~~ PROULX ~~~GALLANT~~BRAVE~~VALIANT~~CRAFTY~~
We begin Our Family History with the surname PROULX, and Ancestors Jean PROU, son of Jean & Louise Valle & Jacquette FOURNIER, daughter of Guillaume & Francoise HEBERT.
Jean & Jacquette were married 2 June 1673 at Quebec,
when Jean was age 29, and Jacquette only 14 years
of age. They had 14 children, among them, my ancestor,
Pierre, who later married Agatha Destroismaison
dit Picard. And, so it goes, extending 13 Generations,
from Jean & Louise Vallee to our Great-nephew,
Thomas-Joseph, the first of eight Great Grandchildren
of my parents.
Our Proulx Ancestors were never far from the land they
cultivated, or the waters of the mighty St-Lawrence,
once they left the region of Poitou in France. First
settling in Quebec City, within three generations,
they moved up the St-Lawrence to Montmagny, Beaumont,
Kamouraska and finally, Rimouski. They had names
like Guillaume, Pierre and Joseph, and, of course,
very large Catholic families.
At the ninth generation, it was left to several of
the children of my Great-Grandparents, Michel Proulx
& Josephine Lavoie, to leave the Rimouski area for
Fall River, Massachusetts, in order to secure a
better life for the Family. The year was 1890, and
my Grandfather, George, was sixteen years old. He
and some of the brothers followed their older
brother, Michel-Joseph, first to Lowell, Massachusetts,
for work in the mills.Some remained in the area, as did my
Grandfather's twin, Felix Proulx,an engineer, who is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Within a short time most would move on to Fall River,
Massachusetts, bound by the Taunton River on the west,
two large lakes on the east, named the North and South Wautupa. Fall River is just a few miles north of Buzzard's Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The children of the Lower St-Lawrence River were very much at home in the Fall River area.
The spouse of my Great-Uncle, Michel-Joseph, Emma Cote,
came from a family of grocers and her father sold fresh
fruit and other food stuffs from his wagon. It wasn't
long before Michel and Emma, along with their growing
family, were operating a bakery in the first floor of
their rented home. By 1900, the ambitious couple, along
with a variety of relatives, had built, not one, but
two multi-family dwellings on Stafford Road, the first
housing the family business, a fine bakery and small
grocery.
Now, finally, it was time to bring the elderly parents,
Michel and Josephine, down from Quebec to enjoy the
remainder of their days with their children and grand-
children. But, this was not to be, as, according to a
local obituary, the elder Michel passed away suddenly,
at the home of his daughter, Odille Martin, having been
little more than a week in Fall River. He was laid to
rest in Fall River's Notre-Dame Cemetery, in a large
family plot the younger Michel had originally planned
for himself, his wife and children, along with their
spouses. Eight years later, his wife Josephine joined
the senior Michel. Today there are four generations
of Proulxs and their spouses buried there, with but
three places remaining.
Just an interesting note~In Michel-Joseph and Emma's
second family plot, there is one place remaining without
a date of death. Amazingly, it is for one of their daughters, who,come summer, will reach her 104th birthday!God bless
Marie-Marthe Aurore Proulx Patenaude!
In 1898, my Grandfather, George, took as his bride his
Lavoie cousin, Marie-Anne Philomene Labrie dit Mignault,
daughter of Octave Labrie dit Mignault & Artimese Cote.
By 1918, George and Philomene were parents of twelve
children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Their eighth
child was my Father, Roland-Joseph Proulx, who in 1935
married my Mother, Marie-Adelina Gagne. By their two
children and their spouses, they were blessed with four
Grandchildren, and eight Gre
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- Grandfather, George Proulx,, Family Plot, c1900 (29 KB)
Great-Uncle Michel Proulx, a successful baker and
grocery store owner, had this monument erected more than 100 years ago.
- Marriage of Olivine Martin&J. George Rivard, 1913 (61 KB)
Olivine Martin was the daughter of
Telesphore Martin (died 1907) and his wife,
Odille Proulx, sister to Michel-Joseph and George Proulx. Her brother Alfred "gives her away" as her father had died some 7 years earlier. Her uncles, Michel and George stand
as witnesses.
In the picture are, at top, left, brother
Alfred Martin, Godfather Michel-Joseph and
Uncle George Proulx, witnesses. The marriage
took place on July 1, 1913 at St-Roch Church,
Fall River, MA.
- Marie-Anne Philomene Labrie-Proulx, 1878~1921 (76 KB)
This is a photograph of my paternal Grandmother Philomene Labrie who was the spouse of George
Proulx and mother of twelve children. My Dad
was nearly ten when she died for want of a
drug like penicilin. Her youngest child was nearly three, and soon was adopted by her
brother Ernest Labrie and his wife Delia,
where he was raised in Brooklyn, N. Y.
This is the only known photograph of
Philomene, taken most likely at the time of
the wedding of her niece, Olivine Martin.
It is through a 101 year old cousin,
that we know something of Philomene's
life~that she was the "heart" of her home,
patient and loving with all and had a
beautiful singing voice.
- Julie, Roland and Anita, Summer at Home, 1921 (72 KB)
Pictured here are my Dad and two of his
six sisters. Their Mom, Philomene, had
passed away just six months earlier, and
their teen age sisters were caring for them.
Fall River, MA, 1921
- Marriage of Roland J. Proulx,&Adelina Gagne, 1935 (104 KB)
George & Philomene's only son, of six, to
marry, my Dad, Roland, exchanged vows
with my Mom, Adelina Gagne, daughter of
Edmond Gagne and Alphonsine Desrosiers,
on July 1,1935 in the town of Dartmouth, MA.
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