Marie Gemma Voyer
To be fair, it is time to write about my mother's side of the family, the Voyer family and of course I will start with my mother. Unlike my father, I knew who my mother was.
Marie Anne Gemma Voyer was born on July 7, 1918 in Quebec City, Quebec. You could say that my mother was a war baby to put her birth into perspective. World War I was approaching its end. The Allies were about to break the deadlock on the Western Front and the beginning of The 100 Days Offensive to the end of the war was not far off. A week after my mother was born The last German offensive of WWI, the Marne - Reims Offensive was to begin. The Allies had full knowledge of this offensive and the German offensive was crushed. Also, a week after my mother's birth the Czar Nicholas and his entire family was murdered by the Bolsheviks. Of course, when my mother was born no one knew that these events would happen. You could say that my mother was born during turbulent times.
My mother was born into a well off, cultured, French - Canadian family. Her father was Joseph Joachim Ulric Voyer (1892 - 1935) and Marie Louise Alice Bedard. I will have much more to say about my grandparents in a future post but leave it say that there is much to say about them.
My mother would have lived in the house at 834 St. Vallier, St. Saveur, Quebec, QC which at the time was a nice area to live in Quebec City. Unfortunately, the house no longer exists, there is only an empty lot with a few trees where the house would have been. I have no other pictures, only my mother's description that it was a large and elegant home.
In the 1921 Canadian census it shows that Gemma was living with her family in Saint Saveur, Quebec, Quebec which is beside La Cite - Limoilou. My mother spent the first fifteen years of her life living a very good life. My grandfather worked hard and did well. They had servants and cooks. My mother told me many times that she never had to do anything growing up expect read books, play music and enjoy her life. The house was filled with music and there were often visitors from musicians and composers which would fill the house with music and entertainment.
My mother's father, my grandfather, died in 1935 at the age of 42. That would have been the end of her comfortable lifestyle. There would not have been any more servants or cooks to take care of them. I think that after my grandfather passed away my grandmother had to sell their house and move into smaller quarters. According to the voters lists of 1940, my mother was living at 430 Rue de la Reine.
I found the building on Google maps. It looks like they were living in an apartment or a house that would be similar to what we would call a townhouse today. It was certainly a step down for the elegant house where the Voyer family was living in 1918.
In 1940, my mother was married to Maurice Gauvin (not my father) on July 22, 1940. They were married by a military chaplain of the Canadian army, major Walter, here I am not clear on his last name because the cursive writing is a bit unclear. I think the chaplain's last name was Carmon or Carmou, I can't be sure. Since my grandfather had been dead since 1935, my uncle Gaston stood in the father's place as witness for the wedding. After learning that my mother was married by a military chaplain I looked at her wedding picture and realized that the priest in the picture was the military chaplain and not priest associated with our family, Emile Bourassa. It is interesting to note that my mother was born during WWI and was married during WWII. You could say that she lived during turbulent times.
I don't a know a lot about the early years when my mother was married, she never talked about those years. As for Maurice Gauvin, I know even less, he just sort of disappeared. I never tried very hard to find him but the brief search that I did do turned up nothing. He just vanished.
After Maurice, I know that my mother struggled. She had lived a privileged life and did not have any marketable skills or many life skills for that matter. I don't think she knew house to run a household and she was not a good cook. I can attest to that. I am not sure how time elapsed since the departure of Maurice and when my mother met my father but it would have been around 1952 thereabouts.
My mother passed away on May 28, 1976 of cirrhosis of the liver. She had a hard and difficult life. When I was growing up as a teenager, like all teenagers, I was critical of my mother. Now, looking back through the lense of some 50 years my perception of my mother has softened somewhat. I cannot begin to understand the life that she lived or understand the decisions that she made or was unable to make. I only regret that I do not know more about her early life.
Marie Anne Gemma Voyer was born on July 7, 1918 in Quebec City, Quebec. You could say that my mother was a war baby to put her birth into perspective. World War I was approaching its end. The Allies were about to break the deadlock on the Western Front and the beginning of The 100 Days Offensive to the end of the war was not far off. A week after my mother was born The last German offensive of WWI, the Marne - Reims Offensive was to begin. The Allies had full knowledge of this offensive and the German offensive was crushed. Also, a week after my mother's birth the Czar Nicholas and his entire family was murdered by the Bolsheviks. Of course, when my mother was born no one knew that these events would happen. You could say that my mother was born during turbulent times.
My mother was born into a well off, cultured, French - Canadian family. Her father was Joseph Joachim Ulric Voyer (1892 - 1935) and Marie Louise Alice Bedard. I will have much more to say about my grandparents in a future post but leave it say that there is much to say about them.
My mother would have lived in the house at 834 St. Vallier, St. Saveur, Quebec, QC which at the time was a nice area to live in Quebec City. Unfortunately, the house no longer exists, there is only an empty lot with a few trees where the house would have been. I have no other pictures, only my mother's description that it was a large and elegant home.
In the 1921 Canadian census it shows that Gemma was living with her family in Saint Saveur, Quebec, Quebec which is beside La Cite - Limoilou. My mother spent the first fifteen years of her life living a very good life. My grandfather worked hard and did well. They had servants and cooks. My mother told me many times that she never had to do anything growing up expect read books, play music and enjoy her life. The house was filled with music and there were often visitors from musicians and composers which would fill the house with music and entertainment.
My mother's father, my grandfather, died in 1935 at the age of 42. That would have been the end of her comfortable lifestyle. There would not have been any more servants or cooks to take care of them. I think that after my grandfather passed away my grandmother had to sell their house and move into smaller quarters. According to the voters lists of 1940, my mother was living at 430 Rue de la Reine.
I found the building on Google maps. It looks like they were living in an apartment or a house that would be similar to what we would call a townhouse today. It was certainly a step down for the elegant house where the Voyer family was living in 1918.
In 1940, my mother was married to Maurice Gauvin (not my father) on July 22, 1940. They were married by a military chaplain of the Canadian army, major Walter, here I am not clear on his last name because the cursive writing is a bit unclear. I think the chaplain's last name was Carmon or Carmou, I can't be sure. Since my grandfather had been dead since 1935, my uncle Gaston stood in the father's place as witness for the wedding. After learning that my mother was married by a military chaplain I looked at her wedding picture and realized that the priest in the picture was the military chaplain and not priest associated with our family, Emile Bourassa. It is interesting to note that my mother was born during WWI and was married during WWII. You could say that she lived during turbulent times.
I don't a know a lot about the early years when my mother was married, she never talked about those years. As for Maurice Gauvin, I know even less, he just sort of disappeared. I never tried very hard to find him but the brief search that I did do turned up nothing. He just vanished.
After Maurice, I know that my mother struggled. She had lived a privileged life and did not have any marketable skills or many life skills for that matter. I don't think she knew house to run a household and she was not a good cook. I can attest to that. I am not sure how time elapsed since the departure of Maurice and when my mother met my father but it would have been around 1952 thereabouts.
My mother passed away on May 28, 1976 of cirrhosis of the liver. She had a hard and difficult life. When I was growing up as a teenager, like all teenagers, I was critical of my mother. Now, looking back through the lense of some 50 years my perception of my mother has softened somewhat. I cannot begin to understand the life that she lived or understand the decisions that she made or was unable to make. I only regret that I do not know more about her early life.
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