Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 29, 1889
Place of BirthKeewatin, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinSamuel Lacasse, father, Keewatin, Ontario
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental NumberA39380
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion52nd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKeewatin, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentMay 29, 1915
Age at Enlistment26
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Death Details

Lacasse, Charles Eusebe

Charles was a younger son of Anselme (more commonly known as Samuel) and Wilhemina Melina (née Desmarais) Lacasse, parents being French Canadian, originally from the Ottawa/Gatineau area. Samuel and Melina married on 27 April 1885 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Melina’s family having moved to the area to open a saw mill. At some point Melina and perhaps Samuel went back to Gatineau Pointe, as their first two children, twins Joseph and Napoleon, were born there on 28 February 1886. Returning after the births, subsequent children born in Keewatin were Oscar, William, Charles, Bertha, and Eugene. For the 1891 census the family was living in Keewatin South, father Samuel’s occupation given as mill labourer. Living next door were Melina’s birth family, father Eusebe Desmarais, his second wife, and children from both marriages. In 1901 the family was still in Keewatin but by then his father’s occupation had changed to farmer. For the 1911 census Charles’ parents and Charles and two of his siblings, Bertha and Eugene, were living on River Street in Keewatin.

Charles enlisted with the 52nd Battalion in Fort Frances, Ontario on 29 May 1915. His occupation was given as labourer and his father Samuel back in Keewatin as next of kin. As of June 19th he was reported as AWOL and then classified as a deserter on July 7th.

Charles’ brothers William and Oscar served during World War 1. William went overseas with the 141st battalion, later transferring to the 44th Battalion. He was reported as killed in action on 28 April 1918. Oscar went overseas with the 94th Battalion, later transferring to the 5th Battalion. He was reported as killed in action on 1 September 1918.

By 1921 Charles’ parents and siblings Bertha and Eugene were living in Vancouver, moving south of the border to Washington later that year. His father Samuel died on 6 July 1927 and his mother Melina on 16 December 1949. Both are interred in Union Cemetery in Sedro-Woolly, Washington. Charles whereabouts after desertion are unknown. It is unlikely that any of the family remained in the Kenora/Keewatin area.

by Judy Stockham