Source: The papers were kept by the Hus Lemoine family of St. Robert, Québec in a homemade box lined with hand-woven linen. Family member Alma Lemoine of Southbridge, Massachusetts inherited the box when the Québec farm was sold. Her daughter Anne Lavallee donated the papers to the French Institute in 2016.
Language: French and English
Extent: 1 legal document box
Access: The collection is available to researchers and other interested parties. Permission for use or reproduction can be obtained from the director of the French Institute, and is subject to the Institute’s user policies.
Preferred Citation: Hus Lemoine Family Collection, French Institute, Assumption University.
Scope and Content: The Hus Lemoine Family Collection is an eclectic collection of records spanning the years 1787-1898. As most of the family during these years were illiterate, they kept a wide range of documents, with marriage contracts and deeds kept next to receipts for mundane payments and shopping lists. In many cases a single document in this collection might pertain to multiple members of the family, due either to the subject matter or to the repeated use of names across generations of the extended family.
There are a substantial number of land records, notably deeds and surveys. The earliest dates to 1787 for a tract of land in the “Pot au Beurre” area near Sorel, Québec. Most of the deeds deal with land transactions in the same area, and the final deed is dated 1880.
A large portion of the collection relates to Barthélemy Hus dit Lemoine (1766-1838), including two marriage contracts, a full inventory of all goods of his late wife Agathe Cartier, his will, and various other records. Records related to Charles Hus Lemoine (c. 1809-1855) and his son Charles Hus Lemoine (1835-1858) are extensive and include: bills, receipts, and a survey of property, among other records. A smaller number of records pertain to David Hus Lemoine (1812-1866) and Antoine Hus Lemoine (1814-1885), including a building agreement, I.O.U.s, and a loan. The bulk of the collection pertains to Paul Lemoine (1840-1933), and includes receipts, legal agreements, I.O.U.s, his and his wife’s will, and a letter written by Paul to his mother.
There are records for lesser-known family members and lists of local habitants in the surrounding area of the Hus Lemoine family. Of major interest is a small note demanding the arrest of a Mr. Lemoine in 1841.
The donor’s mother, Alma Saulnier, traced her family’s genealogy, and the collection includes various notes from that work, as well as the final document she created. Alongside many of the records in this collection are transcriptions and translations, also by Alma Saulnier. Lastly, there are processing notes from 2016- an incomplete list of all items in the collection, as well as some translations/identifications of key items.
Series Outline: This collection does not have any series, but rather a folder-level inventory. Most of the documents either have a transcription and/or translated key data alongside.
Full Finding Aid:
Appointments recommended.
The French Institute follows the academic calendar of Assumption University. Exceptions to our regular hours may be found here.
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Kate Bradley
Librarian/Archivist of the French Institute
508-767-7495
For reasons of preservation, French Institute collection materials do not circulate; however, non-rare materials are allowed to circulate through the d’Alzon Library or inter-library loan with the director’s permission.
It should be noted that the Institute’s collection includes a number of Franco-American newspapers from the New England region. Most consist of bound copies and nearly all have been microfilmed. To preserve the bound volumes, the Institute encourages scholars to consult the microfilm copies whenever they are available, for example, at the American Antiquarian Society or the Boston Public Library.
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