GIROUX
Central Maine Sentinel Article
February 27, 1993
French Connection
Charles Giroux settled on the Plaines in 1893©
by Robert Chenard

Charles Giroux and family taken circa 1895 on Kennebec St. - Colorized with Adobe Photoshop

music: Souvenir

One of my direct ancestors was Charles Giroux. He, his wife, and eight children left St. Georges, QC in the summer of 1893 in a horse and buggy, travelled 2 to 3 days down the Kennebec Road passing through Jackman and Skowhegan, before finally arriving in Waterville. Not long after their arrival, they established themselves in a home on Kennebec St.
in the "Plaines" section of Waterville. Charles got a job at the "pulp" mill as a laborer where he worked for several years until finally working as a "teamster" for the former Proctor and Bowie Lumber Co. in Winslow hauling lumber and other building supplies by horse and wagon. In her late 80's, my mother recalled seeing her "pépère" Giroux on his wagon hauling supplies through town when she was just a young girl. By 1896, his five eldest sons, ranging in age from 12 to 17, were working in the local cotton mill (The Lockwood Dutchess).
(Actually, Charles Giroux and his family were in Waterville as early as about 1887 as evidenced by a family photograph that was taken by C. A. Smith Photo Co. of 17 Main St. in Waterville. The 1893 immigration date is according to the 1900 US census report and may correspond to the year Charles applied for citizenship.)
Two weeks before Christmas in December 1894, within a span of only 4 days, Charles lost his two youngest sons, Mathias, almost  5, and Albert, age 2 and-one-half to the then common childhood disease of diptheria. None of Charles' children ever spoke of this event to their descendants evidently because it was so painful.  The death records of the two boys is all that echoes of this trajedy today. His other six children faired well, living, on the average, to age 81. His only daughter, Marie Anne, at age 66, was the youngest of these six to die. William, the eldest son, lived to be 81, Georges to 84, Joseph to 94, Charles to 84, and John to 86.
 This family was very typical of the French-Canadian families who immigrated to Maine in  order to find a better life for themselves and their children. Conditions were harsh in much of Quebec, Canada and employment was scarce. With the new mills in this part of Maine, many Canadians were attracted here. The already blooming French-Canadian settlement in Waterville's "plaines" section of town and an established Catholic community, made it fairly accomodating to these new  immigrant  families.
Charles' wife was Therese Fortin, whom he had married in St. Georges on June 10, 1878. Back in Quebec, Charles  was running the family farm. He had lost his father in 1864 and his mother had remarried in 1866 to Frederic Goulet. Therese stayed at home raising the children. She was the daughter of Joseph Fortin and Mary Murphy. Mary Murphy had been widowed at the very young age of 24 when her first husband, Michael Redmond, died in 1840 at St. Georges leaving her with an infant daughter. Having an Irish mother, Therese Fortin could speak, read, and write both French and English . This proved to be a great asset to the family when they came to Maine. Family tradition tells us that when it was time for her boys to go to work, she went to the mill and, with her fluency in English,  helped to them get jobs right away.
My mother  said that she remembers her grandmother, Therese Fortin, quite well. As a young girl, she regularly visited her grandparents, who lived a short distance from her  own  family on Green Street. They were poor by todays' standards, but they were always well treated, well fed, very clean, and were very staunch Catholics. Even in her old age, Therese attended Mass daily. As for their simple home, my mother says that her "wooden" kitchen floor was so clean, you could eat off of it. She was often remembered as being seen sweeping her front porch.
At 3 o'clock on Saturday, May 15, 1915, Charles Giroux passed away of a heart attack while sitting in his rocking chair in his kitchen. By this time all of his children except the youngest, Marie Anne, were married and had families of their own. When Marie Anne married Theodore Pepin in 1922, Therese went to live with them shortly thereafter and remained there until  her own death in 1931 at age 75.
Today,  Charles and Therese (Fortin) Giroux would count over 400 direct descendants into the 7th generation, living in all parts of the United States - a number of them, successful business men and self-made millionaires, professionals, real-estate brokers, military officers,  professional artists, administrators, teachers, numerous tradesmen, a Waterville postmaster, and even a gold-mine operator in California. It would be an interesting family reunion, were it possible!
Charles' lineage goes back to the first Giroux in Canada, named Toussaint Giroux, a weaver by trade, who immigrated there from the little village of Reveillon, France in 1651 at age 18, leaving behind 4 brothers and 2 sisters. The Giroux lineage is as follows: