Our first Desroches ancestor from France was Jean Desroches, who arrived in Montreal in 1647. He married Francoise Gode/Gaudet that same year. (The Gode family had arrived in 1641 and are often referred to as the "First Family of Montreal".) They had 13 children. Here is the Desroches line beginning with our 8th great grandfather:
Jean Desroches (1621-1684)
Nicolas Desroches (1652-1737)
Jean-Baptiste Desroches (1699-1774)
Pierre Gabriel Desroches (173-1793)
Joseph Desroches (1782-1865)
Abraham Desroches (1806-1853)
Joseph Desroches (1837-1912)
Azilda Desroches (1859-1936) married Arthur Noel Morin
Azilda Desroches (1859-1936) married Arthur Noel Morin
Jean Desroches may have been part of the early militia in Montreal at Point-aux-Trembles to protect the early settlers from the Iroquois. He had property in a prominent part of the city in 1655, which was mostly likely a land grant.
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| Montreal Property for Jean Desroches in 1655 |
Joseph Desroches and Elise Bessette, our great great grandparents were married in 1857 in Marieville, Quebec, Canada when they were both 20 years old. Their first child was born nine months later and died that same day. Next, our great grandmother, Azilda Desroches, was born in 1859 followed by seven more children. Elise gave birth to a daughter, Marie Victoria, in 1865, who died in 1869 at age 3. Two months after her death, April, 1869, Elise gave birth to another daughter they also named Marie Victoria. (This renaming was a common practice.) This second Victoria died at age six in 1874 just two months before Elise's death. Another child, Joseph Israel, died in 1870 at four months of age. The statistics of infant mortality here are heartbreaking. There is no information regarding the cause of Elise' death.
Elise' early death surprised me. I had been looking for information about her and Joseph for many years. On the record I found, she was listed as Elizabeth instead of Elise. The record was very hard to read and there are a surprising number of people named Joseph Desroches. The signature of Joseph's uncle Jean Chrysostome Guillet validated it for me. His signature is on many of the family records.
Elise died at the age of 37 leaving Joseph with at least four young children including great grandmother Azilda, age 15, Joseph, 12, Alphonsine, 11, Elodie, age 6, and Felix, age 2. Joseph made his living as a "journalier" or day laborer. He could not read or write. Three years later, in 1877, Joseph married Julie Choquette. This record was also not obvious. The index to the record showed a 1877 marriage of Joseph Desroches to Sophie Choquette with Joseph's former spouse named Elizabeth Bonster not Elise Bessette. The priest's handwriting was very hard to read, but this was the correct record and Jean's signature confirmed the translation. Handwriting in the 1800's often had an interesting flourish. Here's an example of Bessette where the first "s" is written like an "f".
1880 US census records indicate that Joseph and Julie are living in Brooklyn, Connecticut with Alphonsine and Felix. [Felix is actually a nickname of Jean-Baptiste. I was also confused when I found this census record and thought Elise' name was recorded incorrectly. Finding her death date helped the pieces come together.] Joseph is working as a day laborer. Joseph's sister Celina is widowed and living nearby with four children, all working as mill hands.
In 1885, Joseph, Julie and Felix are living in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Daughter Azilda and family have moved nearby to Pawtucket, Rhode Island. We lose track of Felix here and I have yet to find young Joseph or Elodie. [In 1936, the only surviving sibling of Azilda is her sister Alphonsine Guillet.]
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| 1874 Death Record for Elise Bessette |
Elise died at the age of 37 leaving Joseph with at least four young children including great grandmother Azilda, age 15, Joseph, 12, Alphonsine, 11, Elodie, age 6, and Felix, age 2. Joseph made his living as a "journalier" or day laborer. He could not read or write. Three years later, in 1877, Joseph married Julie Choquette. This record was also not obvious. The index to the record showed a 1877 marriage of Joseph Desroches to Sophie Choquette with Joseph's former spouse named Elizabeth Bonster not Elise Bessette. The priest's handwriting was very hard to read, but this was the correct record and Jean's signature confirmed the translation. Handwriting in the 1800's often had an interesting flourish. Here's an example of Bessette where the first "s" is written like an "f".
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| Pierre Bessette and Rosalie Bedard - Exerpt of 1827 Marriage |
In 1885, Joseph, Julie and Felix are living in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Daughter Azilda and family have moved nearby to Pawtucket, Rhode Island. We lose track of Felix here and I have yet to find young Joseph or Elodie. [In 1936, the only surviving sibling of Azilda is her sister Alphonsine Guillet.]
In 1901, Joseph and Julie are back in Iberville, Quebec. By 1911, Joseph is again widowed and living with his sister Judith and their niece, Osias Boulais, the daughter of Louise Desroches. The following September, Joseph dies at age 75.
Finding the records for Joseph and Elise helped me put together (at least in my mind) Azilda's life. She and Arthur most likely knew each other in Marieville, Quebec. They were married in 1878 in Danville, Connecticut when Azilda was 19. I now understand that she had many cousins, aunts, a sister and her father nearby as she started her life in America.
Finding the records for Joseph and Elise helped me put together (at least in my mind) Azilda's life. She and Arthur most likely knew each other in Marieville, Quebec. They were married in 1878 in Danville, Connecticut when Azilda was 19. I now understand that she had many cousins, aunts, a sister and her father nearby as she started her life in America.
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