FRANCIS JOSEPH O'BRIEN

We have talked about James O'Brien and siblings.

In 1919, James and Francis bought a lot in the St-Patrick cemetary,

 

 on what was then called Cape Rouge Road

Les ut talk about his younger brother Francis "Frank" Joseph, who  seems to have followed in his footsteps closely. As mentioned before, he was also at the CPR, working as messenger in 1911, aged 21.
As many Irish, he found work at the infamous Ross Rifles factory during the war.
 

For more on the problems and scandal of the Ross Rifles, see ROSS RIFLES

After the war, it also started working as a telegrapher, and in 1922, he was mentioned as the President of the Quebec City branch of theTelegraphers' Union. It would appear that Francis continued to live on Champlain street until his death, in the 1950's.

           source

Let us look briefly at Francis' wife, Mildred Rose McLauglin Leonard. She is related as we can see to the now famous Wexford House establishment on Champlain street, which is now the Hayden Wexford  Bed & Breakfast.
HAYDENWEXFORD

Mildred's great grand father was the first owner of this inn.

Mildred was 3 years younger than her husband, and also hailed from the Champlain Ward area. Her father James was also a dockworker, or a stevedore (STEVEDORE), like the O'Brien's. In 1911, they lived at 424 Champlain, in the Cap Blanc area.
Her mother was Elizabeth O'Leary, born in Ste-Foy/Sillery (église St-Colomb). The families on her mother's side (Elizabeth Connolly), also came in Canada before the famine, from county Monaghan (Connolly and Curran). On her father's side, the O'Leary or Leary and O'Neil came from county Kerry.

James O'Brien and his family

James Jim O'Brien, died in 1955, before most of his grandchildren got to know, him and even those who did see him, were very young. The memories lived on through the stories of the children, Jacqueline, Gerry, Virginia, Mary, Pat, Marg, Mark and Roger, ...but where did he come from ?

 He himself did not get to know his grandparents, as he was born in Nov 1887, grandfather James died in 1884 (he was born in Ireland) and Ellen Foley, in Dec 1887, at 60. James the senior was about 74 at time of death.

James' parents are Thomas O'Brien, the first child of James and Ellen Foley (though he had half-siblings from James' first wife, Mary Power), born in 1854 (died 1917) and Margaret Bolger (1862-1916), daughter of Francis Bolger and Margaret Baker. More on them later...

Here is James family, and as we see, out of 10 children the couple had, 3 died at a very young age, and 2 others in their 20's or 30's. One died accidentally in his 40's, as a fireman. One daughter lived on for many years, and is well known in the family as "Doll"...Irene or Eirein, (died  in 1991, aged 87 years).

So the family did not leave so many children, other than James and Maria.  It has to be said, I was not able to find whatever happened to Frances Charlotte Fanny, born in 1892...One explanation can be the following, but it is not certain.

There is no record of her on the 1901 census, and in 1897, a "son" Francis is dead, along with Thomas. Therefore, we may assume the Francis who dies is actually Frances Charlotte, as the age is 4 years and 6 months. 

 

Siblings of James J O'Brien

1) Catherine born in 1886, died of convulsions after 2 weeks. Her sponsors were James Bolger, the mother's brother, and Mary B O'Connor (unknown so far).

2) We know about James already, whose sponsors were John O'Connor, husband of Margaret's sister, Frances Fanny. They would continue to live in Quebec City, unlike most of the other Bolgers and spouses...His birth must have brought joy as it was exactly one year after Catherine's death...

3) Francis Joseph was born in 1890, and would be close to James it seems, as he also worked at the CNR and QCT eventually, though he was working at Ross Rifles, on the Plains of Abraham during WWI. His sponsors were James Bolger (probably James Richard, brother of Margaret) and Matilda McDermott, whom I am not sure about (there is a Matilda McDermott, daughter of Ed and Matilda Bolger, but she would have been about 6 years old...). This is something to clear up if possible.

Anyway, Francis went on to marry Mildred Rose McLaughlin Leonard (born in Quebec of James and Elizabeth O'Leary) . They had 5 boys.

 3a) I have not been able to find anything on all of them, but Joseph James Gerard married Rita Pottle in 1941 (herself related to the Bolgers) and they had children some of them still living in the Quebec City area.

3b) Walter Henry married Margaret Belland in 1941, but I am not aware of any children. Of note is that James Jim O'Brien was the sponsor for Walter Henry.

3c) Thomas Francis, who had Irene "Doll" as sponsor, married Grace Catherine Adams in 1948. 

3d) Patrick Cyril married Joan Mabel Seale, (1953) in what seemed a mondaine event as it was covered in the QCT...

3e)Michel Gerard died at a very young age, the sponsors were James's brother Richard and his wife Agnes "Aggie" Redmond.

4) The fourth child  of Thomas and Margaret was Frances Charlotte,born in 1892, but as mentioned above, she could have been confused with a boy named "Francis" who dies in 1897, at the same time as another brother. It could be a mistake too, as it is mentioned "son". Whatever the reason, the fact is no trace is found of her in latter years (1901 and 1911 census). The sponsors were Edward O'Connor and Bridget Fiztgibbon).

5) Thomas Patrick next was born in 1894, and died the same day as Francis or Frances (sponsors Peter Wheeler and Caroline Bolger) in Jan 1897 of diphteria, one of the major causes of youth mortality at the time. Anti-diphteria vaccination will become available from that year in Quebec, following a few outbreaks, especially in the working class areas such as Champlain Ward where the family lived. Nothing close to what it looks like today !

6) Veronica Margaret born (James Bolger and Margaret O'Brien a sister of Thomas) in 1896, and she married Patrick Kelly, and Englishman living in Thunder Bay, in 1921, in the same city. Unfortunately, she died in 1929, of "coronary occlusion and phlebitis". It falsely indicates the country of birth of her father Thomas as Ireland...They apparently had no children, but her departure from Quebec City was noted in the QCT (I guess JJ working there helped...)

7) In 1898, another son was born, Thomas Richard, but he died one month after birth of heart failure. Sponsors were not related to the family it seems, John C Howe and  Mary Ann Rourke. One John C Howe could be John Columbus Howe, a physician living in Champlain Ward.

8) About a year later, in 1899, Mary Ellen was born, under the sponsorship of Edward McDermott, husband of Matilda Bolger. She died young as well, at age 23. The QCT reported on it:

9) Richard Benjamin was born in 1901(Edward and Margaret O'Connor), and in 1925, he married Agnes Ann "Aggie" Redmond, who  lived on for 90 years until 1987. She was the daughter of Michael and Mary Roche, an Irish family also living in the Champlain Ward, and her father was also a shiplabourer...They had one son, Michael Harold. Richard died during a call for a fire, in 1943.
We know that in 1917, Richard and the family lived on St-Oliver (or Olivier) street, as he was drafted for WWI.

10) The last child for Thomas and Margaret was Eirein (Irene) "Doll", born in 1904 (Edward and Matilda McDermott), and she remained a spinster. Much could be told about her, and we will leave it at that for now...




So the O'Brien/Bolger family suffered much from disease and bad luck at the time, not surprising for those families living in the working class district of Champlain Ward at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. As can be seen here in a picture from around 1900 on rue Petit Champlain, it was not a touristic area...

The family lived there, as we know already, until at least 1911. In 1884, Thomas O'Brien married Margaret Bolger at St-Patrick's The witnesses were James Atherden (George and Ellen Quinn, he married Mary Ann Burns 1898 and Johanna Muloney before) and Rose O'Connor, as well. They probably lived at 382 Champlain, according to the Cherrier Directory.


Somewhere along this street...
rue Champlain today

The children and parents caught on camera...

Brothers and sisters with wives and other relatives having some fun

 The O'Brien family loved sports, we see them often on skis, but curling, hockey, baseball, etc. were part of life, and of course curling and boxing almost a profession for Gerry, the lone survivor of the clan...

Jim and Maria with girls, despite some flash problem...

Add caption

 All three boys went overseas during WWII, Roger being a turret gunner, Gerry and Mark part of the occupying forces. When Gerry came back, a little party was organized at the cottage (Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval ?)

Retirement in 1952 was celebrated with the family, most of them anyway, as some had moved to Montreal, Hull and Macamic.

3 of the sisters with friend at Lac Beauport ski resort where ironically came the first O'Brien in Canada, when it was called St-Dunstan, in the 1830's. Patricia, Mary and Kate.

 Mary, Kate and Jacqueline by the Montmorency river.

Maria and Jim with family members, among them Pierrette, Liliane, Veronique and Virginia

Family members meet on the occasion of Mark and Veronique's 25th wedding anniversary, Legion Hall,
on McMahon street, Quebec City. One son is missing, Roger, who died in 1965, 10 years after Jim.



 

February 2011, members of the extended family and friends celebrated the 90th birthday of Gerry, seen here with his wife Pierrette Prévost.

James and Maria

In the Quebec Chronicle of Nov 26, we find the following article, containing an unfortunate mistake for the bride's name (she is called "Francine" Laperrière),  we learn that they went on a honeymoon by train to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and that JJ received a "purse of gold" from his former emploter, CPR, and also from his actual employer, G.N.W. Telegraph. We can guess he was well regarded by his employers...

Quebec Chronicle, 1912, Nov 26, page 4, source BANQ

La GNW Telegraph a disparu en 1915
Canadian Pacific Railway Telegraphs commenced commercial telegraph service between Lake Superior and the Rockies in 1885, extended soon to Ontario and thereafter to Atlantic Canada, breaking Western Union's monopoly. Perhaps attributable to this new competition, the Great North Western Telegraph Co faced bankruptcy and was taken over by the telegraph subsidiary of Canadian Northern Railway Co on 1 January 1915. The railway itself was in financial difficulty, however, and was soon purchased by the federal government, subsequently forming a component of Canadian National Railways Co. In this way Great North Western Telegraph Co became Canadian National Telegraph Co.
Citation from Canadian Encyclpedia (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007903)


Voici les adresses où JJ aurait pu travailler à ce moment:

The first child born is Margaret Rosemary, born and baptized at St-Pats pn October 7, 1913, sponsors are Francis O'Brien, uncle, and Alice Laperrière, aunt.

On Nov 19, 1938, she will marry Joseph Pierre Paul Poiré, of Lauzon, son of Joseph Ovide and Rose Celanire Langlois, of St-Lambert de Lauzon. They will move to Macamic and have at least 6 children.

The second child born is Mark James Joseph, on 27 Aug 1914, baptized a day later, with oncle Richard Benjamin O'Brien and Juliette Laperrière as sponsors. A couple of weeks after the start of WWI...Mark will marry Véronique Aure Drolet, Nov 22, 1948 at St-Sauveur. She is the daughter of Amable Joseph and Aurea Roy. They will have one son in Quebec City.

The third child is James Roger Pearse, born Jul 18 and baptized a day later at St-Pats, in 1916, about two months after the Irish Easter uprising, following which Padraic Pearse, among others, was executed in May. Could the middle name Pearse reflect a nationalist sentiment in the O'Brien family ?

Sponsors were the maternal great-uncle Napoléon Laperrière and his wife Eva Girard.

He married Stella Marie Carmel Ward, at St-Polycarpe, Petit Rocher, New Brunswick, on Oct 8 1949. She was the daughter of  Léon Ward and Marie Alpheda Arsenault. They had 4 children in the Quebec City area.

The fourth child is Mary Patricia "Pat", born on Aug 16 1918 and baptized two days later with Philip John Ryan and his wife Margaret Matilda O'Connor as sponsors. The later is the daughter of John O'Connor and Fanny Bolger. She will marry Jules Grégoire, Aug 15 1942 at St-Pats, son of Marie Louis Polycarpe and Adéla Eugénie Julie Côté. Settling in Hull, Qc, they will have 8 children,

The fifth child is Mary Catherine Erin "Kate", born Nov 11 1919, baptized two days later with Thomas Haskins and his wife Matilda as sponsors. No information was found on this Haskins person...

The sixth child is  John Gerard René "Gerry", born Feb 9 and batpized two days later, sponsors being René McMullen and sister Juliette, related on the Laperrière side. He married Pierrette Prévost, Oct 18 1947, at St-Coeur-de-Marie, Québec. She is the daughter of Joseph Aimé and Adrienne Migneault. They had 3 children in Ste-Foy.

The seventh child is Mary Dorothy, or just Mary, born Mar 1, 1922, and batpized 4 days later at Beauport (La Nativité), Edward McDermott and Dorothy Pritchard are sponsors. It is indicated the parents are from this parish, so they moved to Beauport at that point. She will marry Joseph François Alphonse Guy Marmette 16 Jun 1956,and they will have two children in Orsainville, Qc. Guy was the son of Alphonse Louis Joseph and Joséphine Dugal.

The eight child is Marie Anne Thérèse Liliane , or Liliane, born on May 5 1923 (May 6 baptism with

Joseph Gaudiose Morency and Anne Marie Renaud, a cousin, sponsors). She will marry Marcel André Roy in 1949, Jul 23, son of Henri Victor and Anne Marie Demers. She was born in Giffard, where the family seemed to live.

The ninth child is Marie Jacqueline Thérèse Bernadette, or Jacqueline 19 Jun 1924, baptized at Beauport, 3 days later, Adolphe Grenier and his sister Bernadette are sponsors. She married Gabriel Antoine Jacques Bélanger, son of Joseph François Xavier and Marie Dugal, on 19 Jun 1948. They had 7 children in Beauport.

The tenth child is Mary Marguerite Thérèse, born 16 Oct 1925 and baptized two days later in Beauport, with cousin Napoleon McMullen, and her older sister Margaret as sponsors.

On Dec 19, 1926, in Beauport, the couple had twins. Mary Alice and Mary Virginia Rose, who were baptized the next day with sponsors Joseph John O'Connor and Mary Alice Fitzgerald , and Bill Joseph Noonan and wife Katherine Mary Bolger (of Chicago). The later stayed in Québec City for a few years and returned to Chicago. Unfortunately, Alice died Jan 27, 1927, in Beauport.

Virginia married Joseph Jean Guy Arthur Lacasse 21 Aug 1954, son of Arthur and Simone Gagnon. They had 4 children in Montreal.

Here are all the children in the only photo I found of them. thanks to uncle Gerry, about 1927 since Virginia is in her mother's arms.

Was this still in Beauport, where they lived when the twins were born, or back in Quebec City, on Dolbeau street where they lived before the war.

Documents James Joseph O'Brien

Naissance

Census 1891, 1901 and 1911

Marriage

Family tombstone, St-Patrick cemetary, Québec.

La famille de James O'Brien et Maria Laperrière

O'Brien sisters and the parents, 1941, Québec

Avec ce blog, débute la grande aventure de la famille O'Brien/Laperrière. Il s'agira d'écrire un chapitre par couple/famille, avec documents à l'appui. Nous commencerons donc à rebours, avec le mariage de James J O'Brien et Maria Laperrière, en ajoutant aussi des photos et cartes géographiques, en plus de liens internet.

Pour le côté O'Brien, je vais écrire en anglais, and for the Laperrière side, I will write in French.

Feel free to add and/or correct any information !
N'hésitez pas à corriger ou ajouter des informations!

James Joseph O'Brien was born Nov 7, 1887,

and baptized on the 9th, at St-Patrick's, Quebec City. The sponsors (parrain/marraine) were John O'Connor and his wife, Frances "Fanny" Bolger, a sister of James's mother Margaret Bolger (more on them later).

In 1891, the family lived in Champlain Ward, and their neighbours were the family of John O'Connor and Fanny Bolger, and also another Bolger, Francis and his family, as well as his maternal grandparents and their children, Francis Bolger and Margaret Baker. They were all shiplabourers. Another neighbour was Edward O'Connor, John's brother, and his family.
A woman called Catherine Cassidy, or Kennedy, in her 60's, had a grocery down the street. Most of the names appearing on the pages for that area of Champlain ward were Irish, and shiplabourers.

In 1901, the family still lived in Champlain Ward, and John O'Connor was still a neighbour, but now a widow. The other neighbours were different, but most of them were shiplabourers. They still lived close to the grocery, the owner now identified as Catherine Kennedy, aged 69.

The exact address is given to us as 101 Little Champlain (1903-L'Indicateur de Québec et Lévis-BANQ).
Rue du Petit Champlain


In 1911, the family moved across and down in Lower Town,  at 66 1/2 rue Ste-Marguerite. The father was identified as "journalier sur le quai" and James as "opérateur de télégraphe sur le chemin de fer" (CPR?) and his youger brother Francis was a messenger with the CPR.

This time, the neighbours are quite different: The Pouliot family, French-Canadians; an Italian couple and their children, Louis Bastienne (?) and Rose, "plâtrier";William Hayhill, an English merchand and his wife Antoinette; a Jewish meat inspector from Germany, Moses Eliosoph (or Cleosoph), his wife Elake ?, kids Philip, Barney and Samuel; a French-Canadian acountant, François Brousseau, etc.
Rue Ste-Marguerite
This street is one street south parallel to Boul Charest, and was partly destroyed to make way for the 440 ramp going uptown.

In 1912, Nov 25, James married Maria Rosalie Virginie Laperrière (more on her and her family in next entry), at the parish of St-Jean-Baptiste. He is identified as "opérateur"..."em présence de Napoléon Laperrière, oncle et témoin de l'épouse, et de Thomas O'Brien, père et témoin de l'époux, soussignés avec les époux..."E.A. Doucet, prêtre.
St-Jean-Baptiste

From October 1913 to 1926, the couple will have 12 children, including twin girls in 1926, one which unfortunately died soon after birth; 3 boys and 8 girls lived on, and 8 families of descendants live on, under the names of O'Brien, Bélanger, Marmette, Lacasse, Poiré, Grégoire.







Voici l'arbre généalogique des 4 premières générations. J'ai mis mon père au départ, mais voici le nom des autres enfants du couple O'Brien/Laperrière.