In 2007, expatriates like Louis Chamard, far from the region of their ancestors, had to rely on volunteers to obtain civil status photos. Over the years, genealogical circles began to create open access indexed tables like Geneal43. Brigitte Dumas was also at the origin of the establishment of a mutual aid forum and a free database produced by numerous volunteers from Haute-Loire and elsewhere.
Louis Chamard will benefit from the help of Annie Gentes to reconstruct the lineage of his family who left the region more than 200 years ago. Depending on everyone's availability, a correspondence was maintained for 17 years! And we can say that genealogy has some wonderful encounters in store. After receiving descendants of Jean-Pierre Gardès who left for Brazil in 1869, Annie and Pierre Gentes welcomed Louis Chamard, a descendant of a Chamard family who left Laussonne in 1807 to finally settle in Canada.
A few weeks ago, Louis Chamard came to Haute-Loire. A visit prepared for several weeks by this resident of Quebec City, delighted to discover the region of origin of his ancestors. However, he did not expect such a sporty finish. Indeed, it is difficult to connect Le Puy by train from Lyon, just after the heavy floods of October 17…
An incredible arrival
The flooded railway line in the Gier valley had forced train users to make a detour via Roanne, or even Clermont-Ferrand, to reach Le Puy via Saint-Étienne. Numerous incidents were recorded before the line was restored. That of Sunday October 20 will be summarized by a message from Louis Chamard: “We are broken down in the forest area between Lyon and Roanne… still at a standstill… another train from Lyon should help us climb the hill where we are stuck “. It took him 8 hours to connect Montreal to Lyon and almost 10 hours from Lyon to arrive at Le Puy station! But nothing dampened the good mood of this 77-year-old Quebec globetrotter who was on time for the morning meeting at the Departmental Archives.
Even if today, we can quickly develop a genealogy thanks to the numerous publications on specialized sites, not all departments are equal. The Haute-Loire Archives are particularly rich in digitized funds, which provide valuable assistance to genealogists who cannot go there. However, not everything can be done online. Notarial archives allow us to know more and nothing replaces the pleasure of discovery, contact with old registers, touching the deeds of one's ancestors! Welcomed by the staff of the Departmental Archives and Jean-Bernard Moné, its director, Louis Chamard was able to benefit from valuable advice to go further in his research, complete genealogical data and establish the source. A trained geographer and member of the Quebec Genealogy Society, he also wanted to know the history of the place, understand the environment and locate the spaces where his ancestors lived.
Unfailing motivation
Reconstructing siblings over several generations, resolving genealogical blockages, cross-referencing sources, validating your research with evidence: the task is long, but nothing deters Louis Chamard in his quest for information and his desire to understand the evolution of his family from Laussonne in Canada, from the 17th century to the present day. The rich exchanges of these wonderful meetings made us forget the weather hazards and will obviously remain good memories for everyone.
The Chamards of Laussonne, before their departure to Canada
If the surname of Chamard was very present in the past, it has almost disappeared today in Laussonne. In total, 38 Chamard couples have been identified whose date of birth dates back to the 17th century, numerous namesakes to the 18th century, then a migration to the Rhône valley in the 19th century.
During his visit to Laussonne, Louis Chamard had no shortage of activities between the discovery of the village and the meetings with Laussonnais, but also the visits to the places where Chamard families lived: Les Tortes, Les Astiers, Montchamp, l'Herm, le Besset, Le Fraisse and Moudeyres.
Louis Chamard also met Josy, daughter of Amélie Chamard, 96 years old, whose grandfather Jacques, a road worker in Laussonne, lived on Chemin des Lavandières. However, to date, no link has been established with Louis.
The Chamards worked in various professions: day laborer, plowman, farmer, but also school collector, practitioner, miller, clog maker, tailor, marshal, master locksmith, master carpenter… And the diversity of jobs continued with the three Chamard orphans who left at the beginning of the 19th century in Beaujolais as servants at the Château de l'Écluse in Saint-Jean d'Ardières, where they would be caretakers locks, winemaker, wine merchant, weaver, velvet makers, silk worker in Lyon…
The Chamards in Canada since 1870
Then the family moved, living in Turin, Modane, Algiers, ending up, in 1870, in Rivière-du-Loup in Canada where Claudius Chamard immigrated from Savoy. His son was a lumber trader and established the lineage of the Chamards of Canada from which Louis Chamard came. And other children of Claudius, also born in Savoy, will spread to other places in America, notably to Boston and Los Angeles in the United States, and to the Mont-Laurier region, north of Montreal.
