Lydia LaBrune Schirmer 1882-1955

Lydia LaBrune is first seen in the family of Jean-Baptiste and Catherine Dooley LaBrune at the age of 13 in the 1895 state census.  In 1900, she is described as adopted. And that is all we knew. Very recently I was contacted by a couple of Lydia's great-grandchildren who had discovered through a living relative that Lydia was believed to have a sister by the name of Verda Moore, who lived in Cedar Rapids in the 1930s. A few hours of research uncovered a good deal of Lydia's origins.

Lydia and Verda and another sister, Bessie, were the children of Emma Gooding and Oscar Arnold.  Emma and Oscar married in about 1879 (they are together in 1880 in the census in East Cascade, Dubuque co.).  The girls were born in about 1880 (Verda), 1881 (Lydia), and 1883 (Bessie).  In 1885 the family is together in Cascade; "Lida" and "Virdia" are both there! According to divorce papers (as reported in the newspaper), Oscar was abusive and abandoned the family in 1885 in Cascade.  In 1887, Emma filed for and was granted a divorce and custody of the kids.  That's the last information I found for them. I couldn't find any more trace of Oscar, Emma, or Bessie. In 1895, Lydia was with the LaBrunes in Jefferson twp and Verda was living with Lewis and Liddie Board and family in Cascade (both in Dubuque co., Iowa). In 1902, Verda married William Gearhart in Dubuque. They had four kids, then William died in 1909. Verda then married Daniel Moore in 1911. I found a newspaper article saying she filed for divorce for cruel treatment in 1920, but apparently they resolved their differences, at least for a while, since they were together as a family in 1930. In 1962, Verda Gearhart was buried next to William Gearhart, so I'm not sure of the history of Verda's relationship with Daniel Moore.

Addendum:
Found more information, regarding Emma Arnold.  She was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Goodwin and Eliza A. Summers.  She is with them in the 1870 census in Cascade. Her father died in about 1882 and is buried in Cascade.  In 1887 her divorce was filed in Sioux co., in the far western side of the state, far from Cascade. Her mother, Eliza Goodwin was there in 1900 and I suspect that Emma had gone to live with her mother who had relocated there. In about 1894 Emma married Lars Peterson and they had four or five children together.  They live next door to Emma's mother in 1900 in Hawarden, in Sioux co.  In the 1900 census, I also found a clue as to how Emma's daughter, Lydia, came to be adopted by Jean-Baptiste and Catherine LaBrune.  A few houses away from the Goodwins and Petersons in 1900 are Caspar and Adaline Luchsinger.  Caspar's first wife was Jean-Baptiste's niece. His second wife, Adaline, was also related to the LaBrune family.  So when Emma gave up or lost her children, Lydia may have found a new family through their Luchsinger neighbors. By 1910, both Emma Peterson's and her mother's families had moved out to California: Emma to East San Diego, Eliza to LA. I believe that Eliza Goodwin died between about 1910 and 1918.  Emma Goodwin Arnold Peterson passed away in 1940 in San Diego.

Famille LaBrune à Dubuque, l'Iowa, E.U.

Jean-Baptiste LaBrune était benjamin de, je crois, cinq enfants nés à Philip et Ann LaBrune.  De leur voyage de la France, je sais peu: une des enfants est née entre 1835 et 1840 en France et Jean-Baptiste est né à l'Ohio aprés le recensement en 1840 et dans 1850 la famille était arrivée, moins deux enfants, à Dubuque, Iowa, une destination populaire pour les immigrés français. (Avant la Vente de la Louisiane en 1803, la plupart de la territoire entre la rivière Mississippi et les montagnes Rocheuses appartenait (au moins en excluant les peuples indigènes) à la France, à l'exception de quelques années sous le contrôle de l'Espagne. Cette territoire était en plus grande partie ni développée ni explorée, donc la rivière Mississippi était la frontière d'une étendue sauvage, du point de vue des Etats-Unis. Beaucoup de trappeurs français se sont installés dans des lieux comme Dubuque le longue de la rivière d'où ils faisaient commerce de peaux avec l'Est.) Donc la famille LaBrune a quitté la France vers la fin des années 1830s, aurait pu voyager d'abord au Québec, et se cheminait vers les villes françaises à l'autre côté de la rivière Mississippi.  Il est possible que quelques uns des enfants avec eux ne soient pas leurs propres enfants (les noms des individus n'étaient pas enregistrés dans le recensement de 1840) ou qu'ils se soient mariés ou installés quelque part en route ou qu'ils aient péri. Je crois que les familles qui se déplacaient en migration vers l'ouest avaient tendance à s'installer quelque part pendant quelques années, puis continuer, donc il se peut que notre famille LaBrune est restée faire de la cultivation des années à l'Ohio avant de reprendre la route à Dubuque. Le fils aîné, George, s'est marié à Dubuque en 1846.  Peut-être il y est allé et puis a persuadé ses parents d'amener la famille là-bas. J'ai très peu d'information sur leur voyage.  En tout cas, en 1850 la famille était aux parages de Dubuque où elle est restée de nombreuses années. Ann est morte en 1868 et est enterrée dans le cimetière Catholique St. Joseph.  Lisez mon post antérieur sur Philip, mais il a disparu. Il est possible qu'il s'est déménagé à l'Ohio et s'est remarié après la mort d'Ann.

L'enfant aîné, George, s'est marié à Domathilde Breault à Dubuque en 1846. Elle est née à Montréal en 1826 et je suppose qu'elle avait un assez fort accent français parce que la plupart des traces écrites lui assignent les noms de Mathilda ou Martha ou Mary.  Ils ont élévé neuf enfants aux environs de Rickardsville: Mary (m. Peter Limoges), Celina (m. Casper Luchsinger), Josephine (m. John Liebold), Caroline (m. Amab Cousley), George Nicolas (m. Adeline Crevier), John B (resté célibataire), Joseph (m. Josephine Limoges, soeur cadette de Peter), Edmire (quelques fois dit Adeline m. Martin Cunningham), et Mathilda (m. John Schwind). Quelques uns des enfants se sont déménagés vers l'ouest à Sioux City et la Dakota Territory (Mary Limoges, Celina Luchsinger, George N. LaBrune, and Joseph LaBrune). Tôt dans leurs mariage, George et Martha étaient propriétaires d'une taverne sur la route des diligences qui traversait Rickardsville, mais tous les recensements disent qu'ils étaient fermiers.  George est mort en 1873.  Lorsque leur fille, Mathilda, s'est mariée en 1866, Martha est allée vivre avec elle à Dubuque. Martha est morte en 1914 et était enterrée à côté de George dans le cimetière St. Joseph à Rickardsville.

Trois des cings enfants dans la famille de Philip et Ann à l'Ohio ont disparu: un fils né en fin des années 1820s en France, Nicholas né vers 1831 en France (ce dernier était avec la famille dans le recensement de 1850 à l'Iowa, mais puis a disparu), et une fille née en fin des années 1830s en France.  Je continue à chercher des traces écrites d'eux.


Jean-Baptiste, le benjamin de la famille et le seul né aux E.U., s'est marié à Catherine Dooley, une voisine à Jefferson Township originaire de l'Irelande.  Jean-Baptiste a eu du succès comme fermier.  Ils ont élévé six enfants: John P (m. Elizabeth Rooney), Anastasia (m. James Hogan), Mary (morte à l'age de 19 ans), Daniel (resté célibataire), et Lydia (m. Frank Schirmer).  Trois autres enfants sont morts très jeunes: William (1 mois), Thomas (2 ans), et Josephine (3 ans).  Je crois que Lydia est née Lydia Maxwell, une voisine de la famille LaBrune, et était adoptée par eux après le décès de ses parents.  Anastasia s'est mariée à James Hogan à St. Louis, où ils ont élévé leur famille.  Le frère de Catherine Dooley LaBrune (mère d'Anastasia), William, était épicier prospère à St. Louis et sa femme était de la même famille que les Hogans.  Anastasia et James se sont fait leurs connaisances chez l'oncle William, sans doute. John, Daniel et Lydia sont restés aux environs de Dubuque.

LaBrune Update

I had a few LaBrunes floating around in my data that I've attached to our family.

Jean-Baptiste LaBrune was the youngest of, I believe, five children born to Philip and Ann LaBrune.  About their journey from their native France I know only that one of the children was born in the mid to late 1830s in France and Jean-Baptiste was born in Ohio after the 1840 census and that by 1850 the family, minus two of the kids, was in Dubuque, Iowa, a common destination for French immigrants. (Prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, most of the land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains was French territory, though for a short time under Spanish control.  This land was largely undeveloped and unexplored, so the Mississippi River was the edge of wilderness, from the point of view of the United States.  There were many French trappers that settled in places like Dubuque along the Mississippi where they traded their pelts with the East.)  So the LaBrunes left France in the late 1830s, may have gone first to Quebec, and were making their way west to the French towns across the Mississippi.  Some of the kids with them may not have been their own (no names are given in the 1840 census) or may have married or settled somewhere along the way or may have perished.  My sense is that families that migrated west tended to settle in the east, then move on after a few years, so maybe they spent a few years farming in Ohio before deciding to move on to Dubuque.  The oldest son, George, married in Dubuque in 1846.  Perhaps he had gone ahead and persuaded his parents to bring the family.  There is very little information about their travel.  In any case, by 1850 they were in the Dubuque area where they remained for many years. Ann died in 1868 and is buried in St. Joseph's Catholic cemetery.  See my earlier post about Philip, but he disappeared.  It's possible he moved to Ohio and remarried after Ann's death.

Their oldest known child, George, married Domathilde Breault in Dubuque in 1846.  She was born in Montréal in 1826 and I assume she had a heavy French accent since most records name her Mathilda or Martha or Mary. They raised nine children in the Rickardsville area: Mary (m. Peter Limoges), Celina (m. Casper Luchsinger), Josephine (m. John Liebold), Caroline (m. Amab Cousley), George Nicolas (m. Adeline Crevier), John B (did not marry), Joseph (m. Josephine Limoges, younger sister to Peter), Edmire (aka Adeline m. Martin Cunningham), and Mathilda (m. John Schwind). Some of the kids moved west to the Sioux City area and to the nearby Dakota Territory (Mary Limoges, Celina Luchsinger, George N. LaBrune, and Joseph LaBrune). Early in their marriage, George and Martha operated a tavern on the stagecoach road through Rickardsville, but every census record lists George as a farmer. He passed away in 1873. When their daughter, Mathilda, married in 1886, Martha went to live with her in Dubuque, Martha passed away there in 1914 and was buried next to George at St. Joseph's Catholic cemetery in Rickardsville.

Three of the five children in Philip and Ann's family in Ohio disappeared: a son born in the late 1820s in France, Nicholas born in about 1831 in France, and a daughter born in the late 1830s in France.  I'm still looking for traces of them.

Jean-Baptiste, the youngest of the family and the only one born in the United States, married Catherine Dooley, an Irish-born neighbor in Jefferson township. Jean-Baptiste did well as a farmer there. They raised six children: John P (m. Elizabeth Rooney), Anastasia (m. James Hogan), Mary (died at the age of 19), Daniel, and Lydia (m. Frank Schirmer).  Three other children died as infants: William (1 month), Thomas (2 years), and Josephine (3 years).  We think that Lydia was born Lydia Maxwell, was a neighbor of the LaBrunes, and was adopted by them  after her parents passed away.  Anastasia married James Hogan in St. Louis, where they raised their family.  Catherine Dooley LaBrune's (Anastasia's mother) brother, William, was a successful grocer in St. Louis and was related to the Hogans.  Anastasia and James undoubtedly met at uncle William's house. John, Daniel and Lydia stayed in the Dubuque area.