A Laroque Link

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting regularly. I started a Photoshop class at the local college so that I could clean up many of the older pictures that I've scanned, and also zoom in on the details so they are clearer when posting.

I also have been meaning to pass on the following email regarding the previous post about Joseph Fields and Jenny Larocque:

Dina,
There [is a] good chance that Jenny's parents were Jean-Baptiste Larocque (John Larocque) and Marie-Louise Martel (Mary Martell). The above couple were married in St-Polycarpe Quebec October 20 1856. St-Polycarpe is a little village about 10 miles from the Ontario border. You can visit my web site
at http://www3.sympatico.ca/louis.larocque/
Best regards, Louis Larocque

Louis' website is one of the best genealogical resources on the web, The LaRocque Family History Book, and is dedicated to the LaRocque (and its variation of spelling) line. It is well worth a visit and I will be adding it to the Favorite Websites list on this site. He was spot-on about Mary Jane's parents, and I will be looking up more LaRocques on his site!

The WWI Registration of Leo F. O'Keefe

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Above is the WWI Draft Registration card for Leo Francis. The Transcription:

(Left Handside)

Registration Card

Serial No.: 5662

Order No.: 14855

1) Name: Leo Francis O'Keefe

2) Permanent Home: 720 10th St., Niagara Falls, Niagara [County], NY

3) Age in Years: 18

4) Date of Birth: Sept. 5, 1900

Race: 5) [box for White] "Yes"

[items 6-9 are boxes for other races]

Citizenship: 10) [box for Native Born] "Yes"

[items 11-12 are boxes for other types of citizenship, items 13-14 are for aliens, 15 for note on citizenship]

16) Present Occupation: Wholesale Clerk

17) Employer's Name: Richmond & Mathers

18) 354 [unreadable], Niagara Falls, Niagara, NY

NEAREST RELATIVE:

19) Name: Elizabeth O'Keefe

[mother, Elizabeth McPartland O'Keefe]

20) Address: 720 10th St., Niagara Falls, Niagara [County], NY

I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true

Leo F. O'Keefe

[signature]

PMGO

Form No. 1

(Right Handside)

REGISTRAR'S REPORT

[The number 31-8-24-C is stamped next to this heading]

Description of Registrant

Height: box for Medium written "Yes"

Build: box for Medium written "Yes"

Color of Eyes: Blue

Color of Hair: Brown

29) Has person lost arm, leg, hand, eye, or is he obviously physically disqualified? "No Loss"

30) No exceptions or notes written

Signature of Registrar: Edward Howe

Date of Registration: Sept. 12, 1918

Who's Who -- Cornelius & Mary O'Keefe's Family

Francis O'Keefe's parents were Cornelius O'Keefe (abt. 1835-1905) and Mary Morgan (abt. 1838-1912). Both parents immigrated to the Medina area of New York from Ireland. They married about 1860 (although I can't tell if that was back in Ireland or in New York) and raised the following children:

Francis O'Keefe (1866-1944)
(see previous blogs)

Catherine O'Keefe (1870-1949)
(m. John Crowley abt. 1889)

Mary O'Keefe (1869-??)
(additional information needed)
4/12/07 -- married Thomas McPartland; see additional posts

Cornelius O'Keefe, Jr. (1872-1900)
(will discuss in another blog)

John O'Keefe (1863-??)
(moved to Buffalo, NY; more info unknown)

James O'Keefe (1865-??)
(additional information needed)

Housekeeping: Gone to Oz!

You may not see any more posts this year (2006) because I will be on vacation until Jan. 7, 2007. I will be in Australia (aka Oz) with my family, hunting down those elusive ancestors ~ maybe the ones I can't find moved there? Just kidding. I have no known family there, but I will be taking a much-needed break.

Have a great Holiday Season and a Happy New Years! I will continue to post after I get back (give me a few days to recover from jet lag!)

The Marriage of Joseph Fields and Mary Jane Larocque

Sorry, the image above is from Ancestry.com's files, and doesn't enlarge very well. This is a copy of the Marriage Registry showing the union of Joseph Fields and Mary Jane Larocque in the middle column. My best transcription with comments afterwards:

Source Information:
Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ontario, Canada). Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1857-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2006. Original data: Ontario, Canada. Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1922. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Archives of Ontario. MS932, 632 reels.

Top of Register:

p. 179

Schedule B -- Marriages

County of Hastings, Division of Trenton(1)

Middle Column from Top:

No. 25

Stamped over: 004630

Groom's Name: Joseph Fields

Groom's Age: 20 years old

Residence when married: Trenton

Place of Birth: Cornwall

Bachelor or Widower (B or W): B

Groom's Occupation: Laborer

Name of Parents: Oliver Fields & Sarah Tovall(2)

Bride's Name: Jennie Larocque

Age of Bride: 19 years

Residence when married: Trenton

Place of Birth: Prescott

Spinster or Widower (S or W): S

Name of Parents: John Larocque & Mary Martell

Names of Witnesses: Adolphus Shorbia & Jane McCormick, Trenton

Date of Wedding: November 23rd, 1885

Place of Wedding: Trenton

Religion of Groom: RC (Roman Catholic)

Religion of Bride: RC

By [unreadable]: E.J. Walsh, B (3)

Lines on bottom are county clerk verifying that above was correct (as told to him) and date.

Footnotes:

(1) Even though the register is from Hastings, it does not necessarily reflect that the marriage took place there. It could easily be the county seat, or the nearest governmental place to file the marriage. However, given that the bride, groom and witnesses lived in Trenton at the time of the marriage, it is a good bet that the marriage took place in the vicinity of Trenton.

(2) The last name of Joseph's mother has been transcribed as: Tovall, Lovell, and Lovatt by numerous websites. I have tried searching Canadian censuses with all those names, as well as for Oliver Fields, and have not turned up anything.

(3) From the looks of it, this was the priest or justice of the peace who performed the ceremony.

My commentary:

Finding this marriage registry was huge for me because it was the first non-US documentation that I found for any of my family lines. It also gave me the names of Joseph and Jennie's birthplaces as well as their parents. For Jennie, this linked to other family members who I will talk about later. However, Joseph's ancestry has become a brickwall for me. I can find no Oliver Fields nor Sarah Tovall/Lovell/Lovatt anywhere.

Who's Who -- Francis & Elizabeth's Family

Francis O'Keefe married Elizabeth McPartland on 8 Sept 1897 in Wheatville, Genesee Co., NY. (see previous blog). I'll be posting more, including photographs, of these two and their lives later.

They had the following children:

Leo Francis O'Keefe - (5 Sept 1900 - 21 Feb 1976)
-- married Leona Fields (see previous posts)

Joseph William O'Keefe - "Joe" (16 Dec 1898 - 1930)
-- married Rita [last name unknown]

Irene O'Keefe (abt. 1905 - ??)
-- married Cletus Martin

M. Helen O'Keefe (1907-1987)
-- married Thomas Brophy

The Marriage of Francis O'Keefe and Elizabeth McPartland

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This is the official copy (for genealogical purposes only) of the Marriage License for Francis O'Keefe and Elizabeth McPartland. The transcription of above certificate:

Left-hand Column:

Date of Marriage: September 8, 1897

Groom's Full Name: Francis O'Keefe

Residence of Groom: Medina, NY

Age: 30 Years

Color: White
Occupation: Hotel Landlord

Single or Widowed: Single
Birthplace of Groom: Shelby Center, Orleans Co, NY

Father's Name: Corneilus O'Keefe
Mother's Name: Mary Morgan

Number of Groom's Marriage: First

Bride's Full Name: Elizabeth McPartland

Residence of Bride: Wheatville [NY]

Age: 24 Years
Color: White
Single or Widowed: Single

Maiden Name if widowed: No

Birthplace of Bride: Wheatville, NY

Father's Name: Patrick McPartland

Mother's Maiden Name: Bridget Dugan

Number of Bride's Marriage: First
Name of Person performing Ceremony: Rev. F. J. Burns

Official Duties: Catholic Priest

Residence: East Pembroke, NY

Right-sided Column:

County of Genesee

Town of Alabama

Villiage of Wheatville

Certificate and Record of Marriage
State of New York -- Bureau of Vital Statistics

Numbers on left side: 16032 (stamped, meaning unclear)

Registered No. 193

I hereby certified that Francis O'Keefe and
Elizabeth McPartland were joined in Marriage
by me in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, at Wheatville, NY

this eighth day of September 1897
Signature of Witnesses in Marriage: Joseph Kearney, [unreadable]

Signature of Person performing ceremony: Rev. F.J. Burns

The marriage certificate contains all sorts of wonderful genealogical information. It lists the bride's maiden name as well as her parent's names (including mother's maiden name!) . Also listed are occupation for the groom and his parental information as well. These all help to link generations together, as well as point in new directions for research.