In 1949, my father and two of my uncles along with some of their friends from Odanak came to Odzihozo [Rock Dunder, just off shore of Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont] with offerings of tobacco, maple syrup, and coffee. Late on that summer day, my father napped in the shadow of Odzihozo and had a power dream which became the theme of a lot of his work.
The question begs to be answered, who were the two uncles, and some of their friends from Odanak that ALLEGEDLY went there? Were there photographic images made of this alleged event? Or is it just another fairy tale story concocted by Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr.?
My father kept and decorated many boxes. My mother gave these to me after my father passed into the spirit world. These boxes hold important things. Each item is a mnemonic, a coded reminder like the picture-symbols of our wapapi records. When read like hieroglyphs [sic], these things illustrate the entire span of my father's life.
These items MAY have been kept and decorated by Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr.' father Gérard Rancourt Sr., and these items MAY have been given to Gérard Jr. by his mother ... but if Gérard Jr. claims he was born in Central Quebec, Canada (blah blah blah), how does anyone know for certain that anything or dynamic is even remotely based in truth or fact? How does anyone really honestly know for certain that the man is telling the truth, vs. yet another story? What is to be believed, if he can't even tell the truth as to his own birth in 1945 Meriden, CT?
For a more detailed chronological Time Line of Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr.
click on the following link:
December 24, 2006
Sherrie Pittman [daughter of Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr. and his 1st wife]
"I myself am Abenaki. My father is Gerard Tsonakwa ...."
Is she so sure? Or is she so quick to ride the coat-tails of her father's story-telling ...
March 05, 2009 (Ancestry.com)
She implies and states that her father Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr. and his father, Joseph Gérard Antoine "Tsemitzewa" Rancourt Sr. ARE MEMBERS OF THE ODANAK TRIBE OF CANADA.
Really? If that is the reality, then Odanak's Band Council and Registrar ought not to have any problem or hesitation, in confirming this alleged reality of membership of her father and grandfather! Or maybe a telephone call to Ottawa, would be informative as to the accuracy of her assertions.
This is a conversation I had starting on May 19, 2014 with Sherrie (Rancourt) Pittman, and my attempts to solicit communication with her father. Suffice it to say, he had nothing to say to me. I attempted to clarify certain dynamics I was finding in his stories about his ancestors, etc.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
ok, doug. i googled you and called my dad. he will call me in about an hour and i will give him your info and he will contact you. however, he is slow in reaching people so give him some time. you can friend me on FB if you wish but i dont give out alot of infor on my dad. feel free to share any info on yourself.
Douglas Buchholz
have him call me in the evening please, I am home then. Thank you very much Sherrie.
or better yet have him email me.... when he is ready....
btw, good morning or Wligen Sponswiwi in Abenaki.
- May 20, 2014
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
my cousin suzanne rancourt says you have over 20 years of geneolgy records. would you be willing to share them? can you email them to me? spfunfood@gmail.com
Douglas Buchholz
20 years of records is a lot records to send over the internet? But I will share what I can.... assuredly.
Douglas Buchholz
I can send you a PDF from the top of the Rancourt's downward to yourself.
Douglas Buchholz
Just sent you the PDF. I will let you digest or chew on that PDF, and then when your ready, send you the descendant PDF from the 'top - downward'. I am off to the Post Office....
- May 26, 2014
Douglas Buchholz
Happy Birthday Sherrie, and also Happy Anniversary tomorrow to.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
thank you. i still have not heard from dad.
Douglas Buchholz
that's ok, I am working just the same on the genealogy as time allows. Working on Suzanne's right now. But on her father's side of the genealogical 'railroad tracks'
- May 27, 2014
Douglas Buchholz
Got an inquiry for you genealogically Sherrie: Do you happen to have Gerard Rancourt and Eleanor SOuthland's marriage record? I have a date of Dec 05 1936 in Brewster NY
But alas, I am not sure of that date or place now.
hoping you might (hopefully) be able to confirm it, or get the record for your own and perhaps share it with me (?)
I've been going document for document backwards into the Rancourt's themselves the last week or so.....
tomorrow I am going to call NY State Vital Records and CONFIRM it is there in NY State. I do have the obits for both your grandparents today.
do you have them? If not I will email to you those.
hope your feeling better from that virus....
- May 28, 2014
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- October 15, 2014
Douglas Buchholz
I never did hear from your father Sherrie. Must be he doesn't want to explain the discrepancy between what he has put out there about him and his 2nd wife, vs. the actual documentation?
How can he be born in Central Quebec, Canada when his birth certificate is in Meriden, CT, and his 2nd wife is FROM and of Pennsylvania? Is what I am seeing simply a concocted story created by your father?
Since I have not heard from him to clarify why I am seeing and looking at these discrepancy and distortions between what he Said and SAYS about him and his wife, and these records from and of Meriden CT, perhaps I ought to shed some light on this dynamic?
I don't know, on the one hand it matters not, but then on the other HE is claiming he's "Abenaki" and yet.... he says he was born and raised in Quebec, when in fact I have proof he was born and raised in Meriden, CT.
a bit fishy if you ask me.
check the CT Vital records and then cross reference with the cassette tape jackets you have. If you want I can send you the documents ....
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
it could be fabricated. i dont know. i met him was i 7-8 and i all ever knew him was to be "indian" personally i dont want to know the truth, i just want to remember my good times with him. and doug, i dont want him discredited he has done some great work in the NA community. As far as not reaching you he was hoping to retire to but had to find work. And, i hardly hear from him myself. Furthermore I do not know anything about his wife. I wish i could help more.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
Thank you for your information
Douglas Buchholz
I don't want to discredit him either on the one hand, but I will be putting out the truthful documentation regarding him and his family. Respectfully of course.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
that will discredit him! please dont. He is happy with his work and life. it's a long story doug and a sad one. I will share it with you soon. Please wait.
Douglas Buchholz
well he hasn't talked to me honestly said and I am not going to wait much longer.
The truth is the truth is the truth, and a lie is just that.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
i will call him doug send me your number. i dont want him or his family hurt and he has 2 grandaughters and as well they only know him as indian. give me a few days, please
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Douglas Buchholz
here is my email douglaslloydbyuchholz@yahoo.com
or douglaslloyd@myfairpoint.net
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
mine is 1520 silver court, dallas, nc, 28034. my husand and i go to lancaster frequently, perhaps we can meet up over thankgiving and talk?
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- October 30, 2014
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Douglas Buchholz
Sherrie, respectfully and politely I want you to read this portion of this article. I have asked politely to speak with your father Gerard A. Rancourt who goes by Tsonakwa, and I have waited patiently and kindly to speak with him.
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Douglas Buchholz
He was not born in Canada on a Native Reservation, because his birth record exists in Mildford, CT in 1945
Douglas Buchholz
I have been patient enough for the Vermont Cows to come in... and while I sought to be fair and courteous in my research, regarding your father, and yourself, I will be putting the documents together and posting them online in my blog etc. because it just another reality of cultural appropriate and Abenaki Identity theft. Like so many others sadly said. I, when I learned of your father, when I met your father a few years later, having come clear across the country, I assumed he was legitimately Abenaki. Sadly that is not the reality according to the documents I have now gathered together. I don't need to discredit him. His reality and persona did that all on its own. I wanted to talk with your father, for the simple reality that this weighs heavy on me, knowing what I do now. Do I ignore the truth? Do I turn my back on the reality of that truth? People need to know what has happened here, and not just with your father, but many other people as well. NOTHING has been forthcoming to negate my research, from yourself nor your father as I was hoping. Yes, the Truth hurts and for that, I am apologizing to you because you are a kind person, and I believe your father is too, yetI cannot negate my research and its direction these documents have taken me. That is all I have to say.
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
i called him two weeks ago, left a message no return call as of yet. But if tearing people down makes you feel like a big righteous man, then do what you will. I HARDLY HEAR FROM HIM
Douglas Buchholz
I simply have said all I can.
Now I will lay out the FACTS documentarily as i have researched them.
This is not tearing down anyone.
You of all people ought to know the Truth, I mean, he is your father.
you claimed he was/is a member of Odanak!
I have the memberships lists for Odanak from the 1960's on up to the 1990's
No Gerard Rancourt at all there.
Doesn't seem plausible that he was born on a Reservation, and yet his birth record doesn't show anything to that. Its marked Meriden CT April 19 1945 and that is also the date on his marriage records.
So please, this does not make me feel anything but perplexed that what his stories about himself through the 1980's and 1990's does not match what his records show BEFORE 1977
He has declined to communicate... and you tell me that you hardly communicate with him, and you have made trips to meet him, talk with him, and so on Sherrie. You have a 'shrine' claiming to be Abenaki. Is that really the reality?
People believe their lies and distortions. Gullible people that are naive believe those stories and his "history" as truth. It isn't the truth is it Sherrie....
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
i have nothing more to say. tear people down and make yourself look like a god
Douglas Buchholz
oh please.... the FACT is IF he was not a FAKE, you wouldn't have an issue. I have done the genealogy on both sides of your father's ancestry.
It was YOUR responsibility as his daughter to find the truth, and not perpetuate this dynamic.
- October 31, 2014
Sherrie Rancourt Pittman
in case you did not get my text message via phone yesterday. my father said do what you want.
thank you for the articles doug i enjoyed reading them
And I never did hear one word from Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr. at all. Not by letter, email or telephone ...
Suzanne Rancourt, is actually by birth, a Stewart. Upon legal separation, William LaPrairie of Stony Creek, NY ... she had already taken the Rancourt maiden name of her mother (just like Donna Carvalho - Charlebois - Moody did when she'd divorced Robert Charlebois).
It makes them 'more' "Abenaki" I guess to take their mother's maiden names? Robert(s) to imply they are related to O'Bomsawin's; and Rancourt's to imply they are related to the Rancourt's of Old Town, Maine (i.e. Penobscot Nation).
Suffice it to say, that Suzanne (nee: Stewart) Genealogy has been worked on and mapped out:
And here:
Was Suzanne (nee: Stewart) (1m. Stephen Bartlett Emery 2m. Scott Stephen Pierce and 3m. William George LaPrairie) who took the maiden name of her mother, Muriel Evelyn Juliette (nee: Rancourt) (and Muriel E. J. Rancourt had married previously to Clarence E. Paradis in 1949 and then to Lee E. "Sonny" Stewart in 1956).
1. Roch Manintoubeouich / Manitouabeouich &
Outchibabhanoukoneau HURON
2. Marie Olivier Sylvestre
3. Louis Prévost
4. Marie Prévost
5. Marguerite David
6. François Cloutier
7. François Henri Zacharie Cloutier
8. Zacharie Cloutier
9. Prisque Cloutier
10. Sophie Cloutier
11. Apolline Pauline Mathieu
12. George Walter Rancourt
13. Muriel Evelyn Juliette Rancourt
14. Suzanne “Suzy”
J. “Blue Flame” Stewart - Rancourt
In her 2003 book entitled Billboard in the Clouds, of her poems, she implies that her ancestors were/ are Abenakis. At the end, she claims she is an Abenaki, of the Bear Clan, because allegedly someone of the Penobscot Nation SAID she was, because her half-sister, Michele M. (nee: Paradis) who married to Charles Robert "Tim" Tyler in March of 1971 married at the Ste. Anne's Catholic Church (by Rev. Real J. Nadeau), in Old Town, Indian Island, Penobscot County, Maine ... and Suzanne's maternal grandfather father George Walter Rancourt, had sat in a pew, allegedly reserved for the Bear Clan (according to Arnie Neptune) that day in March 1971. That made George an Abenaki? He (meaning George, Suzanne's grandfather) died Dec. 25, 1976 in Lewiston, Maine and had married to Dorothee (Dorothy) St. Onge in November 1913.
My question is, aside from reading and reviewing the aforementioned book of poems written by Suzanne (Stewart) Rancourt, that I am still wondering and confused ... how is she actually an 'Abenaki' herself or the descendant of an Abenaki?
I guess, she became Abenaki because her family didn't beat their child(ren)? Or the like ...
And btw, Gertrude 'Rizpah' (nee: Cleveland) Stewart, of which Suzanne made mention of in her book on Page 25 ... was not "Abenaki" because of the middle name she carried. It is a biblical name: (riz'-pa, "coal", "hot stone") was the daughter of Aiah, and one of Saul's concubines. She was the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 3:7; 21:8-11).
Gertrude 'Rizpah' (nee: Cleveland) Stewart got the middle name 'Rizpah' from her maternal grandmother Rizpah (nee: Adams) 1m. Hewey 2m. Lewis.
The common Rancourt ancestor between Sherrie (nee: Rancourt) Pittman and Suzanne (nee: Stewart) was and is ... Jean François Rancourt born on 2 Apr 1694 in Ste. Joachim, Ile d'Orleans, Montmorency, Quebec, Canada. Suzanne descends from his 1st wife Louise Poulin. Sherrie Pittman descends from his 2nd wife Marie Claire Jodoin.
While Suzanne does have a distant 1600's genealogical ancestral connection to Roch Manintoubeouich / Manitouabeouich & Outchibabhanoukoneau, TWO HURON REFUGEE'S fleeing the Mohawk incursions/ attacks against Huronia in the mid-1630's, under the Jesuit umbrella of Protection at pre-Odanak in Sillery ... Sherrie (Rancourt) Pittman, does not have that same connection in her ancestry. And if the Rancourt's were in Ste. François d' Beauceville, Beauce County, Québec, Canada, again, that still does not mean her Rancourt ancestors were Abenakis at all.
ganttizdrama2 is in reality Sherrie Elizabeth Rancourt and Steven Lee Gantt's daughter, Falicity Gantt, who married to Sean Wheless.
This granddaughter of Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr. also believes her grandfather and her great-grandfather were "Abenakis". And that her great-grandfather's wife was half-Cherokee.
As for the storyteller, Gérard Anthony "Tsonakwa" Rancourt Jr. (and or his 3rd wife) or any of their ancestors being genuinely Abenakis, I do not discern any evidence of such reality.
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And now, let's explore the honest-legitimate "history" and genealogical record(s) of his 3rd wife, this so-called "Yolaikia Wapitaska" ... who is really Marilyn Bernadet Sciolé ... who claims to be Abenaki as well from the Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada area ...
