It's Amazing to Be Here at All

It's amazing how lucky we are to be here.

The trajectory of a family is unknown as life is unfolding; you never know what is going to happen if future generations will follow you as you are in the middle of living your life. For example, take John Doucette who married Mary Elizabeth Doucet (yes, the same last name - spelled a little different and yes, technically they are 2nd cousins). They both came from the same area in Yarmouth County in Nova Scotia, Canada. John Doucette and Mary Elizabeth Doucet made their way south like many before them as part of the Nova Scotia chain migration to New England; specifically, the Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. They got married in Melrose, about 11 miles north of Boston in 1888 and later that year, their first child was born, followed by another 8 over the next 18 years. It seems that the family moved and lived in the towns of Melrose and Wakefield, Massachusetts.

This is where I can say that I feel lucky to be here on this earth. Out of the nine children that were born, only five lived to see their 20th birthday. And out of the five, only one child got married and had children of their own. The other four siblings died at the ages of 3, 3, 2 and 2. Having children die at a young age was part of life in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially in you were living in poor conditions that bred sickness that could easily spread among other family members, which was the case for John and Mary and their children. Then, to take it one step further, the one individual (James Edward Doucette) who did get married, he only had children because his first wife (Grace Esther Williams) died six months after being married. He re-married two years later to Grace Catherine McArdle and they had three children, with one who died at the age of three.

I realize that there are other cases with more odds stacked against a family, but I just wanted to make note and acknowledge that I am thankful to be here.

Descendants of John Doucette and Mary Elizabeth Doucet

1-John Doucette b. Dec 1865, Quinan, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada, 
  d. 22 May 1908, Melrose, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
 + Mary Elizabeth Doucet b. 12 Mar 1870, Belleville, Yarmouth County, Nova 
  Scotia, Canada, d. 30 Mar 1951, Yarmouth, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada
|--2-Jarvis Alle Doucette b. 23 Sep 1888, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 2 May 1901, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
|--2-James Lowry Doucette b. 27 Jul 1890, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 18 Jul 1910, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
|--2-James Edward Doucette b. 27 Nov 1892, Wakefield, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 5 Apr 1927, Rutland, Worcester County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
    + Grace Esther Williams b. 20 Dec 1895, Boston, Suffolk County, 
     Massachusetts, United States, d. 6 Jul 1914, Belleville, Yarmouth County, 
     Nova Scotia, Canada
    + Grace Catherine McArdle b. 11 Sep 1895, Hyde Park, Norfolk County, 
     Massachusetts, United States, d. 17 Jun 1952, Quincy, Norfolk County, 
     Massachusetts, United States
|--2-Ellen Elizabeth Doucette b. 26 Sep 1894, Wakefield, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 24 Aug 1897, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
|--2-James Lewis Doucette b. Dec 1896, Amiraults Hill, Yarmouth County, Nova 
|    Scotia, Canada, d. After 1920
|--2-Francis Eugene Doucette b. 20 Mar 1898, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 7 Feb 1900, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
|--2-Ellen Frances Doucette b. 7 Sep 1900, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 9 Dec 1902, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States
|--2-Beatrice Evelyn Doucette b. 7 Jan 1904, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
|    Massachusetts, United States, d. 30 Apr 1926, Argyle, Yarmouth County, 
|    Nova Scotia, Canada
---2-John Lewis Doucette b. 11 Jun 1906, Melrose, Middlesex County, 
     Massachusetts, United States, d. 17 Sep 1937, Belleville, Yarmouth County, 
     Nova Scotia, Canada

So, in conclusion, when researching families that had a lot of hardship, take the time and count your blessing that you are here at all. The stars all must align in so many ways to make it possible for you to be reading this blog entry. And yes, I am a descendant of James Edward Doucette.