I’ve decided to take a break from writing any lengthy posts. Rather than not posting anything at all over the next 3 to 4 months I thought I would put out short posts using pictures and/or newspaper clippings.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press published the following on Monday, April 20, 1903.
While doing a newspaper search for “Vadnais,” all that I saw in regard to this article was “Mrs. Mary Vadnais Dies at Home.” I think that I passed by it at least 3 times because I thought I didn’t know the person. The next time it came up, I mumbled to myself (I talk to myself quite frequently) that I should at least give it a look. I’m glad I did!
After reading about the old settler, it dawned on me that my second great-grandparents, Francois and Tharsile Vadnais had died, respectively, in 1902 and 1903. As it turns out, this is Tharsile’s obituary. I had always thought of her as Tharsile Mary, but it appears that she went by Mary.
The newspaper refers to her having “died yesterday,” which would have been April 19, but I know, according to her Minnesota death card, that she died on Saturday, April 18, 1903; she was 70 years, 7 months and 23 days old.
She and Francois are both buried in St. Mary of the Lake Cemetery in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia © 2026 Copyright by Cynthia Vadnais, All Rights Reserved
P.S.
The Little Canada Historical Society will have an open house on January 31, Saturday from 10-1. They serve meat pie starting around 11:30. Please come if you have the time. See below for more details. They are located in the Little Canada City hall across the road from the cemetery. Hope to see you there.
Great info. Thx. Oxoxoxox
I’ve never seen their grave markers at the cemetery! Do you know where they are located? We’ll have to go take a look the next time we are there! I’m glad you decided to dig into that article! :o)
Kelly,
To find their graves you take the first right as you enter the cemetery and go about 3/4’s of the way down the center section to just beyond the Bonin graves (quite a few shrubs around them). Off to your left, on a rise, is a large tree. The in ground grave markers for Francois and Tharsile are on the north side of the tree northwest of Jenny Vadnais’ grave. There’s pictures of their grave markers at my blog site, along with a distant view of Jenny’s grave marker that shows the tree (just beyond her grave in the picture). I also maintain a virtual cemetery called “Final Resting Places of our Ancestors” (https://wblvadnais.com/final-resting-places-of-our-ancestors/) as a page attached to my blog. You can use the link or the page can be accessed via the “Page” menu off to the right on any post screen.
Cynthia