Last week a gentleman whom we all hold dear to our hearts, A. E. “Gus” Rogers (the Gravestone Scribe from Jefferson County, N. Y.), sent me copies of a collection of material given him by a former resident of the LaFargeville area. Her name is Evelyn Charlebois, a lady whom I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting, but a lady whose genealogy work is of inestimable value to a great many people. She spent hours upon hours collecting data from scrapbooks for the lists which appear on my site.

Evelyn’s friends, relatives and acquaintances undoubtedly gave her these scrapbooks thru the years -- scrapbooks which they’d compiled from old newspaper notices and write-ups and it is from those scrapbooks that the items I’m about to type were found. This particular section will deal with marriage write-ups. Bear in mind that some of these came from newspapers published more than 120 yrs. ago -- it’s difficult at times to determine about whom they were written, and surely many of the items are undated; however, one thing is obvious, they are truly interesting. If you want a peak into what a socialite’s wedding was like in those days, here you have it. I suggest you get your dictionary -- there are some word usages which will baffle you.

Thank you, Evelyn, for your hard work through the years -- work well done. And thank you for preserving the scrapbooks.

Mrs. Shirley Farone
Ashland, OH 44805 - January 8, 2001

P. S. (January 25, 2001) Upon reaching the last page of clippings, I spotted a note which perhaps reveals how Evelyn acquired the Marriage Scrapbook - please see end of Section III.

NOTE (1-28-2001) It is becoming evident, from letters written to me by descendants, that there are questionable dates and spellings found in these articles. In those cases I will make every effort to check for typos; so far, there were none. I will NOT make suggested changes, but I will include a statement that the item is suspect and use the name of the researcher who pointed out the error.

NOTE (4-3-2007) While tidying up this page, I remembered that Evelyn's granddaughters, Jill Johnson and Kimberly Parsons, wrote in my Guest Book recently. It was good to hear from these ladies and to learn they adore their grandmother. Like so many of us, they have just now become acquainted with the wonderful genealogy materials for which Evelyn was known. She is living in a nursing facility and unfortunately, is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Occasionally, I get an update about Evelyn's health from her son, Edward. Evelyn, you're still in our hearts.

(8-25-2009) It is with sadness that our Evelyn Haas Charlebois passed away on Monday, August 24, 2009 at Oswego, N. Y. Notification came to me through the kindess of Jill Johnson, her granddaughter, and Thelma Moye, a noted genealogy researcher and owner of her own 517-page website. Thelma sent Evelyn's obit:

Evelyn H. Charlebois

August 25, 2009

LAFARGEVILLE, N.Y. — Evelyn H. Charlebois, 93, formerly of LaFargeville died Monday in Oswego.

Born May 30, 1916, in the town of Clayton, the daughter of Elmer and Iva Burger Haas, she graduated from LaFargeville High School in 1934.

She married Earl E. Charlebois on Aug. 15, 1936, in the parsonage of the Clayton United Methodist Church with Rev. Royal B. Fishbeck officiating. He died April 15, 1989.

Mrs. Charlebois was a member of the National Genealogical Society, Central New York Genealogical Society, Northern New York Agricultural and Historical Society, Herkimer County Historical Society, Clayton and Thousand Islands Historical Society, 4 River Valleys Historical Society, St. Lawrence Valley Genealogical Society and Palatines to America.

Survivors include a son, Edward of Parish; a daughter, Norma Persons, Erie, Pa.; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Four brothers, Wilson, E.W., Keith and Kent Haas, and a grandson, Edward E. Charlebois, Jr. Died before her.

There will be no services. Private burial will be at Union Cemetery, town of Cape Vincent.

Arrangements are with Frederick Bros. Funeral Home, Inc., Theresa.

Donations may be made to the Flower Memorial Library, Watertown for the Department of Genealogy.

Note from sitehost: It is with deep gratitude that Evelyn's daughter, Norma Persons and her granddaughter, Jill Johnson wrote telling of Evelyn's passing. Norma told of the many names of family friends and genealogy friends whose names appeared in Evelyn's "phone book." She said the family had friends whom they lost track of over the years and she wanted to let you readers know of Evelyn's death.

Jill expressed her appreciation of this website and how it serves to keep Evelyn's spirit alive.