The Roy-Apted Family History – A Part of the History of Canada

The genealogy research undertaken to date reveals that our Roy-Apted ancestors migrated to Canada over the past 400 years. Among the early pioneers were the Roy and the Hogue branches of the family tree who arrived in the mid1600s. During the 1700s, the Smith branch of the Family tree came to Canada as well as the Mumford branch. During the 1800s, the McConnell and the Latta branches arrived. Finally, the Apted and Duff branches of the family tree settled here in the early 1900s, shortly after the turn of the century. Evidently, the Roy-Apted family tree has very deep roots in Canada.

There are a variety of online portals that tell the story of Canada and its history. For example, take a look at Canada: A People's History - Official Site, A Brief History of Canada - Menu - Sympatico, Canada History in Videos, and Canada History Timeline, As well, refer to the Portal Canada – Wikipedia and the Portal History of Canada – Wikipedia, from which the following excerpts are drawn.

Canada Map (Click to Enlarge)

 Canada /ˈkænədə/ is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.

The land that is now Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

Canada is a federation that is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G7, G-20, NATO, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN.

Canada Symbols

Canada Flag

Canada Maple Leaf

Canada Goose

Canada Beaver

Valentine’s Day – Remember When

The following excerpt is drawn from a previous posting on Love and Marriage – Emile Roy and Angeline Hogue in 1937: As a symbol of her never-ending love, Angeline shared a precious memento she had received all those years ago, when they were engaged to be married. It was her first Valentine’s Day card from Emile in 1935. Reproduced above, the greeting from Emile (who was learning English and quickly becoming bilingual) says “Loads of Loves, Luck and Kisses, Your Fiancé who Love You so much, Emile.”

Alan Jackson - Remember When

As a reminder of what true love, marriage and family mean from an ancestry perspective,  watch the live concert performance by Alan Jackson who sings the song Remember When (also available in mp3 music format and with the lyrics accompaniment).

Love and Marriage – Emile Roy and Angeline Hogue in 1937

Angeline Hogue and Emile Roy, c. 1937

The following excerpts are drawn from the 1994 book Nootsie, The Life of Ernest Emile Roy (1914-1992) written by J. Paul-Emile Roy, CA. As mentioned in a previous blog posting, Emile Roy and Angeline Hogue shared many precious moments. She noted that, “It didn't take much to please a person in those times.” They would hold hands and Emile would whisper “sweet nothings” in her ear. Even though his feet were planted firmly in the present, he would talk about his plans, hopes and dreams.

Emile married Angeline on August 18, 1937. When asked whether Emile carried her over the threshold, Angeline responded, “Yes, I think so. I weighed less then, only about 105 or 110 pounds.” After the honeymoon, they settled down with a 100 pound bag of flour, a 100 pound bag of sugar and an extra large box of cookies. They had about $5.00 left between them to start married life, but they owed no bills.

How were Emile and Angeline going to manage on their own? In Emile's words, “I’ve got a piece of land, my bucksaw and my two hands. With that, I’ll make a living.” Thinking back, Angeline recalled that the land was rich, black soil which was ideal for growing a nice garden. The beets were just beautiful and the potatoes very large and tasty. Many things from the garden could be stored in a cold cellar to provide a continued source of food over the winter. Some vegetables were canned as preserves. Little was wasted for the motto “Waste not, want not” was a necessity in times of depression.

According to Angeline, “We survived. Somehow, we survived.” When they were first married, Angeline used to go into the woods to keep Emile company. He was clearing land and she would help as best she could. On one occasion, they talked about the love letters he had sent her before they were married. He remarked, “I hope you are not going to keep them. I wouldn’t want others to read them and see how sentimental I was.”

As a symbol of her never-ending love, Angeline shared a precious memento she had received all those years ago, when they were engaged to be married. It was her first Valentine’s Day card from Emile in 1935. Reproduced above, the greeting from Emile (who was learning English and quickly becoming bilingual) says “Loads of Loves, Luck and Kisses, Your Fiancé who Love You so much, Emile.”

One Woman's Journey – Angeline Hogue (1912-1996) continued

Emile Roy and Angeline Hogue (courting years) c.1936

The following excerpts are drawn from the 1994 book Nootsie, The Life of Ernest Emile Roy (1914-1992) written by J. Paul-Emile Roy, CA. This is Part Two. Read more in Part One.

According to Angeline, Christmas time for the Hogue children meant a special treat of bananas and oranges. Each child could look forward to getting them in their Christmas stockings, along with a few pennies. These were not your typical stockings but huge long woollen socks - 17 of them. Christmas was also a time to receive their father's blessing and have fun. There were no radios or movie theatres back then but the Hogues had a Victrola machine on which they would play records. Several of the children also played musical instruments.

In 1932, the Hogue family settled in Jogues and Emile Roy became friends with the Hogue boys. Within two years, he began courting Angeline. In the beginning, Emile would occasionally come to the post office to pick up parcels and would “sneak a look” at Angeline whenever he was there. He bought her a special present for Christmas in 1935. It was a watch with the year and their initials “AH 1935 ER” inscribed on the back. During their courtship, they exchanged greetings for Valentine's Day, Christmas and other occasions.

On their dates, Emile and Angeline shared many precious moments. She noted that, “It didn't take much to please a person in those times.” They would hold hands and Emile would whisper “sweet nothings” in her ear. Even though his feet were planted firmly in the present, he would talk about his plans, hopes and dreams. And, he would explain his ideas for making his dreams come true.

Angeline and Emile wed in 1937

Emile was eager to get married but Angeline was not. Having shared a house with many brothers and sisters, she wanted her own place to live in and was willing to wait for it. So Emile figured, if that was the case, then he would make sure that she had a house. When Emile asked if it would be okay to build a house on part of his father’s property, the response was “Sure, you can build a house on that piece of land across the other side of the river. If you build there, the land is yours.” The house was nearly finished when Angeline and Emile got married in August 1937. It needed a number of finishing touches, however, such as tiles for the kitchen floor. But, after the nurses had given Angeline a shower, they had pretty much everything they needed to get started.

Emile and Angeline 50th anniversary in 1987

On her journey through life, Angeline was never alone. She always had her family at heart. There were many landmarks on that journey. Some were triumphs and some were tragedies. They are worth telling and remembering. After all, she was special, my mom!

One Woman's Journey – Angeline Hogue (1912-1996)

Angeline at age 8 (white dress), c.1920

The following excerpts are drawn from the 1994 book Nootsie, The Life of Ernest Emile Roy (1914-1992) written by J. Paul-Emile Roy, CA. This is Part One. Read more in Part Two.

On May 12, 1912, Marie Marguerite Angeline Hogue was born in the village of Beauharnois, Quebec. She was the 12th child of seventeen children of Palmyre Hogue (a carpenter) and Antoinette Daoust (a teacher). There were nine daughters and eight sons in the family.

To find work, the Hogue family moved to Montreal, Quebec and then Windsor, Ontario. When work was no longer available, they moved to Jogues, which is about 12 miles from Hearst in Northern Ontario. Not far by today’s standards, but it was a long way to go by horse and buggy. It was even farther to go by foot, because few could afford the luxury of horses. Clearing the land of tree stumps and cultivating the soil was done with oxen - a very slow process indeed. Antoinette didn’t want to go, especially when she had to leave behind some of her prized possessions - a set of beautiful antique dishes she inherited from her mother.

When the Hogues moved to Jogues in 1932, Angeline hated it. There was nothing but bush and mosquitoes. She wondered many times why she hadn’t stayed in Montreal, where things were civilized. Everywhere there was black, swampy soil and the mud was like quicksand. But, the alternative to being a “pioneer” was staying in the city, where there was no work, and facing the worst of the depression.

Angeline at age 20, c. 1932

In Montreal, Angeline had worked with the nuns on church matters, fixing the altar, preparing for masses and other religious events. When the family moved to Jogues, Angeline was about 20 years old. She worked for a while as a secretary in a hardware store in Hearst. She had mastered secretarial skills at business school in Windsor at the age of 15. Since it was not possible to commute from Jogues, she obtained room and board in Hearst for about $30 a month.

Angeline also worked at the post office and at the hospital in Hearst as a nurse’s aid and interpreter for the doctors. There were only a few nurses, so Angeline was often called on to help in the maternity ward. It was not all work, though. There were times when a little fun was in order. Once, Angeline played the part of a “fine gentleman” in a play put on by the hospital staff. Afterwards, there was a parade through the streets in a two wheel cart drawn by a bull. So as not to hold up the others in the parade, Angeline's brother tied two carrots at the end of a long pole and dangled them in front of the bull. It worked!

 

Angeline on cart with tophat, c. 1934

Angeline was asked, “How did you survive the depression in the bush?” She replied, “Times were not easy. You could say that the depression became a way of life.” Often, a meal consisted of bread and gravy. That was supplemented, when possible, with game such as deer, moose, rabbit and partridge. There were a lot of wild partridges in those days. Water had to be carried by hand from the nearby river and heated on a campfire. Everything was done by hand without the aid of machines. Washboards were used to do the laundry outside - including the long underwear and bedding sheets. Fighting off the mosquitoes was part of the washday drudgery. She was quick to add, “The darned mosquitoes and black flies never quit!”