The Minnesota Mystery
I've been collecting Jubinville genealogies for years. It's always been a pastime made pleasant by the fact that it is a rather uncommon surname. Every contemporary Jubinville I had come across could be traced to a single common ancestor: Michel Jubinville (m. 1706).
This tidy little world came crashing down on October 29th, 1999, when I received an email that changed everything.
"My great great grandfather is Noel Jubenville, who, by family accounts, came from Strasbourg, Alsace Lorraine. He migrated from France to Quebec about 1855-60, and then continued to Minnesota about 1868."
"In the early years, Noel, his wife and daughters listed their birth as 'France'. Later, they listed 'Canada', likely to gain legitimacy in frontier society. However, they never changed their oral account of being from Strasbourg."
The Noel Jubenville Lineage
| Relation | Name | Dates | Birth Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progenitor | Jean Noel JUBENVILLE | 1822–1910 | Strasbourg, Alsace |
| Spouse | Sophia JUBENVILLE | 1830–1885 | Strasbourg, Alsace |
| Daughter | Catherine JUBENVILLE | 1852–? | Strasbourg, Alsace |
| Daughter | Sophia Alphonsine | 1853–1913 | Strasbourg, Alsace |
| Daughter | Delphina JUBENVILLE | 1855–? | Canada |
| Son | Noel JUBENVILLE [Jr.] | 1857–? | Canada |
The Great Question
Is this Minnesota branch a separate family originating in France in 1822?
Or is there a "missing link" that connects Noel back to our common ancestor Michel?
Gordon noted that the Jubenvilles were very close to the DuFrene (DuFresne) family from Sorel, Quebec. This suggests they likely lived in the Sorel area between 1855 and 1867 before heading west to Todd County, Minnesota.
