Good news — your family's Canadian roots are real and documented
You asked for two things: proof that a Barabé ancestor was born in Canada, and documentation of immigration to the United States. We've verified both against the actual records. Here's the full story, with a link to every source so you and Jack can check it yourselves.
One thing to know up front: the ancestor who made the move to America was named Antoine Barabé — not "Thomas." We'll explain exactly what that's about below, because it matters for Jack's paperwork.
The actual documents — see them for yourself
Here are photographs of the original records, so you and Jack can see the evidence with your own eyes:
The 1838 baptism record — Antoine Barabé, Saint-Valentin, Quebec
Entry B.40 (upper right column of page 168): "Aujourd'hui ce huit avril mil huit cent trente huit… a été baptisé Antoine, né le treize octobre…"
Saint-Valentin, Quebec Catholic parish register, Baptêmes 1830–1839, image 323 of 359. Page 168, entry B.40 (top of the right-hand column).
Close-up of entry B.40
Enlarged view of entry B.40. The child's name, the date (8 April 1838), the birth date (13 October), and the father's name (Antoine Barabé) are all legible here.
The 1860 and 1880 census images are attached to their record pages at FamilySearch (links above) — we can pull those page images too if you'd like them included here.
1. The Canadian-born ancestor — from his own baptism record
The key document is Antoine Barabé's baptism entry in the Saint-Valentin, Quebec parish register — a Catholic church record written in 1838, photographed directly from the original book:
"Aujourd'hui ce huit avril mil huit cent trente huit… a été baptisé Antoine, né le treize octobre précédent, du légitime mariage d'Antoine Barabé et de Marguerite Bourgeois…"
Translation: "Today, the 8th of April 1838… was baptized Antoine, born the 13th of October [1837], of the lawful marriage of Antoine Barabé and Marguerite Bourgeois…"
| Detail | From the record |
|---|---|
| Child | Antoine Barabé |
| Born | 13 October 1837 |
| Baptized | 8 April 1838 |
| Place | Saint-Valentin, Saint-Jean County, Quebec, Canada |
| Father | Antoine Barabé |
| Mother | Marguerite Bourgeois note below |
Open the baptism register page (image 323) at FamilySearch — free account needed to view the image.
Antoine Barabé's FamilySearch profile (KNC5-NGG) — his compiled life record with 35 attached sources.
A small honest note (the "note above"): on the 1838 baptism record itself, Antoine's mother is written as Marguerite Bourgeois. The compiled family databases (FamilySearch, NosOrigines) index her as Marguerite Bergeron. This is a spelling difference between the original record and the index — it does not change who the child is. If you want it settled to the letter, the 1835 Vermont marriage record of his parents would confirm the primary spelling, and we can pull it.
2. About "Thomas" — what we found, honestly
You mentioned the family believes the Canadian ancestor was "Thomas Barabé, born in Quebec." Here's what the records actually show:
There are real Thomas Barabés in Quebec — but they belong to a different branch, and none of them came to America.
- Thomas Barabé (1833–1917) — born, married, and died in Deschaillons, Quebec. He never left Canada. (WikiTree profile)
- Thomas Barabé (1841–1909) — also of Deschaillons, also remained in Quebec. (WikiTree profile)
So "Thomas" is a real family name in the broader Barabé surname, but the ancestor who immigrated to America in your line is Antoine (1837–1898). The name "Thomas Barabé 1833" appears to have been introduced by the AI-generated summary — no such person shows up anywhere in the documented chain from Quebec to Michigan to California.
Why this matters for Jack: if his paperwork is built around proving a "Thomas Barabé," we'd be chasing a person who never emigrated. The documented immigrant ancestor is Antoine — and we have his papers. That's the better path.
One question for you: where did the name "Thomas" come from? If it's from Nica's AI summary, we're set. If you have a family document or oral history with a "Thomas" on it, send it along and we'll check it too.
3. The "immigration paperwork" — what exists and what it looks like
Here's the honest truth about this part: for a French-Canadian family crossing into the U.S. around 1859, there was no formal immigration file — no visa, no passenger manifest (those weren't kept for the Canadian border until 1895). So there's no single "immigration paper" to find. Instead, immigration is proven indirectly, from records on both sides of the border — and we have a strong chain of those:
The evidence of Antoine's move to the United States
| Record | What it proves | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec baptism, 8 Apr 1838 | Born in Canada | FamilySearch image |
| Marriage, 23 Jun 1859 — Keeseville, Essex, NY | In the U.S. by 1859 (married Marie Boyer, also Canada-born) | Antoine's profile |
| 1860 U.S. Census — Marquette, MI | Living in Michigan; birthplace listed Canada; father in same household, also Canada-born | 1860 census record |
| 1880 U.S. Census — Negaunee, MI | Grocer in Negaunee; birthplace Canada; father born France; wife Canada-born; son Eldridge in the household | 1880 census record |
| 1883 county history (published) | "A. Barabe" listed among the founding members of St. Paul's Catholic Church, Negaunee (est. 1861) | History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan |
| Death records, 1898 | Died 14 Apr 1898, Negaunee MI; buried there (Find a Grave) | Antoine's profile |
This is exactly how Canadian-descent evidence files are built for families of this era: Canadian birth record + U.S. residence records + census birthplace entries, each one corroborating the others.
4. The family line — from Normandy to Quebec to Michigan to California
Here's the documented descent, generation by generation. Each link has a record behind it. The stars mark your direct immigrant ancestor:
The family's path: Quebec → Keeseville, New York (1859) → Marquette, Michigan (1860) → Negaunee, Michigan (iron mining) → Los Angeles, California (by 1905).
5. What we need from you to finish Jack's file
Just one thing: how does Jack connect to the Barabé line? The documented chain stops at Eldridge Arland Barabe Jr. (1905–1967) and his two children, Mary Kathleen (1927–2020) and Patrick Eldridge (1930–1948). Tell us which of them (or which other Barabé) is Jack's parent / grandparent / great-grandparent, and we'll pull the birth/marriage records for that step and complete the file, generation by generation.
6. An honest note on Canadian citizenship
We can document Jack's Canadian ancestry — and that's solid, real, verifiable work. But whether Jack qualifies as a Canadian citizen is a separate question decided by the government, not by a family tree.
Canadian citizenship as a legal status only began in 1947. Antoine left Quebec in the 1850s, and the family has been American for five-plus generations — so under current rules the "unbroken chain of descent" required for citizenship by descent is broken well before Jack. (The rules changed in December 2025, but that change doesn't bridge a gap this old.)
None of that takes away from what this evidence file proves: Jack is a documented descendant of Canadian-born ancestors. If his goal is heritage, family history, or genealogical proof — this delivers. If his goal is citizenship, we'll be straight with you about what's possible, and can point you to the official eligibility check at Canada.ca.
Next steps
Once you confirm how Jack connects to the line, we'll:
- Pull the birth/marriage records for the connecting generation
- Assemble a complete, hyperlinked evidence package (baptism image + census records + marriage + county history)
- Provide a one-page summary Jack can attach to any application
And if you can tell us where "Thomas" came from, we'll make sure we're not missing a family-document branch before we close the file.
Prepared by Marc Joy Media research (Marcus Joyner). Every claim in this document is linked to a primary or published record you can open yourself. We verify to the Genealogical Proof Standard and clearly separate verified facts from open questions. We are not certified genealogists or immigration lawyers; citizenship eligibility is determined by the Government of Canada.