THE VIENS LINE
For a long time I have tried to find genealogical material on the family of "the old Grandpa" that is our great-grandfather John VIENS [our #14]. According to family lore, I knew "the old Grandpa" when he was living with Uncle Dennis and Aunt Ida on Veazie Street in North Adams, before they moved to 185 North Street. It was said that he would tease me into giving him nibbles from the crackers or cookies I had been given, even though these may have been rather dusty or dirty as a result of my having dropped them on the floor. He probably did this just to see if I would share with him. But honestly I do not really remember him, which is not too surprising given the fact that he died in January 1925 (aged94) when I was barely two and one half years old, and Bob had not yet been born. Still, he and I represent a spread of four generations, like the spread between Mom and Dad and Christopher CRANDALL, for instance.
I must clarify something right away: the family's name was not VIENS originally. It was called JEAN. In 1988, I think, I discovered the existence of a book called Les Quatre Frères Jean written by Luce Jean Haffner. I rubbed my hands together gleefully. I had finally found my source! But I was doomed to disappointment: there was no correct connection to any of these four brothers. The great genealogists Msgr. Tanguay and Father Archange Godbout were a hindrance rather than a help, because they were the ones who had created the problem in the first case. The problem was that in 17th century Quebec there were two men by the same name and until 1983 they had been confused by genealogists. Fortunately the last chapter of the book I just mentioned had some information about the correct man I had been seeking.
His name was Vivien JEAN [our #896]. There is still not a great deal of trustworthy information about him, but what I could find I am including here, trying to correct some incorrect articles written prior to 1983. Vivien JEAN was married to Elisabeth DROUET [our #897]. Two notarized transactions dating from 1669 and 1672 seem to indicate that Vivien JEAN and his wife would have come over in a contingent brought by Intendant Jean TALON. Talon was Intendant or Royal Governor for New France from March 1665 until October 1668. During his term as Governor he tried to establish three model towns, which he called Bourg Royal, Bourg-la-Reine, and Bourg Talon, named after himself. He established the towns over the objections of the Jesuits who were seigneurs there. He wanted these towns to be close to each other so that they could help each other, especially against Indian attacks. TALON himself recruited colonists in France in 1665.
The VIENS/DROUET couple seem to have come by design of and under the protection of TALON. Notary Romain BECQUET's contract of March 7, 1669 dealt with land in Bourg Talon, which could be cultivated with pick and hoe. Vivien JEAN took a harvest lease for two years. He was promised seeds and necessary victuals during the first year, the cost of which was to be deducted from the revenue from the first harvest. JEAN was also to be helped by one man to thrash the grain. The contract did not delimit the extent or boundaries of the land, on which stood a cabin and a barn. At this time, 1669, Vivien JEAN was 50 years old.
Their first child was a girl, Marie, born on October 15, 1669 and baptized on October 20 by a priest at the Seminary of Quebec. The baptismal record indicates that she was "daughter of Vivien IGEON and Elisabeth DROUET". How's that for a variant name spelling!
A second child, called Pierre [our #448] was born on September 19, 1672 and was baptized in the chapel of Beauport, northeast of Quebec, by Father Guillaume MATHIEU, on September 25, 1672. His godfather was a soldier from the fort, Pierre PHILLIPE and his godmother was Jeanne MILLOIR.
According to the Jesuits, TALON had not proceeded in a proper fashion in allotting land and thus Vivien had not obtained a valid land title. These facts became known when the JEAN/DROUET couple left the concession in favor of Robert LECLERC on March 23, 1672. Notary Paul VACHON's act described a plot of some 40 arpents, the title for which was still in the hands of Intendant TALON. The JEAN/DROUET couple do not seem to have known the precise rental rate, but they declared that they left no debt or mortgage. The sale price was 50 livres, 14 of which were to be paid in wheat and the remainder to be paid at Christmas.
After the sale of their land and the birth of their son Pierre, the JEAN/DROUET couple moved to Beaumont on the southern shore of the St. Laurent River. Here too, land seems to have been allotted verbally, without written contract. And as most of the notarized acts of notary Jean ADAM have been lost, there is no way of pinpointing the date of their land purchase. But they were considered as residents of Beaumont, as testified to in the baptismal record of a Jean-Baptiste GONTHIER, on December 26, 1680, where Elisabeth DROUET was the godmother.
Marie JEAN received the sacrament of Confirmation at Beaumont on August 9, 1681, when she was 11 years old. Strangely the family is not listed among the residents of Beaumont when the census was taken in the fall of 1681. At that time there were only 20 households in the town, including 5 bachelors. It is hard to discover how the JEAN/DROUET household could have been ignored by the census-takers. It remains a mystery.
At St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Levy (today the town of Lauzon), on January 11, 1691, Marie JEAN married Pierre BOURGET also known as LAVALLEE, a barrellmaker who originally came from Saintonge in France. Her parents and her brother Pierre attended the religious ceremony and in the register the brother [our #448] is called Pierre VIEN. The name change is taking place and the records show the change.
Five years later, 1696, the JEAN/DROUET couple passed an act before notary CHAMBALON of Quebec, stating that they were now very aged and unable to take care of their daily needs. In a contract dated June 10, 1696, they ceded to their son-in-law, Pierre BOURGET, and to their daughter Marie, all their earthly goods. In return, the young couple was to take care of all their needs "until the end of their days, and after their death, to have them buried and pray God for the repose of their souls." The act does not specify the possessions of the JEAN/DROUET couple. They simply mention "the few goods that God was pleased to give them". In return for his renunciation of his rights of inheritance from his parents, Pierre JEAN received, by the same contract, his brother-in-laws land holdings in the seigneury of Beaumont, which measured some 120 square arpents (slightly over 100 acres).
The BOURGET/JEAN couple had four children, but Pierre BOURGET died on September 22, 1699, barely 7 months after the birth of his fourth child. Elisabeth DROUET, wife of Vivien JEAN died in the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec, on July 24, 1700. The death notice rather laconically states "VIENT, the old lady".
Marie JEAN, now widow BOURGET, remarried at Beaumont, on November 26, 1704, Jacques TURGEON, a cabinetmaker and bachelor 51 years old. She was 35.
Did Vivien JEAN continue to stay with his daughter even after her remarriage? I have no answer. His death record in the parish of St. Etienne in Beaumont reads as follows:
In the margin is written : Burial of the said VIEN". Note how Vivien JEAN is here called VIEN.
It is somewhat astonishing to discover that Pierre JEAN and his new brother-in-law, Jacques TURGEON do not seem to have attended the funeral. Jacques TURGEON died in December , 1725 and his widow, Marie JEAN was buried in Beaumont on February 21, 1742, aged 73.
At the time of the wedding of his sister Marie to Pierre BOURGET in 1691, Pierre JEAN, then 19 years old decided to change his surname, keeping only the last syllable of his father's surname. His descendant's all took this same name, which they usually spelled Viens. I hope this is now clear.
I have mentioned above the fact that Pierre VIEN had given up all claim upon his parents property in exchange for some land owned by his brother-in-law Pierre BOURGET. In April, 1697, Pierre VIEN was hospitalized in the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec for 29 days. About this time he married Marguerite (LA)CASSE aka CASSE. Inexplicably in the marriage entry of their son Jean-Baptiste (which Mary and I discovered in the Montreal archives) she is called Marguerite de la Saxe. No notarized act and no entry of the religious ceremony for Pierre VIEN and Marguerite CASSE have yet been found in the archives of Quebec. But the young couple served as godparents at the Baptism of Marguerite's niece, Françoise CASSE at Lauzon on February 27, 1695.
Before I forget it, I should mention that Marguerite's parents were Antoine CASSE [our #898] and Françoise PILOIS aka PILIE. The JEAN and the CASSE families had been neighbors in Beaumont for several years. What better way for a young man to find a bride than to marry the "girl next door"?
Pierre VIEN and Marguerite CASSE had the following children, who are named here as they were entered in the baptismal records:
1. Charles JEAN, born December 17,1698 at Beaumont. Buried there on October 29,1699, less than one year old.
2. Pierre JEAN, born May 7, 1700 at Beaumont. On February 6, 1730 he married Marie-Catherine CANTARA in Yamaska, a town on the southern bank of the St. Laurent River.
3. Marie JEAN, born and baptized in Beaumont September 24, 1702. No further records on her have been found. She probably died young.
4. Marie-Angélique VIEN, born September 7, 1704, in Beaumont and buried there January 23, 1723.
5. Joseph VIEN, baptized in Beaumont September 6, 1706. Probably died young.
6. Charles JEAN, baptized November 23, 1708 and buried in Beaumont on March 8, 1722. Bachelor.
7. Marguerite VIENS, born March 25, 1711 and baptized April 1 in Beaumont. Married October 3, 1729 to Nicholas SULLIERE, son of Nicholas and Marguerite LEBLANC, in Quebec City.
8. Jean-Baptiste VIENT I [our #224] was born and baptized on October 19, 1713 in Beaumont. At Chambly, on February 5, 1742 he married Charlotte LEGRAIN [our #225], daughter of Adrien LEGRAIN aka LAVALLEE [our #450] and Louise-Thérèse (Thankful) STEBBINS [our #451]. As mentioned when dealing with the STEBBINS line, Louise-Thérèse STEBBINS had been captured by the Indians in Deerfield (Massachusetts) in 1704. When her parents returned to Deerfield, Lousie-Thérèse and her younger brother Joseph STEBBINS had both remained in Canada. See the STEBBINS line for more details. Jean-Baptiste VIENS descendants lived in the Chambly region and some can still be found there under the surname VIENS.
9. Louis VIEN, born August 21, 1716 and baptized the next day, at Beaumont. He married twice:
a. to Angelique DEROME, on September 17, 1742, at Quebec. They had 4
children, including 2 sons: Louis, born March 24, 1745; and Jean-Baptiste, born February 2, 1749.
b. to Catherine MARTEL, daughter of Jean and Jeanne ROULOIS, at Beaumont, on February 1, 1751. They had 3 children, including a son, Pierre.
Louis VIEN was the first son of Pierre JEAN to settle in the Beaumont region, where he died on January 8, 1808, aged 92.
10. Marie-Francoise VIEN, whose birth date is unknown, although in an inventory of her father's goods made in 1743 she would have been born around 1718. When she married at Lauzon the widower, Etienne RAYMOND from Laprairie, on June 24, 1754, she was said to have belonged to the parish for several years.
11. Francois JEAN-VIEN, born in 1720, (probably May 31, although the baptismal record has never been found). He and his sister Marie-Francoise are not included among the family listed in the JETTE Dictionnaire geneologique des families du Quebec. His age is known thanks to a very detailed marriage contract prepared by notary BAROLET on September 26, 1744. Although he was 24 at the time he was still considered a minor and his mother, Marguerite CASSE acted for him and in his name. He married a woman 35 years old, Louise GRENET,daughter of the late Jean GRENET and Marguerite HUARD. In the marriage contract Marguerite CASSE gave the young couple one quarter of her land in Beaumont and half of all the buildings, livestock, furniture and utensils on the land. In return they promised to take care of her as long as she lived. In case she and her daughter-in-law should not get along, she was to receive an annual food pension in kind, to be delivered at her chosen domicile. Francois JEAN-VIENS and Louise GRENET were married in the parish of St-Joseph-de-la-Pointe de Levy (Lauzon) on October 5, 1744. A notarized act by Joseph FORTIER, dated August 18, 1770, is a marriage contract between Francois JEAN-VIENS, widower of Marie-Louise GRENET, and Charlotte SUZOR, daughter of Francois SUZOR and Francoise BOISSEL from Quebec. The funeral of Francois JEAN-VIENS was held in Beaumont on January 14, 1778.
12. The last child of Pierre JEAN and Marguerite CASSE was Marie-Marthe VIENS, born on March 19. 1723 and baptized the next day in the parish of St. Etienne in Beaumont. In the parish of Lauzon, on April 27, 1746, she married Jean-Baptiste GRENET, the brother of Louise, first wife of her brother Francois JEAN-VIENS. After having lost two children as infants, the couple made a mutual cession of their belongings before notary BAROLET, on November 16, 1749.
Coming back to our ancestral couple Pierre JEAN and Marguerite CASSE, we can say that they seemed to have lived peacefully and serenely on their property in Beaumont seigneurie. They got into no legal trouble and seem to have acquired no additional land except that obtained by a swap with brother-in-law Pierre BOURGET in 1696.
Pierre JEAN [our #448, whose children we have been writing about] died in Beaumont and was buried in the parish of St. Etienne of Beaumont on November 1. 1737. The celebrant noted: "buried in this parish, the body of Pierre VIENS aged sixty-seven or thereabouts, fortified by the sacraments of Penance, Eucharist, and Extreme-Unction, having given during his life and at his death the marks of a good Christian and a good parishioner."
His widow, Marguerite CASSE proceeded to an inventory and partition of his goods only six years later, in October 1743. On October 21, 1743, the seigneurial court named her guardian of her minor children, Francois, then 23, and Marie-Marthe, then 21. The next day, October 22, 1743, an inventory of her goods was drawn up by notary Rene GASCHET. Unfortunately the document preserved by the National Archives in Quebec is incomplete and bears the incorrect date of 1733. It had to have been drawn up on October 22, 1743 because widow CASSE mentions it in the marriage contract of her son Francois, written on September 26, 1744. There she says she shares in the goods of "the said late Pierre Jean, of which the inventory and sharing of the property and furnishings had been made between the said CASSE and the children of the said deceased her husband, before Notary GASCHET, about a year ago."
Widow Marguerite VIEN (nee CASSE) was buried at Beaumont on April 16, 1751, at the age of 72.
LATER VIENS FAMILIES
I mentioned above the wedding of Jean-Baptiste VIEN I [our #224] and Charlotte LEGRAIN [our #225] through whom we connect with the STEBBINS line. This couple had a son Jean-Baptiste VIENT II [our #112] who on April 17, 1769, at St. Antoine of Chambly married Marie-Josephte DUFAUT [our #113] daughter of Louis DUFAUT [our #226] and Louise L'HUSSIER (LUSSIER) [our #227].
Jean-Baptiste VIEN II and Marie-Josephte DUFAUT had a son also named Jean-Baptiste VIEN III [our #56] baptized at St. Mathias, December 15, 1771. He was said to be 30 at the time of his marriage, August 16, 1802. On that day he married at St. Mathias de Rouville in Chambly County, Angelique (Josephte) STEBENNE [our#57], daughter of Joseph STEBENNE II, [our #114] and his second wife Marie Amable BOMBARDIER [our #115]. Angelique (Josephte) STEBENNE was the youngest of six children and was 17 when she married, and she and Jean-Baptiste VIEN had obtained from the Vicar General of the diocese, Francois CHEVRIER, a dispensation of third and fourth degrees of relationship, probably because of the connection in the STEBBINS line.
Jean-Baptiste VIEN III and Angelique (Josephte) STEBENNE had at least two sons, Pierre and another Jean-Baptiste IV [our #28]. This Jean-Baptiste IV was born and baptized at St. Mathias de Rouville, July 4, 1803. He married twice:
1. to Venerande PEPIN [our #29] whom he married in Saint Joseph Church in Chambly, February 8, 1825. I have a copy of the marriage certificate which indicates that she was the minor daughter of Louis PEPIN [our #58] and Marie-Louise GILBERT [our #59] who were from the Saint Joseph parish. This Louis PEPIN, incidentally was one of the founders of the town of Redford, about which I will write more in a moment.
2. to Emilia BARRETTE who was almost 25 years younger than Jean-Baptiste. She died on June 3, 1894, almost 2 years before her husband who died in Redford, NY on May 15, 1896.
Jean-Baptiste VIEN IV [our #28] seems to have been the VIENS who migrated to the United States and figures in the history of Redford, NY.
A SHORT HISTORY OF REDFORD
I have portions of a historical sketch of the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, in Redford, by Father E.C. Laramee who was pastor there from 1896 until 1932. According to him the first inhabitants were French Canadians "who cut their way through the forest towards the end of the third decade of this century". ( More correctly it was at the start of the third decade.) He indicated that at the time of the publication of his little history in 1899 "Redford is a village of three hundred souls situated on the North side of the Saranac, mostly built in the upland, a little up from the river. In 1831 and 1832 a sawmill and gristmill were built, and about the same time a glass factory which enjoyed a precarious existence, and was finally abandoned in 1852. " Some of the glass makers belonged to the Corning family, and Redford glass is rare and precious. Father Laramee states that Redford at that time had one hotel and two blacksmith's shops. And he says that one of the reasons why French Canadians moved into the Saranac region was to work in the iron mines and forges that flourished in the area until 1886. In one year the Catholic population of Redford grew from 60 families to 600, four-fifths of them having come from Canada. But from 1886 there was no more industry in the area. About 318 families, i.e., 1658 people inhabited Redford than. The lack of jobs from the late 1880's probably created an exodus from the region. This was just shortly before our great-grandparents moved out of the area, first to Hoosick Falls and then to North Adams (MA).
One thing is very clear and that is that Redford is no longer the rather busy place it once was. When Dad, Mary, and I visited it there was only the church and a couple of groups of houses. It almost felt like a ghost town.
As usual in New York State, each county is broken up into legal entities known as towns, which are further subdivided. Here we will be dealing with Clinton County and the towns called Saranac, Dannemora, and Black Brook, which are made up of small villages where our ancestors were from: Redford, Clayburg, Lyon Mountain, Standish, and Dannemora.
In a book called The Saranac Valley, volume I, "The Pioneers" by Sarah Baker, we find this: " The first church spire to embellish the Redford landscape rose from a log chapel erected in 1837 by a small group of Catholics. It was that of Notre Dame Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These few Catholics were at that time a minority group in the hamlet of Redford, and having been refused the use of the school house as a place to worship, decided to construct a building of their own. Previously Mass was said in the homes of Patrick Meaghan and Thomas Leonard by Rev. F. F. Rogers or Rev. Rooney of St. John's church, who occasionally visited them."
"For the little chapel, a lot of three rods square was purchased from Peter STRACK and a frame building, 32 X 24 feet was built from hand-hewn lumber. With most of the materials being donated, the other necessities were met from subscriptions ranging from $5.00 to $50.00 from the ten Catholic families located there:
"The number of Catholics in the community increased until in 1853, when the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate (who had charge of the French people in Plattsburgh and outside missions), took over the little Redford Mission, there were 60 families. A larger church building started at this time was opened by Father Sallaz saying the benediction on August 15, 1885....."
THE OLD GRANDPA'S GENERATION
By his first wife, Venerande PEPIN, Jean-Baptiste VIEN IV had 8 children; by his second wife, Emilia BARRETTE, he had 7 more. Because we are getting down to our own great-grandparents and to people that Bob, Mary, and I knew, I shall list them all.
1. Jean-Baptiste VIENS V [our#14], was born March 8, 1831. According to the census records, he is supposed to have been born in the United States, but inquiries from the Vermont State Vital Statistics Department indicate that he was not born in Burlington as I was once told. In the 1869 census he was said to be 30, born in New York (where?) and was a day laborer. The census of Saranac on February 16, 1982 says he was 63, born in the USA which contradicts all I have been able to discover so far. He had married Sophie LAUZON/DANIEL [our#15] on November 24, 1861, in Dannemora. I will give more about Jean-Baptiste VIENS V after I have mentioned his siblings and offspring.
2. Edward VIENS, born September 15, 1833 in Redford, NY. On September 12, 1859, in Redford, he married Catherine Genevieve LAUZON/DANIEL who was usually known as Caroline, who was the sister of Sophie [our#15]. So Jean-Baptiste VIENS V and his brother Edward married two sisters. According to the 1860 census of Redford, Edward is said to be 26, born in New York, cannot read or write, and has a personal estate worth $50.00, and is a day laborer, and lived next door to his parents. His wife, Caroline, was 21, born July 3, 1840, in Canada, cannot read or write, Edward's grandson, whom we knew as "Uncle" Freddy VIENS, often told me that his grandfather, as a young boy of 10, worked as a "powder monkey", that is, as a boy who brought explosives to the miners. Edward VIENS died on February 21, 1907 and is buried in the Southview cemetery in North Adams, MA. The children of Edward and Caroline were:
A. Jean-Baptiste VIENS aka John, born in Redford on March 31, 1864. He married Valentine Trudell aka Blanche, who was from the Chateaugay region. Their Children:
1. Homer VIENS, who died in Lynn, MA. He had 7 kids
2. Francis VIENS, born May 1890. In 1981 he was still alive somewhere in New Hampshire.
3. Henry VIENS, who died in North Adams in 1980 at the age of 89.
4. Valeda VIENS, who in 1922, married Louis Harold FLYNN. They had a son, Jack, who died in Worcester. Valeda was mom's bridesmaid. In fact it was at one of her parties that Dad met Mom. Valeda worked for the telephone company as a supervisor until she became quite deaf. She remarried. She died in North Adams at the age of 73.
5. Alfred L. VIENS whom we knew as "Uncle Freddy". He was born on August 24, 1896, and in October, 1923, in North Adams, he married Elizabeth L. King (ROY). As I write this in 1992, both Uncle Freddy and Aunt Betty are still both hale and hearty. Uncle Freddy told me that the reason why so many VIENS moved to North Adams was the closing of the mines, as I mentioned above. Uncle Freddy and Aunt Betty's children are:
a. Francis VIENS, who married Rachel TIMMONEY. They have 4 children: Barbara Anne, Francis, Richard and John.
b. Donald VIENS, who served many years in the Navy.
c. Marie VIENS, born around 1932, married Robert FIELD. Their children: Susan, Mary Jane, and Maureen.
6. Clarence VIENS, born January 21, 1900. Died November 13, 1980. In 1923, just a week after his brother Alfred had married, Clarence married Adorina GERVAIS, who was born August 12, 1903 and died June 27, 1981. Their children:
a. Therese VIENS, born around 1932. Married Lawrence LEVESQUE. Died April 19, 1973.
b. Claire VIENS
c. Charles VIENS, who at one time taught in Sand Lake, NY,
d. Jeanne VIENS
B. Louis H. VIENS, born in Redford. On November 18, 1907, he married Victorine GERVAIS (Aunt Victorine) and they lived on Walker Street in North Adams. They had no children.
C. Victoire VIENS, born in Redford on June 24, 1877. She married a man named GIRARD, and they had a daughter Beatrice.
D. Frank VIENS. He married Aunt Betty's sister, Mary KING (ROY) who was nicknamed Queeny. Their children : Edward; Margaret, Roy, who died April 19, 1965; and Lucille, who died in Virginia in the summer of 1981.
E. Marguerite VIENS, had no issue.
F. Louise VIENS, married a man named RIVERS. They had 4 children: Maude, Alvin, Oscar, and Harold.
G. Edward VIENS was a guard at Clinton State Prison. He has 7 children: Edgar, Maynard, Valeda, Walter, Lee, Victoria, and Cecile.
H. Joesph VIENS
I. Emma VIENS, who died young.
J. Peter VIENS, who lived on River Street in North Adams, where, at one time, he ran a saloon, with a sawmill behind the store.
K. Napoleon VIENS. According to his nephew, Uncle Freddy VIENS, Napoleon remained a dashing bachelor, with pockets full of gold coins. He went out west and became a gambler. About the seven boys just mentioned, that is his father and six uncles, Uncle Freddy said that they were known locally as "the seven wonders of the world" always ready for a fight. If you picked a fight with one, you would probably end up having to fight all seven.
Other brothers and sisters of Jean-Baptiste VIENS, [our #14] were:
3. Scolastique
4. Adelaide
5. Philomene, who married Joseph FREDETTE in Redford, on April 20, 1862
6. William, said to be 23 in 1860. Married Celine (Celinda) BARSALOU (called Isadora in the 1860 census) on November 13, 1876, in Redford. He was the godfather of Aunt Emma.
7. Charles, 17 in 1860 (according to his gravestone in the North Adams Southview cemetery, he was born in 1841). On November 12, 1877, he married Rose ANDERSON in Redford. They later lived on West Road in North Adams. He died in 1919, and she died in 1926. Their children:
A. Charles VIENS
B. Peter VIENS, who had 4 children: Lucy, Arthur, Albert, and Agnes.
C. Margaret VIENS who married James CREWS. They had 2 children: James and Rhoda.
D. Victor VIENS, born in 1882 and died in 1901.
E. Rose VIENS, who never married. She lived in the basement of the house we lived in on East Quincey Street. Toward the end of her life she lived in a house just opposite Notre Dame Church in North Adams.
F. Anna VIENS, who married Joseph Patrick DOWNEY. They lived in Adams and had two children: Barbara DOWNEY, who married Lawrence MACKSEY; and Joseph Patrick DOWNEY.
G. Laura VIENS, born in 1895, died 1920, No issue.
H. Harvey VIENS
I. Cora VIENS married Harold MACNEIL on November 7, 1922. They had a farm in Clarksburg where we would visit often when we were kids. And they owned the house we lived in on East Quincey Street. He used to be our milkman. Cora and Harold had two daughters:
a. Shirley C., who married Daniel F. Clifford. They live at 22 Chaffins Lane in Holden, MA. They had 2 children: Michael and Kathy.
b. Carolyn H., who married William K. MALLISON of Middletown, RI.
The last son of the marriage of Jean-Baptiste VIENS, [our #28] and his wife Venerande PEPIN was:
8. Peter, the last son from his first marriage. All I know about him is that he was killed in a log jam, while still a young man.
Children of the second marriage, to Emilia BARRETTE
9. Emilia, married LAFRENIERE. In the "old grandpa's" obituary she is called Mrs. ELI FRENIER.
10. Julia, married Louis LEDOUX in Redford on April 21, 1873
11. Honoree, also known as Eleonore, and nicknamed Nora or Lenore. She married Alexis HENAULT in Redford, on July 2, 1877. She remarried to Joseph POIRIER.
12. Mary, married Moise LEGER.
13. George
14. Marie Louise, who married Joseph LANOUE
15. Noel, born December 24, 1857, in Redford.
Coming back to Jean-Baptiste VIENS V [our #14], he was born as I've said on March 3, 1831, but I haven't yet been able to find out where, but probably in New York State (not in Burlington VT as stated in his death certificate). In St. Joseph's Church in Dannemora, he married Sophie LAUZON/DANIEL, on November 24, 1861. See LAUZON family for her ancestors.
In 1987, I requested the marriage certificate of Jean_Baptiste VIENS and Sophie LAUZON/DANIEL. It contains a mis-recording by the priest who made it out. It says they were married on November 2. But as the photocopy of the original below shows they were married on November 24, 1861, by the famous Father SALLAZ o.m.i., who had built the church replacing the first log chapel. The marriage witnesses were William VIENT and Julien NAULAIN.
Material in the New York State archives indicates that he was considered too old for military service during the Civil War. When he was a young man, he was a specialist in unlocking log jams during the log drives. One way of doing it was with explosives, but that damaged too much lumber. The preferred way was to find and dislodge the key log. John VIENS would do this from his canoe. It was dangerous but he very often succeeded. Later on he worked in the stone quarries. The 1900 federal census categorized him as a retired quarryman.
On October 15, 1887, along with Hilaire LAPORTE, he became one of the lay incorporators of the parish of St. Michael in Standish, NY. Signing the incorporation papers with him was the pastor, Father Michael CHARBONNEAU. Aunt Alice and Aunt Emma used to tell me that this Father CHARBONNEAU lived in one room their house in Lyon Mountain, and this sometimes irked them because when he was around they had to be particularly good and quiet.
It seems that John VIENS, his wife, and his children left Lyon Mountain after 1887, probably around 1895, and eventually settled in North Adams, where he was known as John COME or CUMM. He and Sophie had 8 children, 3 boys and 5 girls:
1. John VIENS, born in Redford, died at age 4.
2. William VIENS, who went by the name of CUMM. Born in Redford April 5, 1864, and baptized April 24, 1864. Married Mary LAFOND.
3. Victoire VIENS I, born August 26, 1867, baptized September 15, 1867 by Bl. Th. Martens, o.m.i., godfather: Edouard VIEN, godmother: Caroline DANIEL (her maternal aunt). She was buried in Redford on November 7, 1873. The burial notice says she was 7, but she was really only 6.
4. Hilaire VIENS, who went by the name of Eli CUMM. He was born in 1870 (said to be 22 at the February 16, 1882 Saranac census). he married Elise (Alice) MATOON; after she died in 1912 he remarried to a woman called Josie. I could never find out her maiden name. Hilaire died on August 28, 1922, according to a New York State vital statistics microfilm.
5. Adele VIENS aka Ida, was born on April 13, 1872, in Redford. She was baptized on April 21 by the pastor, Father Narcisse Zephirin Lorrain, who later on became Bishop of Pembroke in Ontario. Her godparents were Joseph FREDETTE and Philomene VIENS, her aunt and uncle.
On February 25, 1900, in Notre Dame Church in North Adams, she married Athanase (Dennis) Bouvier. Athanase BOUVIER was the son of Anthanase BOUVIER and Marie VARIN and was born in Saint Jean-Chryysostome de Chateaugay P.Q., on January 15, 1871. He was baptized by the curate, Father Joseph Brien, on January 16. 1871. His godparents were Louis VARIN and Emelie POISSANT. On September 30, 1892, before the District Court of Northern Berkshire in North Adams Athanase BOUVIER became an American citizen.
Athanase BOUVIER's father, Athanase BOUVIER, Senior, was born in Mooers, NY. He died in Readsboro, VT on February 26, 1909 and was buried from Notre Dame church in North Adams.
Athanase BOUVIER died in North Adams on February 26, 1942. Adele (VIENS) BOUVIER died in North Adams on November 29, 1957 and I was the celebrant of the funeral Mass.
Athanase BOUVIER and Adele VIENS had three children:
a. Mary Ann BOUVIER, who died as a child.
b. Lena BOUVIER, born August 16, 1904; baptized August 21, 1904. Lena worked for the Arnold Print Works and then for the Roberts Store for many years. Lena never married.
c. Elizabeth Bernadette Dorothy BOUVIER, born September 30, 1909 and baptized October 3, 1909. At one time she worked for Feder's Furniture store on Marshall Street in North Adams. On June 12, 1937 she married Victor PELLETIER, who at one time was Dad's assistant at Swift & Company. They had a son, Michael David PELLETIER, who was born in Rutland, VT on January 6, 1943 and died the same day. He was buried in North Adams in May 1943. For many years, Bernadette and Victor lived in Puerto Rico, then in Clearwater, FL. After Victor's death, Bernadette continued to live in Clearwater. She died there October 13, 1994.
Other daughters of Jean-Baptiste VIENS
6. Julie Victoire VIENS II [our #7] about whom I will deal after I have mentioned her two younger sisters.
7. Marguerite Elise VIENS aka Alice. She was born in Redford on September 20, 1877 and was baptized on the 23rd, in the church of the Assumption, by the same Father N.Z. LORRAIN who had baptized Aunt Ida. Her godparents were Edward VIENS and Addie PERRY. As a young woman, Aunt Alice worked in the Ellis Shirtwaist Company. Later she worked as a sort of housekeeper and practical nurse for some elderly women in Clarksburg and Williamstown. Aunt Alice never married. When we were little, Aunt Alice used to baby-sit us occasionally. We preferred Aunt Emma to her because Aunt Alice seemed stricter to us. She died on may 23, 1968, and was buried on May 27, in Grandpa CAYEN's plot in Southview Cemetery, alongside her father and mother, and Grandpa and Grandma CAYEN.
8. Clara Emma VIENS who usually went by the name of Emma. She was born in Lyon Mountain, NY on May 2, 1883. On May 13, 1883, in St. Bernard's church of Lyon Mountain, she was baptized by Father Francois LACHANCE. Her godparents were an aunt and uncle: William VIENS and Mary Louise VIENS. While Aunt Emma was still a little girl, her family moved to North Adams and Aunt Emma went to the Notre Dame parish school there. For most of her working life, Aunt Emma worked in the shoe shops of North Adams, especially the Wall-Streeter Shoe Company on Union Street. Dad and Bob and I used to get shoes from her for Christmas and our birthdays, for as long as she worked there. Aunt Emma loved to do gardening and kept the house on North Street surrounded by flowers. She liked pets too, and had a cat, Minou, and a number of canaries. She also liked to paint and wallpaper, and rare was the year that went by when she was not doing one room of the house or the other. Like Aunt Alice, Aunt Emma never married. Toward the end of her life, Aunt Emma had to be put into a nursing home in Williamstown, because she needed special care. Mary and bought her a small radio so she could listen to music, which she dearly loved. For years, incidentally, she had been part of the parish choir; she had a beautiful voice, a bit operatic. She died on November 11, 1974, and was buried beside Aunt Alice.
Now I really must deal with Julie Victoire VIENS II, [our #7] our grandmother. She was born in Redford, NY on September 30, 1874 and baptized on October 4, 1874, by Father N.Z. LORRAIN, who had also baptized Aunt Ida and become a bishop in Pembroke, Ontario. The godparents were her aunt and uncle: Louis LEDOUX and Julia VIENT. In Notre Dame church in North Adams on January 30, 1898, she married Alfred Michael (Magloire) CAYEN (alias POTVIN). The marriage was recorded at the North Adams City hall only on February 12, 1898, and Alfred CAYEN is listed as a laborer residing at 39 Witt Street. Mary checked the North Adams Transcript microfilm in the public library and found that on their wedding day the North Adams temperature was 20 drgrees below zero and the next day saw the worst blizzard since the famous blizzard of 1888. Grandma CAYEN died in North Adams on August 20, 1934, just a bit more than a year after Grandpa CAYEN. In 13 months Mom lost both her father and mother. They were both buried in Southview cemetary. When I deal with the CAYEN line I will have more to say about both Grandma and Grandpa, but now I should list their children:
1. Male CAYEN infant, stillborn on December 22, 1898. Death recorded in North Adams on December 24, 1898. Record can be found in Massachusetts Vital records volume 481, page 95, entry #336.
2. Irene Isabelle CAYEN [our #3]. Born April 3, 1900. When she was born, Mom was rather puny and it was uncertain whether she would live, so her grandmother VIENS wrapped her up warmly and placed her on the door of the oven of the kitchen stove, as kind of primitive incubator. And she baptized her immediately. Later, on April 15, she was brought to churchand the additional rites were performed ("ceremonias supplevi"). Mom made hr first communion on April 13, 1910, and was confirmed on November 8, 1911. On June 5, 1922, in Notre Dame church of North Adams, she married Dad, Joseph Edmond RICHARD [our #2]. They first set up housekeeping in Quincy, MA, then in Westfield, where I was born. Then they moved to North Adams, where Mom lived until her death. Bob and Mary were born in North Adams, as I mentioned when dealing with the RICHARD line. Mom was a great cook; cooking was one of her ways of showing her love for her family. She was very skillful in all kinds of needlework, tatting, and crocheting. When we were small, she made much of our clothes and did a lot of sewing for Mary. When she was in her sisties, she took up oil painting. She followed various classes at North Adams State College and loved to go out on sketching expeditions with classes there. Mom died quite suddenly on December 29, 1979 of what we later found out was septecemia. She was buried in Southview cemetary on December 31, 1979. Dad was buried next to her in July 1985.
3. Victor Alfred CAYEN, Mom's little brother that she never knew she had. He was born January 31, 1902, and was baptized conditionally on February 12, 1902, with as godparents Athanase BOUVIER and his wife Adele VIENS. He died on February 16, 1902, as recorded in the North Adams death register, Book 2, page 75.
4. Marie CAYEN, born prematurely on January 11, 1904. According to Notre Dame parish records, page 33, she had been baptized privately; noi godparents are mentioned. Her death on January 21, 1904 is recorded in the Notrh Adams death register book 2, page 98. She was buried January 22, 1904.
5. Arthur CAYEN, born July 5, 1908 and died the next day. Parish records contain no mention of his baptism.
As the information above shows, Mom was the only child of Alfred CAYEN and Victoire VIENS who survived infancy.