A short-live wedding (by Pierrette Brière)

The examination of the parish registry of Saint-Cesaire in the Rouville County revels to us four acts within less than one week for the same Tetrau family (the 17th, 18th and 20th of April 1881). It was enough to catch our curiosity. 

On April 17, 1881, the Provencal priest baptised two kids: Joseph Julien Guillaume born July 13, 1875 and Marie Ida Lelian born February 4, 1871. They were both born from the union of Solime Tetreau and Olive S. Willard. The expression « born from the union » leads us to believe that the parents were not married at the time. 

Our supposition was confirmed since the next day, on April 18, 1881, the same priest celebrated the wedding of Solime Tétreault, son of Julien and Celeste Vincellette, and Olive Willard, unfaithful, daughter of Peter and late Anna Glisson from Chelmsfort, Massachusetts, in the United-States. However, this act includes many unusual mentions:

• First of all, there is tree exemptions issued by the Saint-Hyacinthe Bishop Louis Zephirin Moreau: an exemption of disparity of cult, an exemption of the prohibited time and an exemption from publications;  
  
• Then, a papal indulgence dated May 7, 1876 (favor granted by the Holy See that exempt them from the common law of the Church);  
  
• Furthermore, there is a text stipulating that « after receiving from the said Olive Williard the promises to let her husband raise their children in the catholic religion and not to interfere in the practice of her husband religion, the said husband committed himself to work for the conversion of his wife… »;  
  
• Finally, there is a precision stating that the spouses were not able to sign « because of the circumstances ». 

The act immediately following the one of the union reserves us a sad surprise: returning to his church on April 20, 1881, the Provencal priest registered the burial of the young groom. Solime Tétreault died on April 18, 1881, the same day of his wedding leaving behind a widow and two orphans. Taking prematurely at the age of 45, he didn’t get a chance to work on his wife conversion nor to raise his children within the catholic religion as he engaged himself to do a couple hours earlier. 

Obviously, the couple lived many years outside the bond of catholic marriage and their union blessed by the Holy Mother Church has been very short-lived. Anyhow Solime and Olive contributed to the descendants of our ancestors Louis Tetreau and Noelle Landeau. Their daughter Ida married Jeremie Soumis at the cathedral of Joliette on May 25, 1891. Their son Julien was first married with Stella Leblanc in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste parish of Montreal on January 8, 1901.  And, his second wedding was with Zéphéria Majeau on October 14, 1907 at l'Épiphanie. Many of their descendants now live in the Montreal area

Sources : Généalogie Québec; BMS2000; Ancestry.ca.