Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | June 18, 1891 |
Place of Birth | Norman, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Mrs Celina Dominique, mother, Redcliff, Alberta |
Trade / Calling | Blacksmith |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 3206871 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 50th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Redcliff, Alberta |
Date of Enlistment | February 1, 1918 |
Age at Enlistment | 26 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | February 15, 1960 |
Age at Death | 68 |
Buried At | St Peter's Cemetery, London, Ontario |
Eugene Dominique was born on 18 June 1891 in Norman, Ontario, a village a couple of kilometres west of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. Both of his parents, Theophile and Celina (née Pion) Dominique were from Quebec but had married on 10 August 1882 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Known for its cotton mills, the town had attracted a number of immigrants and on the marriage record Theophile’s occupation was given as mill hand. By 1886 and the birth of daughter Alvina, the family was living in Norman where Theophile worked as a lumber contractor. By the time of the 1901 census the family was living at Mikado Mine on Shoal Lake on Lake of the Woods, with Theophile’s occupation given as Captain, Mines and Waters. Other known children born to the family were Rosiana (Rose) (1888), Theophile (1889), Eugene, Eva (1896), and Louisa (1897).
By 1908 the family had moved to Red Deer, Alberta where Theophile Sr, called Captain, was running a lumber yard. According to Eugene’s service record as some point Theophile left he family and by 1916 Celina, Theophile Jr, Eugene, and Louisa were living on the outskirts of Sylvan Lake where Celina was operating a poultry farm and the two boys were working as blacksmiths. Alvina married Frank Dollaire but sadly she died in 1918. Looking after some victims of influenza she too fell to the disease. Eva married Gabriel Lebihan.
With the onset of conscription during the final years of the war, Eugene had his medical examination in November of 1917 in Medicine Hat and signed his recruitment paper with the 1st Depot Battalion Alberta Regiment on 19 February 1918 in Calgary. At the time he was living in Redcliff, Alberta on the outskirts of Medicine Hat, occupation given as blacksmith. He gave his mother Celina in Redcliff as next of kin.
Eugene arrived in England aboard the Teiresias on 24 May 1918, arriving in France on 27 September and joining the 50th Battalion on 4 November. On 7 April 1919, in Le Havre, Eugene was granted permission to marry. Born in 1900 in Belgium, his bride was Marie Lecoppe, daughter of Pierre and Charlotte (née Hennebel) Lecoppe. With the end of the war Eugene arrived back in the UK in early June of 1919. Together with Marie, Eugene arrived in Quebec on 2 July aboard the Minnedosa and was discharged from service on the 7th.
Eugene’s brother Theophile enlisted in 1915 in Red Deer but months later was found medically unfit for service.
In 1919 Eugene, living in Sylvan Lake, made two applications for Homestead grants and the 1921 census found him farming in the district of Battle River. Living with the family was baby son George and Marie’s mother Charlotte. Along with her son Augustin, Charlotte had arrived in New York on 18 December of 1919 aboard the Lafayette.
Not a lot is known about Eugene’s life after the war. In December of 1940, in Hamilton, he applied for active service but was found medically unfit. A 1945 Voters list found Eugene living in Ingersoll, Ontario and working as a machine operator.
Eugene died on 15 February 1960 in the Westminster Hospital in London, Ontario. No relatives or next of kin were listed on his Veteran’s Death card nor in his obituary. Eugene is interred in St Peter’s Cemetery in London.
By Judy Stockham
Obituary: courtesy of Patrick Lewis, London Public Library