I have been searching for my grandfather, Damien LeBlanc's, death record for years. A couple of years ago I found him listed as Daniel rather than Damien in a couple of records. I thought that might have been a clerical error so I kept searching vitals for the death of *Damien* LeBlanc.
Now some years ago, I used to go to Lawrence City Hall every week and they would allow me to look through the index cards that contain information for births, marriages and deaths in the city of Lawrence. It also includes the volume and page where the record can be found.
I have always said that whoever the first city clerk was who decided to index all of the vitals recorded in the City of Lawrence is a god-send to all researchers. I'm not sure there are many cities or towns who have done this early on and I have had difficulty searching in other locales..
Last night when I went to bed a huge light went ON - I remembered having copied information about the death of a DANIEL LeBlanc, My grandfather disappeared from city directories in 1913 so I've always assumed that as the "abt" death year. Before going to sleep I decided that today I should pull out that notebook and take a look. This morning went to those notes and it gave a death date of 1913..hmm could this be what I've searched for all these years? Could I have had the information in hand without realizing it?
I went on the familysearchpilot.or site and instead of searching for Damien I did a search for DANIEL LEBLANC - BINGO!!! There was the death record right in front of me listing the names of his parents..yes, I went a bit crazy!
I still cannot believe this record is in hand after all the years I have searched - now I have another mystery. The name of the person who provided the information was a Mrs. Pierre LeBlanc. Damien aka Daniel had no children named Pierre nor did he have a brother by that name. As we know, the search is never done so here I go again.
I have always believed that one family rarely migrated by itself - this may well have been a cousin's wife. I intend to see if I can find more on this though it will be like searching for a needle in the perennial hay stack. Wish me luck! Before I begin that search I intend to enjoy today's great and unbelievable find! Yes, at times is truly is serendepity.
So again.. never give up the search. Our ancestors are waiting to be found.
Love,
All Rights Reserved
Lucie's Legacy
Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
2010
12 comments:
Congratulations Lucie! A fantastic find. I love it when things come together in this way. Cheers! Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer. I still cannot believe I finally know when my grandfather died and where he is buried. I am just thrilled!
Lucie
Wonderful! And do you know now where to find the original record? This is a huge clue for you!
Hi Heather,
I can get a copy at Lawrence City Hall now that I know where he died. Since nothing could be found under the name of Damien, it was thought he might have returned to Canada as some did. I could have never obtained the record without the date and knowing he used the name of Daniel. What a find and to think I've had the information right along but didn't know he had changed his name.
Lucie
Lucy - what a great story!! Love that Familysearch Pilot!!
I know Janine.. it is just the greatest! Thanks!
Lucie
Woo hoo!!!! Congrats & thx for inspiration to not give up on my grandpa's mysteries. :) Doing a timeline/review of what I have & what I've checked is on my to do list.
That's great Liz.. no, we cannot never give up the search.
I have searched for this record at least once a week for years sometimes more often..who would have thought there was truly a name change! ;o)
Lucie
What a wonderful, serendipitous find! I'm so happy for you! xo
Thank you Sarah! How exciting to have found your great grandfather's record
Mom xooxoxox
I also had a similar experience, Lucie. My father's brother, who was always known as Clifford was shown to have died in 1938; but, I could never find the source proof. So ... I contact the Canadian Archives and within a week, got my reason for the difficulty finding his death record. His birth name was: Cleophas! My second cousin doubted its veracity; but after her own research to confirm as much, she agreed and congratulated me on my research. This ancestry/research is my new hobby. I can only hope to finish until I myself am 'finished.
Thank you so much for all your work. Lovely to read your comments, histories, etc. BTW ... there are very many LeBlanc's in my family tree. Could we be related? Nothing surprise me anymore.
Sincerely,
Jeannette (Martin-Saladino) S
Hi Jeannette,
Thank you for your post/information.
We could be related. When all is said and done, we are all related to one degree or another :)
Lucie
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