Anyone who starts researching their family tree will eventually run into a mysterious ancestor. One that seemed to appear out of no where, just to drive you crazy.
My 2nd Great Grandfather Frederick Robichaud was my big challenge. He seamed to have appeared in the 1891 census married to Elizabeth Gallant with 4 children, with no links to the past. His marriage record seams to be missing as well.
Some times when I have trouble finding information out about an ancestor I will try searching for trees already done. While they are not always correct some times they will be just the stepping stone needed.
Unfortunately I could not find many trees with my ancestor in them and the few I found stopped with him. Also most only listed one of the children. Every reference to the family showed it as a dead end.
After digging through census, I had a very strong suspicion that my Frederick was the same one listed in the 1901 census but with a new wife Catherine. The older children closely matched in names and their marriage record listed Frederick as a widow. This was also the feelings of some very helpful people from some forums. (Thank you!)
It was from this marriage record I was able to get Frederick's birth place as Pokemouche, New Brunswick. His parents were listed as Luc Robichaud and Archange Arseneau.
Things were begging to come together that is until i could find no record of that couple ever having a child name Frederick!
Now the family was pretty well documented, at least the fathers side. But all the trees I found did not list a Frederick and neither did the census data. BUT their was a Ferdinand and he was about the right age. Frederick was a common nickname for Ferdinand. But although I was 95% sure they were the same person I could not prove it.
Then last week I put my back out. Normally NOT a good thing. LOL! But it did give me an opportunity to do a lot of reading. I decided to tackle reading the church ledgers on Ancestry. Up until that point I had only been able to locate one of the baptism records for the children of Fredericks first marriage.
I started with the one the record I had found and then went forward in time until I finally found my G Grandmothers baptism. It didn't come up in the searches because only the last name was indexed!
After that I went backwards in time. Slowly I was able to find most of the records.
But it was when I came to the record for Joseph Alexander Robichaud that tears came to my eye's. There it was! Parents listed as Ferdinand Frederick Robichaud and Eliza Gallant!
Yes he had been going by a nickname all his married life.
So I'm thrilled to have put that question to rest. Now if I could just find the missing birth/baptism records for their first 3 children John, Albert and William! I'm sure if I can find them, I might also find Frederick (Ferdinand's) and Elizabeth Gallants marriage record.
The oldest 3 all list Loggieville, New Brunswick as their birth place. But I have been unable to find the records so far....Labels: Gallant, genealogy, New Brunswick, Robichaud