Resources I've Used to Fill In the Story of My French Canadian Family

Rue Saint Louis. The street where Anne Greslon inherited property. 

The first French Canadian family history research resources I was introduced to when I started my research 20 years ago were the the Catholic Church records and Census records. I then moved to some of the Jesuit writings and wills. I've also used Familysearch.org notarial records on film and digitized to fill in missing documentation.

A few months ago I was able fill in some additional information regarding my Mason/Masson great-grandparents using the resources I already knew about. The problem finding them in the past involved indexing errors. These records are now showing up when I enter their names because someone has corrected these errors at Ancestry.ca.

I had no idea when my ancestors Pierre Masson and Aurelie Lambert died until this year when the Census index was corrected at Ancestry.ca.

In the 1871 Census for Quebec, Canada we indeed find Aurelie misspelled Orilie. Finding this record confirmed to me that the Pierre Masson and Aurelie Lambert were still living in Quebec, and in the same area as in 1851. It appears their son is living close to the couple because their son Augustin Masson is the next entry on this Census record.

In the 1881 Census for Quebec, Canada the same ancestral couple's entry is again indexed wrong. With both the name surname Masson, and the first name Aurelie difficult to read for those not familiar with this couple and a foreign handwriting I can see why the indexer had problems deciphering this entry. This entry confirmed the couple was still alive in 1881, which suggested I should look for their death records in Quebec church records.

Not finding this couple in the 1871 and 1881 Census for Canada, previously, I assumed they probably migrated to maybe New England? I didn't find them in the Catholic Church death records which seemed to support a migration away from the Quebec area at least. Armed with the new information I now focused on finding a death record in Canada. 

I did locate Pierre Masson's Catholic Church death record. I was not able to locate it before because his name was mistakenly indexed as Pierre Mallon. He died on 20 Feb 1889 in the family area of  Riviere-Du-Loup (Louiseville), Quebec, Canada. If I had paged through the books instead of relying on the index I would have found it. The entry is definitely for my Pierre Masson because it states that his wife was Aurelie Lambert. 

Pierre's widow Aurelie Lambert died fairly soon after her husband on 19 Aug 1890, in St-Barnabé-Nord, Maskinongé, Québec, Canada. She was living with family in that area after her husband died. 

I had wondered if this couple had followed their son, my ancestor Pierre Masson/Peter Mason to America, now I know they didn't. I actually did page through the death records for St-Leon-le-Grande, but Pierre's death occurred in a neighboring parish and Aurelie died in an area I had never heard of before.

The Library and National Archives of Quebec online

Recently I was introduced to some new resources searchable online. This site "BAnQ's" contains digitized copies of early Quebec records including notarial records. I found many interesting family records which fill in the stories of my ancestors lives in Quebec, and provide more documentation for may family tree.

Some of the book resources I've found helpful:

1. Inventory of wills, donations and inventories of the French regime kept at the Archives judiciaires de QuébecVolume 1
2. Inventory of wills, donations and inventories of the French regime kept at the Archives judiciaires de Québec Volume 2
3. Inventory of wills, donations and inventories of the French regime kept at the Archives judiciaires de Québec  Volume 3

The 27 volumes of  "Inventory of the registries of the notaries of the French Regime" is also an important book collection.

The most important collection is the Archives Textuelles which has been digitized. An important archival collection online is the "collection Pièces judiciaires et notariales". 

If you have some specific information about a notarial document you are looking for you may be able to find the document here: Archives des notaires du Québecdes origines à 1937 . Ancestry.ca also has notarial documents which are easier to search for, but I have not found everything I've been looking for there. The notarial records are very helpful because they record marriage contracts and can be used for documentation when church marriage records are missing.

I found a land transaction in a book digitized by BAnQ's. I wish I had seen it before visiting Quebec. I may have seen something about this land transaction before, but it slipped my mind? My ancestor Anne Greslon a widow, and her first husband owned land in the upper town of Quebec City. The land was located on the main thoroughfare of the city, on Rue Saint Louis. I stayed in a hotel on that street during my visit in August. Anne's second husband, Jean Masson, was my ancestor and he assisted her in selling this land after they married.

From the same records I discovered my ancestor Jean Masson worked as a miller, which seemed to be a family occupation. He had some business contract disputes with customers as recorded in these records.

I loved touring the Chateau-Richer area, and felt pride in the fact I had an ancestral connection to that place. Little did I know at the time my own ancestors were thrown out of that place.

Here is a bit more about the case of my ancestor Jeanne Vignaude: "Trial of Jeanne Vignault, wife of Jacques Greslon dit Laviolette, resident of Beaupré coast, Jeanne Greslon, wife of Pierre Dasylva dit LePortugais (Portuguese), daughter of said Greslon and Vignault, Madeleine Larcher, wife of Elie Voisin, seaman, and Jeanne Olivier, wife of André Leroux, tailor, accused of scandal; mention is made of the interrogations of the accused, it is ordered that the said Larcher and Vignault will be questioned again, the said accused Vignault, Greslon, Larcher and Olivier are convicted of having led a bad life and causing a public scandal to the city, are condemned to leave the said city, and the name Jacques Dubord, quoted in two interrogations, is called to tell the truth" I'm not sure what this group of women did? Whatever they did these families did indeed leave the area.

I also found a land record for my ancestor Abraham Martin.

Abraham Martin is named in a court document in 1664.

The heirs of Abraham Martin go to court over his estate in 1664.

I also found a record referring to an inventory of the late Abraham Martin's movables in notarial records. The inventory was performed on 7 October 1664. 

Nichols Perillard appears several times in these records. A man by that name was sent to the Royal Prisons. I'm not sure what his relationship to my family is? I believe he is related however. 

My own ancestors Nicholas Perillard and Marie Sabourin, and their family, of Montreal also appear in these records. A tutor was hired for their children which resulted in the drawing up of several documents. 

The heirs of Rene Alary and Louise Thibault were named in a court record in the Banq collection.

I have no record of birth for Marie Louise Houde who married Charles Lemay so it's nice to have additional documentation regarding her parentage from a court record generated after her parents death. The children of Louis Houde and Madeleine Boucher were listed as heirs, along with their spouses, on a document settling the family estate. I'm seeing a bit of a problem here because I have Marie Louise Lemay's death occurring in the year 1713 but this document appears to suggest she died before 1712? 

Genealogie Quebec

I've also used the catholic church records at Genealogie Quebec. I found this site a good place to identify the children of a couple and collect their records. The ability to search by couple allowed me to more easily collect the records of siblings. I'm finding the witnesses and godparents in these records are helpful because they often include extended family members. It can be important as circumstantial evidence in cases where you are uncertain about relationships because names are spelled wrong, or dit names are used. 

Sometimes you find famous godparents such as Samuel Champlain acting as a godparent of a relative. Abraham Martin and Marguerite Langlouis's  daughter Helene's godfather was Samuel Champlain. 

Below we see the grandfather of Marguerite Pare is her godfather. Aunts and Uncles are also often godparents.

I noticed Scholastique was a popular name in one family. Saint Scholastica was Patroness of Benedictine women's communities; school; tests; books; reading; convulsive children; nuns; invoked against storms and rain. Scholastique Lambert was Marie Masson's godmother and aunt.

I'm adding godparents to baptismal notes using Rootsmagic.

Familysearch.org online records for Quebec

I also often refer to the online records at Familysearch.org when trying to find documentation for my French Canadian ancestors.

Now that I've collected up witnesses and godparents I'm much more confident regarding the accuracy of my family tree. I wondered how the PRDH was able to reconstruct families when so many of the records are so difficult to read and there are many misspellings of names, and changing dit names? After collecting up the family records I've noticed how small the population was in many communities. Recognizing surnames and  families becomes easier once you've become familiar with the local surnames.

My research on my French Canadian ancestors has moved forward a great deal since my visit to Quebec in August. The trip inspired me to continue to research the records for more information about my family. I now have a better picture of the lives of my French Canadian ancestors.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!


Joyeux Noël!

Filling Out The Picture of Our Kurta Burgenland Immigrants

I began my research on my Kapple/Kappel line in 1998 when few documents were available online. The cost of requesting documents by mail was often expensive so I concentrated on my direct line only. Now that many documents are online and can be found free of charge at Familysearch.org I'm able to gather information on my ancestor Mary/Maria Kurta-Kappel's siblings. Ancestry.com also has copies of original documents which you can access more economically, often, than requesting it from an archive or government agency.

My Austrian cousins/ DNA matches have provided me with more information, which along with affordable copies of documents, has allowed me to fill in the story of my Burgenland immigrant ancestors.

I knew my own ancestors came to American, but didn't know how many of their siblings did. My great-grandparents Frank Kappel and Maria Kurta immigrated to America in the 1890's. I collected up all the information I could find about them.

When the Ellis Island records came online I was able to find my great-grandparent's and two great-great-grandfathers Christian Koppel and Johann Kurta. According an obituary from the early 1930's all but one Kurta sibling was living in America in 1932.

"Allentown Morning Call" 1932

With this information and that provided by my Austrian cousins I have found more documentation for the family.

Johann Kurta father of this family was born 1 March 1852 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria

The father of the family listed above Johann Kurta visited his daughter and son-in-law in 1900. It appears he stayed at least a couple of years. He probably had the photo below taken during his visit?

On the passenger list he appears on he is said to be a smith by occupation and he names his son-in-law Frank Kepel (Kappel) as a relative living in Egypt, Pennsylvania, which was also his final destination. He sailed aboard the ship S.S. Westernland which sailed out of Antwerp, Belgium.

Julia Kurta-Deutsch born 27 September 1882 in Inzenhof now Burgeland Austria

She came to America in 1899, a year after her sister and my great-grandmother immigrated to America.

She gave the address of my great-grandparents and named Frank Kappel as her brother-in-law. She arrived at the Port of New York where she would have taken a train to Allentown, Pennsylvania where she would join her sister and brother-in-law.

She married in 1902. She was a minor and her father Johann gave her his permission to marry. Julia's occupation was Cigar Marker and her husband Andrew Deutsch was a wire worker.

Rosina/Rose/Rozalia Kurta- Nüsslein was born 8 February 1885 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria.

My aunt Loretta and I match the Kurta/Nüsslein  family of Austria at FamilyTree DNA and MyHeritage. Rose (Rosina) Kurta/Nüsslein was the sister of my ancestor Maria Kurta/Kappel. 

Filling in Rosina's story begins with her immigration to America through the port of New York in 1902. Maybe she came to attend her sister Julia's wedding?

Instead of naming her sister or brother-in-law as relatives she named her father Johann Kurta who she said was living in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania (I had a great deal of difficulty deciphering the name of that place) . The woman listed above her gave my great-grandmother's name as a relative. Maria's address was the same as her father Johann.

She stayed on in Pennsylvania where she apparently met her husband George Nüsslein who she married in 1904 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Rosina's occupation was said to be housekeeper and her husband George was a baker.

I didn't know the marriage photos her descendant shared with me were taken in Pennsylvania. I had assumed she married in Austria.

Another photo of Rosina should have been a clue that she married in America because she is wearing light colored modern clothing which wouldn't have been worn in Inzenhof where adult women wore dark colors. The photo below is part of the set taken for her wedding in 1904.

The Nüsslein decided to return to Europe around 1907 when they purchased a farm in Hart, Pischelsdorf, Austria where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Anna Barbara Nüsslein was born 6 July 1909 in Hart, Austria (my grandfather Rudolph Christian Kapple was born in April 1909, also in Hart, Austria). Anna married into the Jandl family. A Jandl cousin, Anna's son is a 2nd cousin match for my aunt Loretta on the atDNA at Family Tree DNA and MyHeritage.

The sons came later

The Kurta daughters came to America first. Possibly they came to find a husband, because all 3 of them married in America. With so much out migration from what is today Burgenland it was likely to be difficult to find young men to marry as they were coming to America to work.

The sons of Johann Kurta and Anna Jost were younger than their daughters (with the exception of Stephen who probably stayed in Austria). These boys didn't come to America until they were thought to be old enough to travel alone. They remained in Inzenhof with their mother Anna Kurta nee Jost when their father spent time in America.

John Kurta was born 27th June 1889 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria

John Kurta came to America in 1907. He gives the address of his brother-in-law Frank Kappel and misidentifies him as his uncle.

Johann Kurta Jr. filed his declaration of intention to become a United States Citizen in 1909. The ship he arrived on seems to be misidentified as Vaterland, the ship his sister and bother took in 1910. The actual passenger list appears to say Zeeland.

We learn more about Johann/John from his Declaration of Intention for naturalization. His hair is said to have been blond his eyes brown, and he is 5'6 in height. He worked as a brewer. A profession that would end when prohibition was instituted in 1920. 

According to Johann's WWI Draft registration he was working as a brewer at the Northampton Brewing Company. He says he has a wife and two children to support when he registers for the draft in 1917. He was married to a Justina Oswald. I have not been able to find a marriage record of this couple. 

In 1920 John Kurta and family appear on the 1920 Census for Northampton, Pennsylvania. His former employment at the brewery likely ended with prohibition he now worked at a cement mill. I would suspect that a cement mill job was less desirable than a brewery job.   

It appears John Kurta worked his way out of the cement mill, or the depression eliminated his job?   According to the US 1930 Census John Kurta now owned his own farm. This sounds like wonderful progress but the depression lowered the prices of farm produce and farmers struggled. 

We see below that John Kurter/Kurta is listed in the 1930 Census with sons but not his wife Justina?

Justina/Gustina was an inmate in the Allentown State Insane Asylum in 1930. Some immigrants to the United States from different cultures had difficulty adjusting to life here. Cultural differences, coupled with financial uncertainly, drove some to insanity. 

The stress of upended careers, a wife in an asylum, and left to raise his children alone appears to have caused John's health to suffer. He died on 21 August 1932 at the young age of 43. He died of TB which was often caused by poverty, and a weak immune system. 

Allentown "Morning Call" 22 August 1932

Frank Kurta was born 1 May 1884 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria

Frank Kurta came to America in 1910 on the same ship, Vaterland, as his sister who was returning to America from a visit to Austria. This passenger list states Frank was blind in one eye. He came with an MD's Certificate which stated his disability.

I have not found a marriage record for Frank Kurta. He was still single when he registered for the WWI draft in 1917. Here we find his birth information confirmed. He is living in Chicago and working for McAvoy Brewery as a bottler. He is described as medium height and complexion, with light brown eyes and hair.

One reason why I can't find much about Frank could be that he fell on hard times after the McAvoy brewery closed down in 1920 when prohibition was enforced.

Joseph Kurta was born 7 March 1887 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria

Joseph Kurta came to America in 1905 with his sister Maria. He gave the address and named his brother-in-law Frank Kappel as the person he was joining in America, and of course Maria named Frank as her husband.

I haven't been able to find much out about Joseph Kurta.

He married a Cecilia Brunner on 6 Feb 1915 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.  Cecilia like her sister-in-law Julia Kurta-Deutsch worked as a cigar marker which may be how her brother met Cecilia?  The marriage record also confirms that Joseph's father was a blacksmith.

I also found Joseph living in Sayre, Pennsylvania on the 1930 Census the same place he was said to be living in the obituary of his brother John Kurta. He was a laborer on the steam railroad. He said he was still married but he was not living with his wife, instead he was living in a boarding house.

When Joseph Kurta registers for the draft during WWII he does not mention his wife but instead gives the name of his sister Julia Kurta-Deutsch. A description of him states he is 5'5" in height and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He no longer works for the steam railroad. He has scars on his left thumb which perhaps he got while working for the railroad?

Joseph Kurta died 23 August 1954. The prayer card for Joseph Kurta is still in the possession of the descendants of Rosina Kurta-Nuesslein's family in Austria. 

Herman Kurta was born 24th of July in 1891 in Inzenhof now in Burgenland, Austria

He came to America 1910 through the port of New York. 

Herman was naturalized in 1915.

Herman Kurta married Anna Zatler 15th of May 1915 in Cook County, Illinois.

Herman Kurta registered for the draft during WWI and named his wife and child Arthur as dependants. His occupation was driving a milk wagon.

In 1920, according to the US Census, he was working in the car shop for a railroad car manufacturer, and living with Anna his wife and Arthur his son. My great-uncle Steve Kappel was also living in his Uncle's household also working for the same railroad car manufacturer; likely the company his father worked for Pullman.

Herman Kurta had a family photo taken with himself, his wife Anna, and an unknown man who could be Steve Kappel or his brother Frank Kurta?

The changing economic climate during the Depression also resulted in a career change for Herman who was listed as working as a cook in a Diner along with his wife Anna (nicknamed Daisy) according to the 1940 Census. I'm not sure if they were owners of the Diner or they were employees there?

Herman P. Kurta/Curta died 10 December 1959 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Ferdinand/Nandor Kurta born 7 January 1899 in Inzenhof now Burgenland, Austria

According to his brother John's obituary Ferdinand came to America and lived in Chicago, Illinois. 

I first learned about Ferdinand from a couple of photos of him sent to me by our Austrian cousins..I didn't have any information about Ferdinand until I paged through the Rabafuzes Civil Registration records at FamilySearch.org and found his birth information. 

I have found no record of him in the United States so the obituary might be in error?

The fact that Ferdinand sent a  postcard from the Rose Hotel in Kormend with his photo on it to his sister, likely when he was in his teens, means he was still living in the Burgenland area during WWI. It was more difficult to immigrate to the United States during the 1920's and later.

A photo of him with a woman and child (maybe his wife and child?) was likely taken in the 1920's. The little boy has an Austrian style hat so I'm thinking this photo was taken in Austria? It's possible Ferdinand came to the United States but didn't stay? 

Brother named Brothers not named in obituary?

Another brother named Frederick was said to be living in Europe? I haven't found a brother named Frederick in the church or Civil Registration records? I have a Vincze not named in the obituary and a Stephen. I initially found Stephen when I first began research in the church records 20 years ago. The church records on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT, and the digitized records at Familysearch.org, end with the 1895 church records. However the Civil Registration records, which are also digitized, pickup where those leave off.

Because the Civil records begin in 1895 I was able to find Vincze's birth record. I first learned about him because my great-uncle Joseph Kappel mentioned him on a passenger list when he returned to America in 1922 after being raised by family in Austria (which is another story, for another time). Joseph stated he had an uncle named Vincze Kurta living in Inzenhof.

 I thought he may have been wrong about the name but Johann Kurta's death record has a Vince as the person who reported Johann's death.

Vincze Kurta was born 21 January 1896 in Borosgodor which is now Inzenhof, Burgenland, Austria. I didn't find him earlier because he was born after the available church records.

Mysteries remain

I haven't been able to find Ferdinand in any American records, his brothers in America are missing from some of the censuses they should appear on. There should be a marriage record for John Kurta. 

I also have an unidentified brother whose photo is below? I believe he isn't Herman or Ferdinand. He may be John, Joseph, Frank, or Vince? 

The Story of the Kurta Immigrants

The story of the Kurta Immigrants is a story familiar to many families who immigrated from Burgenland, Austria. They followed the same migration paths as their neighbors, and worked for the same companies. They fell victim to economic downturns, and some decided to return to the old country. Other prospered and stayed. 

I didn't know anyone in my family worked in breweries, but now I know Frank and John Kurta both worked in breweries, and both likely lost their jobs due to prohibition. I'm sure other Burgenland immigrants fell victim to prohibition layoffs in bars and breweries. 

These families had to weather the Great Depression. We know John Kurta didn't make it to see the end of the Depression, but other family members did and worked there way up into the middle class. It took a lot of courage for them to come to a country where they didn't speak the language, and where they faced some discrimination. They toughed it out and made it anyway, and I salute them for that.