Cartes mortuaires: Funeral Cards of My Grandmother's Relatives
My grandmother showed me these funeral cards when I was a young boy. They seemed to come from another world, a time and a place that had long-since faded away. They are a remnant of the Maine Franco-American culture as it existed in the early 20th century. For me these cartes mortuaires are precious relics, and part of the reason I have delved into our family's past is because of these cartes -- because I can remember the reverence with which my grandmother revealed them to me, as if whispering a secret. These are my grandmother's maternal relatives all of whom came from what was then the County of L'Islet, QC, the parish of Saint-Cyrille (also known as Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard). The handwritten inscriptions on the cards are my Mémère's. She made these inscriptions, in English, so that her posterity would not forget these relatives, her uncle/godfather, her aunt/godmother and her grandparents. I offer them without further comment.
I. Louis Bernier: uncle and godfather of Ida Lavigueur (Vermette)
Louis Bernier, side 2
II. Clarina Couchon: Aunt and godmother of Ida Lavigueur
Clarina Couchon, side 2
III. Arthur Bernier: grandfather of Ida Lavigueur
Arthur Bernier, side 2
IV. Marie Saint-Pierre: grandmother of Ida Lavigueur
Marie Saint-Pierre, side 2
In 2005 I visited Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard for the first time. I'm not sure that any of the descendants of our line of the Berniers had returned to their ancestral parish since the times of our forbears whose lives are commemorated above. I took these photos of the parish of Saint-Cyrille in October 2005.
A portion of the parish of Saint-Cyrille, from the hill on which sits the Church.
Aiming the camera just to left of the photo above, I took this picture of the Saint-Cyrille landscape.
By David Gerard Vermette, Copyright 2006.All Rights Reserved.
