Agnes Bourrett's Birthday!

Agnes Bourrett Burke Fassett (Center)

Today is my Great-Great Grandmother's birthday. On the 28th of June 1874, Agnes Bourrett was born to Louis Bourrett and Philomène Langlois. The family lore was that she was born in Canada and she was the only one of her siblings that spoke French. It was rumored that her father Louis, who was a fur trapper that worked in a tannery in New Hampshire but trapped in Canada, had two families-one in New Hampshire and one in Canada.

After a trip to New Hampshire in search of local family history and more information on the Bourrett family, my mother, Aunt Louise, and I found that the local library had a book called the History of the Town of Gilsum New Hampshire From 1752 to 1879. The book contained family histories for many of the local families-including the Louis Bourrett family!

The book listed Agnes' birthdate and location of Gilsum, NH and her mother's full name, Philomène Langlois. It turns out that Philomène died shortly after giving birth to a daughter Philomène. Baby Philomène died shortly after her mother. Agnes had a brother Louis David who remained with his father in NH and Agnes was sent to Canada to live with her aunt after their mother's death. At around 12 years old, Agnes returned to live with her father and brother in Gilsum, NH, along with Louis' new wife and family. Agnes was the only sibling that spoke French as the others were all raised in English speaking New Hampshire.

This trip to a local library debunked a family myth of an ancestor having two families at the same time. Much to the relief of Aunt Louise.

What myths can you dispel by doing genealogy research?

Photo of Agnes and her family provided by Patricia Army; birth record found on Ancestry.com

#genealogy #progenofne #familyhistory #ancestry

Agnes Bourrett birth record







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