OLD CANADA ROAD
and the French-Canadians who travelled it to towns
along the
Kennebec River prior to the American Civil War
(pre-1860) ©
by Robert E. Chenard
Kennebec-Chaudiere Heritage Corridor Commission
C/O Old Fort Western
16 Cony Street Augusta, Maine 04330
tel. 207.626.2385 e-mail: oldfort@oldfortwestern.org
May 18, 2001
For more information contact: Jay Adams, 626-2385
KENNEBEC-CHAUDIERE INTERNATIONAL CORRIDOR TO OPEN JUNE 1
The Kennebec-Chaudiere International Corridor, Maine's
newest heritage tourism trail, opened on Friday, June 1, 2001.
Maine Governor, Angus S. King, and Quebec Premier, Bernard Landry,
proclaimed the Corridor officially underway.
The Corridor is the product of a 1997 Co-Enterprise meeting between Governor
King and Premier Landry's predecessor, Lucien Bouchard,
and is meant to strengthen the ties and to encourage economic development
between Maine and Quebec.
The Corridor takes its name from the Kennebec River in Maine and the
Chaudiere River in Quebec. It was along these rivers, and the roads
-
Routes 201 in Maine and 173 in Quebec - that eventually paralleled them,
that so much of the region's history was written and from which its
cultural heritage descends.
Other ceremonies and events also marked the opening. In Augusta, Old
Fort Western, one of the historic destinations along the Corridor,
hosted a free conference and symposium at 9:30 a.m. on Corridor history
and heritage followed by performances of Native
American, English, French, and Irish music. At 2:00 p.m.,
Maine legislators, representatives of the Penobscot Nation, officials from
the
Maine Departments of Transportation and Economic and Community Development,
members of the Corridor planning committees in Maine and
Quebec, individuals representing the Route 201 Scenic By-way Committee and
the Old Canada Road (the section of Route 201 from Solon north), and
othersl gathered at the border north of Jackman for a ribbon cutting and
to exchange Kennebec and Chaudiere River waters. More activities
were planned for Bath and elsewhere along the Corridor in both Maine and
Quebec.
The festivities continued throughout the weekend as Corridor destinations
hosted special events, offered Corridor-specific programming,
and celebrated cultural heritage. In addition, activities associated
with the Voices of the Kennebec Festival in Waterville, National Trails
Day, a Native American Celebration and Tipi Lodge Gathering in Augusta,
guided nature walks at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley and the Pine Tree
State Arboretum in Augusta, Whitewater Adventures at the Forks, and walking
tours in several communities along Route 201 gave travelers a taste of the
Corridor's varied attractions and experiences. A Corridor map-guide and
brochure was available at four information
centers located at the Chamber of Commerce in Bath, Old Fort Western in
Augusta, and the Chambers of Commerce facilities in Skowhegan and
Jackman respectively. The map-guide was also available at the welcome
centers operated throughout the state by the Maine Tourism
Association. Corridor information may be obtained by calling the Tourism
Association's information number at (800) 782-6497. In addition,
Corridor events and schedules are available on the Internet at www.kennebec-chaudiere.com.
In keeping with the international nature of
the Corridor, the map-guide and the Web site is bilingual (French and English).
Many of the destinations along the Corridor in both Maine and Quebec
offered free or reduced-rate visitation on opening weekend.
This list is based on the 1830 to 1870 census records of towns
along this road from The Forks down to Augusta.
Most of the early Canadians who travelled this road came to work and/or
settle in Bloomfield/Skowhegan, Fairfield, or Waterville. Other records
used as a basis for this listing include marriage and death records where
most parents of these individuals can be identified as to their origins
in Quebec. The vast majority (about 85%) of the pre-1860 families who travelled
this route to reach these towns originated from Beauce county, Quebec, which
borders Maine's northwest boundary with Canada. The Chaudière River,
originating at Lac Mégantic, runs north to St.Georges and then north-northwest
through many of the towns that these early Canadian immigrants came from.
The Chaudière then empties into the St. Lawrence River just across
from Quebec city. Most of these people followed the Chaudière, then
the Linière (a small river that empties into the Chaudière
just south of St. Georges) to just below the town of Armstrong, walked through
the woods to Jackman, then to the West Forks where the Kennebec River begins
its southerly flow. This road is also often referred to as the Kennebec-Chaudière
Trail. A wagon road between Bingham and the Canadian line was built on this
trail and completed around 1833. Prior to that time, it was mainly a forest
path carved out by generations of Indians and was also used by Benedict
Arnold and his troops in the autumn of 1775 on his unsuccessful march to
Quebec city.
This is a list of the people I have identified who travelled the Old
Canada Road. It is not complete. There are upwards of 200 other individuals/families
who came down this road during the period 1827 to 1861 and lived in the
towns along this route. Some settled here and others returned to Canada.
Others came for a while (from a few months to several years) but were either
not present or were not picked up during the censuses of 1840-1850-1860.
NOTE: Those listed below settled in Waterville unless otherwise
given.
NOTE: The numbers following a slash "/" refer to the notes
immediately below.
Families and individuals from St. Joseph, Beauce county
1 Jean-Baptiste MATHIEU, wife Sara Dostie, and 8 of their children (1831-2)
(Jean-Baptiste came as early as 1828 to work, but not with his entire
family)
2 Gaspard POULIN (before 1837)
3/1 Charles POULIN, wife Rosalie Duval, and 12 children (about 1849)
4 Alexandre DOSTIE (before 1860)(married Lucie Paré 1860 in Wtvl.)
5 Hilaire LESSARD, wife Adélaïde Dostie (about 1853)
6/2 Pierre GIROUX (circa 1851)(married Sophie Veilleux 1853 in Wtvl.)
7/3 Joseph DOYON, wife Henriette Dutil, and 5 children (1853 or 1854)
8/4 François LESSARD, wife Marie-S. Poulin, and 4 children (1861)
9/5 Joseph GILBERT, wife M.-Pélagie Thibodeau, and 6 children (1849)
10/5 François LACHANCE, wife Rosalie Roy, and 6 children (1848-9)
11/6 Louis BIZIER (aka Lewis Lewia), wife Geneviève Bisson, several
children (1840's)
20/6 Amédée BISSON (1850's)
21/6 Jean POULIN, wife Adélaïde Pépin, and 1 child (1846)
22/6 Eusèbe "James-Titus" POULIN, wife M.-Amelia Mitchell,
and 2 children (1843-6)
1 settled in Bucksport in 1850 (their daughter, M.-Lucie
married David Rodrigue)
2 returned to PQ and settled in St. Georges/Beauceville area
where their children married
3 settled in Fairfield
4 settled in Norridgewock
5 settled in Bloomfield
6 settled in Skowhegan
Families and individuals from Beauceville (St. Francois-de-Beauce)
1 Jean LALIBERTÉ, wife Modeste Veilleux, and 2 of their children
(1833)
2 Stanislas THIBODEAU, wife Basilisse Veilleux, and 2 of their children
(1833)
3 Charles RANCOURT, wife M.-Louise Pépin, and 7 of their children
(1833)
4 Moïse MATHIEU, wife Basilisse Rancourt, and their first child (1834)
5/1 Henri-Jean POULIN, wife Sophie Lacombe, and 2 of their children (1834)
6/1 François-X.(Ephraim) POULIN, wife Marie Lessard, and 2 or 3
children (1835)
7 Joseph BOUCHER, wife M.-Delphine Rancourt, and 2 of their children (1835)
8 Raphaël ROY, wife Angèle Bolduc, and their first child (1834
until 1837)
9 Jean-C. LACHANCE, wife Charlotte Bolduc, and 5 of their children (1834
until 1839)
10 Pierre DESROCHERS, wife Adélaïde Scolle, and 3 of their children
(1834 -1835)
11 David DOSTIE, wife Marguerite Bariault, and at least 5 of their children
(1835)
12 David LACHANCE, wife Marie Poulin (1835 until 1836)
13 Joseph RANCOURT(1835) (he married Marie Gilbert 1836 in Wtvl.)(in Canaan
in 1850)
14 Abraham MORIN, wife M.-Julie Thibodeau, and 4 children (1835 until 1837)
15/3 Jean-Baptiste MORIN, wife M.-Louise Dupuis dit Gilbert, and 5 children
(1836 until 1839)
NOTE: above are U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith's maternal
great-grandparents.
16/3 Jean-Baptiste ROY, wife Suzanne Rancourt, and 6 children (1836 until
1841)
17 André LACOMBE, wife M.-Josette Roy, and 4 of their children (circa
1836)
18 Bernard RANCOURT, wife Ursule Caron (1836)
19 Jacques PARÉ (before 1835) (he married Divine Mathieu 1835 in
Wtvl.)
20/3 Jos.-Ignace RANCOURT, wife Archange Gilbert, and 3 children (1837)
21/4 Olivier-J. LACHANCE, wife M.-Hélène Poulin, and 3 of
their children (1837)
22 François-Geo. LACOMBE wife Adélaïde Thibodeau, and
4 of their children (1838)
23/5 Olivier VEILLEUX, wife Modeste Cloutier, and 6 children (1838)
24 Joseph POULIN, wife Théotiste Bolduc, and 6 of their children
(1838)
25 Anselme TOULOUSE, wife Anathalie Veilleux, and 5 of their children (1838)
26 Apolline LACHANCE (before 1845) (married Charles Poulin 1845 in Wtvl.)
27 Michel BOUCHER, wife Marcelline Thibodeau, and 3 of their children (before
1840)
28 François LESSARD, wife Catherine Giroux, and 5 children (before
1840)
29 Gaspard THIBODEAU, wife Angèle Bariault, and 2 of their children
(about 1840)
30 Léger LABBÉ, wife Elizabeth Alain (early 1840's)
31/2 Jacques DOSTIE (about 1843) (he married Jeanne Therrien 1844 in Winslow)
32 Anselme ROY, wife Angélique LABBÉ, and 7 children (1843
to 1845, 1849 to 1850, and 1858 on)
33 Richard MERCIER, wife Naflette Bolduc, and 4 children (1844 to 1848,
1860's on)
34 Moïse HUARD (before 1845) (married Marie Lessard 1849 in Wtvl.)
35 Marie LESSARD (before 1849) (married Moïse Huard 1849 in Wtvl.)
36/6 Angèle VEILLEUX (before 1845) (married Charles-J. Barbeau 1845
in Wtvl.)
37 Olivier CHAMPAGNE (about 1845) (married Marie Boucher 1849 in Wtvl.)
38 Pierre VEILLEUX, wife Marie Lachance, and 7 children (1846 to 1851, &
1861 on)
39 Charles HUARD, wife M.-Archange Poulin, and 11 children (about 1846)
40 Godfroid LATULIPPE, wife Sophie Maheu, and 2 of their children (about
1846)
41/3 Léger ROY, wife Marie Gagné, and 2 of their children
(1847)
42 Joseph TURCOTTE, wife M.-Louise Bariault, and 5 children (about 1848)
43 Jos.-Oliver POULIN, wife Elisabeth Turcotte (about 1838)
44 François LESSARD (1848) (he married Rosalie Boulette 1849 in Wtvl.)
45 Maxime RANCOURT, wife Archange Maheu, and 6 children (1849)
46 Alexandre LESSARD, wife M.-Geneviève Thibodeau, and 5 children
(1849)
47 Vital "David" RODRIGUE, wife Angèle Mathieu, and 1 child
(1849 to early 1850's)
48 Charles LACHANCE, wife M.-Emérance Veilleux, and 5 children (about
1849)
49 Louis RANCOURT, wife Catherine Vachon-Pomerleau, and 6 children (about
1849)
50/3 François RODRIGUE, wife M.-Catherine Loubier, and 5 children
(1850)
51 François LABBÉ, wife M.-Louise Poulin, and 5 children (about
1859 to early 1860's)
52 Abraham DROUIN (about 1852)(married Philomène Paquette 1856 in
Wtvl.)
53 Anastasie DROUIN (about 1852)(married Marcel Rancourt 1853 in Wtvl.)sister
of above
54 Joseph BOLDUC (about 1854)(married Martinne Turcotte 1855 in Wtvl.)
55 Vital PÉPIN (before 1860)(married Henriette Bolduc 1860 in Wtvl.)
56 Sophie, Henriette, David, Sarah, & Fred BOLDUC (before 1859)(all
siblings)
57 Godfroid CLOUTIER dit Carey (before 1852)(married Zoé Huard 1852
in Wtvl.)
58 Rémi BOLDUC, wife Henriette Rancourt, and 5 children (between
1856-1859)
59 Jean-Étienne RODRIGUE (before 1856)(married Marie Poulin 1856
in Wtvl.)
60 Moïse ROY, wife Rosalie Rancourt (about 1852)
61 Joseph LABBÉ, wife Marguerite Toulouse, and 2 children (1851)
62 Jean-Narcisse GRONDIN, wife Marie Bolduc, and 4 children (between 1851-1856)
63/7 Pierre BUREAU dit Simpson, wife Pélagie Rancourt, and 3 of their
children (1836)
64/8 Gaspard "John" QUIRION dit Tantish (early 1830's)(married
Sophie Rodrigue 1835 Skow.)
65/8 Gaspard VEILLEUX, wife M.-Flavie Trépanier, and 1 child (mid-1830's)
66/8 David DULAC, wife M.-Emérence Drouin, and 1 child (1838-9)
67/8 Abraham GILBERT, wife M.-Salomée Morin, and 4 children (1840)
68/8 Jean-Léger VEILLEUX, wife Adéline Fortin (married 1848
Bloomfield & 1851 Beauceville)
69/9 Séraphin CLOUTIER (aka Solomon Carey)(1859)(married Philomène/Amanda
Avare 1886 Skow.)
70/9 Léger CLOUTIER (aka Levi Cary)(1859)(married M.-Antoinette Dumont
1852 Bloomfield)
71/10 Jean-Bte. CAYOUETTE, wife Emilie Blanchet (late 1850's)
72/10 Joseph DROUIN dit Dore, wife Catherine Boucher, and 1 child (1846)
1 these couples first lived/worked in Skowhegan before
coming to settle in Waterville
2 settled in Winslow
3 settled in Fairfield
4 lived in Waterville from 1838 to 1842, returned to Beauceville
for about 3 or 4 years,
then returned in 1846 and settled in Winslow
5 lived in Winslow until 1840, returned to Beauceville, then
returned to Wtvl. in 1850
6 settled in Bloomfield
7 settled in Carmel, Me. - most of their children came to
Wtvl. in 1850's where they married
8 settled in Bloomfield 1835 - NOTE: Skowhegan history
states that Abraham Gilbert was the first
French-Canadian to come to Skowhegan (1832) but
evidently didn't settle there until late 1840.
9 living in Moose River with brother, Léger, in 1860)
10 settled in Skowhegan
Families and individuals from Ste. Marie, Beauce
1 Jos.-Abraham RANCOURT (1834) (he married Nathalie Mathieu 1836 in Wtvl.)
2 Anastasie "Esther" RANCOURT (1834) (sister of Abraham, above)
3 Pierre MARCOUX (1843) (he married Cécile Laliberté 1849
in Wtvl.)
4/1 Charles BARBEAU (circa 1845) (he married Angèle Veilleux 1845
in Wtvl.)
5 Jean-Baptiste MARCOUX, wife Marie Mathieu, and 4 children (about 1846)
6/3 François BRETON, wife Emélie Rancourt, and 5 of their
children (about 1846)
7 George RENY (about 1847) (he married Claudia Mathieu 1848 in Waterville)
8 Pierre-Elzéar RENY (before 1849) (he married Marie Mathieu 1849
Wtvl.)
9/1 Jean-Bte. MORISSETTE, wife M.-Louise Avare, and 4 children (1839)
10/2 Ignace AVARE, wife Marcelline Vachon, and about 2 children (about 1851)
1 settled in Bloomfield (now part of Skowhegan)
2 settled in Skowhegan
3 settled in Winslow
Families and individuals from St. Georges, Beauce
1 Sylvain PÉPIN dit Lachance, wife M.-Marcelline Poulin, and 2
of their children
2 Joseph MORIN, wife Rosalie Veilleux, and first child (1838)
3/1 Godfroid CHAMPAGNE, wife Julie Marcoux, and 2 children (about 1845 in
Fairfield)
4/2 François LATULIPPE, wife Adélaïde Lacombe, and 4
children (about 1848)
5/2 Frédéric POULIN, wife Obéline "Délina"
Maheu, and 6 of their children (1848)
6/2 Olivier BOULETTE, wife Marguerite Thibodeau, and 8 children (1848)
7 Jean DARVEAU, wife Marguerite-Anne Champagne, and 4 children (about 1853)
8/3 Martin RODRIGUE, wife M.-Zoé Poulin, and 1 child (1853)
1 married in St.Georges but children born in St. Victor
de Tring, Beauce county
2 married in Beauceville but children born in St. Georges
3 settled in Skowhegan
Families and individuals from Quebec other than Beauce county
1/1 Michel DESROCHERS, wife Mathilde Saucier, and 3 children (1837)
2/2 Michel DUMONT (alias Mike Demo) (circa 1834)(married Athalie Marcoux
1844 Wtvl.)
3/3 Nicolas MERCIER, wife Françoise Dumas, and 3 of their children
(about 1844)
4/4 Pierre BUSSIERE, wife Emérence Larochelle (1848)
5/4 Jean-Maxime BÉGIN (about 1849)(married Rosalie Lachance 1850
in Wtvl.)
6/3 Jean-A. VALLIERE (before 1855)(married Eliza Morin dit Murray 1855 in
Skow.)
7/5 Joseph CAOUETTE (1850's)
8/6 Joseph LESSARD (1848)
9/5 Augustin VALLIERE, wife Henriette-Emilie Gonthier-dit Bernard (1850),
& children
1 originated from Maskinongé, most likely came down
the Canada Road, also his brother Pierre, wife Adelaide Scolle in 1835
2 said to have originated from Kamouraska; settled in Skowhegan, then Bloomfield
about 1847
3 from St. Henri, Lévis county; settled in Fairfield
4 from Lauzon, Lévis county; returned to PQ about 1862
5 from Ste. Claire, Dorchester county, settled in Skowhegan
6 from St.Isidore, Dorchester county, settled in Skowhegan
Families and individuals from Québec
but town of origin not positively identified or unknown
1 Horace MERCIER (before 1836) (most likely from a town
in Beauce county)
2 Louise-Marthe GILBERT (before 1836) (most likely from a
town in Beauce county)
3 M.-Hermine POULIN(before 1837) (most likely from a town
in Beauce county)
4/1 Joseph CARON, wife (Marcelline Giroux ?), and about 2 of their children
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
5/2 Louis CLOUTIER, wife Marguerite Rancourt (married 1837 in Winslow) (1836)
(most likely from Beauce county)
6 Louis VEILLEUX, wife (Marie Gagné ?), and 1 child (before 1840)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
7 Jacques POIRÉ or POIRIER, wife Marie Latulippe (before 1840) (most likely from a town in Beauce county)
8 François FERLAND (about 1843) (married Emilie Poulin 1844 in Wtvl.)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
9/3 Joseph CLAIR (about 1845) (married Françoise Mercier 1845 in
Fairfield)
10 Thomas BRETON and Angèle GILBERT (married circa 1849 Waterville)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
11 David RODRIGUE (about 1850)(married M.-Lucie Poulin circa 1850 Wtvl.?)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
12 François-X. VALLIERE (about 1852)(married Sophie Bureau ca. 1853
Maine) (most likely from Beauce county)
13 Joseph GAGNÉ (before 1856)(married Marie Poulin 1856 in Wtvl.)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
14 Louis DEROCHER, wife Julie Leclerc, and 2 children (before 1860)
15 François GIROUX, wife Sophie Poulin, and 4 children (1852) (most likely from a town in Beauce county)
16/4 Isidore BÉLAND dit Bellows, wife Rose-D. Pollard, and 1 child
(1849)
17/5 Jean RANCOURT (early 1840's)(married Clarissa Church 1845 in Solon)
(most likely from a town in Beauce county)
18/6 Joseph POMERLEAU, wife Lucie _______, and 3 children (1842) (most
likely from a town in Beauce county)
19/6 Thomas ROY dit King (about 1850)(married Clothilde/Lucy Lachance 1851
in Skow. (most likely from Beauce county)
20/6 Louis BÉLANGER (about 1848)(married Elisabeth Booth 1849 in
Bloomfield) (most likely from a town in Beauce county)
1 settled in China, Me.
2 settled in Fairfield 1840, then moved to Skowhegan around
1857
3 settled in Fairfield
4 settled in Winslow
5 living in Moose River before his marriage, then in Bloomfield
by 1850
6 settled in Bloomfield (Bloomfield is
now a part of Skowhegan)
The book* written on the history of Skowhegan states that Abraham
Gilblair (Gilbert) was the earliest family to come to that town. They came
through the forest with a 2-wheeled hand-cart holding food and the two youngest
children, drawn by Abraham, the older ones walking with their parents. They
continued to Augusta, and returned to Skowhegan a year or two later. Some
of the earliest French-Canadian immigrants used a buckboard, commonly called
a "slide" (a "slague" in French) consisting of 2 long
boards mounted on front and rear axles and carrying one or two seats on
which the family could ride. After the Canada Road was completed, more French
families arrived in Skowhegan - about a dozen before 1850. They settled
in a part of town which soon became known as Little Canada.
The men worked as wood choppers or farm hands. In the winter, they
went into the logging camps, working for 75 cents a day. In the early summer,
they worked on the log drive, and in the late summer and autumn, they helped
on farms and in harvesting, being paid mostly in farm produce. Many women
worked doing washing or stitching shoes at home for village shoe-makers.
(* Ref: pp. 59, 64, 70, 195, 431, 433)
SUMMARY
Origin |
Number Settled in |
Percent |
St.Joseph |
16 |
5 |
Beauceville |
257 |
77.5 |
Ste.Marie |
18 |
5.5 |
St.Georges |
41 |
12 |
TOTAL |
332 |
100 |
Lévis county |
9 |
|
Dorchester county |
5+ |
Copy furnished and permission granted to Mr. Barry H. Rodrigue,
History Department, University of Maine, June 17, 1994
for inclusion in his forthcoming book on the Canada Road.
(migration map by Michael Boisvert & Barry Rodrigue, University
of Laval)
Many French-Canadians, Irish and other nationalities living in Canada
began migrating into Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine via
the new Grand Trunk Railroad line from the mid-1860's up. The French-Canadians
living in the towns along the St.Lawrence River all the way from the Rimouski
and Rivière-du-Loup area down through Kamouraska, Bellechasse, Québec
city area, Mégantic, Sherbrooke, Richmond plus Montreal and places
west, could board a passenger train for a reasonable sum and make a voyage
to New England cities and towns in a matter of hours. One of the first major
stops in Maine was in Lewiston via a spur track. Many continued south to
Portland where they took a train to points south such as Biddeford, Sanford,
Saco, Berwick, and Springvale, or continued into southern New Hampshire
and Massachusetts.
Pictured below is a partial map showing the route of the Grand Trunk Railroad
from Canada through northern Vermont, central New Hampshire into southwestern
Maine that so many French-Canadians took on their travels to this country
during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Another excellent web site you should check out that has
information on many of the other roads from Canada that led
to various parts of Maine that the Canadians travelled over to
reach the various towns in Maine: FRANCO-MAINE
Includes maps, history, migrations, towns, personal accounts and recent
research.
In English and French. En anglais et français.
NAVIGATING ON THIS WEB SITE
Updated 8 Jan 2010