Alexandre Gagnon (1865)
| Alexandre Gagnon | |
| |
| Nationality: |  American
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| Born: | December 28, 1865 Frenchville, Maine |
| Died: | November 20, 1933 Lewiston, Maine |
| Father: | Alexandre Gagnon |
| Mother: | Marie Elise (Emma) Gagnon |
| Spouse: | Sophia Labbé |
| Married: | September 23, 1889 Fort Kent, Maine |
| Children: | Onesime Gagnon Odelie Gagnon Adelard Gagnon Johnny Gagnon Dolore Gagnon |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Residence: | Frenchville, Maine Wallagrass, Maine Lewiston, Maine |
| Profession: | Farmer |
Alexandre "Aleck" Gagnon was born on December 28th, 1865 in Frenchville, Maine. His parents were Alexandre Gagnon and Emma Gagnon, both of Frenchville. Alexandre was typically referred to as "Aleck" by his family, to differentiate him from his father, who shared his first name. Aleck married Sophia Labbé on September 23rd, 1889, in Fort Kent. The couple would go on to have many children, including Onesime, Odelie, Adelard, Johnny, and Dolore. Aleck, who worked as a farmer in northern Maine, was be the first member of the Gagnon family of this line to be born a citizen of the United States. Matthew Gagnon, Aleck's great-grandson, would later go on to name his first son, Alec Gagnon after him.
Overview
Alexandre Gagnon married Sophie Labbe on September 23, 1889 in Fort Kent. Sophie was born in Wallagrass, Maine, on April 1, 1867, the daughter of Registre and Flora Guimond Labbee. Alexandre and Sophie had the following children during this marriage: Onesime born on March 25, 1892, Odelie born September 7, 1894, Adelard born September 7, 1896, and Johnny born August 24, 1898; Dolore must have died as an infant, as he is not mentioned in any account after this time.
28 Years Later
Odelie
Odelie, Onesime’s sister, married a man named Charles Goupil. In 1920, Odelie became crippled and began having to live in a wheelchair. In 1925, Charles was training a man in Insurance in Rumford, Maine, when he became very sick. He died a day later at 39 years old, on August 25. Onesime’s sister was unable to care for herself, so her parents went to live with her.
On April 8, 1927, Odelie died, she was only 32. It was less than two years after her husband passed away. By then, she had been crippled and living in a wheel chair seven years. When Odelie died, Onesime’s parents came back to live in Chisholm.
Sophie Passes Away, with a Little Drama
Not long after, Onesime’s mother became ill with cancer of the liver. At one point, it was thought that she had died. The custom at the time was to lay out the body of a family member in the house, where friends and other family members would visit, pray and grieve. Common people could not afford to have a funeral home provide services, and this meant that bodies were often not embalmed. Albert remembered the time his grandmother was laid out in the house, and the wake being in progress. His grandmother, however, was not dead, but only in a coma. She abruptly sat up and wanted to know why everyone was there. The children ran from the house, thinking they had seen a ghost. It certainly caused quite a commotion. She did eventually die on January 26, 1928 in Onesime’s home.
