Maternal (Paiement) Side

My great-great-grandfather, Philibert Racine (aka Philip Root), 1st Independent Battery, Vermont Volunteer Light Artillery (known as Hebard's Battery or the Gray Horse Battery).

He served from 18 Jan. 1862 to 10 Aug. 1864 and suffered damage to his eyesight and hearing during the Red River campaign in Louisiana (March-May 1864). His brothers Cyprien and George also fought in the Civil War.

There's some confusion about his birth date. His gravestone (in St. John's Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine) says 20 April 1845, but our family historian Georgianna Biette Caron always said he was born in 1844 in Canada. His father was Prudent Racine and his mother was Leonor Brindamour. He died on 3 July 1900. His death certificate lists his occupation as "overseer of rents."

Left to right: Benjamin Payment, Jean Marc LeClair,
Peter Ringette. Benjamin Payment is my great-great-grandfather.

This photograph appeared in the Brunswick Record, vol. 2, no. 4 (December 18, 1903), p. 1, with an article from which I've excerpted the following:

THREE OF OUR AGED CITIZENS

A Group of Men Who Came From Canada to Make Their Homes in Brunswick

Every morning a small group of aged men are seen to walk slowly up Maine street, to the church of St. John the Baptist, and after the service they return together, making a familiar sight. The devotion of these men to their religious duties and the example which they set to the young is frequently remarked upon, and there is a general sentiment of respect for them and reverence for their years.

....

Benjamin Payment was one of the first to come from Canada to this town, having lived here with his family for 32 years. Mr. Payment was born at St. Genevieve near Montreal in 1820. He worked here until the infirmities of age compelled him to retire. Of sixteen sons and daughters in his family only five are living. They are Mrs. J. Michaud, Xavier Payment, Francois Payment, Mrs. C. Lachance, Mrs. E.P. Cloutier.

The family of François Xavier Paiement (my great-grandfather). Left to right: Alice, Annie, Francois, Dominique (front), Eddie (back), Grace (née Racine), Sylvia, Cedea.

François Xavier Paiement was born on 6 June 1856 and died on 28 March 1932. He worked in a clothing store. Since his gravestone is marked Xavier Paiement, I think he is the "Exavier Payment" mentioned in a Brunswick newspaper article dated 23 Aug. 1884:

A meeting of French-Canadians was held in the Court Room, Town Hall, Monday evening, Joseph Dufresne being elected temporary chairman, and Louis Trudeau, secretary. Henry Ragot addressed the meeting in French upon topics in which the people were interested, the result of which was the formation of a permanent organization. President Noel Vandall, Secretary Louis Trudeau, Exavier Payment, Ermenigle Coulombe, Telesphore LaPoint, Joseph Machaud, Frank Maturin, Jos. Dionne, and Henry Ragot. The subject of naturalization was discussed, the question being: shall the French take out naturalization papers or remain foreigners? It was unanimously decided to naturalize, and 53 were found to be ready for naturalization, others will become eligible. It was also decided that all possible means of information should be resorted to to gain political information.

My distant cousin Carol Payment Poole has done extensive research on Canadian history and the genealogy of the Paiement family. She kindly provided the following information on the ancestors of François Xavier Paiement (marriages took place at Ste-Genevieve-Pierrefonds in Montreal, Quebec, unless otherwise indicated):

François Xavier Paiement is the son of Benjamin Paiement and Marie Melanie Demers (married 18 Oct. 1847).
  Benjamin Paiement is the son of Antoine Paiement and Marie Brisebois (married 2 May 1803).
  Antoine Paiement is the son of Louis Antoine Paiement and Marie Angelique Catherine Langevin-LaCroix (married 26 July 1779).
    Louis Antoine Paiement is the son of Joseph Louis Paiement and Marie Angelique Choret (married 11 Sept. 1752 in Pointe Claire).
      Joseph Louis Paiement is the son of Pierre Paiement and Marie Francoise Poitevin (married 31 Jan. 1724).
      Pierre Paiement is the son of Pierre Paiement and Francoise LaFleur (married about 1673 in Poitiers, France).

I haven't seen Rosario Gauthier's Ste-Geneviève de Pierrefonds marriages, 1741-1972, de L'Ile-Bizard, 1843-1972 (Montréal : Editions Bergeron, 1975).

Back: Yvonne Paiement (née Helie), Cedea Paiement, Israel Racine, Eddie Paiement, ?
Middle: Grace Albina Paiement (née Racine), François Xavier Paiement
Front: Philomène Racine (née Dupuis), Lena Paiement.
Taken in 1920.

This photo shows four generations: Philomène Racine (née Dupuis) is the mother of Grace Albina Paiement (née Racine), who is the mother of Eddie Paiement, who is the father of Lena Paiement.

Philomène Dupuis was born 12 August 1837 in Canada. She married Michel Billette (also spelled Biette), who died in St. Remi (near Roxton Falls) in 1862. She then married Philibert Racine and moved to Vermont, where Grace Albina Racine was born in 1868. While in Vermont, Philomène and Philibert worked at a lodge on Stowe Mountain -- she repaired linens and towels for the hotel, and he carried trunks for guests from the train station in the valley up the mountain using a donkey.

Philomène died in Brunswick, Maine, on 26 February 1923.

My great-grandparents, Grace Albina Paiement (née Racine)
and François Xavier Paiement.

"Splendor in the Grass," starring my grandparents,
Yvonne Paiement (née Helie) and Eddie Paiement.

This photo of St. Pierre's Jazz Band appeared in the Brunswick Record vol. 17, no. 40 (August 29, 1919), p. 3, which identifies the band members as follows:

Front row: Nellie Laviqueur, Lillian Lavoie.
Middle row: Alice Richard, Bertha Richard, Sylvia Paiement, Alice Fortin, Leonie Painchaud, Marie Lavoie.
Back row: Mrs. Eddie Paiement, Ida Laviqueur, Annie Paiement, Albert A. St. Pierre (director), Grace Grondin, Emma Laviqueur, Yvette Messier.

Here is the accompanying article:

This band of singing young ladies, organized on New Year's Eve, 1919, has attracted a great deal of attention in this vicinity, having furnished music for dances at the several grange halls, and it has met with the delightful appreciation of all. With excellent voices the members of the band sing through the zobos, or imitation band instruments. The band will furnish music for a dance at Dirigo Grange Hall Monday evening, September 1st.

My grandmother (Mrs. Eddie Paiement, née Yvonne Helie) and my great aunts (Annie Paiement, Sylvia Paiement) were in St. Pierre's Jazz Band.

Many thanks to David Vermette, for sending me this photo and article. He points out that Laviqueur is a misspelling of Lavigueur.

My grandfather Eddie Paiement on a motorcycle, with my
grandmother Yvonne Paiement (née Helie) in the sidecar.

My grandparents, Yvonne and Eddie Paiement,
with my mother Lena and Uncle George.

My grandfather's sisters,
Alice, Annie, Sylvia, and Cedea Paiement.

I never knew Alice, who died in 1935, and my memories of Sylvia are vague, because she lived in Quebec (with her husband Henry Harvey) and we didn't see her much. I have very fond memories of Annie, who married George Bernier, and Cedea (1890-1967), who married Jean-Baptiste Berube (1899-1955). Annie played the organ in movie theaters in the silent movie days. I have some of her piano sheet music.

None of these sisters had any children.

The Paiement family. Back: Phil and George; Front: Lena, Eddie, Bob, Yvonne, Nancy.

This photo was taken at the family home on 29 Spring Street in Brunswick, Maine. I remember that lamp.

My grandmother, Yvonne Paiement (née Helie).

I have an incomplete copy of Dominique Campagna, Répertoire des mariages de Pointe-du-Lac (1744-1966) (Québec, 1967), from which I've pieced together some of Yvonne Helie's ancestors:

Yvonne A. Helie is the daughter of Alphonse Helie and Marie-Louise Benoit (married 19 January 1897).
  Alphonse Helie is the son of Francois Helie and Aurelie Saint-Pierre.
  Marie-Louise Benoit is the daughter of Didier Benoit and Lea Duplessis (married 22 June 1868).
    Lea Duplessis is the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Duplessis and Christine Denoncourt (married 11 September 1824).
      Jean-Baptiste Duplessis is the son of Isidore Duplessis and Emelie Rouette.
      Christine Denoncourt is the daughter of Joseph Denoncourt and Josephte Pothier.

Paternal (Gilleland) Side

Baby picture of my grandfather, Roy Emory Gilleland.

Here's the little I know about Roy Emory Gilleland's ancestors:

Roy Emory Gilleland is the son of Elmore Gilleland and Hannah Sophia Dahlman.
  Elmore Gilleland (1865-?) is the son of Robert E. Gilleland (Oct. 15, 1832 - Dec. 7, 1912) and Emily M. Wagner (1842-1913).

Robert E. Gilleland was a 2nd lieutenant in Company I of the 99th Illinois Infantry Regiment (served Aug. 23, 1862 to Oct. 23, 1863).

The 1880 US census lists Robert Gilliland (the spellings were fluid) and family as resident in Cass County, Missouri.

The following Gillelands are buried in the Gunn City cemetery, in Cass County, Missouri:

Name	Born	Died
Gilleland, Unknown	1820	1863
Gilleland, Beulah (Morton)	1886	1966
Gilleland, Elizabeth A (Wagner)	1839	1857
Gilleland, Emily M (Wagner)	1842	1913
Gilleland, George E	1888	1889
Gilleland, James M	1869	1875
Gilleland, James M	1873	1877
Gilleland, Laurence Oliver	1904	1979
Gilleland, Lula Ella (Mills)	1879	1965
Gilleland, Maynard	1900	1915
Gilleland, Olive Evans (Short)	1867	1937
Gilleland, Oscar Emery	1868	1945
Gilleland, Robert E	1832	1912
Gilleland, Robert Z	1883	1955
Gilleland, William Paul	1901	1901
Gilleland, William Pitt	1866	1922

Gunn City is located at 38°40'2"N, 94°9'43"W, southeast of Kansas City, Missouri:

Family tradition says that Robert Gilleland's first wife was an Indian who died in a fire, and that after her death he married her sister. If this tradition is true, I would guess that Elizabeth A. Wagner was the first wife, Emily M. Wagner was the second wife. The Indian part of the tradition is probably false, since Emily Gilleland is listed in the 1880 census as white.

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My grandparents, Roy and Belle Gilleland.

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My grandfather, Roy Emory Gilleland, with his
Russian Railway Service unit in Siberia, November
29, 1918. He's the second from the right (highest figure).

My grandmother, Belle Ellis Gilleland,
and my father, Vernon Ellis Gilleland.

My grandmother, Belle Gilleland. Her maiden name was Belle Ellis,
but she was adopted, and I don't know her birth parents' names.

My grandfather, Roy Emory Gilleland. He worked for Anderson Myers Co., Shanghai, China.

Family of Vernon and Lena Gilleland

My parents, Lena Gilleland (née Paiement)
and Vernon Gilleland. Taken in 1943.

My father served in the Navy as a medic aboard the destroyer USS Melvin (photos, history) in World War II.

Mark and Mike Gilleland,
probably watching the boob tube.

Mike Gilleland, who still loves old Westerns.

Carol, Mike, and Mark Gilleland.

My father Vernon Gilleland, Walter Joy, and Roy Bantam,
playing horseshoes at Walter Joy's house in Ellsworth, Maine.
July, 1958.

The Gilleland kids, Mike, Carol, Paula, Mark. November, 1958.

My favorite photo of myself (far right).
My brother Mark is standing beside me,
and beside him are the Marquis boys (our cousins).
Clewley's garage is in the background.