For my Wills Cousin's Granddaughter - Paul Benoit, an Acadian in Our Beauvais-Bissonnette Family Tree

I have been writing about my travels this month in the land of Acadia.  A few months ago I purchased a children's book titled Evangeline for Children by Alice Couvillon and Elizabeth Moore with the intention of sharing Longfellow's epic with the children in the family who have at least one Acadian ancestor.

So my first victim is entering 2nd grade in primary school next week.  I am going to try this book out on her.

Second grader at the County Fair with  Painted Face

This second grader has Acadian ancestors in her Beauvais and Bissonnette line.  I am posting her line so other Bissonnette/Bisnett and Beauvais/Bova from Cohoes and Waterford who descended from Celena Beauvais and/or her father Solyme Beauvais may also know how they have an Acadian great grand ancestor.

So if you are a Wills or Bissonnette or Bisnett, start from Celena Beauvais who married Joseph Bissonnette.  If you are a Beauvais or Bova, start from Solyme Beauvais and go back in time to Paul Benoit:

Living daughter (2nd Grader) of

Living Female, who is the daughter of

Living Female, who is the daughter of

William Robert "Bob" Wills 1923-2007, who was the son of

Elizabeth Bissonnette 1880-1936, who was the daughter of

Celena Beauvais 1850-1942, who was the daughter of

Solyme Beauvais 1821-1902, who was the son of

Genevieve Benoit 1799-1832, who was the daughter of

Paul Benoit 1751-1831

who was just four years old when the events in this story of Evangeline occurred.

He probably experienced the Acadian Deportation as a small child.

He was the son of

Geoffroy Benoit 1716-1769

He and his wife were exiled to Lancaster in the Massachusetts Colony

where they lived until they were able to move to Quebec.

He was the son of

Claude Benoit 1686-1743,

he was the son of

Martin Benoit 1643-1714.

Martin was born in France and came to Acadia to start a life with his wife, Marie in the spring of 1671 aboard l'Oranger.

Children's Area at the LeBlanc Reunion
CMA 2014

Below is a recap of the stories written about Acadians in this blog so far.  This list includes some early posts that may not have been well researched but I am reviewing them for accuracy and hope they will "make the cut"!

Acadian Update 2016

Acadians, not Cajuns, in our Families

Acadians in the Mylott-Glode Family

Acadians in the Rivet Family

Acadians in the Wills & Beauvais Family

The Pembroke

Remembering Acadian Ancestors

New Acadia, St-Jacques-de-l'Achigan, Quebec

Images of St-Jacques-de-l'Achigan

Petite l'Acadie in St Jean

Teaching Children about Acadian Ancestors

On the Way to Acadian World Congress 2014

We are the same...

"almost an idiot"

Lord Family of St Jacques de l'Achigan

Fathers who Fought in the French & Indian War

I recently purchased  Combattre pour la France en Amérique  published by Le Projet Montcalm.

This is an amazing book because it helps to identify the common French foot soldiers who participated in the conflict for North America in North America.  Apparently, common soldiers in the British lineup were identified but, in comparison, the common French soldiers were overlooked and under reported.
I also want to give acknowledgement to Larry Roux and his research which he freely shares on White Coats.  His information is boundless and I am very thankful to him.

According to this text reference, the Wills Family and Mylott Families have several ancestors who were soldiers from France who came to Quebec to fight in the Seven Years War (called the French & Indian War by the English).  After the conflict ended, these men did not return to France. They married women who were born in Quebec.  I haven't been able to verify the same in the Rivet family - yet...but stay reading this blog because I will post if and when I find them.

The men were:

• Pierre-Nicolas-Côme-Damien Millot dit Champagne, the progenitor of the Millot - Mylott clan.  He was born on the 27th of September 1737 in Villiers-le Sec, Haute Marne, France and  enlisted in the Regiment Guyenne, Campagnie Pressac in 1759, late in the course of the conflict.  His parents were Jean Millot and Marie Richez. he remained in Quebec and several years after the end of the war, in 1766, he married Marie Josephte  Guyon in Vercheres. 

A soldier of the Regiment Guyenne

• In the same regiment, Jean Jacques Dubord dit St Chaumont, an ancestor in the Wills-Beauvais line, fought but was not so lucky.  Arriving in 1756,  he was hospitalized in Montréal in 1759 but survived long enough to marry in 1760 in Chambly.  It was short lived - he died the following year in Chambly perhaps from wounds or smallpox which ravaged the troops during the conflict.  His widow,  Marie Lacoste dit Languedoc,  remarried.

Colors of the Regiment de Guyenne

• Martin Delmas dit Delmas, another Wills-Beauvais ancestor and soldier in the Guyenne Regiment, enlisted on April 17, 1753 in the Company Cornier.  He probably saw quite a bit of action and he too was hospitalized in Montréal in December 1755. He did not return to France but remained in Québec marrying  Marguerite Circé dit St Michel in August 1764 in St Denis sur Richelieu.  He died in the same place when he was 67 years old.
• Finally, Joseph Xavier Beauvais dit St. Joseph, a Wills-Beauvais ancestor, was born in Champagnole, France in 1730 and enlisted in the Regiment de Languedoc.  He married during the conflict to Josephte Desnoyers at Chambly and died in 1804.

Soldier in the Regiment de Languedoc

These forefathers participated in what Winston Churchill called the "First World War". It seems many of their descendants, our fathers, uncles and cousins, were soldiers in many wars and I hope to profile each and everyone in this blog.  This is just a beginning.....

Grandmothers never tell a lie?

Celena Beauvais Bissonnette Constant was born in St. Cesaire.  Finding her birth record in Quebec was not easy but it eventually was found.  My mother often told me stories about her grandmother who lived to be one hundred years old plus a year or two more.  Yes, some of our ancestors died young but grandmother Celena lived to be more than 100 was always the refrain.  Celena outlived all of her seven children but one, and,  as it was later found out, she did not live to be 100!  She either hoodwinked her son and grandchildren into believing she was 100 in order to get a great big birthday party and have wonderful newspaper write ups extolling her hard working values or she herself just never really knew exactly what year she was born in.
Below is a celebration of her 100 years according to the Syracuse Herald Journal on August 20th, 1941.  (click on the image to enlarge it)

Note the subtitle stating "great grandmother of 34 Still Opponent of Woman Suffrage!!!  Great grandma was certainly a good French Canadian wife and let the man of the house make all the voting decisions while she cleaned and "worked hard all her life".

Then came stories in the Cohoes newspaper, the Troy Record, and the Albany Times Union... Celena was quite a celebrity  in 1941 and noted to be the oldest living person in Cohoes.  The only thing was it wasn't true.

Here is a one picture from the celebration:

Great Grand daughter, Susan Benoit presenting Celena with flowers at her 100th birthday celebration

Detailed story from Syracuse Herald Journal

here's another pic of Celena....

Celena on the left and granddaughter Muriel Etta Wills St Hilaire on the right.  Celena is holding her great grandson Arthur St. Hilaire Junior.  Etta is holding Anne St. Hilaire (later Anne Shannon). 

Here is the baptism record from St Cesaire in Quebec and it is from 1850 -

Ce vingt-un mai mil huit cent cinquante = May 21st, 1850 which is the day of baptism.
The priest states Celena was born the previous day.

Finally, here is Celena's funeral card

Celena's first husband was Joseph Bissonnette who died from Tuberculosis in 1899.  She later married a gentleman, I 'll call Mr. Constant.
If my math is close, Celena's age when she died was 92 years, 4 months,  29 days.  That doesn't add up to 100 years.  I prefer to believe my great grandmother, one of nine children, knew the correct day and month of her birth but never learned her exact year of birth.  She had a great time enjoying all the attention and we can only hope we have some of that genetic material that kept her going strong through her 92 year!

Corkeys Restaurant and Bar, 16-18 Clifton Street, Cohoes, NY

Corkeys Restaurant burned down before I ever got to know it. According to older members of my family, Corkeys had mythical proportions and was a great place to go!  Napoleon Bova,  whose name is mentioned throughout the menu was Napoleon Beauvais.  He Anglicized his name for ease. He was the brother of my great grandmother, Celena Beauvais who was born in St. Cesaire and died in Cohoes, New York. The address on the menu states 16-18 Clifton St., Cohoes 

but Clifton Street was/is really  in Northside, Waterford,  New York.

Below is the approximate location where Corkeys operated 

and the relationship to Northside and Cohoes

The menu Cover...

The back page of Corkeys menu

An Historic Bar

"This famous bar was founded in 1882 by Napoleon Bova, father of the present owner and operator, Henry.  During the two generations that Corkey's has operated, it has lent itself to creating a good bit of history. Bobby Leach started from this old bar when he made his famous trip over the Cohoes Falls.  Buffalo Bill was a close friend of Napoleon Bova as was Buffalo Bill's nephew, Paul and were always present on their visits East. The names of great men that were regular customers are legion.  The stories that are told about these people read like history. In those days, Bova's was famous for food, beverages, and service - and is today as is evidenced by the ever growing clientele from all over the Capital District."

On the Old Champlain Canal

"This famous bar is situated only about two hundred yards from the old Champlain Canal and on the side of the old Mohawk Trail.  It was the crossroads of east and west travel at the turn of the century.  In the Old Days the Bova Tavern was a regular over-night layover for travelers for, as you know, travel was leisurely.  And the very atmosphere was cosmopolitan.... Big, brawny, canal boatmen rubbing shoulders with ladies and gentlemen from the highest strata of society and nobility from Europe.  Such was Bova's.  Today you will find it modern to the nth degree....But the traditional welcome, quality of foods and beverages and service are in keeping with the tradition that has made it famous for over 65 years."