Lacasse Family in Northside, Waterford circa 1900

The Lacasse family are ancestors of the Rivet family of Cohoes

Dedace Lacasse, one of the younger sons in the family of Ephrème Cassé and Luce Desautels-Lapointe, was probably made a wanderer by virtue of his birth order. Without a plot of his own land to farm, he was consigned to be a day worker on the farms of others. 

Portrait of woman believed to be Lucie Lapointe-Desautels, the mother of Dedace Lacasse.

Dedace and his wife Marie Louise Mireault were both born in St Jacques de L'Achigan, Quebec - Dedace in 1844 , Marie Louise in 1849. The couple married in 1867 in the church of St Alphonse de Rodriques, Quebec. In the 1881 census of Canada, the family is in Terrebonne, Quebec. In the 1891 census, they are located in Joliette, Montcalm, Quebec.  Sometime around 1898, Dedace brought his family from Quebec to New York.  They came to Northside in Waterford in 1898 to work in or around the factory mills of Cohoes and Waterford.  In the United States Census of 1900, six family members are listed: Dedace, Marie Louise his wife, Marie Ann and Marie Louise his two daughters and Edmond (Edward) and Camille, his two sons.  Marie Ann will not marry remaining at home to care for her parents, especially her widowed mother.  Marie Lousie will eventually became the second wife of Paul Emile Rivet. Edmond, naturalized a US citizen in 1912 will marry in Cohoes but after he is widowed in 1926, he will return to Québec with his children. He marries again in Rimouski, Québec.  Camille Lacasse seems to have moved to New York City but returns to Cohoes to marry.  He and his bride return to New York and raise their family in Queens.  Another son, Joseph Lacasse, not listed in the 1900 census with his parents,  marries and remains in Cohoes to raise his family.

 The Lacasse Family living at 20 Cemetery Road, Northside Waterford

Note the error - Cammile is listed as a daughter instead of son 

On May 1, 1910 Marie Edna Ann Lacasse, daughter of Joseph Lacasse and Emma Marie Fortin, granddaughter of Dedace and Marie Louise Mireault was baptized in the "French" church,  St Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Northside, Waterford where the family members were communicants.  Dedace was listed as the parrain or godfather. Below are two photographs of St Anne's Church in Northside after it was converted to Waterford Wesleyan Church.

Readers unfamiliar with Northside, Waterford and Cohoes may inquire why Northside is called "Northside" when it is actually on the south side of the town of Waterford of which it is a part.  It is my understanding that the founding fathers of Cohoes always considered Northside a part of the Cohoes community even though Northside was officially in a different town and even a different county.  Cohoes is in Albany County and Northside-Waterford in Saratoga County.  Only the waters of the Mohawk River divide the communities of Cohoes and Waterford but an early bridge connected the communities.

So the family of Dedace Lacasse and Marie Louise Mireault expanded and their descendants quickly spread across North America and back to Quebec! 

Here is a sign of Northside's French Canadian Heritage!

A home in Northside, New York displays its Roots - a flag of Quebec and a US flag!

Part 2 to follow.....

Along the Champlain Canal in Northside, Waterford

Click on any image to enlarge

The old original Champlain Canal separated from the Erie Canal at Juncta in Cohoes, NY.  Erie barges heading west traveled through the multiple locks on the west side of the Mohawk to rise over the Cohoes Cataract.  Champlain bound barges heading north crossed the Mohawk River into the slim canal in Northside, Waterford.  

I have tried to highlight the separation of the two canals from Juncta.  

The Red line parallels the Champlain Canal; the Blue line follows the Erie Canal

Below, the plaque on the Cohoes-Waterford Bridge over the Mohawk River...

The Railroad Bridge over the Mohawk River...

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."