April 1 2020 Along the Water
In 2018 I took a trip backward into time, to follow the path of my ancestors. To do this, I traced a path from Newport, and Frenchtown, Monroe County, MI up the St Lawrence River to Quebec City Quebec CA where the first of my French ancestors landed in North America. To do this, I visited the churches where my ancestors were baptized, married, and buried, with my sister and research partner, Linda. There were a lot of them.
The first church in Michigan was established before Michigan was a territory. St Antoine sur la Riviere-aux-Raisins. French missionaries came to the area as early as 1634. The church was a poor French Canadian parish and mission founded 15 October 1788. The church later became St Mary Parish. Our ancestor Louis Leduc was a signer on the original petition for the church. Many ancestors were members of St Antoine, and were buried at the site. Although the cemetery no longer exists, many remains were uncovered during excavation for a new subdivision and reburied. The is a historical marker at the site of the original church and cemetery. We have record of two baptisms, one marriage and one burial of direct ancestors at this site.
St Charles Borromeo in Newport MI was the second Monroe County MI church our ancestors worshipped at. From a small log building on borrowed land to the imposing edifice it is today, my French Canadian ancestors help found, build, and fund this parish The Rivard and Leduc family played roles in establishing the parish, and my 2nd great grandfather Louis Leduc donated land for the first official St Charles Cemetery in 1853. The first church was founded by a the French Canadians who began to settle in the area. The first log church was began in 1838. The present church was built in 1886. We have record of seven baptisms, six marriages, and twelve burials of direct ancestors at this site.
Our German ancestors were members of St Patrick Church in Carleton MI. Found by Irish immigrants it became the home of many German immigrants including our grandfather August Wickenheiser's family. When he and our French grandmother Lena Rivard married at St Charles in 1915 the Carleton church became the home church of their future family, and still is for many members today. Our parents Allie Joblinski and Clara Wickenheiser were married there in 1945, and all six of their living children were baptized there. (My lost brother John was baptized and buried from there. Our newborn brother Michael was buried from there as well. If he received the sacraments during his short 15 hour life, it would have been at the hospital.) We have records of nine baptisms, three marriages, and eight burials of direct ancestors at this site. There are also numerous aunts, uncles and cousins there.
Those were the Michigan churches. Prior to those three houses of worship, came the Canadian ones. That history is more varied, and required a road trip. So my sister and genealogy partner, Linda Tilley and I set off.
The first church we visited was the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame, Montreal. Of course the original small church my ancestors worshiped at was long gone, as was the graveyard. The disinterred bones were moved outside the city to the Cimitiere du Notre Dame des Neiges.
The next church we visited was the Chappelle Notre Dame de Bon Secours, founded by Sainte Marguerite Bourgeoys. She arrived in New France in 1653 with the regiment sent to save the colony from starvation and the Native Americans. She was a teacher and a missionary, and sheltered many Fille de Roi until they were matched up with a husband or returned to France. There is a small Seaman's Chapel that is lovely. Sister Sainte Marguerite wasn't an ancestor, but she probably sheltered our Fille de Roi ancestors. The original church built in 1655 was burned and a new church was built in 1754. As the port at Montreal became more important in the 19th century, the chapel became a favorite place of prayer for sailors. The carved replicas of sailing ships hang from the vault of the chapel as votive lights as a reminder of their faith in Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours.
The next church did not have direct ancestral links either, but it is the most famous church in Montreal. St Joseph Oratory is a shrine to St Joseph. It draws millions of tourists every year. Pilgrims ascend the many steps to the church on their knees with their prayers on their lips. It was founded by Saint Brother Andre in 1904, and is a catholic sanctuary and the largest shrine dedicated to St Joseph
From Montreal we travelled along the St Lawrence visiting many churches and cemeteries that our people had worshipped in. Nest up was Maskinonge and St Joseph and the Sacre-Coeur de Jesus. It was founded in 1700 and was one of the most stately churches we saw.
We noted one baptism and on marriage at this parish.
The church of Ste Anne in Yamachiche was a new structure, the old church having been destroyed by a tornado. The area was settled around 1703, and the first chapel was built in 1772, the church in 1794.
Nearby was the parish of St Antoine-de-Padoue, and the Cimeterie st Odilon de Louiseville. Although we couldn't find the grave, we had two baptisms, three marriages, and four burials that were direct ancestors. The cemetery was unusual in that it had wooden grave markers.
Several days into our trip we reached Trois Rivieres. We saw our ancestors names everywhere. We visited the Musee des Ursulines, and saw the beautiful Eglise St James. It was an Anglican church located near the Veteran's Park we visited.
From there we visited Notre Dame du Cap, Cap du Madeleine was founded in
1651. It was named by Jacques de La Ferte, who was abbot of Sainte-Madeleine de Chateaudun in France. It is famouse for is basillica Basilique Notre Dame du Cap, dedicated to Our Lady of the Cape. It recieves thousands of pilgrims and visitors each year. It is the site where two miracles were said to be performed by the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first being the Miracle of the Ice Bridge in 1879, the other being the Miracle of the Eyes in 1888. The first official pilgrimage occurred in 1883, when 150 people travelled on foot to the location. The site is considered to be the first place of pilgrimage in North America, outside of Mexico. It is one of five shrines in Canada.
The first structure was a small wooded building built in 1659. In 1720 a stone structure was build. The hand hewn beams were used in the construction of the new church. In March of 1879 a new church was constructed but was hampered by transporting of new materials. However in March a section of the St Lawrence River froze sufficiently that by adding snow and water the Priest and some parishioners were able to construct a narrow mile and a half ice bridge. The ice held for a full week and allowed the building material to be hauled across on horse drawn sledges. The church was finished in 1780. Several other transformations took place and the church that was completed in 1888 was demolished in
1963 to make was for the square in front of the basilica. Some of the stones were kept to make an addition to the first church in 1973.
After leaving there we went to the Church of St Marie and Magdeleine. Unfortunately it was not taken care of like most of the other churches we visited.
The Church of St. Mary Magdeleine was built from 1951 to 1953.
The building, clad in bumpy stone, features a Latin cross plan consisting
of a rectangular nave and transepts, and finished with a choir
loft. It has a two sided roof, and has a large warhead bay and is flanked
by a bell tower on the right. It is located close to the site of the Sanctuary
of Our Lady of the Cape, in the Cap-de-Madeleine area of the town of
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada.
The church is the fourth place of worship built in the parish
of the same name. The parish began in 1678 and is the oldest parish in the
diocese of Trois-Rivieres. At first a wooden chapel was built in 1659 by
Pierre Boucher 1622-1717. Pierre was born in Mortagne-au-Perche and
arrived in New France around 1634. He was our 9th Great Grandfather. The chapel
was moved to site of the shrine of Our Lady of the Cape in the 1660's. In
1717. when the building was considered to be too small it was demolished.
A new stone chapel was erected at the site, and was finished in 1720. A new
parish church was built nearby in 1879, but the stone chapel was preserved and
converted into a shrine dedicated to the Virgin. A new, larger church was built
in 1951 and called Sainte Marie Magdeleine.
When we visited this church in 2018 it had been closed for
some time. Vandals had been at work and its once beautiful interior had
been damaged. The stained glass windows were broken. the interior and exterior
showed the disregard that was shown to this once cherished house of worship.
The next stop was at the most recent church in our family history. It was the church where my maternal great grandfather's family attended. It was located in a pretty square in the town of Trois Rivieres. It was a larger town than I expected, and I later learned the Quebec City, Montreal and Trois Rivieres were the "Big Three" of Quebec cities
We then went to Ste Genevieve de Batiscan. Another family house of worship, it had an historical marker announcing it was "Hommage aux Pionniers 1685-1985. Such history in these churches. It made one humble.
From there we went to Ste Anne de la Perade. The village was founded in 1667 and the church was right in the middle of the town.
On the road again, to St Alban, the last church our Great Grandfather Edourd Rivard attended before moving to the USA, There were many Rivard graves next to the church, but no first names were an exact match to our direct ancestors. That was pretty much true of all the cemeteries and churches we visited. The ravages of time did their job and obliterated the stones or rotted the wood markers. Still we knew they were sleeping there. 
That was the last of the family churches along the great St Lawrence that we visited. From there we went to Quebec City and beyond, but there were no more places that we knew of that had housed our ancestors, It was a great trip along the water!
That was the last of the family churches along the great St Lawrence that we visited. From there we went to Quebec City and beyond, but there were no more places that we knew of that had housed our ancestors, It was a great trip along the water!
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