Who baptized/married/buried your ancestors? If your RC ancestors settled in the Ottawa Valley area, the early church records can be a bit confusing: because the acts were recorded by a number of different priests covering an often vast territory, the relevant baptismal/marriage/burial records may be found in the register for a parish (originally a mission) many miles away from your ancestors’ residence.
Here’s a partial list of the missionary priests who served the Pontiac Co. area in the mid-nineteenth century.
Information extracted from “Notes pourvant servir à la recherche d’extraits aux Régistres,” by Rev. G.A. Picotte, curé au Calumet, circa 1893; and from notes made by T. Nap. LeMoyne, Gower Point, 30 June 1900.1
| Dates | Priests |
|---|---|
| 1836-1838 | Rev Pascal Brunet, curé Montebello Wm Cannon, vicaire à Bytown |
| 1836-1838 | F.L. de Bellefeuille, S.S. Montréal J.B. Dupuis, Evêché Montréal |
| 1838-1845 | John Brady, curé Montebello |
| 1839-1845 | Hyp. Moreau, Evêché Montreal C.C. Vôire, curé St. Joseph [Leves?]2 |
| 1839- | A. Morin |
| 1839- | J.B. Bourassa, curé Montebello |
| 1840-1848 | J.J. Desantels, curé Aylmer |
| 1840- | A.F. Truteau, Evêché Montreal N.L. Amyot, St. Cyprien |
| 1841- | S.E. Payment, missionaire St. Maurice |
| 1844- | Flavien Durocher, OMI, Montreal |
| 1844-1846 | Jas. C. Lynch, curé Allumettes |
| 1845- | A.A. Brunet, OMI Medard Bourassa, Montebello Eusèbe Durocher, Bytown |
| 1845- | Jean N. Laverlochère, OMI |
| 1846- | H. Ths. Clement, OMI |
| 1846-1847 | A.F. Grouse, curé Calumet |
| 1847-1849 | J.S. St Aubin, Calumet |
| 1849-1851 | Jos. Bouvier, Calumet Frs. Perret, vicaire Calumet |
| 1847- | J.H. McDonagh, Almonte |
| 1842- | McNulty, Mount St Patrick |
| 1855- | Rev. Michael Lynch, vic. aux Allumettes |
| 1851-1858 | L.C. A. Ouellet, Miss. à LaPasse |
| 1858 ____ | A. P. de Saunhae, Ier curé à LaPasse |
A Few Ecclesiastical Terms (French-English):
curé = parish priest
évêché = bishopric
évêque = bishop
missionaire = missionary
paroisse = parish
presbytère = rectory, parsonage
prêtre = priest
prêtre soussigné = undersigned priest
vicaire = curate; assistant priest
Vicariat Apostolique = Vicariat Apostolic. A Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction established in an area that has not yet been organized into a diocese.
1Ile du Grand Calumet (Paroisse Ste. Anne, Co. Pontiac, PQ), Register of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1881-1893, database at Ancestry.ca (http://ancestry.ca/: accessed 8 August 2011), Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-967.
2Possibly St. Joseph de la Pointe de Lévy?
Thanks for posting this list of missionaries of the Ottawa Valley and Pontiac. It is an amazing story. Am working on a history of Father Brady, first parish priest in Buckingham and early missionary. He ministered in English, French and Gaelic.
Yes, the history of the missions (and the missionaries) is fascinating. I’d be interested in learning more about Father Brady. I think I’ve seen some of his records (at Buckingham) written in French, which caught my eye because of his Irish name.