Dans un Petit Village

Sam Steele by R.C. Macleod The biography of Sam Steele was much more than the life story of a great Canadian; it was also a history of the opening of western Canada, the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway , The rebellion in the Red River Valley , the KlondikeGold Rush , the Boer War and World War I. Sam Steele was remarkably involved to some degree in all of these events that significantly affected Canada.  Macleod wrote an engaging book that draws you into the life of Sam Steele without descending into hagiography. Macleod is just as likely to point our Sam Steele’s faults as well as his virtues. On the whole, I would say that Sam Steele had more virtues than faults; he was an ambitious man but he always tried to do what was right and treat people fairly. He always followed the path that would further his career but he also tried to always do what was best for his family as well. Sam Steele wanted to rise as high as he could in his life and he rose to great heig

Simon Parent was my last direct Parent ancestor to be born in Quebec. He was born on L'ile Perrot on July 26, 1794. L'ile Perrot is an island just west of the main island of Montreal. The island was granted by Intendant Jean Talon to Francois - Marie Perrot on October 28, 1672 who was governor of Montreal at that time.  I wondered why Simon was born on L'ile Perrot, the best answer that I can give at this time is that his parents, Pierre Parent and  Genevieve Lalonde lived there. Simon was baptised the next day on July 27, 1794. I found Simon's baptismal record but it was barely legible. I used the fact that most baptismal records are written according to the same template to decipher the record. It stated that Simon was baptised on July 27, 1794. He was the legitimate child of Pierre Parent and Genevieve Lalonde. The godfather was Joseph Marie Lalonde (Genevieve's father) and the godmother was a female Parent. I could not make out the first name so it could hav

I just finished reading, “The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock” , by Guy St. Denis published by University of Calgary Press , 2018. It was a really enjoyable read. As it turns out, the book was much more than I thought it would be. It is not so much a biography of Sir Isaac Brock, although it is that, it is a book that is part art history, part historiographical analysis , part military history, and part detective story. Guy St. Denis has thoroughly researched and impeccably analyzed his subject, never accepting anything at face value and always digging deeper into every situation. He questions and verifies every “fact” that was presented to him in the course of his research. This was the detective story that Guy St. Denis unfolds in the underlying narrative of his book. I have to say that I read this book as if it were a detective page turner anxious to find out what happens next. In this time of fake news and “alternative facts” otherwise known as bald-faced lies, this book is