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Archiver > COOK-CO-IL > 2004-11 > 1101762088


From: ".... valentine" <>
Subject: Re: HOW TO GET BOAT NAME, EMPLOYER NAME ETC. OF MY BOATMAN ANCESTOR ?
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:01:28 -0600
References: <20041129.101542.-158433.7.captjoef@juno.com> <BAY3-DAV193DD6A9A196379978B48EE9BD0@phx.gbl>
In-Reply-To: <BAY3-DAV193DD6A9A196379978B48EE9BD0@phx.gbl>


googleIMAGES with
"Illinois & Michigan Canal".
can help narrow some of the websites or at least prioritize them...
and at the same time give you a real good idea about their LOOK


On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:43:12 -0600, Thomas Mackowiak
<> wrote:
> Joe in California asked some questions about his great-grandfather Edouard Bouchard and his great-uncles Godfroy and Augustin Bouchard in regard to teamsters and Canal Boat Man.
>
> Joe,
>
> Your ancestors could have worked on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. When the I & M Canal opened the boats (barges) on the canal did not have their own propulsion systems and were moved through the canal by mule or horse power. Teams of horses or mules were attached to the boat (barge) and pulled up or down the canal. The horses or mules along with the teamster who handled them walked along a towpath parallel to the canal. After a time your ancestors may have earned enough money to purchase there own boat (barge) and thus became a "Canal Boat Man". In the latter part of the 19th Century small steam engines were probably installed on the canal boats to move them through the canal.
>
> I would suggest that you find some books and/or websites on the Illinois & Michigan Canal and do some research on the canal. The area where your ancestors originally lived was and still is known as Bridgeport. This was the area where the I & M Canal ended when it joined up with the South Branch of the Chicago River.
>
> Here are some websites that I found on the Illinois & Michigan Canal that I found by just typing in "Illinois & Michigan Canal" in quotes in my MSN search engine:
>
> www.nps.gov/ilmi<http://www.nps.gov/ilmi>;
> The above is the National Park Services website for the I & M Canal Heritage Corridor.
>
> www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/main.htm<http://www.dnr.stateil.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/main.htm>;
> This is a virtual tour of the I & M Canal corridor from the Illinois Department of Nature Resources.
>
> www.chicagohs.org/canal<http://www.chicagohs.org/canal>; and www.chicagohs.org/canal/canal.html<http://www.chicagohs.org/canal/canal.html>;
> These are two web addresses from the Chicago Historical Society on the I & M Canal.
>
> www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/canal.html<http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/canal.html>;
> This website is from the Chicago Public Library.
>
> www.ilohwy.com/i/ilmichcm.htm<http://www.ilohwy.com/i/ilmichcm.htm>;
> This website is for the I & M Canal Museum in Lockport, Illinois.
>
> I did not have a chance to examine the contents of these URLs so I am not sure what information is contained on any of them but hopefully these websites will give you a starting point. The MSN search engine came up with 1465 websites containing the phrase "Illinois & Michigan Canal".
>
> Thomas Mackowiak
> MACKOWIAK/SERWATKIEWICZ/WANATOWICZ/JANUSZEWSKI/MROZ/MUNO/ORLIKOWSKI/LESCZYNSKI/HARNEY
>
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