People who do genealogical research know that parish records can hold some real surprises. Given names and surnames are often spelled differently or shortened from one official document to another – and sometimes nicknames are used. This was often the case in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. For instance, someone named Anne-Élisabeth Desrochers appears only as Anne on her marriage certificate and as Élisabeth Desrochers on her eldest child’s baptismal certificate. It can be difficult to figure out who’s who!

The Lassonde family was no stranger to these record-keeping anomalies. The company’s founder went down in history as Aristide, but the name listed in the civil registry is Aristille. Was his wife’s name really Georgianna – sometimes spelled with only one “n” – or was it some sort of contraction of Georgianne and Angélina? Those are the given names that are listed in the commemorative book published for the 100^th anniversary of Rougemont in 1987. The book also mentions their three children: Marie, Léa and Willie. Yet on the family tombstone in the Rougemont cemetery the two daughters are identified as Maria and Marie-Louise. Their grandson Pierre-Paul, who now chairs the board of directors, appears in the book simply under the first name Pierre.

Fortunately, record-keeping is more accurate today. The name of Pierre-Paul Lassonde’s successor is indeed Nathalie, spelled with an “h”!

Next column: Early marketing efforts…