| The Canadians that left Canada had a distrust of banking institutions. From what I've been told, there was a drought that left the farmers in dire straits. They went to the banks to borrow money for the next year's crops and were charged exhorbitant interest rates. This eventually led to the foreclosure on their farms. Many made their way to New England industrial communities, and found a new life there. But the distrust of banks remained. The close knit French Canadian community turned to each other for help. My great grandmother, Filonese Chaput Menard Martin was a money lender. She left behind some letters and receipts, the evidence of her entrepreneurial skills. |
| Marie Felonise Chaput was born January 13, 1859 in St Damase, Quebec, Canada to Andre Chaput and Philomene Vasseur. Like many other Canadians, in 1875 she moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island to work in the mills. She worked as a weaver in one of the textile mills for 45 years. It was there that she married Julien Menard on April 30, 1877. After the death of Julien, sometime before 1910, she move to New Bedford, Mass. to be nearer a half-sister, Dorilla Tetu. She never spoke of her marriage to Julien or other Menard relations. Sue is having difficulty locating Julien's death/burial record. She has scoured the records in Woonsocket and there is no record of his death there. Felonise passed away on August 30, 1930 and was buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in New Bedford. |
| There is only one picture of Filonese, with her third husband, Pierre Martin. The picture is too large to scan. While there are no pictures to show you, there are many stories to tell. |
| To stories and documents of Filonese |