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Eureka!

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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
Continue reading »Footnotes
  1. Archives Départementles du Bas-Rhin (https://archives.bas-rhin.fr/) Oberseebach – Etat civil – Registre de naissances 1830 – 4 E 351/3, Catherine Koebel, # 1663, Image 18 of 23, (https://archives.bas-rhin.fr/detail-document/ETAT-CIVIL-C595-P1-R208956#visio/page:ETAT-CIVIL-C595-P1-R208956-2284439 : downloaded 25 May 2023). Signature of Theobald Koebel from his daughter Catherine’s birth record.

Exploring the Odds

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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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Thank You Magdalena Voisin

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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 census1 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

Continue reading »Footnotes

  1. 1851 Census, Canada West, Wellesley Township, Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada, district 1 Wellesley, Waterloo County, Page 33 or 17, lines 38 – 46, Joseph Wisong ; digital images, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx : downloaded 24 November 2017).
  2. “Descendants of Pierre (Peter) Joseph Voisin,” Obituary of Anthony Voisin, E-Mail 9-28-2017, Harvey Kuntz, Wingham, Ontario, Canada.

Maria Voisin with Her Son August Voisin

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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.

Continue reading »Footnotes

  1. Theobald Spetz, The Catholic Church in Waterloo County. Book I : with a summary history of the Diocese of Hamilton. Book II : and a list of the clergy who labored in its district from the beginning to the present. Book III. Catholic Register and Extension, [Toronto?], 1916, page 176.