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ABOUT THE SITE
I am grateful for all of the support I have received, without which it would
be impossible to continue to build a clearer picture of our family's history
and genealogy. I have corresponded with well over a hundred individuals
since opening the website in September of 1999. I have talked to a number
of folks and met several cousins for the first time. It has and continues to be a wonderful
experience. Below is a link to the a page which contains sources for information presented in
this
site along with links to any associated websites.
Many thanks to all of you!
I want to single out some individuals who have made significant contributions to the
information presented in this website. To you I give special appreciation:
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My grandmother:
Margaret Grace Henderson
Duplisea
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My grandmother did an enormous amount
of genealogy work beginning in the 1970's. She
worked especially hard on our Duplisea family line, extensively
interviewing our family members and traveling around Maine and New
Brunswick gathering info and searching out and interviewing
"Duplessis" descendants. My grandmother also introduced me to
genealogy when I was 10 or 11. I dabbled then, took it back up for a
year or two around 1989 and then began in earnest on this project in the
summer of 1999. Her information and research notes have been invaluable
in piecing together this family jigsaw puzzle. My grandmother passed
away in 2011 at the age of 93.
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My father:
Hugh Duplisea
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In 1982 my father took a sabbatical leave
from his employment and studied French for a term at Laval
university in Quebec city. While there he set about to determine the
origins of Joseph Duplessis thru research at the Quebec provincial
archives. We had been unable to determine where Joseph had come from
prior to establishing his family in Sunbury County, New Brunswick around
1800. My father's efforts were rewarded as help from a gracious priest
who overheard his inquiries at the library desk pointed him to the
Kamouraska area and the SIROIS family. A careful examination of early
church records provided the missing links. In 1984, along with my
grandmother, my father published a booklet entitled " THE ORIGIN OF
THE DUPLESSIS FAMILY OF NEW BRUNSWICK -- PROPERLY CALLED
SIROIS".
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Bill Duplessis (on left)
of Moncton, N.B.
with Mark Duplisea |
Bill is originally from the Baie Ste Anne
area of Northumberland County, New Brunswick. This is where the widow of
Joseph Duplessis relocated following his death. Bill did extensive
research at the Centre for Acadian Studies, University of Moncton.
Most of his info comes from baptismal and marriage records of various
churches. Additional info is from interviews he did. Bill provided me with all
of his research which greatly added to the information for three of
Joseph Duplessis's sons and their descendants:
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Stephen(Etienne), whose descendants are mainly in
Northumberland and Kent County(Bouctouche)
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Olivier, whose descendants are
for the most part in Restigouche and
Gloucester counties
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Benjamin, who settled in the Baie Ste Anne area and
whose descendants are primarily in Northumberland County.
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Additionally Bill toured my father and myself
through the Baie Ste Anne area in the summer of 2000.
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Alfred Bergeron
of Hilton N.Y. |
Alfred is a descendant of Michel
Duplessis, eldest son of Joseph Duplessis, born to his first wife, Marie
Chassé. He is the grandson of Ida Rose Duplessis. He has done
extensive research on the family surnames of each of his four
grandparents and is the author of a book titled Four French
Families in America 1642-2001 which focuses on the Bergeron, Duplessis, Blanchet, Violette and related
families (Library of Congress 2001 131968). Much of the historical
information presented here on 18th century life of the Sirois dit
Duplessis family in Kamouraska I have drawn from his book and other
material which he has graciously shared with me.
After Alfred and I had corresponded and
talked on the phone, he surprised me over Christmas in 2000 when he
arrived on my doorsteps and presented me with a copy of his family group
sheets on the Sirois Duplessis family which numbered close to 500! He has
continued to provide invaluable help in this effort. |
Edna (Sirois) Certo
&
Germaine
(Sirois) Ahearne |
In
June of 1991 a large group of Francois Sirois dit Duplessis' descendants
gathered for a family reunion in Madawaska, Maine. Edna & Germaine,
who are sisters, gathered genealogical information thru extensive
research on the Sirois/Duplessis family and added to that with
information provided by attendees to the reunion. They then published The Sirois/Duplessis Family Book
which contained historical information on the family as well as an
extensive descendant listing. The material in this book, which I
purchased in 1999, gave me the impetus to begin the website project and
to expand my focus from Joseph Duplessis to his Sirois-Duplessis
ancestors. |
| Henri Malenfant |
Henri
has done extensive research on the Malenfant family. He provided me with
a file containing over 500 descendants of Guillaume Malenfant and Marie
Catherine Sirois (a daughter of Francois: married in 1748)
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| Colin Michaud |
Colin has done
extensive research on the Michaud family. Through a data file of his I
was able to add over a thousand of Francois Sirois descendants to the
database.
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I hope to continue to assemble and
improve upon the accuracy of the information in this site.
If you
have information which would help please contact me.
©
Mark Duplisea
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