Steve's Genealogy Blog

Another son of Nicolas Martin and Marie Giroux was born on 14 Feb 1809 and was named Franí§ois.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§ois Martin – 1809

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1809. Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§ois Martin, Back of Folio 7, B.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§ois Martin – 1809. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
of
Fr[aní§ois]
Martin

On the fourteenth of February, one thousand eight one thousand eight hundred and nine, by us, the undersigned priest, was baptized under condition Franí§ois, born today of the legitimate marriage of Nicolas Martin, farmer, and Marie Giroux, residing in this parish. The Godfather was Louis Lhernelin, and the Godmother was Sabelle Lebus, who have declared that they do not know how to sign as required.
[signed] R[ené] P[aschal] Laneto, priest
The father has signed with us.
[signed] Nicolas Martin

This record can be found as image 8 of 42 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com in the records for L’Acadie L’Acadie Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie in the year 1809. The record appears on the back of folio 7.

There are two words in this record that precede the name Franí§ois. These two words may be additional first names, but I can’t make them out. The margin shows that the child’s name is Fr, which is an abbreviation for Franí§ois. Oddly enough, the name in the index to these records looks like Theolisle, which doesn’t match the unknown words or the clearly defined name Franí§ois. Perhaps some other record for this child will help clarify this mystery.

UPDATE 08 Jun 2007: Bob Chenard wrote “The two words are: sous condition (under condition) and thus are not names. He is Francois Martin, period.” Thanks so much for your help, Bob. I was stumped!

Several other names in this record are also difficult to read. I’m not absolutely certain of the surname of the Godfather, the first name of the Godmother, or the surname of the Godmother, but I think I’ve transcribed these names correctly. One difficulty with these records is that the priest sometimes misspelled the names, so even if I think I know what the names are supposed to be, the priest may have erred in the spelling.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

Moving back still further in time, a son, Pierre, was born to Nicolas Martin and Marie Giroux on 15 Mar 1810.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Pierre Martin -1810

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1810. Birth and Baptismal Record of Pierre Martin, Front of Folio 10, B.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Pierre Martin -1810. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
of
Pierre
Martin

On the fifteenth of March, one thousand eight one thousand eight hundred and ten, by us, the undersigned, was baptized Pierre, born today of the legitimate marriage of Nicolas Martin, farmer, & Marie Giroux, residing in this parish. The Godfather was Pierre Visinot, and the Godmother was Marguerite Boissonneau who declare who have declared that they do not know how to sign as required, the father has signed with us.

[four words?] L[aneto] p[riest]

[signed] Nicolas Martin [signed] R[ené] P[aschal] Laneto, priest

This record can be found as image 10 of 44 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com in the records for L’Acadie L’Acadie Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie. The record appears on the front of folio 10.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

On 12 June 1812, a year before Etienne Martin was born, Simon Jules Martin was born.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Simon Jules Martin – 1812

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1812. Birth and Baptismal Record of Simon Jules Martin, Front of Folio 14, B.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Simon Jules Martin – 1812. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
of
S. Jules
Martin

On the twelfth of June, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, by us, the undersigned priest, was baptized Simon Jules, born today of the legitimate marriage of Nicolas Martin, farmer, & Marie Giroux, residing in this parish. The Godfather was Simon Lacroix and the Godmother was Josephte Lagrave who have declared that they do not know how to sign as required, the father has signed with us.

[signed] Nicolas Martin
[signed] R[éné] P[aschal] Laneto, priest

This record can be found as image 14 of 38 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com in the records for L’Acadie L’Acadie Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie. The record appears on the front of folio 14.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

While continuing to follow the records of the parish of Ste. Marie de Blairfindie in L’Acadie back in time, I found the Birth and Baptismal Record of Etienne Martin, the son of Nicolas Martin and Marie Giroux. He was born on 02 Aug 1813.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Etienne Martin -1813

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1813. Birth and Baptismal Record of Etienne Martin, Front of Folio 30, B.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Etienne Martin – 1813. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
Etienne
Martin

On the third of August one thousand eight one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, we, the undersigned, have baptized Etienne born yesterday of the legitimate marriage of Nicolas Martin, farmer in this parish, and Marie Giroux, the Godfather Franí§ois Palin and the Godmother Susanne [Bissoneau?] who all live in this parish, did not sign [one word] the father who has signed with us –

[signed] Nicolas Martin                               [signed] L. C. Leduc, priest

Etienne’s yonger sister Désanges was born in 1817, and the time between their births was four years. I generally would have expected another child or two to be born in that period. Perhaps I missed a birth. I’ll have to review the records for 1814-1816 again to make sure I didn’t miss someone.

This record can be found in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection) 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com as image 30 of 43 in the records of L’Acadie L’Acadie Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie for the year 1813. The record is on the front of folio 30.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

After finding the Birth and Baptismal Record of Ausite Martin in the records of the parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfinde in L’Acadie in 1818, I started searching backwards in time, year-by-year, looking for the marriage of Ausite’s parents, Nicolas Martin and Marie Giroux. Before finding the marriage, I found the birth and baptismal records of several of Ausite’s siblings, including that for Désanges Martin, born on 16 April 1817. The record of her birth and baptism is recorded as baptism number 114 at the bottom of the image, below.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Désanges Martin – 1817

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1817. Birth and Baptismal Record of Désanges Martin, Front of Folio 17, B.114.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Désanges Martin – 1817. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
of
Desanges
Martin
114

On the seventeenth of April one thousand eight one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, by us, the undersigned parish priest, have baptized Desanges, born yesterday of the legitimate marriage of the undersigned Nicolas Martin, and Marie Giroux. The Godfather was Joseph Lebeau and the Godmother was Marie Noreau, who declared that they cannot sign as required.

[signed] Nicolas Martin          [signed] J[ean] B[aptiste] Paquien, priest

In the original record, the priest wrote the words “mil huit” twice, and so in the translation above, I’ve faithfully recorded the translated year of birth as “one thousand eight one thousand eight hundred and seventeen”.

At first, I wasn’t certain whether Désanges was the name of a male or female child, although I found the name in a list of French Canadian given names. The key to the child’s sex lies in the French word for “born”, which is spelled “née”, indicating that the child is female. If the child had been masculine, the verb would have been “né”, rather than “née”.

Oddly enough, the Birth and Baptismal Record for Ausite Martin, born of the same parents a year later, the priest wrote that the father could not sign his name. This record shows that the father was perfectly capable of signing his name in 1817, so why couldn’t he sign in 1818?

This record can be found in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com as image 17 of 55 in the records for L’Acadie L’Acadie Ste.-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie for the year 1817. The record appears on the front of folio 17.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

The mother of Osithe Gamache was Ausite (Osithe) Martin, who was born in L’Acadie on 30 Sep 1818 and baptized on 01 Oct 1818. Her birth and baptism is recorded in the folios of the parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie as baptism number 252 at the bottom of the folio.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Ausite Martin – 1818

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie, L’Acadie, St. Jean County, Lower Canada, 1818. Birth and Baptismal Record of Ausite Martin, Front of Folio 44, B.252.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Ausite Martin – 1818. Translated from the French, the record states:

Baptism
of
Ausite
Martin
252

On the first of October, one thousand eight hundred eighteen, by us, the undersigned parish priest, was baptized Ausite, born yesterday of the legitimate marriage of Nicolas Martin, farmer, and Marie Giroux. The Godfather was Jean Baptiste [Dupuis?] and the Godmother was [Philosote?] Boutin who, as well as the father, declared that they cannot sign as required.

[signed] J[ean] B[aptiste] Paquien, priest

This record can be found in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com as baptism number 252 on image 44 of 58 in the records of the L’Acadie Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie for the year 1818. The record is on the front of folio 44.

Ausite Martin was born in L’Acadie and, although she lived in Napierville after her marriage, she returned to L’Acadie to give birth to her first child, Osithe.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko