Charles Seymour

Charles was married in the United States to Charlotte Robert in the Marquette, Michigan area in 1874.  I haven't found any indication that he lived or worked in that area.

The first United States census he appears in is the 1880 record.  This is the first record I've found of him as Charles Seymour. It shows that they already have one son, Charles, and that Charlotte's mother lives with them.  It shows that Charles is a farmer, and Charlotte keeps house.  The last three columns on the right show where the person listed was born, where their father was born, and where their mother was born.

The 1880 record:

The 1890 Census was damaged by fire and only a few sections survived.  If this section had survived, it may have shown that Charles' mother was living with him.  She died in Bark River Michigan in 1897 and is buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Schaffer, MI.

This is also how I discovered the last child of Charles and Charlotte.  I always wonder how many of these babies would have made it if they were born today.  It must have been a hard time for the family to lose two people in such a short time  I haven't found where George is buried, but I think he is in an unmarked grave at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Schaffer.

The 1900 Record:
This record is a little hard to read.
Listed are:
Charles, Charlotte, Melvina, Regis(must be Richard), Joachim (Antoine), Joe, Philemon, Clifford, Henry, Etienne, Celina Larange (Servant), Joe Larange (Boarder), Phillip Leroux (Boarder), and E... Fallion (Boarder).

The oldest two kids, Charles and Rosanna have already married and left home.  The can be found in the census record in Bark River Michigan with their spouses and children.

Charles ran a hotel:

1910 US Census Record:

Only Joseph Henry and Eugene are left at home. Joseph appears to be running the family farm.  From other records, Philemone died in September of 1900 from jaundice.  The rest have left home.  Most are married, but I haven't found a marriage record for Antoine.

Here is an article about an accident of the oldest of Charles's kids:

Masonville Township appears to be an area that includes Rapid River.

Then there is this from 1915.

Charles Seymour Jr was either very lucky, or very unlucky.  I guess it depends on perspective.

And we have this:

In 1914 world War I started in Europe.  The RMS Lusitania was sank in 1915, and the United States declared war in April 1917.  I have found WWI draft cards for Joseph, Antoine, Clifford, and Eugene.  The only indication that I have that any of them served is Antoine as noted in his mother's obituary below.

1920 Census Record:

I think Joseph is the son of Richard.  It doesn't help that his age is unreadable. I think it says he is 9.

 1930 Census Record:

Thomas J Seymour has been attributed to Richard. It is possible he could be the same person as in the 1920 census.

Prohibition of alcohol in the United States ran from 1920-1933.  It appears that the Seymour family was against it.

For a long time, I didn't know how this situation was resolved. I found the following article in 2017.

Charles Seymour Jr. got 6 months, and Joseph Seymour got 4 months in the Detroit House of Corrections. There was more than one Joseph Seymour in the area. I need to do more research to confirm which was involved in the rum running.

The following may be hard to read, but it is an article on the 60th wedding anniversary of Charles and Charlotte Seymour. It was published in the Escanaba Daily Press, Thursday January 3, 1935, page 6.

The article lists their living children as Mrs Melvina Pecore of Milwaukee, Clifford of Menominee, Antoine of Iron Mountain, Eugene of Escanaba, and Henry and Joseph of Schaeffer. It also notes that they raised their grandson Thomas Seymour as a son, and he was serving in the Army in the Panama Canal Zone.

Charles Sr. died in 1936 from heart disease.  Charlotte moved in with her son Henry's family (Or Henry's family moved in with Charlotte) and appears there in the 1940 census.  She died in 1944.  Charles and Charlotte are both buried in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Schaffer, MI.  They are marked as Mother and Father Seymour with their birth and death dates.

Here is Charlotte Seymour's obituary:

Here is an interesting tidbit:

source : Schaffer Centennial (1872 - 1972) Memories That Linger

IN LOVING MEMORYCharles SIMARD (Seymour) & Charlotte SEYMOUR
Charles Seymour Sr. was born in 1852 in Quebec and died in November 10, 1936. He operated a dairy farm in Tesch for many years. He also jobbed in Aura, Floodwood and in this area. He also operated a grocery store in partnership with Joe Piche. He owned much land and donated what is now the Schaffer Cemetery.

Charlotte, ROBERTS, Seymour was born in 1859 in New York State. She died in 1944.
They were married in Humbolt MI, in December 1877 and raised a family of seven boys and three girls and one foster daughter.
the family included :

Charles 1879-1932 ; his children : Homer 1899-1969 ; Glory Seymour DUNCAN 1915-1958
Osana (Seymour) DUFORD PERRA 1881-1931 ; her son Harry DUFORD 1900-1962
Melvina (Seymour) PROVOST PECORE 1884-1951 ; her son Royal PROVOST 1902-1921
Richard 1886-1932 ; his son Thomas 1910-1964
Antoine 1888-1958 Served in World War I
Joseph 1890-1935 ; his children : Arline (Seymour) TAYLOR 1910-1947,
Edward Seymour 1916-1954
Philomene 1891-1958
Clifford 1893-1958
Henry 1895 - and still resides in Schaffer ; his daughter Dorothy Cecile 1920 died in infancy
Eugene 1896-1946 ; his son Gilbert 1921-1929
Rosella CALIEUX VIAU, a foster daughter 1891-1962

This book is on file at the Escanaba Public Library, but this page and a few other pages have been copied and are posted on message boards around the internet.  It doesn't list all the grandchildren of Charles Seymour.  I don't know who wrote the article but it appears only deceased family members are listed.  There are even some obvious mistakes.  Charles senior was born in 1851, not 1852.  I think Osana should be Rosanna. Philomena died in 1900.

As a side note, Tesch, Bark River, and Schaffer are all near each other. The area of Escanaba based on the railroads is shown here.  Tesch was the name of the major railroad intersection in the area. Charles Sr. owned the land around the intersection. Tesch.

Here are Charles Seymour, his children, and their known spouses:

Richard's wife was Laura Gascon.

I found these pictures of Charles Seymour and Charlotte Robert Seymour on ancestry,com.