Week 34's theme is "Tragedy." Our ancestors were no strangers to hardship and loss. We should remember those stories as much as we remember the stories of triumph.
Have I ever told you the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? No? Well, you're not going to get it here. This isn't a Star Wars blog and I am definitely not Emperor Palpatine. Find that story elsewhere or at the very least watch Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Now that the opening reference is out of the way, let's get down to business. Amy is right.Tragedy exists in family trees just as much as triumph does. After all what's life without a few pitfalls? Even today, tragedy still exists and it goes without saying that our ancestors have had their fair share of trials and tribulations. Some may hold them on a pedestal. But, at the end of the day they're all too human just like us with faults, foibles and disasters.Today, I'll spotlight an ancestor and a second great-uncle who both have had their fair share of tragedy.
First up is my 2x great-grandfather Antoine Pierre Legault and his wife, Lucie Cadran. These two French-Canadian immigrants were born in the 1850s and came to the United States with their three daughters, Lucy, Malvina and Delphine. After moving to Haverhill, they had nine other children including my great-grandmother. Some, unfortunately, did not make it to adulthood. I know it was common for that to happen during that time period. However, I just feel sad when I see a death certificate for a child dying of a random and now thankfully curable disease. For example, one child, Emma, died at the age of seven. Oof.
By 1896, her sister Matilda (called Tillie by my mother) was born. Her full name was Matilda Emma Legault. Apparently, her parents wanted to honor the child they lost. That doesn't surprise me. Usually people honor a child lost at a young age by naming another one after them.
What was especially tragic about this story is that Antoine ended up passing away on October 19th, 1901 just months after the family welcomed their son Oliver to the world. Oliver was born on August 8th, 1901. After that, the family was never quite the same again. I kind of wonder what happened to Antoine. He was listed as a shoemaker in the 1880 census. Was there an accident in a factory? The answer, I think, is in the Haverhill town records and I have to make a point to dig into that the first chance I get.
After Antoine died, everyone went their separate ways as Lucie married a man named Paul Layhaye in 1917 and stayed with him until her death in 1937. Many of the children were grown by then and lived elsewhere. Some moved as far away as Connecticut where my mom's great-aunt Tillie lived until she passed away in 1976.
Oliver in the mean time grew up without a father and ended up living in places like Barnstable, Massachusetts, Elkton Maryland and finally dying in Holland, New York in 1950. I don't yet know the circumstances of his death. But, his life does seem a bit tragic. Don't get me wrong. He still had a life with two wives and MANY children. I just can't help but think of what his life would have been like had his father lived. It's hard to say. I just hope Paul was a good father to him. There's unfortunately no way of knowing. Then again he was living with his sister, Matilda, in the 1930 census in New York at the age of 28. Could he have just been visiting? I don't know. The tragedy is that Antoine was the linchpin that held the family together. Once he was gone, things sort of went south. Sure some people stayed in touch. But, I highly doubt it was ever the same again.
There is a bright side to all of this.The family did try to keep in contact with him and his family over the years. Distance wasn't going to keep them apart for long and no one was cut out of their lives. It didn't matter if someone was across town or across state lines! The reason I say this is because I was going through my parents' wedding invite list shortly before writing the blog and I saw Oliver's daughter Agnes on there. She was invited to come and yet she didn't. From what my mother told me, Tillie, Henrietta and the other sisters really wanted to see her. It never materialized and the family ended up losing contact with that side of the tree....until my mother and I did a DNA test and found descendants of Agnes! Talk about turning tragedy into triumph!
Giovanni Coppola also had a bit of tragedy in his life. My 2x great-grandmother's brother came to America many times during the early 1900s. After one trip back to his home town of San Pietro a Maida, he married a woman named Natalina Marinaro. They had an unnamed daughter together who tragically died during a severe earthquake that ravaged southern Italy.
It's hard to say if this earthquake was the infamous Messina earthquake which occurred on December 28th,1908. The death toll numbered somewhere between 75,000-85,000 people. Towns were decimated throughout southern Italy. It could also be said that the event forced even more people from southern Italy to seek refuge elsewhere in the world. If immigration from Italy to America wasn't booming at this point, it definitely increased in the aftermath of one of Italy's most terrifying disasters.
I'm not sure if the earthquake Giovanni's daughter died in was the Messina earthquake. But, if it was it's definitely very tragic for his family. He ended up going back to Haverhill with his wife and gradually he sent for more of his family to come to America. One by one they all came to town except for my 2x great-grandmother, Caterina. Giovanni even paid the way for his first cousins to come to America. I'm guessing that the earthquake changed how he felt about the world. It's a fragile place and he wanted his family to be safe. He saw first-hand how fragile life can be. So, he took his family and planted roots in Haverhill and urged his family back home to join him.
You have to admire someone who does that because They want what's best for everyone. Life is fragile. Life isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. You deal with what life throws at you be it a natural disaster or death at a young age. Life is all about risk and how you deal with it can help show the world your true colors.
See you next time!
Editor's note: In April of 2023, I found that Giovanni Coppola was not the brother of Paolo, Caterina and Concetta Coppola. He is likely a first cousin of the three. Look for details in a future blog post.
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