Hubert Brooks: The Life and Times

As mentioned in the previously chapter, on Saturday, December 13^th 1919 in Bluesky Alberta, Laura Farant married Alfred (Joseph) Brooks to become Mrs. Alfred (Joseph) Brooks.
Alfred and Laura would become the parents of Hubert Brooks upon which this biography is based.

This chapter provides some background as to the FARANT FAMILY GENEALOGY tracing their roots back to the Languedoc (France) PHARAND family.

Lauran (Laura) Farant of Ottawa, was the daughter of Pierre Farant (dit Vivarais b. September 19 1883) and Adélaide Ménard (b. 1880).

Laura's parents were married on January 29^th 1883 at Saint-Jean Baptiste church in Ottawa.

Laura was born January 11^th 1888 in Ottawa.
(She was baptized either at St François D'Assise or Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in the West end of Ottawa)

Laura had had a tough life with her mother Adélaide dying when Laura was only 13. Laura took up the responsibility
for raising the rest of the Farant family for her father Pierre. In her early 20s she went out to work as a seamstress in Ottawa.

Several years later, a girlfriend of the Brooks family in Peace River who also knew Laura wrote to her one day telling her about this very suitable, eligible bachelor (Alfred Joseph Brooks) who had a ranch and was living in Blueskyand how Alfred was just right for her. Apparently the positive buildup and description of Alfred, the allure of the west, the fact that she was approaching 30 all factored in to compel Laura to accept the offer of marriage.

Farant Family Genealogy

Three sources have been found to identify the FARANT FAMILY GENEALOGY history.

FARANT FAMILY GENEALOGY
GENERATION 0:

Husband: Claude Faran (note the absence of the t at the end).(note difference with TITRE SASCENDANCE document regards spelling of last name) Date and location of birth unknown. Names of parents unknown.
Wife: Anne Gauléon (Gonnelion) (note difference in spelling with the TITRE SASCENDANCE document). Date and location of birth unknown. Names of parents unknown.
Marriage: Claude married Anne in Serrière-en-Vivarais, diocèse de Vienne Dauphiné Languedoc, France – quite famous in the 12^th century for the Crusades.
Children: Claude Faran and Anne Garnelion's first son was Marcellin François Faran who was born around 1713.

GENERATION 1:

Husband: Marcellin Faran (b. abt. 1713) came to Canada as a soldier around 1744. Marcellin was a native from Serrières in the Vivarais region in France. It seems that at some point after his arrival in Canada, Marcellin, for some reason, started to spell is last name Farant. Marcellin died died at the age of 77 on Sept. 18, 1791
Wife 1: Marie-Angélique Normand dit Jolicoeur (b. abt. 1728). Location of birth and names of parents unknown. She died April 10, 1804 She was 76 years old.
Marriage 1: Marcellin married Marie-Joseph Sabourin whom he married on February 26, 1748, at the chapel of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Oka, at the Lac-des-Deux Montagnes. They lived in Vaudreuil where they had six children. Probably significantly weakened after the birth of two couples of twins in two years, Marie-Joseph died on January 4, 1754.
Children 1: Marcellin and Marie-Angélique had had 6 children of which 3 survived.
1. Marcellin-Jacques (b. December 23, 1748 Oka) (d. Feb 5, 1816)
2. Marie-Josephte (b. August 12, 1750 Oka)
3. Paul (b. April 12, 1752 Oka) - no male offspring
4. Marie-Angélique (b. April 12, 1752 Oka) .. died shortly after childbirth
5. Jean-Baptiste (b. July 26, 1753 Oka) .. died shortly after childbirth
6. Pélagie (b. July 26, 1753 Oka) .. died shortly after childbirth
Wife 2: Marie-Angélique Normand dit Jolicoeur (b. abt. 1728). Location of birth unknown. She was the widow of Pierre Dubé and daughter of Pierre Normand and Marie-Joseph Thier (Bray). She died April 10, 1804. She was 76 years old.
Marriage 2: Marcellin married Marie-Angélique May 1, 1754 in La Visitation Chapel in Sault-au-Récollet. They lived in Vaudreuil till 1775 then they farmed on Côte des Quinze Chiens (Quenchien)
Children 2: Marcellin and Marie-Angélique had had 8 children of which 6 survived.
1. Jean-Baptiste Farant born in Oka April 23 1755
2. Joseph Amable Farant was born on the 7^th of March 1757 in Sainte Anne QC
3. Bernardin (b. Aug 18, 1759 Sainte-Anne) - drowned Oct 9, 1763
4. Marie-Angélique (b. Apr 5, 1762 Oka) - stayed single (d. Oct 30, 1838)
5. André-Vital (b. Apr 28, 1764 Oka) - stayed single (d. Feb 23, 1838)
6. Charles (b. Jan 20, 1767 Oka) (d. July 27, 1837)
7. Ignace-Julien (b. Jan 29, 1773) (d. July 26, 1858)
8. Name Not Known (b. Feb 3, 1768 Oka) - died at childbirth

GENERATION 2:

Husband: Joseph Amable Farant (b. March 1, 1757) in Sainte Anne QC (d. June 27, 1821) (NOTE: Unclear why genealogy tree follows the 2^nd born)
Wife: Marie-Rose Samson (b. abt. 1728) (d. Nov 22, 1846). Daughter of Jacques Samson (born Normandy France) and Anne Métrue
Marriage: Joseph Amable married Marie-Rose in Vaudreuil QC on the eleventh of January 1785 (copy of the marriage certificate where surname is clearly written FARANT). Joseph was a farmer whose farm was next to the Samson domain. They lived on the farm till 1792 when they moved to Carillon near La Rivière Rouge.
Children: The couple had 9 children (only two boys).
1. Marie-Rose (b. Aug. 15,1786 Vaudreuil)
2. Marie Genevievre (b. Oct 5,1789 Vaudreuil)
3. their first son Jacques-Isaac Pharant (note "Ph" as per birth certificate) (b. 16 Oct 1791 Vaudreuil) (d. Dec 7, 1873)
4. Félicité (b. Dec 23 1793 Oka)
5. Marie-Françoise (b. Oct 30 1795 Oka)
6. Joseph (b. July 20th 1798 Oka)
7. Augustin (b. Nov 10 1800 St-Benoit)
8. Léon-Joseph who died in 1846
9. and finally Émilie (b. May 29, 1803 St-Benoit)
As an ASIDE – three of the Joseph and Marie-Rose's children married Louiseize family children:
1. Jacques Issac and Josephte Louiseize who had 10 children together
2. Joseph and Marguerite Louiseize who also had 10 children together.
3. and Émilie and Louis Louiseize who also had 10 children together.

GENERATION 3:

Husband: Jacques-Isaac Pharant (b. 16 Oct 1791 ) (d. Dec 7, 1873)
Wife: Marie-Josephte Louiseize (b. June 1, 1793) (d. March 10, 1877)
Marriage: Jacques-Isaac married Marie-Josephte 7-Oct 1816 in Rigaud Qc.
Children: Jacques-Isaac and Marie-Josephte had 10 children:
1. Euphrosine (b. July 22, 1817 Rigaud)
2. Joseph (b. Dec 5, 1818 Rigaud) who married Odile Fournier on Nov, 15 1841 in Saint-Hermas
3. André (b. Oct 21, 1820 Rigaud), who married Adelaide Bertrand on Nov 9, 1846 in St-Andre
4. Jacques (b. Sept 29, 1822 Rigaud), who married Louise Gauthier in Jan 24, 1849 in St-Andre
5. Catherine (b. Apr 12, 1824 Rigaud)
6. Pierre (b. May 17, 1825 St-Benoit). Son Pierre Farand (note again the change in spelling as written on the marriage certificate) married Helene Dufresne on 5-June-1849 Saint-Andre-d'Argenteuil QC. Helene dies at 34 years old. Pierre then married Marguerite Blain and had ten more children. They settled in the vicinity of Saint-Philippe de Masham in 1858
7. Doméltide (b. Aug 14, 1827 Rigaud)
8. Louis (b. July 14, 1830 St-Benoit) - uncertain as to marriage or date of death
9. Marie (b. Oct 24, 1833 Rigaud)
10. and Henriette (b. May 10, 1837 St-Andre)

GENERATION 4:

Husband: Pierre Farand (b. May 17, 1825 ) (d. Aug 21, 1894)
Wife 1: Hélène Dufresne (b. Dec 15, 1823) (d. Apr 24, 1858) Location of birth and names of parents unknown. Hélène died in 1858 only 34 years old
Marriage 1: Pierre married Hélène 5-June-1849 Saint-Andre-d'Argenteuil QC.
Children 1: Pierre and Hélène had 4 children of which only the two boys will survive :
1. Fabien (b. Apr 25, 1850 St-Andre)
2. Marguerite (b. June 26, 1852 St-Andre) (d. Sept 20, 1874) at Convent of the Sisters of Providence on Ile St-Jean de Dieu
3. Pierre (Jr) (b. Sept 19, 1854 St-Andre)
4. Helene (b. june 12, 1856 St-Andre) (d. Feb 19, 1861)

Husband: Pierre Farand (b. 1825 )
Wife 2: Marguerite Blain (b. 1824) Location and date of birth and names of parents unknown.
Marriage 2: Following untimely death of 1^st wife Hélène, Pierre married Marguerite on October 18, 1859, Saint-Philippe d'Argenteuil and settles in St Philippe de Masham QC a village 45 minutes (by car) North of Ottawa.
Children: Eleven children as follows
1. Celina (b. July 28, 1860 St-Andre)
2. Elizabeth (b. Feb 28, 1862 St-Andre)
3. Felix (b. Aug 19, 1863 St-Andre) Died at childbirth
4. Jean (b. June 30, 1865 St-Philippe)
5. Genereuse (b. Dec 12, 1867 St-Philippe)
6. Marie-Louise (b. Mar 29, 1871 St-Philippe) Died at childbirth
7. Alfred (b. 1874 St-Philippe)
8. Pierre (b. Oct 4, 1876 St-Philippe) Died at childbirth
9. Leon-Honore (b. Sept 15, 1878 St-Philippe)

GENERATION 5:

Husband: Pierre Farant (Jr) (b. Sept 19, 1854 St-Andre) (other info b. 1853 at Greece's Point, Qc) (d. Nov 21, 1937 in Ottawa. Note Pierre's tombstone and obituary had the family name spelling Farant)
Note the 1921 Canada Census (as of June 1, 1921) had Peter Farant (age 65 born abt 1856) living with Mose (presumably Moïse ) Farant ( age 27) and Bertha (presumably Paula B�atrice) Farant (age 19) - all living at 67 Mehan ( presumably Melrose) Ave.
Wife: Adélaïde (aka Mary-Jane) Ménard (b. abt. 1860 possibly in New York state) (d. Sept. 12, 1913 at the age of 53) Parents were David M�nard (b. Chambly Qc) and �melie Bourgeois who were married in Chambly in 1841
Marriage: Pierre married Adelaïde January 29 1883 in Ottawa in St Jean-Baptiste church. They settled in Hartwell (and later Cheneville) where lived Fabien, the husband's brother. Edna was born in December of that same year. Shortly after, they left Hartwell for Mechanicsville (Ottawa), at 38 Burnside Avenue. They had five girls and four boys, out of which seven survived up to their teens.
Children: Pierre and Adelaïde had 9 children :
1. Edna (Clovine) (b. Dec 6, 1883) (d. 1987) - who married (m. Oct 25, 1911) Émile (Willy) Larose and they had one child Alban (Buster) (b. Aug 26, 1912).
  The 1921 Canada Census had Emile LaRose ( age 37 born abt 1884), with wife Edna (37) and son Alban (8) living at 585 O'Connor in Ottawa. Edna and Willy emigrated to Detroit where Willy worked in a car parts factory. Edna died in 1987 at the age of 104 possibly the Farant family member who lived the longest.
2. Edouard Charles (b. Jan 17, 1886; d. July 27, 1959 Ottawa). His wife Adrienne Marquis (b. Apr 23, , whom he married in Riviere du Loop on April 23, 1912, died young in 1924 and left him with 7 children ages ranging from one to twelve. All the children were adopted by relatives with the exception of Dorval, who the eldest, lived with his father in the house of his grand-father on Melrose Street. Edouard worked for a long time for the J.R.Booth Company in Hull and Gatineau as a log driver. He never married again and died at the age of 73 in 1959. The 1921 Canada Census (as of June 1, 1921) had the family living at 49 Armstrong St in Ottawa. The family consisting of father Edward Pharand (35), mother Adrien Pharand (32), and children Dowal (8), Vieta (5), Theresa (3) and Pauline (2).
  The three daughters were placed in the Grey Nun's convent in Aylmer QC. The 3 daughters were:
  1. Vietta (1915-1998),
  2. Thérèse (b. 1916) (d. 2008 according to a family member - however grave stone date in Notre Dame Ottawa Cemetery says 2001)
  3. and Pauline Mary Stella (b. 1919) (d. 2006) (who would later marry on June 18, 1946 and become Mrs. Isaiah Joseph Redmond)
    (Mr. Isaiah Joseph Redmond was born in Hynford, Ontario, Canada on 1917 to John James Redmond and Mary Louise St Louis. Isaiah J married Pauline Farant on June 18, 1946. He passed away on 13 May 1996 in Carleton, Ontario, Canada.)
    They had 2 children: Shirley Ann Whitney (born Redmond) and one other child.
  The sons:
  1. Raymond (1922-1989) was adopted by his uncle Eddy Manor (dit Ménard) in Sudbury,
  2. Edouard "Eddy" Charles Junior (b. 1923 d. December 3, 2012) is adopted by Moïse (Mac) and Bernadette (Birdie) LaBreche.
    Would marry Yvette Browning ( circa 1971) after his first wife Anne Marie Idola Nault of Montreal passed away (September 27, 1960) .
    Children: Edward (Ted), Daniel (Dan), Robert, David, Richard (Rick), Theresa and Joan (daughter of Yvette Browning from her first marriage).
  3. and Dorval, the eldest, moved into his grandfather Pierre's house on Melrose St with his dad.
3. Louis-Omer (b. 7 Dec 1886; d. Aug 27, 1951) married Amanda Goulet (b. March 1, 1893; d. January 31, 1984) on September 17, 1912 at Saint-Francois d�Assise. The 1921 Canada Census (as of June 1, 1921) had Omer Farant (age 34 born abt 1887), with wife Amanda (28) and children Alexis (8), Lillian (6), Germaine(4) and Marcelle (1) living at 50 Forest Ave West Side.
  1. had a son Alexis Conrad Farant (1913- 2006) who married Cécile Beaulieu on September 14, 1938 at Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa .
    Alexis and Cécile would have 8 children; daughters Monique (b. Nov. 30, 1946), Suzanne (b. Oct 28, 1948), Lucie (March 13, 1952), and Madeleine (b. July 17 1958)
    and sons Michel (b. Feb. 18,1941), Gaëtan (b. May 21 1944, d. April 14, 1945) Paul (b. May 6, 1955), and Jean-Pierre Farant (b.July 8, 1939; m. 1963 Lynne Tapp; d. September 9, 2013)
  2. Madeleine (b. July 17, 1927; d. December 23, 1944)
  3. Normand (b. June 5, 1922 ) who on Sept 18, 1943 would marry Lucille Lauriault
  4. Lilianne (b. March 13, 1915 ; d. October 27, 2008) Aug 18, 1935) who would marry on October 12, 1936 Johnny Brown and the couple would adopt a son Leslie "Lester" Stephen (b. Sept 20, 1946; d. April 4, 2006 at age of 56) who in turn would marry Diane Muldoon Harris
  5. Germaine (b. October 22, 1917 ) who would marry Remi Byrd Vallieres on Monday October 14, 1946 in Ottawa
  6. Marcelle (b. December 11, 1919 ) who would marry on November 6, 1945 Richard Lascelles. The couple would adopt Simone (b. Dec 4, 1938), and then have other children Richard (b. Aug 8, 1946), Louise (b. Oct 3, 1950), Claude (b. Aug 1, 1956)
4. Laura (b. January 11, 1888; d. 1983) (future wife of Alfred Brooks and mother of Hubert Brooks of whom this biography is written). She was introduced to Alfred Brooks by a friend who suggested she communicate with him. Alfred Brooks had a ranch in Blue Sky, Alberta. A few years later, Alfred Brooks asked her to marry him and, since he could not leave his ranch, she moved to Blue Sky to join him. He lost his ranch as a consequence of the drought that took place in the thirties and they moved back to Ottawa and settled temporarily in the house on Melrose Street. Fred Brooks worked as a broker in Ottawa and Montreal
5. Alma (b. Jan 6, 1890 d. November 23, 1977 in Taylor Michigan), who married Ernest "Bernie" C. Howell (b. 1896, d. March 31, 1966) of Detroit who also worked in an automobile related factory would have a daughter Doreen
6. David Léopold (b. Feb 12, 1891) (d. July 25, 1891)
7. Moïse ("Mac") Fridolin (b. May 7,1894 d. October 27, 1960 Ottawa) who would marry Bernadette (Birdie) LaBreche (1901 - 1985). Mac died one month after the death of Eddy Junior's wife Anne Marie Idola Nault.
8. Paula Béatrice (b. Aug 10, 1897 d. 1985). Paula married civil servant Claude Stanley Wagner (b: abt 1892 in New Brunswick) on May 18, 1921 in Ottawa then moved to Detroit during the depression.
  They had 3 children Donald (b. March 4 1922), Shirley (b. Oct 12 1925), Béatrice Louise (b. Feb 4 1930).
  Paula is shown as having married a Robert Hamilton in Detroit in 1951.
  Paula died at the age of 87 in 1985.
9. and finally Gertrude Stella (b. Oct 30 1899) (d. April 26, 1901 at the age of 2 years)
Back Story (from Jean-Pierre Farant): Pierre Farant was a rather short man, of average build, with blue eyes, dark skin and white hair. He always wore a cap. His passion was walking. As a matter of fact, twice a week, whether it rained, snowed or was sunny, he would walk hands in his back from his house at the corner of Melrose and Gladstone streets, all the way to the market in lower town, to meet the Cleroux, his friends, who were selling their agricultural products.
During his youth, he probably worked in one of the region`s lumber yards. However, for over twenty years, he worked for the Ottawa Electric Company at the Holland street power plant.
He was always ready to help his children. In fact, he bought the big house on Melrose Street to accommodate some of his children with their families and children, in particular, Edouard, Laura and Edna.
He was hit hard by the tragic death of his wife Adie. She had left the house early that morning of September 12, 1913, with a basket full of clothes and provisions for her first grand-son Alban "Buster" who was with his mother Edna at Kilkare Cottage on Woodroffe Street. Her daughter-in-law, Amanda Goulet, who had also given birth to her 52nd grand-son Alexis in June, was most likely the last person from the family to speak to her when she walked by her house , on O'Meara Street, to catch the train on Bayswater Street. As she got off the train on Woodroffe street around eleven o`clock, the heel of one of her shoes got caught in between two rails. Unfortunately, she was trying to untie her shoe lace as the Canadian-Pacific Express from Chalk-River suddenly arrived. All attempts by the train driver, a friend from the family named Beauchamp, were hopeless. She died instantly. She was 53 years old.

Laura

Hubert Brooks

uncles

aunts

Hubert Brooks

Pierre Farant (Jr)

Adelaïde Ménard Farant

Grandfather

Grandmother

Pharand / Faran/ Farand / Farant

There are numerous spellings of the name of Farant in the family and historical documents found. On some documents the name is listed as Farant, on some its Pharand, or Farand and even Faran.

The days of dynamic last names continue making genealogy so much fun!

Recently Jean-Pierre Farant (grandson of Omer Louis Farant) and his brother Michel Farant have stated:
"Our research makes it clear that the spelling of our surname FARANT is its original spelling. Our ancestor MARCELLIN came from the Vivarais region in France. In this region we find the presence of dame Patricia Farant who lived in Saint-Étienne and of Jean and Alain Farant in Riorgues near De Serrières region.
An etymologic (recherche etyimologique) study in Lyon demonstrated that the name FARANT was "une variation orthographique" of the surname FERRAND (possibly derived from FER-meaning iron). The town of Clairmont-Ferrand is found close by de Serrières and there presently exist 30 families of that name in Ardèche.
In fact according to Jean-Pierre Farant's research the name PHARAND does not exist in France and probably Ferrand is our true surname -- Farant being a derivation.
Jean-Pierre Farant found a copy of the marriage certificate of Marcellin and Marie-Joseph Sabourin dated the 26^th of February 1748 in Notre-Dame de la Laurette parish celebrated in the Annonciation-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge -Marie d'Oka of Lac des Deux Montagnes QC and it clearly states that " Marcellin Farant dit Vivarais soldat et le fils de Pierre Farant" married Marie-Joseph Sabourin whom he met when she was introduced to him by her brother Capitaine Jean-Baptiste Sabourin. The earliest record he has of Marcellin in Canada is his presence at the baptism of a Marie-Roussel on the 19^th of February 1745 in Notre-Dame church in Montreal. He was then affected to the military division at Lac des deux Montagnes.

An anecdote often related to us by our father, Alexis C. Farant, was that a curé would have misspelled the original name at a baptisim ceremony by replacing the ‘F’ by a ‘Ph’ which at the time with the advent of the PHonograph, telegraPH and telePHone the priest would have written Pharand on the baptismal certificate. We credit Pierre Farant Sr. for correcting the false spelling. It is a fact that the Pharand name is more common in French Ontario and Quebec to a point that when asked for our surname we must make a point of mentioning that it is written with an ‘F’. I am sure that we are all related distantly to the Pharand and Farand the latter line now dying due to the fact that only female descendants remain.

A final point, my aunt Lilian Brown's (wife of Johnny Brown a good friend of Hubert Brooks) daughter in law found a document on line that indicated that the name actually originated in Brittany around the 11^th century and in fact, in Britain the name FARRANT is quite common."
(Johnny Brown her husband and our uncle was a good friend of Hubert Brooks - Johnny Brown was a mechanic who ran a Sunoco gas station and garage then left that to start the Johnny Brown Enterprises, a parking lot line painting company. When he died Lester Brown, an adopted son, was too ill to take over the company full time so it was taken over by one of Johnny's favorite employees who, in John's honour, kept the name.)

NOTE Laura's birthdate in the 1901 Canada Census is stated as Jan 11, 1887 as opposed to the family held belief it was Jan 11, 1888.

Just to add fuel to the fire, the Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913 Records about Laura Farrant (assuming this is "our" Laura Farrant) indicate:

Name:	Laura Farrant
Arrival Date:	24 Jun 1914
Port of Arrival:	Port Huron, Michigan, United States
Residence Country:	Canada
Age:	24
Birth Date:	abt 1890
Birth Country:	Canada
Address:	31 Burnside, Ottawa, Can
Gender:	Female
Occupation:	Dressmaker
Race/Nationality:	French
Record type:	Manifests
Line Number:	11

The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D.
A Canadian Hero

APPENDIX A – EXTENDED BROOKS FAMILY GENEALOGY

A.11 FARANT FAMILY GENEALOGY

Laura Farant Immediate Family Genealogy

Farant Family Genealogy

Pharand / Faran/ Farand / Farant

The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D. A Canadian Hero

APPENDIX A – EXTENDED BROOKS FAMILY GENEALOGY

A.11 FARANT FAMILY GENEALOGY

Laura Farant Immediate Family Genealogy

Farant Family Genealogy

Pharand / Faran/ Farand / Farant

The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D.
A Canadian Hero