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- 1920 Federal Census of Holyoke, Hampden County, Massachusetts (6 Jan 1920)
Antoine Bessette 53 M MA CF CF Head Carpenter House
Victoria 49 F CF CF CF Wife
Oliver 29 M MA MA CF Son Paper Maker Paper Mill
Ernest 28 M MA MA CF Son Carpenter Construction
Antonio 23 M MA MA CF Son Laborer Paper Mill
Onesime 26 M MA MA CF Son Cobbler Shoe Shop
Armand 21 M MA MA CF Son Weaver Woolen Mill
Raoul 19 M MA MA CF Son Laborer Pump Shop
Herve 16 M MA MA CF Son Laborer Truck Co.
Albertine 15 F MA MA CF Daughter Operator Silk Mill
Henry 10 M MA MA CF Son
(Living at 186 Pine Street)
Springfield Union, May 9, 1956
Bessette Funeral
Chicopee, May 8 – The funeral of Antoine Bessette of 53 Whitman St., Willimansett, was held this morning at the Arthur J. Brunelle Jr. funeral home, with a solemn requiem high mass in the Church of the Nativity. Rev. Leon Nadeau of Indian Orchard, nephew of the deceased, was celebrant. Rev. Laurier L’Africain, deacon, and Rev. Clarence Forand, subdeacon. Bearers, all grandsons, were Donald, Raoul, Gerald, George, Albert and Girard Bessette. Burial was in St. Rose Cemetery. Frs. Nadeau and Forand read prayers at the grave.
Springfield Union, May 7, 1956
Antoine Bessette, 88, Veteran Carpenter
Chicopee, May 6 – Antoine Bessette, 88, died suddenly Saturday afternoon at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Henry Paul of 53 Whitman St., Willimansett, after a long illness.
He was born in North Agawam, son of the late Oliver and Adeline (Gevris) Bessette and was a resident of Willimansett for 40 years. He was a retired carpenter and was the oldest member of the Holyoke Carpenters’ Union.
Besides Mrs. Paul, he leaves another daughter, Mrs. Albertine Walsh of Astoria, L.I.; five sons, Harvey at home, Antonio and Armand, both of Willimansett, and Raoul and Oliver, both of Holyoke; one sister, Mrs. Arzelia Breault of Woonsocket, R.I; 28 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be held Tuesday at 8.15 at the Arthur J. Brunelle Jr. funeral home in Willimansett, followed by a solemn high mass of requiem in the Church of the Nativity at 9. Burial will be in St. Rose Cemetery, Aldenville.
Information from Raoul Bessette
Antoine Bessette, my grandfather, was born July 4, 1867 in Agawam, Mass. His father Olivier had moved from St. Hilaire, Canada to the Agawam Mass. area sometime during the early years of the American Civil War. He resided there for several years, long enough for two of his children, Antoine, and Delia, his older sister, to be born. Sometime prior to 1870 he moved the family back to Canada and this is where Antoine was reared to manhood. On August 20, 1889 he married Victoria Robert in the town of Acton-Vale, thus commencing the 7th generation of our lineage. Victoria was born October 21, 1870 in nearby Ste. Valerien. She was the child of Onesime Robert and Victoria Reyneaud (born in France). Their first child, Olivier, was born the following May and shortly thereafter the young family moved back to the Agawam, mass. area where Antoine plied his trade as a carpenter. More children followed until 1910 when the last child, Henry was born in Holyoke, Mass. My father, Raoul Moise, the 7th child, was born in 1900 in Springfield, Mass. The family moved from Agawam then Springfield and between 1900 and 1910 to Holyoke. In the 1900 Census Antoine and his sister Delia (married to Cesaire Quintal, also a carpenter) were neighbors on Hubbard Street in Springfield. By 1910, Antoine & family resided at 529 South Bridge Street, Holyoke, and his brother, Israel, lived nearby on Park Street. He and his sons were also carpenters. During this period the older children grew to adulthood, and some of the boys served in the U.S. Army during World War I (Oliver, Ernest, Rauol and perhaps Antonio and Armand). They were employed in the mills of Holyoke, and the oldest girl, Leona, married in January 1918. In the 1920 census the entire family (excluding Leona) were included in the house at 186 Pine Street, Holyoke, Mass. It must have been a substantial residence to house 11 persons with the children raning from age 30 to age 10. In 1921 Antoine built his final home at 53 Whitman St., Chicopee (Williamanset) Mass. and most of the family were moved in to the homestead. Victoria died from the ravages of diabetes December 2, 1940 at age 70. Antoine survived her by 16 years, passing away at the Whitman Street homestead on May 5, 1956, at age 88.
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