I am delighted to announce that Reminiscences of My Life and Times, by Telesphore Brouillette, is now available for purchase.
Telesphore is my third great-granduncle. He wrote his autobiography in 1934 or 1935. According to WorldCat, it is only available in one library. Four years ago, my wonderful cousin Margaret mailed her personal copy to me to scan. I scanned the book at the BYU family history library in 2017. Once the scanning was complete, the slow process of cropping and editing each image, then building a file of the images for printing took me far longer than I would have liked. But I am finally finished! I received my proof print last night and the book is beautiful.
The original book bears no publication data. It was not copyrighted. The text now belongs to the public domain. Margaret granted permission for her copy to be republished so that all of Telesphore’s family members may enjoy it. I chose to republish scans of the original to present future readers with exactly what Telesphore originally published.
So who might be interested in Telesphore’s autobiography? His family members, of course. But also individuals with an interest in any of the following:
- St. Anne, Kankakee, Illinois
- Individuals of French descent from Québec who settled in Illinois in the 1850s, particularly in Kankakee County
- The Protestant reformation in Illinois led by Father Charles Chiniquy
- Company E, 12th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry during the Civil War
Additionally, the original table of contents from Telesphore’s book offers some insights:
Telesphore’s family members include:
Parents:
Siblings:
-
- Emilie Brouillette
- Philomene Brouillette
- Esther Brouillette, my third great-grandmother
- Marie Louise Brouillette
- Rose Delima Brouillette
- François Brouillette
- Marie Celina Brouillette
- Delphis Brouillette
- Jean Baptiste Brouillette
- Nelson Brouillette
- Zephyrine Brouillette
Wife:
Children:
Telesphore’s book includes photos of himself, his mother, his wife, and eight of his children—Millie, Jessie, Sadie, Minerva, Susie, Caroline, Rex, and Celina—as well as the family home in Newberg, Oregon.
I am so happy to have this project finished and available to all who are interested!
Happy Friday! xoxo
Wow, congratulations!
Thank you, Kristal!
Congratulations on completing this project! I have family in Portland and Newberg. Interesting that he also spent time there. Newberg is very much a Quaker town. Was he part of the Society of Friends?
Thank you, Eilene! Telesphore was a Presbyterian minister.