Eddie Beladeau

White male, born on or about September 2, 1885 in Maine. Died on 3 October 1905 of yellow fever in Pensacola, FL, at the age of 20. According to the death certificate, both of his parents were from Maine and he worked as a carpenter. There is no information on his marital status or how long he had been in the city. His death certificate was signed by E.F. Bruce (the physician signed in the spot reserved for the informant), and he was buried by John G. Wood, Undertaker, in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery.

The Pensacola Journal announced his death on 4 October 1905, giving his address as 307 Salamanca Street. It rather cryptically noted that his name had been previously announced as “Willie Savage.” In the Pensacola Journal for 1 October 1905, listing the new cases in the yellow fever epidemic that had gripped the city, Willis Savage of 307 Salamanca Street appears.

An article in the 8 October 1905 edition told the full story, giving his name as “Biledeau” and noting that he had died at his residence on Salamanca. His home was Augusta, Maine, “where he left years ago to join the navy, contrary to the desire of his mother and his other relatives.” He was apparently 16 when he joined. He entered the navy as an apprentice and stayed for three years. “He came to Pensacola on the Vixen from which he deserted and since that time he had been going by the name of Willie Savage. He was taken with the yellow fever a few days ago, and though everything possible was done for him, he died last Tuesday.”

I suspect he may have deserted while the Vixen was in Pensacola for some weeks in October 1904. The captain was transferred off to another vessel; there was an incident with the ship’s dinghy while in port, resulting in the drowning of five members of the ship’s crew; and the ship’s next mission was “an indefinite stay” in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – The Pensacola News surmised that probably “the officers and men were not delighted” at the assignment.

His relatives were notified; his brother, J.F. Biledeau came to Pensacola and was “horrified when he found that his brother had been buried near the poor farm. The unfortunate boy’s family is wealthy and would have been ready and willing to send for him, or assist him in a financial way, but they did not even know he was in Pensacola or that he had been sick.”

The article goes on to say that they were keeping this news from his aged mother for the time being, and that they planned to have Eddie’s body exhumed after the quarantine was lifted.

Based on this information, I settled on Joseph Frank Bilodeau of Maine as the “J.F. Biledeau” of the article. His parents were George and Sarah Goulet Bilodeau, according the 1908 record of his marriage to Ethel M. Cloudman.

The family of George and Sarah Bilodeau were enumerated in the 1900 census in Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine. They lived in French Alley. George was 53 years old and had been married to Sarah (48 years old) for 32 years. Sarah had given birth to 11 children, though only 7 were living in 1900. They had both been born in Maine to French Canadian parents. George worked as a woolen picker; he owned his home and was literate. Sarah was not. Other children in the household were Charles (30), Mary (28), Frank (26), Clara (18), Eddie (15), Mammie (12) and Lily (8). All were born in Maine. Charles worked as a clothier; Frank sold boots and shoes; Clara was a stitcher in a shoe shop; Eddie was a clothing salesman.

Lily died in June 1903 of diphtheria, which perhaps contributed to Sarah’s delicate state at the time of Eddie’s death two years later.

I have found no more information on Eddie; I had hoped to find an enlistment record. I have also found no evidence that his remains were ever exhumed from the Escambia County Poor Farm.

FAMILY:

Mother: Sarah Goulet Bilodeau

Father: George Bilodeau

Siblings: Charles Bilodeau, Mary Bilodeau, Frank Bilodeau, Clara Bilodeau, Mammie Bilodeau, Lily Bilodeau

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SOURCES:

Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Pensacola births and deaths, 1891-1910, Escambia County (Florida) Health Department. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973.

Death Record of Lillie Billodeau. Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 4. Ancestry.com. Maine, U.S., Death Records, 1761-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

“Captain Sears Has Been Transferred,” The Pensacola News, October 7, 1904, p. 8.

“Five Men Drowned in Pensacola Bay Early This Morning,” The Pensacola News, October 8, 1904, p. 1.

“The Vixen Sailed for Guantanamo Bay Today,” The Pensacola News, October 19, 1904, p. 3.

“Decrease in the New Cases,” The Pensacola Journal, October 1, 1905, p. 1.

“New Cases 9 and Deaths 4,” The Pensacola Journal, October 4, 1905, p. 1.

“Sad Incident of Fever Epidemic,” The Pensacola Journal, October 8, 1905, p. 3.