July 18, 2003 Reunions, Relationships & Record Keeping - Part of our Cultural Heritage

Reunions are an important cultural heritage event especially if there is a developing family history/genealogical component. After a rash of Millennium reunions they are on the rise again. My wife and I and some of our children and grandchildren attended her family reunion July 4th & 5th in Midland. We had a great time and it got me thinking about sharing some of the experiences here.

2003 Dusome family reunion.

The patriarch of her family is Francois Juissiane who was born in Quebec in 1793 and died in Penetanguishene in 1872. He was a soldier in his early years and traveled west to the Red River Settlement in Manitoba. He met a Metis woman Francoise Clermont there and they married and had 14 children. One of these children André became the next in line in my wife's family tree. He was born in Fort Garry, Manitoba in 1823 and died in 1868.

Like many names the Juissiame name went through an evolution and became Dussome and eventually Dusome. The reunion is called the Dusome Reunion

The family ended up on Drummond Island in Lake Huron near Sault Ste. Marie where they lived until 1828 when an International Border Commission gave the Island to the U.S. and they were forced to move. They became some of the founders of Penetanguishene and many still live in the area today. All of our 9 Dusome reunions have been held in Midland nearby. Francois' son André married Marguerite Chevrette in 1842 and had 9 children, one of whom was Joseph (1851-1925) my wife's grandfather. André and Joseph owned and ran the Northern Hotel in Penetang for close to 30 years. A verse from a longer poem from the early 1900's describes the hotel's service. 

Joseph Dusome's "hostler is ready for teams at the stall-, Your team he will water, curry and all. His maiden brings victuals and dainties and wait, His steward is carving and changing the plates; The mistress politely and mild in her voice, Says you will take tea, or is coffee your choice; All things are convenient, the house furnished well, To entertain people at the ring of the bell."

Joseph married Marguerite Byrne and they had 12 children including my wife's mother Edna. The early reunions, which began in Centennial year 1967, had some of the 12 children there and all are gone today. The reunions were exclusively for the Joseph Dusome family which has 266 descendants with well over a hundred attending the reunions regularly. Other family lines have their own reunions including one the following weekend. The reunions have been beautifully coordinated by Camilla Murphy and her family in Midland.

The first 2 generations spoke French, were Catholic and were buried in St. Anne's Cemetery in Penetang. My wife's parents are buried in St. Margaret's in Midland. Seven of the Joseph Dusome children, 1 male and 6 females had children. One of them (Amanda) married Edward McConkey who was Captain of the Regina in the great storm of 1916 that I wrote about here in February.

My wife's mother Edna was another of Joseph's children and married Joseph Johnston. The family lived in Biscotasing for a while where Joseph was a lumber scaler. He was there when Grey Owl was there and misbehaving badly. They eventually had 5 children including my wife Eleanor, the youngest, and moved to Port Colbourne where Joseph worked at the International Nickle Company for years. Fate put Eleanor and I in the same class in Grade 10 in 1946. By coincidence we celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary on July 6th at the reunion. Our contribution to the family tree is five children, eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild helping extend the tree through 7 generations.

This photo was taken in 1916 and shows Joseph Dusome, with Edna Dusoem and Aileen McConkey Reeves, front left. She is the oldest living Dusome today at age 92.

No definitive family tree was ever completed until this reunion when Penetang genealogist Pam Tessier from another Dusome line (Joseph's brother Peter John Baptiste) contacted me when she found the word Dusome on the internet in one of my columns. Another Penetang Dusome genealogist Leona Leclair and I helped Pam who generously and professionally put together a remarkable 200 page Family Tree. She attended the reunion with her son, his wife and daughter. The Family Tree was provided to each of the families at the reunion. Pam is working on a master Dusome genealogy covering all of the hundreds of Dusomes from all of the Dusome families. She is also running a workshop on Drummond Island descendants at the museum in Penetang on August 23. Phone 705-549-6690.

A few final notes on the reunion. A reunion is a microcosm of society in general with a wide range of demographics. There were lawyers, teachers, accountants, CEO's etc. etc. in attendance. The person who won the "award" for the farthest traveler to the reunion was a medical doctor from Seattle. Several people were enthusiastic about their Metis connection and some want to seek a status card. 

It is interesting that in spite of the strong French connection and French names, little of the French language remains.

Stan Leclair, husband of genealogist Leona Leclair, mentioned above, provided an interesting story at the reunion. His grandfather, Andrew (1806-1974) the only male to have children in the Joseph Dusome line found that his grandfather was an outstanding professional hockey player in the 1910's and played in a Stanley Cup final. He researched the story and put a large book together which was admired at the Reunion.

As a final note, Leona Leclair pointed out that there are no descendants left with the Dusome name in the Joseph Dusome line with the exception of one Dusome retired in Florida who doesn't come to the reunions.