Ancestor Research Day
This morning we headed for the truck stop cafe at the top of the hill for breakfast. It was actually very good. They served Dave biscuits that were the size of basketballs, I'm sure. And, the bacon that I ordered "extra crispy" was actually the crispiest I've ever been served--they got it!
We took a side road west to Frenchtown (about 4 miles down the road). Of course, Dave was trying to take the town "in" as this is where his grandfather (Joseph Leon Migneault--known as "Sonny") was born. (Dave didn't know his grandparents because they were both killed in an auto accident on their way home from visiting Dave's mom and dad in Lancaster, CA. Dave was about 4 years old at the time.)
After a brief drive around town, we stopped at the local grocer to see what he could share. He told us about the historic church building in town that has been there since 1884. He said that the church secretary was there during business hours.
We also went to the post office to see if the postmaster could tell us where the family's property was located by looking at the plat plan. She wasn't too much help, but she did give us a general direction.
We drove to the church and were surprised that it was a Catholic Church as no one in the family has ever mentioned having a Catholic upbringing. The secretary was not there as it was now lunchtime. Dave spoke with a guy that was trimming bushes. During their conversation, he told Dave where the cemetery was located. Dave doesn't believe anyone from his lineage is buried there, but maybe some other relatives might be found.
He walked the graveyard with no luck. (The graveyard had lots of burrs, so I stayed in the car.) While we were at the cemetery, I received a voice mail from a woman who works at the courthouse for whom we had left a message yesterday.
We decided it was time to get a snack and return her phone call. She is a historian, of sorts. She didn't have too much new information to share, but Dave did get a few tidbits to work through.
The waitress at the restaurant said we should talk with a real estate person in the town who has lived there all his life. So, she directed us to his office.
After our pie snack, we went to his office. But, he was on vacation and won't be back until Tuesday. A young woman in his office gave us the general direction of the property, though.
We drove back to the church's office building and the secretary was there. Her name is Rosemary Howard. She was so helpful. She pulled out bound copies of the original French records from the church. Then, she pulled out bound copies of translations of the original French records. These records included marriages, deaths, and baptisms. Well, as you could imagine, Dave and I dug right in. The church had records of the baptisms of 8 of the 13 children of Dave's great-grandparent's (these were the 8 children that were born in Frenchtown). This included Dave's grandfather, Sonny, who was listed as Joseph Song Migneault. Because Joseph was known as Sonny, we are not sure if the priest was trying to write "Sonny" or "Leon." It's amazing how many spellings there are of the ancestors' names. Antione and Denise could not read or write. So, most recordings by English-speaking persons took on quite different spellings. What is important is that we found his record and the birth date on the church's record matches his birth date given on the 1900 census report and other records Dave has gathered.
As we were making copies, we showed Rosemary the Deed to the property. And, here's the kicker--it was her great uncle that sold the property to Dave's great-grandparents! So, she took copies of some of our records.
Rosemary then took us over to the actual church building. The building is very "plain" on the outside. So, we certainly were not expecting anything other than plain on the inside. But, we couldn't have been more mistaken.
Settlers first started worshiping in a log cabin in Frenchtown in 1864. And, this church building was built at a cost of $8,000 in 1884. Note: I found a great calculator that figured in today's money that would have been $175,850. And, the labor would probably have been free as it was built by parishioners.
This church was so elaborate. All of the interiors were hand-crafted by artisans in the community. And, it has been kept in pristine condition. Some of the pictures I have to share and not the most clear, but you can certainly see how incredibly beautiful it is. We are going back to Frenchtown, and we hope we can re-take some photos. It was getting late today when I was taking pics, and it was time for Rosemary to go home. So, we didn't want to hold her up any more than we had already. We will call her on Monday to see if we can go back.
Original baptismal and holy water vessel, which was probably used for Sonny's baptism.
This is the top of the baptismal, which is not used any longer because they don't want it to get broken. It is kept in the foyer of the church.
This is the rear of the church and the balcony (as viewed from the altar area).
Here's an example of the craftsmanship details.
These are the original pews. The separation bar divides families. Each pew is numbered (see the end panels) and assigned to a family. So, Dave's ancestors would have sat in one of these pews.
This is a staircase to the balcony. It is located in the foyer of the church. The stained-glass windows are the official Canadian flag colors. The town was primarily French-Canadian. So much so, that the town had to hire merchants that could speak French.
Next, we drove to the family property. It is down a dirt road and the actual property is fenced off with locked gates. But, we could see it just fine.
While taking pictures, I evidently disturbed a nesting Osprey. He flew in circles above my head just screeching at me over and over. As you can see, in the pictures.
We drove back to the RV and just had leftovers again for dinner. Last night, we had a slight storm and we lost our CATV. The Internet was out for a while, but it came back this morning. As of this morning, we still didn't have CATV. On our way out this morning, I had stopped at the office to report it. She said she'd check on it. When we drove back to the RV office this afternoon, I stopped to get us a Dove-bar ice cream and to check on the CATV. She said that the cable to the booster had been unplugged by someone, so she reset it. But, when I got to the RV, it still didn't work. At least we have 3 channels to choose from here in Missoula instead of the 1 channel we had in Ennis, MT! Tomorrow morning, I'll report that the CATV is still out.
OK, all for now. I've had my Dove bar, and I'm ready to hit the hay.
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