To Arms Jimmy Boy! "Remember the Maine and to Hell with Spain!"

One afternoon, some time in the late 1970’s, I was sitting on the couch in my Grandfather’s living room. We were talking about his family. The surnames as far back as he could remember and family stories. The conversation was not planned, it just came up during my visit. At the time I was not into genealogy or family history. There was an empty envelope, from the days mail, on the coffee table. I decided to jot down some notes and names. I still have that envelope. The information got me off in the right direction, when I started my family tree. One of the names written there was Jim McQuaid. He was my Grandfather’s Uncle. My notes say he was in the Spanish American War. And, when he was older, he was in a Solders Home in Maine.

This post is his, Great Grand Uncle Jim’s, story.

The Scourge of l'Éminence rouge ("the Red Eminence") reaches to the New World.

The latest post in the ‘Courchesne / Chagnon Chronicles’.
The year 1632 finds Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu attending to the Court of King Louis XIII of France, as Chief Minister. You will remember Richelieu as our antagonist, and the nemesis of my ancestors.  ( see my Aug 24 post  History, Genealogy and Historical Fiction: or How to find a Huguenot in a Papist’s Attic). He is basking in his victories at the  Siege of La Rochelle in 1628 and the Anglo-French War (1627-1629).

 If you did your suggested reading from my Aug 24th post, The Three Musketeers, you know the back ground for this tale. His future actions will continue to influence the lives and names of my family.

WW II Naval Muster Rolls for Thomas Lynch McQuaid B1927

Thomas L. McQuaid 1945

Thomas L. McQuaid 2nd from left, front, Pearl Harbor, 1945

                                           
Ancestry.com added the WW II Naval Muster Rolls. I found the following 11 documents for My Father, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, for the time period of 15 March, 1945 to 1 July 1946. I also found 11 documents for his brother James A. McQuaid, time period 31 May, 1944 to 01 June,  1946, service aboard LST 311 & LST 291. 
A.  1945, 15 Mar, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, Commissioning Report USS John P. Gray APD-74, Service # 667-74-45, Rating S2c, Branch of Service SV-6, USNR, Reported for Duty 15 Mar, 1945 from US Nav Rec Sta. Orange Tex.
B. 1945, 15 Mar, Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew, USS John P. Gray APD-74, Service # 667-74-45, Rating S2c

C. 1945, Mar. 31, Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew for Fleet Post Office, NewYork, N.Y., USS John P. Gray APD-74, Service # 667-74-45, Rating S2c

D.  1945, 01 July, Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew, USS John P. Gray APD-74, , Service # 667-74-45, Rating S2c
E. 1945, 30 Sept, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, Service # 667-74-45,  Report of changes, USS John P. Gray APD-74., Branch of Service V6, Change of Rate, Oct 1, 1945, Advanced to S1c, V6(SV),USNR,

F. 1945, 30 Sept., Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew, USS John P. Gray APD-74, Service # 667-74-45, Rating S1c

G.  1945, 31 Dec., Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew, USS John P. Gray APD-74, Service # 667-74-45, Rating S1c
H.  1946, 01 March, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, Service # 667-74-45,  Report of changes, USS John P. Gray APD-74., Branch of Service V6,. Transfer to USS Helios ARB-12, for duty, Date of orders Feb 9, 1946.
I. 1946, 01 March, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, Service # 667-74-45,  Report of changes, USS Helios ARB-1., Branch of Service V6,. Transfer From  USS John P. Gray APD-74, for duty, Date of orders Feb 9, 1946

J. 1946, 31 Mar., Thomas Lynch McQuaid Muster Rolls of Crew, USS Helios ARB-12 Service # 667-74-45, Rating S1c

K. 1946, 01 July, Thomas Lynch McQuaid, Service # 667-74-45, Report of changes, USS Helios ARB-1, Green Cove Springs, Fla., Trans. to P.S.C., Boston Mass, Date of orders 6/14/1946
You might like the following links:

Launching of PCU John P. Gray (DE-673) at Dravo Corp. Pittsburgh, PA., 18 December 1943 Redesignated (APD-74), 27 June 1944

USS John P. Gray (APD 74)

USS Helios (ARB-12)

The Military Roots of the 'dit' Name

The following article applies to both the Courchesne and Chagnon names. 1. Francois Chagnon, dit LaRose 1640-1693, arrived with the Militaire Régiment de Carignan-Salière aboard the ship ‘L'Aigle d'Or de Brouage, (Golden Eagle de Brouage), from La Rochelle on 5/13/1665 and arrived in Quebec on ​​19/08/1665. The following Companies of the Régiment de Carignan are aboard this ship, Grandfontaine, La Frediere, La Motte, and Salières. He was in the La Frediere company. There is a story about the origin of the dit name ‘LaRose’. Before his joining the Régiment de Carignan, Francois was a member of the French force that had participated in 1664 in the campaign in Hungary against the Turks, together with Austrian and German troops.  This French force performed "prodigies of valor” in the war against the Turks. On his return home to St-Georges-sur-Loire,Archeveche de Tours, Touraine, the locals threw roses in his path. In the fall of 1668 Francois agrees to accept the offer to stay on in New France and accepts his track of land in Vercheres, under the Seigneurie de Verchere, Francois Jarrais Sieur de Vercheres. He marries Catherine Charon, who was 13 yr's 10 mo. old at the time of the marriage. Francois was 39. The descendants of Francois diverge, some taking the Chagnon name, some taking La Rose. Francois Chagnon, dit LaRose B1640 is my 7th Great Grand father. 2. Jacques Brisset dit Courchêne 1648-1736. Son of Jacques Brisset (1626 - 1701), Who was baptized between 1620 and 1629 in a Calvinist church, Saint-Yon, La Rochelle, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France. He married Jeanne Fortier in 1648. He arrives in Quebec in 1651. According to Trudel, 14, arrived in 1662 with Jeanne Fortier, their mother to join their father,Jacques Brisset . In Montillier Charles, Marie Brisset, Sieur Jacques Brisset Courchêne, Jeanne Fortier and Jacques Brisset live in 1666 at Trois-Rivieres, Mauricie, Quebec, Canada ,(1666 Census of New France, referring to Volume IV, Chapter IV of the book History of the French Canadians.) This is the first time the name Courchêne (Courchesne) is recorded. It is referring to the son of Jacques Brisset B1626. He, Jacques Brisset dit Courchêne is Captain of the Militia. On 27 May 1695, Jacques contracted to work out west as a member of the Cadillac Convoy, who brought Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac to establish the first permanent settlement at Le Detroit du Lac Erie on July 24, 1701. The popular belief for the origan of the dit name ‘Courchêne’ is someone living at a farm with an oak tree in the farmyard, from French court ‘farmyard’ + chesne ‘oak’. The descendants of Jacques diverge, some taking the Brisset name, some taking Courchêne (Courchesne). Jacques Brisset dit Courchêne B1648 is my 7th Great Grand father.