Page 40 - Fortier Family History

’ The Fortiers of Fortieville, Quebec (St. Philomene). Two brothers, Wilbrod & Jean-Baptiste Fortier were among the first to settle there in 1875.They descend from our same Pierre-Noel Fortier line but split from us at the next generation. The town is named after them but neither had male heirs that survived childhood. It s interesting to note that Fortierville was the location of the most infamous child abuse/murder case in Quebec history at the time (1920). Although both Wilbrod and JB Fortier were deceased by 1904. Marie-Aurore-Lucienne Gagnon, simply known as Aurore Gagnon (31 May 1909 – 12 February 1920), was a Canadian girl who was a victim of child abuse. She died of exhaustion and blood poisoning from some 52 wounds inflicted by her stepmother, Marie-Anne Houde, and her father, Télesphore Gagnon. The story of l'enfant martyre (English translation: The Child Martyr) received great attention in the media and Gagnon became an icon of Quebec sociological and popular culture. Fortierville is located about 2 hours north of Lac Megantic and Sherbrooke closer to the St. Lawrence River.