Hubert Prévost the entrepreneur: In business

Third of an eight-part series describing the real and imagined life of Hubert Prévost of Maisonneuve.

It’s around 1871 that Hubert appears to have established himself as a building contractor. Dozens of transactions are recorded from this point that document construction contracts, financial obligations, payment receipts, tenant leases and more. The volume of documents provides a rich record of business dealings yet seems to generate more questions than answers as to the successes or failures he encountered. A closer study may yet reveal some of those answers.

In the 1871 Lovell directory for Montreal and area, we find business listings for Hubert Prévost and some of his relations:

• Prévost H., carpenter, 318 Visitation Montreal [Hochelaga area. This is likely Hubert père.]
• Prévost Hubert~ jun. Joiner living in Pointe-aux-Trembles
• Prévost Eugéne, stonecutter in Ste-Genevieve [parish of Montreal, this is likely Hubert’s brother]
• Prévost Jos. laborer, 28 St Lawrence St. [likely Hubert’s brother]
• Reeve George, hotelkeeper & Reeve Olivier, hotelkeeper (Pointe-aux-Trembles) [Olivier Reeves is Hubert’s brother-in-law].

On the personal front, Hubert received $100 from his brother-in-law Charles Reeves that appears to be a donation to Alvina, possibly as part of the dowry described in her marriage contract.

Some of Hubert’s business dealings are with family relations. One example is a contract with Louis Troie dit Lafranchise (his brother-in-law) who agrees to have a house built by Hubert on rue Mygnon in the Ste-Marie district of Montreal. The document specifies the purchase price ($900) and terms for payment at 6% interest. This appears to be the first record of Hubert’s business dealings. He will go on to buy, develop and sell several lots in Hochelaga and Maisonneuve.

Map of the town of Pointe-aux-Trembles, c. 1875

Hubert also provided a loan of $400 to George and Olivier Reeves for their business use. They promise to repay the loan in one year (from May 1). As a security they mortgage some land 2 arpents wide by 40 arpents deep and a second property in Pointe-aux-Trembles 20 feet wide by 70 deep bounded in front by rue Ste-Anne, in back by the cemetery, and on the sides the Chemin de péage [toll road] and the property of Narcisse Allaire.

Hubert purchases a lot from Hippolyte Reeves that is 74 feet wide by 130 feet deep, located in the seigneury of Montreal, with a building already built. It is facing the St-Laurent river and adjoining properties are owned by Jean Bte Brien, Frs H Puran [?] and the heirs of the late Gabriel Monette. The purchaser agrees to pay seigneurial fees going forward and to pay 750 livres, old currency on the next St- Michel [Sept 29] without interest.

Then Hubert sells a lot, also in the seigneury of Montreal, with a frontage of 43 ft on the toll road and 150 ft deep, bordering properties owned by himself, A. Laporte on one side, and Robert Turcotte and Jean-Bte Gervais on the other side, to J. B. Dufort. Hubert Prévost will construct a building 12 x 24 in the same style as that of M. Turcotte with an outhouse (4′ square), a staircase and enclosed gallery. The work is to begin on May 1. The buyer will pay all future seigneurial fees and $1250.

Early in 1872, Hubert’s brother-in-law Louis Troie took a $400 mortgage loan on half of a two-storey brick house from Hubert. The debt is related to their agreement made in April 1871 to build a house for Troie.

On May 4, 1872 Charles Reeves, Alvina’s father, makes the final payment of 400 piastres regarding the donation he promised his daughter in 1865 – either as a dowry or an advance on her inheritance.

In 1876, Hubert and Alvina draw up their wills before notary Octave Regnier. Only Hubert’s copy has been found, but it’s likely Alvina’s contains similar provisions. Hubert’s will also lists a number of specific stipulations:

1. To pray for his soul and commend him to God
2. That his debts be paid
3. That He be buried in the parish cemetery in Pointe-aux-Trembles
4. He leaves his belongings and property to his wife
5. If his wife and heir remarry, she must undertake an inventory and valuation of the estate
6. If one any of their children die, their successors inherit on their behalf.

---

Sources

• Fonds Cour Supérieure. Greffes de notaires; Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
• Hopkins, H.W. Atlas of the city and island of Montreal, including the counties of Jacques Cartier and Hochelaga from actual surveys, based upon the cadastral plans deposited in the office of the Department of Crown Lands. http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/
• Lovells Quebec directory 1871. Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca

Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire: II

Joseph (fils) of St-Ours

Second of a four-part series of the real and imagined life of Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire (1824-1895)

Let’s turn our attention to the life of our ancestor Joseph Valentin who would later marry Marie Louise Duhamel. He was the third of eight children born to Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire and Marie Anne Dallaire. In fact, he was the only son of this couple, so it’s hard to imagine that he was not the centre of attention at home. His older sisters were Marie Anne and Marie Julie. When he was three, another sister, Marie, was born, followed by Marie Modeste in 1829.

In 1828, Joseph’s future wife Marie Louise Duhamel was born to André Duhamel and Marie Louise Dupré. Eloise (as she signed her name) was the oldest of 10 children born to her parents. Of these, seven would survive to adulthood. Eloise soon had a baby brother in 1831, Octave, who died five months later. Another baby brother, born in 1834, was also named Octave.

The Duhamels lived a short distance downstream from the Gregoires in 1831, closer to St-Roch than St-Ours. From the 1831 census, we know that Joseph Valentin had more land and both families seem to have been successful in growing crops and raising livestock. The Valentin dit Gregroire family were neighbours of Joseph Comeau and Marguerite Chapdelaine. The grandchildren of these two families (Albina Gregoire and Joseph Comeau) would marry in 1879.

A cholera epidemic in 1832 claimed many victims and St-Ours was also hard hit. Most affected were the elderly and children, as were many adults. Between May and September, St-Ours held 46 burials due to the illness. Fortunately, the Valentin-Gregoire and Duhamel families seemed to have escaped the effects of the epidemic.

In 1835 and 1836, two more sisters were born in Joseph’s family–Florence and Eloiza. Florence would later live in Spencer, Massachusetts, but nothing is known of Eloiza after childhood.

Eloise Duhamel also gained a sister in 1836, Antoinette, who would only live to be 13 years old. Eloise very likely attended school in 1837 as we know she was literate. At that time, François Hughes was the schoolmaster at La Fabrique. It’s unlikely that Joseph attended school, as all his life he was recorded as being unable to sign his name.

Both families were residents of St-Ours during the 1837-1838 rebellion in Lower Canada. As far as can be determined, neither were actively involved in the movement as neither Gregoires nor Duhamels appear in records on either side of the divisive issue of political reform.

Both families continued to grow after the troubles ended. Eloise’s family welcomed Philomène in 1838, Clement in 1841 and Eleonore in 1843. On the Valentin-Gregoire side, a new sister Josephine was born in 1840 to complete their family. Their happiness was short-lived because on Sept 18, 1843, Joseph’s mother Marie Anne Dallaire died. She was survived by her husband, and most of their eight children:

• Marie Anne, married to Pierre Giard
• Marie Julie who would marry the following year to François Pichet
• Joseph, aged 19
• Marie, aged 16
• Marie Modeste, aged 14
• Florence, aged 8
• Eloiza, aged 7
• Josephine, aged 3.

It does not appear that Joseph (père) remarried after his wife’s death, even with a young child in the household. Perhaps caring for the younger children became the responsibility of one of his older daughters.

Joseph (père) was a farmer all his life and his son followed in his father’s footsteps, probably working the same land when his father retired around 1862.

As Joseph (fils) was reaching adulthood, construction of a series of dams and locks on the Richelieu River was taking place, opening transportation links to Montreal and New York. The 10th lock in St-Ours was completed in 1849. As a result, St-Ours was booming – becoming a municipality in 1845, acquiring a water-powered flour mill, expanding the school system, and establishing a fire brigade complete with pumper. By 1847 the population of St-Ours had reached 3,600.

The last three of Eloise’s siblings were born around this time. Leopold or Leonard in 1845, Elisa in 1847 and François Xavier in 1850.

There was more sad news for Joseph’s family, though. The family patriarch, Louis, Joseph’s grandfather, died at the age of 77 in 1848.

Joseph the family man

In 1850, a year marked by severe spring flooding in the St-Ours area, Joseph prepares to settle down. His father arranges to donate some property (presumably some farmland) to him in a notarized transaction made on January 26, 1850. A couple of days later, Joseph agrees to a marriage contract with Marie Louise (Eloise) Duhamel. Both documents are handled by the notary Paul-Narcisse Leclaire. On February 4, 1850 they are married in St-Ours. The ceremony was witnessed by their fathers, Joseph (père) and André Duhamel, both of whom could not sign. Also in attendance as a witness was Capitaine Pierre Comeau, the brother of Paul Como whose son Joseph would later marry their daughter Albina Gregoire.

Marriage record of Joseph Gregoire and Eloise Duhamel

Less than a year later, Joseph and Eloise’s first child Rosalie is born. Rosalie is the first of 11 children born to this couple, all of whom reached adulthood and married.

The census of 1852 is considered to be the first “thorough” Canadian census and it included Canada West, Canada East, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Unfortunately, the records for St-Ours in the 1852 census are missing, so it’s hard to know the status of the Valentin-Gregoire and Duhamel families. A Joseph Gregoire is listed in St-Jude as cultivateur, but not the members of his family, which should have included Eloise. In fact, there are several entries for Joseph Gregoire in St-Jude – none of them fitting what we know about Joseph & Eloise. We must assume that our Valentin-Gregoire/Duhamel family were listed in those missing St-Ours records.

Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire

Two boys with the same name

First of a four-part series of the real and imagined life of Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire (1824-1895)

In 1824, two boys were baptised with the same name in St-Ours – one, Joseph Valentin on January 15 (son of Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire and Marie Anne Dallaire), and the other on the 8th of July, named Joseph Valentin Gregoire, son of Pierre Valentin dit Gregoire and Archange Arpin of St-Jude. The similarity of names and proximity of the two families in the same geographical area presented some research challenges.

As a result, reviewing documented evidence based solely on a name to piece together the life of one or the other of the boys born in 1824 was going to require additional corroborating information to form more definite conclusions. Some documents were too vague to attribute to either one of the Josephs with any degree of certainty.

Are these two Josephs related in some way? Did their paths cross? Were their destinies similar or different? Certainly, they seemed to have almost identical starts in life.

What are the key factors that differentiate one Joseph from the other? Looking at the baptism records we see that one is named Joseph Valentin and the other Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire. One would hope Father Hébert, the parish priest, might have pointed out the name similarities to avoid future confusion (identity theft not being a concern in those days, apparently). Perhaps that’s why only one of them includes the dit name. Regardless, we have this to work with:

• Parents – Joseph & Marie Anne Allaire vs. Pierre & Archange Arpin
• Parish – even though both Josephs were baptised in St-Ours, one had a father from St-Jude parish where that family lived.
• Wives – in later records, we can rely on the wife’s name to validate which record belongs to whom.

Joseph Valentin son of Joseph Valentin of St-Ours

Joseph Valentin Gregoire son of Pierre Valentin dit Gregoire of St-Jude.

 

Notwithstanding the subtle differences in their birth names, in later years both Josephs are seen in records as Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire and eventually just Joseph Gregoire. Further complicating the matter are records that are references to Joseph’s father, also named Joseph in the same manner.

For instance, in the 1825 census we see a Joseph Gregoire listed in St-Ours near an entry for the Allaire family, but the headcount doesn’t match the makeup of the family – no young children under six are listed (there should have been three). Even digging into the census for the possibility that Joseph and Marie Anne were living with one or the other of their parents in an extended family setting doesn’t yield a satisfactory result.

The St-Ours Valentin-Gregoires and the St-Jude Valentin-Gregoires were not close neighbours, but close enough. The two communities were about 17 km apart (a three-hour walk, much shorter by carriage or horseback). Therefore, it’s quite possible their paths crossed at some points. We do know that they both descend from the same St-Ours couple from three generations back – Theodore Valentin and Marguerite Rondeau – who married in 1753. Their two sons formed the two branches of the families in question which would make our two Josephs 2nd cousins.

Thomas Valentin & Marguerite Rondeau
Louis & Marie Josette Girouard Joseph & Marie Anne Dallaire Joseph Valentin (of St-Ours)	Pierre & Catherine Fontaine Pierre & Archange Arpin Joseph Valentin dit Gregoire (of St-Jude)

© Janet Comeau – July 2018

Paul Comeau: Witness to change III

Home and country

Third of a four-part series of the real and imagined life of Paul Comeau (1826-1905)

In September 1840, when Paul was 14, his mother died. She left behind her husband, Joseph, 11 children and 11 grandchildren:
• Joseph (married to Marie Desanges Allaire, 4 grandchildren)
• Josephte (married to Eduard Girouard, 1 grandchild)
• François
• Sophie (married to François Moise Girouard, 3 grandchildren)
• Charlotte (married to Jean Baptiste Lamoureux, 1 grandchild)
• Eleonore (married to Antoine Mongeon)
• Honorée
• Pierre
• Paul
• Alexis
• Jean Baptiste

In Sorel, Marie Mathieu’s mother gave birth to two daughters, one in 1837 and another in 1840 . The latter was named Victoria – a name that became popular after the coronation of the young Queen of the British Empire. Sadly, both girls died very young. In 1841 a boy was born who also did not survive.

Canada East (Library & Archives Canada; MIKAN 3694915)

In the mid-1800s, the business of building a country got underway. In 1841, Upper and Lower Canada united to become the Province of Canada and were renamed to Canada East and Canada West. The same year, a new system of Canadian currency was adopted. The new Canadian pound was equivalent to four US dollars (92.88 grains of gold) or 16 shillings and 5.3 pence sterling. In 1849, the government of the Province of Canada enacts all legislative bills in both English and French.

1844 looked like a good year for a young man of 18 to join the workforce. The Chambly canal and a system of locks were built to improve the flow of goods between Montreal and New York. The last of the locks (#10) to be built was in St-Ours, which opened in 1849. Family lore has it that Paul worked as a barge-puller and lock-keeper. Wages for a lockkeeper in 1843 were two shillings and sixpence and they were on duty from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. during May to September. By 1852 the wage was up to three shillings a day.

In 1845, Paul was invited by his sister, Eleonore, to be the godfather to her son Antoine Mongeon. 30 years later, Antoine will assist with the settlement of Paul’s wife’s (Marie Mathieu) estate.

1847 brought more epidemics (influenza, typhus, cholera), due mostly to ongoing waves of immigration during the mid-century. In St-Jude, Marie’s maternal grandfather, Charles Allaire, died at 80 years old – of old age or could the epidemic have been a factor? It’s not clear of the impact, if any, epidemics had on the growing community of St-Ours, which by this time had grown to 3,000 and could boast of having six schools with about 700 students (boys and girls). In that year, the village of St-Ours also becomes a separate municipality from the parish. Later it establishes a fire brigade with the purchase of a pumper.

Sorel, too, was a growing concern. The new parish of Ste-Victoire was established in 1842. In 1843, a new Anglican Church was built to support the growing anglophone community – many of whom were descendants of United Empire Loyalist immigrants. A public market was built of brick construction that was 100 x 35 feet in dimension. Around 1845, John Molson & David Vaughan established shipyards in Sorel.

Paul’s older brother Pierre was also a military man, following in his father’s footsteps as a member of the local militia. In 1847, he was promoted to captain of the 1st battalion of Richelieu county. Looking back to 10 years earlier, what was his role during the rebellion?

In March 1850, Paul’s father Capitaine Joseph Comeau passed away. He was 73. His burial was witnessed by Eugene and Hipolyte Laviolet.

The following year, the first thorough Canadian census got underway and included Canada West, Canada East, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It was not completed until 1853. Unfortunately, the records for St. Ours, William-Henry (Sorel) and Ste-Victoire are missing so we don’t know very much about Paul’s family at that time. We do know that Paul was getting ready to settle down.

In 1852 he signed a marriage contract with Marie Mathieu, daughter of Capitaine Joseph Mathieu and Françoise Allaire of Ste-Victoire, a neighbouring parish. Because Marie was a minor, her parents also signed the contract on her behalf. The signing of the contract was a large event, with many family and friends present. Paul promised to endow Marie with 300 livres (old currency). The contract also notes that Marie brings with her some land in St-Jude with a house, barn, stable and furnishings which were donated to Marie by her parents in 1850. Neither Paul nor Marie knew how to sign (they placed their marks) and among the witnesses who did sign were: his brother Pierre Comeau, Elmire Proulx, Louise Duhamel, Eduard de St-Felix, Cyprien Mathieu, Ethiene Mathieu and Antoine Mongeon.

On the 18th of January 1852, at the church in Ste-Victoire, Paul and Marie were married. On the parish register, Paul’s given occupation is farmer. Witnesses to their wedding included Joseph Gregoire, Laurent St-Martin, his brother Pierre and Marie’s father Joseph.

Barely a month after the wedding, Paul and Marie sell a plot of land in Ste-Victoire to her brother, Etienne. The land is described as part standing timber and part burned and without buildings. The sale price was 900 pounds (old currency) and was to be paid as follows: 300 pounds on November 1, 1852 and the balance on November 1, 1854, without interest if paid on time. It also appears that Marie’s land in St-Jude was mortgaged for 1,800 pounds as a surety. These transactions occurred at about the same time that the seigneurial system was officially abolished. It’s not clear if this change impacted Paul and Marie’s holdings.

The couple established themselves in the newly-constituted municipality of St-Jude where Paul and Marie’s first child died at birth in 1854. Their son Joseph was born in 1856 followed by Paul Stephane in 1858. While It’s not likely that Paul and Marie were early adopters of the latest in domestic technology, word of some of these innovations may have reached them: safety pins, the Singer sewing machine, pasteurization, the rotary washing machine, tin cans with key openers – just to name a few.

Sorel Gazette, July 1, 1867

On the national front, yet another change to the currency occurred with the introduction of the Canadian dollar and new decimal coins in 1858. The British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender — right up until the 1990s.

The 1858 election was so fraught with irregularities that another set of complicated electoral reforms were enacted. An election in 1861 resulted in an even number of Liberal and Conservative seats taken in both East and West Canada. In Quebec, the conservative vote was dominated by the Bleu movement of French Canadian Tories. As a property owner and British subject, Paul was likely eligible to vote, but it’s not known if he did. Literacy was not an impediment as votes could be cast orally.

In 1861, we finally see Paul and his family recorded on a census. They are living in a single-storey wooden house in Ste-Victoire. Also in the household is another Marie Mathieu (aged 15) – a cousin or niece, perhaps? In July of that year, a daughter, Adelaide is born. In 1864, Paul’s brother Pierre is named a justice of the peace and another daughter, Marie Louise is born in St-Jude, but she dies soon after at two months old. Their last child, Pierre, was born in 1866 and baptised in St-Aimé.

In 1867, on July 1, the Dominion of Canada is formed, uniting the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The proclamation appears in the June edition of the Sorel Gazette. There is speculation about who will form the first government and fill the new ministerial positions in advance of elections to be held in August.

Next: Migrations

by Janet Comeau, May 2018

Paul Comeau: Witness to change

Beginnings

First of a four-part series of the real and imagined life of Paul Comeau (1826-1905)

What we know definitively about Paul Comeau is mostly from documented facts and a bit of family lore. Still, judging from the events that occurred during his lifetime from 1827 to 1905, it’s more interesting to consider his impressions of the political, social and technological changes that he likely would have witnessed. What issues of the day might have been discussed at the dinner table, or the local market as they unfolded? We can only imagine.

Let’s start at the beginning. Paul was born to Joseph Comeau and Marie Marguerite Chapdelaine on June 30, 1826 in St-Ours, a seigneurial community near the Richelieu River in what was then known as Lower Canada. After a career in the military where he rose to the rank of captain, Joseph likely became a tenant farmer as did many of his comrades, judging from census and parish records at the time. Paul was the 13th child of Joseph and Marguerite, and sadly the preceding three children born before him did not survive their first year. He had two younger brothers.

Lower Canada (Library & Archives Canada; MIKAN 4127087)

By 1831, Paul’s family was living near Ruisseau Laplante. His father Joseph owned property and leased 313 acres of farmland, 191 of which was cultivated. The farm produced wheat, peas, oats, barley, potatoes and buckwheat. They also raised livestock – 20 cattle, 6 horses, 26 sheep and 12 pigs.

The village of St-Ours was also growing. In 1827 it opened its own post office, and, in another decade, it will become the county seat for Richelieu, if only for a short time, later replaced by Sorel. Elsewhere in Lower Canada, immigration, primarily from England and Ireland was fueling expansion, and brought some new challenges.

In 1832 cholera arrived in Quebec by way of the Carrick, a ship that had come over from Ireland. Three days later, the first victim succumbed to the illness, beginning an epidemic that would last years. This prompted the opening of a quarantine station at Grosse-Ile near Québec, where many newcomers died. St-Ours was not spared, but the Comeau family seemed to escape harm. In 1834, between May and September, 46 burials took place in St-Ours as a result of the illness. Subsequent waves of the epidemic had a much smaller impact on the town. Nonetheless, public sentiment against immigrants grew along with the death toll in the province.

In nearby Sorel, Paul’s future first wife, Marie Françoise Mathieu, was born to Joseph Mathieu and Francoise Dallaire on March 29, 1835. Her baptism took place in the recently-built St-Pierre church in Sorel. She had four older brothers.

Next: Les Patriotes

by Janet Comeau, May 2018

Les Comeau de St-Ours

Tous les Comeau de la région de St-Ours doivent leur patronyme à un seul ancêtre, Joseph Comeau, fils d’Alexandre et Marie-Josephte Blanchard. Arrivés seuls dans cette région après la dispersion et souvent oubliée, la famille de Joseph était éloignée de la parenté établie dans les environs de Yamachiche mais s’en sont bien tirés quand même.

DE PORT ROYAL…

Commençons par Port Royal où cette famille vivait avant le grand dérangement. Nous sommes en 1737 à Port Royal, grosse noce au village, Alexandre Comeau, fils de Pierre et Suzanne Bézier épouse Marie-Josephte Blanchard, fille de Guillaume et Jeanne Dupuy. Deux frères d’Alexandre et une sœur s’allierons aussi à la famille Blanchard, un lien familial qui survivra jusqu’à St-Ours. Puis vint la débâcle : on croit qu’Alexandre et son aîné, Alexandre, furent faits prisonniers dans l’église paroissiale lors d’un assemblé des chefs de famille sous prétexte de discuter de leur futur. Le reste des familles, misent au courant de cette supercherie, se cachèrent dans les bois et évitèrent la déportation. Des groupes se formèrent et après un an ou deux, un grand nombre aboutirent à Québec.
Alexandre et son fils furent certainement déportés, le père probablement mort en Caroline. Quant à Alexandre fils, il réapparaît vers 1772 à la Baie Ste-Marie en Nouvelle Ecosse. De ces descendants vivent encore au Nouveau Brunswick et madame Thérèse Comeau de Matane en a trouvé qui vivent même ici au Québec.

…À QUÉBEC

Nous voilà à Québec, une ville en état de guerre, au bord de la famine, et en plus une épidémie qui attaque ces réfugiés Acadiens affaiblis par leur long voyage. Les Comeau et Blanchard semblent avoir voyagé dans le même groupe, Marie-Josephte avec ces cinq enfants, le plus jeune à un peu plus d’un ans et Joseph le plus vieux à 14 ans. Avant la fin de ce fléau le groupe fut presque anéanti, même la grand-mère, Suzanne Bézier, qui avait fait le trajet âgé de plus de 80 ans y succomba. La courageuse Marie-Josephte et ses enfants semblent avoir été pris sous les ailes de son frère Joseph, lui-même veuf depuis l’épidémie.

…À SAINT-OURS

En 1764, Marie-Josephte et ses enfants, moins Joseph, qui demeure à Québec, se retrouve à St-Ours où elle épouse un veuf de l’endroit, Louis Emery Coderre. Son frère Joseph est à ses côtés comme témoin.

Près de Québec, on retrouve Joseph Comeau à l’Ancienne Lorette apprenant le métier de fermier. C’est là qu’il trouve l’âme sœur, Marie-Josephte dite Maranda, qu’il épouse en 1766.

Des recherches intensives sur les origines de Marie-Josephte ne nous ont apportées aucun fait concret, seulement une spéculation, elle serait une orpheline placée chez un couple d’Ancienne Lorette, J.B. Maranda et son épouse Gely. L’année suivante, après avoir géré une ferme pour un bourgeois de Québec, on retrouve Joseph et son épouse à St-Ours, près de sa famille. En 1769 il reçut une concession de M. de St-Ours et le lendemain son frère Charles devient aussi fermier sur la terre voisine. Charles épousera une Plouffe et aura deux filles de son mariage. Il émigra dans les environs de Sabrevois où il élèvera sa famille.

Joseph se jette à l’ouvrage et en quelques années il est propriétaire de quelques terres. En 1801 fatigué ou assez riche, il se donne à son seul fils Joseph. A eux deux, ils possèdent des terres aux quatre coins de la région. Au lendemain de cette donation, Joseph fils unit sa vie à une vieille famille de St-Ours, les Chapdelaine. Il continuera sur les traces de son père et en plus, son union avec Marguerite Chapdelaine lui apportera plusieurs enfants, les Comeau de St-Ours. Il fut aussi occupé par la politique et la milice où il joua un rôle assez important.

De ces enfants, Joseph, époux de Desanges Allaire, semble être le plus prolifique avec quelque onze enfants, mais François, époux de Isabelle Valentin-Grégoire, le dépasse avec une douzaine. Pierre et Marie Mongeon avec huit enfants se maintiennent dans la moyenne. Paul, mon ancêtre, avec son épouse Marie Mathieu y va pour la qualité avec trois fils. Alexis, époux de Sophie Lavallée eut au moins onze enfants. Quant à Jean-Baptiste, marié à Lucie Benoît, on semble avoir perdu sa trace. La plupart des filles de Joseph et Marguerite se sont mariées avec des hommes de la région et tout compte fait, on peut affirmer que la plupart des familles de St-Ours ont du sang de Comeau dans leurs veines. Paul, Alexis et Jean-Baptiste ont trouvés leurs compagnes à Ste-Victoire. Paul, Joseph et François et plusieurs de leurs enfants, se sont réveillés à St-Jude lors du démembrement de cette paroisse. Alexis s’est bien établi à l’arrière de St-Ours, près de Ste-Victoire, et même aujourd’hui sa terre est encore entre les mains de ses descendants. Son fils Théodore fut un éleveur bovin par excellence.

Une des causes principales de la rareté des Comeau à St-Ours aujourd’hui fut l’exode vers les moulins de la Nouvelle Angleterre à la fin du 19e siècle. Les répertoires des paroisses Catholiques de cette région contiennent des pages complètes de noms familiers, y compris les Comeau. Mon grand-père et ses frères y allèrent, deux sont revenus et un y est demeuré. Mon arrière-grand-père, Paul, fils de Joseph et Marguerite, y est mort en 1905, en vacances ou en demeurant avec son fils Pierre. Il avait plus de 80 ans, il fut fermier, batelier au nouveau canal de St-Ours. À cet âge il ne devait certainement pas travailler dans les moulins.

Je suis né à Montréal et ma famille retourna à St-Ours lorsque j’avais 6 ans. Rencontrant des gens sur la rue, mon père me disait souvent « c’est un cousin », remarque qui me laissait souvent dans le doute. Comme ma grand-mère Comeau, une Grégoire, avait sept sœurs toutes bien mariées, après avoir leur déchiffré notre généalogie, mes doutes sur les cousinages disparurent vite.

Maison familial a St-Ours

par Jacques A. Comeau, Décembre 1997