Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Bergevin Family papers
Bergevin Ryan O'Bryan, Denise
WCMss.757
4.5 linear feet
8 document boxes, 6 tubes
1863-2013
The Bergevin Family papers date from 1863 to 2013 and consist of correspondence, photographs, articles, genealogy research, genealogy charts, and ephemera pertaining to the prominent Walla Walla Valley French-Canadian immigrant family, the Bergevins.
English
, French
.
Collection is open for research.
Following her passing in 1922, Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin's correspondence was inherited by her son, Arthur. Arthur added letters he had written to Marguerite Gohres Bergevin, his girlfriend and later wife, to the collection and arbitrarily split the correspondence between his four children, Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton, Margaret Jeanne Bergevin Butkis, Russel Bergevin, and Denise Bergevin Ryan O'Bryan. The content of each recipient's split of the original collection is unknown.
In the period before the letters were acquired by the Northwest and Whitman College Archives, Russel's daughter Colleen Bergevin Brown would do her own organization of and research on the letters her father received. Artimesa, Denise, and Jeanne all completed their own research of their family's history and influence on the area. At some point one of the four sections of the original collection was discovered at an estate sale and added to Denise's split.
In 2012, Whitman College Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Sarah Hurlburt, began working with local artist and Bergevin descendant, J. Frank Munns, to research letters from Sister Marie Augustin to Mary Parmelia. Frank passed away January 9, 2013. At his funeral, Sarah met Denise, who introduced her to Colleen, who had become the family historian. Six months later, the library held a reception for the family where the split up letters were shared. The following day, Denise decided to donate her collection to the archives, and Colleen soon after. Eleonie Bergevin Remillard's granddaughter, Joan Patricia Remillard Yenny, also donated a package of letters.
Soon after her donation to the archives, Denise's daughter, Robin Ryan, found another box of letters written to Mary Parmelia. This box likely consisted of two packages of letters reconstituted from the original four-way split. With this final donation, and no obvious gaps in the collection that now exists, it is suspected that the archives house the entire original collection of letters inherited by Arthur.
Joseph and Louis Bergevin, oldest sons of Joseph Bergevin (also known as Joseph Langevin) and Catherine Laberge, left St. Timothée, Beauharnois, Quebec in the 1850s for Walla Walla, Washington. They left behind nine siblings. Roughly a decade later, younger brothers Clement and Damase followed Joseph and Louis' footsteps by settling down in Walla Walla's Frenchtown. Walla Walla's Frenchtown was one of many established in the wake of the fur trade by former French-Canadian employees and their Indigenous wives. The Bergevin's joined other Frenchtown families, like the Lavadours, Pambruns, Allards, Forests, Remillards, and the McBeans in creating a quick-growing Métis community that often occupied unique, hybrid positionalities.
While Joseph and Clement Bergevin never married, Louis and Damase both married into other local Frenchtown families. Louis married Celina Forest in the early 1860s, and the two passed away in 1874. Clement, nicknamed 'Uncle Langevin,' took in their four children. With Celina's passing, there no longer remained a woman in Walla Walla to receive and mediate communication from the rest of the family in modern-day Montreal. Maintaining the family network primarily through written communication was a difficult task. Many of those writing to Walla Walla were only marginally literate, often writing on behalf of other family members. Most younger family members in and around the Walla Walla Valley spoke and were literate only in English, while most of the family in Canada were francophone, with varying degrees of French-language literacy.
The task was taken up when Damase married his former sister-in-law's niece, Mary Parmelia Allard, in 1881. Mary Parmelia began regular correspondence with the Bergevin and Allard families, and with her sister-in-law Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire Bergevin) in particular. Sister Augustin acted as the family's primary "kin keeper," sustaining the family's connection across great distances through, primarily, communication via "...visits, letters… presents, and cards to kin; the organization of holiday gatherings." Following Sister's passing in 1899, letters between Walla Walla and Canada petered out and mostly disappeared by 1909. Correspondence between Mary Parmelia and her adult daughters, Eleonie Bergevin Remillard and Augustine Ann Bergevin Markham, continued until Mary Parmelia's death in 1922.
In the following decades, Bergevin descendents would become involved in researching their family's history and influence on the area. Family reunions, the creation of large genealogy maps, and numerous articles and write-ups were organized and created in order to discover and/or preserve that history.
Photocopied selections from books owned by Whitman College and one selection from a book owned by the Washington State Library were removed from the Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton papers. Photocopies of photographs of Louis and Celina Bergevin were also removed, as better copies of these photographs are included in the same series. The J. Frank Munns papers were weeded for duplicates. Original copies of the weeded letters can be found in the Colleen Bergevin Brown papers and Denise Bergevin Ryan O'Bryan papers. Any copies that included special annotations or previous drafts of translations remain.
The Bergevin Family papers date from 1863 to 2013 and consist of six series, I. Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton papers, II. Colleen Bergevin Brown papers, III. Denise Ryan O'Bryan Papers, IV. J. Frank Munns papers, V. Joan Patricia Remillard Yenny papers, and VI. Maps and genealogical charts. The Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton papers consist of photographs, articles, and genealogy research pertaining to the Bergevin family and their influence on the region, dating from 1863 to 1987. The Colleen Bergevin Brown papers consist of Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin's correspondence with Sister Marie Augustin (also known as Victoire Bergevin), the Allard family, family living in present-day Montreal, and family living in Medical Lake, Washington. The letters date from 1880 to 1918. The Denise Bergevin Ryan O'Bryan papers consist of correspondence, receipts, stereoscopes, postcards, photographs, Mary Parmelia's photograph album, and Beldame Damase Bergevin's tooth. This series dates from 1875 to 1946. The J. Frank Munns papers consist of translations (finished and drafts) and photocopies of correspondence from Sister Marie Augustin to Mary Parmelia, dating from 1996 to 2013. The Joan Patricia Remillard Yenny papers consist of correspondence and genealogy research, dating from 1893 to 1998. Maps and genealogical charts consist of handwritten genealogical charts or family trees and one map of the Frenchtown area, all undated.
Researchers might find it helpful to know that sleeved letters with a red 'smiley-face' sticker are from, or suspected to be from, Sister Marie Augustin.
The collection is arranged alphabetically into six series: I. Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton papers, II. Colleen Bergevin Brown papers, III. Denise Ryan O'Bryan Papers, IV. J. Frank Munns papers, V. Joan Patricia Remillard Yenny papers, and VI. Maps and genealogical charts.
Hurlburt, Sarah. "Kin Keeping and Family Storytelling in Nineteenth-century French-Canadian Immigrant Letters: The Bergevin Corpus." Histoire sociale/Social History 50, no. 102 (2017): 285-313. https://doi.org/10.1353/his.2017.0037.
French Americans
Artimesa Bergevin Pemberton papers
1863-1987
Accounts of Bergevin, Forest, and Allard families in the Northwest
1977
1
1
The Arthur Bergevin Family [write up for Bergevin family]
1983 May 29
1
2
Article on the history of the Walla Walla Bergevins
undated
1
3
Article on Louis, Joseph, Clement, and Damase Bergevin by Claro Bergevin
undated
1
4
The Bergevin dit Langevin Family [translated article on Bergevin family]
1945
1
5
The Bergevin Family [write up on family roots]
undated
1
6
Canadians and French Aided in this Section [article by Clem Bergevin]
undated
1
7
The Cayuse Indians [article draft]
undated
1
8
Cemeteries of Walla Walla Valley
1968
1
9
Chiefs' picture [copy of photograph]
1890
1
10
Copies of photographs of Bergevin family
1876-circa 1900s
1
11
Copies of photographs of Bergevin family and Francis M. Lowden
circa 1890s-1909
1
12
Copy of marriage certificate for Lieutenant Henry McCarin and Josephine La Forest
1863 August 13
1
13
Copy of photograph from fiftieth wedding anniversary of Louis Cornelius Bergevin and Delma LeFave
1938
1
14
Damase and Louis Bergevin family genealogy records
undated
1
15
Draft of article on Frenchtown history
undated
1
16
Frenchtown: Bergevin Family [article]
1976
1
17
The Early History of Frenchtown [draft and published article]
1949
1
18
Frenchtown Rendezvous program
1949
1
19
Frenchtown was First White Community Outside Stockade Walls [newspaper article]
1960
1
20
Gathering Moss: The 1865 Virginia City Rescue by Walla Walla Bergevin Bros. [newspaper article]
1948
1
21
The Genealogy of Teresa Bergevin Davin
circa 1948
1
22
The History and Lore that should be perpetuated in the naming of Wallula Lake
1951
1
23
Jeanne Bergevin Butkis research on Bergevin family
1983
1
24
Letter from Sr. M. Joseph du Sauveur with information about Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire) Bergevin
undated
1
25
List of Frenchtown residents
undated
1
26
List of names Buried in Cemetery
undated
1
27
Location of Maihew Dauphin, wife Katherine, and two relatives' graves
undated
1
28
Map of Southern Quebec
undated
1
29
Marie Dorian gains local recognition [Union-Bulletin article]
1980
1
30
Photographs
circa 1880s
1
31
Photographs
circa 1870s-circa 1900s
1
32
Photographs
1945-circa 1950s
1
33
Subject file: Baker Railroad
1975
1
34
Subject file: Clemence 'Clem' Bergevin
1962-1976
1
35
Subject file: Damse Bergevin and Century Farms
1957-1985
1
36
Subject file: Saint Rose of Lima Mission
1962-1985
1
37
Table of consanguinity
undated
1
38
Walla Walla Historical Landmarks 1856-1952
1952
1
39
Walla Walla Bergevins [article draft]
undated
1
40
Washington State Genealogical Society Pioneer certificates
1987
1
41
Colleen Bergevin Brown papers
1880-1918
Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire) correspondence to family [1 of 2]
1880-1998
2
1
Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire) correspondence to family [2 of 2]
1880-1998
2
2
Montreal relatives correspondence
1885-1913
2
3
Medical Lake families correspondence
1888-1918
2
4
Allard family correspondence [1 of 2]
1889-1916
2
5
Allard family correspondence [2 of 2]
1889-1916
2
6
Denise Bergevin Ryan O'Bryan papers
1875-1946
Correspondence from Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire) to Damse Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1880-1898
3
1
Other correspondence
1882-1899
3
2
Correspondence from Mary Alice 'Alix' Forest to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1885-1889
3
3
Correspondence from Eleonie Bergevin Remillard to Damse Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1890-1896
3
4
Newspaper clipping on Ramona Convent
1891
3
5
Correspondence from Michel Laberge to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1891-1892
3
6
Other correspondence
1891-1908
3
7
Correspondence from Oliver 'Levi' Allard and Sophie Raymond Allard to Damse Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1892-1899
3
8
Correspondence from Eleonie Bergevin Remillard and Damse Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1893
3
9
Correspondence from Henry Allard to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1893-1899
3
10
Correspondence from Henry Allard to Joseph Damse Bergevin
1895-1898
3
11
Correspondence from André and Elizabeth Jane LeFevre to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1898
3
12
Correspondence from Léloise Poirier Rodrigue to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1902-1909
3
13
Other correspondence
1903-1921
3
14
Correspondence from Isidore Girouard to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1908
3
15
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres
1913-1915
3
16
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres [1 of 2]
1914-1916
3
17
Correspondence from Augustine Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1915
3
18
Photographs
circa 1880s
3
19
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1904-1905
4
1
Correspondence, receipts, ephemera, and tooth
1909-circa early 1940s
4
2
Correspondence from Austine Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1913
4
3
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres [2 of 2]
1914-1916
4
4
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres
1916
4
5
Correspondence from Eleonie Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
undated
4
6
Correspondence from Hyacinthe Poirer, Elmire Bergevin Poirer, Afred Rodrigue, and Léloise Poirer Rodrigue to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
undated
4
7
Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin photograph album
undated
5
1
Correspondence to Damase Bergevin and Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1889-1917
6
1
Correspondence to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin, receipts, and invitations [1 of 2]
1892-1921
6
2
Correspondence to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin, receipts, and invitations [1 of 2]
1892-1921
6
3
Correspondence from Austine Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1905-1917
6
4
Correspondence from Austine Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1910-1919
6
5
Programs and invitations
1913-1933
6
6
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres [1 of 2]
1914-1917
6
7
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres [2 of 2]
1914-1917
6
8
Correspondence from Eleonie Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin
1915-1916
6
9
Correspondence from Arthur Bergevin to Marguerite Gohres
1916-1920
6
10
Correspondence, reciepts, programs, and invitations
1917
6
11
Correspondence from Denise Bergevin to Russel Bergevin
1940-1945
6
12
Correspondence from Denise Bergevin to Russel Bergevin
undated
6
13
Artimesa Bergevin diary
1937-1946
7
1
Postcards to Miss Marguerite Gohres [1 of 2]
1907-1916
7
2
Postcards to Miss Marguerite Gohres [1 of 2]
1907-1916
7
3
Sightseeing stereoscopes
1875-1899
7
4
J. Frank Munns papers
1996-2013
Translations and copies of letters from Sister Marie Augustin (Victoire) to family
1996-2013
8
1
Joan Patricia Remillard Yenny papers
1893-1998
From Eleonie Bergevin to Marie Parmelia Allard Bergevin [correspondence]
1893-1919
8
2
From Austine Bergevin to Mary Parmelia Allard Bergevin [correspondence]
1906-1914
8
3
Genealogy research of Remillard, Frazer, and other families
1998
8
4
Correspondence from Austine Bergevin to Clement Bergevin
undated
8
5
Maps and genealogy charts
1966
Aunt Jeanne's Research [family tree of descendants of Pierre Louis Bergevin]
undated
2
Descendants of Arthur Bergevin [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Augustine Bergevin [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Clarence Bergevin [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Clement Bergevin II [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Eleonie Bergevin Remillard [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Elmere/Elmire Bergevin [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Francois Bergevin [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Francois Bergevin [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Francois Bergevin, Willamette Valley branch [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Francois Bergevin, Yakima Valley branch [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Francois Bergevin, Yakima Valley branch [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Joseph Bergevin [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Joseph Bergevin [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Joseph Damase Bergevin I [family tree]
undated
3
Descendants of Joseph Foret [Forest] [family tree]
undated
3
Descendants of Louis Bergevin II [family tree]
undated
4
Descendants of Louis Charles Bergevin [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Marie and Jean Bergevin [Marie Anne Piton and Jean Bergevin dit Langevin] [family tree]
undated
5
Descendants of Thomas Bergevin [family tree]
undated
3
1872 Frenchtown Map [photocopy] as remembered by Thomas Bergevin
undated
1
1872 Frenchtown map [photocopy]
undated
1
United States Geological Survey map of Walla Walla Valley
1966
6