The city of Windsor, Quebec as it appeared in June 2007
The city of Windsor, is located in the Southeastern part of Quebec in an area known as the Eastern Townships. It is located about 45 miles north of the Vermont border and just a few miles north of the county seat of Sherbrooke. While French was, and still is, predominately spoken in most of Quebec, the Eastern Townships were settled by English-speaking immigrants from Europe, including the McCourt family from Ireland.
When the family of Joshua and Elizabeth Cave McCourt immigrated in the mid-to-late 1870's, they settled near the town of Windsor. Many of the early documents relating to the McCourt family in Quebec mention Windsor as their primary residence. In later years, as the family grew and moved away, many of Joshua and Elizabeth's children and grandchildren relocated to other areas in Quebec and the United States. Joshua and Elizabeth, however, remained in Windsor where Joshua had established the family home and farm.
A number of the McCourt family members, including Joshua and Elizabeth, are buried in the Protestant cemetery in Windsor. One day while doing some research about that cemetery, I attempted to locate it on MapQuest. Imagine my surprise when the name "McCourt's Corner" appeared on the map a few miles north of Windsor! (Click here to see the map).
A quick Google search of the name McCourt's Corner, revealed that it is the name given to a large farm just outside of Windsor. At about this same time, I had been corresponding with the wife of a distant cousin who was a great-grandson of Joshua and Elizabeths' and who had grown up in Windsor. This distant cousin was able to confirm that the farm known as McCourt's Corner was indeed the farm originally owned by Joshua McCourt. While the picture below shows a home and farm located near present-day McCourt's Corner, I am not positive this is the actual farmhouse that belonged to the McCourt family. Further research is being done to make that determination. Either way, the farm has not been owned by the McCourt family for many years. I find it interesting though, that the local residents still refer to the area as "McCourt's Corner."
I don't really have a "Bucket List" but if I did, one of the items on that list would be to visit Windsor and McCourt's Corner. Someday, perhaps, I'll make a pilgrimage there and wander around that little cemetery for a few hours.
A quick Google search of the name McCourt's Corner, revealed that it is the name given to a large farm just outside of Windsor. At about this same time, I had been corresponding with the wife of a distant cousin who was a great-grandson of Joshua and Elizabeths' and who had grown up in Windsor. This distant cousin was able to confirm that the farm known as McCourt's Corner was indeed the farm originally owned by Joshua McCourt. While the picture below shows a home and farm located near present-day McCourt's Corner, I am not positive this is the actual farmhouse that belonged to the McCourt family. Further research is being done to make that determination. Either way, the farm has not been owned by the McCourt family for many years. I find it interesting though, that the local residents still refer to the area as "McCourt's Corner."
I don't really have a "Bucket List" but if I did, one of the items on that list would be to visit Windsor and McCourt's Corner. Someday, perhaps, I'll make a pilgrimage there and wander around that little cemetery for a few hours.
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