DROUILLARD, Edouard (father of Joseph Edward Drouillard) was in my "possibilities" folder for a time as there were too many missing bits of information about him. When I made the trip to the Monroe Library in Monroe Michigan looking for Joseph, his son, it seemed everything was also explained about Edouard and that all the pieces were starting to fit. Had I not found the marriage record for Edouard Drouillard and Clare Cousineau, I may not have come this far.

The marriage record I found in the St. Joseph, Erie parish records was Edouard's second marriage. It was written in Latin so roughly translated, it stated that Edouard was the Widower of Justine Cousineau, the son of Baptiste Drouillard and Catherine, he was 32 years old and that he lived in Sandwich. It also stated that Clare Cousineau was the widow of J. Baptiste Belcoure, the daughter of Basilie Cousineau and Marie Dusault, she was 25 years old and was from that area.

This would explain the gap in the baptisms of Edouard's children at Assumption. Both wives having the same last name, not seeing the second marriage record and Edouard moving to Canada in 1846 would explain how the entry in Denissen's "French Families" missed the second marriage and a couple children from that marriage.

However, the second marriage stated that Edouard's parents were Baptiste Drouillard and Catherine. Denissen stated that Edouard's parents were Louis Drouillard and Catherine Meloche. The second marriage record stated that Edouard was the widower of Justine Couisineau. The marriage record for Edouard and Justine Cousineau stated that Edouard's parents were Louis and Catherine Meloche. Nowhere could I find a marriage of a Baptiste Drouillard and a Catherine so I decided to mark the marriage record for Edouard Drouillard and Clare Cousineau to have a mistake.

One item Denissen didn't mention was Edouards birth. Estimating this to be about 1810, I had only a couple parishes to check. His baptism was finally found at St. Jean Baptiste, Amherstburg.

1870 Michigan Census - Blissfield Twp
Last Name	First Name	Age	Birth Place
Drewyar	Edward	58 Yrs	Canada
"	Clara	51 Yrs	Michigan
"	Miles	16 Yrs	Canada
"	Eli	14 Yrs	Canada
"	Eugene	13 Yrs	Canada
"	Felix	11 Yrs	Canada

Several months later, when my research was beingfinalized and organized into a nice Family History book, I was contacted by someone who copied information out of the 1870 Michigan Census for Blissfield Township, Lenawee County regarding Edouard. At first the information was questionable but with all things considered, I claimed this information also.

In a nutshell, Edouard Drouillard was baptized at St. Jean Baptiste, Amherstburg, married Justine Cousineau at Assumption, Sandwich, had 2 children, moved to around Erie, Michigan (I presume after Justine passed away), married Clare Cousineau at St. Joseph, Erie, Michigan, had 2 or 3 children, moved back to Ontario, had a few more children and finally moved back to the USA. That's when Joseph met Emilie Lapointe, married her and moved back to Ontario.