Henry Joseph Honore Belisle (1850 - 1920)

Born 21 Sep 1850 in Deschambault, Quebec, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Anne (Germain) Belisle — married 17 Feb 1874 in Somerset, St. Croix, Wisconsin, USA

Descendants

Died 16 Feb 1920 at age 69 in Vancouver, Clark, Washington

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Viki Mason [send private message]

Biography

Henry was born in the river town of Deschambault, Quebec in the autumn of 1850. The town was known for it's skilled "River Pilots", and located on the St Lawrence river, between Quebec city and Montreal.

Henry moved south in 1866, as a young man, and settled for about 2 decades in western Wisconsin. He was part of a wave of French-Canadians who were making their way across the border, many to claim homestead land in the new state. Wisconsin had gained statehood in 1848, so surveying and platting had opened up vast areas of virgin pine forest and farmland waiting to be settled. Deschambault and other small Canadian towns supplied many lumberjacks, blacksmiths, teamsters, mill-workers, farmers and more, to the boom in western Wisconsin.

24 year old Henry married 16 year old Mary Anne Germain in 1874.^[1] The couple would eventually produce 13 children.

The 1875 Wisconsin state census shows the Henry Belisle family living in Somerset, a small village on the Apple river.^[2] The tick-marks record 3 males and 2 females, believed to represent Henry, his father Alex, his 1st son Joseph, his wife Mary-Anne & his mother Elizabeth.

The 1880 US census.^[3] 30 Year old Henry was farming with the help of his younger brother Fleury. Also in the home are Henry's wife Mary-Anne, 3 young sons, and Henry's elderly parents.

Henry seems to have moved the family to Argyle, Minnesota in the 1880s, and lived there for a few years. He was commissioned as a Notary Public in 1893.^[4]

In about 1898, Henry moved the family to eastern Oregon, where they farmed for about 5 years near the towns of Nyssa and Ontario.

The 1900 US census finds the Belisle family living in Oregon.^[5]

In about 1904, Henry again relocated the family, this time near Vancouver, Clark county, Washington, about 50 miles SW of mount St Helens. He farmed there also, with the help of several of his sons.

The 1910 US census shows the Belisle family farming in southern Washington state.^[6]

The 1920 US census recorded Henry one last time, less than a month before his death in February.^[7]

He died of stomach cancer on February 16th, 1920, according to this Washington state death certificate.^[8][9]

Research Notes

• The orig maker of this profile claims Henry was listed in the: 1885 Census: Somerset, St Croix, Wisconsin, United States. I can find no record of this, and the Belisle book, pg 43 says he moved to Argyle, Minnesota in 1884.

Sources

1. ↑ "Wisconsin Marriages, 1836-1930", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRXK-YT2 : 11 January 2022), Henry Bilillo, 1874.
2. ↑ "Wisconsin State Census, 1875", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM93-FNF : 1 March 2022), Henry Belisle, 1875.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNHF-2NG : 15 January 2022), Henry Belisle, Somerset, St. Croix, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
4. ↑ Google Book-Executive Documents State of Minnesota, 1894 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Executive_Documents_of_the_State_of_Minn/4KE0AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Argyle+Minnesota+Belisle&pg=PA63&
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSDN-C6Y : 11 March 2022), Henry Belisle, 1900.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGVS-9XH : accessed 29 October 2022), Henry Belisle, Salmon Creek, Clark, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 61, sheet 8A, family 134, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1655; FHL microfilm 1,375,668.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHNJ-ND6 : 4 February 2021), Henry Belisle, 1920.
8. ↑ "Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQ93-1JT : 10 March 2018), Henry Belisle, 16 Feb 1920; citing Vancouver, Clarke, Washington, United States, reference 67, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Olympia; FHL microfilm 1,992,659.
9. ↑ "Washington Deaths and Burials, 1810-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HV7N-1QT2 : 30 June 2021), Henry Belisle, 1920.

See Also

• FamilySearch profile for reference, may contain errors. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KZKJ-XTW
• Find-A-Grave memorial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32020638/henry-belisle
• Billion Graves memorial https://billiongraves.com/grave/Henry-Belisle/120337
• Belisle Book. book pages 36 & 43 http://fahfminn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Belisle-Book.pdf