With curls to die for, Romeo Poulin was son # 3 of Evariste. He left home at about fourteen , searching for seasonal work when he and brother Gaudias heard of the Klondike Gold Rush and joined the stampede north. Romeo took two wives during his lifetime. The first was Anna Pasteels, a Flemish woman from Belgium that naturalized in Canada in 1900. She died from alcoholism, with TB and pregnant.
The second wife, Mary Smith, a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation woman, was the daughter of the distinguished local constable in Dawson City, Sam Smith. Mary bore Romeo a daughter Florence (named after Romeo’s sister), and a son, Arthur (named after Romeo’s brother).
Romeo died of stomach cancer. Fifteen months later, Arthur died at 22 months. Ten days later, Mary died. The only remaining member of the family was Florence, now an orphan at 30 months of age.
Romeo Poulin about 1897.