George Charles White LeBlanc - Veteran's Day 2016 -

This Veterans Day, we remember all of our military past and present especially those who fought two wars to keep us all free from terrorists who harm the innocent and resent the freedoms we enjoy.  These numbers might need to be updated but I recall that 6,717 men and women in the U.S. military have died since the wars began in Iraq and Afghanistan; 50,987 wounded - this does not even account for the military from other countries who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that their loved ones and the citizens of their countries might live free.    Today, we remember them all and we are grateful as individuals, as Americans and as citizens of the world!  My father, George Charles LeBlanc knew something about fighting for our freedoms that we have long enjoyed.  The photo above captures him in his World War I uniform.  He fought with Yankee Division.  It was said at the time that World War I was the war to end all wars.  How wonderful if that had been true.  It was a war that incurred many deaths and a great many wounded.

Members of the Yankee Division were cast into the worse of the battles. 
Activated and Inducted into Federal Service: July 1917 (National Guard Division from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

Overseas:  October 1917.

Major Operations: Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne

• Days of combat: 210
• Casualties: Total-13,664
• Killed in action:  1,587
• Wounded in action:  12,077

Inactivated, and returned to National Guard service:  May 1919
The Yankee Division was re-activated in World War II and continues as a viable part of the military today.

As an aside, one day while searching for information regarding the 26th Yankee Division, I came across a photo on E-bay that was for sale by Zazzle.  Zazzle has purchased many photos from the National Archives and have made "reasonable" sizes of the photos available for purchase.  I say "reasonable" because an inquiry I made to the National Archives informed me that 1. the originals photos as huge landscape size photos and 2. very expensive if purchased from the archives.

Zazzle had two sizes of the photo I wanted.  The photo is of the final review at Fort Devens, Massachusetts before the Yankee Division was inactivated after World War I.  It is a great photo and I know that my Dad is "somewhere" among all of the military on the parade grounds for the last time.

I decided to inquire as to whether the company might have a photo of the company my Dad was part of - they did not but they purchased it from the National Archives and a few months later I was able to purchase a copy from Zazzle.  Amazingly, what could have cost me in the hundreds of dollars from the National Archives cost me only $25 and $35 respectively in a much more manageable size that I framed and that hang on the wall in this, my work space or home office as some might call it.  Next to those two photos is the photo of my Dad in his World War I uniform encased in a frame that also holds his Victory Medal with clasps or bars described as follows:   " battle clasps were awarded for each of the major operations for individuals actually present under competent orders. The clasps, with a star on each side of the name of the campaign or one of the defensive sectors, were worn on the suspension ribbon."

To the right is what the WWI Victory Medal looks like.  I was able to find this on the Internet - my father's medal has four clasps representing the four battles he fought in.  I treasure the fact that my mother kept my father's enlistment and discharge papers, including his medal, safely among her treasured items.

[ I sometimes see these things on E-bay and people just do not realize the history they've given away.  Some of these items can never again be retrieved in any way.  A few years ago I tried to obtain new copies of my father's papers.  There had been a fire some years ago where the military records were housed.  My father's papers were among those lost in that fire.  So had my mother not kept these I would never have known my father's military history.]
 
World War I sources:  Wikipedia, Free pages military on Ancestry.com, Zazzle Company
Patriotic holidays bring back great memories of when I was growing up.  As children, we would be playing out in the yard and suddenly we would hear the drum and bugle corps coming up the street.  Yup, a parade!  It just seems to me that everyone was so patriotic back then.  We didn't need a war to bind us together and to be proud of who we were.  I was so impressed with my family's patriotism that I have always been very patriotic as has been my husband and his family.

Family cookouts were great but if we had not been celebrating something American, we would not have been gathering to remember.  I hope every child grows up knowing what it is to be bound together with the pride of being American.

No matter our country, we should always remember the brave men and women who fought that we might all be free - and... don't forget to thank a Veteran for his or her service!

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Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

Acadian &  French-Canadian Ancestral Home

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We Will Never Forget 9/11

September 11th, 2001 will long be remembered as one of the most horrific days in the history of the United States.

I've no doubt that everyone remembers where they were when news hit the air waves that a plane had crashed into one of the towers in New York City.

I was at the American-Canadian Genealogical Society for a meeting with the Fall Conference Committee. One member walked in and said a plane had hit one of the towers. Not believing for one moment there was anything sinister involved, I remember telling her that some ridiculous person must have tried a stunt of some kind. We went about our business, but as other members arrived, it was clear that the United States of America had been attacked and a second plane had crashed into the second tower. Then there was the plane brought down in Pennsylvania.

We quickly ended our meeting and headed home. I still remember how desolate the highway was coming home to Methuen from Manchester, New Hampshire. Though not all that long a drive, this highway is usually teaming with some kind of traffic all day long. It was obvious everyone who could was off the highways and in a "safe" place.

When I arrived home our daughter who is a college professor in Boston was there and told me she had called the college and they were allowing their staff to remain at home. Nobody else knew if more attacks would take place and those two airline jets had flown out of Boston.

All afternoon we watched television and saw the devastation played over and over again - we saw people searching all over NYC in search of loved ones who worked in the towers and financial district. Mid afternoon as the list of names that had been passengers on both airlines were listed on the television screen, we could not believe that some people from our town were among them and even worse, one of our neighbors Doug Gowell

was on the United flight 175 . I think just about everyone somewhere was affected by the loss of a family member, neighbor or acquaintance that day as so many lives were lost.

I still get pretty emotional when I remember how for so many nights Doug's wife Barbara would put a candle out on the front porch as though waiting for Doug to come home from his business trip . It was heart wrenching. Just the night before flew out of Boston, I saw him working in front of their home; I also remember the limo driving in front of our house the morning of that fateful flight - Doug was on his way to Logan Airport in Boston.

Robert George LeBlanc of Lee, New Hamsphire was on the same flight as Doug. Robert is well known to us in the Acadian community. A Geography Professor at New Hampshire College, Robert was the creator of the map Acadian Odyssey.
 
The memories of that day are imbedded in our minds, hearts and souls forever.

So on today, the anniversary of this attack on our country and the loss of so many Americans and visitors to our country, we will pause to remember all who died that fateful September 11th. Below is a list of those who were on the American and United airlines flights... May they rest in peace. We stand with their families and the efforts they have made these past ten years to keep the memory of their loved ones alive.  
 

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT #11

from Boston, Massachusetts on way to Los Angeles, California
crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center with 92 people on board.

CREW

Barbara Arestegui, 38, Marstons Mills, Massachusetts
Karen A. Martin, 40, Danvers, Mass.
First Officer Thomas McGuinness, 42, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Kathleen Nicosia, 54, Winthrop, Mass.
John Ogonowski, 52, Dracut, Massachusetts
Betty Ong, 45, Andover, Massachusetts
Jean Roger, 24, Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Dianne Snyder, 42, Westport, Massachusetts
Madeline Sweeney, 35, Acton, Massachusetts

PASSENGERS

Anna Williams Allison, 48, Stoneham, Massachusetts
Myra Aronson, 52, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Christine Barbuto, 32, Brookline, Massachusetts
Kelly Ann Booms, 24, Brookline, Mass.
Carol Bouchard, 43, Warwick, Rhode Island
Neilie Anne Heffernan Casey, 32, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Jeffrey Coombs, 42, Abington, Massachusetts
Tara Creamer, 30, Worcester, Massachusetts
Thelma Cuccinello, 71, Wilmot, New Hampshire
Patrick Currivan, 52, Winchester, Mass.
David DiMeglio, 22, Wakefield, Mass.
Donald Americo DiTullio, 49, Peabody, Mass.
Paige Farley-Hackel, 46, Newton, Mass.
Alex Filipov, 70, Concord, Massachusetts
Carol Flyzik, 40, Plaistow, N.H.
Paul Friedman, 45, Belmont, Massachusetts
Karleton D.B. Fyfe, 31, Brookline, Massachusetts
Peter Gay, 54, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Linda George, 27, Westboro, Massachusetts
Lisa Fenn Gordenstein, 41, Needham, Massachusetts
Peter Hashem, 40, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Robert Hayes, 37, from Amesbury, Massachusetts
Edward (Ted) R. Hennessy, 35, Belmont, Mass.
Cora Hidalgo Holland, 52, of Sudbury, Massachusetts
Nicholas Humber, 60, of Newton, Massachusetts
John Charles Jenkins, 45, Cambridge, Mass.
Charles Edward Jones, 48, Bedford, Mass.
Robin Kaplan, 33, Westboro, Massachusetts
David P. Kovalcin, 42, Hudson, New Hampshire
Judy Larocque, 50, Framingham, Mass.
Natalie Janis Lasden, 46, Peabody, Mass.
Daniel C. Lewin, 31, Charlestown, Mass.
Susan A. MacKay, 44, Westford, Massachusetts
Christopher D. Mello, 25, Boston, Mass.
Antonio Jesus Montoya Valdes, 46, East Boston, Mass.
Carlos Alberto Montoya, 36, Bellmont, Mass.
Laura Lee Morabito, 34, Framingham, Massachusetts
Mildred Rose Naiman, 81, Andover, Mass.
Renee Newell, 37, of Cranston, Rhode Island
Jacqueline J. Norton, 61, Lubec, Maine
Robert Grant Norton, 85, Lubec, Maine
Jane M. Orth, 49, Haverhill, Mass.
Sonia Morales Puopolo, 58, of Dover, Massachusetts
David E. Retik, 33, Needham, Mass.
Philip M. Rosenzweig, 47, Acton, Mass.
Richard Ross, 58, Newton, Massachusetts
Jessica Sachs, 22, Billerica, Massachusetts
Rahma Salie, 28, Boston, Mass.
Heather Lee Smith, 30, Boston, Mass.
Douglas J. Stone, 54, Dover, N.H
Michael Theodoridis, 32, Boston, Mass.
James Trentini, 65, Everett, Massachusetts
Mary Trentini, 67, Everett, Massachusetts
Kenneth Waldie, 46, Methuen, Massachusetts
Candace Lee Williams, 20, Danbury, Conn.
Christopher Zarba, 47, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT #175

from Boston, Massachusetts on way to Los Angeles, California 
second plane crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Two pilots, seven flight attendants and 56 passengers were on board.

CREW

Amy N. Jarret, 28, North Smithfield, R.I.

Amy R. King, 29, Stafford Springs, Conn.

Kathryn L. LaBorie, 44, Providence, R.I.

Michael C. Tarrou, 38, Stafford Springs, Conn.

PASSENGERS

Garnet Edward (Ace) Bailey, 54, Lynnfield, Mass.

Mark Bavis, 31, West Newton, Mass.

Graham Andrew Berkeley, 37, Boston, Mass.

John Brett Cahill, 56, Wellesley, Mass.

Christoffer Carstanjen, 33, Turner Falls, Mass.

John (Jay) J. Corcoran, 43, Norwell, Mass

Lynn Catherine Goodchild, 25, Attleboro, Mass.

Peter Morgan Goodrich, 33, Sudbury, Mass.

Douglas A. Gowell, 52, Methuen, Mass.

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, of Easton, Mass.

Carl Max Hammond, 37, Derry, N.H.

Peter Hanson, 32, Groton, Mass.

Sue Kim Hanson, 35, Groton, Mass.

Christine Lee Hanson, 2, Groton, Mass.

Eric Samadikan Hartono, 20, Boston, Mass.

James E. Hayden, 47, Westford, Mass.

Herbert W. Homer, 48, Milford, Mass.

Robert Adrien Jalbert, 61, Swampscott, Mass.

Ralph Francis Kershaw, 52, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.

Brian Kinney, 29, Lowell, Mass.

Robert George LeBlanc, 70, Lee, N.H.

Maclovio Lopez, Jr., 41, Norwalk, Calif.

Marianne MacFarlane, 34, Revere, Mass.

Louis Neil Mariani, 59, Derry, N.H.

Juliana Valentine McCourt, 4, New London, Conn.

Ruth Magdaline McCourt, 45, New London, Conn.

Shawn M. Nassaney, 25, Pawtucket, R.I.

Patrick Quigley, 40, of Wellesley, Mass.

Frederick Charles Rimmele, 32, Marblehead, Mass.

James M. Roux, 43, Portland, Maine

Jesus Sanchez, 45, Hudson, Mass.

Mary Kathleen Shearer, 61, Dover, N.H.

Robert Michael Shearer, 63, Dover, N.H.

Jane Louise Simpkin, 36, Wayland, Mass.

Brian D. Sweeney, 38, Barnstable, Mass.

William M. Weems, 46, Marblehead, Mass.

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 93

from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California,
crashed in rural southwest Pennsylvania,
with 45 people on board.

All victims of a senseless attack, they and all who died that day were American martyrs! We shall never forget!

 Peace and love to all of their families. 

God bless them and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

All Rights Reserved 
Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
Lucie's Legacy

Mama and Me

Mama and Me

When I was a little girl, I thought there was nobody more wonderful and special than my mother who we fondly called "Mama".  Of course, I suppose children feel that way about their mothers and why wouldn't they?  Parents are their whole world.  As infants, toddlers and young children, we ultimately rely on our parents to fulfill our every need.  My parents were no different.. especially Mama

Growing up in a French-Canadian ethnic neighborhood was the best.  Why?  Because we grew up with all of our aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  Families today do not often have that same kind of connection.

Our parish church was in our neighborhood as were all businesses owned by French-Candians and that allowed our immigrant grandparents to take care of business in their customary language which was French.  So whether they went grocery shopping, were in need of pharmacy or other services, attending church (which was  most important to them), they could conduct business comfortably in their mother tongue with which they had spoken since they had been born in French speaking province of Quebec.  Dubrule Pharmacy was where they had prescriptions filled. As children we loved going to Dubrules because there was a soda fountain.  We enjoyed many ice cream cones in the summer and ice cream sundaes on Sunday afternoons.  Each ethnic neigborhood had its own grocery stores, fish markets, fruit stores etc.  These neighborhoods were great microcosms of the larger world but best of all we felt safe.  Our doors were never locked and nobody was a stranger to us.

When searching for teachers to staff Ste-Anne parish school, the leaders of the parish wanted bilingual teachers to teach the children in both English and French languages.  I believe we were pretty fortunate to grow up in that kind of situation with our heritage always at the forefront of their minds.  Since our great-grandparents and grandparents were the founders and leaders of the parish, had they not insisted on this, a part of who we were as Franco-Americans would have been lost. Admittedly, as children we didn't realize just how fortunate we were.

From "baby room" (called kindergarten today) through 8th grade we were taught in two languages.  No, we did not have a French "period" or "class" in those days.  Rather we had a half day of English and a half day of French.  During French classes we were taught the catechism, church history, French grammar, spelling and literature.  During English classes, we were taught the usual classes of reading, grammar, spelling, writing, and arithmetic.  Of course, classes did not begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. as they often do today.  We were in school from 7:45 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. until the schedule was changed to 3:00 p.m. half way through elementary school.

To their credit, les Soeurs du Bon-Pasteur de Québec/Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Quebec who had a provincial house in Maine did a great job.  Some of the nuns/teachers were from Quebec while others were Americans. We had the best of both. How fortunate we were to be fluent in both French and English.  As a child I spoke French before I spoke English and I do suppose that was because my Mémère and Pépère (grandmother and grandfather) lived next door for a while and Mémère Lévesque used to baby sit me quite a bit.  Wherever we went in our neighborhood we could converse in French at anytime.  Of course, like all young American children, we had a tendency to speak in English more than French.  My parents were both both in Massachusetts so speaking in either language was a lark.  My parents wanted us to be well versed in English so we would be true Americans.

Thanks to them, we have grown up as true Americans but today we long for those days when there was someone with whom we could speak in the tongue of our grandparents and forebears.

I digress.. growing up with Maman was both interesting and fun for us as children.  Just about every summer Sunday the extended family would go to Canobie Lake for a family picnic.  Most of us had no automobiles so we would all take the bus that we could board at the corner of our street and head out for the day.  Most often we would go to 6:00 a.m. Mass and be on the 7:15 a.m. bus so we could get the picnic tables closest to the lake while at other times we would arrive just early enough to reserve a kiosk so we would be in the shade if it was going to be a very hot day.  Everything depended on how fast the bus could get us there.  Usually the bus would have a hard time making the hill as we approached the road to Canobie.  Buses were not what they are today!

At the end of the day, our extended family would take the last bus home at 10:00 p.m. and sing all the way home.  It was great fun for us kids and everyone on the bus seemed to enjoy our renditions.

In those days going to Canobie Lake was free admission and it was still a pretty rustic forest full of big pine trees.  We would tie our bottles of drinks together and lower them into the lake to keep them cool.  There were no coolers then.

There were a few amusement rides and a few food booths and life was simple.  Today it is quite expensive at Canobie because there are mega rides available.  I'd take the good old days anytime.

Of course, as great as Mama was in getting us ready for the day and sending us off on the bus with my brother and sister so we would arrive with the rest of the family, she always came later.  I don't remember her ever being ready to leave when it was time to go.  But that was part of who she was.  Her main purpose was to get us ready so we could have a fun day from beginning to end.  She would usually arrive at the Lake a couple of hours later with my Mémère who would usually go to 8:00 a.m. Mass.

Once in a while we would spend a Sunday at Salisbury Beach.  That was more unusual though.  Canobie was only a half hour from home in those days whereas Salisbury was an hour by bus.  Today you can get to Canobie in 10-15 minutes by car and Salisbury in 35-40 minutes depending on traffic.

Wherever we went Mama made sure we had a good time.  She loved to laugh, tease and have fun.  She always put me on the "dobbie horses" aka carousel. At certain times of the day or evening you could try to "catch" a "gold" ring as the dobbies passed a certain area.  If you could grab onto one you got a free ride.  I didn't get one often because I loved the dobbie horses that went up and down - the ones closest to the edge of the carousel did not move.  Often parents would stand there to grab a ring for their child to get a free ride.  I just loved the dobbie horses so much that I used to fantasize owning my own horse some day.

Now at Canobie Lake there was a "fortune teller".  My mother and aunts would go have their fortunes told.  You know it was taboo in those days but they did it for fun and didn't believe a word the fortune teller would say.  One day when they were done having their fortunes told, my father told us that his mother used to be a fortune teller.  Everybody laughed and thought he was joking.  I never knew my grandmother Odille because she died at age 42 when my father was just a young boy.  Let me tell you though that as I plodded through our family history, one day I went to the public library to look through City Directories and lo and behold my grandmother was listed as a "clairvoyant" aka fortune teller.  So my father was right.  I sure wish I'd known her!  Not because she claimed to be a clairvoyant but rather because she did what she must to help support a large family.  I see her as having been a very strong woman doing what needed doing to help her family survive.  They were very poor and when she died there was no money for a grave.  She is buried with in a grave belonging to friends of the family.

So that is also how I always perceived my Mama to be:  a very strong woman from who I learned much about surviving the ups and downs of every day life and hanging in there when things were difficult.

As Mama grew older and more frail I realized that my perception of how strong a person she was might not be entirely true or correct - I wondered whether or not I was mistaken.  As she shared some of her fears and concerns in her aging years, I realized more and more that she imparted to me the strengths she would have wanted for herself in the up and down years of her life:  however, no matter what she thought of and for herself, she had a greater and deeper strength than she ever imagined.

I am the last of six children.  Three children died at young ages.  My two oldest siblings, Rita and Emile died one month apart at ages 3 and 4.  A year later my sister Claudia was born, three years later my brother Albert, two years later my brother Alphee who died the age of 9 months.  Five years later I was born.

One time I remember my father telling me that when their children passed away, Mama would just sit in a rocker with their toys rocking back and forth.  They had died of whooping cough which was untreatable back then.  When I was under a two years old I contracted scarlet fever.  Quarantined to the hospital during that illness when I returned home my Mama patiently taught me once again to walk as I had been so decimated from the illness that I could not walk and was not "talking" much for an 18 month old.

There was never a day that passed when she did not tell us how much she loved us no matter how old we were and no matter how ill she was at the end of her life.  Today I do the same with our daughters and now our grandsons.

So in spite of the lack of strength she thought lacking, Mama was a much stronger woman than she believed herself to be and I attribute so much of who I am because of who she was in my life.

Mama I love you and think of you every day.  Here is a photo of what I look like today with your four great grandchildren, Theo, Alexander, Xavier (Rebecca's children) and Mil (Sarah's son).  Watch over us all!  With all our love...

All Rights Reserved

Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

2014

Veterans Day 2015

This Veterans Day, we remember all of our military past and present especially those who fought two wars to keep us all free from terrorists who harm the innocent and resent the freedoms we enjoy.  These numbers might need to be updated but I recall that 6,717 men and women in the U.S. military have died since the wars began in Iraq and Afghanistan; 50,987 wounded - this does not even account for the military from other countries who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that their loved ones and the citizens of their countries might live free.    Today, we remember them all and we are grateful as individuals, as Americans and as citizens of the world!  My father, George Charles LeBlanc knew something about fighting for our freedoms that we have long enjoyed.  The photo above captures him in his World War I uniform.  He fought with Yankee Division.  It was said at the time that World War I was the war to end all wars.  How wonderful if that had been true.  It was a war that incurred many deaths and a great many wounded.

Members of the Yankee Division were cast into the worse of the battles. 
Activated and Inducted into Federal Service: July 1917 (National Guard Division from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

Overseas:  October 1917.

Major Operations: Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne

• Days of combat: 210
• Casualties: Total-13,664
• Killed in action:  1,587
• Wounded in action:  12,077

Inactivated, and returned to National Guard service:  May 1919
The Yankee Division was re-activated in World War II and continues as a viable part of the military today.

As an aside, one day while searching for information regarding the 26th Yankee Division, I came across a photo on E-bay that was for sale by Zazzle.  Zazzle has purchased many photos from the National Archives and have made "reasonable" sizes of the photos available for purchase.  I say "reasonable" because an inquiry I made to the National Archives informed me that 1. the originals photos as huge landscape size photos and 2. very expensive if purchased from the archives.

Zazzle had two sizes of the photo I wanted.  The photo is of the final review at Fort Devens, Massachusetts before the Yankee Division was inactivated after World War I.  It is a great photo and I know that my Dad is "somewhere" among all of the military on the parade grounds for the last time.

I decided to inquire as to whether the company might have a photo of the company my Dad was part of - they did not but they purchased it from the National Archives and a few months later I was able to purchase a copy from Zazzle.  Amazingly, what could have cost me in the hundreds of dollars from the National Archives cost me only $25 and $35 respectively in a much more manageable size that I framed and that hang on the wall in this, my work space or home office as some might call it.  Next to those two photos is the photo of my Dad in his World War I uniform encased in a frame that also holds his Victory Medal with clasps or bars described as follows:   " battle clasps were awarded for each of the major operations for individuals actually present under competent orders. The clasps, with a star on each side of the name of the campaign or one of the defensive sectors, were worn on the suspension ribbon."

To the right is what the WWI Victory Medal looks like.  I was able to find this on the Internet - my father's medal has four clasps representing the four battles he fought in.  I treasure the fact that my mother kept my father's enlistment and discharge papers, including his medal, safely among her treasured items.

[ I sometimes see these things on E-bay and people just do not realize the history they've given away.  Some of these items can never again be retrieved in any way.  A few years ago I tried to obtain new copies of my father's papers.  There had been a fire some years ago where the military records were housed.  My father's papers were among those lost in that fire.  So had my mother not kept these I would never have known my father's military history.]
 
World War I sources:  Wikipedia, Free pages military on Ancestry.com, Zazzle Company
Patriotic holidays bring back great memories of when I was growing up.  As children, we would be playing out in the yard and suddenly we would hear the drum and bugle corps coming up the street.  Yup, a parade!  It just seems to me that everyone was so patriotic back then.  We didn't need a war to bind us together and to be proud of who we were.  I was so impressed with my family's patriotism that I have always been very patriotic as has been my husband and his family.

Family cookouts were great but if we had not been celebrating something American, we would not have been gathering to remember.  I hope every child grows up knowing what it is to be bound together with the pride of being American.

No matter our country, we should always remember the brave men and women who fought that we might all be free - and... don't forget to thank a Veteran for his or her service!

All Rights Reserved

Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

Acadian &  French-Canadian Ancestral Home

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Where were you on 9/11/2001?

September 11th, 2001 will long be remembered as one of the most horrific days in the history of the United States.

I've no doubt that everyone remembers where they were when news hit the air waves that a plane had crashed into one of the towers in New York City.

I was at the American-Canadian Genealogical Society for a meeting with the Fall Conference Committee. One member walked in and said a plane had hit one of the towers. Not believing for one moment there was anything sinister involved, I remember telling her that some ridiculous person must have tried a stunt of some kind. We went about our business, but as other members arrived, it was clear that the United States of America had been attacked and a second plane had crashed into the second tower. Then there was the plane brought down in Pennsylvania.

We quickly ended our meeting and headed home. I still remember how desolate the highway was coming home to Methuen from Manchester, New Hampshire. Though not all that long a drive, this highway is usually teaming with some kind of traffic all day long. It was obvious everyone who could was off the highways and in a "safe" place.

When I arrived home our daughter who is a college professor in Boston was there and told me she had called the college and they were allowing their staff to remain at home. Nobody else knew if more attacks would take place and those two airline jets had flown out of Boston.

All afternoon we watched television and saw the devastation played over and over again - we saw people searching all over NYC in search of loved ones who worked in the towers and financial district. Mid afternoon as the list of names that had been passengers on both airlines were listed on the television screen, we could not believe that some people from our town were among them and even worse, one of our neighbors Doug Gowell

was on the United flight 175 . I think just about everyone somewhere was affected by the loss of a family member, neighbor or acquaintance that day as so many lives were lost.

I still get pretty emotional when I remember how for so many nights Doug's wife Barbara would put a candle out on the front porch as though waiting for Doug to come home from his business trip . It was heart wrenching. Just the night before flew out of Boston, I saw him working in front of their home; I also remember the limo driving in front of our house the morning of that fateful flight - Doug was on his way to Logan Airport in Boston.

Robert George LeBlanc of Lee, New Hamsphire was on the same flight as Doug. Robert is well known to us in the Acadian community. A Geography Professor at New Hampshire College, Robert was the creator of the map Acadian Odyssey.
 
The memories of that day are imbedded in our minds, hearts and souls forever.

So on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of this attack on our country and the loss of so many Americans and visitors to our country, we will pause to remember all who died that fateful September 11th. Below is a list of those who were on the American and United airlines flights... May they rest in peace. We stand with their families and the efforts they have made these past ten years to keep the memory of their loved ones alive.  
 

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT #11

from Boston, Massachusetts on way to Los Angeles, California
crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center with 92 people on board.

CREW

Barbara Arestegui, 38, Marstons Mills, Massachusetts
Karen A. Martin, 40, Danvers, Mass.
First Officer Thomas McGuinness, 42, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Kathleen Nicosia, 54, Winthrop, Mass.
John Ogonowski, 52, Dracut, Massachusetts
Betty Ong, 45, Andover, Massachusetts
Jean Roger, 24, Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Dianne Snyder, 42, Westport, Massachusetts
Madeline Sweeney, 35, Acton, Massachusetts

PASSENGERS

Anna Williams Allison, 48, Stoneham, Massachusetts
Myra Aronson, 52, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Christine Barbuto, 32, Brookline, Massachusetts
Kelly Ann Booms, 24, Brookline, Mass.
Carol Bouchard, 43, Warwick, Rhode Island
Neilie Anne Heffernan Casey, 32, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Jeffrey Coombs, 42, Abington, Massachusetts
Tara Creamer, 30, Worcester, Massachusetts
Thelma Cuccinello, 71, Wilmot, New Hampshire
Patrick Currivan, 52, Winchester, Mass.
David DiMeglio, 22, Wakefield, Mass.
Donald Americo DiTullio, 49, Peabody, Mass.
Paige Farley-Hackel, 46, Newton, Mass.
Alex Filipov, 70, Concord, Massachusetts
Carol Flyzik, 40, Plaistow, N.H.
Paul Friedman, 45, Belmont, Massachusetts
Karleton D.B. Fyfe, 31, Brookline, Massachusetts
Peter Gay, 54, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Linda George, 27, Westboro, Massachusetts
Lisa Fenn Gordenstein, 41, Needham, Massachusetts
Peter Hashem, 40, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Robert Hayes, 37, from Amesbury, Massachusetts
Edward (Ted) R. Hennessy, 35, Belmont, Mass.
Cora Hidalgo Holland, 52, of Sudbury, Massachusetts
Nicholas Humber, 60, of Newton, Massachusetts
John Charles Jenkins, 45, Cambridge, Mass.
Charles Edward Jones, 48, Bedford, Mass.
Robin Kaplan, 33, Westboro, Massachusetts
David P. Kovalcin, 42, Hudson, New Hampshire
Judy Larocque, 50, Framingham, Mass.
Natalie Janis Lasden, 46, Peabody, Mass.
Daniel C. Lewin, 31, Charlestown, Mass.
Susan A. MacKay, 44, Westford, Massachusetts
Christopher D. Mello, 25, Boston, Mass.
Antonio Jesus Montoya Valdes, 46, East Boston, Mass.
Carlos Alberto Montoya, 36, Bellmont, Mass.
Laura Lee Morabito, 34, Framingham, Massachusetts
Mildred Rose Naiman, 81, Andover, Mass.
Renee Newell, 37, of Cranston, Rhode Island
Jacqueline J. Norton, 61, Lubec, Maine
Robert Grant Norton, 85, Lubec, Maine
Jane M. Orth, 49, Haverhill, Mass.
Sonia Morales Puopolo, 58, of Dover, Massachusetts
David E. Retik, 33, Needham, Mass.
Philip M. Rosenzweig, 47, Acton, Mass.
Richard Ross, 58, Newton, Massachusetts
Jessica Sachs, 22, Billerica, Massachusetts
Rahma Salie, 28, Boston, Mass.
Heather Lee Smith, 30, Boston, Mass.
Douglas J. Stone, 54, Dover, N.H
Michael Theodoridis, 32, Boston, Mass.
James Trentini, 65, Everett, Massachusetts
Mary Trentini, 67, Everett, Massachusetts
Kenneth Waldie, 46, Methuen, Massachusetts
Candace Lee Williams, 20, Danbury, Conn.
Christopher Zarba, 47, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT #175

from Boston, Massachusetts on way to Los Angeles, California 
second plane crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Two pilots, seven flight attendants and 56 passengers were on board.

CREW

Amy N. Jarret, 28, North Smithfield, R.I.

Amy R. King, 29, Stafford Springs, Conn.

Kathryn L. LaBorie, 44, Providence, R.I.

Michael C. Tarrou, 38, Stafford Springs, Conn.

PASSENGERS

Garnet Edward (Ace) Bailey, 54, Lynnfield, Mass.

Mark Bavis, 31, West Newton, Mass.

Graham Andrew Berkeley, 37, Boston, Mass.

John Brett Cahill, 56, Wellesley, Mass.

Christoffer Carstanjen, 33, Turner Falls, Mass.

John (Jay) J. Corcoran, 43, Norwell, Mass

Lynn Catherine Goodchild, 25, Attleboro, Mass.

Peter Morgan Goodrich, 33, Sudbury, Mass.

Douglas A. Gowell, 52, Methuen, Mass.

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, of Easton, Mass.

Carl Max Hammond, 37, Derry, N.H.

Peter Hanson, 32, Groton, Mass.

Sue Kim Hanson, 35, Groton, Mass.

Christine Lee Hanson, 2, Groton, Mass.

Eric Samadikan Hartono, 20, Boston, Mass.

James E. Hayden, 47, Westford, Mass.

Herbert W. Homer, 48, Milford, Mass.

Robert Adrien Jalbert, 61, Swampscott, Mass.

Ralph Francis Kershaw, 52, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.

Brian Kinney, 29, Lowell, Mass.

Robert George LeBlanc, 70, Lee, N.H.

Maclovio Lopez, Jr., 41, Norwalk, Calif.

Marianne MacFarlane, 34, Revere, Mass.

Louis Neil Mariani, 59, Derry, N.H.

Juliana Valentine McCourt, 4, New London, Conn.

Ruth Magdaline McCourt, 45, New London, Conn.

Shawn M. Nassaney, 25, Pawtucket, R.I.

Patrick Quigley, 40, of Wellesley, Mass.

Frederick Charles Rimmele, 32, Marblehead, Mass.

James M. Roux, 43, Portland, Maine

Jesus Sanchez, 45, Hudson, Mass.

Mary Kathleen Shearer, 61, Dover, N.H.

Robert Michael Shearer, 63, Dover, N.H.

Jane Louise Simpkin, 36, Wayland, Mass.

Brian D. Sweeney, 38, Barnstable, Mass.

William M. Weems, 46, Marblehead, Mass.

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 93

from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California,
crashed in rural southwest Pennsylvania,
with 45 people on board.

All victims of a senseless attack, they and all who died that day were American martyrs! We shall never forget!

Peace and love to all of their families. God bless them and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

All Rights Reserved - 7 September 2011

Honoring All Who Served

We have quite a few relatives who served in various wars.  Because of the service of my ggg grandfather, Michel Bourque/Burke who fought under Jonathan Eddy to retake Fort Cumberland, I am a Daughter of the American Revolution.

My father-in-law, Philip/Fillipo Consentino served in the Navy in WWI.  Imagine being on those ships in the early 1900s!

My husband Anthony A. Consentino followed in his father's footsteps and also served in the Navy as the Korean Conflict was winding down.  A musician, he played in the Navy Band in Washington, D.C., Kodiak, Alaska, New York attaining rank of Musician First Class, Solo Clarinetist, Lead Alto Saxophone, Director of the Dance Band.  He holds a Bachelor degree in Music Education from Lowell State College which is today University of Massachuetts, a Master of Music from Boston University and is a graduate of the Navy School of Music.

I have many cousins who served in various branches of the military during WWII.  They were all older than me but I remember well seeing them in their uniforms.  Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force.  My brother-in-law served in the Air Force and made a career of it.

Today, I would like to share with you my father's service as well as my research on his service so I could document as much as possible the role he played in World War I.

My father served proudly in World War I. He was a Wagoner in the 26th Yankee Division - 102nd Supply Company.

On April 13, 2002 I went to Hartford, Connecticut with our daughter Sarah who was attending a workshop. While she went to the workshop, I went to the Hartford Public Library. I found an old book entitled: "Service Records Connecticut Men and Women in the Armed Forces of the United States during World War 1917 - 1920" published by the Office of the Adjutant General, State Armory, Hartford, Connecticut. What a find!

This book contains the names of all who served in the military from the various Connecticut cities and towns. In the Hartford portion on page 1204, my father is listed as follows:

"WHITE, GEORGE C. 66,586, White - Hartford, Conn. - Enlisted NG Hartford, Conn, June 7, 1917. Br (born) New Bedford, Mass, 21 yrs. Sup Co 1 Inf CNG (Sup Co 102nd) to disch (discharge). Wag (wagoner) June 8, 1917. AEF (American Expeditionary Forces) Nov 13, 1917 to Apr 7, 1919. Hon disch (Honorable discharge) Apr 29, 1919." (My father had changed his LeBlanc name to White until he asked my mother to marry him.)

The 26th Yankee Division returned from France in April 1919 and was demobilized in May 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. Thanks to the Zazzle Company I have a photo of the demobilization.

The 26th INFANTRY DIVISION -- The YANKEE Division in WWI and WWII. Formed by the assimilation of dozens of militia units from throughout New England, the 26th was first assembled as the 26th Infantry Division in August 1917 and was thus called the Yankee Division. The heroic 26th achieved fame at Belleau, St. Miihiel, Verdun and the Marne.

During WWI Wagoners were like truck drivers. The name Wagoner is a hold over from the old horse days. Wagoners drove trucks that supplied the battery with ammunition, powder and other supplies that the battery needed.

World War I Draftees were registered on 5 June 1917, on 5 Jun 1918 and on 12 September 1918. This draft included males 21 to 30 who were not already serving in the military, regardless of their declared nationality. Men older than 30 and younger than 21 sometimes registered for the draft, but their registration was not required. 

On my father's tombstone at Veterans' Lot at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence, Massachusetts we read the following:

George C. LeBlanc - Massachusetts - Wagoner 102 INF 26 DIVISION - World War I - September 30, 1896 - September 6, 1956. Though the tombstone says "Massachusetts" he was living in Hartford when he enlisted and was living there when discharged.

Thanks to my mother, today I am proud to have my father's Victory Medal with four clasps. The clasps represent the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector offensives.

I was able to find an image of the WWI Victory Medal online and post here so you can see what it looked like. This one has only two claps versus the four my father's medal has.

My father never talked about his experiences in the war and it seems like none of the servicemen from that era did. It was indeed one of the worse wars but then, all wars are the worse.

As I child I remember playing with his helmet he had kept. I've often wondered whatever became of that. Of course, I am also very fortunate to have my father's World War I enlistment and discharge papers. These papers tell their own story as to my father's service. I never realized just how fortunate I was to have these papers until I wrote to the Military asking for a new copies since these are beginning to fade. The response was that my father's military records had burned in a fire some years ago when many military records were also destroyed. What a loss!  Recently there has been news that the records are being reconstructed.  That would be great.

To all of our Veterans, whatever war they fought in or whether they served during peace time, we are forever grateful. They have been and are our watchful Warriors who fight for the freedoms we continue to enjoy. It is just sad that all peoples around the world do not treasure freedom as we do - it is so precious!

If you know or meet a Vet, thank him or her for their service.

All Rights Reserved

Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

2013

Four LeBlanc Brothers - Do You Descend From Any of Them?

Some time ago a long lost cousin who found me through my Family Tree Maker site sent me the above photo hoping that I could identify the four people in it.

Actually, they are four LeBlanc brothers.  I think the fellow to the far right is my uncle Albert LeBlanc but I cannot be positive. 

There were five brothers living when this photo was taken.  Two had died in the early 1900s and one is missing from this photo.  

The five living brothers were Joseph Edmond born 1888, Frederick (Fred) born 1889, Albert born 1891, my father George born 1896 and Henri born 1901.

George is my father but of course, I did not know him when he was this young and I didn't know any of my LeBlanc uncles (most unfortunately!).  

If anyone can identify this photo please let me know. It will mean we are related.

These four LeBlanc brothers were the children of my grandparents Damien S. LeBlanc and OdilleDoiron.

If you descend from this family, we are closely related and I would love to hear from you. The family name was changed to White.

All Rights Reserved

Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

July 2011 - Present

As told by George Gale ~ Published in 1923

Jacques Cartier, a famous sea captain of St. Malo, France, the discoverer of Canada, sailed up the majestic St. Lawrence in 1535, and wintered his fleet of three small sailing vessels, the "Grande Hermine", the "Petite Hermine" and the "Emerillon" at the mouth of the stream still known as the Lairet - named after a pioneer settler of Charlesbourg - which flows into the St. Charles river, now within the limits of the city. It was Jacques Cartier who named a bay on the north shoreof the gulf, which he entered on the feast of St. Laurent, August 10, "Baye Saint Laurent", translated St Lawrence. It was not until 1608 that Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec and built his "Abitation" or fort in the Lower Town, directly below Dufferin Terrace. The Recollet monks, the first French missionaries in Canda, arrived in 1615. It ws on the 20th July, 1629, that the Kirkes captured Quebec from the French in the name of King Charles I of England, who held it until the 13th July 1632, when it was restored to the Crown of France, who remained in possession of the colony until 1759, when it again fell into the hands of the British following Wolfe's siege of Quebec and the battle of the Plains of Abrahan on the 13th September of the last mentioned year. In all, France ruled the country for over one hundred and fifty years, while the flag of Engand has waved over the lofty Cape Diamond continuously for one hundred and sixty-four years [as of 1920s].

The following is a list of the historic tables in Quebec in the 1920s together with the inscriptions and where located according to George Gale:


1613: In the playground of the Quebec Seminary: "Here stood the house of Guillaume Couillard, employé of the Company of the Hundred Associates, who arrived in Quebec in 1613 and who died on the 4th of March, 1663."

1615: On the face of building at corner of Sous-le-Fort and Little Champlain streets (foot of Breakneck Steps): - "The approximate site of the first chapel erected in Quebec by Champlain in 1615. It was destroyed by fire during the occupation of Quebec by the Kirkes from 1629 to 1632."

1620: Beside the Upper-Lower Town elevator office on the Terrace - "Here stood the Fort and Chateau St. Louis. The Fort was erected in the year 1620; within its walls the founder of Quebec died on December 25th, 1635. The Chateau was the residence of Governors of Canada. Begun by the Chevalier de Montmagny, reconstructed by Count de Frontenac, enlarged by Sir James Craig. This building was destroyed by fire on the 23rd of January, 1834".

1633: Outside of the gate leading to the Bishop's Palace at the top of Mountain Hill - "Here was erected, in 1633, the Church of Notre-Dame de Recouvrance under the direction and in fulfillment of a vow of Samuel de Champlain, first Governor of New France. Restored and enlarged in 1634. It was destroyed by fire on the 14th of June, 1640".

1635: On the front southeast corner of the City Hall - "On this site stood the Jesuits' College, founded in 1635. Destroyed by fire in 1640, rebuilt in 1647, considerably enlarged in 1725. It was occupied partly by British troops and public officers, from 1759 to 1776 as a barrack from 1776 to 1871, and finally demolished in 1877. The church attached to it, which extended towards Ste. Anne street, was erected in 1666 and demolished in 1807."

1639: On face of Blanchard's Hotel, opposite the front of the Notre-Dame des Victoires Church, Lower Town - "On this site stood in 1639 a house belonging to Noel Juchereau des Chatelets, which was the first residence of the Venerable Mother Marie de l'Incarnation and of the Ursuline Nuns in Quebec".

1640: At the corner of Garden and Anne streets, northwest corner of the English Cathedral grounds - "On this ground stood the trading house of the Company of the Hundred Associates. It served as a parish church after the burning down of Notre-Dame de Recouvrance on the 14th of June, 1640, and also served as a place of residence for the Jesuit Fathers from 1640 to 1657".

1644: Beside the Ursuline Chapel on Parlor street - "On this site stood the house of Madame de la Peltrie. It was built in 1644 and within it r esided for two years (1659-1661) Monseigneur de Laval, first Bishop of quebec. It was replaced by the present day-school of the Ursulines in 1836".

1650: On the northeast corner of the Court House, Place d'Armes - "This ground, which formerly extended to the east, and was occupied by the Seneschal's Court about the year 1650, became in 1681 the property of the Recollets, who erected on it a church and monastery which were destroyed by fire in 1796. The old Court House built at the beginning of the 19th century was also destroyed by fire in 1873, the present edifice taking the place shortly afterwards. The adjoining Anglican cathedral occupies part of the grounds once held by the Recollets".

1668: On the face of the Boswell Brewery Office at the foot of Plaace Hill, (Nicholas street) - "On this site the Intendant Talon erected a brewery in 1668 which was converted into a Palace for the intendants by M. de Meulles, in 1686. This building was destroyed by fire in 1713, reconstructed by M. Bégon; it was again damaged by fire in 1728, restored by M. Dupuys in 1729; it was finally destroyed during the siege of Quebec in 1775".

1686: On the hillside of the Chinic Hardware Co.'s building at the foot of Mountain Hill, (corner of St. Peter street) - "Here stood in 1681 the dwelling house of Charles Aubert de la Chesnaye, one of the most prominent merchants of quebec in the seventeenth century, the ancestor of the de Gaspé family".

1687: Half way down Mountain Hill (opposite Chabot's bookbindery) - "Within this enclosure was located the first graveyard of quebec, where interments were made from the early days of the Colony up to 1687".

1688: On Notre-Dame des Victoires Church, Lower Town - "This church, erected in 1688, under the name of L'Enfant Jésus, on the site of the old "King's Store", took the name of "Notre-Dame de la Victoire" in 1690, and of "Notre-Dame des Victoires" in 1711. The square in front of the church was used as the market place of Quebec during the French Regime and around it stood the residences of the principal merchants of that time. In the centre of the square in 1686, the Intendant Champigny erected a bronze bust of Louis XIV".

1690: On the fence of the garden at the upper end of Mont-Carmel street (up Haldimand street and to right on Mont-Carmel street) -"On this height, called Mont-Carmel, there stood in 1690 a stone windmill whereon was mounted a battery of three guns, and which served for a redoubt during the siege of Quebec by Phipps. It was called "Le Cavalier du Moulin'".

1691: On the wall of the Cartridge Factory, half way down Palace hill - "Here stood Palace, or St. Nicholas Gate, built in 1691, restroed successively in 1720 and 1790; it was rebuilt from 1823 to 1832, and finally demolished in 1874".

1692: Corner of St. Peter and Mountain Hill on the McCall & Shehyn Building, (northwest corner) - "On this site stood the convent of the Nuns of the Congregation, established by Sister Bourgeoys in 1692, and occupied by the said religious community up to 1842, when it removed to St. Roch".

1746: On the Marine Department Building, Champalin street - "In 1746, Louis SV, King of France, took possession of this area of ground in order to establish a new shipyard for the building of his vessels. Here stood the first custom House erected by the British Government in Quebec after the cession".

1758: Located on the Ramparts, between St. Flavien and Hamel streets, (previous residence of Sir Lomer Gouin, Premier of Quebec Province) - "On this site stood the house where Montcalm resided during the years of 1758 and 1759".

1775: On the Molson's Bank Building, Lower Town (St. James street, between St. Peter and Sault-au-Matelot streets - "Here stood her old and new defenders uniting, guarding, saving Canada, defeating Arnold at the Sault-au-Matelot barricade on the last day of 1775; Guy Carleton commanding at Quebec".

1775: tablet on the cliff above Champlain street, near Allan-Rae Steamship Company's Wharf - "Here stood the Undaunted Fifty safeguarding Canada, defeating Montgomery at the Pré-de-Ville barricade on the last day of 1775; Guy Carleton commanding at Quebec".

1776: On the Citadel Hill, not far from St. Louis street (right hand side going up) - "In this place was buried, on the 4th of January, 1776, along with his two aides-de-camp, McPherson and Cheeseman, and certain of his soldiers, Richard Montgomery, the American General who was killed during the attack on QAuebec on the 31st of December 1775. In 1818 his remains were exhumed and removed to the precincts of St. Paul's Church, New York".

1784: By the baggage office of the Chateau Frontenac, (St. Louis street) - "Here stood the Chateau Haldimand or Vieux Chateau, occupying part of the outworks of the Fort St. Louis. Begun in 1784, completed in 1787. this edifice was displaced by the erection of the pressent Chateaeu Frontenac in 1892".

1791: On the front of the "Kent House" at the corner of St. Louis and Haldimand streets - "This bilding was the residence of the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, during his stay in Quebec, from 1791 to 1794".

1797: On the new portion of the City Post Office, Mountain Hill (Table removed during construction of Post Office) - "Prescott Gate built in 1797; rebuilt 1815; torn down, 1871-1872".

1806: On the dwelling No. 22, Ferland Street - "Here was established in 1806, "Le Canadien", the first French newspaper published in Quebec".

1806: Corner of St. Flavien and Couillard streets, (no. 14 St. Flavien) - "In this house Francois-Xavier Garneau, the historian of Canada, lived for several years and here he died on the 3rd February 1866".

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Lucie's Legacy

Acadian Ancestral Home/Quebec

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino

The Voyageurs - Fur Traders of Canada

Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario

by Frances Anne Hopkins (1838-1919)

Hopkins Collection - National Archives of Canada C-002771

The first Europeans to cross the continent of North America came from East to West. They were the fur trade explorers of the North West and Hudson's Bay trading companies.

Traveling in birch bark canoes, they explored west from Hudson's Bay or Lachine, Quebec. 

Following the inland river and lake systems, and led by MacKenzie, Fraser and Thompson, they built trading posts, explored the waterways and created the first maps of those regions. These were the Voyageurs!

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)incorporated in England in 1670 hoping to find the northwest passage to the Pacific. Its object was also to occupy the lands surrounding Hudson’s Bay and carry on commerce and trade in those lands. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) became the most powerful company in Canada, contributing significantly to the political and economic structure of the nation. During the first two hundred years of its existence the HBC engaged primarily in the fur trade industry by setting up fur trading outposts on all of the major waterways in the country in order to trade with the Native populations and gaining a monopoly in the industry after 1821. In 1870 the HBC sold its lands that consisted of all of Western Canada to the Government of Canada.

The Voyageurs typically spoke French, and were French Canadian from Quebec, or Métis. They were often employees of French, French-Canadian, or later British trading operations who traveled by canoe deep into uncharted North America to trade fur with the Native American peoples. The voyageurs typically interacted with the native peoples more closely than the settlers who were to follow in their footsteps. Many served as interpreters and guides for the French or the English.

During the struggle for supremacy in the fur trade in the late 18th century, the upstart North West Company challenged the more-established Hudson's Bay Company by employing a network of Voyageurs. Unlike the Hudson's Bay traders, who traditionally stayed inside coastal posts and required Natives to come to them, the Voyageurs roamed along the river valleys as far as present-day Oregon, doing business directly with the Natives. The success of the Voyageurs prompted a change in strategy by the Hudson's Bay Company, which began sending out its own expeditions into the continental interior.

In 1779, several of these operators formed the North West Company (NWC). The NWC was led by several businessmen, including Simon McTavish. By 1787, McTavish
controlled eleven of the company’s twenty shares. Among the other shareholders were Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, and Peter Pond, all fur traders and three of Canada’s best-known explorers.  The NWC became known for its bold and aggressive approach to business.

The company had twenty-three partners, but more than 2000 guides, interpreters, and voyageurs. McTavish and other Scots shareholders married French Canadian women and French Canadians played key roles in the company.

By July of 1821 a merger was forced upon the Northwest Company which resulted in their 97 posts and forts being amalgamated into the HBC system at the end of the great company. George Simpson became the new head of the HBC and their new head quarters was located in Lachine Quebec.
 

Shooting the Rapids
by Frances Anne Hopkins, artist, 1879

The canoe above was often referred to as a Montreal canoe or "canot du Maitre" and was most commonly used in the fur trade by voyageurs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the late 1700s, at the peak of their use, they were built to carry as much as four tons of cargo, crew and provisions, and measured nearly 2m (6 feet) at their widest point.

Under normal conditions, a loaded canoe such as this was paddled by eight to twelve voyageurs. Over each of the many portages between Montreal and Lake Superior, only half of the crew was required to carry the emptied, inverted canoe, as the others began the arduous task of packing over its contents. Due to its large size, the range of the Montreal canoe was generally limited to the larger waterways and portages connecting the St. Lawrence valley, the Upper Great Lakes and the Mississippi. Large bark canoes were not an invention of the fur trade. The source of these particular great canoes was squarely rooted in the Algonquin tradition of bark canoe building. They were, in essence, an expanded or modified version supplied to meet the needs of these long-haul travelers. Accounts of large canoes appear in early European observations, but the awkwardness of these vessels on the smaller portages and canoe routes likely limited their traditional use.

The canoes themselves were built by Native men and women, as well as Metis and French builders. As such, the Montreal canoe came to bear, in many subtle ways, the influences of the people and cultures that produced them. Today, this great canoe has become an icon for that formative period in early Canadian history: the fur-trade era.

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Lucie's Legacy

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino