Ebacher-Baker Family Association

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President's Message

On September 10th and 11th 2011 (see "Activites" for latest news), Jean-Baptiste Ebacher's descendants will have the opportunity to follow in their ancestor's footseps. During those two days, you will get acquainted with the rich inheritance of the Old Trois-Rivières and find out all about the numerous museums, especially those established in the patrimonial buildings. Amoung these museums, let's mention the "Musée des Ursulines", the Old Trois-Rivières Jail and it's Governor's Residence, the "Musée du Manoir de Niverville", as well as the "Manoir de Tonnancour". Let's not forget the St. James Anglican Church, where many german soldiers got married, and its cemetery.

All those places steeped in history, particularly speaking about the period when the german regiments were present during the Independance War, that is to say from 1776 to 1783. Our ancestor Johann Ebacher belonged to the von Barner Regiment, which was there during the fall of 1776. It is touching to imagine that we will walk down the streets and get in the buildings that those soldiers got to use while they were garrisoned. We find it most pleasant to learn that the spouse of the German Troops General, Charlotte von Riedesel, was a great friend of the Ursulines and that she was in correspondence with the nuns. The Association des familles Ebacher-Baker is actually completing the schedule for those two days of activities which will permit us to find out all about the military past of our first ancestor.

But, nearest to us, the history of Trois-Rivières and Cap-de-la-Madeleine is marked down by the presence of some Ebacher families who had left the Village of Saint-Prosper-de-Champlain at the beginning of the 20th century. Amoung these, we find Prima Ebacher's family, my maternal grandfather. I got to know him during my childhood as he lived with my grandmother Flore, in the Governor's Residence, which was in the old jail of Trois-Rivières. That old prison, work of architect François Baillargé, was used as a place of confinement as soon as 1822. It is an important component of the patrimonial buildings in Old Trois-Rivières. As I said many times before, it is in that place that I got to live the most beautiful Christmases of my childhood. These events took place during the fifties. That feeling is most surely shared by my brothers and sister and also by my cousins.

The "Musée des Ursulines" is that patrimonial gem that we will have the opportunity to visit; its history is more than 300 years old. On your way in, you will be in the old "Hôtel-Dieu" which was the first hospital in Trois-Rivières. During the Trois-Rivières battle, on June 8th 1776, some soldiers and militiamen were treated, many of them were Americans, but also during other events, like in the troops movements which took place between 1776 and 1783.

Our Chaplain, the Archbishop Roger Ebacher, will celebrate a mass in the Ursulines chapel, on Sunday September 11th, 2011, at a quarter to eleven, a.m. This chapel will charm you by its amazing architecture and its more suitable meditation atmosphere. After the mass, we will have lunch in the "Couvent des Ursulines" refectory where, we hope, we will meet our most senior member, Mrs Rita Ebacher-Paquin, who just turned 92 and who lived in Trois-Rivières for many years. Then, we will have a a guided tour visit of the Old Trois-Rivières which will end at the "Manège militaire". Our guide will be Mr Daniel Robert, historian.

A family reunion gives us the opportunity to add on to our knowledge and to fill in the missing links in our genealogical tree. To this matter, our Association can count on Lisette Baker and Malvin Baker's tenacious work. Yves Dionne's book: Jean-Baptiste Ebacher, Histoire et Descendance is an absolute must that you will be able to get right there. Moreover, you will have the occasion to share information on your own family's history and to get the latest revised version of the dictionnary, Lisette Baker's work.

So, we will be waiting for you in Trois-Rivières on September 10th and 11th, 2011 for that gathering of the Ebacher and Baker families. The detailed activities schedule for those two days will be forwarded to you at the end of summer. Don't hesitate to contact us meanwhile.

I wish you a very nice summertime and hope to see you all in Old Trois-Rivières.


René Ebacher-Paquin
President

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Word of the first President

After a number of years of research in Genealogy, by Malvin Baker and Lisette Baker (these two being related without knowing each other), Malvin contacted Lisette. They shared the results of their studies giving them added motivation to pursue keep on their research work.

At this point, Malvin discussed the matter with his brother Aylmer and the two of them decided to meet in order to elaborate a plan for the future. The first meeting took place in Sainte-Foy on May 31, 1998. Those attending this meeting were: Malvin Baker, Aylmer Baker and his spouse Lyse Dubois, Lisette Baker and her spouse Yves Dionne. After a careful examination of the situation, they decided that the time had come to found an association. The name chosen was Baker-Ebacher Family Association because at that time, they wanted to start from the present generation and work our way back to our ancestors. The temporary committee was composed of Aylmer Baker as President, Lisette Baker as Vice-President, Malvin Baker as Director and Cléo Baker as Secretary-Treasurer. Although Cléo Baker was absent at the time of the meeting, she had previously accepted the position. It was decided to contact Gérard, Louis and Jacques Ebacher again in order to invite them to become founding members of the Association. AIl three accepted, but pointed out that they disposed of little time and that they would eventually have to retire. Jacques Ebacher became 2nd Vice-President, and Gérard and Louis Ebacher became Directors. Although notes were taken at this first meeting, no formal record was kept.

A request for a name search and incorporation was forwarded to the Government a few days after this meeting, on June 3, 1998. Following the reception of additional information, we discovered that the name of the association had to be established from our ancestor all the way to us, the opposite of what had been decided. A second request for a name search was formulated as Ebacher-Baker Family Association on June 16, 1998, thus being a modification of our first name. Our letters patent were granted on October 5, 1998. Some time later, Thomas Ebacher of Kensington Minnesota and Jean-Pierre Ebacher of Ottawa were added to the Board of Directors. Following the withdrawal of Jacques and Louis Ebacher, Yves Dionne and Lyse Dubois accepted to stand in their positions. Mrs Camille Ebacher-Bégin joined later on.

Our first official meeting as an Association took place on April 25 1999 at Saint-Prosper de Champlain. It was a huge success with more than 250 participants. Since then, we have not stopped growing, discovering more and more information which have added on to our knowledge and kept us motivated to continue.

Our second reunion took place on September 15 and 16, 2001 in Sainte-Anne-de Beaupré. This was a history-making meeting because we celebrated the 225th anniversary of the arrival of our ancestor Jean-Baptiste Ebacher on Canadian soil.

On this occasion, we unveiled a commemorative plaque and an anniversary mass was celebrated at the Basilique of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré by Mgr Roger Ebacher. This gathering was a real success, thanks to the efforts of our Directors and your personal involvement. We were very pleased to welcome each and everyone of you.


Aylmer Baker
First President