This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: OHaraHaworth68 Surnames: ARBOUR, GUERNON-BELLEVILLE GUERNON BELLEVILLE BIERMAN CHINIQUAY LOISELLE YERNEAU GRENON Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.arbour/323/mb.ashx Message Board Post: 19 May 1864 - Born in Beaverville, Illinois, Armeline ARBOUR was the 6th of 12 children of journeyman and farmer Medard-Laurent ARBOUR and his first wife Domithilde GUERNON-BELLEVILLE. Armeline was born just a couple of years after the arrival of her family in the United States. The history behind their migration is somewhat interesting and is told by Arthur William BIERMAN: "Religion, a chance to maintain their French Culture, and farming brought the Arbours and Cotes to Iroquois County. Charles Chiniquay, a priest from Quebec, Canada, encouraged the earliest settlers to migrate from Quebec to Beaverville and the surrounding towns of Lerable/Ste-Anne. The Arbours and Cotes moved to the Beaverville area around 1870. In the mid 1850s, England overtook Canada so French Canadians were being forced to give up their French heritage. Father Chiniquay, looking for a better life, sailed down the Great Lakes to Northern Illinois. He saw rich farmland and returned to Canada to write a! rticles urging French Canadians to migrate to Illinois. He brought followers who started the L'erable, Beaverville, St Marie, and St Anne Catholic Churches. Founding families came to Illinois by way of the Great Lakes. They purchased wheelbarrows in Chicago for their belongings and continued walking for 85 miles. The newly settled communities of these French Canadian inhabitants were basically stable until 1860 when Chiniquay became too controversial for the Catholic church who excommunicated him for performing mass in French (instead of Latin) and for being married. This split the communities again with some following Chiniquay and others remaining Roman Catholic. Many families never spoke to each other again. Chiniquay later founded a new Presbyterian church." Having grown up in a small farming community, Armeline became a young bride and moved to the larger city of Kankakee, IL - although it is unclear which came first. Regardless, Armeline seems to have married by about! 1880, placing her no more than 16-years old, to William B. LOISELLE, a native of Kankakee. While William toiled as a laborer, tiler, and carpenter, Armeline raised their children, Cora, Laura, Leo, and Arthur, plus 2 who did not live long enough to be recorded. Armeline also had various monikers, including Hermeline, Adaline, Erminie, and Harmonia. Armeline was 55-years old when she passed away in Kankakee on 30 March 1919. William lived many more years before leaving this life on 28 May 1945, as age 85. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.