January 8, 2019: Challange

I am going to revert to first person, just because it is easier.  That doesn’t mean the research is all my own… Linda and I are a team. We both are deeply involved.

The biggest challenge has been Barbara McDonald.  She is an enigma has driven me crazy.  I have talked to many people about her, have had a lot of help from my friend Ray, but she still eludes me.  What I have:  She went by the French variation of her name, Barbe.  A few places list her as Barbara Madeleine McDonald, some list her as Elisabeth Durresseau.  She married my 4GGF Pierre Tessier. She married a man name Jean Marie St Ours Baudreau dit Graveline after Pierre died.  I wrote about her in the first few weeks of the challenge, when I was working from the 2018 list of themes, but here she is again.

“OUR ELUSIVE ANCESTOR

Every genealogist has that elusive ancestor, the one you know existed, but cannot document. Our elusive lady is Barbara Magdeleine McDonald.  She first appears as the spouse of Pierre Tessier, who was born 11 December 1747, in Yamanska, QP, CA. Pierre and Barbara were married at Ste Anne Church, Detroit, MI on 321 October 1790.  Her name is listed only as Barbe in the original French record, but in Father Dennison’s book she is listed as Barbara Magdeleine McDonald of Sandwich (Windsor, Ont.). There was no date of birth or parent listed.  There was a Barbara McDonald listed as a domestic working in Detroit prior to the marriage, but there is no documentation proving it was the same person.

Pierre and Barbara move south to Frenchtown settlement, and Pierre and their son Dominique are listed as land owners along the River Raisin.  In the copy of the verbal process of the Parish Assembly, 15 October 1788 of the original land owners, it is noted that Pierre Tessier signed with his mark.  There are several children listed for Pierre and Barbara; Pierre b 1791, Dominique b 15 April 1794, Antoine b 1996, Francois b 21 October 1798, Catherine b 21 January 1801. Pierre died in 1801, and was buried on 15 October 1801 at St Antoine Cemetery, along the River Raisin.  There is a copy of a grant issued by President James Madison, stating that the tract or parcel described was the be had and held by the widow and heirs of Pierre Tessier, signed in the city of Washington, 13 June 1812.

St Antoine church marriage records, dated 24 July 1803 shows her as Barbe Durusseau, married to Jean Marie Ours Baudreau dit Graveline.

No more is heard of Barbara until she is noted as living with grandson Francois Tessier age 51.  Now known as Elisabeth Tessier, 100 years of age, on the 1850 United States census.  Her last appearance was in the St Mary Church records, entry 17, showing her as Elisabeth Durousseau, age 103, date of death 8 June 1851.  There is a notation that she was 103 years, born in Sandwich CA, resided Monroe with the sacrament at 39 years.

In a family where French married French for generation after generation, Barbara is an anomaly. We like to joke that the family got their red hair from her. Her married to Pierre Tessier in 1790 was the only non-French marriage until our Grandmother Eliza Pauline (Lena) Rivard married August John (Gus) Wickenheiser in 1915, and ha a family filled with red heads. Unfortunately, our mother, Clara Mary Wickenheiser Joblinski missed the red hair gene, and none of her 8 children were blessed with that color.

So, the search goes on.  Barbara, we are determined to find you!”

So, Barbe is my challenge, and her story is worth repeating.