel was the first born child of Isadore Arseneau and Victoire Duguay. She was born in Petit Rocher, New Brunswick on November 19, 1822. Tarsiel was baptised at Ste. Famille Parish in Bathurst on Dec 1, 1822.
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| Baptism record of Tarsiel Arseneau Acadia Canada Vital and Church Records Drouin Collection Accessed October 22 2014 Via Ancestry.ca |
Tarsiel'sfather was listed as a farmer at the time of her baptism. I assume that she would have been expected to help her mother with her younger siblings as she was the oldest of her ten siblings (one of only two girls). Her last three siblings were born after she was married and started a family of her own and were probably raised near Tarsiel and her family.
Eight days after Tarsiel turned 17 years old she married 25 year old William Christie on November 27, 1839 in Petit Rocher, New Brunswick with John Christie (William's brother?) and Isidore Arseneau (Tarsiel's brother or father?) as their witnesses.
Tarsiel and William had 12 children in their years together. Sometime between 1875 and 1881 Tarsiel became a widow. On the 1881 census at 60 years of age, she is listed as a farmer and the head of the household with five of her unmarried children living with her. It appears she had family support near by as one of her younger brothers was living just 2 families away. By 1891 Tarsiel was living with her son Alexander and his wife and children. Sometime between 1891 and 1901 Tarsiel died.
