Florian & Odile (LeRoy) LeGrave • my great grandparents
As I've researched my family history over the years and found so much information
and many details about my ancestors, my great grandparents, Florian & Odilia
LeGrave, have fascinated me the most. They were typical, hard-working, Belgian
farmers in northeast Wisconsin, raising a family of 13 children (including my
grandmother Emerence) in a small farmhouse. They had 65 grandchildren and 175
great grandchildren (including me)! Over the years, I've had the fortune to
meet several of my relatives with whom I'm connected through those 13 children.
Note that Odelia was commonly called Odile; I've used those names interchangeably here.
Family group sheet.
Here's some data that you might find on a traditional
family group sheet.
With each child having a spouse, and James and Clifford having two,
there are a total of 30 people mentioned in this section. I was
able to track down all 30 obituaries and gravesites. Click on the
name of any person in this section to see more details/links.
I have incomplete dates for the following pieces of info. If you can
help me fill in the blanks, please let me know.
Marriage between Elsie LeGrave and John Nellis (1920)
Marriage between Mary LeGrave and George Dart Sr. (1927)
Marriage between Clifford LeGrave and Esther Vandervest (May 1942)
Birthdate of Mathilda Guellette (1928)
Family notes.
Doing the math, when Florian and Odile married, he was 20, she was 18.
They had their 13 children (including one set of twins) over the next 26 years.
When their last child was born, he was 46, she was 44.
Clifford LeGrave and Ruth LeGrave were twins, the only
multiple birth of the thirteen children.
Clayton LeGrave married Myrtle Virlee on Jun 11, 1921.
Seven years later, Clayton's younger sister, Anna LeGrave, married William Virlee on Jun 12, 1928.
Myrtle and William were siblings, the children of Anton Virlee and Flora (Neuville) Virlee.
The obituary of Daniel LeGrave says that he married Palmy Gerondale on Jul 30, 1924.
However, Palmy's obituary says that they were married in Jul 1923.
The obituary of Rosemond LeGrave says that she married Goldie Nellis on Dec 22, 1925.
However, Goldie's obituary says that they were married on Apr 29, 1926.
Goldie's obituary also missspelled his wife's name as "Rosmond" (missing the letter "e").
Family news.
Click any of these thumbnails to read the entire article. I included
the first one here as it was the announcement of the birth of my
father, Stanley, Florian & Odile's grandson.
Ancestors.
Florian & Odile lived on the family
homestead in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin,
originally settled by Florian's grandfather, Alexis LeGrave.
Alexis was born in
Ohain, Belgium
and emigrated in July 1856. His son Francois LeGrave
and Francois' wife Harriet (Meunier) LeGrave (Florian's
parents) bought the homestead in 1868. In 1907, Francois and Harriett
retired from active farming and sold their land to three sons, including Florian.
41 years later, Florian sold the farm to his son Clifford (as mentioned in the above
newspaper article).
The original spelling of the last name is "LeGrave." However, at some point
in their lives, the following LeGraves changed the spelling to "LeGreve":
Alexander LeGrave (b. 1878); Florian's brother.
Henry LeGrave (b. 1898); son of Florian's brother Alexis LeGrave (b. 1869).
Wallace LeGrave (b. 1930); Florian's grandson.
So of course, all of their descendants now have the surname "LeGreve".
Family photo.
This photo includes the entire family, yes, all 13 children. I don't
know the year or occasion. I figure that with such a large family,
a photo like this must have been rare and perhaps a very special
occasion. The boy in the front center looks like the youngest, so
that must be James. He looks to be about 14 or so, which would put
the photo at about 1940. The woman in the front far right is my grandmother
Emerence (who turned 22 in 1940).
Click the photo to see an enlarged version with the names I know
of indicated.
50th wedding anniversary.
Florian & Odile celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1950.
This photo (with all 13 children like the one above) along with the
article below was printed in the Algoma Record-Herald on Thursday,
November 9th, 1950. It was taken on the church steps at a special
Mass a week earlier. What a treasure to have!
Celebrating 50 Years of married life together, Mr. and Mrs. Florien LeGrave,
Rosiere, renewed their vows at St. Hubert's Catholic church, Rosiere, with
an 8 o'clock high mass Sunday, Oct. 29th 1950. The couple has 13 children
and their sons and daughters were present for the golden wedding celebration.
They are shown here with their parents.
In the front row (left to right) are
Mrs. Goldie (Rosmond) Nellis, Forestville;
Mrs. John (Elsie) Nellis, Dyckesville;
Mr.( Florien) & Mrs. (Odile) LeGrave, the golden wedding couple;
Daniel LeGrave, Algoma,
and Mrs. William (Anna) Virlee, Brussels.
Second row —
James LeGrave, Green Bay;
Mrs. Edmund (Ruth) Engebose, Duvall;
Mrs. George (Mary) Dart, Tonet;
Mrs. John (Celia) Adams, Lincoln;
Mrs. Myron (Florence) Lardinois, Kradow,
and Clifford LeGrave, Rosiere.
Third row —
Lawrence LeGrave, Lincoln;
Mrs. Wilfred (Emerence) Crevier, Green Bay,
and Clayton Legrave, Kolberg.
Besides the 13 children, there are 58 grandchildren and 13
great-grandchildren. As Mrs. LeGrave repeated her vows before
the alter in St. Hubert's church, she was wearing a grey suit
with velvet trim and a corsage of yellow roses. The attending
couple were Mr. & Mrs. Florien Gilson, Rosiere, and Mrs. Gilson
had a corsage of yellow carnations pinned to her black dress.
The junior choir sang.
As the couple was about to depart for home, they were ushered
to a horse and buggy and rode to their wedding dinner in the
same manner as they had 50 years before. This time, however,
a procession of cars followed.
Dinner was served about 170 families. Out-of-town persons on
the guest list were Mr. & Mrs. Fred Baudhuin, Milwaukee;
Judge & Mrs. A. G. Murphy, Kewaunee;
and Mr. & Mrs. Norbert Verthein, Madison;
Mr. & Mrs. Hamilton LeGreve and Amanda LeGreve, Nathan, Mich;
Mr. & Mrs. Herman Delwiche and Mr. & Mrs. William Hall, Sturgeon Bay.
Mr. & Mrs. Elmer Malcore, Appleton;
Mr. & Mrs. Anton Jenquin, Seymour;
Mrs. Sadie Simon and daughter, LeNore, Antigo;
Mr. & Mrs. Anton LeRoy,
Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert LeGreve, Green Bay,
Sister Rose, St. Theresa convent, Appleton,
and Joan Virlee and Pearl Crevier of the Holy Family convent, Manitowoc.
Algoma Record-Herald — Thursday, November 9th, 1950
Belgian roadside chapels.
It's a very common tradition for a Belgian farmer to build a small chapel
on his farm, usually dedicated to a specific cause or saint. Most of these
chapels are near the road and open for all to use. The LeGrave homestead
is no exception, with their St. Jude chapel being at the
northeast corner
of the farm.
Several organizations have published pamphlets and maps of these chapels
over the years, like this one.
On most of those maps, the LeGrave homestead is chapel #15.
St. Jude Roadside Chapel • LeGrave Homestead
If you want to learn more, here are some related links:
I found Florian & Odile and their family in the censuses of 1920,
1930, 1940, and 1950, all in the Town of Red River in Kewaunee County,
Wisconsin. When you click on a census image below, you'll see the full
image of that page from the census, with Florian and Odile's household
outlined in red.
In addition to the images, I've transcribed as best I can the key data
from each image and listed it in table format for easy reading. Some of
the text is very difficult to read, especially in the older documents.
Even the column headings can be difficult to read.
I'm open to any thoughts or corrections you may have.
Interestingly, from 1920 to 1940, Florian was the head of household. But
by 1950, the census shows that he and Odile were living in the household
of his son, Clifford LeGrave and his wife
Esther (Vandervest) LeGrave and their two children.
U.S. Census • Kewaunee County, Wisconsin
14th Census • Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, ED 104 p. 2?
Surname
Given
Rel.
Sex
Race
Age
M?
Person
Father
Mother
Birth Place
Mother tongue
Birth Place
Mother tongue
Birth Place
Mother tongue
LeGrave
Florian
Head
M
W
39
M
Wisconsin
Belgium
LC
Belgium
LC
Odelia
Wife
F
W
37
M
Wisconsin
Belgium
LC
Belgium
LC
Daniel
Son
M
W
18
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Elsie
Daughter
F
W
16
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Rosamond
Daughter
F
W
14
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Clayton
Son
M
W
13
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Annie
Daughter
F
W
11
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Marie
Daughter
F
W
10
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Cicilia
Daughter
F
W
7
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Lawrence
Son
M
W
5
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Florence
Daughter
F
W
3 2/12
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Emerence
Daughter
F
W
1 5/12
S
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
15th Census • Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, ED 31-13 p. 1
Surname
Given
Rel.
Home Data
Personal
Education
Place of Birth
Occ.
Own/ Rent
Farm?
Sex
Race
Age
M?
M. Age
School since 9/1929
Read/write
Person
Father
Mother
LeGrave
Florian
Head
O
yes
M
W
50
M
20
no
yes
Wisconsin
Belgium
Belgium
Farmer
Odile
Wife
x
F
W
47
M
18
no
yes
Wisconsin
Belgium
Belgium
none
Lorance
Son
x
M
W
15
S
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Laborer
Florance
Daughter
x
F
W
13
S
yes
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
Emerence
Daughter
x
F
W
11
S
yes
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
Clifford
Son
x
M
W
8
S
yes
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
Routh
Daughter
x
F
W
8
S
yes
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
James
Son
x
M
W
3 7/12
S
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
LeGrave
Clayton
Head
V
yes
M
W
23
M
22
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Teamster
Myrtle
Wife
yes
F
W
20
M
19
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
LeGrave
Daniel
Head
V
yes
M
W
28
M
23
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Teamster
Palmy
Wife
x
F
W
23
M
18
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
Esther
Daughter
x
F
W
2 9/12
S
no
yes
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
none
16th Census • Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, ED 31-14 p. 2
Home
Surname
Given
Rel.
Personal
Education
Place of Birth
Residence
Occ.
1939 Work
Owned?
Value
Farm
Sex
Race
Age
M?
Since 3/1940
Highest grade
Wks
Wages
Other inc.
O
2000
yes
LeGrave
Florian
head
M
W
60
M
no
3
Wisconsin
same house
farmer
52
0
yes
Odile
wife
F
W
57
M
no
4
Wisconsin
same house
0
0
no
Clifford
son
M
W
18
S
no
6
Wisconsin
same house
laborer
52
0
no
James
son
M
W
13
S
yes
6
Wisconsin
same house
Engebos
Edmund
son in law
M
W
20
M
no
8
Wisconsin
same house
laborer
52
0
no
Ruth
daughter
F
W
18
M
no
8
Wisconsin
same house
0
0
no
17th Census • Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, ED 31-20 p. 15
Surname
Given
Rel.
Race
Sex
Age
Married?
State
Doing?
Hours
Occ.
LeGrave
Clifford O.
Head
W
M
28
Mar
Wis
Wk
65
Farmer
Esther C.
Wife
W
F
27
Mar
Wis
H
30
Farm helper
David J.
Son
W
M
6
Nev
Wis
Linda M.
daughter
W
F
Jan
Nev
Wis
Florian J.
Father
W
M
70
Mar
Wis
Ot
Odile R.
Mother
W
F
38
Mar
Wis
H
20
Farm helper
Census observations.
1920
This census tracks the birthplace of each person's parents.
Note that both Florian and Odile's parents were born in Belgium.
Ten of their thirteen children were living, ranging in age from 1 to 18.
1930
Only six children remain at home, ranging in age from 3 to 15.
Florian and Odile have a 3-year-old son, James, and a 2-year-old granddaughter Esther. This closeness of age in different generations is bound to happen in such a large family.
Sons Clayton and Daniel are both married and living nearby in their own households.
1940
Only two children remain at home, ages 13 and 18.
Their farm is valued at $2,000.
While this census tracks wages, none are listed here. Their farm
income was not considered a wage.
It's interesting that the record shows that Florian is working
but Odile is not. Can you imagine the mother of a large family
living on a farm, and it says she doesn't work? 😃
1950
Florian and Odile are now living in the household of their son Clifford,
his wife Esther, their 6-year-old grandson, and their 3-month-old granddaughter.
But, remember the newspaper aritcle I shared above which said that Forian sold
his farm to Clifford in 1948. So, I suspect they're all still at the same place,
but now Clifford is the head of the household.
Florian is listed as not working, while Odile works 20 hours per week.
Obituaries.
Even though I provided link to their obituaries in the 'Family Group
Sheet' section above, I've included the text of their obituaries
here as well to make them easy to find when searching the web.
In addition to the obituaries, a nice memorial was written about
Odelia by her sister-in-law
Grace LeMense. Grace (Florian's sister)
was married to Harvey Lemense.
I believe this was submitted as a letter to the editor to a local
newspaper (I don't know which one). My grandmother (Emerence) saved
it along with the death notice at the top.
Be sure to click the "newspaper article" link in each of these to
see the original.
Obituaries
Green Bay Press-Gazette • Monday, February 1, 1960
CASCO — Florian LeGrave died Sunday evening at his
home in Rosiere after a long illness.
He is survived by his wife, the former Odile Leroy; four
sons, Clayton, Lawrence, Clifford and James, and eight
daughters, Mrs. John Nellis, Mrs. Goldie Nellis, Mrs.
George Dart, Mrs. William Virlee, Mrs. John Adams, Mrs.
Myron Lardinois, Mrs. Wilfred Crevier and Mrs. Edmund Engebose.
A fifth son, Daniel, died Feb. 9, 1952. There are 63
grandchildren and 67 great grandchildren.
Mr. LeGrave was a member of the Holy Name Society of St.
Hubert Church, Rosiere.
Friends may call at the Wiesner and Massart Funeral Home in
Casco after 6 o'clock this evening. Services will be held
in St. Hubert Church at 10 a.m. Wednesday with the Rev. Henry
Zelinski officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mrs. Florian LeGrave, 88, Rt. 1, Casco, died this morning
in the Algoma hospital after a two-week illness. The former
Odelia LeRoy was born August 7, 1882, in the Town of Red
River and married Mr. LeGrave in 1900. He preceded her in
death Jan. 31, 1960. Mrs. LeGrave was a member of the Altar Society of St. Hubert Church.
Survivors are four sons, Clayton, Rt. 1, Forestville; Lawrence,
Rt. 2, Luxemburg; Clifford, Rt. 1, Casco; James, Green Bay;
seven daughters, Mrs. John (Elsie) Nellis, Green Bay; Mrs.
Goldie (Roseann) Nellis, Rt. 1, Forestville; Mrs. William
(Anna) Virlee, Rt. 1, Brussels; Mrs. John (Celia) Adams,
Rt. 1, Casco; Mrs. Myron (Florence) Lardinois, Pulaski; Mrs.
Wilfred (Emerence) Crevier, Green Bay; Mrs. Edmund (Ruth)
Engebose, Rt. 1, Forestville; 65 grand children, 176
grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Her husband,
one son, and one daughter preceded her in death.
At Wiesner-Massart Funeral Home, Casco, after 7 p.m. today.
Rosary 8 this evening and tomorrow evening. Funeral 10:30
Monday morning at St. Hubert Church, Casco, with the Rev.
Gary Crevier, a grandson, officiating. Burial in church cemetery.
Father Gary Crevier celebrated the Mass on the day of
his grandmother's funeral at St. Hubert's, Rosiere,
June 28 - (Mrs. Florian (Odile) LeGrave, 88). Whenever
Father Gary mentioned "Grandma" during the Mass, tears
flowed freely from the hundreds of relatives present.
"Grandma" lived for others, as Father mentioned. Her
whole life was dedicated to caring for her 13 children,
65 grandchildren and 175 great grandchildren. A more
devoted, hard working woman is not to be found anywhere,
I'm sure.
But "Grandma" always found time for prayer. Her many
religious items in her home and the little "Chapel" near
her farm home, are reminders of my aunt's devotion to our Lord.
Several of her grandchildren are priests and nuns, because
of "Grandma's" loving devotion. Her life on earth was
certainly a preparation for her life after death - may she
rest in peace!
Years ago, my family and I were at a birthday party for my grandmother
Emerence (LeGrave) Crevier
and I recognized an older couple there as the parents of my neighbor,
Mike Nellis.
We got to talking and, long story short, it turns out that Mike and
I are 2nd cousins. His grandmother,
Rosemond (LeGrave) Nellis,
was my grandmother's older sister.
We had moved into Nellis' neighborhood in De Pere, Wisconsin a few
years prior and our daughters (he has 2, I have 3) had become very
good friends. And now they all found out that they are actually 3rd
cousins!
Our families continue to be very good friends. In 2004, we vacationed
together on a drive out to
Mount Rushmore
in South Dakota and we had this picture taken in
Wall
of our two families together. The 5 girls in the photo are Florian
and Odile's 2nd great granddaughters.
Grateful.
I was fortunate to have heard stories first hand about my great
grandparents and life on their farm; I didn't have to just read it
in a book. I've been able to visit the farm on occasion and chat
with my cousin who still owns it. This connection has given me a
great appreciation for how they lived and what it took for me
to be here today. I find it hard to complain about anything these
days, knowing how they persevered.
I'm grateful for their unwavering faith in God and for passing
that down to me through the generations.