Touchette descendency history from 1860 forward
Louis Touchette and Marguerite Regnier had two sons that set out to the USA. Jean Louis went to Thompson Connecticut in 1861 and Joseph went to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1855. Joseph would marry Charlotte Onésime Élise Viens and have 11 children. The extended family would live in the Fond du Lac region for a century. Their daughter Joséphine would marry Peter Sheff and their children in turn would be farmers. I have one group family photo and many portraits.
Jean Louis Touchette on his part would marry Onésime Morier in 1844 in Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. After most of their children were born they left for Thompson, Connecticut and the extended family set down firm roots in the area. Many of the Touchette clan are still in Windham County. The daughters in the family are shown in a group photo.
Children of Touchette and Morier:
Alfred (1845 to 1923) married Céline Marcoux and had many children that stayed in the region. One of my third cousins has given me pictures of this family.
Célina (1847 to ?) came to Connecticut with the family but returned permanently to Quebec later.
Joseph (1848 to 1928) married Léocadie Grenier and had 7 sons and 2 daughters.
Frédéric (1849 to 1909) married Octavie Goyette and had 5 children. The family would relocate to New Bedford and beyond.
Marie (1851 to ?) was a dressmaker.
Norbert (1853 to ?) is a mystery to me.
Delphine (1854 to 1922) married Israël Trudeau and had 12 children. I tried to trace the whereabouts of their relatives through the decades since they have a distinctive name. There are many Trudeau family members still in Windham County and many gravestones in the cemeteries there. However, Connecticut data records are not as good as those of Massachusetts. It has led to not being able to get a good grip on the family’s history.
Emma (1856 to 1928) married Honoré Comeau and they ended up going to New Bedford. This was the second marriage of a Comeau to a Touchette in Windham County. Our great grandparents were first.
Mathildé (1858 to 1934) married Joseph Treflé Comeau and as all know moved to New Bedford in 1897. Leads to Laurent, Dorothée, Juliette, and Joseph Romeo. From there clearly, it leads to our first cousins and second cousins.
Cordélia (1861 to ?) married Pierre Vandal but nothing more is known.
Rose Anne (1862 to 1910) married Jean-Baptiste Loiselle and they moved to New Bedford also.
Edmond (1865 to 1868) died young.
Eugene (1867 to 1923) married Mary Gervais and they moved to New Bedford.
If anyone can identify more of the people in the photo, please comment. At back second from right is Mathilde Touchette. Seated older woman is Onesime Morier. Perhaps at right in front is Emma.
Very interesting. I am a Touchette (60 years old) from Oxford Mass. Via New Bedford. Lots of names that seem to make sense to me in your article. A Eugene Touchette was my Grandfather. The Family History I have from New Bedford is that they were mostly Firemen in the city and that my great grandfather was a Chief. My Dad (Richard Touchette) married my Mom (Joan) who was from Worcester and started a family in Oxford. I was surprised to hear that a good number of Touchette’s lived in Thompson Connecticut, that is just over the Mass border with only the town of Webster separating them. Yet I never heard of Touchette relatives in Thompson. The last odd name in your article to me was Marcoux. My Moms sister married a Marcoux. Anyways, nice article and feel free to email with questions or if you have any thing else you’d like to add.
Thanks, Brian Touchette