Category: France

Wedding Wednesday: Pierre Francois Burtcher and Marie Celestine Voisinet

6/17/2014

This past Sunday, I posted the 1850 U.S. Census of Pierre François and Marie Celestine (Voisinet) Burtcher (also spelled Bultechert), my husband's 4x great-grandparents. Today, I am posted their marriage record. They were married on 12 May 1846 in Évette, Belfort, France. (Click images for larger views.)

Civil Marriage Record, Pierre Francois Burtcher and Marie Celestine Voisinet, May 1846

Pierre François was the son of Joseph Burtcher and Anne Claire Jardot. Marie Celestine was the daughter of Georges Voisinet and Marie Rose Jardot. Both fathers were farmers. Six months (yep!) after the wedding, the couple welcomed their first child into the world. Marie Rose Julie Burtcher was born 13 Nov 1846 in Évette. She was the couple's only child that was not born in America. They came to America shortly after she was born.

Civil Birth Record, Marie Rose Julie Burtcher, Nov 1846

For reference, the village of Évette is located near the larger city of Belfort, which is located in northeast France in the Territoire de Belfort.

Marriage and Birth Record Source: http://www.archives.cg90.fr/?id=etat_civil
Évette, Births, Deaths, Marriages 1803-1869

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Census Sunday: The Voisinet Family, 1860

3/1/2014

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George and Rosalie (Jardot) Voisinet immigrated to the United States from France in 1852. They are my husband's 5x great-grandparents through his paternal grandmother's (Naomi Grilliot's) line. They made the journey from their hometown of Évette, France with their children Marie Therese, Louis, Anthony, Louise, François Joseph ('Frances'), and François Charles ('Charles'). The eldest daughter, Marie-Celestine had already immigrated to America in 1847 with her husband, Pierre Burtcher and baby daughter, Marie Rose Julie (husband's 3x great-grandmother). Their eldest son, Joseph, later came to America with his wife and children in 1865. All of the family members initially settled in Loramie Twp, Shelby County, Ohio, near the small French-immigrant settlement of Russia (still pronounced "roo-shee").

In the 1860 Census, the family is listed with the surname 'Weisinger.' I'm willing to bet that this difference was due to language barrier issues between the census-taker and the family - not uncommon in this area, especially with the mix of German and French immigrants who settled around here. The family lives on a farm. Only four of the children who came over with their parents remain at home; Marie Therese married in 1854, and Louis is living with his wife and child in the nearby town of Versailles. Louise, Frances, and Charles are still attending school.

Voisinet Family, 1860 U.S. Census

Unfortunately, this is the only U.S. Census in which George Voisinet appears. He passes away in 1866 at the age of 63. Rosalie lives until 1875.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Those Places Thursday: Réchésy, France

1/15/2014

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On August 29, 1828, a ship carrying Leon Bernard, his wife, Catherine (Kilker) Bernard, and their seven children arrived in New York, New York. From there, the Bernard family traveled west, first settling in Perry County, Ohio, before moving again to Mercer County, more specifically the area near Maria Stein. Since this area was popular with German immigrants of the time, Leon's children and grandchildren married into German families. (For those of you reading this who are related to my husband, Leon's granddaughter, Maria Magdalena Bernard, married Joseph Rolfes in 1865 and they are two of Rita Brunswick's great-grandparents through her Dad's (Brunswick) line. So, Leon and Catherine are Tony's 5x great-grandparents!)

The Bernard Family was from the small town of Réchésy, located in eastern France right on the border with Switzerland. According to his children's birth records, Leon worked as a shoemaker (cordonnier) in the village.

Location of Réchésy, France, courtesy of Google Maps

Last year, when I was working on creating my genealogy map wall, I bought a early 20th century postcard depicting Réchésy.

Early 20th Century Photo of Réchésy

I recently stumbled upon this modern photo of Réchésy (below) on the Panoramio.com website. (Photographer is Mr. Yves Bamberger.) The perspective of both photos is very similar, and it seems as if the village has not changed too much over the centuries. This French Wikipedia page for Réchésy lists population data for the village, starting in 1793 and continuing to 2011. In 1793, four years after the birth of Leon Bernard, the population of Réchésy was 606. It appears that the population grew to 1200+ in the 1880s, but declined in the 20th century. Today there are approximately around 800 people in the town.

Modern-Day Photo of Réchésy (Mr. Yves Bamberger)

The church pictured is L'église Saint Jean-Baptiste. According to this Réchésy heritage website, it was built around 1850-1860, when the population of the town started growing larger. So, this particular structure was not there when the Bernard family lived in the village, but there was surely some sort of smaller chapel/church were residents worshiped and received the Catholic sacraments.

I clipped a few screenshots of the streets of Réchésy from Google StreetView. The streets appear quite hilly, which is to be expected in the foothills of the Alps. There is also a distinctive Alsace architectural look to some of the buildings, which makes the village very picturesque indeed. (Click on images for larger view.)

Image Source: Google Map Street View

Image Source: Google Maps Street View

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to stumble through this cemetery on the hillside!

Image Source: Google Maps Street View

And this screenshot below may actually be my favorite, because of the 'Beurnevesin' directional sign. According to Leon and Catherine's civil marriage record, Catherine Kilker was born in Beurnevesin, Switzerland, a small village located just a few kilometers from Réchésy.

Image Source: Google Maps Street View

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Tombstone Tuesday: Christopher and Catherine Magoto

12/9/2013

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Christopher Magoto and his wife, Catherine Humbert Magoto are buried in Darke County, Ohio's Holy Family Cemetery. They are my husband's 4x great-grandparents through his paternal grandmother's line. Christopher and Catherine were born in the town of Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes, which is located in the Lorraine region of northeastern France. In 1852, they left France with six of their children and sailed to America, entering the country at New York City and subsequently making their way to the small French Catholic communities located in the northeastern portion of Darke County, Ohio. Like most other French and German immigrants in the area, they lived on a farm, grew crops, and raised livestock. Catherine passed away in 1861 at age 49, while Christopher lived until 1892, when he passed away at age 80. He did not remarry after his wife passed away.

When I found both Christopher and Catherine's French civil birth records, I noticed that the ages at death as inscribed on the gravestone were incorrect (fairly common, esp. for immigrants). Also, like most French immigrants in this area, the family changed their surname from 'Magotaux,' which is how it is spelled on Christopher's birth record, to the more phonetic and easily-spelled 'Magoto.' I do love that Catherine's maiden name is included on the gravestone; if only all of our female ancestor's had theirs on their stones - tracing female lines would be so much easier!

Gravestone of Christopher and Catherine (Humbert) Magoto.

Close-up of Christopher Magoto engraving.

Close-up of Catherine Magoto engraving.

Photos courtesy of Find A Grave. Photographed by Bubbysgal and Jenni Monnier

©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Louis Grillot

8/19/2013

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This photo shows the gravestone of Louis Grillot, my husband's 4x great-grandfather. As stated on the stone, he was born in Pareid, France, which is located in Northeast France's Lorraine region. In 1838, when he was 51 years old, Louis and his wife, Marie (Borin) Grillot packed up a few belongings and their seven (living) children, and sailed for America. They entered through the Port of New Orleans and made their way north to Darke County, Ohio, in the western part of the state. Ship manifest records indicate that Louis worked as a mason in France, but turned to farming in America. Louis passed away in 1861. He is buried in Holy Family Cemetery, Frenchtown, Ohio, along with many other French pioneers who settled in this part of Ohio.

Gravestone of Louis Grillot, Holy Family Cemetery, Darke Co, Ohio

Although Louis was born and lived by the name 'Grillot,' his sons adopted the name 'Grilliot' (or sometimes 'Grillio'). The story goes that Louis' name was misspelled on legal documents, and his sons continued to use that spelling instead of the original family name. Louis' birth/baptism record from Pareid, France is shown below. He is the son of Jean Charles Grillot and Jeanne Barbe Curély. His father's brother, Louis Grillot, and his mother's sister, Anne Curély, served as his baptism sponsors. (And because of those relations, we also know the names of Baby Louis' grand-parents, also listed. Aren't these French records wonderful?) These documents can be viewed online at this website. (Images 218-219)

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Tombstone Tuesday: Jean François Aubry (Obry)

5/6/2013

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The tombstone of Jean François Aubry, my husband's 4x great-grandfather. He is buried in Holy Family Cemetery, which is located just northwest of Versailles, Ohio in Darke County. Jean François immigrated to America from France with his wife, Anne Martine Drouot and his three living children, Etienne, Marie Anne, and Auguste. They arrived in New Orleans on April 28, 1840, and made the arduous journey northwards to Darke County in western Ohio, where they would settle and set up a farm. (The daughter Marie Anne married Jean Nicolas Grilliot in 1853.)

Tombstone of Jean Francois Aubry, Holy Family Cemetery

In census and other record sources, the Aubry family is often found under the surname 'Overly' or 'Obry.' The 1850 Agriculture Census shows 'John Overly' owning a small farm of only 50 acres, with 20 acres listed as 'improved' and 30 acres as 'unimproved.' He has two horses, two 'working oxen,' a handful of other cattle, ten sheep, and twelve swine. For the year 1849, he reported producing four tons of hay, 200 bushels of indian corn, ten bushels of oats, and forty pounds of maple sugar.

Jean François passed away April 26, 1873. The tombstone reads, "Priez pour son âme," which means "Pray for his soul" in French.

Jean François' birth record is below. He was born in the town of Herbeuville in the Meuse department of northeastern France. His parents were Nicolas Aubry and Anne Catherine Colnard. The birth record indicates he was born in 1802, which is fairly consistent with the ages listed on his U.S. census schedules. (Even if you CAN read French, don't try to find '1802' in the record below; the date is listed using the French Republican Calendar, and needs to be 'translated' to the Gregorian calendar to figure out that it is indeed 1802.) The tombstone lists his age at death at 66 years, and I believe that the stone is wrong in this case. By the way, you can search Meuse department civil birth, marriage and death records online at the following website: archives.meuse.fr (click on 'Etat civil' to search.)

Jean Francois Aubry Civil Birth Record

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Tombstone Tuesday: Francois Pierre and Marie Celestine Bulcher

1/8/2013

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Holy Family Cemetery, Darke Co, Ohio

This is the headstone of my husband's 4x great-grandparents, Francois Pierre Bulcher and Mary Celestine (Voisinet) Bulcher. They were born and married in the small French village of Evette, which is currently situated in the Territoire de Belfort and located not far from France's eastern borders with both Switerland and Germany.

They came to America through New York as a young married couple in 1847 with a baby daughter named Marie Rose (Mary Rosa), who is my husband's 3x great-grandmother. They entered the country under the surname of "Burtechert." Their journey from France to Western Ohio is chronicled in a biographical sketch of one of their sons, Joseph John Bulcher, which was published in A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio.

"It was a long and tedious voyage from Havre to New York, and by canal they proceeded to Buffalo, by lake to Toledo, and by canal to Berlin*, Ohio, where they arrived in the woods. By ox team they came to Wayne township, Darke county, and the father (Francois) pruchased forty acres of land just over the line in Shelby county, for which he paid three dollars per acre."

*This town of Berlin is now known as Ft. Loramie.

According to U.S. census data, the family lived on this land for about twelve years before moving to Patterson Township in Darke County. Francis and Mary Celestine lived here until they both died in 1907. They were married for sixty years and had twelve children together.

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Foto Friday: Julius and Mary Rosa (Bulcher) Magoto

11/9/2012

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Jules Francois ('Julius') Magoto and Mary Rosa Bulcher are the great-great-great-grandparents of my husband on his dad's side of the family. Julius was born in 1835 in the French town of Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes, which is in the Lorraine region of northeast France. He came to America with his parents, Christopher Magottaux and Marie Catherine Humbert, in 1852. In the 1860 U.S. Census, the family is listed as living in Patterson Township in Darke County, Ohio. (Julius is not listed as he had already gotten married.)

Mary Rosa was born in 1846 in the French town of Belfort, which is located in the Franche-Comté region of northeast France. She came to America as an infant in 1847 with her parents, Francois Pierre Burtechert (or Burtecher) and Marie Celestine Voisinet. In the 1850 U.S. Census, they are living as farmers in Loramie Township (Shelby County), Ohio.

Julius and Mary Rosa were married September 14, 1869 in Frenchtown (Darke Co.), Ohio. It was the second marriage for Julius, as his first wife, Christine Berge, died in 1868 when she was only 28 years old. Julius and Mary Rosa had seven children who lived into adulthood and many more grandchildren.

It was quite common for French immigrants who settled in western Ohio to change the spellings and/or pronunciations of their surnames soon after arriving in America. Sometimes the change was intentional, but quite often it came about as a result of inaccurate transcriptions of the name on official documents, such as land deeds, marriage and birth records, or census schedules.

Before I started researching my husband's family tree, I wasn't aware of the French immigrant influence in rural western Ohio. I had known about the settlement of the German immigrants in the Ohio Valley, probably because their influence was more widespread and they arrived in greater numbers than the French. Most of the churches and towns that were founded by French immigrants in western Ohio in the mid-1800s are still around, and even the influence of the language lives on in certain places. There is a town in Shelby County by the name of 'Russia;' however, it is pronounced "roo-shee," which is actually quite similar to the proper pronunciation of 'La Russie,' which means 'Russia' in French. (You can listen to the French pronunciation here.) Interestingly, though, another western Ohio French settlement by the name of 'Versailles' is actually pronounced 'ver-sales', so the original French pronunciation was lost/changed at some point.

©2012, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Wedding Wednesday: Pierre Francois Burtcher and Marie Celestine Voisinet

Census Sunday: The Voisinet Family, 1860

Those Places Thursday: Réchésy, France

Tombstone Tuesday: Christopher and Catherine Magoto

Tombstone Tuesday: Louis Grillot

Tombstone Tuesday: Jean François Aubry (Obry)

Tombstone Tuesday: Francois Pierre and Marie Celestine Bulcher

Foto Friday: Julius and Mary Rosa (Bulcher) Magoto

Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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