Well … the Thanksgiving holiday has past and most of the Rivard cousins are already preparing for the hustle and the bustle of the Christmas holidays, which seems to start before we even have time to consume all of the turkey leftovers. In my neck of the woods, the Appleton Christmas Parade is the one of the first signs that Christmas is slowly closing in. The second of course are the "early bird" (crack of dawn) sales that take place the day after Thanksgiving at Walmart and other department stores in the area. It seems a little odd this year because generally by now we have some snow on the ground, but this year it has been unseasonably warm in East Central Wisconsin.

For the past two months we have been very busy putting together our annual Family Christmas Newsletter, which covers the happenings in our family from January through December of 2001. We place these newsletters at the end of our family books each year. It is a nice way to keep our records up to date and have a pictorial journal of "who's who" and how much everyone has grown. This year we've added a few photo collage pages including one of my husband's Tremmel ancestors who migrated to Wisconsin in 1857 from Bavaria, Germany.

Christmas for us will be somewhat different this year than in the past. Our main gathering will be the 2^nd weekend in January. On Christmas Eve a few of us will be gathering early in the day at the Assisted Living Home in Chilton to share Christmas with 8 elderly residents who reside there. Santa will be joining us to brighten up what might otherwise be just another day for some of these people. His bag will be bulging if I quit concentrating on this and get to the Dollar Store.

The IARF held its autumn members meeting in Batiscan on November 24^th, 2001. André Dufresne had previously obtained permission from the Vicar General of the Diocese of Trois-Rivières to have access to the first Batiscan Churchwardens record book (1670-1735), a very fragile book that is not usually available to the public. André arranged to arrive one day early so he could search the book and after some bargaining, he obtained the permission to make a photocopy of the whole book. The deal is that he will make a photocopy of the photocopy, will have it bound and will give it to the Batiscan Church so that in the future, anyone wishing to have access to this old book will be allowed to handle the photocopy at will. A preliminary study of the book revealed quite a few hitherto never published information. Did you know, for instance, that Nicolas Rivard, son of Robert Rivard dit Loranger, owned a young slave Indian girl? Or that Julien Rivard Laglanderie son of Nicolas Rivard dit Lavigne was the cantor in the Batiscan Church and that he was partly paid in spirits?

On the 24^th , after a good meal, the conference by René Lévesque went smoothly, although it was a bit short. Mr. Lévesque spoke of the search he performed on the summer of 2000 on the site of Nicolas Rivard’s house in Batiscan, and also of a previous search that he conducted in 1962 on Nicolas Rivard’s farm, on the site of a 3 000 years old Indian settlement. After his talk Mr. Lévesque offered to take us to the site of Nicolas’ house. Those who went, about 15 people, were in for a treat because artifacts were lying all over the place and were picked up by those interested. But one had to sacrifice his shoes to get there because we had to walk about 200 feet in soft mud and manure. Just ask Joe Lavigne! Some of us are now the lucky owners of objects that once belonged to Nicolas. We are told that André was so excited that he locked his car with his keys inside but eventually he was saved by Georges-Henri Rivard and his cellular phone, in time to attend the IARF Board meeting in Champlain. This will be another weekend to remember…

One of our "silent" members is this month's forum member of the month. We don't hear much from cousin Real Dufresne on the forum. He is a member of the International Association of Rivard Families, and helps a lot when it comes time to organize anything in the area of

Trois-Rivieres, where he lives. He is the "silent supporter" type who makes no noise, seeks no official functions but always volunteers to do work that no-one else will do. We all look forward to learning more about you next month, Real. Congratulations.

When asked what made her chose genealogy as a hobby, Anna's reply was that the genealogy bug bit her when she was 13 years old. Her grandmother, Neva Robinson Snyder, was sharing a childhood story with her. This grandmother was a great storyteller and always held Anna's complete and total attention. Anna says, "Grandma could always get a yarn going, as I would call them, and she never left any details out either. I guess that is what really drew me into keeping track of all her stories. At that young age I would keep notes and try and keep everyone's name in order so of course I would just write them all down and then I would ask her who they were, when were they born, and how old was she when this took place?" That is when her grandmother said, "Why don't you just write it down in a good book and start keeping track of who different ones are and how they are related to us and what part they played in our lives?" Her grandmother did not know that she was starting Anna on the road of a long and wonderful journey of investigations that was better than what any child could imagine. It has been the best thing Anna has ever done, but she says that she would never have tried it without her grandmother's nudging her along the way.

That is how it started for Anna. Her family thought she was crazy at first and thought she was such a nuisance when she was on the trail of an interesting story on a relative. Her father called her the bloodhound, which Anna thought was very funny. Anna has kept it up even in her married days, only not as heavy as when she was younger because she was busy raising her family. As her children got older and more independent, Anna's hunger to do more research started it's gnawing at her, so she started doing research again. Only this time she had four more families added to her list of groups to research. This kept her quite busy and driving to more places to find the answers to her many questions. Her children and husband began to understand just how much doing this research meant to her. They started asking questions and wanted to know what she had learned about the different families that she was researching. They actually began to have an interest in genealogy and wanted to know how today's families were connected to those families of so long ago. That is when she started making family genealogy sheets and trees. When her husband saw how much time she was spending on this little hobby, he told her they could get a computer so that it would make compiling the information much easier and easier to work with the data. Her first computer was a Commodore 64, then came an Amiga, and after that came her first IBM Computer. So she grew in her computers as well as in genealogy. Then she started to build her own computers, which is where she is today. She says she has "turned into a computer gadget nut. I have all kinds of toys now. But they still do not take the place of my one love. The obsession of genealogy will always be my first love in Hobbies. Notice I said Hobbies, because nothing takes the place of my real love (Bob). So I guess you would say that is how genealogy became part of my life. It really is in the truest since of the word. "

Her most interesting piece of documentation came from her husband's family when she discovered that his family actually came from France instead of Germany as they had for so long thought. It was just a month ago when one of her correspondents sent her information and genealogy of his family showing that they had come from France instead of Germany. She says, "That really knocked the socks off my husband. I had also been given my husband's great grandfather's citizenship paper, which was very exciting, and it also mentioned where Valentine had come from in France. That was such a revelation for the family so far. They are having a hard time believing that, but it just gives me another road to travel looking for adventure." This Valentine had severed in the Civil War and he had lost his right hand in the battle at Piedmont. This ended his career as a butcher. The family found this very surprising as well, but the best surprise, she says, was when her husband's brothers and sister found out they had Valentine as a grandfather, for no one ever spoke of him or told any stories about him. It was quite a surprise to Anna to find out that her husband's family did not know their grandfather. So this came as quite a surprise to her husband and his family.

Anna says that she has not found any pirates or anything like that in the family closet, but she did discover that this Grandpa Valentine had a mental problem and was placed in an asylum a couple of times after the Civil War. It was quite a surprise to learn that he died in an asylum in Traverse City, MI. Anna says, "I don't believe anyone wanted that to be known about this grandfather, so I call that rattling the bones in one's closet. I am still researching that aspect of the findings on Grandpa, so I may still learn more."

Anna says that she has found the census to be a really wonderful resource to get information, along with going to the area where the family lived and researching the records of the church very carefully. She loves doing cemeteries, doing stone rubbings and reading, and recording epitaphs. She says it is amazing how much you can learn about a person from what loved ones place on the headstone. That is how she has learned a lot of information for her records. She has just recently started using the Internet for research. She has found three family connections just through Surname Boards. She uses the one at Rootsweb, Ancestry and Family Tree Maker. They have given her three contacts with vital family information and genealogy trees. So, she says, "never underestimate what you can learn on the Internet or what you may find in a cemetery or in dusty dark damp places. That really tells if you are a genealogists in heart and soul or just a fly by."

Anna's answer to the question about who introduced her to the forum is a story in itself. Her family had really gotten use to calling her the family historian and record keeper. Mary Ann Mickey approached her Great Aunt Lillie Burkheardt, back in 1996. Her Aunt Lillie told Mary Ann about Anna and all the research she had done. Mary Ann said she just had to talk to her. This Aunt Lillie went to give Mary Ann Anna's phone number, but wasn't sure she had the correct number. She gave Mary Ann the phone number of her cousin, Paulette, who in turn gave Mary Ann the right phone number. So you could say MaryAnn went searching for Anna . That was well before the forum was even started. Then Mary Ann started talking and sharing family connections and history more and more, and then there was talk about making this site where more cousins could come and join in and share information and get to know one another. Anna thought that would be a great idea. That is when she met or got acquainted with Greg Revord, who, with the help of Mary Ann, got the forum off the ground and into its infancy. So Anna was one of the first group of cousins, a chartered member of the forum. She says, "now it's in the toddler days. My how it has grown, and it still is growing. How wonderful an idea to see blossom, an effort of many coming together and becoming a very important part of our lives."

In answering the question about which member of the forum was most helpful to her, Anna says, "Oh Yes, I would honestly have to say that was Mary Ann. She has been my shinning star. She has really helped me so much in connecting members. I was surprised to find out they were our family. She is the one who searched me out and we just seemed to click right off and have been close every since. She has a compassionate heart and cares deeply and much as I do about genealogy, so I guess that is another plus for us. We never get tired of searching and searching those old records. We even go to the library in Saginaw when I come down. We like each other's company very much. You know I cannot go and not mention Alain, and the Digger, (also known as Andrè Dufresne). They have been great helpers in my translation difficulties and with other things as well. They both are very nice gentlemen and I am happy to have them as cousins. Now there is an Angel in the wings here, that must be recognized as well and that is sweet adorable Henry. He has been helping me collect all these wonderful obits, for a obit book that I have been putting together. He has a heart of gold in him, and such a beautiful sense of humor as well. Love You Henry. So as you can see our forum has really been so beneficial to me and I am sure it has been to so many others as well. It is a good place to come and share, because everyone there cares and is so helpful. You are always learning something new. There are many others that have helped me along the way as well, and to all of you, I give one big "Thank You."

The other sur-names that Anna is currently researching are as follows: Walter, Dennis, Labelle, Plamondon, Snyder, Lenox, Parish, Balenger, Saucier, Ver Snyder, Goldsmith, Schlosser, Claspell, Dyer, O'Bringer, Robinson, Westover, Doolittle, Smith, and so many others.
 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

1951 was a very busy year all over the world. Here are just a few of the things that took place then.

1. American Novelist Kurt Vonnegut Published "Player Piano"

2. American Poet Marianne Moore, Published "Collected Poems"

3. American Writer J.D. Salinger, Published "The Catcher in the Rye"

4. American Writer James Jones, Published the war novel " From Here to Eternity"

5. Ten million television receivers were installed in U.S. homes

6. The first successful videotape for recording television images was demonstrated

7. UNIVAC 1, the first commercial computer, was accepted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census

8. Julius & Ethel Rosenburg were sentenced to death for espionage against the U.S.

While in a town in Michigan, called Flint in the Genesee County area, Beatrice Margaret (Robinson) Walter & Albert James Walter Sr., both the age of 24, and Albert, being a truck driver for the Hamady’s Brothers Grocery Stores, were having their third child, a girl, being born on August 29, 1951, in St. Joseph Hospital. She was given the name of Ann Marie Walter, but I like to only go by Anna, Please!!! There is a story to that one later. Mother said I was 8 pounds. I forget the time and the condition of the day, but I was born all the same, for I am proof of that. Mother and Dad took me home to their first home, which was on 813 Elizabeth Street, Flint, MI. I am not sure how long they stayed there but I do remember going to the next house on 4333 Columbine Street, in Burton Township and this is where I started my schooling. I can remember this place pretty good because it had lots of memories one would not forget too easy as a child. One was my older sister getting hit by a motorbike. The accident caused a serious cut in her forehead and a brain concussion. She was pretty serious, but she came through okay. She still has the nasty scar though. The other memory is that of my 1st grade year. I was writing at my desk and I went to look at the end of my pencil. As I did that, a boy from behind me pushed my face down on to it. The pencil lead stabbed me pretty good. I still carry the scar from it and the lead. I smacked that boy so hard he saw stars. However, he never bothered me after that. We moved a few more times, really quit a few, so many times it was so hard to have any close friends or friends for that matter. We were living on Donaldson Street in the inner city of Flint when I was seven. This is when I made my Holy Communion at St. Pius X Parish, which is on Hogarth Street. Now we did not live near the church from which I made my Holy Communion. It is the church of my maternal grandmother. So we never, ever went to any other church but Grandmother's. My father drove us to church every Sunday without my mother. She never went to church with us ever. It was always up to my father. We would have Mass and then we would go straight to catechism class after Mass. He would visit Grandmother while we were in class. My older brother and sister found it very hard to memorize their prayers so my mother made me responsible to teach them their prayers, so they could make their sacraments at the same time as me. Mother said we would have no second chances here. So my siblings really resented me pretty much for having the authority placed on me to make sure they learned their lessons. Boy, what a burden that was! We did make our communion all together. Years later when I meet my husband, Bob, whom I have been married to for 33 years, I learned that he, too, was in my Holy Communion class, though we did not know it till his mother showed me his communion picture and gave it to me. Yup! There we were. All four of us in that picture. Now that was very eerie for me to have someone way back in my life and then to have him be part of it in the future and you don’t know it will happen. But that is exactly how it took place.

So from there I went to more schools and different towns and finally my parents got into their heads that maybe we should stay in one place for a while and that place happen to be 2110 Nedra Street. I meet my husband in that neighborhood. I was involved in my church with my grandmother because our house on Nedra Street was real close to hers. She lived on the next street up from us. So going to church really got easier and Grandmother gave it more meaning. Grandmother and I sang in the choir for over 12 years. We stood beside each other every Sunday morning. That was such a lovely time.

Let's see. I got married when I was just turned 17. We were married in October 19, 1969 at St. Pius X, but you see we have two dates to celebrate. We were married in what they called a secret marriage to protect the unborn child back then, May 16, 1969. They did things strange then, but we found out we have to use the May date for all legal documents, not the church date. The church was supposed to use May 16, but you don’t tell the Catholic Church what to do. Right? So that is how two dates came into play. Okay. I was married pregnant and very young, but I was not stupid because I knew that eventually I would finish my education. Okay, my oldest child was born in Jan. 1969, and our second one came in Oct. 1971, which was a beautiful baby girl. The first was a cute little boy, by the way. So while I was mother of two children and having our first home to take care of, I wanted to fulfill my dream of finishing my education. So I started going to night school three times a week and while I was doing this, I also worked at Red Roof Inn, and raised my kids and still be a good wife. Boy was that a full plate! However, I did do it and I accomplished my GED (General Equivalency Diploma) two years down the road. After this time period we were blessed with another child, a boy, which was a very difficult pregnancy. He too was special in care and attention, but has grown into a marvelous young man today. I also took several other classes to enrich my studies; I went to school to learn how to work on computers because they were fast becoming a part of our world and jobs. So I learned how to work with them and the programs that you use with them. By learning these skills I was able to get better jobs and have more of a selection of positions. I was also learning at the same time more in depth studies of my religion as well. I was a CCD teacher for nearly 16 years, and I worked with special needs children, of which I loved very much. By having this experience, I then started teaching at Elmer Knoff School for Special children on a daily bases. Then from there I continued my education with more classes in clerical skills and started putting them to use as a substitute secretary for the different school districts. I had several jobs like that. My last positions were working with kids no one wanted to deal with anymore; the hard-core kids and ones who raised themselves and just had no one who cared if they lived or died. That is the truth; even teachers were giving up on them. I worked in the office of these schools and I reached out to these kids and got great results, results that even my boss, the superintendent, was impressed with. They said, " Anna, you have a gift with these kids. Keep doing what you are doing and maybe you will make a difference in some of their lives." I saw several of them graduate and some with honors. That is quit remarkable. I was proud of them and I showed it to them. You cannot hide true feelings from kids. They know the difference. Right now, typing this, I can look up on my desk and see the kids that had touched parts of my life and enriched my life as well. For my going away gift, they made this huge collage of all of them and pictures with me interacting with some of them on the last day of my job. It was very touching. So that is the job I did before retiring with my husband. That was summer of 1998. All through this time as well, I was a minister to the shut-in’s of our parish and I worked at the hospital with the terminally ill. I had a very full and life and still do.

I have other interests as well. I have taught different needlework classes and taught quilting and many other sewing skills. My favorite is cross-stitching and crocheting. Gardening is another passion that I have, but have not done that in a while since we built our home. But that is coming along as well as some landscaping done this past summer. My husband had built me a cedar swing 27 years ago and this past summer we rebuilt a cedar seat for it. I stenciled and painted on it and that gave it some character. Every one loves it. I also play darts and I am pretty good at it. I love going fishing as well out on our 20’ pontoon with my husband and our two dogs. One is a black lab and the other is a Golden Retriever, and they are wonderful pets. I have been teaching them sign language as well so they understand sign when I use it on them. I use signing as my second language, for I have a 60 % hearing loss and have to rely on my signing to communicate sometimes. My husband is my interpreter in large crowds, for that is where I cannot hear at all. But I have not let this cause me any problems in communicating with people or doing a job. I read lips pretty good. I got body language down really well. So with all three things I get along quit well in the hearing world. In fact some have a hard time believing I have a hearing problem. But I do and I have gone to school to learn how to sign and use other ways to communicate with the hearing world around me. Just don’t yell at me, that is what most hearing people seem to do at a deaf or hearing impaired person. We can understand you in normal voice as well. Our youngest son has a hearing problem as well. My father’s mother was deaf in her later years; my own father was pretty deaf by the time he died. At first I was scared of it but time has taught me that I can live without hearing but please, don’t take my sight. You would be surprised how much you depend on your vision.

As hard as my life has been at times, it has structured me in a way to be a survivor and to be strong, to know that I can get through anything with my faith, and keep going on. I am a fighter and I believe in justice whole-heartedly. I am a real fighter for a good cause or something I believe in. I have very deep religious morals but I would never push them on anyone. We all have to be accountable for our own decisions and actions. Our children learn from our examples, so I can only hope my children have learned good ones from me. With all the things I have dealt with in my life, I have learned most of all is to forgive, give compassion where it is needed and be strong and stern when love demands it. This is how I raised my children. They in turn are raising their children like that, but with some differences. They are strong individuals and I am proud of all three of them. The two oldest have given me five grandchildren all together. The youngest has not found Miss Right yet. He has high standards, so I pray God will bring the right one to him. We all worry about our young.

My future goals are pretty simple. I just want to grow old and enjoy my lovely grandchildren and teach them wonderful things. I want to teach them all the great history of their ancestors and they do have a lot of history in their line. Well, I guess this covers everything. I cannot think of anything more.

Yes, there's one thing more. Don’t be afraid to thank someone who has really impressed you enough to alter your life, to change your destination with their kind of guidance. They were great examples and taught you so much that you wanted to shape some part of your life after their example. What greater tribute to give to someone who loved you enough to teach you these valuable things, to give you hope when you thought there was none to have? This I give to my maternal grandmother, Neva Marie (Snyder) Robinson, and my Auntie Glora Walter. I was also blessed with the greatest mother in-law for she was raised so much like me and we really understood each other so well. She helped me to have a forgiving heart and still love someone when they hurt you so badly. That is real love. That is leaving part of yourself with someone so they can grow and in turn, you continue to live on.

Anna, The Highlander, Schlosser

The date of the settlement of Prairie du Chien has been usually given as 1781 when Pierre Antaya, Augustine Ange and Bazil Girard returned from making a treaty with the Fox Indians at Mackinac in company with Governor Sinclair. It was never stated whether Antaya, Ange, and Girard, signed the treaty with the Indians or that Gov. Sinclair signed it and these three settlers paid the Indians for the land themselves or all of the settlers at Prairie du Chien. This so called treaty with the Indians was most likely an incident in the residence of traders more or less continuous since 1885 and was to confirm title to the land.

When Nicholas Perrot was appointed governor of the Northwest Territory he went to Green Bay in 1685 to assume command and there met a delegation of Miamies who "begged Perrot to set up his establishment on the Mississippi near the Wisconsin in order that they could sell their furs there." LaPotherie in 1685 says "establishment" means a fortified trading post, "advantageous situation as against the attacks of neighboring tribes." This fort was named Fort St. Nicholas and is mentioned in various contemporary documents.

Fort St. Nicholas is inscribed on the map prepared in 1688 by J.B. Franquelin for presentation to the French King and is marked near the mouth of the Wisconsin River. This map was made in Quebec, certified by the Canadian governor as "very accurate" and pronounced by Parkman the most remarkable of all the early maps of the interior of North America.

In 1755 there was published the map of D'Anville on which is marked "Old French Fort of St. Nicholas."

In 1755 M. Bellin on his map comments that "Nicholas Perrot built a fort named St. Nicholas at the mouth of the Wisconsin."

In 1762 the map of Thomas Jeffreys of England designates "Fort St. Nicholas, destroyed."

In 1767 the Amsterdam atlas of Covena & Mortier locates "Ancient Fort" at mouth of Wisconsin.

In geography published about 1780 by Barnes of London locates Fort St. Nicholas.

The first French fort had but a brief existence and another fort was established in 1755.

That there was a continuous residence of French traders at Prairie du Chien from 1685 to 1755 is not contended, but that there was an Indian village within the region of the Old French Fort St. Nicholas is probable and that traders and Indians met here to traffic furs and other commodities with more or less intermittence can scarcely be denied. That Indians inhabited the locality from time immemorial is evidenced by the fact that there was an ancient tradition among the Indians that these Prairie du Chien lands should be neutral ground, free from tribal strife and untrammeled for traffic.

In the petition of land owners of Prairie du Chien in 1816 to Congress for relief as to title it is stated " that in the year 1755 the government of France established a military post near the mouth of the Quisconsin, of which Mons de Marin was the commandant; and that many familes settled themselves in the vicinity of the post,"… and "founded there the village of Prairie du Chien, which has continued until this day." This document was signed by men who were here in 1781 or earlier. This petition was referred to the Committee on Public Lands and by that Committee recommended to Congress for favorable action, repeating in its report without question the above historical statement.

In 1777 Gen. Carleton feaing the disaffection of the frontier French traders, sent Charles Gautier on a journey among the border settlements and the Indian tribes and Gautier's journal has the following entry, "27 Jan. 1778, I arrived at Prairie du Chien at Sieur Lese's where I obtained information as to winter quarters", showing there were settlers here at that time.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says, "Godfrey de Linctot, a trader of Prairie du Chien, acting as a agent for Gen. George Rodgers Clark, detached several western tribes from the British adherence, and personally led a band of French Settlers to his aid", which was in 1779.

Capt. J. Long in Voyages & Travels says in June 1780, "the Indian traders had depositied their furs at La Prairie des Chiens, or Dog's Field where is a a town of conderable note, built after the Indian manner, under the care of Mons. Langlade, the king's interpreter." This fort was destroyed that same year.

Micheal Brisbois made affidavit before Isaac Lee, Oct. 21, 1820 that he came to Prairie du Chien in 1781 and that Prairie du Chien has been occupied and cultivated before and since deponant's arrival in the country."

B.W. Brisbois said that he understood from his father Michael who was present at the Sinclair treaty in 1781 that Antaya, Ange, and Girard were acting as agents for all the settlers here.

That there has been a continuous residence of white people at Prairie du Chien with but little or no intermission since 1755 is reasonable to suppose. [Source: The Madison Historical Library, Madison Wisconsin]

Three hundred and ninety-nine messages passed over the forum this past month. We have added five new members to bring our number to 312 cousins online. We do hope that the new cousins will identify themselves and become active members of the forum. A couple of our cousins have asked to be withdrawn for the time being. Tom Dufour, our cousin in Windsor who did such a fine job of heading up the rendezvous this past summer, will be taking a leave of absence from the forum as his schedule has become more demanding in his work and baseball duties. We'll look forward to having Tom back with us on a regular basis in the future.

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS MONTH:

• That you can only right click on a mouse for a non-MacIntosh computer.
• That one should never heat water in a microwave.
• That the Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society can't spell. They had Kankankee Vealley Genalogical Society.
• That this is the correct way to spell Desrosiers and that it means "rose brushes". It can also be DeRosier, Desrochers, or Deguire.
• That Larry has a busy daily schedule.
• That Jan had an odd week.
• That the November 18^th meteors would be the largest display in 35 years. Fog prevented some from seeing this.
• Two people videotaped the presentation that John T. Rivard gave in MN to the MN Genealogy Soc.
• That Baril and Barry are the same name.
• That a Joe Rivard played football for a Chippewa Falls, WI team in 1999.
• That Robert Lacoursiere whose nameplate was found at the World Trade Centers is alive and well.
• That Henri Lanouette found a headstone in an Enfield, CT graveyard with the names of Lillian and Henry Rivard on it.
• Dawn found out that UTB means "Up the block" as a reference to JG's girlfriends.
• That Renaud is not another spelling of Rivard.

CONDOLENCES AND PRAYERS: went out to Bill and Anna Surprenant on the death of Bill's mother on November 21. Prayers are being said for the young son of Anna Schlosser so that he will get negative medical results for cancer when he goes in for tests later this month.

VIRUS ALERT: about the latest email worm.

It propagates itself by automatically emailing itself around the Internet. The worm also does other nasty things, you can read all about it here //securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.badtrans.b@mm.html">

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.badtrans.b@mm.html

So if you are getting messages about email that you don't remember sending then you most likely have this virus/worm or one of the other many others just like it. So if you get an email with no content and the sender has an "_" in front of the username then it's most likely caused by someone trying to send you that virus. One cousin did get a virus this month and quickly got rid of it without infecting anyone on the forum.

WEB SITES OF INTEREST TO RIVARD RESEARCHERS:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beebeewood&id=I4048

http://www.usinternet.com/users/dfnels/index.htm is the URL for the trade goods - midwestern genealogy / history prior to 1840. Jan says this "is a very interesting web-site, but it should be used with a smidgen of caution."

http://www.kvgs.org/deathindex/ is the URL of the Kankakee Valley County Death Record Index.

For Searches in Ancestry.Com Dawn tells us the following: "After you do your search and get the list of census records, you can actually search for that particular page and see everyone on the page you are interested in. To do this, do your search, then when you see something you are interested in, go down to the bottom of the page where it says Refine Search. Get rid of the name that is in there, and enter first the township (without any periods) and then the page. For example, 9 w newark 244. Then hit the search. This will show you everyone who is on page 244."

http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Flats/1865/Newsletters/news.html is the URL for all of the Rivard Forum Newsletters so if you've missed one and wish to read it, this is the site to go to.

Mary Ann Mickey has uploaded another file to our website. She says, "Here is another piece of history for us to ponder and use in our search for ancestors. Dr. Hall has done extensive work on the early slave records. Searchable database online at http://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/fields.php I've abstracted all records pertaining to Rivard/Rivarde and uploaded the file to the forum file cabinet. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rivard_forum/files/Slave%20Records.doc This is a table in Word format. If you'd prefer and excel file or text file, just let me know and I'll send it to you directly You'll find Antoine, his son Francois, widows of both, as well as the other early LA Rivard's (Jean-Baptiste, his son J-Bte, daughter Marianne, and grandson Achille). Later records have notary listed. I'm sure the notary was listed for earlier records, but not abstracted by the volunteer."

HELP NEEDED: (& RECEIVED)

• Wanda asked for help in finding some information from the National Archives of Canada. André was able to find some of the things she requested.
• Nickie asked for the translation of a Rivard entered in the 1805 City of New Orleans directory and got that.
• Lance, a new cousin to the forum, asked the following question: "Claude Rivard dit Loranger married Marie Catherine Roy dit Chatellerault Feb.14, 1695 or 96. On Feb.15, 1735/36 they both died, the day after their wedding anniversary. What happened to them? Another thing I noticed was that two of their sons died July23, 1760. They were Francois and Nicolas" The answer came from cousin André Dufresne. "In 1734-35 there was a smallpox epidemic in New France. It could be the cause of their death. 1760 was the year after the first battle of Quebec and there was an important starvation problem all over the colony. Then Chevalier Levis, still holding Montreal, tried to overtake Quebec City from the British. He failed when the British Navy showed up on the St. Lawrence River. Montreal capitulated on September 8, 1760. The 1760 deaths may be due to the starvation or the two brothers may have been soldiers who died during the siege of Quebec."
• A cousin was wondering "How do I read the orphan's page? I was looking for Caleb Rivard married to Josphine Laferte (have no idea whose line this is), and I found them listed in the 1900 census. It showed that they have no children. Now I'm assuming they must have had children because otherwise, how would someone be connected to them. I couldn't find Caleb Rivard in our database. Is there some way I should know who is related to them? I just want to ask about what children they had so I can keep researching." Mary Ann answered this one and announced that Alain has found the connections for a couple of our orphan lines.
• Another cousin asking for help says, "Do we have any cousins in the Los Angeles area who could look up a tombstone for me? My grandfather's brother Albert Dufresne died April 3,1954 and was buried April 10th, 1954 in the Valhalla Cemetery in LA. I would love to know what is written on his tombstone or better yet, get a picture of it. Can anyone help? Thanks." Chris Scott volunteered to give this cousin a helping hand when she goes to Los Angeles in December. The URL for the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness in California, http://www.raogk.org/californ.htm, was given. These are volunteers who will do lookups and cemetery searches in their area for people who live elsewhere.
• Lance Loranger asked if there is a cousin that could help him and act as research guide when he and his brother go to Trois Rivieres. Knowing where to search can certainly save time when one does not know the area. Hopefully, a cousin familiar with the archives in the Trois Rivieres area will be able to help them.

• A few more Rivardes were found in the New Orleans Census. None has yet been connected to Antoine, son of Nicolas who lived there in 1710 until his death in 1729. More is being found on Rivards/Rivardes who lived in the Louisiana and New Orleans area. Marriages and deaths from the 1850 and 1870 census were recorded.
• An Augustin Revoir married to Sophie Lessard was found in the 1870 MN census. He was not the Augustin Rivard that was the son of William Rivard dit Dufresne and Adeline Trudeau.
• Lyle Lacoursiere reported on his trip to Brussels. He got some disappointing news when he could not find the information he was seeking on the Rivards or Rivarts. He was directed to another place north of Brussels and to a town in France to seek information.

Alain Gariépy sent me the following RX for avoiding viruses for the newsletter. This particular one has brought up somewhat of a controversy. While some believe it works well, others claim it is a hoax. The best solution to avoid viruses is to be cautious of the attachments you open and keep your virus program updated on a regular basis.

A friend of mine sent me this procedure to avoid spreading a virus if you ever get one. May be you would like to put it in the newsletter? Virus is the talk of the town about every month, so why not give a (partial) solution?

Here is how to proceed to avoid sending a virus to your contacts.

For those who don’t know, many viruses expand by themselves; they send themselves to all your contacts in your address book. Here is an efficient way to avoid that situation.

This will not protect you from having a virus, but it will prevent viruses, if you ever get one, to spread itself to all your friends listed in your address book.

So to avoid that, create a new contact in your address book in the name of 0000 without any address or any other detail.

This new contact will be first in your list. If a virus tries to send a message to all the contacts of your list, it will try to send itself to your first contact (0000) but since there is no address, your computer will automatically react (by making an error) and the virus will be stopped without having spread to anybody else. It is very simple, but it works and it is a proof of good-manners and responsibility towards your friends.

Caramel Corn
 

Ingredients

1/2 lb. Butter (not Margarine)

1/2 c. White Corn syrup

1 c. Brown sugar

1 bag Old Dutch Puff Corn

1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees pour puff corn in large baking dish

Melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup until bubbly, cook 2 minutes, add baking soda (mixture will foam) remove from heat pour over puff corn, bake for 45 minutes stirring every 10 minutes

Pour on wax paper to cool, break apart and PIG OUT

BE SURE TO CLEAN BAKING DISH RIGHT AWAY OR CARAMEL STICK AND DOESN'T CLEAN EASY … This month's recipe was shared by Diane Dorn. It's one of her dad's favorite sweets during the holidays.

BROWN SUGAR........To soften hardened brown sugar, place a slice of soft bread in package and seal tightly for a few hours. Use a grater if you need it right away.

BROCCOLI....to cook stems and florets equally, cut an X in the stem.

BUTTER.....to soften, use a grater. Save the wrappers in a plastic bag in the freezer. Use them to grease pans.

HAMBURGERS....for fast cooking, put a hole in the center of the burger.

HONEY....before measuring,, spray cup with non-stick spray.

POPCORN.....store in freezer...Stays fresh and eliminates excess unpopped kernels.

WINE......Club soda works best and is usually handy for removal of stain. For stubborn stain, use a paste of dishwasher detergent and water. Scrub and wash in hottest water possible.((this one really works). Sprinkle tablecloths with salt immediately after spill.

ENJOY............Peg j;o)

Napoleon took 14,000 French decrees and simplified them into a unified set of seven laws. This was the first time in modern history that a nation's laws applied equally to all citizens. Napoleon's seven laws are so impressive that by 1960, more than 70 governments had patterned their own

laws after them or used them verbatim.

A drunk man who smelled like beer sat down on a subway seat next to priest. The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say, Father, what causes arthritis?"

"My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol and a contempt for your fellow man."

"Well, I'll be damned," the drunk muttered, returning to his paper. The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"

"I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does".