Walking in the Steps of my Ancestors - Part Six - La Maison Felix Parent - 127 - 129 avenue des Cascades, Beauport, Qc
La maison Felix Parent is different from all of the other houses that I have written about so far. We did not have time to get to la maison Felix Parent on Saturday. We had spent much longer at the cemeteries than we thought, there were many more "Parent" tombstones to document that we realized!
We had stopped at the IGA in Beauport to picked up some items on Saturday evening when I realized that la maison Felix Parent was very close to the IGA. We decided that we would visit the last two houses on our list on Sunday morning before heading back to Montreal, that would give me time for a good look at the house and time to take pictures. It seemed like a good plan.
Sunday morning was the opposite of the bright and sunny day that we enjoyed the day before on Saturday. When we got up on Sunday morning it was overcast. When I went out for coffee it was raining. For the rest of the day it never stopped raining. Still, I wanted to see the last two houses. It was early on Sunday morning when I parked the car in the IGA parking lot. While my wife was in the store I literally walked across the street and took pictures of la maison Felix Parent. You will see that the pictures are not as bright and clear as the others pictures I took because it was overcast and raining, but I did take the pictures!
The inclement weather was not the reason that la maison Felix Parent was different. At first, la maison Felix Parent was an enigma. The house was built in the late 1800s but I was not sure which Felix Parent owned the house. I found the clue in the historic plaque that was attached to the house. The plaque said that Felix Parent was a 'charron' or wheelwright. That one clue narrowed down the list Felix Parents to exactly one person who fit the description and timeline exactly.
Not only was Felix Parent the only wheelwright artisan that I have come across during this walking tour but he was descended from a different branch of our Parent family. Felix Parent was descended from Etienne Parent (1674 - 1756) one of the celebrated triplets who were not only born on the same day but they were also married on the same day, February 12, 1696! The other two brothers were Jean and Joseph Parent. Apparently, from what I have read, their wedding was quite the spectacle in Beauport but that is another story.
Felix Parent was born in 1841. I have not yet been able to find the exact date of his birth but I will keep digging. His father was Antoine Parent (1804 - 1871) and his mother was Marguerite Langevin (1809 - 1884). I do have the date of Felix's marriage. He was married on October 29, 1866 to Philomene Cameron. Felix was 25 years old and Philomene was 23 years old. When I traced Philomene's ancestry back to her original ancestor in Canada, he was Thomas Cameron who was born in Inverness, Ross - Shire, Scotland. Philomene Cameron was on Scottish descent which is evident from her maiden name.
In the 1871 and 1881 Census of Canada Felix Parent's occupation is 'charron' or wheelwright. The 1871 Census lists two sons for Felix and Philomene; Felix and Hector. Hector Parent who was twenty years old in 1891 was listed as a wheelwright in the 1891 Census along with his father. It looks like Felix Parent trained his son in the family business.
The 1901 Census had more interesting information about Felix and his family. Felix was 60 years old in 1901 and still a wheelwright. The work of a wheelwright was hard work, especially for a man in his 60s in 1901. Presumably, Hector would have been doing the heavy work since he was half of his father's age in 1901. According to the 1901 Census, Felix and all the members of his family could read and write. In addition, Felix's children could also speak English. There were also details of Felix's income. In 1901 Felix earned $500 which is right on the average for what a artisan like a wheelwright would earn in 1901.
On September 28, 1903, Hector Parent married Angelina Vallee. According to the marriage record, Hector's mother was deceased at the time of their marriage. Felix Parent passed away in June of 1915, during WWI. There are a couple of interesting points in Felix's burial record. It mentions that his wife, Philomene was from Montreal. It was a bit unusual that someone from Beauport would take a wife from Montreal. It would be interesting to find out where that connection came from. What was also interesting was that of all of the people who attended Felix's funeral there was no mention of Hector Parent.
The bit of information that I have about Hector is from the 1921 Census. Hector is listed as a blacksmith and not a wheelwright. Did Hector see that technology was changing and decide that being a blacksmith was more profitable and in keeping with the times?
Knowing what we know about Felix and Hector Parent it is not surprising that la maison Felix Parent was the house of a craftsman. The first floor of the house was Felix's wheelwright workshop. The family lived upstairs. The house was built around 1870. Originally there was a large door at the rear of the house on the first floor that was big enough for a carriage to pass through which made it convenient for Felix to bring carriages in and out of his workshop. Today, there is a large bay window where the carriages door was.
Like the rest of the houses inhabited by the Parent family the house was built from limestone, without a doubt from the Parent limestone quarry. The house remained in the Parent family until 1947. In the 1990s the house was restored. a railing was installed, the balustrades inspired by the original angle plates. The outside walls were re-plastered the roof was restored to its original metal roof which was probably copper.
We had stopped at the IGA in Beauport to picked up some items on Saturday evening when I realized that la maison Felix Parent was very close to the IGA. We decided that we would visit the last two houses on our list on Sunday morning before heading back to Montreal, that would give me time for a good look at the house and time to take pictures. It seemed like a good plan.
Sunday morning was the opposite of the bright and sunny day that we enjoyed the day before on Saturday. When we got up on Sunday morning it was overcast. When I went out for coffee it was raining. For the rest of the day it never stopped raining. Still, I wanted to see the last two houses. It was early on Sunday morning when I parked the car in the IGA parking lot. While my wife was in the store I literally walked across the street and took pictures of la maison Felix Parent. You will see that the pictures are not as bright and clear as the others pictures I took because it was overcast and raining, but I did take the pictures!
The inclement weather was not the reason that la maison Felix Parent was different. At first, la maison Felix Parent was an enigma. The house was built in the late 1800s but I was not sure which Felix Parent owned the house. I found the clue in the historic plaque that was attached to the house. The plaque said that Felix Parent was a 'charron' or wheelwright. That one clue narrowed down the list Felix Parents to exactly one person who fit the description and timeline exactly.
Not only was Felix Parent the only wheelwright artisan that I have come across during this walking tour but he was descended from a different branch of our Parent family. Felix Parent was descended from Etienne Parent (1674 - 1756) one of the celebrated triplets who were not only born on the same day but they were also married on the same day, February 12, 1696! The other two brothers were Jean and Joseph Parent. Apparently, from what I have read, their wedding was quite the spectacle in Beauport but that is another story.
Felix Parent was born in 1841. I have not yet been able to find the exact date of his birth but I will keep digging. His father was Antoine Parent (1804 - 1871) and his mother was Marguerite Langevin (1809 - 1884). I do have the date of Felix's marriage. He was married on October 29, 1866 to Philomene Cameron. Felix was 25 years old and Philomene was 23 years old. When I traced Philomene's ancestry back to her original ancestor in Canada, he was Thomas Cameron who was born in Inverness, Ross - Shire, Scotland. Philomene Cameron was on Scottish descent which is evident from her maiden name.
In the 1871 and 1881 Census of Canada Felix Parent's occupation is 'charron' or wheelwright. The 1871 Census lists two sons for Felix and Philomene; Felix and Hector. Hector Parent who was twenty years old in 1891 was listed as a wheelwright in the 1891 Census along with his father. It looks like Felix Parent trained his son in the family business.
The 1901 Census had more interesting information about Felix and his family. Felix was 60 years old in 1901 and still a wheelwright. The work of a wheelwright was hard work, especially for a man in his 60s in 1901. Presumably, Hector would have been doing the heavy work since he was half of his father's age in 1901. According to the 1901 Census, Felix and all the members of his family could read and write. In addition, Felix's children could also speak English. There were also details of Felix's income. In 1901 Felix earned $500 which is right on the average for what a artisan like a wheelwright would earn in 1901.
On September 28, 1903, Hector Parent married Angelina Vallee. According to the marriage record, Hector's mother was deceased at the time of their marriage. Felix Parent passed away in June of 1915, during WWI. There are a couple of interesting points in Felix's burial record. It mentions that his wife, Philomene was from Montreal. It was a bit unusual that someone from Beauport would take a wife from Montreal. It would be interesting to find out where that connection came from. What was also interesting was that of all of the people who attended Felix's funeral there was no mention of Hector Parent.
The bit of information that I have about Hector is from the 1921 Census. Hector is listed as a blacksmith and not a wheelwright. Did Hector see that technology was changing and decide that being a blacksmith was more profitable and in keeping with the times?
Knowing what we know about Felix and Hector Parent it is not surprising that la maison Felix Parent was the house of a craftsman. The first floor of the house was Felix's wheelwright workshop. The family lived upstairs. The house was built around 1870. Originally there was a large door at the rear of the house on the first floor that was big enough for a carriage to pass through which made it convenient for Felix to bring carriages in and out of his workshop. Today, there is a large bay window where the carriages door was.
Like the rest of the houses inhabited by the Parent family the house was built from limestone, without a doubt from the Parent limestone quarry. The house remained in the Parent family until 1947. In the 1990s the house was restored. a railing was installed, the balustrades inspired by the original angle plates. The outside walls were re-plastered the roof was restored to its original metal roof which was probably copper.
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