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Added by Susan Gorman

Aurore Marie Adrien

1893-1958
Born: Ste. Christine de Bagot, Quebec, Canada
Died: Daytona Beach, Volusia, Florida, USA

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Life Story
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  • Story: Charles Eugene Godreau

    Charles was born in French Canada and came with his family to Fall River (New Bedford), Massachusetts in the 1890&#39;s. The oldest 5 children (including Charles) were probably born in Canada, and the others after the move. Charles&#39;s father Cleophas established a furniture store in Fall River, and with his wife&#39;s help, a remnant store as well.<br>The family moved to Lynn, around 1904, where Charles, with his father&#39;s help, founded the Lynn Screw Company, on Marshall Wharf Road. Charles ran the company until his enlistment in the army.<br>On April 27, 1918, Charles enlisted in the US Army, and after basic training at Camp Devens, and with some time at Camp Humphried, VA, he served in France (American Expeditionary Forces, 17th Company Transport Corps, 14 Grand Division, at Camp Granville M. Dodge, near St. Nazaire) as an interpreter. While in France, he visited Paris and Versailles, and wrote detailled letters to his fiancee, Aurore Adrien. I have these letters in my possession.&nbsp; <br>He left the service on August 5, 1919, and was married in Lynn on September 2 to Aurore. He agreed to allow some of Aurore&#39;s siblings live with them until they were independent, as Aurore&#39;s father had re-married after her mother&#39;s death, and Aurore became responsible for them.<br>Upon his return from the army, Charles went to his company to take over the reins once again, but his father refused to allow it, so Charles went to work at General Electric. His father eventually relented, and Charles was once again in charge of his company until he sold it before the move to Florida (for his health) in 1950. My mother says the business was very successful, especially because of the government contracts they had during World War II. My mother says that Charles did not want his company to create the machine gun sights that the government needed, so he quoted a very high price. However, the government accepted the bid!<br>Charles and Aurore lived at Wyman Street, 36 Waverly Street, and 12 Cumberland Circle in Lynn, and at 340 Fairview Avenue in Daytona Beach. They lived in this &quot;old house&quot; until their deaths. Charles died of asthma in 1966.&nbsp; <br>Charles was considered a very talented man musically. He played piano by ear and played the trombone in an orchestra. He was of slight build and had clear blue eyes.<br>I have only vague memories of my grandfather, as he died when I was only 5. I do remember him as a quiet, gentle man who told us stories and gave us coins and candy. We called him &quot;pepere&quot;, a French term meaning &quot;granddad&quot;.<br>Charles&#39;s Godreau ancestors were delicately-built people whose origins begin in Western France, on the island of Ile-de-Re. This island is about 30 km. long and is opposite the city of La Rochelle, in the province of Poitu. The inhabitants of this region were mostly hunters, laborers, and fishermen. They were in constant danger of invasion from england, so every man age 16 to 60 was required to serve in the miltary, with the more notable citizens serving as officers. The people of this region (&quot;Les Retais&quot;) were granted special privileges by the king and lords, and so the island became very popular. As it became more and more crowded, the Retais began to leave for other areas, such as Canada. The Godreau&#39;s are first mentioned in a known document in 1484, with the spelling &quot;Gautreau&quot;. The name origintaed with the words &quot;gaud&quot; or &quot;gaude&quot;, meaning &quot;woods&quot; or &quot;little forest&quot; in Old French. Different provinces added different suffixes; in Poitu it was &quot;eau&quot;; therefore, &quot;Gaud(r)eau&quot;. Eventually, the &quot;d&quot; became a &quot;t&quot;: &quot;Gautreau&quot;. This spelling is first documented in 1345. The &quot;Gautreau&#39;s&quot; who have stayed in France have retained the same spelling to this day. Those who left France (such as Charles&#39;s ancestors) developed many variations. In Quebec, the second generation changed the &quot;t&quot; back to &quot;d&quot;. The &quot;au&quot; also bacame &quot;o&quot; in our branch. The spelling &quot;Godreau&quot; is less common than other variations, which aided my search for our family history. On a visit to Canada in 1983, I looked up &quot;Godreau&quot; in the Quebec phone book, and found only 8 names. I sent letters to them, and received a reply from Jean-Yves Godreau, a leading genealogist of the Godreau line. I also found out about the &quot;Association des Familles Gautreau d&#39;Amerique&quot;, a genealogy club from which I have gotten much valuable info. (I joined in 1987.)

  • Story: Marriage Certificate Charles E Godreau And Aurore M Adrien

 
 
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