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Is it True?

Since the beginning of my search for my ancestors, one thing has come up again and again…  The ever-present “we are related to Charles Blondin” story.

I’ve heard it from my Grandmother, my Father, my Great Aunt, and even a few distant cousins I eventually tracked down in Dubuque a few years into my search.  Is this a myth?  What is the truth?

Some Theories and Findings

Pat Neyens had this to say about Charles Blondin in a letter to me: 

"The Charles BLONDIN (not BLONDEN born in Qubec) born in France my mom always said was her dad's brother - Now my Grandpa Blondin (her Dad) was born in Alsace Lorraine when it was owned by France.  Grandpa's name was William Blondin.  Don't ask me when they came here to live (in the U.S.A.) but will see if I have it anywhere.  Grandma Blondin was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen when she married Grandpa - and when they settled in Dubuque, Iowa they became citizens of the U.S."

Meanwhile, Monna Prien (Pat's sister) has stated that she has heard her Mother and Aunt Laura say that Charles was their Dad's Uncle.

However, the research I've done so far shoots down both of these theories...  The records I found show that Samuel was William's father.  William was born in Iowa and Samuel was born in New York.  Samuel's parents were Anthony Blondin and Mary Resaunt who were both born in France.

Charles couldn't be William's brother because of what we know about Charles' family (his father was named Andere Gravelet and never left France) and his birth date.  The same facts largely dispute the theory that he was William's uncle.

What seems to make sense, with the data I have now, is  that Charles  Blondin  might of  been Anthony's  brother (or perhaps a cousin.)  That would look like this:

Proving anything further back than this looks to be difficult...  I haven’t found any information on Anthony’s parents and I don’t speak French.  Does anyone have information they can offer me?

More to come!