The Poudrier's

When young John Henry Cashman fell in love, he fell hard for a French-Canadian teenager, Beatrice Irene Poudrier, whose primary language upon arriving in Brockton in 1911, was French.

Beatrice's father, Alphonse Poudrier, called Pepere, was born in the town of St. Donat, Quebec, Canada, in 1868. The quaint French-Canadian town of St. Donat, is located north of Montreal, Canada and West of Quebec City, in the heart of the Laurentians. St. Donat, is located next to two huge lakes, Lake Archambault and Lake Ouareau.

Alphonse Poudrier arrives from Quebec

After Alphonse left St. Donat, the Laurentian region became the home to the largest concentration of ski areas in Eastern Canada. From 1910 to 1981, The Little Northern Train, as it translates, delivered thousands of skiers to the Laurentian Mountains from Montreal.

Alphonse, was the son of Joseph Poudrier and Mary Jette. He had seven siblings: Hermeline Brooks, Cezarine DeLongchamps, Joseph, Emery, Oscar, Eldege and Edmond Poudrier.

Alphonse Poudrier, who was over six feet tall, worked as a lumber-jack in Canada. He moved south to Spencer, Massachusetts, to work in the shoe industry when he was only a teenager. Spencer, was at that time a small community made up mostly of French speaking families. It was in Spencer that Alphonse met another teenager, Honora Lupien, who also worked in the shoe industry.

Honora Lupien, called Memere, who was born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, on March 1, 1872, was the daughter of Wallace Lupien and Alphonsine Paré. Honora, also had seven siblings: Anna Perrault, Rosalba Parenteau, Liza Webber, Alfred, Frederick, Simeon and Theodore Lupien.

Alphonse Poudrier and Honora Lupien, our ancestors, married in Spencer, Massachusetts, on October 5, 1891. Alphonse was 23 years of age. Honora was only 19 years of age. The Rev. E.A. St. Onge, married the young couple. (There are photos of Alphonse and Honora Poudrier in the accompanying 'Family History Photo' album.)

Throughout their lives, there were personal qualities that remained constant. Pepere, remained quiet yet physically active. He attended Mass at Sacred Heart Church as often as possible until his death in 1931. Memere, was a consummate dressmaker and cook, whose favorable disposition was admired by all, until her death in 1934.

Alphonse and Honora Poudrier, would have eight children, all of whom were born in Spencer, Massachusetts: Evelyn, Melina, Beatrice, our ancestor, who was born on June 8, 1899; Raymond, Wilfred, Lauretta, Jeanette and Arthur.

The Poudrier Children

Evelyn, the oldest of the eight Poudrier children, was born in 1893. She married Wilfred Lanoue and had one child, Madelaine. The second oldest child, Melina Poudrier, born in 1897, married Ernest Renaud and they had six children: Constance, Rita, Ernest, Jr., Norman, Theresa and Aline.

The third oldest of the Poudrier children was Beatrice Poudrier, our ancestor, who was born in 1899. She married John Henry Cashman. They had seven children: John Henry, Geneva, Patricia, Lorraine, Jeanne Gloria, our ancestor, George and Donald. The fourth in the sibline was Wilfred Poudrier, who was born in 1902. Wilfred, married Una Monaghan, producing three children: Claire, Robert and Doris.

Lauretta Poudrier, the fifth child, married William Manousos, producing one child – Richard. Jeanette Poudrier, the sixth Poudrier child, married Matthew Buckley. They had no children. The seventh child was Raymond Poudrier. Raymond, married Eva Pigeon. Raymond and Eva, had six children: Gloria, Ronald, Barbara, Bernie, Alfred and Richard; and, the youngest of the eight Poudrier children was Arthur Poudrier, who was born in 1911. Arthur, married Dena Pinter. They had four children: Joan, Arthur, Jr., Janet and Paul.

In 1911 the Poudrier's leave Spencer for Brockton

In 1911, the Poudrier Family moved from Spencer to Brockton, Massachusetts, where Alphonse easily found work in Brockton's shoe factories. The family first resided at 304 Centre Street before moving to a larger home at 35 Cary Street, on Brockton's East Side. All of the Poudrier children attended the Sacred Heart School on Court Street in Brockton. Sacred Heart was a French speaking school in the middle of Brockton's large French speaking neighborhood.

When Beatrice was a teenager, she met and fell in love with WWI veteran John Henry Cashman, who was working as a chauffeur for some of Brockton's wealthiest families. John Henry, was then residing with his mother, Maggie (Ryan) Cashman, who had been widowed since August of 1896.

Beatrice Poudrier marries John Henry Cashman

Beatrice Irene Poudrier, only 20 years of age, married 23 year old John Henry Cashman, on April 4, 1920, at Sacred Heart Church, in Brockton. Rev. C. Victor Choquette, performed the ceremony. The couple had seven children, one of them, our ancestor, Jeanne Gloria Cashman, was born on October 9, 1927. John and Beatrice would be married for 53 years.

Jeanne Gloria Cashman, our ancestor, married James R. Lawton, on October 16, 1948. They had 5 children: Mark E. Lawton, DOB: July 26, 1949; Thomas D. Lawton, DOB: August 20, 1950; Richard J. Lawton, DOB: March 5, 1956; Robert S. Lawton, DOB: October 14, 1958; and, Paul M. Lawton, DOB: December 13, 1963.

Seven grandchildren were born to Jeanne (Cashman) and James Lawton: Patrick, Timothy, Molly, Daniel, Elizabeth, McKenzie and Ryan Lawton.

The Next Generations

On August 14, 2017, one of Alphonse and Honora's many great, great, great grandchildren would be born - Vivian Oakes Kaylor. Vivian, was born in Manhattan, New York, the daughter of Molly (Lawton) Kaylor and Travis Kaylor. Her sister, Quinn Frances Kaylor, was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on May 14, 2019.

Vivian Kaylor, was born 146 years after the birth of Alphonse Poudrier and 142 years after the birth of Honora Lupien, her great, great, great grandmother.

For a continuation of the merged histories of the Poudrier and Cashman Families, refer above to the Chapter entitled: 'The Cashman's'. And, for a more expansive history of the Lawton's and Kaylor's, see the Chapters set out below entitled: 'The Lawton's' and 'Kaylor/Keliher'.

It is impossible to cover every cousin from every family within this written narrative. Both pride and necessity require it in several instances. This is one of them.

Detective Michael J. Dennehy

Alphonse Poudrier, from St. Donat, Quebec and Honora (Lupien) Poudrier, of Spencer, Massachusetts, had seven children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. One of those great grandchildren is Michael J. Dennehy (DOB: 8/04/1959).

Michael, is the son of Aline (Renaud) Dennehy and William Dennehy. Michael, is the grandson of Melina (Poudrier) Renaud and Ernest Renaud. His siblings are William, Jay and Lisa Dennehy.

Michael, commonly known as Mike, joined the Brockton Police force in October of 1994. He was named Sergeant in 2001 and became Chief Detective of the Department when John Crowley became Chief of the Department.

As Mike was rising through the ranks, Brockton was in the midst of a crime spike for which the city was widely known. Along with Chief John Crowley and newly elected Mayor Bill Carpenter, they quietly cobbled together federal, state and county law enforcement agencies to not only reverse the upward trend in crime but to do so in such a dramatic fashion that private investment in the City of Brockton increased at the same pace as crime was trending down. The face of the city changed.

The city to which Michael Dennehy's ancestors migrated, Brockton, Massachusetts, after the turn of the last century, was reborn. It was one of the greatest reversals of fortune for a municipality in the Commonwealth's history. Unfortunately, that reversal of fortune came to a dramatic end with the untimely and sudden death of Mayor Bill Carpenter, on the morning of July 3, 2019.