Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...
Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...
Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...
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ought to light by the strenuous efforts<br />
<strong>of</strong> M. Des Jardins to circumvent the dire<br />
threatenings <strong>of</strong> poverty was a manifested<br />
literary capacity <strong>of</strong> much merit, though<br />
his literary power has been neglected in<br />
his inventions, which, particularly those<br />
having bearing on the printing trade, have<br />
been such as to accentuate the encouragement<br />
the narration <strong>of</strong> his early days <strong>of</strong><br />
trial and the causes responsible for his<br />
ultimate success will afford would-be in-<br />
ventors who labor under similar handi-<br />
caps.<br />
Benjamin Myrrick Des Jardins was<br />
born in the town <strong>of</strong> Tyre, Michigan, on<br />
October 10, 1858, son <strong>of</strong> Gregoir and<br />
Marie (Trudeau) Des Jardins, and grandson<br />
<strong>of</strong> Zacharie Des Jardins, who was<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the early settlers <strong>of</strong> the Province<br />
<strong>of</strong> Quebec, Canada. Historical records<br />
authenticate the statement that the Des<br />
Jardins family was <strong>of</strong> French extraction,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> titled lineage. The activities <strong>of</strong><br />
the progenitor <strong>of</strong> the American branches<br />
<strong>of</strong> the family were confined to Canadian<br />
soil, and many <strong>of</strong> his descendants have<br />
found prominent place in Canadian his-<br />
tory. Zacharie Des Jardins, the grand-<br />
ancestor <strong>of</strong> the American branches <strong>of</strong> the<br />
line, was a successful and highly regarded<br />
farmer and community leader at St. Ther-<br />
ese de Blainville, a village about seventeen<br />
miles distant from Montreal. He<br />
was a man <strong>of</strong> strong personality and su-<br />
perior intellect, and took an active part<br />
in the Canadian Rebellion, aligning his<br />
sympathies with the public movement<br />
which sought to revolutionize adminis-<br />
trative balance, so as to secure the in-<br />
auguration <strong>of</strong> remedial measures to counteract<br />
the effect <strong>of</strong> past governmental<br />
abuses.<br />
His son, Gregoir Des Jardins, father <strong>of</strong><br />
Benjamin M. Des Jardins, was, however,<br />
<strong>of</strong> different disposition to that which<br />
characterized his father; he was a man <strong>of</strong><br />
Conn—5—<br />
7<br />
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY<br />
gy<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ound thought on matters <strong>of</strong> religion,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> strong conviction, independently<br />
manifested by his secession from the<br />
church <strong>of</strong> his forebears, and adoption <strong>of</strong><br />
Protestantism. The activities and prom-<br />
inence <strong>of</strong> the Des Jardins within the<br />
church <strong>of</strong> Rome had been so historic, that<br />
the severance <strong>of</strong> allegiance by one <strong>of</strong><br />
its scions accentuated the act, and even-<br />
tually wrought disaster to the business<br />
affairs <strong>of</strong> Gregoir Des Jardins. An estimate<br />
<strong>of</strong> the standing <strong>of</strong> the Des Jardins<br />
family within the Roman Catholic church<br />
may be gauged by the position <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong><br />
its members, Alphonse T. C. Des Jardins,<br />
a Canadian journalist, editor <strong>of</strong> "L'Ordre,"<br />
and later president <strong>of</strong> Le Credit Fonder<br />
du bas Canada, who took active part<br />
in organizing the Canadian Papal Zouave<br />
contingent, which went to assist the Pope<br />
in 1868, and who in 1872 was created a<br />
knight <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> Pius IX. Gregoir<br />
Des Jardins was forced to leave the home<br />
<strong>of</strong> his father, and the companionship <strong>of</strong><br />
people <strong>of</strong> his own native tongue, and he<br />
sought a less perturbed environment<br />
within the United States, entering what<br />
was virtually the wilderness when he<br />
settled in the vicinity <strong>of</strong> Tyre, Huron<br />
county, Michigan. He no doubt exper-<br />
ienced difficulties similar to those en-<br />
countered by most other pioneers <strong>of</strong> civ-<br />
ilization, and early settlers, and no doubt<br />
his efforts and example produced an effect<br />
in creating within his son, Benjamin<br />
M., the admirable qualities <strong>of</strong> resistance<br />
he later exhibited. Also his son's me-<br />
chanical ability may be attributed in<br />
some measure to the mechanical ingenu-<br />
ity developed in his father by the necessities<br />
<strong>of</strong> the primitive conditions under<br />
which they lived. It has been authenti-<br />
cated that Gregoir Des Jardins possessed<br />
considerable mechanical ability, and that<br />
the humble frontier home <strong>of</strong> his family<br />
was equipped with many original labor-