“My uncle’s name was R. P. Du Paul Marcais, Oblat de Marie, born 1868 in Rennes, France. He was the son of Victor Marcais and Arseline D’Argentre. According to “Les Missionnaires Oblats de Marie Immaculee in Montreal, he was at the Saint Thomas Parish, Jersey Island, England until 1904, so had to have emigrated to Canada after that. They told me he pronounced his first vows on 8/15/1890 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1894 but said his name did not appear in the 1907 Directory and perhaps he came to Canada as a secular priest instead of an Oblate priest. I have not had any luck contacting the diocese’ in either England or France.

I had been told all my life that he lived in the Montreal area of Canada in the early > mid 1900′s, and frequently made pilgrimages to NY to the Auriesville Shrine.

I turned to the genealogy community on the Alberta Family Histories Society electronic news forum (dist-gen) for the answer and thought I would share the suggestions as others may be searching for similar information.

Possible sources for information about Jesuit priests in Canada.

1. Quebec Family Histories Society – http://www.qfhs.ca/ – volunteer look ups

2. Drouin Collection at Ancestry.ca for birth/baptism and death/burial

3. Jesuit website at: http://www.jesuits.ca/index.php

From the home page select “about us” and then click in the side bar “English Canada Brief History”. This brings up an extract from the book “Dictionary of Jesuit Biography” which contains a timeline of their activities in English Canada Selecting “contact us” from the home page brings up a form to send enquiries to
them.

Jesuit Archive in Canada
25 Jarry Street West
Montreal, Quebec, H2P 1S6

archives@jesuites.org
www.jesuites.org/archives.htm

4. Relevant diocese archives – Catholic diocese in Canada all maintain their own archives. Google for the address.

5. Dictionary of Jesuit Biography: Ministry to English Canada. University of Calgary call number BX3755 .D53 1991. Available for interlibrary loan.

—

[Editor - If can help my friend please email "rootsma AT cox.net"]

Dit names arose out of the French word “to say” or “dire”.  From Kimberly:

Found primarily in France, New France (French-Canada, Louisiana, etc.), and Scotland, dit names are essentially an alias tacked on to a family name or surname. Dit in French is a form of the word dire, which means “to say,” and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as “that is to say,” or “called.” Therefore, the first name is the family’s original surname, passed down to them by an ancestor, while the “dit” name is the name the person/family is actually called or known as. Dit names are used by families, not specific individuals, and are usually passed down to future generations, either in place of the orginal surname, or in addition to it.

One of the comments on the post come from Dave Pierce who explains the term “Dit” in a military context:

Dit naming was also used to identify cadres of soldiers. Most often they referred to the
surname of the (military)formation as a hailing recognition factor. In the confusion
of battle, it was always necessary to be ableto direct the formation to a particular action
for succesful maneuvering. As the dit naming would recognize “Andre Jaret Dit Beauregard” it further identified Andre Jaret as a soldier of the unit that was directed by the “Beauregard” commander or possibly by the captain whose surname was BEAUREGARD . These were some of the basic tenets of battlefield tactics that were among the first rules that an officer had to learn.

An article on Dit names by Patrick on a Quebec Research roots web had this statement:

Dit names, therefore, have varied origins: army companies (Verchères,
Sorel, etc.); place of origin (Breton, Langlois, Langevin, Montpelier, etc.);
landscape (Beauregard, Beaulieu, etc.); the ancestor's full name (Gaston
Guay to Gastonguay or Castonguay); ancestor's given name (Richard, Vincent,
Robert, etc.); and no doubt for various other reasons, including vainglory
or vanity.

What I find equally fascinating is that dit names can be found in Scotland.  Our Scottish ancestors used names such as Robertson – the son of Robert.  Other examples – Robert Bruce who became the King of Scotland.

Another twist on names has been shown in areas where many people had the same name.  An academic paper by Nancy Dorian in 1969 entitled A Substitute Name System in the Scottish Highlands uses the term “by-names” to describe a naming system found in Gaelic speakers in the East Sutherland region of Scotland.

The by-names in use in East Sutherland fall into several distinct groups: (1) basic
genealogical; (2) descriptive; (3) derisive; (4) nonsense; and (5) secondary genealogical
patterns built on the second, third, and fourth groups.

Dit names and by-names can complicate your research but by understanding how and why they are used will greatly help you find that missing ancestor.

–

Related:

Names and Nicknames: Naming Practices in Early Modern Ireland

Names and Naming Patterns in England 1538 -1700

]]> http://www.luxegen.ca/genealogy/understanding-dit-names-and-by-names/feed/ 0 http://www.luxegen.ca/canada/quebec/quebec-eastern-townships-resources/ http://www.luxegen.ca/canada/quebec/quebec-eastern-townships-resources/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:41:02 +0000 © Joan Miller - Luxegen Genealogy. http://www.luxegen.ca/?p=3254 English Quebec

Searching the Eastern Townships of Quebec for one’s non-French ancestors can be a challenge. Quebec is now divided primarily by language but for the two centuries prior the divisions were religious.  Quebecers were either Roman Catholic or non-Catholic.  Before 1926, all registration of vital records was done by the church.  Each Parish of whatever denomination sent a copy of their registers to the local Prothonotary Court where it served as the Civil Registration of baptisms, marriages and burials.

The Non-French (my KERR ancestors for example) would have settled near a migration route, most likely water, then later migrated when roads and railroads began appearing. Many of the non-French settled in the Eastern Townships.  There are several excellent books (Finding your Ancestors in English Quebec by Althea Douglas, for one) and websites featuring Eastern Township resources including those indexed by Marlene Simmons.

I searched through one of the large on line databases (Ancestry) to see what other information I could find on Eastern Townships, Quebec. Unfortunately the list isn’t long and your best bet is still the libraries, genealogical society holdings and other resources.  I have used the History of Compton County mentioned below and found it to be very useful.  Check these out and let me know if you find success.

• Quebec past and present: a history of Quebec, 1608-1876, in two parts

• In memory of John Jackman Foote: proprietor Quebec Morning Chronicle, who died at Quebec April 19th, 1897, aged 65 years

• History of Compton County: and sketches of the eastern townships, district of St. Francis, and Sherbrooke County, supplemented with the records of four hundred

• Eastern Townships and South Western Quebec, Canada Land/Gazetteer Records: 1881

• History of the Eastern Townships, province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada: civil and descriptive

According to a genealogy contact (Leslie Nutbrown)  in Quebec a check of the 1815-1879 birth records in Quebec do not list a Maria BALL.  There is a Sarah Ball born in 1850 in Compton, daughter of Thomas BALL and Mary BRADY.  I subsequently found both of her names “Sarah Maria” listed on the birth record of one of her children.

She married William KERR 11 March 1873 in St. John’s Anglican Church Waterville, Quebec and they had three children, Frederick James b. 1874, Bertha Eliza b. 1874 and Homer William b. 1881.  Homer was my grandfather.

She died young at age 37 on 18 November 1887 leaving behind her husband and three young children, ages 13, 11 and 6.

Young Bertha was sent to live with her Boston BALL relatives and lost touch with the rest of the family. Family stories say she moved west to Idaho (?) after her marriage but this has not been confirmed.

I wish to learn more about the BALL family in Quebec, Ireland and Boston.

If anyone has a connection (no matter how remote) to this family please comment below.

–

[This post is part of the Smile for the Camera, 21st Edition Carnival by footnoteMaven at Shades of the Departed]

Once you find a book, reference, CD, etc that you would like to access further, you can use your public or university library card to arrange an interlibrary loan or get further information.

Articles in the Winter 2010 Connections:

• The Haunted House of Sir George A. Drummond
• Patriots’ Prison
• Edifice Gilles Hocquart – Home to the Montreal Branch of the Quebec Archives
• Treasure in France – Story of Clara D Gatignol and Andrew Howard Ransom [McNab]
• Surviving the Russian Quagmire – 1942 -1945

Connections also includes information about accessing QFHS’ online databases, Surnames found in their collections, seminars upcoming, computer tips and more.

A subscription to Connections is part of the QFHS membership (more info here)

Of special interest – QFHS is now on Facebook!  Search for “Quebec Family History Society Facebook Page”. (Facebook is a free service)

–

Related Posts:

Canada’s Provincial Genealogical Societies

William Joseph CULLAIN was born about 1857 in the USA. Parents: Garret CULLAIN and Mary CULLEN. Both parents are deceased at the time of his marriage.

Married to Cathrine CLEARY on Aug 28, 1888 in Montreal, Quebec (St Mary of Good Counsel Parish).

Witnesses at the wedding are: Patrick KENNEDY (occupation “Chauffeur” which could be a stoker) and Catherine MADIGAN (married to each other). Both belong to the same parish as William CULLAIN.
Montreal Star newspaper announcement of the wedding states that the paper should inform Louisville, Kentucky and Chicago papers.

Children:
1.Leona May, born May 16, 1889. Godparents: Henry MCKEOWN and Bridget Agnes STAPLES (married to each other). Henry was born in the USA. His occupation was glassblower.

2. James William Andrew, born Dec 3, 1890. Godparents: William CASSIDY and Mary GREENE. William CASSIDY is a glassblower. Mary’s two brothers are glassblowers. I have no evidence that they were married to each other.

William Joseph Cullain’s Occupation: Glassblower

Major event: Abandoned his wife and two young children sometime between 1891 and 1901 and apparently returned to Louisville, Kentucky where he was from.

Family ties: Catherine CLEARY’s sister Mary Ellen was married to William REIDY from Steubenville, Ohio. It is quite possible that she, too was abandoned by her husband. His occupation is unknown.

—

[Editor: If anyone has connections or more information for Carole about her mysterious glassblower, William Joseph Cullain, please contact  her at baldwin2 [AT] telus.net or leave a comment below]

In response to A Festival of Postcards (6th Edition)
Topic: The WHITE Issue (things that are white)

This postcard was with our KERR family photos and is from North Hatley, Quebec.

The writing on the card says: “Auberge Hillcrest Inc. North Hatley, Quebec”

The back of the card is blank with no message.

If anyone knows more about the Auberge Hillcrest and the time period of this postcard, please leave a comment below.

Find your Canadian ancestors

A list of the Canadian Genealogy Societies:

(click on the names for more information)

Alberta Family Histories Society

British Columbia Genealogical Society

Manitoba Genealogical Society

New Brunswick Genealogical Society

Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia Genealogical Network Association – list of several societies

Ontario Genealogical Society

Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society

Quebec Family History Society

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society

—

Additions, changes?  Please add your comments and links below.

Popular Websites available for free through local Family History Centers are:

Fold 3 (formerly Footnote) – a subscription based website featuring searchable, original documents.  Mostly US based but do have items of interest to the Quebec historian.

Godfrey Memorial Library - extensive collection of resources including newspapers, city and business directories, vital records, printed census records, state, county and local histories, as well as numerous family histories, family bible records, service and pension records.

Heritage Quest/ProQuest - includes a complete set of U.S. Federal Census Images from 1790 to 1930 including names and indexes for many.  Users will be albe to find people and places located in over 20,000 published family and local histories  and PERSI, an index of 1.9 million genealogy and local history articles.  Other online database include Revolutionary War Pension, Bounty-Land Warrant Application files and the Freedman Bank Records.

Kindred Konnections - has over 230 million pedigree linked names with submitter information.  There are additional databases of birth, marriage, death and census records that are automatically searched along with the pedigree linked data.

World Vital Records- provides access to research helps and a wide variety of international records, including more than 60 parish registers, Scottish death records, UK marriages and Irish prisoner records.  There are more than 300 newspapers with 100,000 pages added a month and over 500 online databses.  This source has the most specific sources to the Quebec researcher.

For Calgary area researchers visiting the main FHC*, go to the blue binders for the catologue of available resources:

These include bibliographies, cemetaries, 1825 census, church records, Loiselle films and card index (Quebec marriages), maps, atlas, etc.   Also is indexed according to Quebec/County/Township.

Carol also suggested looking in Vermont, Maine,  and other neighbouring state records because of geographic proximity to Quebec.  She said Google Images is a good source of old maps. (search term: “Quebec maps”).

Record Search Pilot Project

Also check out Familysearch.org’s Record Search Pilot project (go to www.familysearch.org , search records/Research search pilot in the drop down menu).   At present  this pilot project has Ontario Deaths and Quebec Catholic Parish Records.  Don’t dismss either locations even if at first glance your ancestors weren’t in Ontario or weren’t Catholic.  People may have moved to Ontario to be with their children and died there.  Sometimes the priest recorded Protestant births and other events in the parish records.

Books for Quebec Researchers

She also suggested we check out the book Je Me Souviens about American Canadian French and available the LDS FHC* library.  The FHC library along with Alberta Family History Society library ** have another good resource book called Finding Your Ancestors in English Quebec by Althea Douglas.  This is also available online  for purchase at www.genealogystore.com

*Calgary Family History Centre, 2021-17th Avenue SW, Calgary, 403-571-3700.  Call for operating hours.

**Alberta Family History Society Library, 712-16 Ave NW.  More info here