M. 19 Oct 1812 in St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec
Husband: Joseph Mignault dit LaBrie
D. Between 1847 and 1864 in Quebec
The early 19th century was a time of transition in the Côte-du-Sud region of Quebec. Fifty years after the English takeover of Canada, many French-Canadian farmers were finding it harder and harder to scrape out a living. For Marie-Charlotte Dubois, this meant that most of her own children would leave their homeland for a better life in the United States.
Charlotte was born on June 29, 1797 to Michel Dubois and Marie-Josephe Fournier in St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec, the oldest of 8 children. Her father was a farmer who died when she was 12-years old. Charlotte got married just a couple of years later. Her husband, Joseph Mignault dit LaBrie, was about 14 years older than she was, and the wedding took place at St-Joseph-de-la -Pointe-de-Lévy on October 19, 1812. It was a double wedding because her widowed mother got married the same day; it’s notable that her mother’s new husband was actually younger than hers. Both mother and daughter were pregnant the following year and gave birth to sons about six weeks apart.
As was common in French-Canadian families, Charlotte had a large number of children. By the late 1830s, she and her husband had ten children, with two of them being twins. Sadly, she lost her oldest, Joseph, when he died at age 7. In October of 1838, she had her eleventh and final child, Marie-Heloise, who lived for less than a year. By then, the family had moved to St-Chrysostome; later they were in St-Sylvestre, and then St-Norbert d’Arthabaska. Census records suggest that the LaBrie farm wasn’t thriving, and the fact they relocated several times is an indicator of their financial struggle.
After Joseph passed away on July 15, 1846, little is known about Charlotte’s life. She was living at the time of her daughter Marie-Marguerite’s wedding on January 12, 1847, but had died by her son Benjamin’s wedding on November 3, 1864. One-by-one, Charlotte’s children migrated south to the United States, starting with Genevieve and François in about 1848. Most of them settled in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but Adelaide went all the way to northern California. Youngest son Edouard moved to the U.S. for a time, but did migrate to Alberta, Canada during the 1890s. Only Henriette and Benjamin seem to have stayed in Quebec; sadly, Benjamin was in a mental institution when he died.
Charlotte's daughter Adelaide LeMay with her children Paul and Mary in Siskiyou County, California.
Children:
1. Joseph LaBrie – B. 19 Sep 1813, St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec; D. 19 Dec 1820, St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec
2. Genevieve LaBrie – B. about 1815, Quebec; D. 15 Mar 1881, West St. Paul, Minnesota; M. Flavien Roberge (1813-1894), 8 Nov 1834, St-Jean Chrysostome, Quebec
3. Louis LaBrie – B. Nov 1818, Quebec; D. 22 Feb 1903, Minneapolis, Minnesota; M. Julie Fortier (1821-1904), 14 Sep 1841, Sylvestre, Quebec
4. Henriette LaBrie – B. 9 Sep 1822, Arthabaska, Quebec; M. Jean-Baptiste Boucher dit Morency (1819-1873), 27 Apr 1841, Sylvestre, Quebec
5. Jean-Baptiste LaBrie – B. 9 Sep 1822, Arthabaska, Quebec; D. 13 Jun 1905, Barron County, Wisconsin; M. Perpetue Demers (1827-1899), 27 Fe 1843, Blandford, Quebec
6. Marie-Marguerite LaBrie – B. about 8 Mar 1826, St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec; D. about 1888; M. Olivier Demers (~1822-?), 12 Jan 1847, Arthabaska, Quebec
7. Francis A. LaBrie – B. 15 Jan 1828, St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy, Quebec; D. 27 Dec 1909, Minneapolis, Minnesota; M. Eliza Furlong (1830-1912), 23 Jan 1854, St. Paul, Minnesota
8. Benjamin LaBrie – B. (possibly) 1831, Quebec; D. 19 Feb 1907, Arthabaska, Quebec; M. Marie Vachon (~1833-~1896), 3 Nov 1864, Tlingwick, Quebec
9. Marie-Adelaide LaBrie – B. 15 May 1832, St-Jean Chrysostome, Quebec; D. 24 Apr 1915, Yreka, California; M. François Dassisi LeMay (1820-1880), 7 Feb 1853, Ramsey County, Minnesota
10. Edouard LaBrie – B. about 18 Jul 1834, St-Jean Chrysostome, Quebec; M. (1) Catherine Couture, 24 Sep 1860, Tlingwick, Quebec; (2) Josephine
11. Marie-Heloise LaBrie – B. about 16 Oct 1838, St-Jean Chrysostome, Quebec; D. Jul 1839, Quebec
Sources:
Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org
U.S Federal Census records, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1900
Canada Census (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) 1906
Find-A-Grave
