Tag Archives: Frederic Mason Charboneau

Charboneau

1950 Census: The Other Holland Patent Charboneaus

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Sepia Saturday 641. Ninth in a series about family history discoveries in the recently released 1950 U.S. census.

After finding my paternal grandparents, William Ray and Mary (Owen) Charboneau, living in Holland Patent, N.Y., during the 1950 US census, I launched a new search for my dad’s four brothers to see if they lived nearby. That’s how I found two of them — Uncle Owen and Uncle Fred – living in Holland Patent, where they operated a grocery store together.

1928 in Otter Lake, N.Y. From left, my paternal great-grandfather Willard L. Charboneau, my uncle Owen Albert Charboneau at age 17, my dad Norm Charboneau at age 4, my paternal grandmother Mary (Owen) Charboneau, unnamed individual and my maternal great-grandmother Eva (Bull) Charboneau. Scan by Molly Charboneau

Uncle Owen, dad’s oldest brother, had a memorable baritone voice emanating from a tall, formidable frame. In 1950, Owen Albert Charboneau, 38, was living on Main Street with his wife Aline, 37 – known to us as Aunt Gig.

Living with them were Gig’s parents, Daniel O. DesJardins, 75, and wife Cordelia, 69, both from Canada — no surprise there, as Aunt Gig spoke English with a pronounced Quebecois intonation.

The Charboneau grocery store

Uncle Owen was listed as an owner and manager of a retail grocery – a store I visited as a child. He worked 72 hours during the week before the census. 1Source: NARA, scroll to page 2. Interestingly, Owen’s next-door neighbor gave the same occupation! Hard to imagine that little Holland Patent – population 400 in 1950 — could support two grocery stores.

Next, I found Frederic Mason Charboneau, 32, living on Steuben St. with his wife Jean (Bastow) Charboneau, 30. Uncle Fred worked 53 hours during the week before the census and was the owner and proprietor of a retail grocery.2Source: NARA, scroll to page 10.

My paternal grandfather, William Ray Charboneau, also worked at his sons’ grocery store – putting in 60 hours in the week before the census.

1944 in Otter Lake, N.Y. From left, my paternal grandfather William Ray Charboneau, my uncle Frederic Mason Charboneau, my dad Norm Charboneau at age 20 in his Navy uniform, and unnamed individual. By 1950, my grandfather, Uncle Fred and Uncle Owen were living and working in Holland Patent, N.Y. , and my dad and mom had married and started our family. Scan by Molly Charboneau

How did they afford a store?

Since the 1950 census doesn’t tell us, I wonder how my uncles had the financial wherewithal to set up their small business in the post-WWII era. Perhaps through a G.I. Bill small business loan? Owen had served in the Navy while Fred was in the Army, so they were probably eligible.

Before he married, Uncle Fred was also diligent about saving during the war – sending money home for my grandmother to deposit in his account, according to letters he wrote her while serving abroad. Did his savings help bankroll the store?

And what about my paternal grandparents? They had downsized from managing an Adirondack hotel and moved to a small home in Holland Patent. Had they invested savings in the grocery store?

Hard to know for sure how they got the store going. But no matter where the startup financing came from, the Charboneau grocery was a genuine family operation to which they each devoted long hours.

Up next, a surprise memento of the Charboneau Brothers General Store. Meanwhile, please visit the blogs of this week’s other Sepia Saturday participants.

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