A Story of Life's Romance
59th Wedding Anniversary of Louise LaBarge and Joseph Lacroix
April 1931
Author Unknown
Submitted by Gail Hodges
[This is a copy of a story Doris Etu Carpenter has in a handwritten booklet on Joseph and Louisa LaBarge's 59th wedding anniversary. Do not know who wrote it. -- Gail Hodges]
Once upon a time there was a little girl who was born July 9,1858, way up in Saint George, Canada, and she was called Mary Louise Margaret Fanny LaBarge, quite a long name for such a little girl, so she was called Louise for short, which we all must admit is a very nice name for a little girl with golden hair and blue eyes.
When Louise was six years old, her parents had decided to move to Sandy Hill, New York, as Hudson Falls was called at that time. Little Louise was upstairs being decked out in her new outfit of red that had been given her by her godmother for the journey. Louise was rather proud of her new clothes and was going to come downstairs to display all her splendor when she tripped on the very top stair and down she came, quite a bit faster than she had planned, but nevertheless the momentous trip was made on birthday, and to this very day if you look very close you will see the tiny little scars where those tiny little teeth came through as the result of the fall, so you see Mary Louise was never to forget her sixth birthday.
There was a little lad also born way up in Canada in a little place called Oka, about twenty-five miles from Montreal on January 14,1854, and he was called Joseph LaCroix. He had dark brown eyes and hair and a sunny disposition—you can tell it by the very merry twinkle in his eye to very day. When he was six, he moved to Montral and lived there about ten years, In Joseph's sixteenth year he went to Salem NY to work on the new railroad between Troy NY and Rutland, Vermont. The spring of 1872 he came to Sandy Hill, NY.
April 21st of that same year, he and Mary Louise were the first couple to be married in the Little-White-Church-at the top of the hill, Saint Paul's Catholic Church of Sandy Hill, NY by Father Huberdault. Incidentally, it was a double wedding—the other couple being Cordelia Coty and Napoleon LaRose.
It is a big event in any girl's life to be married, so this one was properly celebrated by a dinner and dance at the home of a sister of the bride, Mrs Barslow, and when the party was over the bride and groom went to home they had prepared at Green Mills, not for from where the trolley car barns are now. They lived there for twenty –five years and all the children were born there except the twins Philip and Mimmie who were born on Lower Warren Street.
Mr. LaCroix was employed to work on the construction of Howland Bag Mill under Major McCarthy. He then was able to get steady work inn the Waite and Richard Paper Mill, and this was much better than going north each winter, George Ferris to him out of the mill to janitor of the Masonic Hall, and he was there for eight years, For the next ten years he worked at Fenimore for handling color. There he was call "The Yellow Man". (It always took several days to scrub the yellow color off).
During these years, Joseph worked at Green Mills in the summer and winters he walked to the various towns in the North, namely Minerva, Newcomb, North Creek and Blue Mountain Lake to chip trees. He was considered one the best choppers at that time.
During these days at Bakers's Mills they lived on Derby, Sumpter and Lower Warren Streets. They had apartments in the Middleworth House and at the time of fire, they were burned out. They then moved to River Street for several years. Such busy people. They had a family of twelve children, thirty-two grandchildren and twenty great grand children .
HIS PARENTS
MICHEIL LACROIX—1816-1899
ELIZABETH LABRICHA—1823-1873 (BOTH BORN AND DIED IN CANADA)
HER PARENTS
PASCAL LABARGE 1828-1911
FLORENCE DUPUIS-1831-1901 (BOTH BORN IN CANADA AND DIED IN SANDY HILL)
THEIR DATES
JOSEPH LACROIX—1854
MARY LOUISE LABARGE –1858
THEIR CHILDREN
First child died at birth
Delia-born June 7,1857
Adolphus-born December 26,1876
Fred –born May 22,1878
Clara –died at three years of age
Vena Mary –born March 1, 1882
George –born May 27,1883 or 1884
Laura May –born December 15,1886
Philip and Minnie (twins) born March 17,1885
Adelord –died three days old
Georgianna—born April 17,1892
Post script by Gail:
Green Mills is in the Area of Hudson Falls
Fenimore color was Herclues Mills that made wallpaper in Hudson Falls