Sévérin Cormier was christened on March 1, 1853, at Saint Bruno's Church in Van Buren, Maine (across the river from where he'd been born). The priest at that time was apparently not fluent in French and recorded the baptism (in English) under the name 'Saul Cormier', notating that Sévérin was already a week old and misspelling his parents' names as 'Firmia Cormier' and 'Judy Crock' ('Croc' was an old 'dit name' commonly used by many of the Madawaskan 'Cyr' descendants, and it was often anglicized as 'Crock').

Died of 'old age' (vieillesse) and 'a weak heart' (faiblesse du cœur)

SÉVÉRIN CORMIER's FAMILY

His Wife:
Léocadie (Martin) Cormier 1853-1947 [age 93]
married August 11, 1879, at L'Église de St-Antoine-de-Padoue,
in St-Léonard-Parent, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada;
he was 26, she was 25
— At the time of Sévérin's death in 1930, he and Léocadie had been married 51 years.
Note: Sévérin and Léocadie were third cousins — in that era, a fairly common occurrence in rural French-Canada.

Their 8 Children:
5 boys & 3 girls
► Flavie M. (Cormier) Soucy 1881-1901 [age 20]
married May 1, 1898, in St-Léonard-Parent, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada,
to Édmond J. Soucy 1874-1969 [age 94]
she was 16, he was 23; married 3½ years; 3 children
died of typhoid fever and post-childbirth complications
► Ubalde S. Cormier 1883-1964 [age 81] - see note below ↓
married Aug. 17, 1903, in St-Léonard-Parent, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada,
to Élida L. 'Ida' (Thibodeau) Cormier 1884-1957 [age 72]
he was 19, she was 18; married 53½ years; 13 children
died of a coronary thrombosis (blood clot in the heart)
► Alfred S. 'Fred' Cormier 1885-1962 [age 76]
married Apr. 22, 1912, in Caribou, Maine
to Clarina (Ouellette) Cormier 1893-1936 [age 43]
he was 27, she was 18; married 24½ years; 13 children
married Jan. 4, 1938, in Drummond, Victoria, New Brunswick, Canada
to Bibiane M. (Sirois) Cormier 1911-1985 [age 74]
he was 52, she was 26; married 24 years; 6 children
died of a neoplasm (malignant neck tumor)
► Marie A. 'Annie' (Cormier) Thibodeau 1886-1907 [age 20] - see note below ↓
married Jul. 24, 1905, in St-Léonard-Parent, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada,
to Mammé A. Thibodeau 1879-1914 [age 34]
she was 18, he was 25; married less than 2 years; 1 child
died of post-childbirth complications
► Joseph J. Cormier 1889-1889 [age 3 weeks]
weak since birth - may have been born prematurely
► Onésime T. 'Ozime' Cormier 1890-1931 [age 40]
married Oct. 2, 1920, in Millinocket, Maine
to Emily M. (Pelletier) Cormier 1903-1973 [age 70]
he was 30, she was 17; married 10 years; 4 children
accidental poisoning (ingestion of tainted alcohol)
► Alice S. (Cormier) Morin 1892-1968 [age 76]
married Feb. 27, 1911, in St-Léonard-Parent, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada,
to Jean-Baptiste 'John' O. Morin 1883-1970 [age 87]
she was 18, he was 28; married 57 years; 11 children
died while visiting her husband at the hospital
► François-Xavier Cormier 1894-1894 [age 1 day]
cause of death not stated - may have been born prematurely
Note: Ubalde Cormier's wife (Ida Thibodeau) and Annie Cormier's husband (Mammé Thibodeau) were sister and brother.

His Parents:
Firmin Cormier 1809-1871 [age 62]
and Céleste 'Julie' (Cyr) Cormier 1812-1887 [age 74]
married February 26, 1838,
at L'Église de St-Basile-le-Grand in St-Basile, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada
he was 28, she was 25; married 33 years; 10 children

His 9 (known) Siblings:
3 brothers & 6 sisters
► Octave Cormier 1839-1880 [age 40]
► Julie 'Nancy' (Cormier) Morin 1841-1910 [age 68]
► Isaïe Cormier - born 31 May 1843 [probably died in 1910 at age 66] - see note #1 below ↓
► Adéline 'Délina' (Cormier) Langlais 1845-1879 [age 34]
► Adèle Cormier - born 23 April 1846
presumably died as a child before 1851 - see note #2 below ↓
► Rémi Cormier 1848-1903 [age 54]
► Phélonise Cormier - born 4 May 1850 - a twin
presumably died as a child before 1861 - see note #2 below ↓
► Flavie (Cormier) Thibodeau 1850-1902 [age 52] - a twin
► Élodie (Cormier) Roy 1855-1925 [age 69]
Notes:
1. Isaïe Cormier's death and place of burial could not be verified; but based on his date of birth, one might presume that this marked grave for an Isaïe Cormier in the St-Léonard-Parent Cemetery is his. It appears that Isaie never married; and in the 1891 Census he was residing at the home of his brother Rémi.
2. Though unconfirmed, it's presumed that both Adèle and Phélonise died as infants (or at a young age) and that both were buried in the St-Léonard-Parent Cemetery. Adèle was born in 1846 but wasn't enumerated with the rest of the family in the 1851 Census; and though Phélonise was listed in that same census, a notation indicates that she was 'sick' — and her name doesn't appear in the 1861 Census ten years later.

His Grandparents:
Paternal - his father's parents
► Pièrre Cormier 1773-1836 [age 62]
and Rose M. (Soucy) Cormier c1780-1817 [age c37]
married February 5, 1799,
at L'Église de St-Basile-le-Grand in 'The Madawaska Settlement' (St-Basile, New Brunswick)
he was 25, she was about 18; married 18 years; 4 children
His Paternal Step-Grandmother - Pièrre Cormier's 2nd Wife
Ursule (Daigle) Cormier 1795-1864 [age 69]
married to Pièrre Cormier on April 13, 1818,
at L'Église de St-Basile-le-Grand in 'The Madawaska Settlement' (St-Basile, New Brunswick)
he was 45, she was 23; married 18½ years; 13 children
Maternal - his mother's parents
► Jean-Évangéliste Cyr c1786-1854 [age c68]
and Euphrosine Rosalie (Roy) Cyr 1789-died between 1814/1819 [in her mid to late 20s]
married July 16, 1811,
at Ste-Anne-des-Pays-Bas (Pointe-Ste-Anne/Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada
he was about 25, she was 22; married less than 9 years; 2 (known) children
His Maternal Step-Grandmother - Jean Cyr's 2nd Wife
Madeleine (Soucy) Cyr 1794-1876 [age 81]
married to Jean-Évangéliste Cyr on October 25, 1819,
at L'Église de St-Basile-le-Grand in 'The Madawaska Settlement' (St-Basile, New Brunswick)
he was about 33, she was 25; married almost 35 years; 9 (known) children

TELL THE STORY · REMEMBER THE LIFE

Sévérin Xavier Cormier, a 7th-generation farmer, was born on the family farm in St-Léonard-Parent, New Brunswick — one of 10 children (and the youngest of four boys). After marrying, he established his own farm just a short distance from where he'd been raised; and together, he and Léocadie started a family. Not surprisingly, Sévérin and his wife were 'small cousins'; and as was required by the Catholic church in such instances, they had to obtain a special dispensation before marrying.

By all accounts, Sévérin and Léocadie lived a typical life in rural French-Canada, mixed with the joys of raising a family and the sorrows of burying four of their eight children. [Two of their five sons had died as infants; and two of their three daughters died at age 20, both from complications related to childbirth.]

Sévérin Cormier lived out his entire life in St- Léonard-Parent and never strayed from the small town where he'd grown up. He sowed and harvested his own vegetables, tended to his cattle and sheep and hogs, and saw to it that his family was well cared for. As he began to age, one of his sons (Alfred) took over the responsibilities of running the family farm, which gave ol' Sévérin some time to relax and enjoy his golden years.

Married 51 years, Sévérin had been blessed with a long and fruitful life when in 1930 at age 78 he passed away at home, having outlived all of his brothers and sisters. By then, his family had grown to include 42 grandchildren (six of whom had predeceased him) and 9 great-grandchildren; and his three married sons had perpetuated the family name. According to his death certificate, Sévérin died of 'vieillesse et faiblesse du cœur' (old age and a weak heart); and he was laid to rest on September 6 in the parish cemetery just a short distance from his farm. May he rest in peace.

CEMETERY INFORMATION

Type of Marker: Headstone (monument)