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| The name Robert comes from German etymology: HROD = glory, and BERTH = brilliant, illustrious; thus "illustrious conquerer". |
Pierre (changed to Peter later), was the sixth child and fourth son of Alexis and Phoebe. He was born in Chatham on Sept. 15, 1847, and baptized at the nearest Catholic church, St. Pierre in Tilbury East. His family moved to the farm in Pain Court when he was about nine years old. On January 14, 1868 Peter married Julienne (Julia) Gaudreau a young girl whose family also came from Pain Court. Peter was a very distinguished-looking man. He was a farmer in Pain Court but he also worked as a tax collector.
He was a councillor for the municipality of Dover and was deputy reeve (1874-1875) and reeve (1876-1878) during an era when the majority of councillors were English.
By 1891 when Peter was in his early 40's he moved his family to Chatham; although Pain Court had an elementary school the nearest high school was in Chatham and he wanted to give his younger children the opportunity for a better education. Other factors may have entered into this decision: his advancing age, the departure of his three older sons (Felix and George had left to work in the United States and Fred may have already moved to Chatham), and the very young age of his remaining sons (Hubert was eight but would leave home at twelve to study for the priesthood, and Joe was six and Hector four).
In Chatham they lived successively on the North side of Forest Street (c1895), then (c1904) on Emma Street on the North side between Robert and Violet, and finally (c1906) on Third Street where they remained until the end of their lives and where their daughter Emma later raised her two children. Peter worked with his son Fred as a liquor merchant until about 1909 when he developed angina and retired.
He died on June 29, 1919, aged 71 years, and was buried in St. Anthony's Cemetary. The Chatham Daily Planet of June 30th reported his death as follows:
The Death of Peter Robert Life Long Resident of Kent County Called to the Great Beyond A well-known and highly respected life-long resident of Kent County passed away at his home, Third Street, last evening, in the person of Peter Robert, in his seventy-first year.
The late Mr. Robert was born in this city in 1847, and spent practically all his life in this community. For a number of years he was a resident of Dover Township and a prosperous farmer, and during his residence there took an active part in the well-fare of the community. For a number of years the late Mr. Robert served as Deputy Reeve of Dover and had also held office as school trustee of the Board of Education. The deceased was also a member of the C.M.B.A. and in politics a staunch supporter of the Conservative party.
The late Mr. Robert has been ailing for a period of about ten years with angina pectoris, and death was not altogether unexpected but came as a severe shock to surviving relatives of the deceased and a host of friends in the community.
The immediate surviving relatives besides his sorrowing wife, are two sisters, Mrs. J.P. Beechard (sic) of Cohoes, N.Y. and Mrs. Mary Charboneau, of Windsor. Three brothers, Joseph of Detroit; David of Mi ken, Colorado; and John of Kansas City, also survive. The surviving daughters and sons are Mrs. Vital Carron of Lampman Sask., Mrs. Joseph Carron of Windsor, Mrs. J.P. Tiernan of Windsor, and Mrs. H.J. Sullivan of this city, Fred of this city, A.G. Robert of Butte, Montana, F.P. Robert of Denver, Rev. Fr. H.N. Robert of Windsor, Dr. Joe Robert of Toronto, and Hector of this city.
His wife, Julia, was born on Dec. 10, 1848 in Ontario, probably in Pain Court. She had beautiful auburn hair, could not read or write, but had a very sharp mind, particularly for math and bridge. She must have been a very religious woman as well. Because of a vow she had made to the Sacred Heart she dressed her son, Joe, in red (red stockings, red dress) until he was three years old. She was a physically strong woman: she bore thirteen children, twelve of whom survived. Julia died on Dec. 24, l928 aged 80 years and was buried in St. Anthony's Cemetery.
Peter and Julia had thirteen children including one who died in infancy. The older children did not have the advantage of a higher education but the younger children were all sent away to study, some of them through the assistance of their older brother, Fred: Emma went to Mt. Clemens, Mich., to study nursing; Hubert to Montreal for the priesthood; Joe to Toronto for medicine; and Anna to Ann Arbor, Mich. to study music.
In 1891 Fred was working as a hotelkeeper in Chatham and living with his parents and the eight children still at home. By 1895 he was working as a liquor merchant on King Street. In 1896 he married Delvina Beauregard (known as Ida). She was born in Joliette, Que. in 1871 the daughter of Ludger Beauregard and Angelina Auger. Her family moved to Chatham when she was about eight years old.
Fred and Ida rented on Wellington Street in Chatham at first before Fred bought the lovely big house on Wellington where they lived until his death in 1954. In a 1992 visit we found that the house had been converted into a hair salon and art gallery but some of the lovely woodwork, stained glass, and fireplaces remain.
After his father developed angina in 1909 Fred took over responsibility for the family and it was he who helped finance Joe's university studies.
He continued to work as a liquor merchant until prohibition came in when he retired. Unfortunately he lost a lot of his money during the stock market crash of 1929 and so went back to work as the manager of a liquor store.
Fred died in Chatham in 1954, Ida in 1959.
Fred and Ida had six children. Bert
Bert was a lawyer, then became a Paulist priest. He developed severe arthritis and suffered from it for many of the last years of his life. He died in Austen, Texas, in June 1985.
Terrence
Terrence was a doctor of urology and lived in Windsor; his wife, Norah, was still in Windsor in l994. He died in 1958.
Beatrice
Beatrice, born on May 21, 1903, joined the Ursuline order at the age of eighteen and has spent the last years of retirement from a teaching career in the Ursuline Convent in Chatham.
Mary
Mary, born on March 19, l909, married Dr. Donald M. Kennedy (a dentist) and lived in Chatham with their three children, Judy, Terrence, and Richard. She died in St. Catharine's, Ont., on July 27, l994. In 1995 Judy was living in Etobicoke, Ont.; Richard F. and his wife, Judy, were in New Brunswick; Terrence J. and his wife, Virginia, in Stoney Creek; and W. Paul(born Oct.5, 1940)and his wife, Lynda, in St. Catharine's.
Frances
Mary's twin, Frances, married John Doyle and lived in Detroit. They had no children. After John died, Frances moved back to Chatham and was remarried on July 23, l979, to Patrick J. Sullivan at Our Lady of Victory Church, Chatham.
Claire
Claire (a nurse) married Dr. James Moriarity. They had no children.
Phoebe
Phoebe married Jack Savage. Pat and Robert Savage are her children.
Ivan Robert
Ivan married Millie (Mildred) Hall during the 1920's. She had two small children, Roberta and Jimmy, whom Ivan raised as his own. Jimmy died very young and Roberta Conroy lives in Edmonton. Ivan worked for General Motors all his life, mainly in Western Canada. He died very suddenly of a heart attack in 1972 or 1973; Millie died some time later in the '70s.
Felix
Felix became a pharmacist; in 1929 he was living in Toronto.
Beulah
Beulah moved to Lampman to teach school. She married Emile Pourbaix (a Belgian), probably in l916. They lived on a farm in Saskatchewan, and had one child, Albert Eugene. On July 21, 1941, he married Marion Doyle, a schoolteacher in the same country school where Beulah had taught years before. Albert was a pilot with the RCAF and in the fall of that year he went to England and was later posted to the Middle East. He received his commission in England and was with Squadron 417, an all-Canadian squadron which followed Montgomery across North Africa. He was killed on a rescue mission in Tunisia on April 25, 1943. The Pourbaixs left Saskatchewan in 1944 and lived at Glen Head, Long Island, until 1970 when they moved to Ormond Beach, Fl. Emile died in 1972, Beulah in 1986. Their daughter-in-law Marion Pourbaix remained very close to the two of them. She writes: "(Beulah Pourbaix) was a very beautiful woman and kept her beauty and dignity until her death. She was probably the best friend I ever had and I loved her dearly."
They had four children: Francis, Frederick, Anna, and Albert. Fred ended up in Detroit; Anna married an American and lived in the States.
They had two children, Angela and Wilfred. They were both good pianists and Wilfred played hockey in Sault St-Marie. He ended up in the United States.
Julie died at 29 3rd St. in Chatham. She may have been stricken on a trip home or she came home for treatment. Her son, Wilfred was in his early teens at the time. Eugene, her husband, married again and had another child, Judy.
Morning Wedding The wedding of Miss Sophia Robert, of this city, and Joseph Carron, of Pain Court, was celebrated this morning at six o'clock. Miss Robert is a daughter of Peter Robert, of third street. Miss Emma Robert, sister of the bride, was bridesmaid, while Cyril Daniel was best man.
The ceremony was performed by Rev. Fr. James.
The happy couple, after a honeymoon trip west, will take up their residence in Windsor.
The bride, while not well known in society circles, has won the love and honor of many Christian homes. Two years ago, on the death of her sister, Mrs. Daniel, she assumed the care of education of the four little children at the home of their grandparents. Miss Roberts' consecrated services have been recognized by the Sisters of the Ursuline Academy and Rev. Father James by a handsome collection of gifts. All will now unite in wishing her the reward of real and continued happiness. 6
Kids: Ursula, Mary, Benjamin, Christina. Mary went to Brescia Hall (Univ. of Western Ontario) in London and got her degree. They all left the RC church.
Sophie lived in Windsor for the rest of her life. She did not have an easy life and she died of cancer at a fairly young age.
Obituary
Rev. Father RobertA message received in Chatham yesterday announced the death in Winnipeg Wednesday night of Rev. H.N. Robert, for twenty-two years a member of the Catholic clergy in Windsor and Walkerville. The body will be brought to Windsor for burial arriving Saturday.
Rev. Fr. Robert was born in Pain Court forty-six years ago, received his education in Chatham schools and at Assumption College, Sandwich, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1902. (1907 is the more likely date) He was parish priest of Immaculate Conception church in Windsor for fifteen years and also served for a short time at Ste. Anne's church in Walkerville.
He had been in failing health for several years and was taken critically ill during a tour of the Canadian west in quest of health.
Fr. Robert went to Winnipeg to visit his sister, Mrs. V. Carron, in the hope that the change of climate would be beneficial to his constitution. He however gradually sank and died a few days after he entered the hospital.
News of his death has been received in this city with regret. Those who knew him admired him for his great qualities of mind and heart, and the sympathy of the community is extended to the surviving family.
Those who are left to mourn the death are five brothers and three sisters. They are Fred A. Robert of this city, Dr. Joe of Toronto, Hector of Windsor, Felix of Denver, Colo., and George of Kansas, and Mrs. Sullivan of this city, Mrs. Tiernan of Detroit and Mrs. Carron of Winnipeg.7
Rev. Fr. Robert Laid at Rest
Funeral Was Held in Windsor,
The Remains Being Brought Here for Burial
Very impressive was the funeral service conducted over the remains of the late Father Hubert N. Robert held in this city on Monday of this week...The funeral service was held in Windsor and the funeral cortege arrived in this city by motor, interment being made in the family plot in St. Anthony's Cemetery.
Rev. Fr. J.F. Dowdie of Grosse Point Farms, Michigan, officiated at the graveside. There was a large crowd of friends, relatives, priests and parishioners at the ceremony (thirty or forty priests listed).
The immediate relatives present at the funeral included Mrs. Vital Carron of Kampman(sic) Sask....Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Robert, Windsor; Mr. and Mrs. J. Tiernan, Detroit; Rev. F.B. Robert of the Paulist fathers, Toronto; Rev. Mother Bertram of the Ursuline College, Chatham; Fred Carron, Lampman, Sask.; Hubert and Phoebe Robert (Hector's children who died young); F.P. Daniels, Toronto (Cyril and Louise's son); Mr. and Mrs. Beauchard and Mr. and Mrs. Charbonneau of Windsor.8
Once, to prove to a friend how soundly his father slept, Joe fired a rifle in his dad's bedroom. Another time, he put limburger cheese in Emma's shoes before her date with Harry Sullivan.
A Clever Young Man Joseph X. Robert, who has just received word that he has passed his Medical Council, returned home last evening to spend a short vacation at his home here. Joe is the clever son of Peter Robert, of this city. He is now a full-fledged physician and surgeon and is licensed to practice any place in Canada. The city should be proud in the possession of a young man of Mr. Robert's calibre. He has not only done honor to himself and his family, but also to the city.
Dr. Robert has accepted a position as house physician in St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, for the years 1907 and 1908.
Joe is a popular boy in Chatham, especially in athletic circles. His many friends will be pleased to learn that he has secured such a responsible position so soon after his graduation, and will wish him every possible success.9
Joe later went to England (Manchester?) to study opthalmology and returned to Toronto to set up practice as an ear, nose and throat specialist. He married Pauline(?) and they had one son, Paul Frederick, a stockbroker in Toronto. Paul married Aileen McLaughlin and died on April 3, 1993, leaving six children, Irene (Gordon) Smeaton, Joseph (Ruth) Robert, Martha (Hagood) Hardy, Paul (Sally) Robert, Michelle Robert, and D'Arcy Robert.
Robert-Slowey A very pretty event was celebrated in St. Alfonse church of Windsor at the early hour of 6:30 yesterday morning, when Miss Stela (sic) Slowey, daughter of Patrick Slowey, a well respected citizen of Windsor, was united in marriage to H.A. Robert, son of Peter Robert of Chatham.
The bride was attended by Miss Emma Robert, sister of the groom. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Father Hussey in the presence of a few friends and relatives.
After many congratulations, the bridal party left for points east via Michigan Central.
The groom is a well known and popular young Chatham boy, and his many friends here join in extending the heartiest congratulations.9
Hector and Stella lived in Chatham at 80 Cross Street and he worked as an accountant for Fred. He held various jobs after that.
They had two children, Phoebe and Hubert, who both died fairly young. While in his early twenties, Hubert was killed in an automobile accident. Phoebe, a young married woman, died after an operation.
From about 1929 on Hector and Stella lived in Windsor. Stella died in 1951. Hector died January 3, 1959 at Villa Maria Hospital in Windsor, aged seventy-two years.
I could find no birth or baptismal record for an Anna Robert either in Pain Court or in Chatham. However a Marie Rose Aimée Robert was born on July 4, 1888 and baptized in Pain Court on July 22, 1888. The godparents were Anna's eighteen year old sister, Louise, and her husband, Cyrille Daniel. I suspect that Anna was the name that Marie Rose Aimée's family used after her baptism.
When she came of age, Anna went into the convent. Anna had a lovely voice and the nuns sent her to Ann Arbor, Mich. for piano and voice training.
As was the custom she was dressed as a bride for her reception into the novitiate. Her portrait showed a stately, attractive woman in a beautiful satin dress with a train.
While in the novitiate Anna asked her father to send her the little luxuries from home which she missed such as a wicker rocking chair and a supply of ice cream for all the novices.
It was also discovered that she was sending copies of her photograph to all her old boyfriends. She was found to be unsuitable for the religious life and left the convent. She was never heard to play or sing after that day.
She married James P. Tiernan, a salesman for a pharmaceutical company. They lived in Windsor at first but in 1929 she was in Detroit and in 1954 in Indianapolis. They had one son, Robert, who lived in Des Moines, I., and worked for Better Homes and Gardens. He had three daughters.
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