Church Record Sunday: Baptism of Charles Bews

Charles Bews baptismal record, 22 November 1847. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Charles Bews (also known as Charles Buise) was born on 21 May 1847. He was the son of Charles Bews and Margaret McGillivray. On 22 November 1847, he was baptized at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Quebec City by John Cook. Charles' father was not present at the ceremony.

Founding of Quebec City - Anniversary

The Quebec Settlement : A.—The Warehouse. B.—Pigeon-loft. C.—Detached Buildings where we keep our arms and for Lodging our Workmen. D.—Another Detached Building for the Workmen. E.—Sun-dial. F.—Another Detached Building where is the Smithy and where the Workmen are Lodged. G.—Galleries all around the Lodgings. H.—The Sieur de Champlain's Lodgings. I.—The door of the Settlement with a Draw-bridge. L Promenade around the Settlement ten feet in width to the edge of the Moat. M.—Moat the whole way around the Settlement. O.—The Sieur de Champlain's Garden. P.—The Kitchen. Q.—Space in front of the Settlement on the Shore of the River. R.—The great River St. Lawrence. The works of Samuel de Champlain in six volumes.Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1925, reprinted 1971 by University of Toronto Press, volume II, p. 39. Image available from Wikimedia Commons.

Quebec City was founded 406 years ago today. In 1608, Pierre Dugua de Mons sent Samuel de Champlain to New France. Champlain arrived on 3 July 1608 and established a settlement at Quebec. He and his crew built a wooden fort, the Habitation, a few days after they arrived.

Margaret McGillivray, the "mystery person" in the Winters family Bible who may be a relative, lived in Quebec City. She was from Beauport. She married her husband Charles Bews/Buise in Quebec City, and their son Charles was baptized in Quebec City. In 1866, my Boe ancestors sailed from Norway to Quebec City before heading to Minnesota. In 1867, my Halvorson-Otterhold ancestors also sailed from Norway to Quebec City, and went to Minnesota as well.

I visited Quebec City in July 2011. The pictures below were taken on that trip.

 

Samuel de Champlain statue

The Citadel

References
The Founding of Quebec
History of Quebec City
Champlain's Itinerary: Chronology

Mystery Monday: Margaret McGillivray

The Winters family Bible contains a transcribed death notice for Margaret McGillivray, the wife of the late Charles Buise. The only date given was the 26th inst." I eventually found the original death notice, which had been published in the Montreal Daily Witness, 27 January 1880.

My 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters married Elizabeth Buise at St. Gabriel Street Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 18 May 1878. According to the record of their marriage, Elizabeth's parents were George Buise and Margaret White, and they were both deceased at the time of her marriage. John Bennet Winters died in Montreal on 25 December 1879. He and Elizabeth Buise were not married long. It is likely that there is some connection between Elizabeth Buise and Margaret McGillivray's husband  Charles Buise, but since John and Elizabeth were not married long, I wonder if there is another reason that Margaret McGillivray's death notice was transcribed in the Winters family Bible. Maybe Margaret McGillivray was related to John Bennet Winters, to John's previous wife Anna "Ann" Walker, or to James Graham, husband of John and Ann's daughter Catherine Elizabeth Winters. Maybe she introduced John and Elizabeth. I do not know why the Winters family moved from the Chicago, Illinois area to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Maybe they knew someone there, possibly Margaret McGillivray.

 Margaret married Charles Bews at Presbyterian Saint Andrew's Church in Quebec City, Quebec on 25 March 1847. The marriage record stated that Margaret was a spinster and was from Beauport. Their son Charles was born on 21 May 1847 and baptized on 22 November 1847 at Presbyterian Saint Andrew's Church in Quebec City. The record noted that the father was absent. Margaret was buried on 28 January 1880. Her burial is noted in the records of Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal. John McGillivray witnessed the burial.

I have not yet been able to find more information on Margaret McGillivray. I have found some information on her son Charles Buise,who lived in Montreal until about 1889, but I still do not know how this Buise family is connected to Elizabeth Buise, or if Margaret McGillivray is related to me in some way.

Margaret McGillivray Buise death notice, transcribed in the Winters family Bible

Margaret McGillivray Buise death notice, Montreal Daily Witness, 27 January 1880