Name |
Caroline Rebecca SIMMONS |
Born |
Abt 1819 |
Charleston, Berkeley Co., South Carolina |
Gender |
Female |
Census |
1850 |
5th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana |
- age 25, born in South Carolina (this age seems to be young)
|
Census |
1860 |
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana |
|
Census |
1880 |
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana |
- She was a widow by then, and "age 50"
|
Obituary |
Obit. from the Daily Picayune, 5 Jan. 1899, and 8 Jan. 1899:
GAMARD: On Wednesday, January 4, 1899, Mrs Caroline Rebecca Gamard, widow of Alphonse Gamard, a native of Charleston, S.C. The friends and acquaintances of the family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, which will take place from the residence of her daughter, Emma Guillemet, corner of Robert and Coliseum strees, this (Thursday) afternoon at 3 o'clock. |
Died |
4 Jan 1899 |
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana [1, 2] |
Buried |
5 Jan 1899 |
Notes |
- Her ancestry is a major stumper; she is on the Louisiana Mysteries page. The ONLY place I have seen her maiden name is on her son Alphonse Jr.'s death certificate. In the 1880 census, where she appears as living with her son Alphonse, both her parents are described as being born in South Carolina. Her husband's funeral notice says that the Simmons family is invited—which may imply that they are in New Orleans.
No marriage certificate exists for the couple in NOLA civil marriage records, and no marriage record exists for the couple in the NOLA parish church records. It seems likely that they were married in SC. The Catholic Diocese in Charleston, however, doesn't have a record for the marriage. According to their archivist, "For the time period, there were only three parishes in Charleston: St. Mary of the Annunciation, Cathedral of St. Finbar, and St. Patrick. Unfortunately, there are some pretty big gaps in the sacramental records. St. Mary has a record gap between 1831 and 1838, and there are no records prior to 1844 for the Cathedral. And among the records that do exist, I could find no reference to the surname Gamard or to a relevant Simmons."
According to her death certificate, she had been in New Orleans for "45 years," which means she would have moved there around 1854, when she was about 35.
I'm inclined to think this year is a mistake, however. First, this is long after the birth of her first child Emma Elizabeth (1839), and after the time her husband was supposed to have moved to the city, according to her husband's obituary. Second, she is in New Orleans for the 1850 census (with age given as 25, which seems to be young).
In 1891, the city directory places her, as a widow, at "136 Fourth."
No age or d.o.b. are listed. I estimate her date of birth from the N.O. Death Record and her death certificate (see the Archives), according to which she died of "La Grippe."
One very remote possibility for her ancestry is the family of William Simmons (1793-1850), son of Robert Simmons and Ann Miller. William was born in 1793 in South Carolina, and had several children, the oldest named Rebecca born "abt. 1821." William apparently died in Washington Parish, Louisiana. Rebecca is on the census for Washington Parish, LA, for 1850, so this can't be the same Rebecca; it remains only a faint lead for a related family.
|
Person ID |
I117 |
Lansdales and Pitards |
Last Modified |
25 Apr 2015 |
Husband |
Alphonse GAMARD, Sr., b. 5 Mar 1806, Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium , d. 19 Nov 1874, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana (Age 68 years) |
Children |
+ | 1. Emma Elizabeth GAMARD, b. Oct 1839, ? Cotile, Rapides Parish, Louisiana , d. 24 Apr 1921, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana (Age ~ 81 years) |
+ | 2. George Alfred GAMARD, Sr., b. 6 Oct 1842, Cotile, Rapides Parish, Louisiana , d. 25 Mar 1933, West Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut (Age 90 years) |
| 3. Rosana G. GAMARD, b. Abt 1842, ? Cotile, Rapides Parish, Louisiana , d. 2 May 1908, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana (Age ~ 66 years) |
+ | 4. Alphonse GAMARD, Jr., b. Aug 1846, ? Cotile, Rapides Parish, Louisiana , d. 2 Sep 1937, 4106 Canal St., 3rd Ward, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana (Age ~ 91 years) |
|
Family ID |
F371 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |