source “One Hundred French Canadian Family Histories” by Phillip J. Moore.
Most people of French Canadian heritage descend from this family of old Perche. Jacques Guyon is the earliest Guyon we can claim as an ancestor. He witnessed a document executed in Tourouve, Monday, January 6, 1579, and died before September 29, 1623. He and his wife Marie Huet married before 1583. They had at least two children, Marie born in 1588, and Jean in 1592. Jacques was unable to sign his name.
Honesty is one of the most important dimensions of good genealogy and family history. We all have backgrounds that we would like to say were ours. However, sometimes we have to settle for the fact that we are who we are.
If you truly want to provide and accurate family history and genealogy, you need to look at things as they are, not as you wish they would be. Facts, information and knowledge form the basic building blocks of good genealogical research. Your family history requires not only knowing who your people were but why they may have done what they did, chose what they chose. Like you, remember they made choices, were presented with dilemmas and made mistakes.
Try not to judge. Report. Comprehend. Have compassion for the people of your past. If you do these things, you will find you develop a deeper appreciation for predecessors and their circumstances. And more importantly, you will develop an appreciation for yours, where you came from, and who you are.
Yesterday while working on my genealogy, I accidently got carried away. Hard to believe but true. Here is what I found myself doing, then questioning and finally fixing.
I was conducting initial research on Ancestry, seeking the basics about who was born of whom and where. As is typically the case, I was using the Ancestry hints as pointers on where to look and attempting to ascertain what was real versus imaginary, in terms of facts, individuals and data. You may or may not be aware, but when you research this way on Ancestry, Family Tree hints indicate whether or not a “user family tree” contains sources, stories, images, etc. My rule of thumb is to never use a family tree without Sources. Up until yesterday that seemed to be a good rule excepting for one small item. A source by Ancestry’s definition includes another Ancestry Tree.
What I discovered was that as I got further back in time, there were many Trees for which the only sources were other Ancestry user trees. To my mind that is a circular and even detrimental definition. I had assumed (I know that’s wrong) that a source was always a Historical document. At least, it seemed to me like it should be. Well it isn’t.
As a result, I had to go back through three lines, actually the ends of three lines, and remove every person for which there were no historical documents . My conclusion, or rationalization, was these data were fundamentally flawed or inaccurate.
I sure wish there was an easy way to see if Ancestry Tree hints had any real historical data or sources behind them. So… I figured out what was wrong with MY logic! I need to only take Trees that have RECORDS associated with them. RECORDS refers to Historical records and that is what I should use as my criteria.
I sure wish I wasn’t so good at making assumptions!
If you know of a handy and easy way to check that out on an Ancestry Tree hint, please use the Comments below to let us know.
I am working at providing and easier more direct method of getting to our pages, posts, maps, links, and downloads. If you want to check things out please visit our Topics page to see what I am up to these days.
I am hoping to make “all” of our content reachable by no more that two clicks from the Topics page.
Currently the page is incomplete and in flux as I attempt various design and link paradigms. I think I am getting close to a good design but I could greatly benefit from your insights as site users. If you have comments or suggestions that you would like to share please use our contact page to let me know.
Over the weekend I have made a few changes that “are supposed” to help make our site more accessible. I would appreciate any feedback that you might have with respect to these new tools.
On each page you should notice a button to access and use Google Buzz. Assuming you are a user of this new toolset, I would love to hear about the usefulness of the new plugin I installed.
I have installed a new feature that should allow easier access to ManyRoads from an Android or iPod phone. Again, please let me know how this seems to work.
Please feel free to use our contact page to send me any comments.
As David Graham was kind enough to point out in his comment, the Rebellion de Patriotes of 1837-1838 certainly colored the lives of the Dion/Denis and Robidou families of the early 1800′s.
Minimally, it can be assumed that the Rebellion of Lower Canada contributed to the socio-political environment and circumstances within which the family migrations to the Clinton County area of upstate New York occurred. Research will continue to determine any firm linkages between our family and the Rebellion exist. Should you know of any, please contact us!
I have uploaded a document that discusses the Rebellion (in English). You may either:
Wikipedia also has a brief but informative description available.
During the past few months, I have been honored by my friends at the Parker Family History Center; they have expressed interest in having me speak at numerous genealogy groups with which they are involved including the Parker Genealogy Group, the Colorado Genealogical Society and the Parker LDS Family History Center.
Here are excerpts of the comments I have received on my presentations thus far:
Thank you so much. I will take your information to our next meeting and ask the members what they would most like to learn. The Colorado Genealogical Council has a speaker’s list available for all the genealogical societies and I would like to add your name and information to that list. [...] I’m very excited about what you have to offer. [...]thanks again.
Thank you very much for your program June 12th and PGS is looking forward to Oct 9th. I would love to see any programs you give wherever they are and to the Colorado Genealogical Council and Parker Family History center. The [people] who are in charge of the Family History Center will be in touch with you about your programs and when they might be. I was asked by the Colorado Genealogical Council to give them names of people I knew who are great speakers. I gave them your name. [...] Thank you for your interest and for just being you.
Beware the hints! I know, I have said that before but the entire prospect of using poorly proofed Ancestry materials conerns me.
As many of you may have noticed. I just broke through a block in my family genealogy (the block of Joseph and Julia Deyo’s parentage and life before entering the US). Once my breakthrough occurred, a wealth of new resources became available for me to use and research. Naturally, I was pleased to begin my foray into new areas. As names became available to my family tree, Ancestry began providing me with the hints. You almost have to squint your eyes because some of the hints are that bad. Here are some of the items I have noted.
<warning>People seem to rarely examine the information “behind” a record name or label. I find very little evidence of people having struggled to read the actual record content. Often they don’t even bother to get the dates from the records!
This lack of analysis presents a huge problem. As you probably know, many genealogical records list parents, but I frequently find that suggested family trees (hints) have parents that vary from those referred to in a birth, death or marriage record. As I noted earlier, frequently the recorded dates themselves are not even used. Dates provide wonderful clues and they’re not even documented in many of the hints I see!?!
When I have completed my examination of the actual source content suggested by the hints through squinting and deciphering, often I find I have identified all manner of additional disconnects.
How can anyone be so casual and lax? Sadly they must be. Otherwise why would I see countless mismatches between the source record and tree content?</warning>
Ah well. I really should not complain, I guess. I should just look at these suggestions, assume they are wrong and see what hides behind them, in the content. That’s what I do; and frequently, I find gems. However, my trees rarely agree with those of the majority. But then these are my family members I’m trying to find. I’d like to be as close as I can be to finding my real relatives.
It is with special gratitude, appreciation, and ‘apologies’ to the following individuals:
that I can now tell the tale of our Dion Family (today most commonly known as the Deyo Family) and their migration from Quebec to the Clinton County area of upstate New York.
This story has long been muddled and unclear. But in concert with the efforts and information from the folks listed above, I am certain that we now have a much clearer and accurate picture of who we are and where we came from.
This story has its beginnings with two people who, we now know, were born as Joseph Dion and Julienne Denis; both came from humble roots.
Based on the Baptisms of the Dion children appearing on the 1851 Census, we know the following:
It is my belief that the remaining children may have been been baptized at St. Joseph’s Corbeau, Coopersville, Clinton Co. N.Y Roman Catholic Church (if anyone has records of these baptisms, wherever they may have occurred, I would greatly appreciate a link or copy).
By 1860, we find most of the Joseph Dion/ Julienne Denis, now registered in the US Census of 1860 as Peter & Julie Deyo of Westport, Essex County New York. Joseph is working as a laborer; Frank (formerly Francois) is also a day laborer. The two older daughters, from the Canadian 1851 enumeration, appear to have remained behind in Quebec (they are not enumerated in the US in 1860). It is worth noting that there are numerous problems with the 1860 Census data including the fact that all of ‘these’ Deyos were born in the US. However, even given those problems, I still believe this indicates that most of the Dion/Deyo family was in Northern New York by 1860.
By 1870, both Joseph and Julia were in Altona. 
Eli, Ralph and Adeline were all in Alburg Vt. by 1870 (according to the US Census)- although the birth date for Adeline could indicate she is not our Adelaide Dion. Further, as Wilfred Deyo’s report further indicates:
Immigration
1850’s: The records would indicate that Joseph and Julia(Faye) Deyo immigrated to the United States of America in the 1850’s following the birth of their last child- Eli Deyo. It appears that they entered. the United States at Rouses Point, New York and moved on to Champlain, New York; Chazy, New York; and then Altona, New York where they apparently settled permanently and, became farmers. Records of deeds shows Joseph Deyo owning a farm in the Altona, New York area around 1865. Later some members of the family migrated to Alburg, Vermont where some remained permanently while others returned to New York State and settled in Clinton County.
Citizenship-United States
- 186l: Joseph DEYO Age 60 years-Living in Altona, New York, makes a declaration and is accepted as a citizen, on October 24, 1861.
- 1868: Joseph DEYO Age 24 years-living in Altona, New York for the past 6 years makes a declaration and is accepted as a citizen- October 24, 1868.
- 1868: Ralph DEYO Age 22 years-living in Altona, New York makes a y declaration and is accepted as a citizen on October 24, 1868.
Note: It is not known at this time where the other members of the family were admitted as citizens, if in fact they were.
Property purchased
- 1871:-DEYO, Joseph of Plattsburgh purchased for $350 half of lot no.8 on West side of William St.
- 1875:-DEYO, Joseph of Plattsburgh purchased half of lot no. 8 (other half of lot in no. 1)
Note: It is presumed that the Joseph buying the lot in Plattsburgh was the son of Joseph who at that time already was owner of a farm in Altona, New York.
Family stories are not always true. If you have been doing any amount of genealogy perhaps you have discovered that out. If not, you may be in for a rude awakening.
My family, like most, comes with it’s fair share of myths and fables. Certain family members are seen as being larger than life, other are viewed as being evil villains. The truth, as it turns out, is both more exciting and at the same time mundane.
In all the literature you are told to gather oral traditions regarding your family, as the start of establishing your family history and genealogy. Although that is a good idea it also a bit risky. Let me explain. Growing up you may have heard stories like:
You get the drift… what each of these family tales offers is in most instances a thread, a place to begin, a kernel of truth. As Paul Harvey used to say on his newscasts “but now here’s the rest of the story”.
Your job as a genealogist is to find the “rest of the story”. Acknowledge and listen to your family stories, search them out. But while you search, do not become blind to the facts you find because the discovered facts are in disagreement with your lore. Remember your search is for the real family history not some imagined past. A good Family Historian- Genealogist should look to see what was, not what some family member(s) may have imagined, hoped for, or dreamt.
In certain instances, you may find the family lore to be true; in others, you may find there is nothing to link the lore to the realities as they occurred. Do not bend the facts to match the lore rather accept the facts as they are and be satisfied with them, for they more closely represent what really happened.
Be happy with your family’s past, for without it you would not be here.
Chrome, to my knowledge, does not ‘yet’ support reading DJVU files. I have looked up and down for a plugin without any success. If you are using Chrome on this site this deficiency will make reading documents difficult. Should you know of a way to read DJVU files in Chrome please share that with us either via comment or using our contact page.
On another note, you may have noticed that I replaced the Tweet/retweet function on this site. The previous Tweet plugin stopped working in Firefox after a software upgrade. Hopefully the new Tweet plugin will continue to work.
If you look at the attached record you will find the following Joseph Dion/Deo/Deyo family residing in Quebec during the 1851 Census. This both firmly places the family in St. LaColle, near Montreal. We also now know through related birth documents of these ‘newly found’ children (for me ‘new’ at least…), the parents birth names were:
The Deo/Deyo/Dion family in 1851 consisted of:
I don’t know how it happens but it does, at least for me.
As I noted in an earlier post, not all source documents are easy to read. Often they are muddled, smudged, faded, and torn. Sometimes the authors had been quills, bad penmanship or unsteady hands.
Yet somehow this stuff is readable. Even when it’s not.
I know that sounds strange but I can assure you it is true. I don’t know how many times I have been pouring over documents looking for threads of information when suddenly in the midst of an illegible mass there appears a relative.
One particular case comes to mind. I was searching for a g-g-grandmother’s death record in an old Zeyer (German) Church Death Register. I had been going through pages and pages of poorly focused, blurry, palsied writings, where I swear the Pastor must have used his finger nails and not a quill to write the pages, when suddenly there she was! A friendly researcher sitting next to me heard me jump- we share that thrill at the Family History Center probably because we all work at little tables sitting in two neat lines in a very dark room.
I needed to be certain that I wasn’t just wishing something into this document, so I interrupted my neighbor’s train of thought, a second time, to ask for verification. Scarcely believing that I had just found something wonderful in this squiggly, blurry mass, I asked her if she could see what I saw; and she did. She saw my grandmother’s name, too.
Here’s the page and view…. what do you see?
I am not certain if magic is the right term. I don’t know why these things jump off the page at me and others. As person who spends a lot of time working with engineers and discussing physics, I guess I could attribute this to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Or, I could just be happy that I have found my g-g-grandmother.
I guess I’ll go with the latter.
For those of you who have not used genealogical source data before, I can assure you this is an adventure. In most ways, my experiences have been very positive as well as curious. I should also admit that almost all source material I have used has been either German or French Canadian. I have never either needed or used US English materials beyond that which is available in an online, computer accessible format for my research.
Whether your source materials are online or microfilmed they often provide many of the same challenges:
I guess the bottom line is to be prepared. The joy of discovery can be extraordinary when working with original source documents but the work may be difficult and challenging. But as with most things in life, anything worth having is worth working for…
Probably one of the most valuable primary sources of genealogical information today is provided by the LDS (Latter Day Saints- Mormon) Church- FamilySearch.org.
The website itself is not really the most useful aspect of their service. In truth, I personally find the online components to their site to be less valuable then that of their primary competitor- Ancestry.com.
So what is good about the site you might ask. The best part of FamilySearch is their ability to find microfiche/film within the LDS archives and make it available to you! Squirreled away in a very hard find, dark corner are two crucial search functions:
The way the film procurement works is really quite simple. Once you find the items are available through the LDS, I recommend you go to (visit) your nearest Family History Center; it’s best if they are open when you arrive. Enter, sign-in and tell the person in charge that you would like to order a microfilm. They will help you with the order, always confirm the film numbers. Each film costs about $5.50 in the US. After the order is placed with the LDS archives, it takes about 3-4 weeks for the film(s) to arrive. Once they arrive, the Family History staff will call you to inform you of their arrival. You may then visit your Family History Center anytime thereafter, until the film rental expires, to read your ‘documents’.
For those of you who may have some trepidation in visiting an LDS Church, I can say that my experiences have been very positive. I have never been asked to join their Church or cajoled in any way.
Thank you to Barb Deyo for the following documentation.
Plattsburgh Daily Press – February 18, 1938
MRS. MARY DEYO OF ALTONA DIES
Mrs. Mary Deyo of Altona died at her home yesterday morning at ten O’clock. She was 81 years old.
Mrs. Deyo had lived in Altona for the past forty years. Her husband, John Deyo, died 15 years ago. She leaves nine children: George Deyo of Altona, Jerome Deyo of “Plattsburgh; Henry Deyo of Barre, VT.; Mrs. Celina Ladue of Altona; Napoleon Deyo of Sciota; Mrs. Fred Blair of Altona; Fred Deyo of Alona; Mrs. Frank Dragoon of Sciota and Frank Deyo of Altona. Twenty-five grand children and forty-five great grand children also survive.
Funeral services will be held in Holy Angels church at Altona Saturday morning at ten o’clock. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
A very important dimension of genealogy involves history and context. You may already know that and if so, perhaps this posting is not for you. However for those of you who do NOT remember your geography and history, here are some recommendations. These recommendations are based on the assumptions that:
(Note: Please be attuned to the fact that any one of the above can and will impact your ability to understand and interpret the data you “dig up.”)
Having set this simple stage let’s move on to the recommendations.
Before you start research in an area where you are unfamiliar or uncertain with any of the dimensions of the first list, read. By that I mean, brush up on the history of the time and region in which you research. Become familiar with what was going on where your family members lived. Develop an understanding of what normal for them, these ‘things’ may distinctly different from what is considered normal today.
It is fairly easy today to become acquainted with the basics of the past and upgrade your understanding. Tools you should consider in this area include:
Any or all of these can and will provide you with quick access to information. Use it. Understand a bit about the past, it will help you to better interpret what you read in the records you find.
The mystery of George Deyo’s death is solved. Here is the text of his obituary:
GEORGE DEYO TO BE BURIED AT ALTONA
Funeral services for George Deyo, 78, who died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Fred Belair of Altona, at 7 o’clock, Saturday morning, will be held at the Holy Angel’s church at Altona at 9:30 o’clock, this morning. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.
Survivors include nis wife, three daughters, Mrs. E. Perry of Plattsburgh; Mrs. L. Rabideau of East Hampton, Mass.; and Miss Dora Deyo of Altona; four sons, Edward Deyo, of Shirley, N.H.; Lawrence Deyo of Altona; Clarence Deyo of Altona and Gerald Deyo of VS. Army; three sisters, Mrs. Fred La-Due and Mrs. Fred Belair of Altona; Mrs. Lillian Dragoon of Sciota; and five brothers, Jerome Deyo of Plattsburgh, Henry Deyo of Randolph, Vt., Napoleon Deyo of Sciota, Fred Deyo and Frank Deyo of Altona.
Eli Deyo was born in Lacolle, Province of Quebec, Canada around the year 1850 according to a copy of the marriage certificate issued to him by the Town of Alburg, Vermont when he married Miranda BABBA in Alburg, Vermont on January 6, 1875. He gave his age then as 23. Also according to this marriage certificate this was the second marriage for Eli DEYO and the first for Miranda Babba. The writer has had no success in trying to learn more about Eli’s first marriage-whether it took place in Canada or the United States. Research will continue in an attempt to learn more about this event.
The United States “Special Census of 1896″ for the Town of Altona, Clinton County, New York indicates that Eli Deyo was married to a 2nd wife by the name of Flora Babbia. It is not known at this time if this is an error or whether when Miranda Babba/Babbin died Eli married her sister or other relative names Flora Babbin.
Should the “Special Census of 1896 records be correct in showing Eli Deyo being married to two different women at those times by the name of BABBIN then it means that at that point in time Eli Deyo had been married three times. The name Babbin as recorded in New York State has to be in error as the name was correctly known and spelled as BABBA in Alburg, Vermont. Miranda Babba was born in Alburg, Vermont around the year 1853, the daughter of George And Liza Babba. It is not known(if in fact the record is correct) where Eli Deyo married Flora Babbin, Perhaps New York State.
Later records indicate that Eli Deyo must have become a widower again following the special census of 1896 in Altona, New York and subsequently married a widow by the name of Philomina (LaFountain) Derry. She had four daughters by her previous husband. It is also believed that, she was born in Malone, New York on April 18, 1859.
Eli Deyo died in Springfield, Massachusetts on January 16,1924 at the age of 72 years, 9 months and 1 day. He is buried in the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hampden, Massachusetts.
(document converted from the original text scan with minor edits and spelling corrections by Mark F. Rabideau on 20 February 2010)
I apologize for the Database Connection Errors you may have been getting. The problem is with our site control panel. Our host is working to fix the problem. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
The Deyos- 1800-1982 [written by Wilfred Frank Deyo circa 1982]
The writer, Wilfred Frank Deyo will incorporate -the following information available as of October 8, 1982 into the “Deyo Family History”- 1800-1982-From Canada to the United States of America which he hopes to put together in the not too distant future. More
Genealogical research always presents dilemmas. These dilemmas almost always have significant impact and represent important family history decisions. I will try to provide some examples.
First every family historian or genealogist needs to decide their role and its potential impact:
Obviously I can’t answer these questions for you but hopefully you are able to answer them for yourself. It is important to have answers to questions like these because the responses will inform you of the best approach to and handling of your genealogy.
If genealogy is a ‘light weight’ casual activity for you, you should make every effort to keep your information private and away for accidental public use. Remember there are many out in the world who believe accurate and serious information is essential to identifying their roots and history. If you do not the chances are your information is also casually gathered analyzed and managed. What that means is that the data is potentially fraught with errors.
As a user of public systems like OneWorldTree, Rootsweb, Familysearch, Ancestry.com you need to be aware of the huge number of casual genealogists… and corrupt data. I think I may have mentioned examples of these problems in other posts but perhaps they bear restating:
So what does this all mean? Well it means I have encountered at least two people who should never have shared their information… plus it means I should never entertain using their information. In all likelihood almost everything with the fingerprints of these folks is corrupted.
So if you are casual and just want to play around… by all means do so. However, please have the courtesy to NOT share your data and efforts.
Plattsburgh Sentinel -1918
Mr & Mrs. Napoleon Deao received a telegram a few days ago stating that John Deao had been severly wounded in action in France July 15th. John was cited for bravery in action on April 21.
Maybe your family is like mine. We come from a long line of hard working, salt of the earth people. Yes, that means many of them could not read or write.
Where does one get good genealogy data? Unfortunately, there is no single correct answer to this question. The answer depends in large part on where you are researching and what you need.
So how do you prevent yourself from becoming a contributor to the vast amount of bad genealogy data?
Some names can be confusing! I think the title of this post bears that out.
Recently I received the following note from Gloria Cusson Pratt of the Northern New York- American Canadian Genealogical Society. Her note informed me of the following:
John married as Jean Baptiste Dion to Marie Bonin on 2 July 1866 at St. Ann’s [Roman Catholic Church in] Mooers Forks, NY. Deo/Deyo/Dion are all dit names [synonyms] for Deo. Most of their children are listed in the St. Ann Book, Moeers Forks, NY. His parent’s are Joseph Dion and Julia Lafaille/Faye.
Gloria
With this information in hand, I am now able to add numerous avenues of research in finding the roots of the Deyos of Northern New York.
Thank you Gloria!
Beware of the free hints at Ancestry.com.
One of the biggest problems with Ancestry.com hints is in the poor quality of the research that backs up the actual hint recommendations. Couple that with poor heuristics used by Ancestry for ‘hint’ data validation and you can some real genealogical data disasters. As I noted in an earlier post, beware the quality of ‘other peoples’ work’ and ‘information’. Rely on source information if at all possible.
There are plenty of risks in doing genealogy work without taking on another’s mistakes.
There are also a number of ‘easy’ ways to mitigate the risk of assuming bad data, no matter the source. Included among these are:
The bottom line is, if it seems incredible or hard to believe, it is probably wrong.
Genealogy requires assumptions…
Over the past few weeks, I have been working on discovering (perhaps rediscovering) a family line. My Deyo family tree was incorrect, in a major way! More
Based on data and input I have received from various people, I believe I have traced and documented a “plausible” genealogy for the Joseph Deo family leading back to France in the late 1600s.
If anyone is interested in reviewing the tree and commenting on what I have pieced together, please contact me.
Numerous photo galleries on our site have recently been either created or updated. These galleries will continue to be reworked and reorganized; however, they represent a reasonable start to my organizing ‘things’. More
In addition to Luise Senger who joined the Deutsche Luftwaffe towards the end of World War 2, numerous friends and family members of the Senger family were either inducted into or volunteered for German military service.
Below are the photos of those we have in our collection. If you happen to know any of these individuals, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you.
Tommy was an English war prisoner who spent most of World War 2 working on the Senger family farm in Zeyervorderkampen. He was originally captured by German forces at Dunkirk in 1940 and he spent more than 4 years of the war working on and about the Senger farm. As you might gather from the photo, he was a good looking young man in town with few during a time of total war and mobilization.
We would love to hear from him or his family.
Click on the to see a full-size image.
Getting a good picture from an aged image is crucial to developing and maintaining a good family history. Unfortunately as you look around ManyRoads, you’ll notice countless images that ought to be fixed. Aside from being a tad lazy, the skills required to accomplish this effort are significant and confusing. More
 circa 1942.jpg)
 circa 1940.jpg)
