Dr. J. E. Robillard of Southbridge and Lowell

In an attempt to connect another Robillard to my line, I began researching Dr. J..E. Robillard. I had run across his headstone a few years ago and decided it was finally time to figure who he was. Joseph Emile Robillard, D.D.S., had an office in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts for decades. However, before he opened his own practice in Lowell he was employed by the practice of  Dr. T. J. King.

I find this early 20th century advertisement  to be quite humorous.
I wonder if that's Dr. King himself?

A son of Louis Emile and Eliza nee Pinsonneault, Joseph Emile Robillard was probably born on March 19, 1880 in Brookfield, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

Joseph went college in Montreal, as well as in Maryland.. He married Ida Tarte (Joseph, Elisabeth Courville) in 1906 at St. Joseph's church rectory and they had 5 known children.

The following excerpt describing their wedding ceremony was taken from "The Frater of Psi Omega" vol. v, no.1, pub. Nov. 1905. The Supreme Council, Tiffin, Ohio. If you click the image below it will take you to the publication, as it appears on Google Books.

At the time of his death in 1950, Dr. Robillard lived on Harris Ave., located in the Highlands neighborhood in Lowell. Buried together with Ida's parents, Joseph Emile and Ida were interred at Saint-Joseph Cemetery in East. Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 

Joseph Emile Robillard and I are related very distantly. We are 6th cousins 2x removed, with the progenitors being Claude Robillard and Marie Grandin. Below is a quick detailess ahnentafell just to show his direct Robillard line.

  --- 1st Generation ---

1.  Joseph-Emile1 Robillard (1621)

    --- 2nd Generation ---

2.  Louis-Emile2 Robillard (1619) married Eliza Pinsonneault (1620).

     --- 3rd Generation ---

4.  Jean-Baptiste3 Robillard (1617) married Henriette Page (1618).

       --- 4th Generation ---

8.  Raphael4 Robillard (1615) married Marie Louise Vadnais (1616).

        --- 5th Generation ---

16.  Michel5 Robillard (1613) married Marie Josephe Rondeau (1614).

         --- 6th Generation ---

32.  Pierre6 Robillard (1292) married Marie

Angelique Marette dit Lepine dit Richard (1293)  He married Marie-

Jeanne Provost (1398) 

        --- 7th Generation ---

64.  Pierre7 Robillard (822) married Catherine Coutou (836) 

          --- 8th Generation ---

128.  Claude8 Robillard (808) married Marie Binard (812) He married 

Marie Grandin (809)He married Marie-Francoise Guillin (823)

On This Day - Happy Birthday, Uncle Frank

In Search Of: The Burial of Joseph Robillard

Who, according to the article below, drowned in the St-Lawrence River on 14 May, 1937.

HANGS ON TO CAPSIZED SKIFF SIX HOURS
MONTREAL. MAY 14 (INS) -- Two members of the crew of the S.S. Maple Branch dived into the icy waters of the St. Lawrence river today to rescue Joseph Labrecque, clinging to an overturned skiff for six hours.
With Eugene Tremblay and Joseph Robillard, Labrecque had left the home of a friend on the south shore to row back to Montreal.  Their skiff was capsized in the heavy waters and Tremblay and Robillard perished.
The water was so rough when the crew of the freighter perceived Labrecque's plight, a lifeboat could not be lowered and two of the crew went over the side to drag him to safety.

Published in the Lowell Sun 14 May, 1937 p.1.

La Gazette de Joliette: Necrologie de Jerome Robillard - Publie 21 Novembre, 1884

The obituary of my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Jerome Robillard, as it appeared published in "La Gazette de Joliette", Joliette, Quebec, on 21 Nov., 1884.

NECROLOGIE.
----
À Lowell, Mass., le 16 du courant
à l'âge de 59 ans, 3 mois et 27 jours,
est décédé Jérôme Robillard Écuyer
Ex-Agent Seigneurial des Seigneuries
de D'Aillebout et Ramsay. Le
défunt a passé sa vie dans l'enseignement
de la jeunesse et apres 27
années, de dévouement dans cette
carrière il fut nommé Agent pour
les Seigneuries de D'Aillebout et
Ramsey.
Atteint peu après d'une maladie
qui l'obligea à donner sa démission
l'automne dernier; animé du zèle
de l'education de ses enfants, il partit
pour Lowell avec sa famille, le 17
janvier dernier, espérant revenir
bientôt dans sa paroisse. "Le Seigneur
en décide autrement," disait-il
dans les dernier jours de sa vie.
" Eh bien que sa sainte volonté soit
faite." Il montra une résignation
admirable en face de la mort,
et il s'endormit paisiblement dans le Seigneur.

Il laisse pour déplorer sa perte une
épouse cherie et inconsolable et 14 enfants dont 8 qui sont mariés et 6 en bas age.

R. I. P.
--Communique




Thank you, Ruth! The above text was extracted and transcribed by Arielle Major over at La compagnie des arbres. I did attempt to extract and transcribe the text myself,  as you can see below. However, there were quite a few words that I didn't know. Those words have been marked with a question mark. All I can say is that it helps to have friends in those northern places! Thanks again, Ruth!

NECROLOGIE
---
A Lowell, Mass., le 16 du courant
a l'age de 59 ans, 3 mois et 27 jours,
est decede Jerome Robillard. ?
Ex-Agent Seigneurial des Seigneuries
de D'Aillebout et Ramsay, Le
defunt a passe sa vie dans l'ensei-gnement
de la jeunesse et apres 27
annes, de devenement dans cette
carriere il fut nomme Agent pour
les Seigneur de D'Aillebout et
Ramsey.
Atteint ? apres d'une maladie
qui l'? a ? sa demission
l'? dernier ? du ?
de l'education de ses enfants, il par
? pour Lowell avec sa famille, le 17
janvier dernier, esperant revenir
? ? dans sa paroisse. ? "Le Seigneur
decide autrement." disait il
dans les dernier jours de sa vie.
" Eh bien que sa sainte? volonte son
faite." Il montra une resignation
admirable en face de la mort, et il ? ? paisiblement dans le Seigneur.
Il laisse pour deplorer sa perte une
epouse cherie elle inconsolable et 14 
enfants ? 8 qui sont maries et 6 en ? age.

R. I. P.
--Communique

Mappy Monday: 12 West Street, Lowell MA

Happy New Year, everyone!

I've had this little ancestor mapping project on the back burner for a while now. On the back burner I say, mainly because most of the buildings and or addresses that I'm looking for within Lowell don't exist any more. Ideally, I wanted to start with my first known Robillard ancestor to come to the city and map where he or she lived and then climb the ladder, but... that isn't working out too well. So, I guess I'll just go at it all willy nilly like... Who cares, anyway?

12 West St. was the address of the home that my Pepere Robillard and his family lived at in 1930. April 10th, 1930, to be exact. West St. is in Centralville, right off of Lakeview and runs all the way up to Colburn. According to the 1930 census, my Pepere, Joe, was 32 years old that year, as was my Memere, Louise (Wright). Pepere, who was naturalized in 1898, rented his home for $18.00 (is that per week?), and worked as a loomfixer in a silkmill. Memere was home with the kids. The kids, all 5 of them, were between the ages of 2 and half and 13 years. Uncle Jim was the oldest, Uncle Bob the youngest, and, I just have to mention this, Aunt Joan, well... She was on her way. As my Memere was abt 8 months pregnant at this time. What about Uncle Richard and my Dad, you ask? They weren't even a thought in 1930.  Pepere & Memere's neighbors were the Gilbride family at, what appears to be, 14 West St. and the Grotton (or is it Grafton) family at 10 West.

If you look at the map below, you'll see that I marked the current address location.  The house is a very modest one, maybe a starter home, or would you call it a cottage? I do believe the house that is there may be the same house that was there in 1930, although I'm not sure. I keep thinking about the flood of 36 and the more I do the more I doubt that this is the same house. What about the development of the VFW Highway? How did that change the landscape? Shit, I don't even know when it was put in, so I don't know. I tried to do a history of the address at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds website to figure that out, but I was unsuccessful.

The house at the current address in the map below looks white, but I can tell you it's now 2 shades of a really ugly blue. Yes, I went and hunted it down, even took a few photographs early one weekday morning. Uhuh, that was me standing in the middle of your street with the camera. Can you say wackado?

I wonder how long my Pepere & Memere lived on West St, and if my Uncle Bob remembers it. I kinda doubt he does though, he was, after all, only 2 years old and I know my Pepere & Memere moved around a lot. I mean a lot, always following the work I was told... I could, I suppose, revisit the directories to find this out. Someday.

Anyway, I guess I'm going to try and go backwards from here (then forward again, think 1940 census). In 1920 my Pepere lived at 299 Moody, I doubt the actual building still exists and that the street has been renumbered many times? Do they do that? Renumber streets? Of course they do... I'll go see what I can find.


View Larger Map

L'Etoile Tuesday: L'avis Deces Mon Arriere Grand-Mere Mme. Philomene Robillard nee Foucher

Publie dans L'Etoile, Lowell, MA, 4 mars, 1941

DECES
ROBILLARD-- Mme. Philomene Robillard, nee Foucher, citoyenne de cette ville depuis cinquante ans. est decedee hier apres-midi au domicile de sa fille Mme. Fabiola Fournier, 547, rue Moody, a l'age de 71 ans et deux mois, a la suite d'une maladie de plusieurs mois de duree.
Feu Mme. Robillard etait paroissienne de St-Jean Baptiste et etait bien connu dans la paroisse. Elle etait membre de la fraternite du Tiers-Ordre de saint Francois et la congregation des Dames de Ste-Anne. Elle etait aussi membre fondateur de l'Auxilliaire de la Legion franco-americaine.
La defuncte laisse pour pleurer deux filles, Mme Fabiola Fournier et Mme Anita Patenaude, toutes deux de Lowell; trois fils, Rosario Robillard, de North Grosvenordale, Conn; Joseph H. Robillard de Manchester, N. H., et Antonio Robillard de Lowell; un soeur, Mme Rose Robillard de Grosvenordale, Conn. et un frere Theophile Foucher de Fort Benton, et trois arriere-petits-enfants, ansi que plusieurs nieces et neveux.
La depouille mortelle repose en chapelle ardente a la maison funeraire 744, rue Merrimack. C'est de cet endroit que les funerailles auront lieu samedi matin a 9 heures. Un service solennel sera celebre a 10 heures en l'eglise St-Jean Baptiste. Parents et amis sont pries d'y assister. L'inhumation se fera dans le lopin de terre de la famille au cimetiere St-Joseph. Les arrangements funeraires ont ete confies aux ordonnateurs d'enterrement Joseph E. Tremblay.

My translation:

DEATHS
Mrs Philomene Robillard nee Foucher, a citizen of this city for fifty years, died yesterday after noon at the home of her daughter Mrs. Fabiola Fournier, 547, Moody st., at the age of 71 years and two months, following an illness of several months duration.
The late Mrs. Robillard was a parishioner of St-Jean Baptiste and was well known in the parish. She was a member of the fraternity of the Third Order of St. Francis and the congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne. She was also a founding member of the Auxiliary of the La Legion Franco-Americaine.
The deceased leaves to mourn two daughters, Mrs. Fabiola Fournier and Mrs. Anita Patenaude, both of Lowell; three son, Rosario Robillard of North Grosvenordale, Conn., Joseph H. Robillard of Manchester, N. H., and Antonio Robillard of Lowell; a sister, Mrs. Rose Robillard Grosvenordale, Conn.. and a brother Theophile Foucher of Fort Benton, and three great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
The mortal remains are lying in repose at the funeral home 744, Merrimack Street. It is here that the funeral will be held Saturday morning at 9 o'clock. A solemn service will be celebrated at 10 o'clock in the St-Jean Baptiste church.. Family and friends are requested to attend. Interment will be in the family plot at Cimetiere St-Joseph. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to undertakers Joseph E. Tremblay.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Photography by Jim Bruno, 13 November, 1965.

Those Places Thursday: St. Raphael's, Manchester, NH

 Located in Manchester's West Side on Walker St., St Raphael's Church was where, on January 24, 1943, my father was baptized. His sister Rose, who was almost 23 years his senior, and her husband, Leonce Chandonnet, were his godparents.

[Baptisms of Hillsboro County, St Raphael, Manchester, NH, 1888 - 2001, v.2, p. ; Manchester, NH : American-Canadian Genealogical Society, [2008]]

In 1943 , my grandfather,  Joseph Robillard, lived at 28 Second Street, which is located in the same West Side neighborhood as St. Raphael's. Employed by the Stephen Spinning Co. as a foreman, which I believe was located at 186 Granite (also in the same neighborhood), he lived there with his wife, my grandmother, Louise Wright, and I can only surmise, their younger children as well. Also, listed in the directory at this same address, is my uncle Joe who was 25 years my father's senior, and in the Navy at the time.

The pictures above are of a newly constructed church. Well, newly constructed in 1964, that is. The original church, in which my father was baptized, is located on the corner of 3rd and Ferry Streets, behind this "new" church.

According to the parish website, St Raphael's was founded in 1888, with the first public Mass being said on Easter Sunday at the Harrington Hose Co. building, which was also located in Manchester's West Side.

From Wikipedia :

In 1889, Denis M. Bradley, the first bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire, requested that Abbot Boniface Wimmer send monks to his diocese to create a school for French and Irish immigrants. The bishop thought that in order to create harmony among the people of his diocese the best educators for them should be German.^[2] Monks from Saint Mary's Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey, were sent to found Saint Anselm Abbey in 1889.^[3] When they arrived they founded St. Raphael's Parish in Manchester, and they founded Saint Anselm Preparatory School, which would later become Saint Anselm College.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Anselm_Abbey

When I was at St. Raphael's, some time ago, I must have been in the right place at the right time, because while I was taking photos of the church and it's grounds, I met a woman who works in the administrative offices at the school there. She invited me into the old building in which the original church was housed and shared a bit it's history with me. She told me that my father would have been baptized in the basement, as that was where the masses were held at the time. I thought it odd, but then she explained to me that the original building, which you can see above, was not only a church, but held inside it was also a school, rectory, convent, and an auditorium. I was told that the outside of the original building has changed a bit since it was first built in 1891, the top two floors were taken off sometime in 1964 and an entrance to the building was dug out and added at the basement level as well. She then gave me a print (8/125) of a drawing, dated 2006, of the original building, pre 1964, which was sketched in pencil by her brother.

He was a very prominent man

After finding out my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Jerome Robillard, died in Lowell during 1884 a few weeks back, I ran straight out the door down to the library that same day to search some microfilm in hope of finding a death notice published in any of the local newspapers. Unfortunately, L'Etoile was not yet being published at the time (because you know I would have found one there if it had been), so I seearched the Courier and the Lowell Weekly Sun and this is what I found:

Jerome Robillard, who died in "Little
Canada, " Sunday morning, was to have
been taken to Montreal on the express
train Monday evening; but an unforeseen
incident delayed the departure of the re-
mains until Tuesday morning.  Mr. Robil-
lard died of dropsy, his weight from that
cause reaching an enormous figure of 328
pounds.  The box which contained the
coffin was in consequence of unusual di-
mensions and when it was attempted to
put the box into the baggage car of the ex-
press train, Monday evening, it was found
to be over two inches wider than the door.
The door of the baggage care on Tuesday's
morning's train was wide enough to admit
the box, and it was taken on it northern
journey.  The deceased measured over 30
inches about the shoulders, the box con-
taining his remains being three feet wide,
two feet deep and seven feet long.

Published on pg. 8 in the Saturday Evening Lowell Weekly Sun, Lowell, MA, on 22 Nov., 1884

Correction: Jerome Robillard decede en Lowell, Etats-Unis. Yes, he died in Lowell!

How do I say this? Ok, I got it... Simply speaking,  I ef'd up. Yup, I did, and big time too.  And, just how did I ef up, you ask? Well, last night when I was messing around at Find A Grave, (have I ever mentioned that I love Find A Grave) adding a few new memorials and what not, I was checking the info that I was entering at FAG against information that's available in the Massachusetts Deaths (1841 - 1915) database at FamilySearch, and when I had finished at FAG, I decided that I would, just for shits & giggles, mind you, revisit my Robillards in that database at FamilySearch. Maybe there was something new there that I hadn't seen before, or something that I had  previously overlooked. So, I typed my surname in the search field and began looking....  And, at first glance, I didn't believe my eyes, I was like wtf is this? But then, I remembered... I didn't even have to look at the image to know what it was that I had found, I already knew.

What I found was an 1884 register entry from the city of Lowell, Massachusetts for the death of my great-great-grandfather, Jerome Robillard. Yes, the same Jerome Robillard (Louis, Marie Genevieve Riberdy) who was the husband of Sophie Moussin dit Lajoie. The same Jerome Robillard who was the husband of my great-great grandmother, Sophie Riberdy, and father of  Sophie (1848), Marie Henriette (1850 - 1919), Jerome Alfred (1852 - 1853), Marie Philomene (1854), Joseph Jerome (1856), Joseph Charles Omer (1857 - 1857), Louis Octavien (1858 - 1933) Marie Melanie Lea (1860), Marie Louise Parmelia Cordelia Amanda (1861), Louis Joseph Anselme (1863 - 1863), Marie Louise Melanie (1864 -1864), Emelie (1864 -1864), Joseph Arsene (1865 - 1866), Louis Gaspard Alfred (1866 -1914), Louis Arsene (1867), Joseph Arthur (1867 - 1937), Marie Louise Leontine (1868 - 1911), Marie Amanda (1870 -1897), Pierre Jerome Gaspard (1871), Joseph Gustave Alcide (1872 - 1873), Joseph Octave Zenon (1874 - 1875), Joseph Napoleon (1876 -1876), and Louis Joseph Zenon (1877 - 1918).

The same Jerome Robillard that I have in my database, and plastered all over the web, as dying in Ste-Melanie. Joliette County, Quebec on 16 Nov., 1884.

Well, HE DIDN'T,  according to this register entry, JEROME ROBILLARD DIED IN LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS on 16 Nov., 1884. I guess I could claim ignorance on my part, because I had never, before this day, laid my eyes on this register entry from Lowell, but I won't. Because, somehow I knew...

When I read Jerome's burial record back in 08, I knew something wasn't right, and I asked for translation help, but.... Well, there's no one to blame but myself. Live and learn, I guess. The big whoop dee doo in all of this is the misinformation I so graciously propagated, it's all over the frikken place. Needless to say, I have a mess to clean up. Thank goodness it is only a small one (well, smallish), but it's still a mess. So, before I go off traipsing all over the web trying to fix the error of my ways, let's examine this newly found register entry a little, shall we?.

If you look at the familysearch index information  for this register entry it has the event place as being in Canada, and I can only say that this has got to be wrong. Because, if you look at the actual registry entry (below) and the column that reads "RESIDENCE AND PLACE OF DEATH, and BURIAL (if elsewhere)", you will see two little apostrophes followed by the word Canada,  well this " " is a ditto mark, and means that he was buried in Canada. Just look at the first entry in this column,  and you'll see. Also, in this register entry his parents are documented as being Louis and Mary, this is partially correct. His father was Louis, yes. But, his mother was Marie Genevieve Riberdy.  Could she have been referred to as Mary or Marie by who ever the informant was, it's possible, but I believe she went by the name of Genevieve. And lastly, you will see that it documents Jerome's parents as being born in France. This too, is wrong. Jerome's father, Louis Robillard, was born in St-Sulpice, L'Assomption, Quebec,
[PRDH, bapteme no.674684; Louis Robillard]
and his mother, Genevieve, in St-Cuthbert, Berthier, Quebec
[Gabriel  Drouin, Institut Généalogique Drouin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Le Fonds Drouin 1621-1967, Quebec Vital Records: database online, ancestry.com, http://ancestry.ca/default.aspx, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, Utah; 1805, St-Cuthbert Co-Berthier, PQ, p.6, B. M. Genevie Riberdy, Register Photocopy of the Greffe of Joliette. ancestry image6/40].

Now, this Lowell register entry has me curious,  who was the informant?. I would also like to know exactly where in Lowell Jerome died.  It states he died from fatty degeneration, so was he in the hospital when he died?. Had he come to Lowell to be treated for an illness? I don't know. But I certainly want to find out.


I guess I'm glad I found this Lowell register entry. It has taught me to be more careful when reading the parish registers from Quebec (one must pay attention to grammar, when it's used), and to research questionable information more thoroughly. I can't say if the Lowell register entry was online back in 08 when I did my initial research, but I should have at least explored the possibility that he could have died here in Lowell. Because, it was, after all, right there in his burial record. I just couldn't see it.

[Gabriel  Drouin, Institut Généalogique Drouin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Le Fonds Drouin 1621-1967, Quebec Vital Records: database online, ancestry.com, http://ancestry.ca/default.aspx, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, Utah; 1884, Ste. Melanie D'Aillebout, Co-Joliette, P.Q., pg. 15, S.29 Jerome Robillard, Register Photocopy of the Greffe of Joliette. ancestry image 15/18.]

My extraction & transcription

S.29ieme
Jerome Robillard
Le dix-neuviemes jour de Novembre, mil huit cent quatre vingt
quatre, nous pretre cure sosusigne, avons inhume dans la cave
de l'Eglise de cette paroisse le corps de Sieur Jerome Robillard,
legitime epoux de Sophie Riberdy, de Lowell, E. U., decede le
seiziem jour de ce mois age de cinquante neuf ans trois mois
et vingt sept jours. Ont ete temoins Gaspard Robillard fils
du defunt et Hermenglide Bourgeault instituteur, de cette
paroisse, et tous deux soussigne. Lecture faite

/s/ H. Bourgeault Inst
/s/ G. Robillard
/s/ F Jeannotte Ptre cure.

& my translation:

S.29ieme
Jerome Robillard
On the nineteenth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty
four, I the undersigned parish priest, did bury in the cellar
of the church of this parish the body of Mr. Jerome Robillard, 
lawful husband of Sophie Riberdy, of Lowell, U. S., who died  
on the sixteenth day of this month at the age of fifty nine years three months
and twenty seven days. Witnessed by Gaspard Robillard son 
of the deceased, and Hermenglide Bourgeault schoolmaster of this 
parish, both undersigned. Reading made.

/ s / H. Bourgeault Inst
/ s / G. Robillard
/ s / F. Jeannotte ptre cure.

Wordless Wednesday: Pepere & Memere Robillard - 1965

L'Etoile Tuesday: Les Avis de Deces de Mon Arriere-Grand-Pere, Joseph-Arthur Robillard

L'Etoile, once a very popular Franco-American newspaper, was published in Lowell, MA from 1886 up until 1957,  it's available for viewing on microfilm at several repositories in the area, including the Pollard Memorial Library in downtown Lowell.

Publie samedi, 30 janvier, 1937 dans L'Etoile, Lowell, Massachusetts, Etats Unis.

DECES
---------
ROBILLARD --Nous sommes au regret d'announcer le deces ce matin de l'um de nos vieux concitoyens, M. Joseph-Arthur Robillard, a sa demeure au no 90 rue Aiken appartiement 9, apres un longue maladie suportee avec une patience exemplaire, a l'age de 69 ans, 3 mois et 19 jour. M Robillard, qui demeurait en cette ville depuis 50 ans, etait tres bien connuet estime  de tous. Il laisse dans le deuil son epouse, Mme Philomene Robillard, nee Foucher; deux filles, Mme. Leo Patenaude et Mme Francois Fournier de cette ville; trois fils, MM Rosario et Heria Robillard de Central Falls R.I. et M. Antonio Robillard de Lowell; et un frere, M. Jerome Robillard de Cohoes, N. Y. Il etait membre de la Ste-Famille de la paroisse St-Joseph et des Forestiers Catholique, Cour Ste-Antoine, no 566. Les funerailles auront lien mardi matin a 8 heures de la demeure mortuaire au no 90 rue Aiken appartement 39. A 9 heures a l'eglise St-Jean-Baptiste son service solemnel sera celebre avec diacre, sous-diacre et choeur de chant. Parents et amis sont pres d'y assister. l'inhummation aura lieu dans le lot de la famille au cimetiere St-Joseph. MM Amdee Archambault et Fils on la direction des funerailles.

My translation:

DEATHS
---------
ROBILLARD - We regret  to announce, this morning, the death of one of our older citizens, Mr. Joseph-Arthur Robillard, at his residence no. 90 Aiken Street apartment 9, after a long illness, endured with exemplary patience, at the age of 69 years, 3 months and 19 days. Mr. Robillard, who lived in this town for 50 years, was well known, and held in high esteem by all. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Philomene Robillard, nee Foucher; two daughters, Mrs. Leo Patenaude and Mrs. Francois Fournier of this city; three sons, Mr. Rosario Robillard, and Heria Robillard of Central Falls R. I., and Mr. Antonio Robillard of Lowell; and a brother, Mr. Jerome Robillard of Cohoes, N. Y. He was a member of Ste-Famille of St-Joseph Parish and the Catholic Foresters, Court of St. Antoine, No. 566. The funeral will be Tuesday morning at 8 o'clock in the funeral home at no. 90 Aiken Street apartment 39. At 9 o'clock at St-Jean-Baptiste, a service will be celebrated with solemn deacon, subdeacon, and choir singing. Family and friends are requested to attend. Interment will take place in the family lot at Cimetiere St-Joseph. Funeral under the direction of Mr. Amdee Archambault and Son.

Amanuensis Monday: Petition for Naturalization- Joseph Arthur Robillard

Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme, originating at John Newmark's Transylvania Dutch, the theme encourages the transcription of family letters, journals, and other historical artifacts.

Last winter, Diane Leedburg Laferriere, a fellow member of the GLGC, and I took at trip to the NARA at Waltham, and this was one of the documents I rec'd.  Joseph Arthur, as if you didn't already know, was my paternal great grandfather : )
 
[Police Court, Lowell, Mass - Minor Series, Vol. 1892 - 1897;  Pet.  No. 1, pg. 645]


Commonwealth of Massachusetts

MIDDLESEX, SS.
To the Honorable the Justice of the Police Court of Lowell, holden at Lowell, in
the District of Lowell, in said County of Middlesex on the            Thirteenth       
day of September A. D. 1895.

RESPECTFULLY REPRESENTS                   Joseph Arthur Robillard         
of Lowell,               in said County, an alien, that he was born at       Ste Melanie
                           P.Q                         , in           Canada              , within
the dominions of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
                                                                                                                      
on the       twelfth       day of               Oct                , A.D. 1867, and is now
     twentyseven         years of age, that he emigrated from      Canada        and
arrived at         Lowell           , in the United States of America, on or about the
fifteenth day of              Jauy [sic]                , A. D. 1884, being then a minor under
the age of eighteen years, to wit, of the age of        seventeen      years, that he
has ever since resided withing the United States, being more than five years now last past,
that he now resides at No.              36 Aiken Ave                                Street, in
Lowell,                                 , in the District of Lowell, in said County of Middlesex,
and that his occupation is that of a                  weaver            ; that he desires and
it has been for three years last past, his bona-fide intention to become a citizen of
the said United States, and to renounce all allegiance, and fidelity to every foreign
prince, potentate, state and sovereignty whatsoever, and particullary to Victoria, Queen                                             as aforesaid, and that he has duly filed in said Police Court  of Lowell his application for Naturalization.  Wherefore he prays to be admitted by this Honorable Court to become a citizen of the said United States, according to the laws in such cases made and provided.

                                                                      /s/   Joseph Arthur Robillard  

MIDDLESEX, SS. SEP 20 1895, 189     .  Signed and sworn to,

                                                                     /s/ Edward W Trull
                                                                                           Asst clerk.


[Police Court, Lowell, Mass - Minor Series, Vol. 1892 - 1897;  Pet. No. 1, pg. 645A]

WE,                Camille Roussin           residing at No.             3 Salem         
Street, in             Lowell                    , and            Joseph Roy             , residing
at  No.      4 Willie Ave           street, in                        Lowell                 , both in said County, and both citizens of the United States of America, on oath, severally depose and say, that we have known         Joseph Arthur Robillard             , the foregoing petitioner, for more than five years last past, during all which time he has resided within the United States of America, and at least on year thereof in said Commonwealth, that he has during that time behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same; that he arrived in the United States while a minor aforesaid, and resided in said United States five years before he arrived at the age of twenty-one years,  and that we verily believe it has been, for three years past, his bona-fide intention to become a citizen of this United States.

                                                                       /s/ Camille Roussin
                                                                       /s/ Joseph Roy

MIDDLESEX, SS. SEP 20 1895 189     . Signed an sworn to:

                                                                       /s/ Edward W Trull
                                                                                             Asst clerk

I,  Joseph Arthur Robillard do solemnly swear that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state and sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,                                           whose subject I have heretofore been, that I have never been any of the orders of nobility, nor borne any hereditary title, and that I will suppoert the Constitution of the United States of America.
So help me God.
                                                                      /s/ Joseph Arthur Robillard

MIDDLESEX, SS. SEP 20 1895 189   
                     Sworn and admitted a citizen
                                                                     /s/ Edward W Trull
                                                                                           Asst Clerk

Remembering Them Fondly: James Francis Robillard (1916 - 2011)

James F. Robillard, Rose Chandonnet nee Robillard, Pauline Robillard nee Barraclough, and Leonce Chandonnet

 Although I was just a child when I first met my uncles and aunts that are pictured above, and didn't see them much, if at all, throughout my life, I do remember them fondly. This photograph was taken on a day that will live on in my memory. A day that will always be close to my heart. A day when we all came together to celebrate who we were, and where we came from. Let us never forget.

On This Happy Mother's Day

Using TMG's companion utility product On This Day I am able to take a look into my database on any given day and see the events that occurred.

Louis-Arsene Robillard married Josephine Albert in 1887.

Cecile Godin dit Bellefeuille died in 1804.

And, Emilie Robillard was born in 1810. Today is also my Aunt Joan's birthday. Happy birthday, Aunt Joan!

On This Day: The Marriage of Joseph Achille Robillard & Delia Lepine

Joseph Achille Robillard, son of Octavien Robillard & Marie-Louise Naud, married Delia Lepine, daughter of Urgel Lepine and Elisse Beauchin (?), on 1 May, 1919 at the parish church of Ste-Melaine, Joliette County, Quebec. Joseph Achille Robillard was my first cousin 2x removed, and I am working on extracting the text below in order to translate it. I haven't done too many marriage records, so this may take me some time.

Update 3 May 2011: Here is my transcription thus far, a translation will follow once I am finished.

Le premire Mai mil neuf cent dix neuf. Apres le publication d'un ban de mariage faite au prone le notre messe paroissiale entre Achille Robillard, cultivateur, fils majeur de Octavien Robillard, cultivateur, et Marie Louise Naud de cette paroisse d'une part, et Delia Lepine fille majeure de Urgel Lepine, cultivateur, et de Elisse Beauchin (?) de cette paroisse d'autre part. ? la dispene de deux bans a le mariage accordie par Mgr...

Marriage records are so hard for me. I mean, I can always pluck out the important stuff, like dates and names, and I can tell if there's been a dispensation of consanguinity or affinity, but getting the rest right can be quite the challenge. Any help that anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated : )

[Gabriel Drouin, Institut Généalogique Drouin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Le Fonds Drouin 1621-1967, Quebec vital records, 1919, Ste-Melanie, Joliette, P.Q., pg 6, M. 1, Achille Robillard & Delia Lepine, register photocopy to the Greffe of Joliette]

Robillard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robillard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robillard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robillard is a surname of French or Breton origin. It is not uncommon in Canada and is known in certain areas of the United States, namely New England. People with this last name include:

• Alexander Robillard, Canadian politician
• Claude Robillard, the City of Montreal's first director of Urban Planning
• Duke Robillard, acclaimed blues guitarist and singer
• Elizabeth Robillard, Anglo/Canadian Actress and Holistic Medicine & Science Researcher
• G. Xavier Robillard, American writer, humorist
• Honoré Robillard, Canadian politician, brother of Alexander
• Lawrence Robillard, Anglo/Canadian Quantum Mechanic Theoretical Scientist
• Lucienne Robillard, Canadian politician
• Melanie Robillard, Canadian curler

Robillard may also refer to the:

• Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, a multi-purpose sports facility in Montreal, Quebec. It is named after the previously mentioned Claude Robillard

Categories: French-language surnames | Breton-language surnames | Breton loanwords | Disambiguation pages

In Memory of Jerome C. Robillard - Jan 2, 1943 - Feb. 22, 2009

Once In A Life

Once in a life 

They loved so dear

only wanting to be near

Sharing together a dream

happiness abound

Illness took over

they were stricken

Sad in his own way

he watched her slip away

Angry at the thought

was it all for not

Just some words I jotted down on paper a few years ago in regard to my father's feelings towards my mother's death.

Memories From Fern

..and a few ramblings from yours truly.

Rec'd from a childhood friend of my father's and shared with his permission.

Michelle,

   I was cruising your site and was delighted to find not only the information on the Chandonnets (which you had previously discussed with my wife, Ann, I think), but also the photos of the Robillard family reunion -- which evoked a lot of memories about your family.

   I was friends with your father, Jerry, when he lived on West 6th St.

   Did he ever tell you about the brand-new (VERY unusual among us street kids) Shelby bicycle his parents gave him? It had a Donald Duck head sitting on the fender in front of the fork. I gave him much grief about that. Another fond memory (though not one of HIS favorites) was when a bunch of us were playing in the "sand bank" that was then behind the Greenhalge school. Jerry volunteered to be buried, pirate-victim-like, in the sand up to his neck. So we buried him. After a time, he started shouting that something was biting him, though he didn't really seem all that concerned. So we let him stay buried. But then his yells became very loud (Jerry could really yell -- I estimate they could hear him in Billerica) and we dug him out. It seems some little red ants had found him and attempted to eat him. We all agreed -- except for Jerry -- that it had been a fine experiment indeed.

  As I looked over the photos, I was amazed at the uncanny resemblance there was (is?) between Joanie Robillard and my cousin Claire -- Leonce's daughter. (I don't have any symbol insertion with this Wild Blue mail service. If I did, I'd put the acute accent over the "e" in Leonce.)

   Thanks again for the memories.

Fernand Leonce Chandonnet, godson of my uncle Leonce -- and a GREAT fan of my Aunt Rose (I'll tell you some memories about her sometime) -- and greatgrandson of Pierre Zotique and Sephora (also in need of an acute accent).

Michelle,
   Good to hear from you.
   I believe your father left West 6th at about the time he entered high school. I remember he moved far, far away. So it might have been to South Lowell? I was sorry to see him go because of all the urchins in our surroundings I thought him one of the most intelligent and enterprising. Did he ever tell you about his appearance on television? (I believe it might have been on WBUR, out of Manchester, N.H.?) His school had gathered a few students together with a skit that included singing, as I remember, and square-dancing.
   Our gang did NOT square dance, so I thought it brave and independent of him even to consider doing it.
   Other snippets of memory are starting to pop up. Jerry and I spent a lot of time at a pool room in the Rosemont -- just over Beaver Brook on Beaver Street. The place had been a failing variety store, which the creative owner turned into a "club" for which he charged dues. Jerry was a pretty good player, as I remember.
   Also, he liked to sing, and it was not unusual to hear him singing some currently popular tune. I have a sound picture in my mind of him singing a tune that was on the juke box at the "club" that was by a duo named Patience and Prudence.
   Jeez-muh-neez!
   Here's another snippet. On hot summer days, we'd walk up to the Christian Hill area to the McPherson Playstead -- what we used to refer to as the Mayflower. There was a baseball diamond and bleachers there, tennis courts, and a large though shallow "swimming" pool made of concrete. We kids used to array ourselves around the pool on blankets when we weren't splashing around. I remember one time when Jerry was changing from his swim suit back into his clothes while under his blanket. His older brother "Richie," as we called him, tore the blanket from him and left him to writhe and scream, naked on the grass.
  Richie could be a plague, not only to us smaller kids, but to Jerry as well.
   I must say, though, that I found the other brothers that I met -- Bob and Frank in particular -- some of the friendliest and nicest folks I'd ever known.

So, Uncle Richard was the neighborhood bully <3 Ha ha, just kidding Uncle Richard.

When my father was dying we talked a lot when we were alone, and I'd like to share the bits and pieces of what he told me.

It was Fern's mother, nee Blanche Duchesne, that taught him how to play cribbage, she must have been really good, cause my Dad sure was. He remembered her fondly. He said she would place him on her knee while she was playing and that is how he learned. He told me about her part of her lung being removed and how Fern had to go into the orphanage because she was in the hospital for a long time. He said she was always really nice to him. Always.

Living in a tenement block around where Vic's parking lot is now, he also told me that he had to take baths in the kitchen in an old wash tub, because there wasn't a bathtub in the room where the toilet was, and when his sister Rose moved into the house with her kids, he and all his male Chandonnet nephews (who were abt. his age, if not a bit older) shared a bed.

Another time, he told me that he was sent to live in Alabama with his sister Rose and her husband. He said his sister worked, so he was sent to an old woman's house every morning before school. He said it was this woman who would give him a peanut butter and mayo sandwich everyday for lunch... Now, I think that's just gross, and I believe he did too because the expression on his face while he was telling me this story was one of pure disgust... But it's funny in a way, as all of this all came up in conversation one day when I was making his lunch. I can't remember exactly what I said, I think I jokingly offered to make him a peanut butter and banana sandwich (he used to love peanut butter before he got sick), and just the suggestion of it triggered this memory.

He also told me about how he met my mother, but I'll get to that later.

The Newspaper Reference Book of Canada - Louis Gaspard Robillard

My first cousin, 1x removed, Christopher Robillard (grandson of my Uncle Jim), just sent me the link to this biogrraphy, so I just had to share.. If you would like to read a few previous blog posts in regard to my research of L-G and his family please click here.. Otherwise, please click the image below to go to Google Books in order to read the below biography in full.