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Hilda Bernier 1862-137

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 Hilda Bernier  5 May 1862- 28 August 1937   Hilda was my great-grandmother.  She was born, according to the marriage record, in 'River Du Lac', Canada, although I believe Trois Pistoles, L'Islet, Quebec is probably more accurate.  Her parents were Francois Bernier and Marceline Pineau.   Hilda immigrated to the US when she was about 21 years old in 1883, most likely looking for work.   On 3 July 1885 in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire, Hilda, unmarried, gave birth to a son, William. Hilda married Joseph Robert Arthur Giroux on 14 September 1886 in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.  The marriage record reflects Hilda's name as Hilda PERRY.  No record of marriage prior to this one has been found so this is a mini-mystery for me.   On 5 February 1887 in Dover, Hilda's son, William, age 1 1/2, passed away from meningitis.  The place of his burial is unknown.  His birth and death certificates give ...
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Robert Arthur Giroux 1863-1911

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 Giroux/Gero/Giro/Geroux/Jerome Mystery #1 involves Joseph Robert Arthur Giroux, born 26 April 1863 in Island Pond, Essex County, Vermont, and died 1 October 1911 in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire.  He was my great-grandfather. The earliest official record of  him is the 1871 Canadian census which lists the following household in Drummondville, Nicolet, Nicolet-Yamaska, Quebec Canada: Janne' Giroux, age 33 Genevieve, Giroux age 40 Alfred Guilmette age 11 Napoleon Guilmette, age 9 Joseph Giroux, age 8 Edward Giroux, age 5 Marie Giroux, age 1 Although the record reflects that everyone in that family was born in Canada, later documents reflect that all the children were born in Island Pond, Vermont.   This is the ONLY record I have ever found that shows Janne' AKA John Giroux. Genevieve AKA Jane, whose maiden name was Danys or Danis, had been previously married to Maxime Guilmette. They were married on 29 July 1856 in St Guillaume-d' Upton, Quebec, Canada....
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All Things Family

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 The family of man--or in this case, the family of this woman.  I have been obsessed with family history since I was a teenager, many more years than I'm willing to admit to, but it's all my father's fault.  Dad began his quest for answers back in the 1970s, literally the stone age of genealogy.  Dad's initial quest was to find information about his father, a man he'd never met, nor did he have any information about at all beyond his name and the fact that he'd been in the Navy. Dad grew up amongst his mother's family.  The people in his maternal family who could possibly answer the questions Dad had were unwilling to do so. Dad's quest turned out to be bittersweet.  He found out that his father had been killed in 1938, actually murdered, when Dad was 8 years old.  Dad was able to meet his father's former wife and learn a wealth of information about the paternal half of his DNA.  With every answered question, Dad wanted to know even more about his...
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