Sub-subseries

This sub-subseries provides information on the history and geography of the land surrounding the Maison Michel-Robillard, the genealogy of its owners, and the origins of the place name, Braerob Farm. It contains two documents.

The first is a photocopy of a typewritten letter in English signed by Peter Williamson, of Braerob Farm, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Dated August 5, 1943, it is addressed to H. R. White, Esq., of the Canadian Shorthorn Association in Guelph, Ontario. In response to the Mr. White's July 29 query concerning the derivation of the name "Braerob Farm," the letter writer explains the geography and history of the farm. Located near Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, the farm is owned and operated by Mrs. Peter Williamson and "consists of 300 acres, more or less, lying on a gentle slope rising towards the Height of Land some three miles from the Westerly tip of the Island of Montreal, and overlooking Le Lac des Deux Montagnes." The author affirms that this "very fertile" land was established "over 250 years ago" (an exaggeration, because the land was granted in 1739) by the Robillard family, who owned it continuously until 1928. Of Scottish origin, the current owner coined the name "Braerob" by combining two words: "brae," a Scottish word for hillside, evokes the "gentle rise of the land [...] towards the ridge," while "rob" is a tribute to the Robillard family who first cleared the land and worked it for many generations.

The other document is an undated page with a handwritten pencil sketch of a partial Robillard family tree illustrating the farm's owners in the 19th century. It begins with the first marriage of "Michael Robillard" with Catherine Brabant (children: Angélique, Euphrosine, Scolastique and Josephte, wife of Rémi Legault) and then illustrates his second marriage with Félicité Sirop (Sureau) dit Blondin, who died in 1834 and with whom he had Joseph, Sévère, Honoré and Euphémie. The tree continues with Sévère Robillard's 1848 marriage with Adelaide Gemme (written "James" in the text) dit Carrière, which notably produced Parménie, Aldéric, Emma, Odile and Joséphine.