Marie-Anna 1890-1979

Marie-Anna was born October 1, 1890 in the town of St. Jean-Baptiste, province of Quebec, Canada. This small Canadian town would see a lot of Saurettes come and go thru the years. Her parents were Almeric Saurette and Alida Morier. She married Joseph P. Oligny May 30, 1912 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Marie-Anna died May 13, 1979 and is buried in St. Rose Cemetery, South Hadley, Massachuetts.

Click here to view the family sheet. Note: requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

View the record of her birth from the Drouin collection of vital events.

View the marriage records of Marie-Anna and Joseph Philorum Oligny.

View the wedding photo of Marie-Anna and Joseph Philorum Oligny.

View the death certificate of Marie-Anna.

View the tombstone of Marie-Anna Saurette.

Marie-Anna was born and lived in the town of St. Jean-Baptiste for at least the first 10 years of her life. This is known, as her name appears in the Canadian census of 1901, along with the rest of her family. According to immigration papers of her father, Almeric, Marie-Anna was 17 years old when the family arrived in the United States. The U.S. Census of 1930 places the year of immigration at 1908 – consistent with her age at the time.

Marie-Anna lived in Massachusetts for only about 4 years before she married Joseph P. Oligny, also originally from Quebec, Canada. All was not well with this union. In 1916, Marie-Anna filed a court document for divorce with the Superior Court of Hamden County, Springfield, Massachusetts. Here is an actual excerpt from that document: “Said husband fails without just cause to furnish suitable support for her, and has deserted her and that she is living apart from him for justifiable cause.” The age of their two young children were: Irene 3 years old and Roland 8 months old.

Even though she filed for divorce in 1916, the U.S. Census of 1920 still finds her living with her husband in Holyoke, Massachusetts. At some point in the 1920s, the divorce is final and she does get married again – to Gideon Rock. They had two children, Donald and Richard. According to the U.S. Census of 1930, Marie-Anna, her husband Gideon and her four children were living on John Street in Chicopee City. I found out something new here – that Gideon was born in the United States and not Canada.

Marie-Anna and her second husband, Gideon Rock, are buried in St. Rose cemetery which is located in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Here is the photograph of the headstone and some cemetery information.