My Great-Grandmother
My great-grandmother was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia to Napoleon Bourgeois and Dina (Cormier) (Brun) Bourgeois. She was baptized as Ellen Bourgeois at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Springhill on June 1, 1902. Her known siblings were Mary Edith Bourgeois (half sister), Adelard Brun (half brother), Charles Brun (half brother), Anselme Brun (half brother), Beatrice Nadeau Wilson, Leo Bourgeois and Agnes Tomchik. Economic hardship caused by her father's 1913 death led to her being sent to a convent in Halifax, NS where she lived with the nuns. In 1917 she survived the famous "Halifax Explosion" that killed nearly 2000 people and leveled part of the city. In 1919 she came to Massachusetts with her mother and sisters Beatrice and Agnes. On Janaury 26, 1922, in Chicopee, Mass., she became the second wife of Quebec native Wilfred Paradise and they had 7 children before moving to the Baltimore, Maryland area. Her children were Albert, Elaine Whitehead, Rita, Alice Fear, Wilfred Jr., Betty Krickbaum and Robert ("Butch"). She was very small and always nicely dressed. She was also very religious. In her later years she made her home with her sons Al and Butch. One of her favorite things she would do with her great-grandkids was enjoy a good game of UNO. Even well into her 80s she would crawl on the floor with her great-grandkids.
My great-grandmother was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia to Napoleon Bourgeois and Dina (Cormier) (Brun) Bourgeois. She was baptized as Ellen Bourgeois at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Springhill on June 1, 1902. Her known siblings were Mary Edith Bourgeois (half sister), Adelard Brun (half brother), Charles Brun (half brother), Anselme Brun (half brother), Beatrice Nadeau Wilson, Leo Bourgeois and Agnes Tomchik. Economic hardship caused by her father's 1913 death led to her being sent to a convent in Halifax, NS where she lived with the nuns. In 1917 she survived the famous "Halifax Explosion" that killed nearly 2000 people and leveled part of the city. In 1919 she came to Massachusetts with her mother and sisters Beatrice and Agnes. On Janaury 26, 1922, in Chicopee, Mass., she became the second wife of Quebec native Wilfred Paradise and they had 7 children before moving to the Baltimore, Maryland area. Her children were Albert, Elaine Whitehead, Rita, Alice Fear, Wilfred Jr., Betty Krickbaum and Robert ("Butch"). She was very small and always nicely dressed. She was also very religious. In her later years she made her home with her sons Al and Butch. One of her favorite things she would do with her great-grandkids was enjoy a good game of UNO. Even well into her 80s she would crawl on the floor with her great-grandkids.
My Great-Grandmother
My great-grandmother was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia to Napoleon Bourgeois and Dina (Cormier) (Brun) Bourgeois. She was baptized as Ellen Bourgeois at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Springhill on June 1, 1902. Her known siblings were Mary Edith Bourgeois (half sister), Adelard Brun (half brother), Charles Brun (half brother), Anselme Brun (half brother), Beatrice Nadeau Wilson, Leo Bourgeois and Agnes Tomchik. Economic hardship caused by her father's 1913 death led to her being sent to a convent in Halifax, NS where she lived with the nuns. In 1917 she survived the famous "Halifax Explosion" that killed nearly 2000 people and leveled part of the city. In 1919 she came to Massachusetts with her mother and sisters Beatrice and Agnes. On Janaury 26, 1922, in Chicopee, Mass., she became the second wife of Quebec native Wilfred Paradise and they had 7 children before moving to the Baltimore, Maryland area. Her children were Albert, Elaine Whitehead, Rita, Alice Fear, Wilfred Jr., Betty Krickbaum and Robert ("Butch"). She was very small and always nicely dressed. She was also very religious. In her later years she made her home with her sons Al and Butch. One of her favorite things she would do with her great-grandkids was enjoy a good game of UNO. Even well into her 80s she would crawl on the floor with her great-grandkids.
My great-grandmother was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia to Napoleon Bourgeois and Dina (Cormier) (Brun) Bourgeois. She was baptized as Ellen Bourgeois at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Springhill on June 1, 1902. Her known siblings were Mary Edith Bourgeois (half sister), Adelard Brun (half brother), Charles Brun (half brother), Anselme Brun (half brother), Beatrice Nadeau Wilson, Leo Bourgeois and Agnes Tomchik. Economic hardship caused by her father's 1913 death led to her being sent to a convent in Halifax, NS where she lived with the nuns. In 1917 she survived the famous "Halifax Explosion" that killed nearly 2000 people and leveled part of the city. In 1919 she came to Massachusetts with her mother and sisters Beatrice and Agnes. On Janaury 26, 1922, in Chicopee, Mass., she became the second wife of Quebec native Wilfred Paradise and they had 7 children before moving to the Baltimore, Maryland area. Her children were Albert, Elaine Whitehead, Rita, Alice Fear, Wilfred Jr., Betty Krickbaum and Robert ("Butch"). She was very small and always nicely dressed. She was also very religious. In her later years she made her home with her sons Al and Butch. One of her favorite things she would do with her great-grandkids was enjoy a good game of UNO. Even well into her 80s she would crawl on the floor with her great-grandkids.
