Peltier Leon Onesime

Leon Onesime Peltier, my great-granduncle, was born on Wednesday, September 25, 1861 at the family home in White Bear Township, Ramsey County, Minnesota.¹  When Leon was born, his father Charles Peltier, my 2^nd great-grandfather, was 36 years old and his mother, my 2^nd great-grandmother, Mathilda Domitille (Garceau) was 27 years old.  Leon was the sixth of eleven children born to the couple.  Leon, as well as his siblings, was born a first-generation American.

One of the interesting things about Leon is the fact that he lived his entire life on the property where he was born.  The original family home was built by his parents around 1854.  Around 1860 a second home was built on the property.  Those born in the second home included my great-grandfather Albert, followed by Leon and their subsequent siblings.  Eventually Leon moved into the original family home; it is where he would live out his life.  The two homes were near one another.

Leon was baptized at St. John the Evangelist Church in Little Canada on September 29, 1861.  His godparents are listed as Marie Garceau and Olivier Dupre, Leon’s aunt and uncle.³

Leon is enumerated in the 1865 Minnesota census record which simply lists members of the household.⁴  The first census to provide additional information is the 1870 U.S. census.  In it, 8-year old Leon Speltear [Peltier] is listed with his parents and 5 of his siblings. He is also shown as attending school.⁵

By the 1880 U.S. census Leon is 18 years old.  Beside his parents, his eldest brother Damase, as well as his 4 younger brothers: Jean Baptiste, Antoine, Joseph and Onesime are all listed in the household.  Leon is employed as a laborer.⁶

The first real change in census records for Leon occurs in 1895; Leon (32 years old) and his father Charles (72 years old) are enumerated as living together.  Actually Leon was 33 years old and Charles was 69 years old.  His older brother, Albert Joseph (35 years old), my great-grandfather, and his family are also on the farm.⁷  Leon and Charles have made their home in the original homestead and Albert and his family live in the 2^nd home.  Leon, Charles and Albert all appear to be farming the family property.

Charles, the patriarch of the family, passed away on June 28, 1905, at which time Leon became the sole occupant of the original home.⁸  Albert and his family were nearby in the 2^nd home.

The 1940 U.S. census is the last to record Leon.  He provided the census taker with the information (denoted by the x in a circle next to his name) showing him as 78 years old and not having any occupation.⁹

Leon was 86 years, 25 days old when he died at home on Monday, October 20, 1947.  He was the last of his siblings to pass away.   His death certificate states that the primary cause of death was a cerebral thrombosis (stroke) due to arterial sclerosis, senility and malnutrition.¹⁰

Leon was laid to rest on October 23, 1947 in St. John’s Cemetery, Little Canada.¹¹

I’d love to have shown you at least one picture of Leon, but so far I don’t know of any.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia

© 2025 Copyright by Cynthia Vadnais, All Rights Reserved

---

Footnotes for Leon Onesime Peltier (1861-1947) post