Week 34 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Member of the Club.” Two of my great-grandmother’s sisters were members of a club I had never heard of -- the Société des Artisans Canadiens-Français.
This grainy newsprint photo from 1909 introduces the officers. Albina Laviolette, who is in the second row, fourth from the left, was the 2nd Vice President. Her sister Marie, the 2nd Councilor, is next to her. At the time this photo was taken, Albina was 21 and Marie was 19. They lived in Westbrook, Maine and were probably employed by the Dana Warp Mill. Both sisters as well as my 15-year-old great-grandmother, Laura, were shown working there the following year according to the 1910 census.
I assumed the Société des Artisans Canadiens-Français was a club for artists. Perhaps the elder Laviolette sisters, Albina and Marie, were painters or sculptors. Laura took up painting late in life and was quite talented, from what I’ve been told. Unfortunately, the purpose of the group was far less glamourous and exciting, though it was important. It began in Montreal in 1876 as a mutual insurance company for artisans in the parish. For mutual insurance to work effectively, money is needed from a large pool of healthy individuals. Members paid an initial membership fee and then monthly dues. When a chapter member died, they paid a death fee.
Limiting it to only artisans in Montreal didn’t provide a large enough pool, so the group expanded to include any type of worker in any French-Catholic parish. Chapters spread throughout Quebec as well as factory towns in Canada and America, as those locations attracted French migrant workers and immigrants.
In addition to providing life insurance and paid sick leave for its members, the organization had a political bent. It was a French-language society. They used their money and membership connections to promote French-Canadian politicians and keep French as the first language of Quebec. They also invested in American companies and supported the formation of unions. By 1911, there were over 450 chapters throughout Canada and the United States, and millions of dollars in the organization’s coffers.
The inability to attract a constant stream of new, young members led to the ultimate downfall of most mutual insurance organizations that operated like the Société des Artisans Canadiens-Français. As the group members aged and began to die out, younger members were saddled with increasingly frequent death fees. They either couldn’t afford to keep up with the payments, didn’t see the benefit to themselves, or both. Chapters closed as membership dwindled. Desjardins Insurance eventually acquired the Société des Artisans Canadiens-Français.
The Westbrook chapter was established in October 1907 and by 1909 had 25 regular members who met on the first Monday of each month. I’ve been unable to find any information on how the chapters functioned, but given that leadership positions such as Medical Examiner and Sick Visitor existed, I assume they followed up to make sure members actually were sick before paying out their claims. Because membership lists are unavailable or nonexistent, it’s impossible to tell whether or not Albina and Marie were founding members, but by 1909 they were certainly very involved in this interesting and nearly-forgotten organization.
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