I had traveled to southern Quebec in search of that mysterious tidbit that would lift my research up to a level of mouth-watering excitement. It amazed me when I found some marvelous detail of daily life. Each trip to northern Vermont and southern Quebec had filled in more customs of daily life that might have remained buried in faded footsteps of the past.
One outstanding visit to the Yukon yielded 22 ancestors and five living descendant. Regardless of where they lived, most of the people showcased on this blog brought with them the indisputable markings of a Beauceron – a person from the Beauce Valley of southern Quebec.
This blog is about the Poulin, Vachon and Pomerleau ancestors who all exemplified a workaholic attitude that still presents as a dominant gene in my relatives and in thousands of French-Canadians still in the Beauce. It’s easy to recognize who these people are with their deep determination and survivalist’s instincts. The hallmark of their time was to live simple lives with integrity and perseverance.
At the Yukon Archives in Whitehorse, Yukon, I found more gold claims by my Poulin men. This photo gives you an idea of the scale of these creek books, each one filled with every claim opened by a miner, a complete summary of activities as gold was discovered on each creek.
Book of miner’s claims for Last Chance Creek, including all tributary claims, hill claims and bench claims.
Each research trip was an opportunity for me to refresh my neglected French. How wonderful to return home with more friends than you had before you left. Canada is indeed, a welcoming country.