Charbonneau Family

The Charbonneau Family

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Since the earliest Charbonneau settlers immigrated to Canada, the Charbonneau name has been changed, shortened, and more Americanized. This due to the fact that many Charbonneau's did not read nor write English, leaving it up to whomever happened to be filling out any forms or documents to spell the name phonically. Therefore the Charbonneau surname was changed over the years. Below is an example of some variants. As a researcher of this Surname, it makes for an extensive and adventurous journey to learn about our ancestors.

Charbono, Chabino, Chavenuea, Charbineau, Shabino, Sharbino, Shawbono, Cherbon, Charbono

I would like to dedicate this website to my mother Neva Beverly Grafft-Clark whom without all her hard work and research, I would not have this information to share. I would also like to acknowledge my Cousins: Mark Slade, Deb Hochhalter, and Art Chabino who share the same dream of completing this side of our family tree. Without their help I would not have near as much information to share.

Shabino Facts and Fancies

By Olive M.Shabino

Practically all of the early settlers of Canada were French, all in a sense explorers, but some came as missionaries and others to hunt and trap the many animals whose gorgeous furs meant wealth and riches when sent back to France. Most of them came in by way the broad St. Lawrence River. many settlements were made along it's length, but the first which became permanent was at the mouth of the Saguenay River, in 1600, the present little town of Tadoussac. The other groups perished, either from want or at the hands of Indians, or moved to what seemed more advantageous sites. Quebec was settled in 1608 and Montreal in 1608. Montreal, later to become the largest city in Canada, was first established as a religious colony. Because it was the outpost of civilization in the midst of Iroquoi country, it became a military post and the center of fur trade and the base from which extensive explorations were made.

Of course we do not know with what group or when our Shabino ancestors came. We do know that they were from France and the name was properly spelled "Charbonneau" as it is still is in Canada and most of the U.S. We can take it for granted that they came into the middle of Canada by way of the St. Lawrence, as in those days water routes furnished the only means of transportation. While family tradition says that they came to Montreal, we do not know whether they came directly or made trial stops along the way. At any rate, at the time of the American Revolutionary War they were living somewhere between Montreal and the northern boarder of New York state and what is now known as Vermont, and in this locality both Antoine Charbonneau and Marie Rubior were born.

According to stories told by all the sons and daughters of Antoine, they had a grandfather, who, although living in Canada served in The Revolutionary War on the side of the colonies. There is only one man named Charbonneau, on the list of this war, the name is under several different spellings, "Augustin Charbonneau", "Austin Cherbino", "Augustine Charbonneau", and "Austin Charbono", Ect . ("Austin" was often an abbreviation of Augustin"). He was a private in Phillip Lieber's Company, General Moses Hazen's Regiment, New Hampshire Lines. This Regiment was recruited in Canada along the Richelieu River, and was composed mainly of French and Indians. Although we have yet to find proof, it seems likely that here is the Shabino ancestor, father of grandfather Antoine, the first one of whom we have an actual record.

Antoine was born "near Montreal" in 1809, and died in South Dakota, January 28, 1884. We do not know whether he was brought to Vermont as a child, but it seems more likely that he came sometime about 1839, at the time of his marriage to Marie Rubior. She also was born in Providence of Quebec, 1818 and died in Wisconsin January 30, 1900. At any rate, they lived somewhere near South Hero, Grand Isle County, Vermont, until 1850, when the family names were found in the first federal census (1850) of Troy Township, Walworth County, Wisconsin.

The family also said they had an uncle "Telifor Rubior" a brother of their mother. The 1850 census of Grand Isle, Vermont, towns show only one Rubior, (any Spelling) and that is "Telifo Rubio", age 14. and he was born in Canada.

When Antoine and Marie came to Wisconsin, they brought with them their first six children all of whom had been born in Grand Isle County, Vermont. The seventh, Susan was born soon after that and later they had perhaps five or six more children born there in Troy Township, Walworth County, their first Wisconsin home. Much later, they lived on a farm in Honey Creek Township, on the south-west corner of what is now Lauderdale Lakes, still in Walworth County.

One reason we can feel rather confident that the Revolutionary ancestor may have been the "Augustin" or "Austin" Charbono or Charbonneau of General Hazen's Regiment, is this: When Antoine's daughter, Susan was married in 1871, Troy Township, Walworth County, Wisconsin, it was recorded at Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the County Seat. This record shows that one of her witnesses signed his name as "Austin" Shabino. Susan's daughter Bessie, now Mrs. Mantis H. Springbrum of Janesville, Wisconsin, knows that this was her mother's brother, Antoine Jr., as she often heard her mother and her uncle Antoine talk about the events of the wedding day. However, she has no explanation for the fact that he chose to sign that way.

Three of the sons of Antoine and Marie served in the Civil War. These were Henry, Joseph and Antoine. Antoine was injured at Cold Harbor, but remained in service another year. Henry is said to have been taken prisoner and kept in Andersonville Prison for sometime. Joseph was killed in action at "Spanish Fort", during the siege of Mobile, Alabama.

Three children of Antoine and Marie married three children of Canuteson-Nelson family, children of one mother, Annie, who married first, Ole Canuteson in Norway and came to Wisconsin with him about 1845. He died soon thereafter and a few years later she married Peter Nelson. These were the marriages:

Shabino, Levi to Jennie Nelson

Shabino, Carrie to John Canuteson

Shabino, Louis to Emma Nelson

In connection with the Revolutionary War service of Augustin or Austin Charbonneau in Company of captain Philip Liebert, we should point out that this Company was raised by Colonel Moses Hazen near St Jean, Quebec, on the Richelieu River and only about 15 miles north of Grand Isle, Vermont in Lake Champlain. The names on the rolls of this Company are almost all French, with a few obviously Indian, So it seems logical to suppose that our Shabino family came up the river (south) into Grand Isle with any one of several groups of French-Canadians who came to settle there.

Since creating this website a discovery was made about Marie's surname. We found Marie and her family listed originally with the surname Robillard. Unfortunately Antoine's family is still a mystery.

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