Jun 122023
 
Family
Joseph Voisin, wife Mary, and children, c. 1907

The childhood of my great-grandfather, Joseph Voisin (1855-1916), remained a stubborn mystery after many years of genealogy research. In other essays I described the known facts and many hypotheses. I explored genetic genealogy and used DNA testing to identify numerous distant cousins. However the lack of traditional genealogical evidence like birth, marriage, and census records did not shed light on Joseph’s birth or who his parents were.

Until now. While analyzing my DNA test results, I noticed several distant matches who did not fit my known family tree. I had to determine their lineages based on scant information. Next I found matches we shared in common and I determined their lineages too. I began to identify more and more distant cousins who descend from one man, Theobald Koebel.1

Signature
Signature of Theobald Köbel, 1830
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Dec 112022
 

When my great-grandfather Joseph Voisin (1858-1916) was 17 he wrote a whimsical poem in his journal. He signed his name and indicated he was at Netherby, Ontario on November 19, 1875. I’ve yet to discover who his parents were so here I explore the former village of Netherby for clues.

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Mar 172022
 
Joseph Voisin
Joseph Voisin

The parents of my great-grandfather Joseph Voisin (1858-1916) remain a mystery. Evidence indicates he was born in Ontario, Canada. He was related to Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892) of Saint Clements, Ontario. That was proven by a Y-chromosome DNA test with a known descendant. And by traditional genealogy, Joseph is related to Peter Joseph’s brother Henry Joseph Voisin (1801-1884) of Niagara Falls, Ontario. Both of the Ontario brothers went by their middle names, Joseph.

No birth, census or land records have yet uncovered Joseph Voisin’s birth or his parents, except for entries in his personal journal that show he was near both Saint Clements and Niagara Falls when he was young.

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Mar 282018
 

Henry Joseph Voisin and Anne Marie (Ditner) Voisin are not listed in the 1871 census of Willoughby Township, Welland County, Ontario. They do appear in the census for 1842, 1851, and 1861. Joseph also appears with his second wife, Elizabeth (Ellesworth) Voisin, in the 1881 census. The fact they are listed at the same place both before and after 1871 implies they were skipped by the census taker in 1871.

They owned 55 acres of land in Concession 2, Lot 14. It so happens the 1871 census has additional schedules that detail agricultural data. The entry for Concession 2, Lot 14 indicates the Voisins should appear on census page 18, line 1. However the family listed there is Thomas and June Hill, both 25, with their son William G., age 3.

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Mar 282018
 

The family farm of Peter Joseph Voisin and Catherine (Meyer) Voisin is detailed in the 1871 census of Wellesley Township, Waterloo County, Ontario. They had 1 dwelling house and 1 barn. They owned 3 carriages or sleighs, 3 cars, wagons or sleds, 3 plows or cultivators, 1 reaper or mower, 1 horse rake, 1 thrashing machine and 1 fanning mill to winnow grain.

They owned 143 acres situated in Concession 8, Lot 1. Of that, 120 acres were improved, 14 acres were pasture, and 3 acres were gardens or orchards. They planted wheat on 30 acres and harvested 150 bushels of spring wheat and 250 bushels of fall wheat. They produced 400 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of peas, and 300 bushels of turnips. They had 5 acres devoted to potatoes and produced 100 bushels. They had 14 acres of hay that yielded 18 tons. They also produced 6 ½ bushels of grass or clover seed, 70 bushels of apples, 2 bushels of pears, plums or other fruit, 200 pounds of maple sugar, and 15 cords of fire wood.

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Dec 262017
 

I am related to Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), the patriarch of the Voisin families of Waterloo County, Ontario, near Kitchener. This was proven by a Y-chromosome DNA match between me and a known descendant of the Kitchener Voisins, Clifton Voisin. I also determined Peter Joseph’s sister Maria Anne Voisin (1798-1879) immigrated to Waterloo county. The next piece of the puzzle was a family connection to Buffalo, New York. That’s where I found a third sibling, Henry Joseph Voisin (1801-?) and his family, in Welland County, Ontario, just across the Niagara River from Buffalo.

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Dec 172017
 

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Magdalena Voisin. She helped me find Joseph and Anne Voisin, who were my ancestors, and quite possibly my great great-grandparents. She provided such a big clue for a little girl only eleven years old. You see, she was born about 1841.

The Buffalo Connection

Magdalena was listed in the 1851 Canadian census 1 for Waterloo County in the household of Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), the patriarch of all the Voisin families near Kitchener, Ontario.  (The family is listed as “Wisong” in that census.)  She was probably not his daughter however. Instead her usual residence was “Buffalo.” She was probably visiting the family and was from Buffalo, New York. This fits with another clue from the obituary of one of Peter Joseph’s sons, Anthony. It indicates his parents walked to Buffalo annually to visit relatives. 2

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Dec 052017
 

Madame Voisin

To find the ancestors of my great-grandfather Joseph Voisin (1858-1916) in connection with the Ontario patriarch, Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), it helps to research other families in the area that may be related. They can help me “triangulate” in on my direct-line ancestors. With a little detective work, one such family proved to be a surprising discovery.

An early settler in Waterloo County, Ontario was Maria Voisin, and her son August Voisin, who was a tailor. A reference to her and her son is found in a history of the Catholic Church in Waterloo County. 1 The reference indicates she was present in or before 1850 and it includes a picture of Madame Voisin herself. I suspected she was related by marriage to Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), and was perhaps his sister-in-law.

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Aug 012017
 

Joseph Voisin (1858-1916)

Joseph Voisin (1858-1916)

My paternal great-grandfather, Joseph Voisin was probably born January 10, 1858. For twenty-five years I’ve tried unsuccessfully to discover where he was born and who his parents were. I turn now to genetic genealogy, to both autosomal DNA and Y-DNA testing. Hopefully it will provide the additional clues needed to solve this mystery once and for all.

I have written about my “brick wall” (Brick by Brick Part 1, Brick by Brick Part 2).  Here is a quick summary.

The names of Joseph Voisin’s parents are unknown, but his father’s name could also be Joseph Voisin. 1 He perhaps lived for a time near St. Clements, which is near Kitchener, Ontario. There are several Voisin families in this area today. They are descendants of the patriarch Joseph Voisin (1805/7-1892). However there is no evidence yet that links our Joseph to these families.

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May 022017
 

Bird’s eye view of St. Charles

Sacred Heart Catholic parish has been a fixture of the Mount Pleasant, Michigan community for generations. You may not know that it began as St. Charles parish. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, a priest would come from a neighboring town like Saginaw, and several families celebrated mass held at various homes. About 1872 they decided to build a church. After obtaining the land and raising the money, construction started on January 25, 1875. The church was a wooden structure that measured 38 by 60 feet and was 24 feet high. 1

My great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary Ann (Yuncker) Voisin were married in this church on February 16, 1885. This was a few years after the church was completed about 1877. They were married by the first resident priest of the parish, Reverend James J. McCarthy. Joe and Mary lived near Beal City. Although the first St. Philomena church was completed there in 1882, Fr. McCarthy traveled from Mount Pleasant to say Mass there only once every three months.

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Aug 082016
 

Model-T CoupeMy granduncle George Voisin was my grandfather’s younger brother. He apparently owned a Ford Model-T Coupe, which is pictured in a few old family photographs from the mid- to late-1920s. 1  It appears to be a 1924 or 1925 Coupe. Here it is along with a montage of an unrelated, restored 1925 Coupe. 2

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Feb 162016
 

Mom RemembersAs a descendant I am of course detached from the ancestors I never met.  I’ve undoubtedly inherited their physical characteristics and probably even their mannerisms.  My history is somehow connected to them.  I am their future.  We also share a common future, one none of us has lived, or will live, to see.

Thus I think it’s fun to see what once was, and what it has become.  I inherited this sense from my mother, Ruth (Stewart) Voisin, who always took time to connect the present to the past.  Here she is as a twenty-year old standing with a friend in Pensacola, Florida and later, at the exact same spot, in her late fifties.  It is not the plaque she is revisiting, it is a particular moment from her past, a memory of who she was, and who she had become.  It is a connection in time at an ordinary place she went out of her way to revisit.

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May 062015
 

000665-01It’s been one hundred thirty-one years now. Proof enough that death does do us part, but that love lives on and never fails.

This story begins in 1881 when Mr. Jacob Yuncker purchased farm land near Beal City, Michigan. It happened to be across the road from a then 23-year old pioneer farmer named Joseph Voisin. Mr. Yuncker had a daughter, Mary Ann. She lived with her extended family on her grandparent’s farm down in Westphalia, Michigan near St. Johns.

Mary probably visited her father in Beal City and at some point she met Joe Voisin. They probably met a few times more. Joe played music at Indian dances and at square-dances. Mary attended some of these social gatherings, but since Joe was playing, they couldn’t spend much time together. This probably went on for some months.

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Apr 242013
 

WPA Propery InventoryIn the late 1930’s the Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted property inventories of rural Michigan. This project was in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Treasury. I was able to locate the homestead of my great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary Voisin, near Beal City, Michigan. It is interesting to learn about their home and farm.

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Mar 262013
 

google-earth-00In a past posting I described how I located the homestead of my great-grandparents Albert and Mary Pohl near Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.  I’ve since found that Google Earth is another tool to further visualize the location.  It is helpful in modernizing old maps to better understand where my ancestors lived.

What I did is add an overlay of an old map to the modern world shown in Google Earth.  This allows you to see precisely where a road, building or property once stood in relation to what’s there now.

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Apr 032011
 

Brickwall

Brick by Brick

This is another post in a series about finding the ancestors of my paternal great-grandfather Joseph Voisin 1 (1858-1916). This is a brick wall I haven’t been able to get beyond for several years. Here I chip away a few more bricks from the wall in hopes of discovering a clue.

Perhaps you can help. If you found this post while searching the Internet, chances are there’s something here that piqued your interest. That means you might know something I don’t know. If so, please post a comment. No matter how small, most any information can provide a clue.

In this installment I’ll remove four bricks from the wall.  See also Bricks 1 through 10.

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Apr 012011
 

Brickwall

Brick by Brick

I’ve reached an impasse trying to find the ancestors of my paternal great-grandfather Joseph Voisin 1 (1858-1916). It’s a brick wall I haven’t been able to get beyond for several years. If I remove one brick from the wall at a time, I may discover a clue.

Perhaps you can help. If you found this post while searching the Internet, chances are there’s something here that piqued your interest.  That means you might know something I don’t know.  If so, please post a comment.  No matter how small, most any information can provide a clue.

In this installment I’ll remove ten bricks from the wall.  See also Bricks 11 through 14.

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