Personal Details
Date of Birth	September 11, 1865
Place of Birth	Laterriere, Chicoutimi, Quebec
Country	Canada
Marital Status	Married
Next of Kin	Diana DeGagne, wife, 44 Provencher Avenue, St Boniface, Manitoba
Trade / Calling	Carpenter Foreman, General Construction
Religion	Roman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number	288397
Service Record	Link to Service Record
Battalion	221st Battalion
Force	Canadian Expeditionary Force
Branch	Canadian Infantry
Enlisted / Conscripted	Enlisted
Address at Enlistment	44 Provencher Avenue, St Boniface, Manitoba
Date of Enlistment	April 14, 1916
Age at Enlistment	50
Theatre of Service	Canada
Prisoner of War	No
Survived War	Yes
Death Details
Date of Death	July 26, 1933
Age at Death	68
Buried At	Hillcrest East Cemetery, La Grande, Oregon, USA

DeGagne, Clovis Adelard

Clovis Adelard DeGagne was born on 11 September 1865 in Laterriere, Chicoutimi in Quebec, date and place confirmed by his baptism record. His father George DeGagne was from L’isle aux Coudres in the St Lawrence River while his mother Marie Illide Dubois was from Becancour. The couple married on 7 January 1851 in Grande Baie, Chicoutimi on the north shore of the St Lawrence near L’isle aux Coudres. George worked as a meunier (miller), with alternate spellings of the surname as Desgagnes and Desgagner. Children born in Grande Baie were Georgianna (1852), Noemie (1853), and George (1855). By the birth of the next child, daughter Eugenie Laura in 1857, the family had moved to Laterriere. Other children born in Laterriere were Charles (1859), Pierre Germaine (1861), Maria (1863), Clovis, Albert (1867), and Ida (1870). By the time of the 1881 census the family had moved to Trois Rivières.

Eventually Clovis and some of his siblings relocated to northwestern Ontario, with Clovis living with his brother Charles in Keewatin at the time of the 1891 census. At the time he was working as a book keeper. By the 1901 census Clovis was living in St Boniface, Manitoba where he was listed as a hotel keeper on the census. On 21 October 1902, in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Clovis married Diana Desilet. Although her parents Joseph Desilet and Caroline Provost were both from Quebec, they were living in Manitoba at the time of her birth in 1892. By the mid 1890’s her family had moved to Norman, a small community located between Rat Portage and Keewatin. The 1911 census listed Clovis and Diana as living in St Boniface where Clovis was a hotel proprietor.

Clovis signed his attestation papers with the 221st Battalion on 14 April 1916 in Winnipeg. Likely to appear younger, Clovis gave his date of birth as 10 September 1872. His next of kin was given as Diana and occupation as carpenter foreman in general construction. Found medically unfit (overage) during training at Camp Hughes, Private Clovis DeGagne was discharged from service on 18 October 1916.

At the time of the 1921 census Clovis and Diana were living in Winnipeg. Around 1926 they immigrated to the United States, settling in La Grande, Oregon where Diana’s parents and some of her siblings were living. The 1930 census listed Clovis’s occupation as caretaker for stores/bank while Diana worked out of the home as a dressmaker. It appears that the couple did not have any children although two of Clovis’ nieces lived with them for a number of years back in Manitoba.

Clovis died on 26 July 1933 in La Grande. At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Diana, and siblings PJ (Pierre) DeGagne in St Boniface, Laura (Arsene) Lajoie and Ida (Francois) Paquin of Trois Rivières, and Sister St Laure of Lowell, Massachusetts. Diana later died in October of 1871 in La Dalles, Oregon and is interred with Clovis in the Hillside East Cemetery in La Grande.

By Judy Stockham

Grave marker photos: Dan&Barbara on findagrave.com

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