Tranchemontagne: Marie Louise Souliere
Marie Louise Souliere
The Woman Who Was Remembered
1854 – 1945
A boy fishes beside an ancient woman in Miami. She is in her nineties, he barely ten.
Seventy years later, that boy—now a man—will tell his daughter about the great-great-grandmother
who taught him to fish. But he won't know her story. He won't know she was born in Quebec
before Canada was a nation. He won't know she married a voyageur. He won't know she survived
two husbands, raised six children, and lived long enough to hold five generations in her memory.
This is her story—recovered from the records she left behind.
Marie Louise Souliere Guilbault Thebault, photographed in her later years. Her calm expression belies a life of extraordinary endurance.
Born Before Confederation
On December 8, 1854, in the parish of Saint-André-Est in Argenteuil County, Quebec, a daughter was born to Janvier Souliere, a journalier (day laborer), and his second wife Elisabeth Gravel. The priest recorded her name as Marie Marguerite Louise, though she would be known simply as Louise throughout her long life.
The world she entered was still thirteen years away from Canadian Confederation. Quebec was "Canada East," a colonial territory under British rule. Her village of Saint-André-Est sat along the Ottawa River, in a region where French-Canadian families had farmed for generations—families with names like Souliere, Gravel, Guilbault, and Thebault.
Date: December 10, 1854
Parish: Saint-André, Argenteuil
Child: Marie Marguerite Louise Souliere
Father: Laurier [Janvier] Souliere, journalier
Mother: Elisabeth Gravel
Godparents: Gédéon Campeau and Priscille Souliere
Louise was the fifth of eight children Elisabeth would bear—but she was one of nineteen children her father Janvier would have across three marriages. The Souliere household was large, complex, and marked by loss. By the time Louise was born, her father had already buried his first wife Esther Lacasse and several children. Death was a constant companion in 19th-century Quebec.
The Patriarch's Daughter
Janvier Souliere Sr. was a formidable presence. Born in 1806, he would live to see 83 years—an extraordinary span for his era. He married three times:
First Wife: Esther Lacasse
Married: 1828
Children: 11
Died: 1849
Second Wife: Elisabeth Gravel
Married: 1850
Children: 8 (including Louise)
Died: 1872
Third Wife: Sophie Rousson
Married: 1873
Children: None
Died: 1898
Louise grew up surrounded by half-siblings, full siblings, step-siblings—a web of family that would have required careful navigation. In the 1861 census, when she was six years old, the Souliere household appears in Saint-André, her father listed as head, the family's religion recorded as Roman Catholic.
Her full siblings from her mother Elisabeth Gravel were:
- Elizabeth Emma (1851–1879) – died young
- Isidore Alfred (1853–1854) – died in infancy
- Marie Louise (1854–1945) – our subject
- Marceline (1857–1912)
- Marie Oliviere Anna (1859–1943)
- Joseph Louis Jacques (1860–1947)
- Marie Elizabeth Zepherine (1862–1940)
- Hercule (Arcule) Arthur (1866–1946)
Of these eight children, four sisters—Louise, Marceline, Anna, and Zepherine—would survive into adulthood and maintain a bond across decades and distances.
The four Souliere sisters, circa 1911. Standing: Zepherine and Anna. Seated left: Louise. Seated right: Marceline. This would be the last photograph of all four sisters together—Marceline died in 1912. (J.A. Lessard, Hull, Quebec)
Marriage to the Voyageur
On May 20, 1879, at the age of 24, Marie Louise married Evangeliste Guilbault in the parish of Saint-André. The marriage record describes him as a voyageur—a term that carried deep meaning in French-Canadian culture.
The voyageurs were the legendary canoe paddlers and fur traders who had opened the Canadian interior. By 1879, the era of the great fur trade brigades had passed, but the term still signified a man who worked the waterways, who traveled, who was gone for long stretches. It was a hard life for the men who lived it—and for the women who waited.
Date: May 20, 1879
Parish: Saint-André, Argenteuil
Groom: Evangeliste Guilbault, voyageur
Bride: Marie Louise Souliere
Parents of Groom: Gabriel Guilbault, journalier, and Magdeleine [Marguerite] Laroque
The marriage was brief. In four years, Louise bore three children:
Isidore Georges Guilbault
Born: 1880
Died: 1954
Remained in Montreal
Jean Baptiste Gabriel "John Gilbert" Guilbault
Born: 1881
Died: 1941
Moved to Chicago
Elisabeth Emma Guilbault
Born: 1883
Died: 1970
Married Thomas Henry Hamall
Then, in 1883, Evangeliste died. He was 38 years old. Louise was 29, a widow with three young children. The records do not tell us how he died—whether by accident on the water, by illness, or by some other cause. We know only the silence that follows: no husband in the 1881 census she'd shared with him, and the designation "Mrs. Gilbaut" that would appear on her second marriage record three years later.
Widow, Mother, Bride Again
By 1886, Louise had made a decision that would reshape her life and her children's futures. She left Quebec for Chicago.
The reasons are not recorded, but we can imagine them: a widow with three children under seven, limited prospects in rural Quebec, and perhaps family or community connections drawing her toward the booming industrial city on Lake Michigan. Chicago in the 1880s was a magnet for immigrants—including French-Canadians seeking opportunity in its factories, stockyards, and trades.
Date: February 7, 1886
Location: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Bride: Louise Mrs. Gilbaut, age 30
Groom: Chrisologue Thibault, age 51
Pierre Chrysologue Thebault (the name would be spelled various ways in American records) was 21 years her senior. Born in Quebec in 1835, he had also made the journey to Chicago. Together, they would have three more children:
Louis John Thebault
Born: 1887
Died: 1967
Later lived in Miami
Joseph Charles Thebault
Born: 1891
Died: 1968
Rose Marie Thebault
Born: 1892
Died: 1972
Married Rinker
Six children total. Three Guilbaults, three Thebaults. Two husbands. Two countries. Louise had built a life that spanned worlds.
Marie Louise Souliere with all six of her children, circa 1932. Back row: John Gilbert, George Guilbault, Louis John Thebault, Joseph Charles Thebault. Front row: George Guilbault (seated), Emma Gilbert, Marie Louise, Rose Marie Thebault.
The Chicago Years
The census records trace Louise's decades in Chicago:
By 1920, Louise had been a widow for eight years. She would remain one for another 25. Her orbit now centered on her children and grandchildren—especially her daughter Emma, who had married Thomas Henry Hamall and then, after his death in 1938, remarried to a man named Hepp.
The Thebault family gathering, circa 1908. Marie Louise and Peter are seated center, surrounded by children and grandchildren. This photograph captures the family at its height, before Peter's death in 1912.
Four Generations
In 1932, an extraordinary photograph was taken. Marie Louise, now approaching 80, sat with her daughter Emma, her grandson Thomas Eugene Hamall, and her infant great-grandson Thomas Kenny Hamall.
Four generations. The woman born before Canadian Confederation, holding a baby who would grow up to tell his daughter about fishing with his great-great-grandmother in Florida.
Four Generations, 1932: Marie Louise Souliere, her daughter Emma Gilbert (Guilbault) Hamall, grandson Thomas Eugene Hamall, and great-grandson infant Thomas Kenny Hamall.
Families Together: 1939
Another photograph, taken in 1939, shows Louise—now 85—seated beside her daughter Emma. Standing behind them are Thomas Patrick Kenny ("Pa Kenny") and Ellen. The families are together, connected through the marriage of Emma's son Thomas Eugene to Margaret Kenny.
This photograph would prove significant for another reason: it documents the families' connection before the separation and divorce of 1940-1942 that would fracture relationships for decades.
Chicago, 1939. Seated: Marie Louise (left) and Emma (right, annotated "Nma"). Standing: Thomas Patrick Kenny ("Pa Kenny"), Ellen, and one unidentified person.
The Woman Who Fished at Ninety
Louise's final years were spent between Chicago and Florida. Her daughter Emma and son Louis both had connections to Miami. Family photographs and memories place her there in the early 1940s—an old woman in her nineties, still active, still present.
Thomas Kenny Hamall, born in 1932, would tell his daughter Mary about fishing with his great-great-grandmother in Miami when she was in her nineties. He remembered her clearly—one of his earliest and most enduring memories. He did not know her full story. He did not know she had been born in Quebec, married a voyageur, survived two husbands, raised six children. He knew only that she was ancient, she was kind, and she taught him to fish.
—Family oral history, preserved by Mary Hamall Morales
Marie Louise Souliere Guilbault Thebault died on December 27, 1945, in Chicago. She was 91 years old.
Name: Louise Marie Thebault
Birth Date: 8 Dec 1854
Birth Place: Montreal, Que, Canada
Death Date: 27 Dec 1945
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 31 Dec 1945
Cemetery: All Saints, Des Plaines, Cook, Illinois
Father: John Ouilleir [Janvier Souliere]
Mother: Elizabeth Esevent [Gravel]
Spouse: Peter Thebault
Age: 91
Final Notice
The Chicago Tribune published her obituary on December 29, 1945:
THEBAULT — Louise Marie Thebault, beloved wife of the late Peter, dear mother of George Guilbault of Montreal, Emma Hamell, Louis J., Joseph, Rose Rinker, and the late John Gilbert. Funeral Monday, 9:30 a.m., from funeral home, 2500 N. Cicero avenue, to St. Bartholomew church. Interment All Saints'. Berkshire 8070.
The obituary names all six children—the three Guilbaults and the three Thebaults—united in mourning a mother who had held them all together across nearly a century.
What She Lived Through
Quebec before Canadian Confederation (1867) • The voyageur era • Chicago's rise as an industrial city • Two marriages, two widowhoods • Six children • Multiple grandchildren • Great-grandchildren • Great-great-grandchildren
And she lived long enough for one of them to remember her.
The Tranchemontagne Lineage
Marie Louise Souliere descended from the family that bore the dit name Tranchemontagne—"the one who cuts through the mountain." The name speaks to pioneers, to people who carved paths through wilderness.
Through her mother Elisabeth Gravel, Louise connects to another lineage traced in this archive: the line that leads back to Marie Lorgueil, a fille à marier who arrived in New France in the 1660s.
Through her grandmother Marie Elizabeth Poulin, she connects to the Marie Chapelier case study—the donation dispute that reveals the complex property negotiations of early Quebec families.
All roads lead somewhere. Marie Louise stands at the intersection of many.
Document Gallery
The primary sources that tell Marie Louise's story—from her 1854 baptism in Quebec to her 1945 obituary in Chicago. Click any image to view full size.
Baptism of Marie Marguerite Louise Souliere
Parents: Janvier (Laurier) Souliere, journalier, and Elisabeth Gravel. Godparents: Gédéon Campeau and Priscille Souliere.
1861 Census - Souliere Household
Marie Louise at age 6-7 in her father Janvier's household. First census record documenting her existence.
Marriage to Evangeliste Guilbault
First marriage to a voyageur. Groom's parents: Gabriel Guilbault and Marguerite Laroque.
Baptism of Isidore George Guilbault
First child of Marie Louise and Evangeliste Guilbault. George would remain in Montreal as an adult.
1881 Census - Guilbault Household
Evangeliste 29, Louise 25, George 1. The last census before Evangeliste's death in 1883.
Baptism of Jean Baptiste Gabriel Guilbault
Second child. Known as "John Gilbert" in Chicago. Parents: Evangeliste Guilbault, voyageur, and Louise Souliere.
Baptism of Elisabeth Emma Guilbault
Third child. Godfather: Janvier Souliere (grandfather). Emma would marry Thomas Henry Hamall in Chicago.
Marriage to Chrisologue Thibault
Bride listed as "Louise Mrs. Gilbaut" age 30. Groom age 51. Her second marriage, marking her transition to Chicago.
1900 Census - Thebault Household
Louise with husband Peter and children: John Gilbert, Emma Gilbert, Louis Thebault, Joseph, and Rosie.
1910 Census - Louise with Joseph and Rose
Louise appears with children Joseph and Rosie. Peter still living (died 1912).
Border Crossing - Port of Montreal
Louise crossing to visit son George Guilbault in Montreal. Contact at home: daughter Rosie Rinker.
1920 Census - With Emma and Thomas
Louise living with daughter Emma Hepp (remarried) and grandson Thomas. Widowed since 1912.
1931 Census - Hotel Dieu, Nicolet (Unconfirmed)
A "Marie Louise Thebault" appears at this Catholic hospital. Research ongoing to confirm if this is our subject or another woman of the same name.
Death Record - Louise Marie Thebault
Age 91. Burial at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines. Father: John Ouilleir [Janvier Souliere]. Spouse: Peter Thebault.
Chicago Tribune Obituary
Lists all six children: George Guilbault of Montreal, Emma Hamell, Louis J., Joseph, Rose Rinker, and the late John Gilbert.
Marie Louise Souliere Portrait
Studio portrait in later years. White hair, round glasses, pearl necklace, black dress with lace collar.
The Four Souliere Sisters
Last photo of all four sisters. Standing: Zepherine and Anna. Seated: Louise (left) and Marceline (right, d. 1912).
Marie Louise with All Six Children
Three Guilbaults (George, John Gilbert, Emma) and three Thebaults (Louis, Joseph, Rose) united with their mother.
The Thebault Family Gathering
Louise and Peter (center) surrounded by children and grandchildren. Family at its height before Peter's 1912 death.
Four Generations - 1932
Marie Louise, daughter Emma, grandson Thomas Eugene Hamall, infant great-grandson Thomas Kenny Hamall.
Families Together - 1939
Louise and Emma (seated) with "Pa" Kenny and Ellen (standing). Documents family connection before 1940-1942 separation.
Primary Sources
- Baptism Record (1854): Saint-André Parish, Argenteuil, Quebec. PRDH-IGD.
- Marriage Record (1879): Saint-André Parish, Argenteuil, Quebec. Evangeliste Guilbault and Marie Louise Souliere.
- Marriage Record (1886): Cook County, Illinois. Chrisologue Thibault and Louise Mrs. Gilbaut.
- Census Records: Canada 1861, 1881; United States 1900, 1910, 1920.
- Border Crossing (1918): Port of Montreal. Louise Thebault crossing to visit son George Guilbault.
- Death Record (1945): Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947.
- Obituary: Chicago Tribune, December 29, 1945.
- Family Photographs: Collection of Mary Hamall Morales, with identification assistance from Deborah Stakenas.
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