It is common for a person’s last name to confuse others when it comes to pronunciation and spelling, as last names often illustrate a family’s original culture. I learned early on from my parents that my last name, Boucher is French. However, I did not learn until I was around twelve that my father had changed our last name to Boucher from Boushie in his early twenties, citing the change as a “return to our roots.” I traced my family back to French Canada in the 1700s, however the start of this story occurs in the May of 1867 with the birth of my great great grandfather, John J. Boushey. His name and experiences catalyzed my family’s evolution from French Canadians to United States citizens.
Local Article on John Boushey – 105 Descendants
John Boushey, born in New Brunswick, Canada, initially had the last name Boucher. Growing up in a family of eight, with five brothers and sisters, he had a happy childhood before moving to the U.S. at the age of twenty in search of better job prospects and a new life. Through the arduous process of paperwork, United States immigration officials changed his last name to Boushey – believed to be a more “Americanized” version of the name. This resulted in the birth of my family’s French-Canadian to English transition, both in journey and name. Working at a lumber mill in Tupper Lake, New York (example pictured right), John began to grow his family. He married strong-willed Hellen Tetreault, a Massachusetts native with a fiery personality. Together they raised ten children, of which our story continues with his eldest son, Dorran Boushie.
Born on July 10, 1898, the eldest of ten siblings, dutiful and responsible well described Dorran’s personality. After completing six years of schooling, he worked at a nearby store before enlisting in the Canadian Army at the age of seventeen. He fought at Vimy Ridge and several other key battles in World War I before returning home to marry Dora Denis in 1920. It is not clear to my family how Dorran’s last name transitioned from Boushey to Boushie, however speculation suggests the changes may result from the messily handwritten census records used at the time. After 64 years of marriage and two sons, she predeceased him and he injured his hip. After working as a Catholic Church and school custodian and doing odd construction jobs for his son, he passed in 1992. Survived by his two sons, Donald and Richard, he expressed a desire for them to keep a hardworking spirit and never to forget their origins as immigrants.
His eldest son Donald, born in 1922 in Tupper Lake, certainly did not forget the hardworking spirit of his father. After graduating valedictorian of his high school class, he enlisted in the army and fought two years in World War II. He returned from the war to New Orleans, and at a soldiers welcome back celebration, he met and fell in love with debutante and piano player Rita Holland. They married shortly after, had five children and settled in St. Bernard Parish. He worked through the ranks for A&P supermarkets, becoming a district director for the company after his promotion from manager. Before his passing in February 2005, his son Thomas Boushie made a change to the family last name in an effort to honor the family’s history.
Shane Thomas Boucher, my father, decided to change his name while in college. After doing ancestral research for his history class as a freshman in college, he discovered the strange spelling of his last name most likely resulted from a misspelling during his grandfather’s immigration to the U.S. This information prompted the legal change of his name from Boushie to Boucher, bringing my family’s name full circle. Though my family has always demonstrated honor to the United States through their hardworking spirit and military service, we now can properly acknowledge our origins through our last name, creating a harmonized balance.