Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | March 8, 1870 |
Place of Birth | Allumettes Island, Quebec |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Francis Blondin, father, Fort Coulonge, Quebec |
Trade / Calling | Miner |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 199166 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 94th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Kenora, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | March 13, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 46 |
Theatre of Service | Great Britain |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | April 1, 1951 |
Age at Death | 81 |
According to his baptism record Adam Blondin was born on 8 March 1870 in the parish of St Alphonse, Allumettes Island in Quebec. He was the son of Francis Blondin and Marguerite Romain who had married in 1856 in LaPasse, Ontario. Other known children born to the family were Harriet (1858), Joseph (1860), Emily (1863), Adeline (1866), and Aylmere (1868). The family was found farming at Mansfield and Pontefract, Pontiac South in Quebec for the 1871 census.
By the early 1880’s Adam had moved to northwestern Ontario, settling in the Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) to work in the area’s mines. Over the years he became known as not only a prospector but also trapper and guide throughout the Red Lake District.
Adam signed his attestation papers on 13 March 1916 in Kenora. His date and place of birth was given as 22 March 1871 in Fort Coulonge, Quebec. His occupation was given as miner and his next of kin as his father back in Fort Coulonge. As a Private with the 94th Battalion that had its headquarters in Port Arthur, Ontario Adam embarked from Halifax aboard the SS Olympic on 28 June 1916.
Once in England Adam was transferred to the 32nd Reserve Battalion on the 18th of July and then to the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre the next day. A note in his service file gave his birthday as 22 March 1863. Found overage and thus medically unfit for service, Adam was returned to Canada that October, with final discharge on 27 November 1916 at Quebec.
Adam returned to northwestern Ontario, found mentioned in a Winnipeg Free Press newspaper article of 24 March 1926 where he was advocating a road going from north of Redditt on to Red Lake. He continued to prospect throughout the northwestern Ontario district for many years. Adam died on 1 April 1951 at St Joseph’s Manor in Port Arthur, Ontario. At the time he was survived by his sister Dora Lemieux of Montreal.
by Judy Stockham
Adam’s obituary courtesy of Thunder Bay Public Library