{"id":7895,"date":"2018-12-22T21:04:13","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T02:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toupin.org\/?page_id=7895"},"modified":"2019-01-06T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2019-01-06T16:57:15","slug":"felix-toupin-josephine-bissonnette","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/?page_id=7895","title":{"rendered":"History of Felix Toupin & Josephine Bissonnette"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Felix Toupin<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born on March 13, 1872 and was baptized on March 17th<\/sup> by Father Moreau at the church in St. Paul de Chester, Quebec. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Toupin, a farmer, and Celina Garneau, of Ste. Anges de Ham, Quebec. His godparents were his grandparents, Barth\u00e9lemy Toupin, a farmer, and Sophie Comtois, also of Ste. Anges de Ham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felix\nwas the seventh of ten children, seven boys and three girls. His godparents\ncould not sign the register at his baptism; like many others of the time, they\nprobably had not had the opportunity to go to school. To earn a living they had\nto depend on their hands, their backs and whatever skills could be acquired on\ntheir small farms. Their cash income was from the wages in the lumber camps and\nthe spring \u201cdrive\u201d of logs on the river to the sawmills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas a rugged life. According to Felix\u2019s recollections, his father was something\nof an entrepreneur. He would get a team of horses and a sleigh and contract to\nhaul logs for the spring drive. It had to be done before the break up. This\nwould account for his absence at Felix\u2019s christening on March 17th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nwork was hard but not always rewarding. Earnings were small; at times Felix\u2019s\nfather was happy to drive the horses back in the spring, but if his estimates\nhad been out, the lumber company kept the team and he walked out of the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felix\u2019s\nmother, Celina, died on January 7, 1879 in Chartierville, Quebec, when Felix\nwas six and had two younger brothers in the house. About six years later, his\nolder brother Ars\u00e8ne and his wife took Felix with them to live in Manchester,\nNew Hampshire. Felix grew up there, and began work in the area of Manchester\nand Concord, N.H. He also learned the trade of a blacksmith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industrial centres of New England attracted many French Canadians from Quebec. They found jobs and provided the industrialists with a plentiful supply of cheap labour. The wages were low, mostly piece work, ten to twelve hours per day and six days a week. They lived in French-speaking communities and worked for English speaking bosses. Their language reflected this influence, adopting many English words or expressions: \u201cboarding house,\u201d \u201cfactories,\u201d \u201ctenement\u201d and \u201csidewalk\u201d became part of their vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josephine Bissonnette<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born on March 2, 1871. She was the daughter of Jean Baptiste Bissonnette and Marie Roy. She was baptized in Ham Nord, Quebec. Josephine was the youngest of a family of nine children and grew up on a small farm. Not much is known of her childhood, except that she attended the little local school \u201cdu rang.\u201d Daughter Lucienne Toupin had a song book and a grammar book from school in her mother\u2019s name dated \u201c1878.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josephine\nand two of her sisters who still lived at home decided to imitate the many\nother Qu\u00e9b\u00e9coises<\/em> of that era, and \u201cgo down\u201d (\u201cdescendre<\/em>\u201d) to the\nStates (as was the popular expression of the time). They found work in the\ncotton and textile mills of New Hampshire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nwere rooming houses in Manchester maintained by French Canadians from Quebec.\nOn Sundays, get-togethers of friends were organized, with dancing (\u201cguiges<\/em>\u201d\nand \u201cdanses \u00e0 quatres<\/em>\u201d). It was at such a reunion that Felix and\nJosephine met. Josephine was a lovely young woman, and she chose well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nFebruary 13, 1893, in St. Augustin\u2019s church in Manchester, N.H., Father Chevalier\nblessed the union of Felix, almost 21, and Josephine, almost 22, in matrimony.\nThese blessings did not delay in bearing fruit, as the new couple had their\nfirst child, Willie, on February 7, 1894 in Concord. They were happy in their\nlittle American home. They could have stayed there, as many relatives did, but\nfor an economic depression and unemployment. The family moved back to Quebec,\nwhere five more children were born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their\nfirst daughter, Ernestine, was born on September 1, 1895 in Ham Nord, Quebec,\nfollowed by four sons born in Chartierville, Quebec: Eug\u00e8ne on April 9, 1897;\nAlphonse on June 28, 1899; Ernest on April 25, 1901; and Theodore on August 9,\n1902. A house was built on a small farm in Chartierville, about five miles from\nthe U.S. border. Felix worked hard on the land while Josephine cared for their\nsix children and the household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nremembered in stories, the farm was not the best. The land was poor, covered\nwith heavy growth of hard woods, oak and maples, etc., except where large rocks\nand bedrock protruded through thin layers of soil. They had two cows, one\nhorse, a few chickens and perhaps one pig for meat. Again, wages in lumber\ncamps and from the spring drive of logs down the river to the sawmills, along\nwith the proceeds from the sale of milk and cheese supplemented the food they\ngrew for themselves. In 1955 one of their daughters visited the old farm, which\nthen had 55 acres under cultivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npromise of good and plentiful land on the Western prairies caused the young\nfamily to decide to join friends already established in the parish of St.\nAntoine in Saskatchewan. However, the call \u201cGo West, young man\u201d met plenty of\nresistance from both friends and relatives. They said, \u201cWe will never see you\nagain.\u201d For many of them, it proved to be true. Grandmother (Marie Louise)\nBissonnette tried to discourage the dreamers. She reminded them of the\nhardships encountered when they opened up the area; comparing it to their\nconditions in 1902, she said: \u201cYou live like gentlemen \u2018la canne \u00e0 la main<\/em>\u2019\u201d\n(carrying a walking cane). Felix related the story to one of his daughters\nyears later, saying: \u201cThat double-bladed axe that I swung all day clearing the\nland was a \u201cmaudite canne<\/em>\u201d (some damn cane).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felix\nleft Chartierville, harvested in the area of Storthoaks, Saskatchewan, in\nsoutheastern Saskatchewan (just west of the border with Manitoba), and took a\nhomestead in 1902 in time for harvest. He filed a claim on the southeast\nquarter of section 4, township 6, range 31, west of the first meridian. In\nMarch 1903, the family of eight arrived, having travelled by train to Redvers,\nSaskatchewan, about twelve miles north of the homestead. Joseph Bourget and his\nfamily of about the same size, friends from Eastern Canada, generously shared\ntheir humble sod house with them until their own home was finished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felix\nbuilt a wooden house in the middle of the prairie, while many others still\nlived in sod houses. They were fortunate to obtain enough lumber to build the\nsmall home. The life of a pioneer was difficult. They had to fetch wood to heat\ntheir home by horse drawn wagon from Moose Mountain some 60 miles away. Long,\ncold stormy winters made the task very challenging. The nearest village of\nRedvers was 12 miles away. In the summer, the fleas greatly distracted the poor\nsettlers. Nevertheless, despite the obstacles, they succeeded in cultivating\nand enlarging their farm, with the help of their sons as they grew to manhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngrandfather, Jean Baptiste Toupin, was able to file an application for the\nnortheast quarter of the same section (4) of land, after the required three\nyears, and later sold it to Felix and returned to Quebec. The farm was now half\na section, 320 acres in size. The settlers cooperated to build roads, a school\nand a church in the community. The children attended school at St. Edmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six\nmore children were born in Storthoaks: Alice on June 3, 1904; Yvonne on October\n18, 1905; Anna on April 14, 1908; Regina on November 30, 1909; Abel on March\n30, 1911; and Lucienne on November 22, 1915. One child, Delina, born April 12,\n1907, died in infancy after 12 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\n1913, they were able to acquire the southwest quarter of section 16, as well as\na quarter on section 31. A new house was built, along with other buildings, a\nhalf mile from the village near the new C.P.R. railroad line (closed in 1976),\ngrain elevators and school. It was there that the family was able to enjoy the\nbenefits of their labour, learned to pray as one, and formed bonds that only\ndeath could dissolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n1915 the settlers enjoyed their first good crop. It permitted Felix and\nJosephine, along with Willie, to travel back to Quebec and enjoy Christmas with\nold friends and family. Jean Baptiste Toupin died on January 16, 1916. He was\n84 years of age. Ernestine cared for three week old Lucienne; she had helped to\nraise most of the children, working faithfully at her mother\u2019s side until her\nown marriage. She was the only one of the children to have a traditional, large\nFrench Canadian family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nStorthoaks, Felix served as school trustee, municipal councillor and on the\nchurch board. He and his sons were founders of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in\n1923-1924. Josephine was busy with the family, serving meals for fourteen,\ncaring for the sick during the smallpox epidemic, and still finding time to\nhelp the community and serve as a midwife for family and friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\ncontinued to farm and live in Storthoaks until November 1924, when the couple\ndecided to leave farming to the sons, and move to their new house in St.\nBoniface, Manitoba (the \u201ccity\u201d), so that the younger children could enjoy a\nbetter education and attend high school. By this time, Willie was well\nestablished in implement sales and his general store in Storthoaks, purchased from\nthe Joe Chicoine family. Eug\u00e8ne married and in 1926 moved to Cadillac,\nSaskatchewan to operate his own implement agency; at age 17, he had cared for\nthe farm while his parents were in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ernest\nfarmed the land until the family returned in 1929. Anna trained as a teacher in\nRegina, taught in various towns in Saskatchewan, and married and settled in\nGravelbourg. Ernestine had married in 1917 and moved to Ponteix, Saskatchewan,\nwhere she and her husband had thirteen children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndifficulties of the depression in 1929 caused the family to move back to the\nhomestead in Storthoaks. Good times did not return until the Second World War.\nOnly two children remained in the household: Lucienne and Ernest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice\ntook teacher training, joined an order of nuns, and later taught out East and\nin Gravelbourg. Yvonne married in 1929, and lived in both Quebec and\nSaskatchewan. Theodore also worked as a teacher for a few years. Alphonse\nfarmed the original homestead, was a Wheat Pool delegate, married and later (1937)\nleft Storthoaks to work for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. Regina also trained as\na nurse and later worked as a nurse in New York, returning to Canada in 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ernest\ncontinued to farm his land, and later also farmed the parents\u2019 land after their\ndeath. Later, he left Storthoaks and moved to Montmartre, Saskatchewan, where\nhe and Alphonse purchased the hotel. Abel took teacher\u2019s training in Brandon,\nManitoba, returned to Storthoaks to work in the family store in 1935, and in\n1939 married and later worked for the Wheat Pool. Lucienne completed her\nschooling in Storthoaks, Fertile and Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. Later, she\nmoved to St. Boniface and worked for the telephone system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\nthe 1940\u2019s, the land was reinvigorated and once again became fertile. The preceding\nyears had been hard, but Felix and Josephine had preserved their spirit of\nendurance and pioneer courage, which allowed them to withstand the lean years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1942, some 40 years after their migration west, Felix and Josephine celebrated their Golden Wedding Jubilee. On July 8th<\/sup>, a wonderful 50th<\/sup> anniversary celebration was held, attended by all twelve children and numerous grandchildren and friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an extract of the address given at the party, written by Abel (as translated from the original French):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt took a lot of courage, in 1903, to leave \u201cla belle province\u201d for the vast plains of the western prairie, and venture to the homestead to build a house in the middle of nowhere. You were able to overcome the many obstacles. You enlarged the farm, built a new home in a more convenient location, and lent us your support in choosing and pursuing our careers. It was with this in mind that you purchased the St. Boniface   residence in 1924. It permitted us to obtain more education. We the younger ones    retain happy memories of those five years. It is regrettable that the years since your return to Storthoaks have not been more prosperous. The old spirit and determination of the pioneers have permitted you to survive these hard times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a great satisfaction to know that you are always ready and eager to welcome us, and prepared to offer sound advice. The example you have set for us has been the best, and it is our hope that we will be able to raise our families as you did yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately,\nJosephine had a stroke the following morning. The following year, both of our\nancestors died: Felix on April 3rd<\/sup>, and Josephine on August 18th<\/sup>,\n1943. Yet their legacy lives on, and we honour them by remembering their\nsacrifices, their struggles and their love and devotion for family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les fermiers ont toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 les rois de la terre et de la Libert\u00e9. Investir dans la vie c\u2019est s\u2019assurer l\u2019avenir<\/em>.  (Farmers have always been the kings of the land and of Liberty. To put in the effort now is to secure one\u2019s future.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Regina (Toupin) Sala, Abel Toupin and Lucienne Toupin following interviews with their parents, Felix Toupin & Josephine Bissonnette.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Felix Toupin Born on March 13, 1872 and was baptized on March 17th by Father Moreau at the church in St. Paul de Chester, Quebec. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Toupin, a farmer, and Celina Garneau, of Ste. Anges de Ham, Quebec. His godparents were his grandparents, Barth\u00e9lemy Toupin, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7895","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","column","twocol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7895"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8797,"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7895\/revisions\/8797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toupin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}