Alexander Chartier

CHARTIER LEMOINE

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 4/12/2010 at 18:14:38

Woodbury County History 1984

Alexander and Delena (LeMoine) Chartier
By Mrs Richard Chartier

Alexander Chartier was born in St Roalie, Canada, to Louis Chartier and Eliza Miranda Chartier, July 23, 1872. He died in Sioux City, Iowa, of a heart attack, October 23, 1950.

Delena LeMoine was born in South Bridge, Massachusetts to Pete LeMoine and Catherine Lavallee, January 4, 19882. She died, of cancer, at her home near Bronson, October 23, 1950.

They are buried in Memorial Park Cemetery. We have the Chartier genealogy back to Michel Chartier married to Magne in France I665, and the LeMoine genealogy back to Peter LeMoine married to Catherine Lavallee at South Bridge, Massachusetts about 1870.

Louis Chartier brought his family of ten children to Dakota Territory nar Jefferson, South Dakota, in 1876, when Alex was four years old. Before Alex was seven years old his mother died and his father remarried. When Alex was twelve years old he came to Sioux City and lived in a boarding house, as his father and second family moved back to Canada. At thirteen years he was hauling sand with a team and wagon for the brick paving on West 7th Street. He contacted diptheria and nearly died. He was quarantined in a shed behind the boarding house wher his landlandy would bring food to him. When his throat closed so he couldn’t swallow, she (as related by Alex) fed him two teaspoons of kerosene, which saved his lef by oozing through his closed throat.

In the early 1890’s he lived in the home of Theophile Brugier near Salix and worked as a farm hand until Bruhier sold out and went to the Riverside area.

Delena LeMoine was left motherless when she was about three years of age. Pete LeMoine brought his family of six children to a home between Salix and Luton. The older ones took cae of the younger ones. At age twelve or thirteen, Delena was living with her Aunt and Uncle Emmanuel and Mary LeMoine on theold ‘LeMoine place’ south of Bronson, owned now by Chuck Widman. She helped with the cooking, housekeeping, churning, etc for $1 per week. Saturday nigh house dances at the LeMoine home was the area young people’s fun. Saturdays were spent baking and cooking for these events.

About 1896, Delena worked in the Marion Smith home (where Arnold Zellmer now lives). At this time Alex Chartier was a bachelor farmer near the old Burns place on now Hwy 141, and attended many of the dances a LeMoines.

Alex Chartier and Delena LeMoine were married October 3, 1898, in St Joseph Catholic Church, Salix, Iowa.

They farmed for the next seventeen years in Grange Township. They farmed near the Burns place unil 1901, when they rented the Marion Smith farm, (now owned by Arnold Zellmer). From there they rented and farmed the Bernard farm (where Pete Jensen now lives). About 1910, Alex bought 80 acres, a fruit farm (now owned by Ralph Waddell). In 1915, Alex bough 360 acres, east of Bronson, from the large ranch of Payne Sargisson. The Harry Spencer 120-acre farm, (now Don Dukes) and the Axel Wikstrom 160-acre farm, (now Paul Parks) and land extending south to near Luton wer also part of the ranch. Alex raised corn and alfalfa and few cattle and paid for the farm ($145 per acre) in ten years. (1925) During the depression and the dry years in the 30’s he had to borrow $2000 to ‘keep going’ and it took ten years to ‘clear’ the farm again. Joe King now owns the farm.

Alex lived a sucessful life, raised his family, (Raymond and Richard), did all his own business and accumulated a sizeable estate without ever been able to read or write except to roughly sign his name. With the help of his sister, Marie, when he was young he had memorized the series of prayers in the rosary and the parochial mass so he could participate in the services of the church.

Raymond Alexander Chartier was born in Grange Township, to Alex and Delena Chartier, December 7, 1900. He attended school at Camp Creek and the Rhetburg School in Floyd Township. He attended a mechanics school in Sioux City and in 1932 had a Shell Service Station near Morningside and Hwy 141, selling gas and doing mechanical work. Later he closed the station and farmed with his father near Bronson. He farmed and operated a threshing machine in the Bronson and Luton areas. He married Inez Bush in 1934. They had three children: Murvyn Darrell, born in 1935; Maylon Ray, born in 1942; and Milford, born in 1957. Murvyn graduated from Bronson High School. He and his mother have a home in Fremont, Nebraska, where Murvyn works for the schools in the lunch program and dles janitor work. His mother, Inez, is retired after working in the Fremont hospital. Maylon graduated from Bronson High School and is now living in Sioux City, working as an inspector for the city streets department. Milford is living in a home in Glenwood, Iowa.

Raymond died in 1972 and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Richard Edward Chartier was born, to Alex and Delena Chartier, in Grange Township on the farm now owned by Arnold Zellmer. He attended school at Camp Creek and Rhetburg Schools. Richard farmed with his father on the Chartier farm thirty-two years. During this time he worked with Ray on the threshing runs. He married Nina Marquart in 1932. Nina had graduated form Lawton High School, earned a two-year teachers certificate at I.S.T.C. in Cedar Farlls, and additional credits at Morningside College, Northwestern College at Marysville, Missouri, and SDU at Vermillion. They had three children: Joyce Ann, born in 1934; Richard Douglas, born in 1938; and Tom Dean, born in 1948.

Joyce Ann graduated from Bronson High School and did office work in Sioux City. She married Lauren Miller in 1953. They are farming the Sylvia Engelking farms, the Lillan Zeglin farms, and additional land in the area of Climbing Hill. They have one son, Lyle Duane, born in 1960. Lyle graduated form Woodbury Central High School in 1978. He attended WIT where he graduated from a course in Farm Mechanics. He has a mechanic shop on the farm where they live and is also farming land in the area. He married Nancy Waples, August 13, 1983, at the United Methodist Church in Onawa. They are living on the Sylvia Engelking farm. Nancy does office work at IPS in Sioux City.

Richard Douglas graduated from Bronson High School, attended Morningside College, Junior College in Los Angeles and received his B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from ISU at Ames, then his master’s degree from ISU. He worked at the missile site at Vandenberg, Air Force base then at Ling Tenco Vought, Dallas, Texas; then at Collins Radio Corp, Cedar Rapids; taught manpower management courses at ISU; and is now working at Bryan Memorial Hospital, Lincoln, Nebraska, in the administration department. Richard Chartier married Christy Gjerloff, November 30, 1963, at the Methodist Church in Grand Island, Nebraska. They have two children: Jeffrey Lee, born in 1969 in Cedar Rapids, and Darcie Jo, born in 1973 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tom Dean Chartier graduated form Lawton High School in 1966. He attended college at SDU in Vermillion, South Dakota, and then graduated form Wayne State College with a B.A. degree. He married Ruth Ann Rippke, June 6, 1970, at the Lutheran Church in Moville. Tom is teaching and coaching in the Junior High of Woodbury Central School. Their home is in Moville. They have two children: Megan Brooke, born in 1975, and Jill Renee, born in 1978.

Richard and Nina Chartier are retired and living in Bronson. Richard farmed thirty-two years and Nina is retired from an accumulation of twenty-one years of teaching in Somers, Iowa; North Sioux City, South Dakota; Bronson, and Lawton.