AGED PIONEER BLACKSMITH OF NORTH DIES
A man who watch Sudbury, the tiny village he settled in during the summer of 1882 grow to it's present day size, as the busy city centzing the world's largest nickel industry and Sudbury's oldest-known ppioneer Hormidas Quenville is dead. The 82-year old resident who of late years has been living at McFarlane Lake, died on Monday, September 24, at St-Joseph's Hospital, in Sudbury, following a two day illness.
A blacksmith and prospector throughout Northern Ontario and Quebec all his life the aged Sudbury resident was a well known and popular figure in the lumber camps and mining areas of Sudbury district, having and active life up to the time of his death. The rugged smithy of pioneering French-Canadian stock was born at Montreal and left home at the age of 14 to work at the lumber camps in Northern Quebec. Three years later he went to work for the C.P.R. who were launching on their larze-scale contruction project across the Dominion. He worked through with the railway to Sudbury from Veuve River, when the railway went through in 1882, and then helped with the construction of the line through to Chelmsford. He liked the site where Sudbury was situated and decided to make his home here, leaving the railway to open up a blacksmith shop. His first shop was located on the site where the Sudbury Daily Star now stands. He lived above the premises with his wife Angel Thremblay, whom he had married a year later at Chicoutimi Quebec. The couple lived at this location for four years. The late Mr. Quenville then erected a new blacksmith shop on the site now occupted by the Montreal house but vacted the premises five years later, moving to Azilda in 1891. The following year his wife died, but he remained on the farm at Azilda as a pioneer homes leader.
In 1894, the late Mr. Quenville was married to Josephine Picard at Massey, bringing his second wife to his Azilda farm. They then returned to Sudbury in 1900, with the pioneer opening up the first bowling alley in Sudbury. The alley was located on the premises where the Regent Theatre now stands, and proved to be a huge sucess. Two years later he opened up another blacksmith shop on Elms St. East next to the premises now occupied by Marlow second hand shop. His original building is still standing on that site. The urge to set ou again on the norths prospecting trails overtook the pioneer settler several years later, and he embarked on a long prospecting trip through Northern Ontario and into Quebec. In 1931 his second wife died.
The late Mr. Quenville was a well known figure to resiendis of the outlying districts of the north and was noted for his yarns of the early days in Sudbury and the surrounding area. In 1941 he married his third wife the former Louise Tremblay of Capreal and the couple made their home at McFarlande Lake for the last five years. He celebrated his 82nd birthday in June of this ear. In addition to his blacksmithing and prospecting career the late Mr. Quenville took part in the construction of many of the buildings in Sudbury and helped erect the Chruch of Epiphany and Ste. Anne's Roman Catholic Chruch.
The father of 13 childrent by his second wife and eight by his frist wife, the late Mr. Quenville is survived by nine of his 21 children. Surviving besides his widow are six sons, Arthur and Donat of Sudbury. Hector of Armstrong, Wifred of Levack. Joe of Montreal and Sylvio, of Lockerby; three daugthers, Mrs. P. Marinoff (Blache), of Hamilton, Mrs. O. Savard (Alma) of Wahnapitae and Josephine Quenville of Woodstock, a brother, Joe Quenville of Montreal: 43 grandchildren and 25 great-greadchildren. The late Mr. Quenville was very proud of the fact that he was godfather to 81 children. A devout member of the Roman Catholic Chruch at McFarlane Lake, the late Mr. Quenville had been a stauch adherent of Ste. Anne's Roman Catholic CHruch in Sudbury prior to moving to the McFarlane lake area.
The remains are resting at Ducharm's Funeral Home, 83 Beech St., until Thursday, September 27, when solomn requlem high mass will be conducted at Ste Anne's Roman Catholic Chruch. Interment will take place in the Roman Catholic Cemetary, in Sudbury.
Source from Sudbury Star abt 1945
Donat - Hector - Hormidas - Viau
On Peter Street at Donat's Home