Steve’s Genealogy Blog

My cousin Chris found the birth and baptismal record for Marie Edwidge Patenaude, who was born in 1867. Chris was able to find this record even though Marie Edwidge’s record was located in the records for Mission de Saint Thomas d’Aquin de Compton which are grouped with the records for Saint Herménégilde. The record extends from the back of folio 14 to the front of folio 15 and is far from easy to read.

The Birth and Baptismal Record for Marie Edwidge Patenaude -1867

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Edwige Patenaude, Mission de Saint Thomas d’Aquin de Compton, Québec, Canada, 1867. Back of Folio 14 and Front of Folio 15, B.?2.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record for Marie Edwidge Patenaude -1867. Translated from the French, the record states:

B.[?2] [baptism #?2]
Patenaude
Marie Edwidge

On the twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand eight hundred sixty-seven, by us, the undersigned priest, missionary, Marie Edwidge was baptized, born on the seventeenth of the current month of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude and Osithe Gamache, of Barford. The Godfather was Calixte [Dupuy?] and the Godmother was Henriette Gamache, who, as well as the father, did not know how to sign.

[signed] Wol[fgang] Lussier, Priest

This record was very faint. If Chris didn’t have a good idea of what he was looking for and where to look, he probably wouldn’t have found this record. When these records are indexed, I don’t expect this one will be indexed correctly.

Marie Patenaude was born on 31 Dec 1865 and was baptized on 01 Jan 1866 in St. Valentin, Canada East. Her birth and baptismal record was recorded as the first entry of the year 1866 - B.1.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Patenaude - 1865/1866

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Patenaude, St. Valentin, Canada East, 1866. Front of Folio 1, B.1.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Patenaude - 1865/1866. Translated from the French, the record states:

B.1. [baptism #1]
Marie
Patenaude

On the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred sixty-six, by us, the undersigned, vicar of this parish, Marie was baptized, born the previous evening of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, laborer, and Osithe Gamache, of this parish. The Godfather was Guillaume Hénault and the Godmother was Célina Gamache, who, as well as the father, did not know how to sign.

[signed] S. Oct. Perrault, Priest

Since Marie was baptized on 01 Jan 1866 and the record states that she was born the previous evening, Marie was born on 31 Dec 1855.

In her later life, Marie used the name Lea, and it is under that name that other records may be found. 

As with other records from St. Valentin, there are two copies of this record. The one shown here is the civil copy which appears as entry B.1 on the front of folio 11 (image 1 of 54 in the records for 1866 in St. Valentin on Ancestry.com). The church copy appears as entry B.1 on the front of folio 269 (image 32 of 54 in the records for 1866 in St. Valentin on Ancestry.com).

Since this record was the first of the year 1866, the top of the register, above the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Patenaude, provides a description of the records included in this set of folios.

An older brother of Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude was named Hormisdas Valentin Patenaude. He was born in 1864 and his birth and baptism were recorded as entry B.47 in the parish records of St. Valentin, the first entry on the page shown below.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Hormisdas Valentin Patenaude - 1864

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Hormisdas Patenaude, St. Valentin, Canada East, 1864. Front of Folio 10, B.47.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Hormisdas Valentin Patenaude - 1864. The record, translated from the French, states:

B.47. [baptism #47]
Hormisdas Valentin
Patenaude.

On the fourteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred sixty-four, by us, the undersigned, vicar of this parish, Hormisdas Valentin was baptized, born today of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, farmer, and Osithe Gamache, of this parish. The Godfather was Salomon Patenaude and the Godmother was Marie Gamache, who, as well as the father, did not know how to sign.

[signed] S. Oct. Perrault, Priest

As with other records from St. Valentin, there are two copies of this record. The one shown here is the civil copy which appears as entry B.47 on the front of folio 10 (image 10 of 53 in the records for 1864 in St. Valentin on Ancestry.com). The church copy appears as entry B.47 on the front of folio 230 (image 38 of 53 in the records for 1864 in St. Valentin on Ancestry.com).

In most cases, the civil and church copies of these records say the same things. Aside from minor difference in the way the record is formatted, the church copy of this record, shown below, has two significant differences from the civil copy.

1. The priest initially made an error on the church copy when he listed Charles Patenaude’s occupation as “cultivateur” (farmer). He crossed out this occupation and wrote I (laborer) in the margin. His initials and title, “SOP ptre”, are written next to the correction.
2. At the end of the record in the church copy, there is an additional notation, which I can’t read very well. The words “mil et un” (thousand and one) appear in this sentence. Perhaps someone fluent in French can read it for me.

I was told that Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude had four older siblings, the eldest of whom was named Marie Fébronie Patenaude. Fébronie’s birth and baptismal record was recorded as number B.37 in the 1863 folios from St. Valentin.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Fébronie Patenaude - 1863

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Febronie Patenaude, St. Valentin, Lower Canada, 1863. Front of Folio 204, B.37.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Fébronie Patenaude - 1863. Translated from the French, the record states:

B.37 [baptism #37]
Marie Fébronie
Patenaude

On the twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred sixty-three, by us, the undersigned priest, Marie Fébronie was baptized, born this day of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, laborer, and Osithe Gamache, of this parish. The Godfather was François Patenaude, and the Godmother was Marguerite Bluteau, who declared they, as well as the father, did not know how to sign.

[signed] GT Lesage, Priest

Since Marie Fébronie Patenaude’s birth and baptismal record was recorded in St. Valentin, the online Drouin collection on Ancestry.com includes two copies of the record - a civil copy and a church copy. The civil copy is found as image 11 of 62, record B.37 on the front of folio 11 for the year 1863 in St. Valentin. The church copy is found as image 45 of 62, record B.37 on the front of folio 204 for the year 1863 in St. Valentin. Note that both the civil copy and the church copy are available under the same link for St. Valentin - 1863 on Ancestry.com. Both copies have the same record number (B.37), although the folio numbers for the two records are different.

Frequently, one of the most difficult parts of these records to decipher is the name of the priest, who signed his name as he normally would, sometimes in an almost unreadable script. The signature on this record is far from the worst I’ve seen, but I still had a hard time with it. I found the surname Lesage on the French-Canadian surnames list on the website of the American-French Genealogical Society.

A male child, born to Charles Patenaude and Osithe Gamache in 1881, died five hours after birth. The birth, baptism, and death are recorded as one entry in the register: entry S.11.B.24.

The Birth, Baptism, and Death of Unnamed Child Patenaude - 1881

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Unnamed Child Patenaude, Roman Catholic Parish of St. Edmond, Coaticook, Québec, Canada, 1881. Front of Folio 8, B.24, S.11.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth, Baptism, and Death of Unnamed Child Patenaude - 1881. The record, translated from the French, states:

S.11.B.24. [burial #11] [baptism #38]
Unnamed Child
Patenaude

On the tenth of March, one thousand eight hundred eighty-one, we, the undersigned parish vicar, have buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery, the body of an infant baptized provisionally at home and who died five hours after birth, born the previous evening of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude and Osithe Gamache of this parish. Witnesses at the burial were Charles Patenaude and Jean Marcoux who are not able to write.

[signed] Chas. Ed. Milette, Priest and Vicar

This unnamed child is apparently a male child. In this record, the word né, rather than née is used to express the English word born. Since the masculine form of the verb is used, the child must have been a male child.

The child had been baptized provisionally at home, since the parents apparently did not have time to bring the child to the church to be baptized before the child died.

In centuries past, the Roman Catholic Church speculated that infants who died before being baptized entered a state of limbo instead of heaven. Roman Catholic parents considered infant baptism of utmost importance to ensure that their children would be able to enter heaven should they die as infants.

Recently, the International Theological Commission of the Roman Catholic Church stated that limbo represents an “unduly restricted view of salvation“, thus reversing centuries of theological thought.

Joseph François Adélard Patenaude was born in 1879 in Coatacook, Québec, the son of Charles Patenaude and Ozithe Gamache. His birth and baptism are recorded in record B38 on the back of Folio 9.

The Birth and Baptism of Joseph François Adélard Patenaude - 1879

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Joseph François Adélard Patenaude, Roman Catholic Parish of St. Edmond, Coaticook, Québec, Canada, 1879. Back of Folio 9, B.38.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptism of Joseph François Adélard Patenaude - 1879. Translated from the French, the record states:

B38 [baptism #38]
Joseph François
Adélard
Patenaude

On the seventh of June, one thousand eight hundred seventy nine, by us, the undersigned parish vicar, was baptized Joseph François Adélard, born on the third of the current month, of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, laborer of this place, and Osithe Gamache. Godfather, Louis Laroche, Godmother, Mary Dupont, who did not sign.

[signed] N. Rainville, Priest

French Canadian birth and baptismal records from this time period all use the same format and, for the most part, the same words. Learn to translate one and you’re in good shape to translate all the others. That said, different priests tended to use slightly different words, and the specifics of the events sometimes results in slightly different language.

Unlike the birth and baptismal records from Poland I recently published where the same people reappeared as Godparents in a given family’s records, these French Canadian records show different Godparents for every child in the family. I don’t know if this observation was made by chance or if there is a pattern here.

Another child of Charles Patenaude and Ozithe Gamache was born in 1876 and was named Pierre François Patenaude. His record is listed as B.13 on the image below.

The Birth and Baptism of Pierre Francois Patenaude - 1876

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Pierre François Patenaude, Roman Catholic Parish of St. Edmond, Coaticook, Québec, Canada, 1876. Front of Folio 3, B.13.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptism of Pierre François Patenaude - 1876. The record, translated from the French, states:

B.13. [baptism #13]
Pierre François
Patenaude.

On the fourth of February, one thousand eight hundred seventy six, we, the undersigned parish priest, baptized Pierre François, born on the second of the current month, of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, laborer, and Osithe Gamache of this parish. The Godfather was Aimé Lussier and the Godmother was Rachel Patin, who, as well as the father, did not sign.

[signed] LB Chrétien, Priest

Until recently, these folios from Québec were difficult to access. Now, these records are available on Ancestry.com as part of the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967. At the present time, the records are not indexed electronically. The records are, however, grouped according to location and year.

Fortunately, I knew some of the locations and years for events in the Patenaudes’ lives, so the search wasn’t especially burdensome. Furthermore, most of the records are indexed at the end of every year, which means that I didn’t have to scroll through all the records, just the indexes. Still, I’ll be happy when Ancestry.com posts an electronic index for these records.

A sister of Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude was born in 1874 and was named Henriette. Henriette’s record is number B.37, near the top of the page shown below. It can be found on the back of Foliio 9 for the year 1874 in the records of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Edmond in Coaticook, Québec.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Henriette Patenaude - 1874

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Henriette Patenaude, Roman Catholic Parish of St. Edmond, Coaticook, Québec, Canada, 1874. Back of Folio 9, B.37.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Henriette Patenaude - 1874. Translated from the French, the record states:

B.37.
[baptism #37]
Patenaude
Henriette.

On the twenty-fifth of March, one thousand eight hundred seventy four, we, the undersigned parish priest, Auxiliary Pastor of this parish, baptized Henriette, born on the eleventh of this month, of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude and Osithe Gamache of Saint Herménégilde. Godfather, Moise Prévost, Godmother, [Uguluma?] Mailloux, both of Saint Herménégilde, who, as well as the father, did not sign.

[signed] P. Girard, Priest

I am not sure what Henriette’s Godmother’s first name was, but her surname is clear: Mailloux. Looking back at the Birth and Baptismal Record for Henriette’s brother Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude, I can now see what I could not see initially - the name of Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude’s Godmother was Marie Edèse Mailloux. I have updated my blog entry on Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude accordingly. I have also updated my blog entry on Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude.

At this point in time, it appears that St. Edmond had been promoted to the status of a Roman Catholic Parish, and the Patenaudes belonged to the Mission of St. Herménégilde, which was apparently a mission of the Parish of St. Edmond.

When I encounter names in these French records from Québec, I’m often at a loss to decipher them. I have, however, found some online sources to help with French given names and surnames. The website of the American-French Genealogical Society has a good listing of given names and surnames, and the e-prenoms website is also an excellent source of information on French given names.

Born two years after Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude, Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude was born in 1872. His record is designated as B.28, near the top of this page, the front of folio seven.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude - 1872

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude, Mission of St. Herménégilde, Coaticook, Québec, Canada, 1872. Front of Folio 7, B.28.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Joseph Charles Gédéon Patenaude - 1872. Translated from the French, the record states:

B.28 [baptism #28]
Patenaude
Jos.Chs.Gédéon

On the tenth of March one thousand eight hundred seventy two, we, the undersigned parish priest, baptized Joseph Charles Gédéon, born on the second day of the current month, of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, farmer, and Osithe Gamache of Saint Herménégilde. Godfather, [Eani?] Dupont, farmer, godmother, Marie Edèse Mailloux [denoulair?] who do not know how to sign.

[signed] [M.Handry?], Priest

There were a few words I couldn’t decipher in this record. In particular, I couldn’t read the first name of the Godfather, and one word after the Godmother’s name. Nonetheless, I was able to transcribe and translate the most important parts of this record.

Based on information in both this record and in the record for Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude, I think both children may have been baptized in the Mission of Saint Herménégilde, rather than the Mission of Saint Edmond, but it’s hard to tell. Apparently, the records of several missions are reported together in the same fonds. I’ll have to look into this in more detail.

One point about the names of children of French origin that I didn’t really understand before today is that many children were given the honorific names Marie and Joseph. Generally, they used the second name as their given name. Thus, Marie Zénaïde Zite Patenaude went by the name Zénaïde, and Joseph Charles Gédéon probably went by Charles.

One final interesting note: someone in Québec has blogged about my blog. You can read the entry (in French) at Bloguevision. Étonnant, non?

My uncle, John Danko, married Alice Charron. The two were my Godparents. Alice’s mother was Marie-Zénaïde-Zite Patenaude, who was born in Coaticook, Québec, Canada in 1870, and was baptized in either the Mission of St. Edmond or the Mission of St. Herménégilde in Coatacook. Her Birth and Baptismal Record is the third record on this page, designated as B.68.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie-Zenaide-Zite Patenaude -1870

SOURCE: Ancestry.com. Quebec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie-Zenaide-Zite Patenaude, Mission of St. Edmond, Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, 1870. Back of Folio 12, B.68.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie-Zenaide-Zite Patenaude -1870. The record, translated from French, states:

B.68 [baptism #68]
M.Z.Z. Patenaude.

On the ninth of July one thousand eight hundred seventy, we, the parish priest whose name is signed below, baptized Marie-Zénaïde-Zite, daughter born on the twelfth day of June last, of the legitimate marriage of Charles Patenaude, farmer, and Osithe Gamache of Saint Herménégilde. Godfather, Octave Blain, laborer, godmother, Adeline Gamache, who don’t know how to sign. The father has signed with us.

[signed] C Patenaude
[I.A. Dufresne ??]

This is the first French Canadian record I’ve found, and the first record I’ve translated from the French. Years ago, I had purchased a copy of:

Geyh, Patricia Keeney. 2002. French Canadian sources: a guide for genealogists. Orem, Utah: Ancestry Pub.

Luckily, I had this book around when I found Marie-Zénaïde-Zite Patenaude’s Birth and Baptismal Record today. Page 147 shows an image, transcription, and translation nearly identical in format to the record I found.

So, even though I can’t speak more than a dozen words of French, with the help of this book I was able to translate this record.