Individual Details

Marriage

Penetanguishene, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada Registrations of Marriages 1801-1926

Names of Parties: William St. Amand, Angeline Bonneville
Age: 25, 20
Residence When Married: Township of Tay, Township of Baxter
Place of Birth: ---, Township of Baxter
Bachelor, Widower, Spinster, Widow: B, S
Occupation: Laborer, ---
Registration #: 017868
Names of Parents: Francis St. Amand, Philomene Guindon
Damasse Bonneville, Justine Cascagnette
Names of Witnesses: Henry Jarvett, Margaret Jarvett
Residence of Witnesses: Township of Tay, Township of Tay
Date and Place of Marriage: July 16, 1905, Peneganguishene
Religious Denomination: Catholic
Married by Reverand T. F. Laboreau (Theophile Francis Laboreau)
License or Bans: B
Date of Registration: Dec. 9, 1905

Census

Name: William Stmond
[William St Amand]
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 30
Birth Date: Nov 1881
Birth Place: Ontario
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Lena Stmond
Race or Tribe: French
Province: Ontario
District: Simcoe East
District Number: 119
Sub-district: 18 - Tay
Sub-District Number: 18
Place of Habitation: Tay
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
William Stmond 30
Lena Stmond 26
Emily Stmond 5
Adeline Stmond 3
Irene Stmond 1
Dorthy Stmond 6/12

Anecdote

Forty Seven Years...In the Bush
By Victor L. Connor
Page 10

..."On the second day of September (1916), I started working for Ontario Hydro rebuilding the #1 line GS20 x 52 from Big Chute to the towers at Waubaushene. We finished on December the twentieth. We lived in tents all the way. Bill St. Amant(d) and I bunked together. We started off in September and the weather was fine most of the month. We had no heat in the tents so as the weather got colder we simply piled on more blankets. Our only trouble was when we got good and wet, we had no way to dry our clothes, so we just left htem on and lent them dry themselves. By October, we'd never taken our clothes off to get in the bunk at night. Many a laugh we had a Bill St. Amant(d). If the weather was really cold, he'd put on a big overcoat and toque and roll into his bunk. He call this big coat his night gown.

The tent which we used for the dining room and kitchen was the only place there was any heat. Bill Grisdale was cook. We all let our whiskers grow and some of the boys had a real beard. Two Belfry boys, Dalt Emms, Slim Baldry, Bill Terry, and Bill and Dan St. Amant(d) were the main stand-bys. On goo thing, not a man had a cold all fall; some would say we should all have been dead..."

Interview

c.1980
Tales of the Past
Reprinted by Beausoleil Funeral Home, Penetanguishene, Ont in funteral program, Dec 1982.

Mr. St. Amand is the first of our senior citizens to tell part of his life story to the readers of the Matchedash Mirror.

When Mr. St. Amand was fourteen years old he got a job in a timber mill at Port Severn and after he grew up he worked at Port Severn lumber camps. Then he went to Blind River for two years and returned to marry.

Mr. & Mrs. St. Amand settled down on a bush farm just outside Coldwater in Port Severn. They raised a family of eight girls and one boy. Their son, Ed St. Amand lives in Waubaushene. "Pretty well all the girls married farmers," he said. "Two married Ernie Oliver and Stanley Oliver. Emily was the oldest then Adeline, Irene, Dorothy, Velma, Lucy, Laura and Cecile. In those days we were proud of big families. A child cam like a bowl of flowers."

They grew everything they needed on the farm. "There was always a big barrel of pork and two steers hanging up." Then ther was timber to cut. "You could sell logs and wood and make good money. That is why everybody got on better than they do now. We were happy. Every weekend there was a dance some place. All winter there was a dance at the neighbours. We had a good time. Nobody enjoys themselves anymore. We skied and we skated."

In those days the whole country was covered with hard wood. "Everybody had a piece of sugar bush and made syrup and sugar. The bush was full of game such as deer. You could kick rabbits out of your road they were so thick. And then there was a good price for fox. If you trapped a fox you could get $25.00 or $30.00 for a skin. Now you can't give it away. Nobody wants it. Then you could trap mink and sell it for twelve or fourteen dollars - and the country was full of it. Nobody was catching them and there was a great demand for them. That is why you could make such a good living."

"We were brought up to hunt and trap. The old guns had a single muzzle loader to load with a ramrod. We would make wads out of wasps nests, put powder in the barrel, pack down with wad. We had a little box of caps. The hammer would go on a cap and set fire to the powder . Then 'Bang.'"

"You could stand at your back door and shoot all the deer you wanted in the evening. They would come out where the pasture was. You could count five or six deer at a time. Noody was junting in those days. When hunters started to come from the States and all over and had dogs they would run the poor things to death. Americans would come with what they called a Buckskin Club. They would have a scow loaded with bear and deer."

"Later on the farms got too small and people thought 'better go and work in town' and they left the farms to go and work in towns and villages. Now the timber has gone, the mill has burned down - nothing left - people starving, and can't get a job. We had 200 acres but only worked about 75. We cut timber a lot and took out logs and cordwood and stuff like that. We got $5.00 a cord for hardwood. Now people go on pension and don't want to work."

"Fish used to come up in the current so thick that you couldn't see the bottom and six feet of water would be solid with fish right to the bottom with pickerel - the very best of fish. And they would come up every spring the full width of the river - they might be 100 ft. wide. They were so thick you couldn't see the bottom and just rolling, rolling. You could go along the shore with a paddle and -- -- -- -- the bank, and you could load your wagon up with fish in no time."

Death

Bill St. Amand. Villa Resident Dies at 103.
One of the county's oldest residents passed away this week.
Bill St. Amand, 103-years-old on November 28, died Tuesday at the Villa Community Care Centre where he had bee living for the past three years. He was a resident of Port Severn previously.

Tuneral services were held at the Beausoleil Funeral Home in Penetanguishene Thursday with Father G. McInnis officiating. Interment St. John's Cemetery, Waubaushene.

Mr. St. Amand is survived by seven daughters, one son, 27 grandchildren and great-grandchildren spanning five generations.

Burial

ST. AMAND William J. St. Amand 1879-1983 His beloved wife Lena Bonneville 1884-1941 Their dau. Laura 1925-1996