52 Ancestors #6: Dora Lamere Specht

Hello again!  Here's the bio on my great great grandmother!  She passed away when I was nine days old.  Wish I could have known her!

                Christ and Anna (Couture) Lamere’s eldest child was Dora Rosalea Lamere.  She was born on 20 February 1881, in Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin.  She grew up on the family farm in the town of Lincoln and she received her education in Marshfield.  Dora is my 2^nd great grandmother.

                On 1 July 1902, Dora married Peter Herman Specht at St. John’s Catholic Church in Marshfield.  After their marriage, the couple moved to Stevens Point, Portage, Wisconsin, where Peter was employed as a furniture carver.  By 1905, their family included sons Albert, Harold, and LeRoy (my great grandfather).  The 1905 Wisconsin state census also shows that Dora’s sister Eva is living with the family.  Eva and Dora’s mother, Anna Couture Lamere, passed away in 1898 when Eva was only four years old.  After Dora was married and established, Eva came to live with her.  In 1906, a daughter, Leone was born.  This was followed by a son, Roman Frank, in December of 1907.  Tragically, Roman passed away after only seven weeks.  Daughter Lucille was born in 1909.  In 1910, daughter Germaine was born, but she passed away after only twelve days.   The last child, a son Eugene, was born in 1917.

                The 1920 Census has the family living in the township of Richfield in Wood County, Wisconsin.  Peter is farming; Dora is taking care of the family.  Five of the six kids are old enough to be in school.  Dora’s sister Eva married in 1913 and has moved.  However, after selling his farm in 1914, Dora’s father Christ has moved in with the family. 

                Dora’s father passed away in 1923.  Dora and Peter owned their eighty acres in Richfield until at least 1928.  However, the 1930 United States census shows the family living in Tacoma, Pierce, Washington.  Only son Eugene made the move with his parents.  Peter is working as a wood carver.  They stayed in Washington until at least 1935 before moving again, this time to Wildwood Township, Koochiching, Minnesota.  Eugene is still living with his parents.  According to the 1940 United States census, Peter is back to farming and Eugene works for the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

                After moving back to Marshfield in 1950, Peter and Dora celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  This occasion was also special because it was the first time in over twenty-five years, that all of Peter’s siblings were together again.  A celebration with over seventy people occurred which included a lot of visiting and a picnic lunch.  Also attending were three of their children. 

                The year 1961 brought two celebrations for Dora.  She celebrated her 80^th birthday and her 59^th wedding anniversary.   Dora celebrated the birthday with three parties spread out over a week.  The anniversary brought another party where their remaining five children were in attendance.  By this time the family includes 25 grandchildren and 61 great-grandchildren.  According to the article, Dora enjoyed crocheting and knitting.  She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and their Christian Mother Society.

                Peter passed away on 6 July 1964, after being in ill health for about three years.  He had been in the hospital for a month.  He is buried at the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Marshfield.  After his death, Dora made her home with her son LeRoy and his wife Clara before she had to enter the nursing home.  Dora passed away on 8 June 1975.  At the time of her death she had 25 grandchildren; 80 great-grandchildren; and 22 great-great-grandchildren (including me – I was 9 days old when she passed away).  She is also buried at Gate of Heaven cemetery in Marshfield.

52 Ancestors #5: Christ Lamere

Hi all!  This is the family line I am writing about for the Family History Writing Challenge.  I figured I could take some of that and put it into this!  Hope you enjoy!  

  

              Christ Lemieux was born on 14 March 1845, in Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers), Quebec, Canada, to Louis Lemieux and Julie Marose.   Sometime after moving to the United States, he changed his last name to Lamere.  Christ is my 3^rd great-grandfather.

                Not much is known about the Lemieux family when Christ and his siblings were children.  According to his obituary, Christ came to the United States after the Civil War.  He first went to Illinois before making his way to Wisconsin.  The 1910 United States census states that Christ came to the US in 1866.  While living in Illinois, Christ worked in the lumber industry.  Again, according to his obituary, he would make trips down the Mississippi to St. Louis with rafts of logs each spring. 

                When he came to Marshfield, it was little more than a wilderness.  However, with other settlers like Louis Rivers and “Curley” Couture, efforts were made to establish a settlement.

                Christ established a general store in Marshfield.  When the settlement decided they needed a place for the children to have lessons, the front room over this store was used. 

                In May of 1878, Christ married Anna Couture.  She was the sister of his friend Curley Couture.  Christ and Anna sold the store and moved to Mannville – which at the time was a much larger town than Marshfield.  Before moving again in 1887 to a farm in Lincoln township, Christ and Anna had four children.  Born in 1881 was Dora, in 1883 was Joseph, in 1884 was Archie, and in 1886 was Walter.  Following the move three more children were born:  an unnamed child who was born and passed away in 1890, Ray in 1891, and Eva in 1894. 

                Tragedy struck in 1898 when Anna passed away.   In 1900, Christ’s sister moved in.  The US Census for 1900, the Wisconsin state census for 1905, and the US Census for 1910 all show Salome Landry, who is listed as Christ’s sister, living with the family.  She is a widow, who according to the 1910 Census had four children though none survived.  She was working as a servant.  One may guess that she came to help her brother after his wife passed away.  Christ still had four children at home between the ages of four and fourteen. 

                After selling the farm in 1914, Christ moved in with his daughter Dora and her husband Peter Herman Specht.  Chris LaMere passed away on Thursday, 18 October 1923.  According to his obituary his death was without warning and was caused by a “stroke of paralysis the second in a year”.  At the time he was visiting his son, Ray.  Wednesday evening he said he was suffering for a slight stomach ache so the next morning he walked up to the clinic for treatment.  He passed away that night. 

                He is buried next to Anna at the Hillside Cemetery in Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin.