The First Rashotte Family in Tweed's French Settlement: Tweed Ontario 1855-1931 (By Michael Rashotte)

Prepared by Michael Rashotte, Tallahassee, Florida (Summer, 2010)
(Revision of 2008 Version)
The above undated photo shows Pierre & Basilice Cournoyer Rajotte, who migrated with their family from
Sorel (Québec) to Tweed (Ontario) about 1855. They became the founding family of English-speaking
Rashottes.
DEDICATION
This document is dedicated to --
Margaret (Rashotte) Callaghan of Tweed

on the occasion of her 95th birthday (April 16, 2008)
and
Nola (Lawler) Rashotte of Belleville

on the occasion of her 90th birthday (January 8, 2009)
… with deep thanks for their many discussions and help in increasing my
understanding of our earliest ancestors in Tweed.
And to –
Current and future descendants of the Rashottes
… who wish to understand more about where and how their earliest ancestors
lived in Tweed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Part 1: GETTING TO TWEED
Three Major Migrations Leading to Tweed …..…………………………………. 1-4
The Ancestry of Tweed’s Pierre Rajotte: An Overview ...……………………… 5-8
Part 2 BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN TWEED’S FRENCH SETTLEMENT

Jack Rajotte’s (2003) Family-History Account .………………………..………… 1-3
A Listing of The First Family Members ………………………………………..… 4-5
An Expanded Account:
Picturing Where the Rashottes Settled ………………………………………... 6-10
Peter Sr.’s Homestead (1855-56) ……………………………………................. 11-13
Imagining Peter Sr.’s Actual Cabin (A Photo-collage) ……………………..… 14
After the Homestead Was Established (1859-1931) …………………………... 15-20
Some Historical and Recent Photos of Peter Sr.’s Homestead Cabin ……..… 21-28
Part 3 LIFE IN THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT

Recollections by Four Rashotte Descendants ……………………………………. 1-15
Part 4 FAMILY PICTURE GALLERY

The Founders ……………………………………………………………………….... 1
The Founders’ Children …………………………………………………………….. 2-4
The Founders’ Children - With Spouses and Families …..………………………… 5-12
Two Mystery Photos ………………………………………………………………….. 13
Part 5 FAMILY OBITUARIES AND GRAVESTONES
The Founders …………………………………………………………………………. 1-2

The Founders’ Children ……………………………………………………………... 3-13
Appendix: Details of Land Transactions After the Rashotte Homestead Was

Established on Lot 8, Concession 12 ……………………….. A1-A5
NOTE: Footnotes distributed throughout Parts 1-5 are numbered consecutively, 1 to 58.
PREFACE (2010)
In Summer 2008, I prepared and distributed a printed document titled The First Rashotte
Family in Tweed’s French Settlement: Tweed, Ontario, 1855-1931. In it, I assembled materials
from various historical sources describing the circumstances of a descendant of Canada’s first
Rageot family who migrated with his family from Sorel, Québec, to Tweed, Ontario, in 1855.
They founded a branch the family from which I and other English-speaking Rashottes have
descended.
I have now updated and expanded my 2008 document as The First Rashotte Family in
Tweed’s French Settlement: Tweed, Ontario, 1855-1931 (Summer, 2010 Version). It is available
in a digital version on the www (either at Scribd.com or as a file at Google Docs). The revised
document includes many corrections and additions provided by several readers of the initial
version. I invite anyone with historical interests to view, download, reference, etc. this digital
document, but no part of the document is to be used for commercial purposes.
This digital version of The First Rashotte Family in Tweed’s French Settlement: Tweed,
Ontario, 1855-1931 (Summer, 2010 Version) joins an earlier one I recently posted at the same
www sites which is a revised version of a 2004 document I prepared describing the
circumstances of my earliest Canadian ancestors in the town of Québec about 300 years ago (The
Rageots of rue St.-Pierre: Québec City,1663-1782 (Summer 2010 Version).
The story told in the current document concerns Pierre and Basilice (Cournoyer) Rajotte,
who came to the Tweed region of English Canada from Sorel, Québec around 1855 when Pierre
was about 44 years old and Basilice was about 40. They were francophones, of course, and they
brought their family of 8 children with them. On arrival in Tweed, the Rajotte children ranged
from about 2 to 16 years in age, including a set of twins (boy-girl) that were about 8 years old.
In 1859, Pierre and Basilice had their final child, Charles, who was the only one of the family
born in Tweed. In 1899, Pierre’s obituary (which used the now-common anglicized version of
his name, Peter Rashotte Sr.) noted that he and Basilice had 63 grandchildren and 30 great
grandchildren. Clearly, the Rashotte family was on its way to becoming well-established by the
beginning of the 20th century.
By way of explaining where I fit into the family, Pierre and Basilice were my great, great
grandparents. Their 3rd child, Peter Rashotte Jr., and his wife Catherine (Cournoyer), were my
great grandparents, and their 3rd child, Paul Rashotte, and his wife Elizabeth (Casey), were my
grandparents. Paul and Elizabeth (Casey) Rashotte’s oldest child, Joseph Raphael, married Mary
Marjorie Quinn in Tweed in 1937, and I was born there in 1939 as their first child. My brother
William Paul was born in 1941, and a year or so later we all moved about 30 miles south to
Belleville, where I did the rest of my growing up. In Belleville, Paul and I were later joined by a
sister (Elizabeth Anne) and two brothers (David Gerard and Mark Christopher). Since 1968, I
have lived much further south of Tweed -- in Tallahassee, Florida, where I am now retired after a
35 year teaching-research career at Florida State University.
The present document is heavily indebted to Jack H. Rajotte (Danvers, Massachusetts)
whose work on the Rageot-Rajotte-Rashotte-Beaurivage family lines from which he and I come
has been thorough and sustained since the 1960s.1 In an email exchange with me (February 6,
2010) Jack noted that he had worked on the family genealogy for about 9 years before he learned
that Father Alphonse Rajotte, O.M.I. (1899-1989), formerly of the University of Ottawa, had
been compiling our family genealogy since about 1930. In the mid-1970s, Jack and Father
Rajotte met and exchanged information each had gathered about the family. Father Al, who was
retired and frail at that time, had worked with the technology of the time to assemble a family
genealogy. Jack was able to use that information as part of his own effort, which was already
large using computer technology. Interestingly, Jack credits Father Rajotte with “finding” the
Tweed Rashottes for him.
I also used various books and web sites that are cited in footnotes to the text.
I was also helped very much by stimulating discussions with Margaret (Rashotte)
Callaghan of Tweed that began in Fall, 2003. Margaret provided good Rashotte hospitality,
detailed recollections about life in Tweed’s French Settlement where she grew up in the early
20th century, and many photographs of the ancestors. In 2008, Margaret began using e-mail, and
we have had a fine electronic exchange.
Margaret introduced me to Joe Bergeron, now of Belleville, whose father owned the
Rashotte homestead in Tweed’s French Settlement for several years after the property had passed
out of the Rashotte family’s hands in the 20th century. He has also been a very helpful resource
for me, providing important details about the homestead as he knew it when he was a boy in
Tweed.
Nola Lawler Rashotte of Belleville, my only remaining aunt, kindly gave me her copy
of Them Were The Days (1973), a book of recollections by older people in Tweed about life in
the early days. PART 3 of this document has excerpts from that book. Nola also provided many
details about Rashotte family-members as she knew them, and always with her good eye for the
humorous.
Ann Trudeau Kelly of Madoc, Ontario, supplied photos and contacts with various key
people whose knowledge of parts of the family history is very deep. She cheerfully provided
significant corrections and additions to my original attempts to characterize some ancestors who
are barely known by people of my generation.
My brother, David Rashotte of Belleville, offered great enthusiasm and support of this
project in the early going, and later as we tried to locate the graves of Peter Sr. and Basilice
Rashotte in St. Edmund’s Cemetery in Stoco, the site of the original family homestead, and
documents related to land purchases by Peter and Basilice. He spent significant time in the Land
Registry Office in Belleville digging out the records of the first properties bought by the family
in Tweed, and of subsequent land transactions.
1
Jack H. Rajotte (2003) The Genealogy and History of Some of Some Descendants of Guillaume Rageot -
From 1600: The Rashotte Branch. [document sent to me by e-mail, February 9, 2003].
A most important resource was the Tweed Heritage Centre and Museum which houses
a remarkable collection of information about the history of Tweed and the region
(http://www.ruralroutes.com/tweedheritage). I enjoyed the hospitality, recollections, expertise,
and unfailing help of Evan Morton, the curator of the Museum, during two visits to Tweed in
Fall, 2003 and 2004. Also, Steve and Marie Collins, owners of the Bridgewater Retreat near
Tweed, provided significant historic photos and hospitality during a visit in Summer 2008. Axel
Kunzmann (Chicago) provided several helpful corrections and comments on the 2008 version of
this document.
Several other descendants of early Tweed families provided photographs and information
as I was trying to get the facts straight: Caren Courneya Secord (Calgary, Alberta), Maureen
Quinn Porter (Tweed), Harry and Bob O’Rourke (Peterborough, Ontario), and Jacklyn
Coplen Catterick (Thorold, Ontario). I am grateful for their interest and help.
Of course, none of these “consultants” are responsible for the inevitable errors and
omissions that some readers will find in this text. After talking with these and other older
members of the family, I realize how complicated are the networks of relatives that have
developed over the 150+ years since Pierre and Basilice Rajotte became established in Tweed.
I hope that my compilation of information about the first Rashotte family in Tweed will
be of interest, and that it adds a bit to the detailed Family History prepared by Father Rajotte and
Jack Rajotte.
Mike Rashotte, Summer, 2010
Contact Information:
2926 Woodside Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32312 USA e-mail: rashotte@gmail.com
The First Rashotte Family in Tweed’s French Settlement Part 1 / Page 1
PART 1. GETTING TO TWEED
THREE MAJOR MIGRATIONS LEADING TO TWEED

At about 100-year intervals beginning around the mid-1600s, some members of the
Rageot family undertook major migrations that ultimately resulted in the arrival of family
members at Tweed, Ontario, around the mid-1800s. I have superimposed those three migratory
paths on modern-day geographical maps below to provide a quick visual summary of these
moves.
MIGRATION I (1663)
In his 21st year, Gilles Rageot moved from his family home in L’Aigle (France)
to the settlement of Québec in New France (Canada).
In Québec, Gilles Rageot (1642-1692) married Marie-Madeleine Morin (1656-1720) in

1673, and they had nine children. An account of this family’s life and times, The Rageots of rue
St.-Pierre: Québec City, 1663-1782 (prepared by the present writer), can be found on the www at
Scribd.com and at Google Docs.
Jack Rajotte’s (2003) family history states that: Gilles and Marie-Madeleine
Morin Rageot are likely the progenitors of all the Rageots, Rajottes,
Rashottes, and Beaurivages in Canada and the United States today.1
1
Text from J. H. Rajotte (2003) The Genealogy and History of Some Descendants of Guillaume Rageot - From
1600: The Rashotte Branch (wording modified to include Marie-Madeleine Morin Rageot as a co-progenitor).
MIGRATION II (1749)
At the age of 26 years, Jacques Rageot (a grandson of Gilles & Marie-
Madeleine Morin Rageot) moved from his hometown of Québec to the town of
Sorel, about 100 miles westward on the St. Lawrence River.
Jacques Rageot (1723-1777) married Geneviève Hus-Paul (1733-1807) in Sorel in 1752,

and they had sixteen children. Jacques worked as a farmer in Sorel. According to Jack Rajotte’s
(2003) genealogy, Jacques “was born as a Rageot but began to use the name Rajot. The spelling
in later years varied many times, with the current spelling of RAJOTTE first appearing in 1812.
The RASHOTTE name was another dominating evolution of the name in Ontario after 1855.”
Jack Rajotte suggests the circumstances that might have led Jacques Rageot to move to
Sorel in 1749:
For Jacques to leave Québec City and settle in Sorel, we must realize that in those days
under the French regime, all commercial relations were connected with Québec, the only
seaport available in French Canada. The Saint Lawrence River channel was then too shallow to
allow high-tonnage sea-going vessels to reach Montréal. Thus, Sorel became one of the major
commercial transition ports along the river. Therefore, from that aspect, assured of a promising
future, Jacques was able to secure more romantic ones. He married Geneviève Hus-Paul at St-
Pierre-de-Sorel on October 9,1752.
From this family alone descends all those whose last name is spelled Rajotte or
Rashotte in Canada and the United States today. 2
2
J.H. Rajotte (2003)
MIGRATION III (1855/6)
At the age of about 44 years, Pierre Rajotte (a grandson of Jacques &

Genevieve Hus-Paul Rajot) moved with his wife, Basilice, and their 8 children
from Sorel (Québec) to the village of Tweed (Ontario), about 250 miles
westward.
Note: Jack Rajotte’s (2003)

genealogy indicates that
Pierre & Basilice probably
came by boat from Sorel,
down the St. Lawrence, into
the East end of Lake
Ontario, and up through the
Bay of Quinte to land at
Belleville. They then
walked the 30 miles
northward to Tweed. There
were no roads between
Belleville and Tweed and a
stagecoach line had not yet
been established.
Pierre Rajotte (18113-1899), a great, great grandson of Gilles & Marie-Madeleine Morin
Rageot of Québec, married Basilice Cournoyer (1816-1900) in Sorel in 1838 where they had
eight children before moving to Tweed, Ontario, about 1855. At Tweed, they had one more
child. Pierre worked as a farmer at both Sorel and Tweed.
3
Note: Jack H. Rajotte (2003) gave 1815 as Pierre’s probable birth year, but noted that a record of his birth date
was not available. In Summer, 2008, however, the parish record of Pierre’s baptism (on May 13, 1811)
was located by Jack Rajotte using Ancestry.ca. That record indicated that Pierre was born the previous day.
Consequently, despite what earlier versions of the family history might state, or what is actually carved on
his gravestone (see PART 5), there is now documentation that Pierre was born on May 12, 1811, in the
parish of La Presentation, near St-Hyacinthe, Québec (E-mails from J.H. Rajotte to Michael Rashotte,
August 24 & 26, 2008). I will use this new birth information about Pierre in the following text.
The difficult circumstances that lead to this family’s move from Sorel to Tweed are
described in PART 2 of this document.
According to Jack Rajotte’s (2003) genealogy, the young children of Pierre and Basilice
Cournoyer were undoubtedly the first Rajottes to learn English. “Rashotte”, a phonetic spelling
of their name in English, became established as the family surname in the Tweed area (where
unique phonetic spellings of many other French-family names can be found).
“wherever the name of Rashotte is found today, it can be traced

directly to Pierre Rajotte and his wife Basilice Cournoyer.” 4
4
J.H. Rajotte (2003)
THE ANCESTRY OF TWEED’S PIERRE RAJOTTE: AN OVERVIEW

Based on research by Jack Rajotte (Danvers, Massachusetts)
and Father Alphonse Rajotte O.M.I. (deceased)
The remainder of PART 1 provides a brief overview of the specific line of familial
ancestors that led from 16th century France to Pierre Rajotte (i.e., Peter Rashotte Sr.). He became
the first member of the family to settle in Tweed, about 1855, and his children are said to have
become the first English-speakers in this French family’s long history.
Note: For each family, the parents are shown in a shaded box at the top (their marriage year is
given), and the offspring are listed below in order of birth. The highlighted name in each list of
children indicates the one whose lineage eventuated in Pierre & Basilice Cournoyer Rashotte’s
family, which became established in Tweed, Ontario, in the mid-1800s.
France: Earliest Known Family Ancestors

Late 1500s to Mid 1600s: L’Aigle, Normandy, France
Married: Late 1500s Married: 1636

Guillaume Rageot Isaac Rageot
≈1570-? 1603-1673
& &
Anne Coreul Louise Duret
≈1570-? 1614-1673
Guillaume (1600- ? ) Anne (1637-1637)

ISAAC (1603-1673) Anne (1638- ? )
Étienne (1606- ? ) Françoise (1640- ? )
Crypien (1608- ? ) GILLES (1642-1692)
Matherin (1612- ? ) Jacques (1645- ? )
François (1612- ? ) Anne (1648- ? )
Isaac (1649- ? )
Michelle (1650- ? )
Pierre (1653- ? )
Thomas (1665- ? )
Migration I: From L’Aigle (France) to Québec (Canada)

In 1663, Gilles was the first Rageot to come to Canada.
Married: 1673 Married: 1711

Gilles Rageot François
1642-1692 Rageot
& 1682-1754
Marie-Madeleine &
Morin Geneviève
1656-1720 Gautier
1681-1727
Charles (1674-1702) François (1712-1744)

Nicolas (1676-1703) Pierre (1715-1716)
Phillipe (1678-1711) JACQUES (1723 -
1777)
Charles Jean- François
Baptiste (1680-1729) Étienne (1725-1733)
FRANÇOIS (1682 -
1754)
Denis (1684- ? )
Gilles (1686-1687)
Gilles de
Beaurivage (1689-1754)
Marie Madeleine (1692-1723)
Migration II: From Québec City to Sorel (Québec)
In 1749, Jacques was the first Rageot to come to Sorel where the spelling of the
family name eventually became “Rajotte”.
Married: 1752 Married: 1795

Jacques Rageot Joseph Rajotte
1723-1777 1770-1831
& &
Geneviève Hus- Françoise
Paul Pisane
1733-1807 1775-1857
Jacques (1753-1805) Joseph (1797-1883)

Geneviève (1755-1775) Geneviève (1800-1888)
Marie Louis (1801-1884)
Elizabeth (1756-1775)
Josephine (1758-1760) Jean Baptiste (1802-1874)
Marie François (1809-1809)
Charlotte (1759-1841)
Josephte (1760-1793) PIERRE (1811 -
1899)
Paul (1761- ? ) Emilie (1814-1836
Jean (1762-1762) Paul
Napoléon (1822-1889)
Charles (1763-1763 )
Marguerite (1765-1846)
Joseph-
François (1767-1767)
Therèse (1768-1768)
Louis (1769-1825)
JOSEPH (1770 -
1831)
Antoine (1772-1772)
Charles (1775-1850)
Migration III: From Sorel (Québec) to Tweed (Ontario)

About 1855, PIERRE & BASILICE COURNOYER RAJOTTE moved from Sorel
to Tweed with all their children (except Charles, who was born later in Tweed)
where the spelling of the family name became “Rashotte”. Charles later spelled
his name” Ragotte”.
Married: 1838
Pierre Rajotte
1811-1899
&
Basilice Cournoyer
1816-1900
Edwidge (1839-1935)
Paul (1841-1923)
Grave: 1840
Pierre (1843-1910)
Joseph (1845-1934)
Michel (1847-1928)
Marie (1847-1913)
Edesse (1850-1939)
Sophie (1853-1949)
**Charles [Ragotte] (1859-1936)
** Born in the French Settlement, Tweed, Ontario

PART 2. BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN TWEED’S FRENCH

SETTLEMENT
Pierre and Basilice Rajotte moved from Sorel, Québec, and became established in
Tweed’s French Settlement, after their farm in Sorel was destroyed by a flood. Why Tweed?
Pierre was probably familiar with the area from spending winter and spring months with others
from Sorel working in “lumber shanties” near Tweed.5 Pierre and Basilice brought eight
children to Tweed (ages: 2-16 years; they had a ninth child in Tweed, born in 1859).
Jack Rajotte’s (2003) Family-History Account

Pierre & Basilice’s move from Sorel to Tweed is described in the genealogy and history
of the Rashotte Branch of the Rageot/Beaurivage/Rajotte/Rashotte family prepared by Jack
Rajotte (2003)6, and also in the published recollections of senior members of the Tweed Rashotte
family7. Here is Jack Rajotte’s (2003) account:
Pierre Rajotte was the sixth child of the seven known children of Joseph
and Francoise (Pisane) Rajotte, Jacque-4, Francois-3, Gilles-2, Isaac-1. He was
born in Sorel in 1815 and his actual birth record may be among the few that were
not recorded with a name, so we may never know the actual date 8 Pierre married
Basilice Cournoyer at St.-Pierre-de-Sorel on November 6, 1838. Basilice was the
daughter of Joseph and Louise (Cardin) Cournoyer, and was born in Sorel on
August 5, 1816.
Pierre was a farmer and had a farm on Isle de Grace in the parish of Ste.-
Anne-de-Sorel. This island is one of the many Sorel islands in the delta formed by the
sedimentary deposits of the Saint Lawrence River as it is checked in its course by the
slower waters of Lac St.-Pierre. It is located on the north of the river's main channel,
about 3 to 4 miles below the shore of Ste.-Anne's church. Over one hundred years
ago this island used to provide a prosperous living to the many farmers who
established there. During this period, the water-regulating power of the Saint
Lawrence valley forests was decreasing with the recession of the forest itself, under
the axe of the new settlers and lumber traders. Thus, the spring season was one of
watch and worry for these island farmers as the spring thaws often brought
disastrous floods with fast flowing currents and ram-battering ice flows unmercifully
sweeping along their course everything and anything in their way. It has been
5
Note: For example, in an interview on the occasion of his 99 th birthday in 1990, Louis Rashotte, a grandson of
Pierre & Basilice, said about the first Rashottes and Cournoyers to come to Tweed: “Why did they come to
this area? The men had previously spent winters cutting trees in the shanties around here.” [in E. Morton
(Ed.), (1990) Tweed: A Centennial Mosaic. Tweed: Tweed Council, p. 239]. Another grandson, Felix
Rashotte, commented that Rajottes from Sorel were involved in lumber shantying in the Tweed area [in
P. Lesage, M. Rashotte, B.Vance [Eds.] (1973) Them Were the Days. Madoc, Ontario: Madoc Review
Ltd.] For more on the shanties see: http://interactive.usask.ca/ski/forestry/industry/history_cdn.html
6
J.H. Rajotte (2003)
7
In Lesage et. al. (1973) the recollections of Felix, Louis, and Mary Rashotte include interesting comments on
the family’s first years in Tweed. See excerpts in PART 3 of this document.
8
Peter’s date and place of birth have now been documented as May 12, 1811, in the parish of La Presentation, near
St-Hyacinthe, Québec. (See Footnote 3).
recorded that in some years, the water level rose some ten to fifteen feet above the
shore of these low-lying islands.
In one of those years, 1854 or 1855, Pierre saw his house and farm buildings
swept away by the rampaging Saint Lawrence, thankful to God that at least he and
his family could get out of it alive. Many of the other island farmers were also
subjected to the same fate and some were also other Rajotte families. This sad story
of this flood is recorded in books, but is recorded more vividly in the minds of the
descendants of these survivors. As it is handed down by word of mouth, generation
by generation, it remains a vivid experience each time the story is told.
In the aftermath of this flood, Pierre and his wife must have made a solemn
decision to abandon the place and look elsewhere for a new beginning. The Sorel
area must have had little more to offer as most of the farmable land was taken and
St.-Germain and Drummondville were hardly known. Upper Canada was then
calling for new settlers and lumber traders and giving good-sized land tracts to
anyone who could live there and settle their families. So this is what seemed to be the
best alternative to a hopeless situation of starting again on the Isle de Grace.
Pierre, with two brothers and four Cournoyer brothers9, took the time to
journey and find the place with the most hope and promise, far from the Saint
Lawrence and settled in a place called Tweed, Ontario. They probably traveled by
boat and arrived at Belleville, then walking the 30 miles or so north to the village of
Tweed, where they settled on 100 acre tracts of land. Pierre had four brothers,
Joseph, Louis, Jean-Baptiste and Paul, and it is uncertain which of them came with
him. Pierre was the only Rajotte to stay, but all four of the Cournoyer brothers
stayed and are probably the ancestors to all the Cournoyer families in Tweed today.
All these new pioneers from Sorel settled to the north of Tweed in what is still known
today as the "French Settlement" where they spent their first year or so building
their log cabins, barns, fences, and clearing the forests to plant their first crops. In
the next year, the rest of their families began to arrive.
There is a disturbing, yet humorous incident that is still remembered by the

descendants of Pierre and Basilice that gives an insight to the perturbations they had
to face. When Basilice first arrived with her children at the sturdy loghouse that
Pierre had built before bringing his family from Sorel, she thought she could faintly
see, in the dusk of the evening, a whole flock of sheep resting peacefully in the
grazing patch adjoining the loghouse. However, what a terrible shock she had in the
early hours of the next morning, when to her utter dismay, her wondering eyes
9
A web site concerning the history of the Cournoyer family indicates that only two of the four Cournoyers who
came from Sorel with Pierre were actually brothers (Noël and Paul); the other two were related to the two
brothers as uncle (Joachim) and distant cousin (Antoine). Each of the four came with their wives and they
joined Jean Baptiste Cournoyer who had arrived in Tweed from Sorel in the late 1840s, and was the first in
that family to live there. In the 1825 census, the four Cournoyers who came with Pierre were living on the
Ȋle Madame, just off Sorel, in the same group of islands as the Ȋle de Grâce. Pierre’s wife, Basilice
Cournoyer, is said to have been a distant cousin of the accompanying four Cournoyers. See:
http://members.shaw.ca/caren.secord/locations/Ontario/Courneya/Courneya.html
discovered that what she had first taken for an innocent flock of sheep, was nothing
but a scattering of cold grey boulders, lying half buried in the land she had dreamed
of providing her a new beginning. Basilice, once brought up on the rich homeland of
the Isle de Grace, and now facing a harsh reality unexpected, was so utterly
discontented that she cried for two days.
All of Pierre's children were born in Sorel, except the last one which came at
the time of the flood and migration to Tweed. Since Ontario was mostly English
settled, with some American loyalist families settling there after the American
revolution, these young children of Pierre were undoubtedly the first Rajottes to
learn English as the school teacher was English speaking and taught only in English.
This teacher found it most difficult to pronounce the names of the many French
named children. So she set out to teach them the English phonic spelling of their
names and thus created the new name of Rashotte. Therefore, wherever the name of
Rashotte is found today, it can be traced directly to Pierre Rajotte and his wife
Basilice Cournoyer.
Pierre and his wife lived all their remaining years in Tweed. Pierre died
there on January 17, 1899, and his wife continued to walk every Sunday, some three
miles, to and from church. She died in Tweed on August 8, 1900, and they were
buried in St. Edmund's cemetery in Stoco, where their gravestone10 still stands. At
the time of his death, Pierre left 63 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
Pierre's log house was later "modernized" by the addition of vertical clap
boards to cover the hand hewed logs, and some additions were built in later years.
The homestead came into the possession of his son Mitchell, who cared for Pierre
and Basilice in their old age. Mitchell in turn was cared for by his son Benjamin and
the homestead was passed on to him. Benjamin worked the farm until the 1930's
when he sold it. The homestead stood on its original ground for some 115 years,
when it was dismantled and moved to Actinolite, a few miles to the north. It was
reassembled in its original condition, less the clap boards and a later addition, and
now serves as an art school. In 1982, I first set foot in this house that Pierre Rashotte
built some 137 years before. It came to be one of the most memorable moments of my
long journey to discover my family.
10
Note: In fall, 2004, my brother David Rashotte (from Belleville, Ontario) and I arranged to have the gravestone
cleaned, a new foundation made, and the broken cross re-attached to the top of the stone. David discovered
that on the edges of the stone there were engraved the names of 4 of Peter & Basilice’s grandchildren (all
children of their son Mitchell & Mary Gaboury) who predeceased their grandparents. Three of the children
died of smallpox in their first year of life (Mitchell in 1883; William and John [twins] in 1884). The other
child, Edward, was 7 years old when he died of unstated cause in 1887. I could not determine whether
these children are buried in this plot, where their grandparents were buried many years later. (See PART 5).
A Listing of the First Family Members

Pierre Rajotte and Basilice Cournoyer were married in Sorel, Quebec in 1838 when he
was about 27 years old and she was about 22. They immediately began to have a family which
eventually numbered nine children, 4 girls and 5 boys. Their first child was a girl, Edwidge, and
their children included one set of twins (Michel [later “Mitchell”] and Marie [later “Mary”] in
1847).
It was while living in the Tweed French Settlement that the spelling of the family name
became “Rashotte”, and I have used “Peter Rashotte, Sr.” to distinguish Pierre Rajotte (the
father) from his son Pierre Rajotte, who I will call Peter Rashotte, Jr.
Here is a listing of the children of Peter Rashotte Sr. and Basilice (Cournoyer) in order of
birth, including their birth and death years.
Peter Rashotte Sr.

1811-1899
&
Baselice Cournoyer
1816-1900
Edwidge (1839-1935)
Paul (1841-1923) [Gravestone: 1840]
Pierre (Peter Jr.) (1843-1910)
Joseph (1845-1934)
Michel (Mitchell) (1847-1928)
Marie (1847-1913)
Edesse (1850-1939)
Sophie (1853-1949)
**Charles [Ragotte] (1859-1936)
** Apparently born in Tweed’s French Settlement.
All the males in the family eventually became farmers, like their father. Three of the five
sons remained in Tweed (Paul, Peter Jr. and Mitchell). Records indicate that, in 1878 (when they
would have been in their 30s), these three sons owned land in the French Settlement. These
three Rashotte brothers married women from the local French community, and they had large
families:
Paul married Odile Cournoyer [1st wife]; later, Mary Ann Woodcock [2nd wife]
Peter Jr. married Catherine Cournoyer
Mitchell married Mary Gabourie.
The other two sons, Joseph and Charles, moved to Standish, Michigan (near Saginaw),
about 1880, where they also farmed. Both eventually died in the United States.11
Charles was the only child who did not continue using the Tweed spelling of the family
name: he went by “Ragotte” instead of Rashotte.
The four daughter in the family married men from the French community in the Tweed
area where most of them raised families:
Edwidge married Francis Desilets

Marie married Michel Trudeau
Edesse married Narcisse Lajoie
Sophie married Louis Cournoyer [they did not have children].
Consequently, in the late 1800s the mothers of some families in the area with surnames of
Desilets, Trudeau, or Lajoie were sisters from the first Rashotte family in Tweed.
11
Both married women from the Tweed area before moving to the USA.
Joseph married Mathilda Akey who died in Michigan during the birth of her 11th child; Joseph remarried
another Canadian, a widow named Drinkwine who had 5 children by her first marriage.
Many Rashottes living in Michigan are descendants of Joseph Rashotte and his wives.
Charles also married before moving to Michigan; he married Henriette Hotte who was the mother of all of
his children. He is later reported to have moved to Wisconsin, Winnipeg, and Idaho where he
is buried. [Details from J.H. Rajotte (2003)]
An Expanded Account: Picturing Where the Rashotte Family Settled
For a closer look at where and how the Rashotte family became established in Tweed’s French
Settlement, it helps to review some maps and satellite photos of the area. A recent map showing the
towns and connecting roads in the vicinity of Tweed provides an overview and is reproduced below.12
There are three separate roadways named “French Settlement Road” on this map (highlighted),
reflecting the historical fact that, beginning around the mid-1800s, French-speaking families and
individuals from Québec settled in three separate locations in this area. Several families from Sorel,
Québec, came to the French Settlement immediately northwest of Tweed (red oval), and this is where
Peter Sr. and Basilice Rashotte settled with their family around 1856. The other French settlements
were near Queensborough/Actinolite (north of the Tweed Settlement) and near Otter Creek (to the east).
The parcels of land acquired by Peter Rashotte Sr. (and by the Cournoyers who came with him
from near Sorel) were clustered around a road-loop comprised of what is now called the French
Settlement Road and Palmateer Road (highlighted in blue on maps I have reproduced).
12
Cycling & Recreational Trails Map 2000/2001: Mideastern Ontario & City of Kingston 1st Edition. MapMedia Inc.
(www.advermap.com)
A satellite view of the Tweed area obtained from Google Earth in 2010, with added blue
highlights, shows the location of the road-loop around the French Settlement area with which we are
concerned. The village of Tweed is at the lower right corner.
Official descriptions of land parcels in Tweed’s French Settlement are made with reference to a
grid of “Concessions” and “Lots” that was imposed in the early 1800s after Hungerford Township was
surveyed. The map reproduced below13 shows how this grid applies in the area of the French Settlement
where Rashotte-family properties were located.
On the map, “Concessions” are continuous tracts of land running left to right (west to east) and
stacked from bottom to top, each identified by Roman numerals shown down the right-hand side; “Lots”
are discrete 200-acre parcels of land extending about 0.85 miles north to south between borders of the
adjacent Concessions.14 Lots within each Concession are identified by Arabic numerals (running left to
right on the map, shown in the Concession 13 tract). Property owned by an individual might be all, or
only part of, a Lot. The three Lots on which members of the original Rashotte family came to own land
are shaded in green on the map. They all are accessed from the road-loop highlighted here (and
identified by name on the first map shown above) comprised of what is now called the French
Settlement Road (on the north) and Palmateer Road (on the south).
13
Adapted from J.F. Kinlin (1943) Ibid.
14
According to a surveyor who worked in the area, Concessions were often 1.25 miles in length, but in Hungerford and
some others they were only 4,448 feet. (E-mail message from Joe Bergeron to Michael Rashotte , July 29, 2008).
The following satellite view (from Google Earth 2010) shows present-day features of the terrain
in the road-loop area of the French Settlement where the Rashotte properties were located. The satellite
view has been positioned and annotated to achieve an approximate match with the schematic map
showing concession and lots.
I have marked the French Settlement Rd./Palmateer Rd. loop in blue, and I have marked Lots 7
and 8 in Concession 12. As described later in PART 2, Pierre’s first land purchase was 50 acres
comprising the upper right-hand quadrant of Lot 8. It was on this property that he built his log cabin. A
more detailed view of that segment of Lot 8 is provided in the subsequent image.
LOT 7 LOT 8
DETAILED VIEW OF THE UPPER PART OF LOT 8, CONCESSION 12
Pierre Rashotte built his log cabin on the first 50-acre segment he purchased in the French
Settlement, defined as the North East quadrant of Lot 8. On a zoomed version of the Google Earth
(2010) view of the upper part of Lot 8, I have tried to show the approximate location of Pierre’s property
and the present-day terrain I have marked the overall area of his property with a red rectangle. I have
also added a yellow oval on the property where some sources suggest his cabin might have been located.
(Still visible ground-markings within the oval might indicate the position of the cabin and its various
extensions and outbuildings before it was moved to the Arts School near Actinolite in 1962?)
The blue line near the top of the image shows the French Settlement Road running along the
north edge of the property. The high land-ridge that ran behind the house can be seen in the satellite
view.
Peter Sr.’s Homestead (1855-56)

In this section, I want to expand Jack Rajotte’s (2003) family-history account of how Peter Sr. &
Basilice Rashotte established their family in Tweed after moving from Sorel. The story that emerges
from a search of various records, some interviews and photographs does not differ from the broad
picture provided by the family-history account. But, it is more nuanced and includes some historical
photographs of the homestead building that may be of interest.
The records indicate that Peter Sr. and Basilice were highly successful in establishing their
family in English-speaking Canada after their farming livelihood was wiped out by an environmental
disaster in Québec. In Tweed, Peter Sr. started out with a 50-acre homestead/farm, and soon added
much new acreage in the French Settlement. He and Basilice oversaw what appears to have been a plan
to have some of his five sons take over this added acreage as they married and began families. The four
daughters in the family married French men in the Tweed community and became farm wives.
Eventually, two of the five Rashotte boys moved away from Tweed, to eastern Michigan and beyond,
where they also farmed and established lines of Rashotte descendants. While Peter Sr. and Basilice
were still alive, the homestead itself was eventually taken over their son, Mitchell, and his wife, Mary,
who took care of them in their advanced years.
By the time the 20th century began, both Peter Sr. and Basilice had died, after living about 45
years in Tweed. Eventually, after being handed down in the family, the original homestead property
was sold to people outside the family in the 1930s. Over the years, Peter Sr.’s original log cabin was
expanded to include attached structures, and at some point it was covered with siding. In 1962, his log
cabin came to light again when it was purchased by the owners of an Arts School being established near
Actinolite, a few miles north of Tweed. They arranged to have the added siding removed to expose the
log cabin underneath, and moved the cabin to the School site where it was reconstructed in close to its
original form as viewed from the outside. That reconstructed building is the one that the family
genealogist, Jack Rajotte, visited in the early 1980s when he wrote:
In 1982, I first set foot in this house that Pierre Rashotte built some 137 years before. It
came to be one of the most memorable moments of my long journey to discover my family.
In 2010, the log cabin built by Peter Sr. around 1855 can still be found in its reconstructed form
at what is now called Bridgewater Retreat, just north of Tweed. In fact, that cabin is one of the venues
at the Retreat that can be rented for overnight stays. Remarkably, present-day descendants can also
experience the kind of “memorable moments” described by Jack Rajotte (contact Bridgewater Retreat:
http://www.bridgewaterretreat.ca/index.html). In what follows, I will show some historical and recent
photos of this reconstructed homestead cabin.
The official record of Peter Sr.’s first purchase of land in the French Settlement is found in the
Hungerford Township Land Registry on a page showing transactions on Lot 8, Concession 12. That
purchase served as the Rashotte homestead, and was where he built his cabin and initially farmed.
The top of the page in the Land Registry (reproduced below) shows that the first transaction for
that Lot was dated 1828, in which the entire Lot (200 acres) was granted by the Crown to a Patrick
Corbett. Parts of Lot 8 were sold and resold after Corbett acquired it, but the transaction of interest here
is Peter Sr.’s purchase made over 25 years later on September 13, 1855. The record of that historically
significant transaction, highlighted by a border, is also shown below (several intervening transactions
are not shown):
The record indicates that “Peter Rajiot” (i.e., Peter Rashotte Sr.) bought the North East15
quadrant (50 acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12, from “Michael D. Delore & Wife” on September 13, 1855,
for £112.10.
15
At first glance, this handwritten entry might be read as “South East”. However, a close-in scan of the registry indicates that the person
making entries wrote “N” with flourishes that could resemble “S”. For example, the entry immediately above Peter Rashotte Sr.’s is
dated “Nov 1”, and the “N” in that “Nov” has flourishes that might be interpreted as an “S”. Various other records and transactions
confirm that Peter Sr. first purchased the “North East” 50-acres of Lot 8, Concession 12, and that this property served as the Rashotte
homestead.
On the map showing the grid of Concessions and Lots (above), this first land purchase was the
upper right-hand quarter of Lot 8, Concession 12. Its north boundary fronted on what is now French
Settlement Road. A few months before he made this land-purchase, Peter Sr. had celebrated his 44th
birthday (on May 12, 1855). He soon built a log cabin in preparation for the family’s arrival from Sorel,
which probably occurred a year later, in 1856. The cabin was situated deep into the property to be near
good farming land, and faced north towards the road. Behind the cabin, towards the south end of the
property, there was a rocky ridge about 75 feet high.
Undoubtedly, Peter Sr. had to clear trees on his new property, and he probably used them to
construct his log cabin. Sketches of typical Ontario homesteads in the 1800s available on the Internet16
provide some idea of the circumstances Peter Sr. faced in Tweed’s French Settlement as he cleared part
of his property and built the log cabin that became the centerpiece of the family’s homestead. The left-
hand sketch reproduced below shows a homestead being constructed; the right-hand sketch shows an
established farm with a square-timber cabin of the sort that Peter constructed.
Clearing & Rough Buildings of an

Early Ontario Settlement17
A Settled Farm in Upper Canada in the Early

19th Century, With a Square-timber House,
A Barn and A Bridge, Along With Fenced
Fields and a Hay Crop18
16 http://www.canadianheritage.org/reproductions/
17 ID #20286; Credit: National Archives of Canada, C61557
18 ID #10234 Credit: Burland Lith., Co. / National Archives of Canada / C-44625
Imagining Peter Sr.’s Actual Cabin (A photo-collage)

If you don’t look with too critical an eye, the following image should provide an idea of how
Peter’s actual log cabin would have appeared when it was first built in the mid-1800s. I made this image
by superimposing a recent photo of the reconstructed log-cabin’s front wall onto a historic photo
showing the roof and left side-wall of the cabin when vertical siding had been applied over the logs.19
It’s not a perfect image, but I think it comes as close to showing the house that Peter Sr. built for his
family on Lot 8, Concession 12, in Tweed’s French Settlement as can be achieved today.
The photo to the right (taken in Fall, 2004) looks

south from French Settlement Road into the
former Rashotte homestead property.
If you imagine a laneway running quite deep
into the property down the center of this photo
and ending, in the distance, at the front of the
cabin shown above, you would have an idea of
how Peter & Basilice’s home appeared in its
actual location. The ridge located behind the
cabin can be seen in the background.
19
I will present the full historic photo later. I used it here as the background image because it shows the original roof-line
which did not have dormers. Dormers, added sometime after the cabin was moved to the Arts School, appear in
contemporary photos of the reconstructed cabin. The historic photo shows several people in front of the house,
probably including some members of the Rashotte family who lived in the house after Peter Sr. and Basilice died.
After the Homestead Was Established (1859-1931)
Soon after Peter Sr. and Basilice were established on the 50-acre homestead property, they began
to expand their landholdings in the French Settlement. In researching these transactions, I acquired a lot
of detail about when and how these purchases were made, and about subsequent transfers of land among
members of the family. That information turned out to be somewhat deadly to read through, but it may
be of interest to some readers. So, I have decided to include the more detailed information as an
Appendix at the end of this document.
You might want to read on here for a less detailed account of how the original Rashotte family
expanded its presence in the French Settlement between the time the homestead was established (around
1855) and the time when Rashottes were largely gone from the Settlement (in the 1930s). The story
provides an interesting example of how, 150 years ago, one French farming family came to English-
speaking Ontario and prospered. Peter Sr. and Basilice seem to have managed their holdings in a way
that made it possible for most of their male children to become independently established on farms of
their own in the French Settlement. Their daughters “acquired” land in the area through marriage. This
short account will conclude with some historic and recent photographs of Peter Sr.’s log cabin.
The land-transactions described below (and in the Appendix) use terminology based on the grid
of Concessions and Lots shown in an earlier map. It will probably help to consult that map as you read
through this material.
As described earlier, the northeast quadrant (50 acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12, was purchased in
1855 by Peter Sr. and served as the family homestead. In the next decade, he acquired an additional 250
acres of property near the homestead. He initially made two purchases (in 1859 and 1862) which
resulted in him owning the entire 200 acres of Lot 6, Concession 13, located just down French
Settlement Road, northwest of the homestead property. A few years later (1866) he made a third
purchase: the southwest quadrant (50 acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12, the same Lot on which the
homestead was located. The southern boundary of this new property fronted on what is now Palmateer
Road, and its northeast corner abutted the southwest corner of the homestead property. The new parcel
included the high ridge that ran across the southern part of Lot 8.
By the mid-1860s, then, the Rashotte family was well-established in Tweed’s French Settlement
with a total of 300 acres in landholdings. At that time, Peter Sr. was approaching his mid-fifties,
Basilice was about fifty years old, and their nine children ranged in age from about late-twenties
(Edwidge) down to about nine years (Charles, the only one born in Tweed). Soon, the four oldest boys
(Paul, Peter Jr., Joseph and Mitchell) would marry and acquire some of Peter Sr.’s landholdings, as well
as other properties. Here is a brief summary of how land owned by the Rashottes in the French
Settlement changed hands starting in 1867 and ending in 1931.
1. In August, 1867, Peter Sr. & Basilice transferred 60 acres on the east side of Lot 6, Concession
13, to their first son, Paul. At that time, Paul was about 26 years old, had been married (to
Odile Cournoyer) for about 4 years, and had 3 children. Unfortunately, Odile died in 1870. Paul
subsequently married Mary Ann Woodcock (in 1873), and in the next 20 years they had 10
children, 4 of whom survived.
2. Two years later, in February, 1869, Peter Sr. & Basilice transferred 122 acres in Concessions
12 and 13 to their second and third sons.
Peter Jr., their second son, obtained the 50-acre parcel adjacent to the family homestead (i.e.,
the southwest quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12), which his parents had bought just 3 years
earlier. This property included land on the high ridge that runs across Lot 8, Concession 12.
Peter Jr. was about 26 years old at the time. He had been married to Catherine Cournoyer for
about 1 year, and she was 7 months pregnant with their first child at the time of the land
transfer. Peter Jr. and Catherine built their home on the ridge where they had a family of 12
children in the next 22 years. It is family lore that Peter Jr. often checked on his parents in the
early mornings by looking out from the back of his farmhouse on the ridge. It is said that his
mother, Basilice, was a feisty woman, and that she was often outside the homestead cabin in
the mornings and would shake her fist at Peter Jr. up on the ridge and demand that he get to
work20.
Joseph, their third son, obtained 72 acres adjacent to the land of his oldest brother, Paul, on Lot
6, Concession 13. Joseph was about 24 years old at that time. He married Mathilde Akey in
the same year he obtained the land, and they had 5 children in Tweed before moving to
Michigan around 1876.
3. In October, 1871, Peter Sr. & Basilice’s fourth son, Mitchell, and his wife acquired 50 acres on
Lot 8, Concession 12. In the Land Registry, this parcel of land was recorded as being granted to
“Mary Rachott wife of Michael Rachott” (i.e., Mitchell) by “Alexander Brissett & Wife”. It
comprises the quadrant of Lot 8 that lies directly south of the homestead and directly east of
Peter Jr. and Catherine’s property. In October, 1871, Mitchell was 24 years old. He had been
married to Marie Gabourie for just over 3 years and they already were parents of two children,
with 9 more to come before 1884. Unlike the other transactions listed above, this one does not
seem to have been a transfer from his parents.
Overview as of 1871: After Mitchell and Marie had

acquired their 50-acre parcel in 1871, three quarters of Lot
8, Concession 12, was held by members of the Rashotte
family: Peter Sr. and Basilice held the northeast 50 acres
of that Lot, where the original homestead was established;
Peter Jr. (50 acres) and Mitchell (50 acres) held the entire
southern half of the Lot. Paul and Joseph continued to
hold their properties on Lot 6, Concession 13.
20
Communication from Margaret (Rashotte) Callaghan of Tweed, 2004.
4. In December, 1876, Peter Sr. & Basilice’s third son, Joseph, sold his 72 acres on Lot 6,
Concession 13, to his brother Paul who already held acreage on that Lot, as described
earlier. Joseph and his wife had worked this land for about 7 years since he acquired it from his
parents. This sale of land to Paul occurred about the time Joseph and his family moved to
Michigan where he took up farming. Joseph was the first of Peter Sr. & Basilice’s children to
settle in Michigan. He bought a 40 acre farm near the town of Standish, in Eastern Michigan,
and he and Mathilde became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1878.
5. 1878: Rashotte Properties As Identified in the Belden Atlas. The part of Tweed’s French
Settlement in which Rashotte landholdings were located was included in Belden’s Atlas of 1878
and is reproduced below. I have outlined (in red) the properties identified as being in the hands
of the various members of the family at that time. The atlas showed the number of acres in each
property (the numeric entries with each name).21
According to the Atlas (but not the land-registry records), by 1878 the original homestead
in the northeast quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, was already in Mitchell’s name, as well as the
50 acres Mitchell and Mary had acquired in 1871 directly to the south of the homestead. [In
1878, Peter Sr. would have been about 67 years old and Basilice was in her early sixties. They
were to live for about 20 years more in the homestead.] “P Ragot” (Peter Jr.) is named on the
southwest 50 acres of Lot 8, Concession 12 (transferred from Peter Sr. and Basilice in 1871), and
the entire 200 acres of Lot 6, Concession 13, which Peter Sr. had acquired through transactions
in 1859 and 1862, is shown in the names of Paul (the oldest son; 133 acres) and Mitchell (66 2/3
acres).
Finally, a “P Ragot” is named on the northeast quadrant (50 acres) of Lot 7, Concession
12, shown (outlined in red) on the Atlas map as lying between properties of Jas. Woodcock and
X. O’Coin. I have no record from the land registry concerning the latter acquisition, which
seems to be in Peter Jr.’s name (but some people in Tweed today recall that Paul owned this land
at some point).
21
It is not clear to me whether the names shown on properties in the 1878 Atlas are the names of persons recorded as owners
of the property, or of persons who lived on the properties at that time. The records in my possession showing dates
and names of persons involved in property transactions up to 1878 are not always in synchrony with the names
provided in the 1878 Atlas. However, the general picture of land holdings shown in the Atlas agrees with the
family-history narrative about the locations where three sons of Peter Sr. and Basilice (Paul, Peter Jr. and Mitchell)
and their families lived and farmed on properties in Tweed’s French Settlement in the late 19 th and early 20th
centuries. Note: The family name is spelled “Ragot” in the Atlas.
Overview as of 1878: The 1878 Belden Atlas identified a

total of 400 acres of land in Tweed’s French Settlement as
being held by three sons of Peter Sr. and Basilice.
Although the land-registry records are not in complete
agreement with the Atlas, the general picture is that the
first Rashotte family had expanded its land holdings 8 fold
in the 20 years since Peter Sr. and Basilice settled on the
50-acre homestead on Lot 8, Concession 12. The Atlas
identifies the holdings of three of Peter Sr. and Basilice’s
sons. Of course, several of their daughters had married
and lived on properties in Tweed’s Settlement and
elsewhere in the area. When Peter Sr. died in 1899, the
Register of Deaths, Hungerford Township, included the
statement that three of his sons, Paul, Peter Jr., and
Mitchell, “reside side-by-side in the French Settlement”, as
is shown in the Atlas.
6. 1886: Mitchell Acquired 50 More Acres on Lot 8, Concession 12. Mitchell Rashotte acquired the
final quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, that was not owned by a member of the family: the
northwest quadrant (50 acres) of that Lot was deeded to “Mitchell Rachott” from the estate of
“the late Joseph Woodcock Senior” for $1535 on September 14, 1886.
7. 1887: Paul Transferred 72 Acres on Lot 6, Concession 13 to his Son Paul Jr. On November 1,
1887, 72 acres of Lot 6, Concession 13, was registered from Paul Rashotte to Paul Rashotte Jr.,
his oldest son.
8. 1895: Paul Sold the East 128 Acres of Lot 6, Concession 13. On January 2, 1895, Paul Rashotte
sold the east 128 acres on Lot 6, Concession 13, to Peter Cournoyer. This Paul Rashotte is
probably the oldest son of Peter and Basilice, but it might be his son, Paul Jr.
9. 1897: Peter Sr. and Basilice Deeded Their 50-Acre Homestead on Lot 8, Concession 12 to their
son Mitchell. On March 4, 1897, the records indicate that “Peter Rashotte & Bozelese
Rashotte his wife” deeded the family homestead (the northeast quadrant of Lot 8, Concession
12) to “Mitchel Rashotte” for “$0 & $10.00”. These transactions came when Peter Sr. was in
his mid-eighties and Basilice was about eighty, just a few years before their deaths (in 1899 and
1900, respectively). After these transactions, Mitchell owned all of Lot 8, Concession 12,
except for the southwest quadrant which was owned by Peter Jr. and Catherine.
10. 1914: Mitchell and Mary Transferred Their 150 Acres on Lot 8, Concession 12 to Two of
Their Sons. The family history indicates that after the deaths of Peter Sr. and Basilice at the
end of the 19th century, Mitchell and Mary continued to live on the original family farm where
they had cared for the elderly Peter Sr. and Basilice. In September of 1914, when Mitchell,
himself had reached his late sixties, he transferred all the property he held on Lot 8, Concession
12, to two of his children: “Mitchell Rashotte and wife” are recorded as transferring “the NW ¼
of Lot 8” (50 acres) to “Charles Rashotte”, and the “E ½ of Lot 8” (100 acres) to “Benjamin
Rashotte” for the consideration of “Nat Love and affection and $1.00”. The 100 acres provided
to Benjamin included the original family homestead. The family history states that Benjamin
cared for his own parents on the homestead in their elder years, just as they had cared for Peter
Sr. and Basilice.
11. 1920: The Property of Peter Jr. and Catherine on Lots 7 and 8, Concession 12, Was Sold. The
southwest quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, owned by Peter Jr. and his wife Catherine, was
deeded to “Joseph Cournoyee” in 1920 after legal transactions suggesting that Peter Jr. died
intestate (in 1910). The registry indicates that there were “100 acres in all” deeded to
Cournoyee, probably both the 50-acre southwest quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, and the 50-
acre property on Lot 7, Concession 12, that might have been in Peter Jr.’s name in the 1878
Belden Atlas (see above). The Land Registry shows the value of the combined 100-acres sold
by “Catherine Rashotte (widow) to Joseph Cournoyee” in 1920 as $4000.
12. 1929 & 1931 - The 150 Acres on Lot 8, Concession 12, Inherited by Mitchell and Mary’s Two
Sons, Was Sold. The properties transferred in 1914 from Mitchell and Mary to their children
Charles and Benjamin remained in the sons’ names for about 15 years before both were sold to
“Peter Laton”. In 1929, the year after Mitchell’s death, “Charles Rashotte and wife” are
recorded as selling the “NW ¼” (50 acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12, for $2600. In 1931,
“Benjamin Rashotte and wife” are recorded as selling the “E ½” (100 acres) of Lot 8 (which
included the original homestead) for $4000.
Departure of Original Rashottes from Tweed’s French

Settlement. By the early 1930s, Peter Sr. and Basilice’s
original homestead property (and surrounding Rashotte
properties) had been sold to persons outside the family. By
that time, many descendants of the first Rashotte family in
Tweed had left the French Settlement where Peter Sr. and
Basilice had established their family over 70 years earlier.
They had become residents elsewhere in Tweed, or in
nearby towns, or in Michigan. Some of them were working
in trades other than farming, which had supported the first
Rashotte family and their children. Rather than French,
English was now the language of these Rashottes who were
the first in the family to be born and raised in Ontario. The
remarkable era of the first Rashotte family in Tweed’s
French Settlement was over.
Some Historical and Recent Photos of Peter Sr. & Basilice’s Cabin
I have obtained three historical photos of Peter Sr. & Basilice’s cabin taken in the 20th
century, and I reproduce them here. They were kindly made available to me in Summer, 2008,
by Steve and Marie Collins, owners of the Bridgewater Retreat near Actinolite, just north of
Tweed, where Peter Sr. & Basilice’s reconstructed log cabin is located
(http://www.bridgewaterretreat.ca/index.html).
The first of these photos, undated, is said to be in the photo collections of many senior
family members. It is believed to show the cabin as it appeared on the homestead property in the
French Settlement in the early 20th century. By this time, vertical siding had been applied over
the log walls of Peter Sr.’s cabin, and a side addition has been added. This photo also shows 14
people in front of the cabin. At the present time, their identities are uncertain, but they are most
likely members of the Rashotte family and, possibly, visitors to the homestead. These people are
shown in more detail in a zoomed segment of this photo which is presented at the end of PART
4.
The second photo was taken around 1962 when the cabin was being disassembled on the
homestead site in preparation for being moved to the new Schneider School of Fine Arts being
established by the artists, Roman and Mary Schneider, near Actinolite, Ontario, a few miles
north of Tweed. This photo shows the Rashotte house with its vertical siding partially stripped
away, revealing the log walls of the cabin that Peter Sr. built around 1855. The people in front of
the cabin in this photo include Mary Schneider, a co-founder of the Arts School, and her son.
The third historic photo, also taken around 1962, shows the 2-storey section of Peter Sr.’s
log cabin soon after it was reconstructed in a scenic location overlooking the Skootamatta River
at the Schneider School of Fine Arts. This photo shows a modern addition, added to the left side
of the cabin, which was used as a painting studio.
The remaining photos in this section, taken in Summer 2008 and 2009, show how Peter
Sr.’s reconstructed log cabin appears at the present time. The cabin is still in the same location
where it was moved in 1962, but now is part of the Bridgewater Retreat. These photos include
exterior and interior views.
I hope this set of historical and recent photos provides a sense of the fate of Peter Sr. &
Basilice Rashotte’s log cabin which, remarkably, can still be visited today, over 150 years after it
was built.
Early 20th Century: The Home Built By Peter Rashotte Sr. As It Appeared In
Tweed’s French Settlement
This photo, taken after Peter Rashotte Sr.’s original log cabin had been extended (1-
storey addition to the right) and covered with vertical siding, was probably made in the early
20th century.
The unidentified people in front were most likely family members living in the house
at that time (possibly Peter & Basilice’s son Mitchell [standing left], his wife, Marie [sitting
in chair on stoop], other family members, and visitors).22
22
The following excerpt from Ann Trudeau Kelly’s letter to Mike Rashotte (July 30, 2008) provides some
information about this photo: The picture of Peter Sr.’s home has been in almost every Rashotte family but
no names recorded. The relatives seemed more interested in saying that was the original Rashotte home.
The closest I got to anyone being identified was after Frances-Rashotte Kelly’s funeral when I spotted the
picture in her Oshawa family home. Uncle John Rajotte and Fred Gabourie said it was probably Uncle
Mitchell and Mary (Gabourie) on the left. The man in the “constable uniform” could be Mary’s brother.
In 2007, Joe Bergeron and Margaret Callaghan of Tweed kindly provided details of this
home’s layout as they remembered it from their early times in the French Settlement:
There were two main sections: a 2-storey section housed 4-5 bedrooms upstairs and a
parlor and a kitchen-dining area downstairs, and a 1-storey section, on the right-hand side, whose
functions likely included serving as a summer kitchen (its full width is not shown in the photo).
A person entering the main door of the 2-storey section would step into a small vestibule
and would face a staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. The staircase divided the ground
floor into two large rooms --- a parlor to the left and a kitchen/dining room to the right – both of
which extended the full depth of the house, about 30 feet. The parlor was about 24 feet wide and
had 3 or 4 windows in addition to the one visible at the left of the main door in the photo. The
kitchen/dining room, about the same size as the parlor, had a pantry across the back wall, and a
hand-pump for water.
When cooking was done in the 1-storey section during the warm months, the cooking-heat
was kept away from the main part of the house. This section had a trap door to a smaller
basement.
At the opposite end of the house (at the left in the photo, out of camera range), there was a
large entrance to a full basement located underneath the parlor. Horses and a wagon could be
driven into the basement, which had a large cistern, potato bins, and room for cords of wood.
The front of the house (shown above) faced north, looking towards French Settlement
Road. Behind the house, there was a low-profile, good-sized, barn with a large wooden silo, and
a windmill that ran a pump for water.
The house was situated rather deep on Peter Rashotte Sr.’s first property (the Northeast
quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12) to be near good land for growing crops in that part of the
property. Further back behind the house, a steep rocky ridge rose about 75 feet high.
1962: The Rashotte Home Being Disassembled In the French Settlement
This photo, probably taken in 1962, shows the Rashotte home in the process of being
disassembled prior to being reconstructed at the Schneider School of Fine Arts which was
located a few miles north of Tweed, just past Actinolite on Highway 37.
In the photo, much of the added vertical siding seen in the Early-20th Century photo has
been peeled away, revealing the original log-cabin structure built by Peter Sr. in 1855. Between
the windows and the door on the 2-storey section, the logs run vertically. Some siding remains
above the windows and the door on that section.
The two people at front in the photo are identified as Mary Schneider and her son. This
group was visiting the building as it was dismantled.
1962 & 2008: Reconstructed 2-Storey Section of Rashotte Log Cabin

(with modern-studio addition)
The left-hand historic photo was probably taken in 1962 or ‘63, soon after the 2-storey section
of the log cabin had been reconstructed on the bank of the Skootamatta River at the Schneider
School of Fine Arts, near Actinolite, Ontario. A modern art-studio has been attached to the left
side of the cabin. The cabin has no roof dormers in this photo, which was the same roof-
configuration shown in both the Early 20th Century and the 1962 photos of the building (see
above).
The right-hand photo shows the reconstructed cabin as it appeared 26 years later (June, 2008).
Dormers have been added to the roof but, otherwise, the exterior remains largely unchanged.
2008: Reconstructed 1-Storey Section

of Rashotte Log Cabin
This photo, taken in June, 2008, shows the
reconstructed 1-storey section of the Rashotte
cabin. In the reconstruction process, it was
detached from the original 2-storey section and
connected with a second 1-storey cabin (partially
shown at far left) that was originally located at the
nearby town of Queensborough. It served as part
of the administration building for the Arts School.
The dormer on the roof of this 1-storey section,
which was visible in the Early 20th Century photo
of the house (see above), was removed in the
reconstruction.
2009: Photos of the Reconstructed 2-Storey Section of Peter Rashotte Sr.’s

Log Cabin On the Skootamatta River At the Bridgewater Retreat
Near Actinolite
The above photo shows the exterior of Peter & Basilice

Rashotte’s reconstructed log cabin as it appeared in Summer,
2009. Unlike the original cabin, dormers provide light and
ventilation for the bedrooms on the second floor.
View of the Skootamatta River looking out from the front door
of the cabin.
A dining area adjacent to the front door looks out on the Skootamatta River.
The kitchen (right photo) is adjacent to the dining area, and adjoins an open living room
with fireplace (left photo).
Second floor bedrooms (one of three is

shown) are reached by the stairs to the right of
the kitchen.
Finally, I include a modern photo meant to recapture the feeling of the

historic Early 20th Century photo shown above (in which unidentified
people were standing along the front of the Rashotte home).
In this photo, taken in 2009, all the siblings of my own family have lined up at the front
of Peter and Basilice’s reconstructed log cabin (in ascending order of age from left to right). The
occasion was my own 70th birthday. I am the one at the far right.
PART 3. LIFE IN THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT

Recollections by Four Rashotte Descendants
To obtain a better glimpse of life in the French Settlement for the early Rashottes, this section
provides some excerpts from recollections by four early descendants of Peter Sr. and Basilice. Two
were their grandchildren (Felix and Louis Rashotte), and two were their great grandchildren (Mary
Rashotte and Margaret Rashotte Callaghan). Recollections of Felix, Louis and Mary Rashotte (and
those of many other senior residents in the Tweed area), recorded around 1970, can be found in the
remarkable book, Them Were The Days (1973)23, which provide first-person accounts of life in the
Tweed area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I recorded some recollections of Margaret Callaghan
during a visit to Tweed in 2003 which provide additional information about the early years.
I have organized these recollections into 10 topic headings:
1. Getting Started on the Land & Making a Living
2. Clothing
3. Food
4. Schooling
5. Church
6. The French and the Irish
7. Music, Dancing, Story-Telling and Parties
8. Ghost Stories
9. Beds
10. Skills in Peter Jr. and Catherine Rashotte’s Family
23
This book was compiled by Patricia LeSage, Margaret Rashotte and Baden Vance, and was printed by the Madoc Review
Press, Madoc, Ontario. It can be found at the Tweed Heritage Centre and Museum, and is in the hands of many
families from Tweed. My Aunt Nola (Lawler) Rashotte of Belleville kindly gave me her personal copy of the book.
I thank one of the editors, Margaret Rashotte, for giving permission to reproduce the following excerpts from the
interviews of Felix (page 51-55), Louis (page 73-79) and Mary (page 47-51).
Here is some biographical information about the four people whose recollections are cited:
Felix Rashotte (1885-1973) and Louis Rashotte (1891-1995) were grandsons of Peter Sr. and Basilice.
They were brothers in the family of Peter Jr. and Catherine Rashotte.
Mary Rashotte (1894-1983) was a great granddaughter of Peter Sr. and Basilice. Although a great
granddaughter, she was not raised by her birth family but by another of Peter & Basilice‘s
children under circumstances described below.24
Margaret Rashotte Callaghan (1913-2010) was also a great granddaughter of Peter Sr. & Basilice.
Her lineage goes back to Paul, the first son of Peter Sr. and Basilice (her grandfather), whose son
Joseph Stephen Rashotte and Mary Hallissy were Margaret‘s parents. She currently lives in
Tweed.
Photos of each of the three Rashottes whose recollections are in the book are shown below, as is
a photo of Margaret Callaghan I took in 2004.
Felix Rashotte Louis Rashotte Mary Rashotte Margaret Callaghan
I hope these excerpts help bring to life some of the circumstances in which early Rashottes in the
French Settlement lived. Under each topic, the person whose recollection is being quoted is typically
identified at the end of their quote.
24
Her father was Peter Rashotte (1867-1946), a grandson of Peter Sr. and Basilice (i.e., this Peter was a child of their oldest
son, Paul [1840-1923], and his first wife, Odile Cournoyer). Soon after Mary was born, in Standish, Michigan, her
mother, Amelia Labarge (1869-1895), died. Her father then sent Mary (and her brother) to Tweed to be raised by
Peter Sr. and Basilice‘s daughter, Sophie (1853-1936) and Louis Cournoyer (1850-1925), who were childless. In
Mary‘s recollections, references to ―Aunt Sophie‖ and ―the grandparents‖ likely reflect a common usage in the
family, rather than her biological lineage. That is, ―Aunt Sophie‖ would actually have been her ―Great Aunt
Sophie‖; and ―the grandparents‖ were her ―Great grandparents‖ (Peter Sr. and Basilice) as the context of her
comments often makes clear. To complicate the story a bit more, in 1930, Mary was widowed in Tweed and, soon
after, married Felix Rashotte, her cousin, whose recollections are also excerpted here.
1. Getting Started on the Land & Making a Living

When the grandparents landed here by boat25 they had to walk from Belleville to Tweed with
whatever possessions they had. They settled in this log house (moved from its site in the French
Settlement to Actinolite, where it is now used as office and residence by the Schneider School of Fine
Arts). They had to work the land as best they could with oxen. Of course, they had so very little, after
being washed out on the Island. MARY RASHOTTE
When my father26 first came from Lower Canada he was only 12 years old, and they had no way
of making money. The only way they had was to make potash. Up there in the French Settlement that
was all maple, great big maple. I remember the maple—oh they‘d be maybe 80-foot tall, and not a limb
on them, just at the top. They were so thick you could hardly walk through them. And they used to cut
them down, burn them; then they‘d take the ashes, put them in a big barrel, put water on them, let the
water soak through and catch it—and that‘d be lye. And then they‘d take that lye and boil it. You heard
tell of those potash kettles—that‘s what they were for. They‘d put this lye in the potash kettles and burn
it, and make the lye ‗til it got hard just like a cake of salt. They‘d break that up, and then they‘d cadge
that to Belleville and sell it for making soap and different kinds of things. And then that cleared the
land, too. You see they cut the trees down to clear the land. It was all woods. They had no land to
work. LOUIS RASHOTTE
The reason the people left L‘Ile-de-Grace was because they were washed off the island. My
great-grandfather27 used to come up here to the shanty, and after they were washed off the island they
came up here and went right into the wilderness – that was all wilderness up at the French Settlement.
It was called that because they all came from Sorel and they couldn‘t speak English. My father never
was able to talk English, just a few words. My mother was younger, and they settled up here – do you
know where Farnsworth School is, up on the Crookston road? Well they settled there very close to the
school; so she went to school, I guess to the second or third book. She could read and write and speak
very good English.28
…. Getting back to the first settlers… They followed the lumber. Then, you take, the lumber
was pretty well gone here, and my uncles started going to Michigan29. … That‘s how they came to
migrate from one place to another, following the timber. When they first came here it was all virgin
pine and they used to ship that to England to make boats, which at that time were all made of timber.
They‘d pile them up, fasten them together, and pine was the most economical to use because they didn‘t
have to load them on any boat. Going down the river to Montreal, they had to go through Lachine.
25
Peter Sr. and Basilice (Cournoyer) Rashotte. They arrived by boat from Sorel, Québec, in the mid-1850s.
26
This would be Peter Rashotte Jr., 4th child of Peter Sr. and Basilice
27
It is unclear to me whether Felix is referring here to his grandfather (Peter Rashotte Sr.) who settled in Tweed, or to his
great grandfather, Joseph Rajotte (1770-1831) of Sorel who was married to Francoise Pizane. The point he seems to
be making is that, before Peter Sr. and Basilice settled in Tweed, the Rashottes knew the area because they had
traditionally shantied there.
28
Felix‘s father was Peter Rashotte Jr. (1843-1910); his mother was Catherine Cournoyer Rashotte (1849-1944). Both were
born in Sorel and came to Tweed as youngsters with their parents after spring floods on L‘Isle de Grace in the mid-
1850s. Peter Jr, and Catherine were married in Stoco, Ontario, in 1868.
29
Two of Peter Jr.‘s brothers, Joseph (1845-1934) and Charles (1859-1936) moved to Michigan, around Standish. They have
many descendants there today.
They wouldn‘t get them in bunches ‗til they got to Montreal because they‘d all be torn to pieces going
through the rapids. FELIX RASHOTTE
A Note on Shanty Life:

Earlier in this document, I cited a comment by Louis Rashotte to the effect that the
French settlers who came from Sorel chose Tweed because they had spent winters in the
Tweed area ―cutting trees in the shanties around here‖ (see Footnote 5). The comment by
Felix Rashotte (immediately above) makes the same point. I was unfamiliar with the term
―shanty‖ or ―shantying‖ in this context.
Because it seemed to be a significant aspect of life for our earliest Tweed ancestors,
a Google inquiry yielded http://interactive.usask.ca/ski/forestry/industry/history_cdn.html.
That site describes the conditions under which the earliest Rashotte men might have worked
and lived when they came up from Sorel, Québec, to shanty in the winters when the
demands of their farm lives were few. The annual cycle of farming in Sorel and shantying
in Ontario was a hard existence. The eventual opportunity to settle down in Tweed must
have been welcome. Here is what I found on the web site mentioned above:
Overview: The wood industry throughout the nineteenth century was quite labour intensive,
since numerous steps were required to transform a tree into a finished product. In addition
to the workers (shantymen) involved in cutting and transporting the logs, there were also the
sawmill workers and the artisans, and as the wood industry became more mechanized, the
factory workers.
The Shantymen:
Description: Although there had been workers in the forest industry since the early days of
New France, it was not until the nineteenth century that their role took on considerable
importance. The romantic idea of the lumberjack frequently to be found in literature and
legend is well known; the reality, however, was different. Recruited from among the
immigrants and settlers or from day labourers and farmers in search of extra wages, the
lumberjacks would "go up to the shanty" around mid-October and many would not return
until the end of spring.
Living Conditions: Their camp often consisted only of a log cabin containing a single room
crammed on all sides with bunks. In the centre there would be an open fire, which was
replaced by a stove by the end of the century. The number of shantymen in a camp might
vary from ten with a small outfit to more than sixty and even eighty with large companies at
the end of the century.
The Typical Work Day: The days were long; at six in the morning, the lumberjacks went to
the felling areas; often up earlier were the teamsters who carted away the timber and who
had to feed, water and harness the horses or oxen before breakfast. There were more men
on square timber crews than on sawtimber gangs, because squaring timber also required
notching and hewing after the tree had been felled, two functions demanding definite skills
and experience. After the timber had been squared or the logs trimmed, the skidders took
over. Using a team of horses or oxen, they dragged the "sticks" or logs to the rollway, which
was located near a road; from there the wood was taken by cart to the landing on the river.
Around six in the evening, the lumberjacks returned to the camp, whereas the teamsters
seldom finished their day's work before eight. The work went on like this six days a week
until the ice melted, signalling the beginning of the "drive" - the time at which logs were
floated downriver. Some of the shantymen then became drivers, and others returned home or
went to work in the sawmills, which went into production as soon as the rivers opened up.
The drivers' work was often dangerous, especially when jams occurred and they had to work
in the water. Unlike in the bush, men on the drive had to keep changing their encampment as
they followed the logs downstream.
Wages: Not much is known about the wages of the forest workers of the nineteenth century,
aside from the fact that they were paid monthly and that wages varied only slightly from one
region to another and considerably from one trade to another. In 1850, for example, in the
Trent River valley in Canada West, a worker who notched and hewed wood into square
timber received double the wage of one who simply felled and trimmed the trees. The
monthly wage was usually calculated on the basis of twenty-six working days, from which
were subtracted the days lost because of sickness, injury or bad weather. Purchases of such
items as tea, tobacco and tools from the company store were also deducted from the
worker's pay. It could thus happen that earnings of $40 for four months' work would be
reduced to $10, and some lumbermen even found themselves in debt to the company upon
completion of their contract of several months. If such cases were frequent, one wonders
what drove these men up to the shanty.
Meals: Throughout the nineteenth century, the food was extremely frugal; around 1850, for
example, shanty men often had to be satisfied with hardtack or Boston crackers, baked
beans, pea soup, salt pork, lard, pork, and of course the fish and game they were sometimes
able to catch in the area. As a rule, vegetables, sugar, molasses and pastry did not appear
on the menu until the end of the century.
Recreation: The evenings were short, and entertainment was limited to songs and stories,
and to games emphasizing skill and physical strength. Sundays were reserved for washing
and grooming and for repairing and maintaining the equipment. One can easily imagine
that during the months of isolation these men keenly missed their loved ones. Indeed, there
were no women in the camps, except in the case of very small outfits, where they performed
the duties of "mother" and cook.
Consequences of Working in the Bush: Because they worked in small scattered groups far
from the population centres and for only a few months a year, the shanty men did not
participate in the union movement, which was developing and asserting itself in the
nineteenth century. Their demands thus found other means of expression. It may well be that
the desertions, days of absence and sickness, and the consumption of alcohol were their
ways of reacting to the bad working conditions.
2. Clothing
They made practically everything. The grandmother30 made a flannel, which was wool both
ways, and it had been dyed before it was made up. They would wet this and put it on the table and take
a mallet and pound it, and then they‘d let it dry, and then they‘d do it again. It would get quite thick and
they used that to make overcoats. Now what the men wore for their shirts and everything, was cotton
one way – warp, it‘s called – and wool the other way. Of course it wasn‘t as heavy, and they had to line
it under the arms, or else it would get rather picky. They used to tell about when the boys were going to
see the girls and they had these flannel shirts, and it was in the cool weather and they had a fire on.
When they started to scratch, it was time to go home!
They made their own straw hats. They would cut the tops off barley, I think it was, when it was
ripe, and cut it so far off the ground. And they wouldn‘t bend it, you know, they‘d keep it straight.
When they were ready to make hats, they‘d soak that in water and then it was easy to work with.
They‘d use 6 straws and braid it and that made it about an inch in width. Then they sewed that and
made hats. For shoes, when there‘d be a little calf and they didn‘t want to keep it, they‘d skin it and dry
the skin, and they used that for the children‘s. They used to call them shoe packs. The man‘s were
made out of cow hide, quite high and sewn with calfskin, cut about one-quarter of an inch in width.
They‘d put tallow on it and keep pulling it until a piece 12 inches would be almost 20 inches. They had
big needles and they used that to sew the shoe-packs. MARY RASHOTTE
We had what we needed and there was one thing about it, we didn‘t have any money; we were as
poor as could be, but we had lots to eat and lots to wear. My father was a great provider and my mother
was a wonderful cook.31 She made all our clothing too. My gosh, we could wear socks out faster than
she could knit them; so sometimes she‘d cut and make them out of flannel. So anyway, I saw advertised
one time a knitting machine. I bought one for mother, and I got in the habit, if I wanted a pair of socks
in the morning, I‘d just go and knit them! I used to make bedspreads and everything. I saw one of those
machines at Upper Canada Village. There‘s another thing: Mrs. Desilet32, my aunt, lived at
Bridgewater, and she was a dressmaker; and my mother used to walk from up here in the French
Settlement all the way over there to learn to sew. That‘s the way it was in our time, one helped the
other. FELIX RASHOTTE
…………………….
DIALOGUE: PATRICIA LESAGE AND LOUIS RASHOTTE:
PAT: Felix, your brother, talked about a knitting machine your mother used to have.
LOUIS: I did a lot of knitting on that. Used to make stockings. Mother33 used to knit and sell by the
yard. Anybody that‘d have yarn, why they would bring it to her, and she‘d charge so much a
yard to knit it.
30
Probably Basilice
31
Peter Jr. and Catherine
32
Edwidge Rashotte Desilets (1839-1935) was the first daughter of Peter Sr. and Basilice
33
Catherine Cournoyer Rashotte (Peter Jr.‘s wife). A photo of Catherine as an older woman with her spinning wheel can be
found in Part 5: Family Obituaries and Gravestones
PAT: Can you imagine when she found the time to do that, when she had all those children.
LOUIS: It‘s a fright the work they done. All the kids worked, though. We started to work when we
were young. As soon as we could do anything, why we had to work. Milk cows and all that.
………………………
We didn‘t have much spending money, but we were well-fed and well-dressed. There were 16
of us at home at one time – 12 children, Mother and Father, and then Grandmother and Grandfather
Courneyea. Yes, 16. When I went to school everything I wore Mother made it, even shoe-packs. I
remember when we used to go to school, if our shoe-packs were wore out and there be a hole in them,
why they‘d make us a pair at night when we‘d come home. They were really warm. We‘d get the hides
tanned. LOUIS RASHOTTE
………………………..
DIALOGUE: PATRICIA LESAGE AND LOUIS RASHOTTE
PAT: Did the older people wear shoe-packs too?
LOUIS: Oh yes, the older people wore them. The only boots we had were for Sunday. I remember I
bought a pair of Sunday boots for 50 cents. Course we took care of them. When we came home
from church, we‘d take them off. And then in the summer we didn‘t wear anything – barefeet to
school. There wasn‘t too many who wore boots to school in the summer.
3. Food
a) Mary Rashotte’s Recollections (emphases added)
For eating, they used to pick wild raspberries and they didn‘t have much sugar, so they‘d put
them on a clean table and cover it over with cloth or something so the flies couldn‘t get at it. Every day
they‘d move them a bit and let them dry. Then they were put away for the winter. Wild strawberries,
they would do those up. The sugar that they had year round was maple sugar and they would make
what they called ―soft maple sugar‖. They would put it up in kegs. It would remind you of brown
sugar, but it would drip more and you would ladle it up. The used to make ―deep apple pie‖ in pans
that they‘d make their bread in. They didn‘t put any crust in the bottom. The pie would be almost 2
inches thick. They‘d put sugar and spices over the apples and then they‘d put the crust on top. My aunt
used to make it and it WAS good.
Another thing they used to do: they always put in peas, so they would have them during the
winter. They‘d dry beans too. The corn they had, they had to pick it all by hand because they didn‘t
have anything then to cut it like they do now. They‘d take all the corn and save it ‗till fall. Then in the
fall, they‘d invite all their neighbours and they‘d clean out the barn floor. The girls and boys and
everyone went. They‘d take the husks off the corn and they‘d put them aside. They‘d take 2 ears of corn
and rub them together and the kernels would drop off. They they‘d save the ears and put them in
another bunch, and they‘d have the corn in another box, or whatever they used for containers. They
used to use some of the corn for “lyed” corn. In those days, they kept their hardwood ashes and put
them in a barrel and set it so high off the ground. Every so often, especially towards fall, they would put
a pail of water in it, and down below they‘d have another pail to get the lye. That was lye. In the fall,
they would take some of this lye and put so much corn in it, and it would all open up, something like
popcorn. Well, when the corn would be like that, they‘d lift it out, and they‘d wash it, and then let it
dry. In the winter months, they‘d take some of this corn and soak it over night, and they would cook it
and put a white sauce on it. And IT was good, too.
……
Another thing that they used to do, they would gather butternuts. And in the fall of the year,
they always killed a pig. Before they could cut the corn, very often there were coons, possibly in a
hollow tree. And if they could, they‘d get them and kill them, skin them and bring them in the house
and put them in a big pan and roast them in the oven. Well, they‘d throw away the carcass, but they
kept all the oil that was in it, and they used that for the moccasins to make them waterproof, and also on
their harness. They also put as much of it as they could away, and in the fall of the year, they got a great
big cooler out, and they made soap, soft and hard. They‘d cut it in squares and lay it on a board to dry.
The soft soap that was in the cooler was used for washing the clothes. Now when they killed the pigs,
they would take a knife and take all the fat off the stomach – they would put that on the stove and get all
the oil out of it, and that was used along with the coon oil for the soap. When they would butcher – they
liked smoked meat – they‘d dig a big deep hole in the ground, and start a little fire. They‘d put those
corncobs on top and they‘d put a barrel over the top, with both ends out, and they‘d hang hams and
whatever they wanted smoked, inside the barrel, and cover it over and let it smoke. The corn would give
the meat a different taste than if you put twigs or little pieces of wood in the fire.
Another thing they used to do – when they‘d make butter, they had a churn; in it there was a
thing that went up and down, and at the bottom there was like a flat board with holes in it, and this long
handle went right in the center. Well, then the lid at the top had a hole in it, and they‘d have to go up
and down, up and down. They‘d put their butter in crocks and they‘d have it year round. As far as the
colour of butter goes, it has a lot to do with what the cows are eating. My aunt never used anything to
colour it, but it was always lovely. They‘d put it in big 5 gallon crocks. She‘d have a crock with a
mold: it was all fancy with little holes in it and it had a little handle. It put me in mind of a little bell.
They‘d bring it down when they went to get butter and that would cut the butter patty and leave a little
clover leaf on top. That was just for special occasions.
Blood pudding? Oh yes. I‘ve seen it made often. Usually they didn‘t go to the work of getting
casings because they would have had to go to Belleville or make their own. I have heard of some of
them making them. They‘d take the inwards, you know, and you let it stand in brine for so many days,
and then you turn them inside out and the inner layer comes right out. And that‘s what they used for
sausages. But the way I have seen it made, they‘d take so much fat pork, and you would save the blood
when they killed the pig, and you had to put a little salt in the pan and have a big spoon and keep stirring
it all the time. Otherwise it could get clabbered. After it gets cold, you‘d strain it and put your spices in
and this fat you‘d saved, cut in all little pieces. Then, if you wanted, you could put it in the casings.
You‘d take 3 yards, I think it was, and tie both ends and every so far you‘d give it a twist. That made
the links. Aunt Sophie34 used to make blood pudding all the time. I remember one time, I went out and
I decided that I‘d do it this time. I wasn‘t very big, about 10 years old, and I went out in her place, with
the pan and big spoon. The man who stuck the pig didn‘t do too good a job – he didn‘t hold his knife
just right, and the blood squirted up and just covered me! And then when I had got a lot of it, and I was
stirring away and coming to the house, there was a man come around the corner of the house and when
he saw me, he dropped his book and threw his hands up.
…….
Then the girls in the family would bring out meat pie. They‘d put the meat through … no, they
didn‘t have meat grinders then, they‘d do it by hand, with onion, pepper and salt, and they‘d put the
meat in a frying pan and keep stirring it ‗til it turned all white, or gray, I should say. Then they made a
pie crust, put the meat in and baked it. In the fall of the year, they would make quite a number of them
and let them freeze. They‘d put them in a root cellar. Do you know what that is? Usually they made
them and covered them with earth. When they killed the pigs, they would take all the lard out and put it
in a big kettle and cook it. Then they‘d strain it, and it would be just as white. Then it was put in crocks
and it was put away in the root cellar. Early in the fall, they would start saving eggs. Of course at that
time, farmers had hens. Then they would pack the eggs in salt, and then in the wintertime they had eggs.
In the winter they had peas, beans and corn – they always had a big garden. But they didn‘t buy seed
each year. They‘d collect it or sometimes they might trade with one of the neighbours.
b) Margaret Callaghan’s Recollections
Christmas dinner was always turkey and potatoes and vegetables that were kept such as carrots
(kept in sand), beets and sometimes corn preserved (but it was salty as a result of the preservation). For
the winter, the family killed a cow and preserved the beef in parts. They also usually killed 3 pigs or so
over the winter for meat and the boys often had to cut up the pig into small pieces and salt it for
preservation. There was less milk in the winter from cows. In the winter, blocks of ice were cut from
the lake and brought to an ice house on the property where it was kept with sawdust and provided
refrigeration for milk and other items during the warm months of the year.
……………………………..
We‘d get up in the morning and of course we‘d eat at that time. It wasn‘t cereals like they have
today. Mother‘d35 have probably 3 platters of pancakes, 1 at each end, 1 in the center, and we‘d clean
that all up. We had our own maple sugar and maple syrup. Oh, we lived high! FELIX RASHOTTE
4. Schooling
They had a school, do you know where you turn to go to Latendre‘s and Fred Rashotte‘s? Well,
right on the lefthand side. All the farmers went in together and they built it. Well then they had to hire a
teacher. I imagine it was in the late 1890s. They tried to find a teacher, but none would come because
they didn‘t have enough money. So finally it was a man teacher that came. Each farmer took him for 2
or 3 weeks and boarded him and gave him a little extra. He had a violin, so at recess and noon hours,
34 th
Sophie Rashotte (1853-1949), Peter Sr. & Basilice’s 8 child.
35
His mother was Catherine Rashotte, wife of Peter Jr.
he‘s play for the youngsters and they‘d learn to step-dance. There was a lot of them learned to step-
dance there…Tenos Bergeron, Mrs. LaVallee – Oscar‘s mother. In those days there was a lot of them
step-danced—something you don‘t see now. This teacher I was telling you about – Aunt Sophie36 went
to school to him, too. Well of course as he made the rounds, some of the people like her father and
mother37 had a big family and took all the beds. So the father and mother would move out into another
bed and they‘d have to put 3 in one bed. Well, their bedroom was nicer and it was away from the others,
further away from the youngsters, so the teacher would have it. MARY RASHOTTE
……………………….
DIALOGUE: PATRICIA LESAGE AND FELIX RASHOTTE
PAT LESAGE: Were you ever strapped for speaking French?
FELIX RASHOTTE: No, no. We had a teacher who put us through the first reader in French. She
wasn‘t allowed to; so when the inspector would come around she‘d make us hide our French
readers. It was a great help.
………………………..
The French children were taught by English/Irish teachers. The children were strapped if they
were heard speaking French in school or the schoolyard. MARGARET CALLAGHAN
5. Church
At that time they went to Stoco church38, and they would walk down from the French Settlement,
as far as the park – the girls, and the boys too, in their barefeet. If a lot of them had to do that now, they
wouldn‘t go. Mr. McGowan lived right near the lake and he would take the Rashotte family across.
Sometimes there‘d be 2 boats. For his pay, he got a 5 quart can of maple sugar. MARY RASHOTTE
6. The French and the Irish

DIALOGUE: PATRICIA LESAGE AND MARY RASHOTTE
PAT: How did the Irish and French get along?
MARY: I have heard this said – I don‘t know how true it is – that Charlie Rashotte was the first
Frenchman that married an Irish girl. They didn‘t intermingle much before that. But they all
went to the same church.
PAT: Henigan Rush was telling me how the French would go out one door and the Irish would
go out the other. He said: “No wonder the Frenchmen took over our Irish girls. They were so nice
looking with their big black hats and their nice coats, and they used to smoke shag tobacco.”
……………………………………..
36
Sophie Rashotte (1853-1949), Peter Sr. and Basilice‘s 8th child.
37
Peter Sr. and Basilice
38
The Catholic Church was St. Edmund‘s in Stoco. St. Carthagh‘s church was built later in Tweed.
The various nationalities were congenial. In the winter there were hockey games on a rink that
was made in a field. Teams played against each other made up of boys from different parts of town.
The rink had a torch lantern at each end for lighting. These were very spirited events. MARGARET
CALLAGHAN
7. Music, Dancing, Story-Telling and Parties

After the corn husking bees, they always had a dance when they were through. The
grandfather39, I was telling you about, played the violin and Felix‘s father40 played the violin. The
grandfather had a wonderful voice. They‘d play while the youngsters danced. Then the girls in the
family would bring out meat pie. MARY RASHOTTE
……………
This excerpt begins with Pat LeSage’s follow-up question to Louis about his comment that “Joe
Langevin’s father” could really play the violin. The dialogue tells a lot about how folks entertained
themselves in the French Settlement in the early 1900s (Louis was born in 1891; he married in 1914):
PAT: Where would he play?
LOUIS: At our dances. They used to last ‗til early in the morning. We used to pass our hat around
for the collection to pay for the fiddle. I remember we used to go to 3 or 4 in a week, in the
wintertime. Stay out ‗til 3 or 4 in the morning, then get up in the morning and go to work. We
didn‘t stay in bed. Just in the winter now; in the summer there weren‘t so many, because we
didn‘t have time, you know. But in the winter all we had to do was the chores and cut the
wood you see, and of course they‘d get us up in the morning; didn‘t matter how late we stayed
up at night. Oh yes, we‘d stay up late. But we‘d go around. We‘d take a big sleigh, you
know, and pick them all up, go around to all the farms, and we‘d all go in together – go into
one place one night and the next night we‘d go to another place.
PAT: Just like one big party, eh?
LOUIS: Big party. All up in the French Settlement there.
PAT: And what would you do at your parties?
LOUIS: Just dance. Square-dance all night long. Staff Meraw‘s father to call. Boys he was a good
caller, you know. He‘d sing. And Ed, my brother41, used to call. Oh, they‘d have no trouble
getting‘ callers. And we‘d have Peter A. Courneyea to play the violin. And Helena‘s father –
39
Peter Sr.
40
Peter Jr.
41
This was Louis‘ next junior brother, Edward, born in 1899. He died at the age of about 32 in 1921.
he was a great step-dancer. Boy, could he step-dance. If the fiddler would get tired, he‘d give
me the fiddle to play while he had a rest. I‘d take over for a dance or two.
PAT: Do you play the fiddle yet?
LOUIS: I haven‘t played in years. I‘ve got father‘s42 old fiddle here yet. Father could play the fiddle.
He could play anything and sing! My gosh, he had the greatest voice. He could sing all those
old French songs… Oh they‘d have not only dances – they‘d have what you called a ―crowd‖.
They‘d put on a great big meal. They‘d invite all the neighbours, maybe about 40 or 50 people
would go to the house. We‘d just call it a ―crowd‖. And they‘d sing and tell stories.
PAT: How often would this happen?
LOUIS: Oh, you‘d have 7 or 8 through the winter. You‘d go from one place to another. I was small
at that time. But the stories they‘d tell, funny stories. I remember old man LaChapelle – that
would be Jimmy LaChapelle‘s grandfather – they used to go and get him every time they‘d
have a crowd to tell stories. He used to tell stories for hours – one right after another, all in
French. They were comedians. Bert Shanques gets it from the O‘Coins. You take that old
Felix O‘Coin there – why I‘m tellin‘ you he could make anybody laugh. It didn‘t matter who it
was, and Father said one time he was brought up in court and he even made the judge laugh.
They had him up in court about some cattle that got out and got on somebody else‘s property.
They had another one ahead of him in court and when the judge came to Felix, he says, ―I
suppose you want to get off as easy as this other fellow.‖ ―You‘re damn right‖, he says. And
he got the judge into laughing.
PAT: I suppose you’d move off the farm when you got older.
LOUIS: We were home for a long time. Mary was the first one who got married.43 I remember when
she got married.
PAT: What was a wedding like then?
LOUIS: Just a great big dance. Dance all night—right at the house. The wedding was at the church.
But they always got married early in the morning—they didn‘t want anybody to see them. Not
like it is now. Not like it is now. Then, when they were ‗called‘44, they‘d always go somewhere
else. I remember before I was married, when they called us in Tweed, we went to Stoco; next
Sunday they called us in Stoco, we went to Tweed. And when we got married, it was seven
o‘clock in the morning. It was always early in the morning—then back to the wife‘s place.
When Mary got married they had a big ‗do‘ over at our place. They danced all night. They‘d
have their big meal, just hang around ‗til night ‗til the dancing had started.
42
Peter Jr. He was regarded as a good violinist with a fine singing voice. He is said to have spoken little English, and Louis
says the songs he sang were in French. The violin appears to have been the guitar of the time.
43
This is Louis‘ oldest sister, Mary (1869-1905), who married on April 15, 1895, when Louis would have been only about 4
years old. She married David Trudeau, and died with her infant in childbirth in 1905.
44
By ‗called‘ he refers to the banns being read to the church congregation at mass on Sundays to announce the upcoming
wedding and to allow anyone to comment about the suitability of the marriage (e.g., close kinship).
………………………..
Peter Rashotte Sr. brought a violin with him when he came to Tweed from Sorel. The violin was
a common source of music, and the Rashottes were musical. Many homes had a pump organ, and it
was common at parties for the organ and violin to be used for songs. MARGARET CALLAGHAN
8. Ghost Stories
PAT: Did they tell many ghost stories in your day?
LOUIS: Oh gol, lots of them. My gol, it‘s awful what the old people used to say. We were scared to
death. The way it was…if you went to confession, and you had sins the priest didn‘t want to
forgive, they‘d send you out. You‘d have to come back after you quit that sin – when you‘d
quit they‘d give you absolution. The old priests – that‘s what they did, you know. If you
didn‘t get absolution for so many times, then that‘s when ‗Loup Garue‘ started.45 At night,
they‘d say, they‘d strike out. They‘d be just like some kind of animal. If somebody hit them
and drew blood, then they‘d be able to come back to real life. Oh gol, it‘s awful the stories
they used to tell and we believed it, you know. I can remember Father46 telling us a story.
They told it for a true story, whether it‘s true or not. But this girl wanted to go to a dance. It
happened in Lower Canada – what we called Lower Canada—and her parents didn‘t want her
to go. And she said she was going to go if she had to go with the devil. So she struck out
anyway on foot, and this man come along with a horse and buggy, you know, and picked her
up and took her to the dance. She didn‘t know him. He was a stranger. He asked if he could
go in, so the owner of the place said it was alright, he could go in. He started to dance and he
wouldn‘t take his gloves off – he had gloves on—and when he started to dance with her, the
claws started to come through and pinch her hands through the gloves. So they figured it was
the devil. So they said they went and got the priest and they had quite a time to put him out.
He wouldn‘t go. He said that he had permission to come but the priest put him out. That‘s
what the old people used to tell us.
They used to tell us about fairies, too. We believed that too, you know, ‗cause they‘d say
the fairies would take the horses at night and go for a ride and they‘d braid the mane. And the
45
An internet search yielded the following information from http://jamesjoneslitsociety.vinu.edu/loup.htm : Loup Garou is a
classic werewolf story, common in French groups in various parts of North America, including the Cajuns in
Louisiana. “Storytelling was one of the main forms of entertainment of the French at social gatherings and in the
home…. The loup-garou, to most who believed in him, was a fierce werewolf, though …. the loup-garou may also be
a person transformed into a cow, horse, or some other animal. Once under a spell as a loup-garou, the unfortunate
victim became an enraged animal that roamed each night through the fields and forests for a certain period of time,
usually 101 days. During the day, he returned to his human form, though he was continually morose and sickly and
fearful to tell of his predicament lest even a worse sentence should befall him. The main way he could be released
from the spell before serving the stipulated time was for someone to recognize him as a person transformed to an
animal and somehow draw blood from the loup-garou. Even when the disenchantment had been performed, both the
victim and his rescuer could not mention the incident, even to each other, until the time was up. Anyone who
violated this tabu would become possessed immediately and face a much stiffer sentence.”
46
Peter Jr.
next morning the darn mane WAS braided! I suppose they did it, you see, and of course we
believed it. Oh yes, I remember that we‘d go to the barn and the darn mane was all braided and
we thought the fairies had taken the horses out for a ride. Well, you were afraid to go out at
night, you know.
……………………………
DIALOGUE: PATRICIA LESAGE AND MARY RASHOTTE
PAT: How about courtships? Did you have to have chaperones?
MARY: Oh yes. For the girls. Although Pete Bergeron – and I don‘t remember if it was Grandpa, or
another man, one of the family – they went to see their girlfriends, but they went to the same
house because they were afraid to go out alone at night. One of them always took a big long
branch off a tree, and before he‘d get to the house he‘d drop it beside the fence, so he‘d have it
when he came out.
PAT: What would they be afraid of?
MARY: Well, years and years ago, the children didn‘t go out like they do now. If they did go out, it
was in the daytime. But at night, the parents used to tell some of the wildest stories and have the
children scared to death. They were frightened and wouldn‘t go out at night. Did you ever hear
in French of Loup Garue?
9. Beds
DIALOGUE ABOUT BEDS: PATRICIA LESAGE AND MARY RASHOTTE
MARY: Now for the husks… They didn‘t have mattresses on their beds, nor springs. For the
springs, there was a big wooden roller at the head of the bed and another one at the foot. The
one at the foot had a peg in it and there were strips of linen that were fastened to the one at the
head of the bed and brought to the roller at the foot of the bed. And it was tacked on there.
Well, if it would sag a bit, you took this and you rolled it, and that tightened it. Well, on top of
that they made ticks out of corn husks when they‘d be good and dry.
PAT: Would they crumple them up?
MARY: No, you‘d crumple them up when you‘d go to bed! In the morning when you‘d make up
your bed – there was 4 holes in this tick – and you‘d shove your hand in and shuffle them
around. When you went to bed at night, it was just like Niagara Falls, the noise that it would
make. This was in my grandmother‘s time47, but my aunt, Mrs. Courneyea, had the same
thing.
47
Her grandmother Basilice?
Now to finish up the bed… The tick that was on the bed was made of flax and they wove it
themselves, just like the blanket. They had geese, and twice a year they took the feathers off
and the fine feathers were used to make pillows. Before that when they first came there, they
used to get cattails. They‘d crumple them all up after they‘d get good and dry, and they‘d fill
their pillows with that.
10. Skills in Peter Jr. and Catherine Rashotte’s Family

FELIX: I didn‘t have any training. My father, he had no education, but he still could figure out
anything and that‘s where we got it. My mother was very mechanical herself, she could do
anything, weave or anything.48
48
Felix‘s father and mother were Peter Jr. and Catherine
PART 4. FAMILY PICTURE GALLERY

THE FOUNDERS: Peter Rashotte Sr. (1811-1899)
&
Basilice Cournoyer (1816 -1900)
This undated photo is in the collections of

several members of the Rashotte family. It
is inscribed on the back: “Peter and
Basilice”. In all probability, this is the
only photo of the founders of the Tweed
Rashotte family. When Peter Sr. and
Basilice settled in Tweed around 1856,
they would have been in their mid-forties
(Peter Sr.) and early forties (Basilice),
which could be the ages of the people in
this photo. Perhaps the photo was taken
around the time they came to Tweed.
The photo has characteristics of those

made in studios at that time, particularly
the background and seating. Peter Sr. has
what appears to be a small document in his
right hand. Basilice holds a magnifying
glass in her right hand. These aspects of
their appearance are probably a photo-
studio convention.
A published recollection by one of

Basilice’s great grandchildren, Mary
Rashotte, seems to refer to the photograph
shown above and to Basilice:
This grandmother, you saw the picture, and the white cap, she always wore one of
those as far back as I can remember, every day and Sunday. It was white and there
was a little piece at the front that was all pleated. Well, when they cooked potatoes,
they would save the water off them, and they’d get quite a little bit ahead and they’d
boil that down, and that was their starch. This grandmother was very, very fussy.
She was very tidy, and when they’d wash the dishes and put them away, and when
she’d go to sit down for the next meal, she’d take her plate and cup and knife and
fork, and go wash them over again.49
49
Quote from Mary Rashotte (1894-1983) on page 50 of P. Lesage, M. Rashotte & B. Vance (1973) Them Were the
Days (Printed by Madoc Review Ltd., Madoc, Ontario). Although Mary Rashotte was Basilice’s great
granddaughter, her reference to “the grandmother” in this quote seems to be to Basilice, given Mary’s other
uses of the term “the grandparents” elsewhere in her comments. Mary would have been six or seven years
old when Basilice died in 1900. See PART 3 of this document for more of Mary Rashotte’s recollections
The Founders’ Children
Head-shoulder “portraits” cropped from larger photos are shown below for seven of Peter
Sr. and Basilice Rashotte’s nine children when they were adults. The children are listed in birth
order. Some readers of this document may have photos of the two missing family members, and
I would be glad to incorporate such photos so that this family photo gallery is more complete.50
1. Edwidge (1839-1935)
2. Paul (1840-1923)
3. Peter Jr. (1843-1910)
50
Thanks to the following for providing photos: Maureen Porter (Edwidge). Margaret Callaghan (Paul, Peter Jr.,
Mitchell), Ann Trudeau Kelly (Marie, Sophie), Jacklyn Coplen Catterick (Edesse)
4. Joseph (1845-1934) No photo available.
5. Marie (1847-1913) Marie (Mary) was a twin of Mitchell
6. Mitchell (1847-1928) Mitchell (Michel) was a twin of Marie
7. Edesse (1850-1939)
8. Sophie (1853-1949)
9. Charles (1859-1936) No photo available

The Founders’ Children - With Spouses and Families

Photos showing seven of Peter Sr. and Basilice Rashotte’s nine children with their
spouses and/or some family members are presented below. The children are: Edwidge, Paul,
Peter Jr., Marie, Mitchell, Edesse and Sophie.
Edwidge (1839-1935)
The two undated photos above were provided by Maureen Porter of Tweed, a great
granddaughter of Edwidge and Francis Desilets. They show Edwidge (seated) at an advanced
age. Her obituary (see PART 5 of this document) indicates that she died on August 10, 1935,
about two months short of her 98th birthday. Edwidge married Francis Desilets in Stoco in 1857,
and they had one child, Mary. I have found no photo of Francis, who died about 1900; he is said
to have been buried in Michigan.
Edwidge was widowed in Michigan about 34 years before her death. She then moved
back to the French Settlement where she lived with her daughter, Mary, who had married
Thomas Quinn in 1892. Mary was 77 years old at the time of Edwidge’s death. Mary and
Francis Quinn had six children, and Ann Trudeau Kelly of Madoc has been able to identify two
of their daughters standing behind Edwidge in the photo above: Margaret [Maggie] and Agnes
Quinn are the first and second from the left. Mary, herself, is third from the left. The other
woman (in black) might be Agnes’ daughter.
Leo Quinn, a son of Mary and Thomas, commented as follows about his “grandparents
[Edwidge and Francis Desilets] making their way to Standish Michigan shortly after [their
daughter] Mary was married to Thomas. There was good farm land and opportunities there at
the time. Edwidge was close to her brothers. Grandpa died there and Grandma made her way
back home to live with their family, at Hawkins Bay Road. Grandma was close to a hundred
when she died”.51
Paul (1841-1923) and Mary Ann Woodcock (1849-1917)
This undated studio picture was provided by Margaret Rashotte Callaghan, a

granddaughter of Paul and Mary Ann. Paul married Mary Ann Woodcock, his 2nd wife, in1872,
when his age would have been about mid-30s and she about mid-20s. His first wife, Odile
Cournoyer Rashotte, died in 1870. Judging from their appearance, the photo was likely taken
several years after their wedding. In this setting, Paul holds a document in his right hand; Mary
Ann holds a small indeterminate object in her right hand.
51
Letter from Ann Trudeau Kelly to Michael Rashotte, July 30, 2008.
Peter Jr. (1843-1910) and Catherine Cournoyer (1848-1944) With Family

This studio-photo of Peter Jr., Catherine and their 12 children (provided by Margaret
Rashotte Callaghan) is in the collections of several Rashotte descendants. It was probably made
in the fall of 189252 when Peter Jr. would have been about 49 years old, his wife Catherine
Cournoyer Rashotte would have been about 43. Above and below the photo, I have shown the
name and birth-order (in parentheses) of each child, and the calendar year of their birth. The
parents’ names are in bold. Their 3rd child, Paul, was my paternal grandfather.
Back Row: Odile (6) Peter (2) Paul (3) Clemence (4) Catherine (5)
1879 1871 1873 1874 1876
Middle Row:
Bruneau (10) Marie (1) Louis (12) Peter Jr. Edward (11) Catherine Lilia (8)
1887 1869 1891 1843 1889 1849 1882
(Father) (Mother)
Front Row: Felix (9) Joseph (7)
1885 1881
52
Louis Rashotte (1891-1995), the baby in the photograph sitting on his father’s knee, appears to be about 1-2 years
old. Louis told Ann Trudeau Kelly of Madoc, Ontario, that the photo was made in the fall before his
second birthday. He was born on February 28, 1891. Therefore, the photo was likely made in fall of 1892.
Marie (1847-1913) and Mitchell Trudeau (1841-1920)
This undated photo was provided by Ann Trudeau Kelly of Madoc, a great granddaughter
of Marie and Mitchell Trudeau. They married in Stoco about 1868, when Marie was about 21
years old and Mitchell was about 27. They had 7 children who survived to adulthood. Mitchell
died in his late 70s (in 1920) and Marie died soon after turning 66 (1923). It is possible that this
photo was taken around the time of their wedding. Ann Trudeau Kelly has a photo archive of the
individual children from this marriage, and some of their spouses, taken when they were well
into adulthood.
Mitchell (1847-1928) and Mary Gabourie (1848-1927) With Family

This studio-photo, provided by Margaret Rashotte Callaghan, was likely made around
1890 (see below) when Mitchell and Mary were in their early 40s. Mary is holding a book,
possibly a family bible. Above and below the photo, I have shown the name and birth-order (in
parentheses) of each child, and the calendar year of their birth.
Back Row: Rachel (1) Charles (4) Boselese (2) Ben (5) Felix (6)
1869 1874 1871 1876 1877
Front Row:
Minnie (3) Mitchell Pierro (7) Mary
1873 1847 1881 1848
This photo was probably made after four of the children had died (3 infants, including
two twins, died of smallpox in 1883 & 1884; an older boy, Edward, died in 1887 in his 8th year).
The youngest surviving child (sitting on the floor) would have been Pierro who was born in
1881. Judging from his appearance, Pierro could have been about 9 years old, meaning that this
photo was made around 1890. Perhaps this family photo was taken before their second daughter,
Boselese, was married (Nov 7, 1892). In 1890, the ages of the children would have been:
Rachel: 21 years; Charles: 16 years; Boselese: 18 years; Ben: 14 years; Felix: 13 years; Minnie:
17 years; Pierro: 9 years.
Edesse (1850-1939) and Narcisse (Nelson) Lajoie (1843-1925)
These photos were provided by Jacklyn (Coplen) Catterick from her web site
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~ourancestors/our%20ancestors/coplen-catterick/index.htm). Edesse
Rashotte married Narcisse Lajoie in Stoco in 1868 when Edesse was about 18 years old and
Nelson was about 25. They had 8 children, all born in Tweed.
After Nelson died, when he was about 82 years old, Edesse lived in Tweed for another 13
years with her youngest daughter, Margaret, who never married. Edesse was about 89 at the
time of her death.
Sophie (1853-1949) and Louis Cournoyer (1850-1925)
This photo was likely taken around the mid-1890s when Sophie and Louis
Cournoyer were in their early ‘40s. Sophie and Louis are shown at left.
Their surviving adopted son, George Mahoney (1878-1968) is in front.
He was probably in his mid-teens. George’s biological parents, William
Mahoney (1846-1896) and Elizabeth Henley Mahoney (1852-1897) are at
right. By this time, they had relocated from Ireland to the Toronto area.
In March, 2009, Ann Trudeau Kelly (Madoc, Ontario) kindly sent me copies of photos and
text in a book about the Mahoney family53 which provides images and new information about
Sophie Rashotte and Louis Cournoyer, and their adoption in 1884 of children from the Mahoney
family in Ireland.
Sophie and Louis, although childless themselves, were known for their generosity in housing
and rearing several children. The Mahoney family history provides some details of the adoptions
made by Sophie and Louis, which are summarized below:
53
Murray J. Mahoney (1999) Tracking Our Genes.
Two children from the Irish family of William and Elizabeth (Henley)
Mahoney “were taken into care by the Catholic Children’s Protection Society in
July 1884.” The older boy, William (1875-1885) was about 9 years old at the
time; George was about 6. They were brought to Canada from Liverpool “by the
Catholic Children’s Protection Society in the care of Mrs. Lacy of Shaw Street,
Liverpool England. She brought over approximately 100 children on this trip
which sailed from Liverpool on August 28 1884 to Londonderry. The ship
departed Londonderry on August 29 1884 and arrived in Quebec, Canada on
September 7 1884.”
The day after arriving in Canada, young William is said to have been
admitted to the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, and a few days later,
“on September 11 1884, Mrs. Louis (Sophia) Cournoyer of Tweed Ontario took
them from the orphanage to their home … [and] Louis and Sophia Cournoyer
adopted William and George Mahoney … William Mahoney died [of
meningitis] in 1885 at the age of 10 years old and is buried in St. Edmund’s
Parish Stoco, Ontario.”
William’s death left George as the surviving adopted child of Sophia and
Louis Cournoyer. There seem to have been no other children legally adopted by
the Cournoyers, although there were several other children who were raised for
various periods of time by the couple.
Three years after the two Mahoney boys sailed for Canada, George’s
father, William Mahoney Sr., sent a letter from Glin, Ireland, to Louis (and
Sophia) Cournoyer in Tweed. His poignant letter was in response to a letter from
the Cournoyers that described young George’s situation. The following transcript
of William Mahoney’s handwritten letter is found in the Mahoney family history,
Tracking Our Genes (spellings as in transcript):
Glin
28 July 1887
Sir:
We received your kind and welcome letter and we are very glad to hear
that you and your wife are quite well. Also that George is in good health as this
leaves me and my wife at present thank god. We are glad to hear that you have
your hay seaved and a good crop I hope. We have a very warm summer here this
year. The people are hay making just now. There is a very poor crop of hay this
year as the season was very dray. Please tell George that we send him our best
love. Also, we send you and your our best respects and hoping that George will
always remain a good boy with you both.
We remain yours respectfully
W. Mahoney
Post Office Glin
County Limerick Ireland
Two Mystery Photos
I am including here two photos that show some people who might be members of the first
Rashotte family in Tweed’s French Settlement. Perhaps some reader will be able to make a
definite identification of some of these people.
The first is a zoomed segment of the undated Early 20th Century photo of the Rashotte
cabin shown in PART 2. Although the definition is not crisp, perhaps this zoomed image will
make it easier for a viewer to identify some of the 14 the people in that picture.
The second photo was

provided by Margaret
Rashotte Callaghan.
Although Margaret and
other senior Rashottes are
uncertain about who is
shown in the photo, there
is a sense that some of
these people look a lot
like some of the original
Rashottes, or members of
their families.
PART 5. FAMILY OBITUARIES AND GRAVESTONES

Using the archives of the Tweed Heritage Centre and Museum, I was able to find the
obituaries of many members of the original Rashotte family. In this section, I reproduce those
obituaries, and also show photographs of related gravestones as they appeared in 2003-2004.
The Founders: Peter (1811-1899) & Basilice (1816-1900) Rashotte

Peter Rashotte Sr.’s Obituary (Register of Death, Hungerford Township):
I found no death notice for Basilice, who died about a year and a half after Peter Sr.
Gravestone of Peter
Sr. and Basilice
Rashotte, in
St. Edmund’s
Cemetery, Stoco.
The stone is shown

here after it was
cleaned and restored in
2004.54
54
David Rashotte (Belleville) and I arranged for this work to be done on the stone.
The text on front of the stone reads:
PETER RASHOTTE
DIED JAN. 17, 1899
AGED 90 YEARS 10 MOS.
-----------------------------------
BOZELISE COURNOURYER
HIS WIFE
DIED AUG. 8, 1900
AGED 84 YEARS 8 DAYS
-------------------------------------
REQUIESCANT IN PACE
RASHOTTE
Note: Calculating from Jack H. Rajotte’s recent documentation of Peter Sr.’s birth date as May
12, 1811 (see Footnote 3), Peter Sr. would have been 87 years, 8 months and 7 days old at the
time of his death. The age at death given in his obituary and on his gravestone (90 years and 10
months) does not agree with his now-documented birth date. Calculating from information given
on her gravestone, Basilice’s birth date would be August 1, 1816, which is close to the date given
in the family genealogy and history: August 5, 1816.
Peter and Basilice’s gravestone is inscribed along both edges as well as on the front. The
edges list the names of four of their grandchildren whose parents were Mitchell and Mary
Gabourie Rashotte. Three of the children died of smallpox soon after birth in 1883 and 1884
(two were twins, John and William; the other was named Mitchell). The fourth child, Edward,
died in his eighth year.
Photo Showing an Edge of Peter & Basilice’s Gravestone in St. Edmund’s Cemetery
Text on one edge:
JOHN / DIED / NOV 16, 1884 / AGED 1 MO.
WILLIAM / DIED / NOV 29, 1884 / AGED 1 MO.
CHILDREN / M. & M. / RASHOTTE
Text on the other edge:
MITCHELL / DIED / FEB 28, 1883 / AGED 2 MOS.
EDWARD / DIED / JUNE 11, 1887 / AGED 7 YRS. / 8 MOS 16DS
CHILDREN OF / M. & M. / RASHOTTE

The Founders’ Children (in order of birth):

1. Edwidge Rashotte Desilets (1839-1935)
Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed News, August 15, 1935)
Oldest Resident Hungerford Passes
Edwige Rashotte DesIslets, the oldest resident of this district,

who would have celebrated her 98th birthday in October of this
year, died suddenly following a short illness at her home, two
miles from Actinolite, on Saturday last, Aug. 10. Born in
Sorel, Que., she came to the French Settlement near here in
1855 and since that time, she had made her home on the old
homestead.
A daughter of the late Peter Rashotte and Boseleze Courneyea,

Mrs. DesIslets had always been in excellent health and looked
forward to the celebration of her one hundredth birthday.
Her two sisters, Mrs. Louis Courneyea, Actinolite, and Mrs.

Nelson Lajoie, Hungerford Township, are 82 and 85 years old
respectively. The trio had an interesting day together on Mrs.
DesIslets last birthday. A brother, Charles Rashotte lives in
North Dakota.
The late Mrs. DesIslets lived with her daughter, Mrs. Thomas
Quinn, since the death of her husband 34 years ago. Mrs.
Quinn is seventy-seven years of age.
The deceased was a faithful and devout member of the Roman

Catholic Church at Queensboro and until her infirmity
prevented, she was a regular attendant. She boasted an
exceptionally good memory and easily recalled the many
interesting sidelights of her early life in the district, when
Hungerford Township was a virtual wilderness. Her eye-sight
was extremely good and she had no trouble threading the
smallest needle and was busily engaged in sewing two days
before her death.
The late Mrs. DesIslets was popular with a wide circle of friends in the French Settlement
district, all of whom enjoyed the interesting visits of this grand old lady.
The funeral was held from the home of her daughter, Mrs. Quinn, on Monday morning to
Queensboro Roman Catholic church where Rev. Fr. Meagher said Requiem Mass. There was a
large attendance of friends. Interment was at Queensboro. The bearers were John Carroll, Wm.
LaBarge, Remi Light, David Laton, Peter Courneyea, John Kelly.
Gravestone of Edwidge Rashotte Desilets in Queensboro Cemetery55
Text reads:
DES ISLETS
EDVICE
1837 - 1935
Note: Edwidge’s husband, Francis DesIslets, is said to have been buried in Michigan.
2. Paul Rashotte (1841-1923)

Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed Advocate, July 15, 1923)
THE LATE PAUL RASHOTTE
St. Carthagh’s Church was filled to capacity on Tuesday

morning testifying to the very high esteem in which the late
Paul Rashotte who passed away on Sunday in his 83rd year,
was held by citizens of Tweed and district. Coming from
Sorel, Quebec, in boyhood the deceased has resided in this
township ever since, engaged in farming at which he was
highly successful. There are left to mourn the loss of a
loving father, two daughters, Mrs. Louis LaChappelle of
Hungerford and Mrs. Patrick Kelly of Queeensboro; and four
sons, Paul and Peter of Standish, Mich., Joseph of
Hungerford and John of Montreal; three sisters and three
brothers: Mrs. Delisle of Actinolite, Mrs. Nelson Lajoie of
town and Mrs. Louis Courneyea of Hungerford, Mitchel of
Hungerford, Charles of Manitoba and Joseph of Michigan
together with the sons and daughters have the heartfelt
sympathy of many friends.
“After he had served his generation he fell on sleep.”
55
Margaret Callaghan provided this photo.
Gravestone of Paul Rashotte and Mary Ann Woodcock in St. Edmund’s Cemetery, Stoco
Text reads:
RASHOTTE
PAUL RASHOTTE
1840-1923
HIS WIFE
MARY A. WOODCOCK
1848-1917
3. Peter Rashotte Jr. (1843-1910)

I have not been able to find an obituary for Peter Rashotte Jr., who died in 1910 at
the age of 67. Peter is said to have been buried in St. Edmund’s Cemetery, Stoco, and later
moved to Tweed after St. Carthagh’s Cemetery was established in 1920.
His wife, Catharine Courneyea Rashotte (1849-1944), lived almost an additional

quarter century. I could find no gravestone for Peter Jr. or Catharine in St. Carthagh’s
Cemetery.
Catharine’s obituary, reproduced below, provides some historical details about the
family. A photo of Catharine when she was quite old is also shown.
Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed News, June 1, 1944)
MRS. CATHARINE RASHOTTE
The death of Mrs. Catharine Rashotte, an aged resident of this

district occurred at her home on Friday, May 26th. Ninety-five years
of age, the deceased was born at Sorel, Que., a daughter of
Christmas Courneyea and Catherine Courneyea. She came to
Ontario at an early age with her parents, settling near Stoco.
Seventy-seven years ago she was married at St. Edmund’s Church,
Stoco, to Peter Rashotte, who predeceased her some time ago.
The late Mrs. Rashotte was a faithful member of St. Carthagh’s

Roman Catholic Church here practically all her life, and when her
health permitted, she took a deep interest in all women’s
organizations within the parish. She was stricken with the illness
which resulted in her death, about three weeks ago, although she had
not been in the best of health for some time.
Remaining are the following sons: Peter, Joseph, Louis, Felix, all of
Tweed. Daughters surviving are: Mrs. Peter Courneyea, Mrs. Noah
Courneyea and Mrs. Frank Gabourie, Wooler. Originally there were
twelve children and of this union there are fifty-two remaining
grandchildren and thirty-three great grandchildren.
The funeral took place from the home of her son, Peter Rashotte, on
Saturday, May 27th, to St. Carthagh’s Church, where her pastor, Rev.
Dean D. A. Cullinane, conducted Requiem Mass. The bearers were
Leo Courneyea, Charles Courneyea, Lawrence Rashotte, Terence
Rashotte, Edward Rashotte and Bernard Rashotte. Interment was in St. Carthagh’s cemetery.
Catharine Courneyea
Rashotte, with
spinning wheel,
probably in the 1930s
when she would have
been in her 80s.56
Photo provided by
Margaret Callaghan.
56
Catharine Courneyea Rashotte is my great grandmother.
Note on the Above Photo: In the 2008 version of this document, I suggested that the
location at which Catherine Courneyea Rashotte was photographed at her spinning wheel may
have been in the French Settlement. In a letter to me dated December 22, 2008, Harry O’Rourke
(Peterborough, Ontario), a great grandson of Catherine as am I, kindly provided information that
the photo was likely taken at the home where she lived late in her life, located just north of
Tweed on what is now Highway 37, across the Moira River to the East of the French Settlement:
When I was five years old, I spent some time living with my grandparents
at their home in the French Settlement. My grandparents were Noah and
Catherine (Rashotte) Courneyea and their home was located on part of lot
#7, conc. 13. I spent the first Christmas, that I have any memory of, at their
farm.
Great grandmother [i.e., Catherine Courneyea Rashotte] was also
spending a few days there at the same time and, while she was there, she
knit me a pair of mittens which she gave to me for Christmas. At that time,
she was living at her home just north of Tweed on what is now Hwy. # 37
and her lot backed on the Moira River. If you look closely at the photo of
her at her spinning wheel, you will notice the river in the background to the
left. The little shack behind her was behind the house and close to the river
bank. Your notation [in the 2008 version of this document] beside the
picture states that the setting might have been in the French Settlement.
This should clear that up. I was fourteen years old when great
grandmother died at age ninety five in 1944.
4. Joseph Rashotte (1845-1934)

I do not have an obituary or photo of a gravestone. Joseph is said to be buried with his first and
second wives in Standish, Michigan.
5. Mitchell Rashotte (1847-1928)

Records at The Tweed Heritage Centre and Museum indicate that Mitchell Rashotte’s son, Ben,
stated that his father was buried in St. Edmund’s Cemetery, Stoco, and that he has an unmarked
grave. I have no information about his wife’s (Mary) burial site. I do not have an obituary for
either of them.
6. Mary [Marie] Rashotte Trudeau (1847-191357)

Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed Advocate, 1913)
It becomes our painful duty this week to record the

death of Mary Rashotte, beloved wife of Mitchell
Trudeau, Sr., Bogart, which sad event occurred on
Saturday, Dec. 21st, in the 67th year of her age.
Notwithstanding that she had been ailing for some time,
it was least expected that she would be called away so
soon, as she was able to be about the house most of the
time and was present with the family at the dinner table
on the day of her demise. Owing to her condition a
sudden attack of a complication of disease resulted
fatally and she passed peacefully away, fortified by the
rites of the church, administered by the parish Priest the
Rev. Father Quinn. Besides her husband, 2 daughters
and 4 sons are left to mourn, namely: Mrs, Peter
Lessarge, Otter Creek, Miss Busleis, at home, and
Messrs, Mitchell, Jr., Bogart; James, Tweed; Nelson
and Julius at home. The funeral which was held on
Monday Dec. 23rd, was largely attended, there being
over 100 vehicles in the procession. Father Quinn said
mass at Stoco Church, after which the remains were
placed in the vault to await interment.
57
The year of Mary Rashotte’s death is reported in several sources as 1923 (as it was in the 2008 version of this
document). I am grateful to Ann Trudeau Kelly (Madoc, Ontario) who, in a letter dated January 19, 2009,
kindly informed me that the correct year of her death is 1913, as it appears on her gravestone. She also
provided photos of the gravestone for Mary and her husband Mitchell Trudeau Sr. that I had previously
been unable to locate. These photos are shown below. They are attributed to: KARA Digital Headstone
Collection, St. Edmund’s Cemetery Photos #950 and 951, Stoco, Ontario.
Gravestone of Mitchell and Mary Rashotte Trudeau in St. Edmund’s Cemetery, Stoco
These photos were provided by Ann Trudeau Kelly of Madoc, Ontario. The photo of the entire
stone (on the left, below) shows a well-rusted horseshoe resting on the base.
Text on stone reads:
MITCHELL
TRUDEAU
1841-1920
MARY
HIS WIFE
184658-1913
TRUDEAU
58
The year of Mary’s birth shown on her gravestone must be incorrect. Mitchell Rashotte, her twin, was born on
September 29, 1847, according to his death record (on line at ancestry.ca). Furthermore, Mary’s birth year
is given as 1847 in all other documents I have seen. I conclude that the year shown on her gravestone
should have been 1847. (Note: the ancestry.ca site states in one section that Mary was born in Sorel, but
in another section that she was born in Tweed. Sorel is the correct place of her birth,)
7. Edesse Rashotte Lajoie (1850-1939)

Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed News, November 2, 1939)
MRS. NELSON LAJOIE
On Thursday, October 26, 1939, Edesse Lajoie, wife of the late

Nelson Lajoie, passed away peacefully at her home in Tweed.
Born in Sorel, Que., in the year 1850, a daughter of the late Peter
and Basilisse Rashotte, Mrs. Lajoie resided in Sorel for five years,
before coming to Tweed eighty-four years ago. She was
predeceased by one son, Nelson, forty-four years ago and her
husband, the late Nelson Lajoie, thirteen years ago. Since then she
has resided with her daughter Margaret, in Tweed.
She is survived by six daughters, Mrs. Moses Trudeau, Tweed;

Mrs. Frank Meraw, Tweed; Mrs. J. F. Meraw, Tweed Mrs. Jos.
Collins, Tweed; Mrs. Frank Voyer, Havelock; Miss Margaret
Lajoie, Tweed and one son, Simon, Tweed, also one sister, Mrs.
Louis Courneyea of Tweed. Thirty-five grandchildren, among
them Rev. F. E. Trudeau, Drumheller, Alberta; Rev. J. J. Collins,
Belleville; Rev. Sister M. Lorena, House of Providence, Kingston;
Rev. Sister M. Magdalen, Belleville; Rev. Sister M. Jane Francis,
Arnprior, Ont., and twenty-five great grandchildren.
The funeral was held from her residence on Saturday, October 28,
to St. Carthagh’s Church for Requiem High Mass, with her
grandson, Rev. J. J. Collins as celebrant.
Present in the Sanctuary were Very Rev. D. A. Cullinane and Rev.

A. L. O’Donnell. The Mass was served by three grandsons, Francis Voyer, Michael Collins,
Simon Meraw, and two great grandsons, Kenneth and Francis Meraw.
Five grandsons and one great grandson, Louis Meraw, Patrick Meraw, Leonard Trudeau, Paul
Voyer, Benedict Lajoie and Bernard Trudeau acted as pallbearers.
Interment was made in the family plot in St. Carthagh’s Cemetery.
The high esteem in which she was held by her friends and relatives was testified by the large
number of spiritual offerings.
Gravestone of Nelson and Edesse Rashotte Lajoie in St. Carthagh’s Cemetery, Tweed.
The stone includes their son, Nelson Jr,
Text on Stone Reads:
LAJOIE
NELSON 1843-1925
HIS WIFE
ADESSA RASHOTTE
1851-1939
NELSON JR. 1873-1895

8. Sophie Rashotte Cournoyer (1853-1949)
Obituary (Transcription of text from The Tweed News, December 29, 1949)
MRS. SOPHIA COURNOYEA
Following a short illness, Mrs. Sophia Cournoyea, 96, died at her home
north of Tweed on Tuesday, December 20th. Born at Sorel, Que., a
daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rashotte, she lived in
Hungerford Township most of her life. In 1871 she was married in
Stoco to Louis Cournoyea, who predeceased her in 1925. They had no
children but had adopted two of the five youngsters who had made their
home with the kindly couple.
Although nearly a centenarian, Mrs. Cournoyea had enjoyed fairly good

health, and had a host of good friends who will mourn her passing. She
was popular with old and young alike, and had a warm place in her
heart for children. She was the last surviving member of her family, but
has numerous nieces and nephews in the Tweed district.
The late Mrs. Cournoyea was a member of St. Carthagh’s Church, the
Altar Society and the Sacred Heart organization.
The funeral took place on Friday, December 23rd, from the Quinn
Funeral Home, Tweed, to St. Carthagh’s Church where Requiem Mass
was sung by Dean Garvin, assisted by Rev. W. J. Buckley. Interment
was in St. Carthagh’s Cemetery. Pall bearers were: Joseph Bergeron,
and five nephews: Louis Rashotte, Fred Rashotte, Terrence Rashotte
and Leon Cournoyea.
Among relatives attending the funeral were: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Mahoney, Trenton, Mich.; Miss Eileen Mahoney, Toronto; Miss Margaret Lajoie, Peterborough;
Miss Margaret Voyer, Havelock, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Voyer, Havelock.
Gravestone of Louis and Sophie Rashotte Cournoyer in St. Carthagh’s Cemetery, Tweed.
The stone includes their adopted son, George Mahoney, and his wife Amelia Anne
LaBarge.
Text on Stone Reads:
COURNOYER
LOUIS COURNOYER
1850-1925
HIS WIFE
SOPHIA RASHOTTE
1853-1949
GEORGE MAHONEY
1878-1968
HIS WIFE
AMELIA ANNE LABARGE
1882-1965
REST IN PEACE
9. Charles Ragotte (1859-1936)

Charles is said to be buried in Idaho. I have no obituary or gravestone photo.
The First Rashotte Family in Tweed’s French Settlement Appendix / Page 1
APPENDIX: DETAILS OF LAND TRANSACTIONS AFTER THE RASHOTTE

HOMESTEAD WAS ESTABLISHED ON LOT 8, CONCESSION 12
In PART 2 of this document, I summarized how members of the first Rashotte

family came to hold property in Tweed’s French Settlement in the years after the
homestead was established. My information is based on various official records. The
present Appendix presents those transactions in greater detail for any reader who might
wish to have more documentation of the summary-transactions presented in PART 2.
The following material is laid out in chronological order beginning with a purchase in
1859, four years after Peter Sr. purchased his first 50-acre parcel for the family
homestead.1
1859 & 1862 - Peter Sr. Greatly Increased His Landholdings by Purchasing
Lot 6, Concession 13
Only a few years after bringing his family to live and farm on the northeast quadrant of Lot 8,
Concession 12, Peter Sr. greatly expanded his landholdings to include the entire 200 acres of
Lot 6, Concession 13, just down the road from the homestead. That Lot, which also fronts on
French Settlement Rd., was presumably used for farming by Peter Sr. and his children at the
outset, but later became registered in the names of some of the male children as they married
and raised families on the property. The land registry for Lot 6, Concession 13 shows that
“Peter Rajotte” first obtained 128 acres from “Stewart Wilson” on September 1, 1859, and that
“Peter Rochett” obtained the remaining 72 acres of the Lot from “the Crown” on December 31,
1867. Kinlin’s history indicates that the date recorded for the latter purchase does not likely
reflect the family’s earlier use of that land which probably began in 1862, and also that “the
Crown” is likely shown as the seller because of a foul-up in paperwork. Kinlin writes:
Lot 6 Concession 13: [Some early history omitted here]

… on March 12th., 1862, Langman sold his interest in [a portion of] the lot for
₤15 to Peter Rachott (Rashotte). In 1867 Rashotte had paid the last payment of
$54 [sic] on the lot, and on November 9th., 1867, wrote for the patent and found
that he could not get it because the lot transfer from Langman had never been
recorded at the Crown Lands Department. However, Rashotte got an
assignment paper from Langman and so the deed finally was issued in
Rashotte’s name for the north 72 acres. 2
1866 - Peter Sr. Added More Property Adjacent to the Homestead on Lot 8,
Concession 12
In 1866, Peter Sr. added more land to his holdings by obtaining a second 50-acre parcel on Lot
8, Concession 12, located to the immediate southwest of the original homestead. The records
indicate that on August 10, 1866, “Peter Rochett” obtained the southwest 50 acres of Lot 8,
1
My brother, David Rashotte of Belleville (Ontario), kindly provided copies of records he obtained from the Land
Registry Office in Belleville showing land transactions in Hungerford Township. I have used those
records extensively to write this section.
2
J.F. Kinlin Ibid
Concession 12 by a grant from “Joseph Woodcock & Wife”. Peter Sr. now possessed half (100
acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12.
1867 – 1878: Land in the French Settlement is Obtained by Four of Peter

and Basilice’s Sons
By the mid-1860’s, about 10 years after coming to the French Settlement, the Rashotte family
had become well-established in Tweed. Peter Sr. was in his mid-fifties, and Basilice was about
fifty years old. Their nine children ranged in age from about late-twenties (Edwidge) down to
about nine years (Charles, the only one born in Tweed). Soon, the four oldest boys (Paul, Peter
Jr., Joseph and Mitchell) would marry and acquire some of Peter Sr.’s landholdings, as well as
other properties. Here is a brief summary of how the Rashotte boys came to have land in the
Settlement.
1. 1867 – Peter Sr. Transferred Land on Lot 6, Concession 13, to Paul.

On August 19, 1867, 60 acres on the East side of Lot 6, Concession 13, owned by
“Peter Rashotte Sr. and wife” were re-registered in the name of their first son, Paul.
Paul was about 26 years old at that time and had been married to Odile Cournoyer for
about 4 years. They had 3 children (Clemence, 1864; Paul Jr., 1865; and Pierre, 1867)
before Odile died in 1870. Paul subsequently married Mary Ann Woodcock (in 1873)
and in the next 20 years they had 10 children, 4 of whom survived (Mary Ellen
“Mennie”, 1875; Joseph Stephen, 1879; Frances Lillian, 1887; and John Baptiste
Alphonse, 1893).
2. 1869 – Peter Sr. Transferred Land on Lot 6, Concession 13, to

Joseph.
On February 25, 1869, 72 acres of Lot 6, owned by “Peter Rashotte Sr. and wife” were
registered in the name of their third son, Joseph. Joseph was about 24 years old at that
time and married Mathilde Akey in the same year. Joseph and Mathilde had 5 children
in Tweed (Simon, 1870; Mary Celeste, 1872; Joachim [or Joseph], 1874; Nelson, no
date available; and Michael, 1875) before they moved to Michigan around 1876.
3. 1869 – Peter Sr. Transferred Land on Lot 8, Concession 12, to

Peter Jr.
Three years after acquiring the 50-acre land-parcel adjacent to the family homestead on
Lot 8, the land registry indicates that “Peter Rachotte & wife” (i.e., Peter Sr. and
Basilice) granted that same parcel (the southwest 50 acres of Lot 8, Concession 12) to
“Peter Rachott Junior” on February 25, 1869. Peter Jr. was about 26 years old at the
time and had been married to Catherine Cournoyer for about 1 year. At the time of the
land transfer, Catherine was 7 months pregnant with their first child. The south border
of this land parcel, which fronted on Palmateer Rd., was on a ridge that overlooked
Peter Sr. and Basilice’s homestead. Peter Jr. and Catherine built their home on the ridge
and, in the next 22 years, had their family of 12 children (Marie, 1869; Pierre, 1871;
Paul, 1873; Clemence, 1874; Catherine, 1876; Odile, 1879; Joseph, 1881; Lilia, 1882;
Felix, 1885; Bruneau, 1887; Edward, 1889; Louis, 1891).
4. 1871 – Mitchell Acquired Land on Lot 8, Concession 12. On October

28, 1871, the 50-acre parcel of land on Lot 8, Concession 12, that lies directly south of
the homestead (and directly east of Peter Jr. and Catherine’s property) was recorded as
being granted to “Mary Rachott wife of Michael Rachott” (i.e., Mitchell) by “Alexander
Brissett & Wife”. After this transaction, the entire southern half of Lot 8, Concession
12, was held by two of Peter Sr. and Basilice’s children: Peter Jr. (50 acres) and
Mitchell (50 acres); Peter Sr. and Basilice continued to hold the northeast 50 acres of
that Lot, where the original homestead was established. Mitchell was the 4th son of
Peter Sr. and Basilice and, in October of 1871, he was 24 years old. He had been
married to Marie Gabourie for just over 3 years and they were already the parents of
two children (Rachel,1869; Boselese, 1871), with 9 more to come before 1884 (Mary
Alice [“Minnie’], 1873; Charles, 1874; Benjamin, 1876; Joseph Felix, 1877; Edward,
1879; Pierro, 1831; Michael, 1883; William and John (twins), 1884). Although the
land-registry records indicate that Peter Sr. and Basilice maintained ownership of the
original homestead until 1897 (see entry for that year below), the Belden Atlas of 1878
(see entry below) shows Mitchell’s name on the original homestead property. The
family history3 makes clear that, eventually, Mitchell “cared for his parents in their old
age until they died” [Peter Sr. in 1899; Basilice in 1900], and that Mitchell and Marie
“lived in the old homestead in the French Settlement”. In fact, they appear to have lived
in the homestead until they died in the late 1920s, being looked after in their old age by
their son Ben who acquired the homestead after their deaths (see below).
1876 – Joseph Transferred His Property on Lot 6, Concession 13 to His

Brother Paul
On December 15, 1876, the Land Registry shows that Joseph sold 72 acres on Lot 6,
Concession 13 to his brother Paul who already held acreage on that Lot, as described earlier.
This transaction occurred about the time that Joseph and his family moved to Michigan and
took up farming there. Joseph was the first of Peter Sr. & Basilice’s children to settle in
Michigan. He bought a 40 acre farm near the town of Standish, in Eastern Michigan, and he
and Mathilde became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1878. In addition to the 5
children they brought from Tweed, they had 6 more children in Michigan. In 1888, Mathilde
died in childbirth with their 11th child (Regina). Joseph subsequently married a widow with 5
children of her own, Selime (Tebadeau) Drinkwine, who was born in New York.4 Joseph and
Selime had one child of their own in 1889 who they named Boselice.
1878 - Rashotte Properties in the French Settlement As Identified in the 1878

Belden Atlas. I have no additional information to provide here beyond what was
reported in the summary in PART 2.
3
Jack Rajotte, 2003.
4
Note: The surname “Drinkwine” is an Anglicized version of the French surname “Boilevin”.
1886 – Mitchell Acquired 50 More Acres on Lot 8, Concession 12

The Hungerford Land Registry indicates that in 1886 Mitchell Rashotte acquired the final
quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, that was not owned by a member of the family: the
northwest quadrant (50 acres) of that Lot was deeded to “Mitchell Rachott” from the estate of
“the late Joseph Woodcock Senior” for $1535 on September 14, 1886.
1887 – Paul Transferred 72 Acres on Lot 6, Concession 13 to his Son Paul Jr.
On November 1, 1887, 72 acres of Lot 6, Concession 13 was registered from Paul Rashotte to
Paul Rashotte Jr., his oldest son.
1895 – Paul Sold the East 128 Acres of Lot 6, Concession 13

On January 2, 1895, Paul Rashotte sold the east 128 acres on Lot 6, Concession 13 to Peter
Cournoyer. This is probably Paul, the oldest son of Peter and Basilice, but it might be his son,
Paul Jr.
1897 - Peter Sr. and Basilice Deeded Their 50-Acre Homestead on Lot 8,
Concession 12 to Mitchell
On March 4, 1897, “Peter Rashotte & Bozelese Rashotte his wife” deeded the family
homestead (the northeast quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12) to “Mitchel Rashotte” for “$0 &
$10.00”. These transactions came when Peter Sr. was in his mid-eighties and Basilice was
about eighty, just a few years before their deaths (in 1899 and 1900, respectively). After these
transactions, Mitchell owned all of Lot 8, Concession 12, except for the southwest quadrant
which was owned by Peter Jr. and Catherine. Note: On the same date, there is a transaction
indicating that Peter Sr. and Basilice transferred “68 acres (west part)” of Lot 6, Concession
13 to their son Mitchell. This information comes from Joe Bergeron who has reviewed the
records for Lot 6, Concession 13. About this amount of acreage had been transferred from
Peter Sr. and Basilice to Joseph in 1869, and Joseph transferred about this size acreage to
Paul in 1876 before leaving Tweed for Michigan. I do not have a date on which this acreage
was re-registered to Peter Sr. and Basilice after 1876.
1914 – Mitchell and Mary Transferred Their 150 Acres on Lot 8, Concession
12 to Two of Their Sons
The family history indicates that after the deaths of Peter Sr. and Basilice at the end of the 19th
century, Mitchell and Mary, continued to live on the original family farm where they had cared
for the elderly Peter Sr. and Basilice. In September of 1914, when Mitchell, himself had
reached his late sixties, he transferred all the property he held on Lot 8, Concession 12, to two
of his children: “Mitchell Rashotte and wife” are recorded as transferring “the NW ¼ of Lot 8”
(50 acres) to “Charles Rashotte”, and the “E ½ of Lot 8” (100 acres) to “Benjamin Rashotte”
for the consideration of “Nat Love and affection and $1.00”. The 100 acres provided to
Benjamin included the original family homestead. The family history states that Benjamin
cared for his own parents on the homestead in their elder years, just as they had cared for Peter
Sr. and Basilice.
1920 – The Property of Peter Jr. and Catherine on Lots 7 and 8, Concession
12, Was Sold
The disposition of the southwest quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, that was owned by Peter Jr.
and his wife Catherine is also indicated in the Hungerford Land Registry records. Peter Jr.
(1843-1910) apparently left the southwest quadrant of Lot 8 to several of his children. The
nature of the transactions suggests that he died intestate. Two transactions related to this
property were registered on April 17, 1920. The first is a conveyance of the property to
“Catherine Rashotte (widow)” from eight of his children, listed in the registry as follows
(underlines added): “Peter Rashotte and wife, Paul Rashotte and wife5, Joseph Rashotte and
wife, Felix Rashotte and wife, Louis Rashotte and wife, Catherine Cournoyee wife of Noel
Cournoyee, Odelie Cournoyee wife of Peter Cournoyee, and Lillian Rashotte (spinster)”. The
second transaction, on the same date, indicates that the property now owned by “Catherine
Rashotte (widow)” was deeded to “Joseph Cournoyee”. Apparently, two land parcels of 50
acres each were transferred in these two transactions: the registry indicates that there were “100
acres in all”, probably both the 50-acre southwest quadrant of Lot 8, Concession 12, where
Peter Jr. and Catherine had raised their family, and the 50-acre property Peter Jr. had acquired
on Lot 7, Concession 12. The value of the 100-acres sold by “Catherine Rashotte (widow) to
Joseph Cournoyee” is shown as “$4000.00”.
1929 & 1931 - The 150 Acres on Lot 8, Concession 12 Inherited by Mitchell
and Mary’s Two Sons Was Sold
The properties that were transferred in 1914 from Mitchell and Mary to their children Charles
and Benjamin remained in the sons’ names for about 15 years before being sold to persons
outside the family. On March 21, 1929, in the year after Mitchell’s death, “Charles Rashotte
and wife” are recorded as selling the “NW ¼” (50 acres) of Lot 8, Concession 12 to “Peter
Laton” for $2600. Two years later, on February 21, 1931, “Benjamin Rashotte and wife” are
recorded as selling the “E ½” (100 acres) of Lot 8 (which included the original homestead) to
“Peter Laton” for $4000. The records indicate that Mitchell and his wife Mary had taken out
mortgages with the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation as early as 1900, and, beginning
in 1915, when Charles and Benjamin took ownership, there were several additional mortgages.
It is possible that economic circumstances related to the Great Depression (1929 and the early
1930s) was a factor in Charles and Benjamin deciding to sell their land holdings.
Departure of Rashottes from Tweed’s French Settlement

By the early 1930s, Peter Sr. and Basilice’s original homestead property (and
surrounding Rashotte properties) had been sold to persons outside the family.
At that time, many descendants of the first Rashotte family in Tweed had left the
French Settlement where Peter Sr. and Basilice had established their family
over 70 years earlier.
5
These are my paternal grandparents.

The First Rashotte Family in Tweed's French Settlement: Tweed Ontario 1855-1931 (By Michael Rashotte)

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The First Rashotte Family in Tweed's French Settlement: Tweed Ontario 1855-1931 (By Michael Rashotte)

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Prepared by Michael Rashotte, Tallahassee, Florida (Summer, 2010)

(Revision of 2008 Version)

This document is dedicated to --

Margaret (Rashotte) Callaghan of Tweed

Nola (Lawler) Rashotte of Belleville

Current and future descendants of the Rashottes

Part 1: GETTING TO TWEED

Three Major Migrations Leading to Tweed …..…………………………………. 1-4

The Ancestry of Tweed’s Pierre Rajotte: An Overview ...……………………… 5-8

Part 2 BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN TWEED’S FRENCH SETTLEMENT

A Listing of The First Family Members ………………………………………..… 4-5

Part 3 LIFE IN THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT

Part 4 FAMILY PICTURE GALLERY

Part 5 FAMILY OBITUARIES AND GRAVESTONES

The Founders …………………………………………………………………………. 1-2

Appendix: Details of Land Transactions After the Rashotte Homestead Was

Mike Rashotte, Summer, 2010

PART 1. GETTING TO TWEED

THREE MAJOR MIGRATIONS LEADING TO TWEED

In Québec, Gilles Rageot (1642-1692) married Marie-Madeleine Morin (1656-1720) in

Jacques Rageot (1723-1777) married Geneviève Hus-Paul (1733-1807) in Sorel in 1752,

MIGRATION III (1855/6)

At the age of about 44 years, Pierre Rajotte (a grandson of Jacques &

Note: Jack Rajotte’s (2003)

“wherever the name of Rashotte is found today, it can be traced

THE ANCESTRY OF TWEED’S PIERRE RAJOTTE: AN OVERVIEW

France: Earliest Known Family Ancestors

Married: Late 1500s Married: 1636

Guillaume (1600- ? ) Anne (1637-1637)

Migration I: From L’Aigle (France) to Québec (Canada)

Married: 1673 Married: 1711

Charles (1674-1702) François (1712-1744)

Migration II: From Québec City to Sorel (Québec)

Married: 1752 Married: 1795

Jacques (1753-1805) Joseph (1797-1883)

Migration III: From Sorel (Québec) to Tweed (Ontario)

** Born in the French Settlement, Tweed, Ontario

PART 2. BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN TWEED’S FRENCH

Jack Rajotte’s (2003) Family-History Account

There is a disturbing, yet humorous incident that is still remembered by the

A Listing of the First Family Members

Peter Rashotte Sr.

Edwidge married Francis Desilets

An Expanded Account: Picturing Where the Rashotte Family Settled

DETAILED VIEW OF THE UPPER PART OF LOT 8, CONCESSION 12

Peter Sr.’s Homestead (1855-56)

Clearing & Rough Buildings of an

A Settled Farm in Upper Canada in the Early

Imagining Peter Sr.’s Actual Cabin (A photo-collage)

The photo to the right (taken in Fall, 2004) looks

After the Homestead Was Established (1859-1931)

Overview as of 1871: After Mitchell and Marie had

Overview as of 1878: The 1878 Belden Atlas identified a

Departure of Original Rashottes from Tweed’s French

1962: The Rashotte Home Being Disassembled In the French Settlement

1962 & 2008: Reconstructed 2-Storey Section of Rashotte Log Cabin

2008: Reconstructed 1-Storey Section

2009: Photos of the Reconstructed 2-Storey Section of Peter Rashotte Sr.’s

The above photo shows the exterior of Peter & Basilice

Second floor bedrooms (one of three is

Finally, I include a modern photo meant to recapture the feeling of the

PART 3. LIFE IN THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT

I have organized these recollections into 10 topic headings: