Last Sunday the granddaughter of Willis Daigle contacted me asking for my help searching her ancestors.
Hi, I’m out here in Louisiana. I’m wondering if these are the same Daigles you went above and beyond researching. Also I’m currently trying to connect the dots with Oak Alley Plantation and Laura Plantation with the Daigles. Any ideas?
She had this three-page document her grandfather Willis had written about his ancestors.
She told me later she had a story to share if I was interested. So with her permission, this is her story…
I would like to share this.
It all started about a year ago. I had bought a painting from a garage sale for five dollars. It was a huge tree and I don’t know why but I was obsessed with it. I spent countless hours staring at it just meditating on it. It started falling off the wall randomly. The past month, it has probably fallen off my wall at least 5 times so though I thought I might have to get rid of it but I love it and I knew I wouldn’t. Two weeks ago, my fiancé, our two boys and I went on a tour at Oak Alley Plantation. As we were walking around, I mentioned the painting to my fiancé. How the trees look like the one in my painting and he agreed. He took a picture of me and the boys next to the tree I was sitting at.
The following night my picture fell down again. My friends were over, so one friend decided to Google the picture. I was in awe when I found out. It was a picture from Oak Alley. Then my fiancé pointed out that it was the tree I was sitting next to when I stood up to take the picture.
So I took that as a sign to start
digging.
Next time, it will be my turn to dig and share what I have found.
My distant cousin-in-law sent me another calendar this year…
Hoping we’ll all be here in 2025.
This is what he wrote me…
There are new photos this time, far fewer repeats (a few, but some family pics are too wonderful to not repeat) – so I hope you enjoy. Like you, there is nothing more magical to me than seeing the wonderful old family photos. These were amazingly precious to our ancestors. It wasn’t like today with people blasting off a hundred pictures a day with a cell phone camera, only to have them disappear into the ether over time. These were expensive and valuable keepsakes for people. My paternal grandfather came to America in 1911 and when he did he brought with him ONE photo of his mother and father, and as far as we know, it is the only known photo. Each one of these pictures is a little treasure.
Merry Christmas!!!!!
Joe P
COVER –
Coney Island, summer 1913 – my grandfather Ralph Mocciolo was 15 in this photo. In a few short years he joined the U.S. Army, was shipped to Europe with the Allied Expeditionary Force, and was gassed by the Germans, and survived, in Alsace-Lorraine.
Now, the ID conundrum: back of photo lists the names, left to right, Victor White Hope, 14, Ralph Mocciolo, 15, Frank Leoni, 13, Ralph Sciciliano, 16, but clearly that is NOT my grandfather guzzling the Chianti. Grandpa Ralph is on the left, seemingly masterminding the stickup.
JANUARY –
One of the earliest known photos of some of the founders of the Northeast Transportation bus company (best guess on this photo is 1925) in Waterbury, Conn. One of the 12 founding members was Dorothea’s grandfather, Carmine Spina, shown far right in photo.
Next…
In that photo, that is Dorothea’s dad, Jim Spina, on right, with other Northeast employees. No date known on the photo, but clearly post WWII.
Northeast Transportation is the last of Waterbury’s bus companies still in operation.
FEBRUARY –
Eva Mocciolo, year unknown, but most likely mid-1920s. A stunning beauty, Eva’s uncles were hairdressers, and she often modeled for them. The photos were hung up in the shop in downtown Waterbury.
MARCH –
This glorious shot is the oldest known family photo. It is a military reunion picture taken in 1887, and there are two ancestors in the photo: my great great grandfather, Raffaele Mocciolo (1830-1910, although there are some records that put his date of birth at 1827), and his brother, Giuseppe Antonio Mocciolo (1836-1923). Raffaele, seen in the inset, served alongside Garibaldi in the 1860 uprising which led to the unification of Italy, and for his deeds he has a small bio in Italian history books. Raffaele is pictured top row, second from left. Giuseppe Antonia is pictured in the second row, second from left. This is the only known photo of Raffaele. All were born and died and buried in Anzi, Italy.
APRIL –
Ludovico Mocciolo, (1860-1938) – son of Raffaele, brother of my great grandfather – born in Anzi, Italy, died and buried in Anzi, Italy.
MAY –
More Mocciolos coming at you. First my grandmother, Marie Morrotto, born 1907 in Rapone, Italy, pictured here with my mother, Theresa Mocciolo (1929-2022), downtown Waterbury, circa 1932/33.
My mother at approximately age 8/9.
The earliest known photo of my mother, most likely 1930.
JUNE –
My dad, Nick Palladino (1931-2014), pictured in Leavenworth High School graduation photo (1949).
And him as a young man about town – most likely 1952 or 1953, pretty sure before he was off with the U.S. Army to Korea.
JULY –
We have used this photo before, but truth be told, it may be one of the great family photos. Dorothea’s mother, Dorothy Miller Spina (1919-2009) in photo from, most likely, Brewster, N.Y., circa 1923 – from left to right, the siblings, Edsen Miller, Dorothy, and Dalton Miller. Looks like it is game day.
AUGUST –
This is the great mystery photo of the 2024 calendar. The man in the middle is Angelo Possemato, born in Waterbury in 1895, died in Los Angeles 1961. This photo predates the family’s move to California, but I do not know the date, or, the other people in the photo. Father Luigi on left? Very likely. Brother on right, Domenic or Albert? Do not know. But perhaps we will find out through the circulating of this calendar. The Possematos are all in California, and I will try and track down this information in the coming weeks.
SEPTEMBER –
Yes, more Mocciolos, the dominant theme here. That is my grandfather Ralph, on the left, with two of his best friends, Henry Santoro, standing, and Dewey Pennington, sitting. Date of photo is 1914.
OCTOBER –
Two photos that can never be omitted.
My aunt, Josephine Mocciolo, who died in 1939 at age 6.
My uncle, Joseph Palladino, who died in 1940 at the age of 18. This is the only known photo of Joe, although I have found another photo and there is a good chance he’s in it. Tragically, Joe was committed to a sanatorium (Waterford, Conn) at, I believe, age 8, and lived there the last 10 years of his life, before he was taken by tuberculosis. This is one of only two known photos of Josephine, from the same sitting. She died of appendicitis. The story goes that the doctors decided to wait until morning to do the surgery, and she died during the night. Considering that there are a few infant photos of my mother, one would guess that there are more of Josephine, but, we do not have them. Of course, it hardly needs mentioning that I am named after my mother’s sister and my father’s brother.
NOVEMBER –
OK, yes, another Mocciolo, Aunt Mary (1896-1974), or Maria Mocciolo, my grandfather’s sister.
DECEMBER –
And lastly, one more glam shot, my wife’s mother, Dorothy Miller (Legace) Spina. Not sure of the year, somewhere in the late 1940s I believe. Someone call the Ford Modeling Agency and sign her up!
Finding that my maternal grandfather once worked in Tupper Lake was quite a surprise a few years ago.
Images about Tupper Lake, New York, taken from the Internet
A planing mill, where boards from the sawmill are turned into finished lumber. Circa 1920. Tupper Lake, NY. Photo courtesy of the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library.
A group of workers pose outside a sawmill; the caption on the original reads: “The Big Mill.” Some of the people identified in the original photo: First Row: David Benjamin #5, Ben Churcho #11; Second Row: Mike Leonard #3, Ernie Martin #5; Top Row: Mr. Coolaw #3, William Staves #4. 1900. Tupper Lake, NY. Photo courtesy of the Goff-Nelson Memorial
Exterior of the Brooklyn Cooperage Mill, which made hardwood barrel staves. It was connected to the Cornell School of Forestry. The “Faust” reference in the caption is an area now incorporated into the village of Tupper Lake. Circa 1905-1915. Tupper Lake, NY.
Two men (possibly owners of a mill or managers of the job) sitting on pulpwood logs in Rock Island Bay. The logs were destined for the Piercefield Paper Mill. Circa 1920s. On Big Tupper Lake, NY.
Lumber yard outside of Tupper Lake. C: Stacks of lumber on either side of railroad tracks in a lumber yard on the Raquette Pond on Raquette River, near Tupper Lake. The pond is full of logs, and the sawmill is in the background on the left. Photo caption says: Raquette Pond, on Raquette River. Near the village of Tupper Lake, Franklin Co., N.Y. Circa 1890-1900. Tupper Lake, NY.
Workers inside the sawmill at the Santa Clara Lumber Company, which operated from 1888-1927. Circa 1900. Tupper Lake, NY. Photo courtesy of the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library.
Three workers inside a Tupper Lake shingle mill operating shingle saws. One of the men pictured is John Oliver Dupont. The other two are unidentified. Circa 1905-1915. Tupper Lake, NY.
Little did I know I would one day reunite with his cousin Euclid Oscar Vezina (Vézina) and someone who would take care of Euclid Vezina’s headstone.
This finding led me to search for more of Vezinas’ headstones at the same cemetery.
Where to find our ancestors! Final Chapter? Try Find A Grave…
I had to find mine elsewhere back in 2007. Do you have old mortuary cards…?
Old pictures…?
Thanks to my aunt Evelyne my family tree has grown exponentially since 2007 mostly with people who have been contacting me through my blogs or Find a Grave.
Lately I have started adding a few more memorials on Find A Grave and I have made contact with someone who was also searching for the Vezina family.
Having had many children, Olivier Vézina and Hermine Paiement have thousands of descendants mostly living in the United States who know nothing of their French-Canadian ancestors both born in Ste-Marthe, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges County, Québec, Canada.
Here is the list of their 21 children with updated dates I have added when I started looking for more information using Find a Grave…
Roméo Vézina 1880–1942
Albert Vézina 1881–1946
Rebecca Vézina 1882–1973
Raoul Vézina 1884–1967
Raoul Vézina
Raoul Vézina and his bride Marie-Louise Blanchard
Elmer Vézina 1885–?
Leona Vézina 1886–1960
Albina Vézina 1888–1952
Florentine Vézina 1890–1895
Annonciade Vézina 1891–1891
Ovide Vézina 1891–1891
Ovide Vézina 1892–1942
Alma Vézina 1894–?
Euclide Vézina 1896–1967
Sarah Vézina 1898–1898
David Alexis Vézina 1899–1900
Sarah Vézina 1900–1900
Léonie Vézina 1900–1901
Sarah Vézina 1903–1903
Yvonne Vézina 1903–1984
Corinne Vézina 1904–1908
Joseph David Vézina 1906–1906
Each will eventually get its own post on Our Ancestors II leading up to December 25, 2023.
When you look for something, you are bound to find it Pierre…
Final chapter?
Ten years ago I thought I ought to stop searching for distant relatives in the US. My youngest son had said that there were not enough dead people around to satisfy my addiction.
Tupper Lake 1914…
My grandfather Euclide was going there with his brother Aldama.
As always that had piqued my curiosity. Why were Euclide and his brother Aldama going to Tupper Lake?
I had tried very hard to find the missing link between Therese Charbonneau and her ancestor Olivier Charbonneau and help Bob find his mother’s ancestors.
This was the hypothesis I had about James Charbonneau until Louise Nelson’s commented last month…
Time flies…
Caroline Grenier, James’ second wife was married to Pierre Loiselle (in 1871) before marrying James Charbonneau (in 1879) She had a daughter – also named Caroline – with Pierre. The children born after this Caroline Loiselle are children of Caroline and James. The marriage document for James and Caroline lists his parents as Peter Charbonneau and Victorine Cottineau. Caroline Grenier’s parents are listed as Louis Grenier and Marceline Boutier.
With Louise Nelson’s comment I could finally complete the puzzle with this piece.
Le vingt-sept juin mil huit cent trente-trois par nous prêtre soussigné avons baptisé Jacques né ce jour du légitime mariage de Pierre Charbonneau cultivateur de cette paroisse et de Victoire Laurier. Le parrain a été Jacques Laurier oncle de l’enfant et la marraine Marie Léveillé qui avec le père n’ont pu signer.
On June twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-three, we, the undersigned priest, baptized Jacques, born this day of the legitimate marriage of Pierre Charbonneau, farmer of this parish, and Victoire Laurier. The godfather was Jacques Laurier, uncle of the child, and the godmother Marie Léveillé who, with the father, were unable to sign.
So James Charbonneau would actually be Jacques Charbonneau unless Victorine Cottineau and Victoire Laurier are not the same person?
When you look for something, you are bound to find it Pierre…
This is my mantra I had made up from something my grandfather might have said even if in real life he never spoke to me once.
Olivier Charbonneau is one of my distant ancestor.
This makes Therese a distant cousin.
I had tried so very hard to find the missing link between her and Olivier and help Bob find his mother’s ancestors.
This was the hypothesis I had until Louise Nelson’s commented last week…
Caroline Grenier, James’ second wife was married to Pierre Loiselle (in 1871) before marrying James Charbonneau (in 1879) She had a daughter – also named Caroline – with Pierre. The children born after this Caroline Loiselle are children of Caroline and James. The marriage document for James and Caroline lists his parents as Peter Charbonneau and Victorine Cottineau. Caroline Grenier’s parents are listed as Louis Grenier and Marceline Boutier.
With Louise Nelson’s comment I could finally complete the puzzle with this piece.
Louise Nelson commented on James Charbonneau and she got me searching again.
Caroline Grenier, James’ second wife was married to Pierre Loiselle (in 1871) before marrying James Charbonneau (in 1879). She had a daughter – also named Caroline – with Pierre. The children born after this Caroline Loiselle are children of Caroline and James. The marriage document for James and Caroline lists his parents as Peter Charbonneau and Victorine Cottineau. Caroline Grenier’s parents are listed as Louis Grenier and Marceline Boutier.
Suzanne Lagasse has contributed once again on Our Ancestors II and she got me all excited again since I had been researching this couple since 2009 maybe even earlier.
Born in 1854, Louis M. Lagasse was my great-grandfather’s younger brother. When Louis was born Stanislas Lagacé, aka Dennis Lagasse II, was 12 years old. My great-grandfather would get married 8 years later with Henriette Alexandre. Their first child was Anthony, born in 1863. Louis thus became an uncle at the ripe age of 9.
Louis (Lewis Lagassa) married Rose on August 1, 1881 in Waterbury, Vermont.
Rose and Louis had five children:
Dora Lagasse 1882–1952
Oscar Dennis Lagasse 1884–1961
Wilbur Joseph Lagasse 1888–1957
Harvey Louis Lagasse Sr 1894–1971
Walter David Lagasse 1901–1959
This is Harvey Louis immortalized in a family album as well as Maude and their three sons Harvey Louis Junior, Eugene and Robert…
Now you can understand that being excited was an understatement…
Our Ancestors II 