Grace Caroline Blanchet, 1883-1962

b. Dry Ridge, Grant County, Kentucky d. Kirksville, Adair County, MO

(buried in Grandview Cemetery Hannibal, MO)

Photos:

Grace Caroline Blanchet
on her wedding day to Thomas Franklin Carter
26 March 1908

Content:

Age: 79

Occupation: Housewife

State: Kentucky, Missouri

# of Children: 6

See below for narrative. Click on photos to enlarge.

Father's French Ancestry

Blanchet - "According to Mom (Frances Louise Carter), these ancestors (HND & Henrietta Blanchet) were French perfume manufacturers who left Paris due to the French Revolution and the fear of meeting the guillotine."

David Vardiman email 10 August 2011

Henri Leo Marie Blanchet and Caroline Juliene Marie Dupuy Blanchet:

June 13, 1895 "Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. BLANCHETT, of near Mt. Zion, celebrated the 55th anniversary of their marriage June 10. [He] was born in Madison, New Jersey, in 1818, and [she] was Caroline DUPUE, who was born in Switzerland in 1814. They were married in 1840 in New Jersey and moved to Grant County, Ky. during the same year, where they have lived ever since."

Williamstown Courier, Grant County, Kentucky, June 13, 1895

Henri Leo Marie Blanchet's Obituary
(Son of Emigrant couple above, Father of "Lovee" Blanchet
and Grandfather of Grace Caroline Blanchet):

"December 14, 1899: Dry Ridge News: Mr. BLANCHET died at the home of Joe BELEW last Wednesday; was one of the oldest/best known citizens of Mt. Zion neighborhood; was buried at Williamstown. H. L. BLANCHET, 81, died December 7, 1899; wife survives; they would have been married 60 years next June; he, Henry, was born in Madison, New Jersey; his father, Durest N. BLANCHET, was a West Indies native; he owned a sugar plantation with 900 Negroes; his mother, Henrietta (nee ROE) was born in France and came to America in 1809; he leaves a brother, H. L. D. BLANCHET of this county and relatives in California, New York, New Jersey, and the West Indies; three sons, Durest, Amedee, and Lovee, and three daughters live in the U. S.; H. L.'s wife who survives was Caroline J. Marie DUPUY, born in Lausanne, Switzerland and came to America in 1837; her father, Eugene DUPUY as a French native; her mother was Clementine Frederique (nee BOUTNOT) DUPUY, also a French native; was the first woman to ever ascend the top of Mt. Blanc; grandma, Mrs. H. L. BLANCHET, spoke her native French but also spoke Italian, German, and English; verse follows to grandpa, by his granddaughter, Annie BLANCHET, 13. Buried in Williamstown Cemetery."

Dupuy - "December 14, 1899: Caroline J. Marie DUPUY, born in Lausanne, Switzerland and came to America in 1837; her mother was Clementine Frederique (nee BOUTNOT) DUPUY, also a French native; was the first woman to ever ascend the top of Mt. Blanc;"

Williamstown Courier, Grant County, Kentucky Dec 14, 1899

Fun Fact

Clementine Frederique (nee BOUTNOT) DUPUY, was the first woman to ever ascend the top of Mt. Blanc!

(That's Lovee Blanchet's maternal grandmother)

See newspaper abstract from 14 Dec 1899

H.L.D. Blanchet's Obituary ("Lovee's" Uncle):

"January 3, 1907: H.L.D. BLANCHETT, 80, follows T. J. GOUGE to the grave. Lived in adjoining neighborhoods for many years. Born at Battle Hill, New Jersey, September 26, 1826; first visit to Grant County June 3, 1841; died at his Blanchett Station home Thursday, December 27, 1906; buried in Williamstown Cemetery beside his wife Saturday, December 29, 1906; was born of French parentage; was a courtly, scholarly, and elegant gentleman, dispensing generous hospitality on his 2500 acre estate; was married about 1845 to Miss Jane COOLEY at West Milford, New Jersey; she died childless August 10, 1899; funeral at Blanchett Catholic Church; pall bearers listed; his nephews, L. T. and D. M. BLANCHETT, of Gallatin, was present as was a Covington niece."

Williamstown Courier, Grant County, Kentucky Jan 3, 1907

Click below for a very interesting biography on H.L.D. Blanchet written in 1901: "He is an elegant French gentleman of the old school..."

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/grant/blanchett.hld.txt

William Henry Harrison Carter
(Angeline Carter's Father)

Mom's Side: William Henry Harrison Carter Family 1890s

Sister, Fleurie Pearl Blanchet, married Victor LeGendre

Mother's Side

William Henry Harrison Carter Obituary (Grace Caroline's Maternal Grandfather, Angeline's father) :

"October 18, 1906: W. H. [William Henry] HARRISON or Uncle Harry died October 11, 1906; buried in family burying ground; was born November 12, 1815 in Clermont County, Ohio; his first wife was Emeline SKIRVIN to whom twelve children were born, eight of whom are still living: Thomas E., Mt. Zion, A. Carter, Somerset, Nix, Pendleton County, B. M. Hannibal, Missouri, Mrs. Belle RADON and Mrs. Martha COOK of Missouri, Mrs. Sallie CASTLEMAN of Oklahoma and Mrs. L. T. BLANCHETT of Williamstown; his second wife was Elizabeth HARRISON by whom he had four children, three of whom live: Mrs. Ella FRAKES of Erlanger, and John and Charles Carter of Covington; he was the last of his family except one sister."

Williamstown Courier, Grant County, Kentucky Oct 18, 1906

Sisters

Fleurie Pearl lived to be 99. (see photo above on right) Victor Dale LeGendre remembers his grandmother down on her hands and knees rolling dice at 80 years old and riding a horse at 85. "She always walked with excellent erect posture. She always told me, "Stop and smell the roses" but that's actually what killed her! She leaned over to smell a rose and fell over backward, broke her wrist, got pneumonia in the hospital and died. But I still stop to smell the roses."

Phone call 9 August 2011 with Victor Dale LeGendre about his grandmother.

Thomas Franklin Carter & Grace Caroline Blanchet (2nd cousins) Married 1908

Grace Caroline Blanchet Carter holding son Leland Thomas Carter.

Carter Family in 1922
Children: Anna, Louise and Frank

Starting a Family

The first attempts to start a family ended in grief in 1908 & 1910. Both babies were named Evelyn. The third child, Leland Thomas Carter was born in 1912 with a back deformity and had to be carried everywhere. He lived until 6 years old and was buried in 1918 in Grandview cemetery in Hannibal, MO along with his sisters.

Anna Elizabeth Carter was born 7 November 1914 and lived to be 32 years old at which time she died of colon cancer 16 August 1946. She was also buried at Grandview Cemetery in Hannibal, MO.

Frances Louise Carter was born 30 August 1917 in Salisbury in Chariton County, Missouri and lived to be 82.

Frank Welborn Carter was born 22 May 1921 and also lived to an advanced age.

Thomas Franklin and
Grace Carter