Francis Cyprien Duval is my 2nd great grandfather. He was born 3 October 1863 in Rimouski, Québec, Canada. He was the first in our direct line to leave Québec after settlement from France.
Francis was an adventurer. He was in Dawson, Alaska before the Gold Rush began. He stayed throughout and did well. He tried his hand at homesteading in Fairbanks. He moved his wife and children back and forth between Alaska and California for many years.
Sometime after the death of his father-in-law, Henry Hyde, in Fairbanks in 1907, Francis and his family moved to Vancouver, BC and then finally settled in Lynn Valley, BC.
He lied about his age and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Forces during WWI. That didn’t last long before he was sent back home.
He went on to work as a Forest Ranger. He continued in that work until the time of his death at age 55 on 31 May 1919 in Vancouver, BC.
This photo is one of very few photos of Francis. There are no notations on the back. Based on what I know of Francis’ life, I would guess that this was taken during his service in WWI. I did some google searching and his hat and collar seem to match the images of the uniforms during this time.
Francis died before he was a grandfather. I descend from his son Francis Henry Duval. Francis Henry was the father of two children – my Grandma Deane, who recently died, and my Grand Uncle Frank.
During the last two days of my Grandma’s life, the family gathered at her side. In my conversations with Uncle Frank, he expressed disappointment that he hadn’t thought to ask his Dad about his Grandpa.
So, Uncle Frank, this one’s for you.