Acknowledgements

Over the past several years, I have had help and encouragement from many people, of whom several were especially generous in sharing their time and knowledge and as a result became true partners on this project.

Edmund Demers deserves the thanks of many in the extended Demers family for translating the travel journals of Odélie and Télesphore in 1990. It was because of his efforts that I and others became aware of them for the first time. Edmund has been very generous to me with his time, knowledge, and family documents since we reconnected in 2015. Importantly, he shared with me his copy of the handwritten manuscripts of the travel journals, and we spent many enjoyable days together in the attempt to make a corrected French transcription of them. He also advised me in detail on my own English translation of the journals.

Juliette Aubin was extremely encouraging and helpful from the first time I met her in 2015 in the Saint-Nicolas et Bernières Genealogical and Historical Society where she was its genealogist. Afterwards, she shared not only her genealogical and historical knowledge with me through many emails, but spent many, many hours reviewing and suggesting corrections to the French transcriptions of the travel journals and related French-language material in the blog.

Cécile and Jeanne d’Arc Leblanc are two newly discovered cousins (they are the granddaughters of Delvina Demers Bourassa, the youngest sister of my great-grandfather Télespore Demers) who now live in Victoriaville, Québec, but grew up on a family farm in Saint-Fortunat. I met them for the first time in June 2016 when they took my wife and me on a tour of family-related sites in Saint-Fortunat and Saint-Julien. Recently, the two sisters and I researched old tax records in the town office in Saint-Fortunat and, through them, were able to determine the approximate location of many of the Demers family farms on the Chemin du 6ème rang.The two sisters are also very accomplished genealogists and have readily shared their knowledge of the history of the Demers family. And, like Edmund and Juliette, they have spent many hours reviewing and suggesting corrections to the various French texts. Finally, they have shared with me a number of family photos that have or will soon make their way into the blog.

Anita Demers Olko of Lewiston, Maine, is another newly-discovered cousin (she is the great-great-granddaughter of Théodore Demers, Télesphore’s oldest brother), and is a very accomplished genealogist. We met over the phone for the first time in the winter of 2017, even though we have lived for decades only about 20 minutes from each other. I first learned about Anita when I was doing research in National Archives in Québec City and heard that a few weeks earlier there was a woman from Lewiston who recently conducted research there on common Demers ancestors. Like Juliette, Cécile, and Jeanne d’Arc, Anita has generously shared her knowledge of the Demers family genealogy, and she has carefully reviewed and suggested corrections on the drafts of English-language versions of various texts. And she has also shared with me her extensive collection of family photos and other related documents, many of which have been or will be included in the blog.

Although Edmund, Juliette, Cécile, Jeanne d’Arc, and Anita, have reviewed and suggested changes on almost all the documents in the blog, any remaining errors in fact or language are all mine.

There are also a number of institutions and people associated with them that I would like to acknowledge:

The Saint-Nicolas-Bernières Historical and Genealogical Society, in Saint-Nicolas, Québec, and its president, Odette Demers. The Society is located in the old presbetère, or parish rectory, in the center of the village and has an its extensive collection of genealogical documents, photographs and other documents, published and unpublished, on the history of Saint-Nicolas and its families.

The Victoriaville Historical and Genealogical Society and its president, Noël Bolduc, who found me a used copy of Eric Vaillancourt´s out of print book Histoire de Saint-Fortunat and, most importantly, introduced me to my cousins Cécile and Jeanne d’Arc Leblanc. The Society has a large collection of genealogical and historical information on the region and publishes a quarterly journal.

The Sanford-Springvale Historical Society and its president, Harland Eastman. The Society has a large collection of historical material on the Sanford-Springvale area, including hundreds of photos taken at the turn of the 20th century. Of particular interest are the many photos of Fred Philpot, an early photographer in the region.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec in Québec City and archivist Michel Simard, who helped me locate the Demers farm in Saint-Gilles and other material on the Demers family. The BAnQ in Québec City has a vast collection of material on the region around Québec City, including historic photographs and maps.

The Gardiner, Maine Public Library and archivist Dawn Thistle and librarian Ann Russell have helped not only with research but with patiently helping me with learning and using the electronic technology associated with blogging and digitizing photos and other documents. It is true that you can find just about anything or get any kind of help through your local library!

Dennis Doiron, Gardiner, Maine. November 2017.