English/German family in French Canada, 1830-1870

[blamking]

I've traced one of my lines to a family that lived in Saint-Hugues, Quebec.  The head of this family was John Whitman; his wife was Catherine Sey.  They had several children, many of which were died as infants / at birth.  What confuses me is the records on the 1861 and 1871 census.  According to the 1861 census, John Whitman was born in England around 1781 and his religion was Anglican.  Catherine's last name was listed as Legush (I don't know if this was a mistranscription or not) and her birth year as 1800 in Bas Canada (Lower Canada, a British colony on the lower St. Lawrence River), and her religion was also Anglican.  By 1871, Catherine was a widow, still living in St-Hugues, with her ethnicity described as German.

Considering all of my Canadian ancestors except these were of French ethnic origin, this family is something I would like to explore more thoroughly, but I seem to have hit a brick wall.  I cannot find any record of John and Catherine's marriage in any databases or parish records.  Another thing about the parish records - The birth records of John Whitman's children appeared in the Catholic parish records - why would this be the case if their parents were Anglican?  Maybe I just don't know enough about these types of records.  Also, it seems that John and Catherine's son John had a Catholic wife and children.

Does anyone know anything about this family in particular, or can provide me with some general insight?  Does anyone know anything about why there would be Germans in Quebec in this time period?  It all seems somewhat unusual to me.  By the way, the earliest record of this family I have in Saint-Hugues is the birth of their 3rd (?) child, Marie Adeline, born 29 Oct 1831.  I know they had at least two children born before this, based on the census records.

I attached a clip from on of the parish records.  Does everyone agree that Catherine's last name is "Sey"?  It, too, strikes me as a bit unusual, as I have had a lot of trouble finding anyone by that name in Quebec records.

[blamking]

Answering my own question about Germans in Canada:

(From Wikipedia)
Conclusion of the war
After the war ended in 1783, some 17,313 Hessian soldiers returned to their homelands. Of the 12,526 who did not return, about 7,700 had died. Some 1,200 were killed in action and 6,354 died from illness or accidents, mostly the former.[citation needed] Approximately 5,000 Hessians settled in North America, both in the United States and Canada. In some cases, their commanders refused to take them back to Germany because they were criminals or physically unfit. Most of the men married and settled amongst the population of the newly formed United States. Many became farmers or craftsmen and were able to take advantage of opportunities in the new country. The number of their direct descendants living in the U.S. and Canada today is a subject of debate. One persistent story is that George Custer may have been a Hessian descendant.

[polarbear]

Hi there

Looking at Marie Adeline's baptism and this record I would say that the name is Sey.

Looking at other pages in the 1861 Census I would say that the first letter of the transcribed Legush is an S and that you possibly have Sey as the first 3 letters.

I suspect that the records are from a Catholic church b/c it was the only church around. If you google St Hughes Quebec you will learn that it was a small village. I note that John Sr was buried at an Anglican church, however, and it was at Sorel?

I was wondering how you know there were children older than Marie? Do you have the family on the 1852 Census? I can't seem to find them?

I have not been able to find a marriage record for John and Catherine ... it must be well buried.

PB

[blamking]

Hi and thanks for the help.  Where did you find the original 1861 census?  I only had the transcription on familysearch available.  If I could see it, it might help me some.  The transcription of familysearch indicates that there is a "Park. Witman" born 1829 on page 150, line 36 of the Saint-Hugues census.  I guess that puts it several lines above Catherine.  I think I thought that might have been a mistranscription of "John" but now I'm not so sure.  Like I said, seeing the actual census would make a big difference.  By the way, John would be my great great great grandfather.  In 1871 he appears on the St-Hugues census with his wife Adele and children, plus Catherine, age 70, which is why I first assumed John was her son.  I haven't found John's birth record or his marriage record to Adele Menard, which would help solidify his connection to John Sr. and Catherine.  I think the 1852 census for St-Hugues was one of the ones that was destroyed.

[polarbear]

The image of the 1861 census was on *Ancestry*. Unfortunately, the 1861 census is the only one not available for free through the Canadian National Archives. How did you access the Drouin Collection record you posted? If you have that access on line you should get the 1861 census as well.

Or if your local public library subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition you would have access to the image that way. Also, some Family History Centers (the familysearch folks) subscribe as well.

That said ....

Line 36 on page 150 is a Jack Witman 32 Anglican Farmer married to Adele Menard 22 Roman Catholic.

John, Cath, and Ann are on lines 44, 45, and 46.

Then did you note that line 47 has an Adolphe Picard 23 Farmer married to Sara Witman 17? They are noted as having married within the past year (something like that).

The screen is bouncing ... I will continue.

[blamking]

The images of the parish records are available through familysearch, but images of the 1861 census are not - only the transcription.  Jack is a version of John, so I was at least partly right.  I knew Sara was on the census too, but I did not know the name of her spouse.  If they married that year, maybe I can find it in the parish records.

[polarbear]

Continuing ...

They are beginning to come out of the woodwork now. Here is the marriage of John and Adele from the Drouin Collection.

At Christ Church Anglican, Sorel, Quebec

John Whitman of the parish of St Hughes, Bachelor, was married, by Banns duly published, to Adele Menard of the same parish, Spinster, 14 Feb 1860. John and Adele signed with their marks. One witness was an Antoine Menard who also signed with his mark and the other was a John ? (not Whitman or Menard but I can't quite make it out). Unfortunately, the Anglican churches did not normally give parent's names the way the RC churches did.

I don't see a marriage for Adolphe and Sarah at this church in 1860 or 1861.

Polarbear

[blamking]

I found Adolphe Picard's signature on Augustin Picard's 1860 marriage to Philomene Blair, but I do not see Adolphe's marriage in the St-Hugues parish records either.

Do you think John Sr. and Catherine might have been married in Sorel too?

[blamking]

Also, why was she called "spinster"?  Wikipedia says that this term means she is at the end of her reproductive lifespan, but she definitely had several children.  Or in this case is it just being used in the literal sense, that she actually spun wool?  And by the way, Adele's father and brother were named Antoine - the first witness was probably one of them.