Henry Bellerose

Henri Bellerose

Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Palumbo, great granddaughter of Henri and Odile Bellerose

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1904 Payroll and City Directories. Born in Sorel, Quebec, Canada on Nov. 15, 1849 (or 1850?) carpenter Henry (Henri) Bellerose (1850-1925) came to St. Paul in 1885. He is listed variously as a carpenter or laborer in the St. Paul City Directory and gave his occupation as "scaffold builder" in the 1900 Census. Bellerose's name is found in an April 27, 1902 Payroll for extra work when he was part of a select crew that spent that day, a Sunday, setting the statues, Courage and Integrity, and getting double time pay. Bellerose married Odile Marie Zenobie Gervaise on September 5, 1881 and raised a family in St. Paul and died here in 1925 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery. Although a Capitol project researcher has been unable to find his name in St. Paul Carpenters’ Local 87 records, his grandson, Edward Lancette (1919-1958) became a well-known labor activist and a driving force in organizing workers at 3M in the 1940’s and 50’s.

The Bellerose and Lancette families attended St Louis Catholic Church in St. Paul. Henri's great granddaughter, Mary Ann Palumbo, passed on the family account that Henri later retired as a watchman for the Capitol building. Henri and Odile's daughter, Helen Bellerose Lancette Pauquette, wrote an article for the newsletter "Tower Views" when she lived at Central Towers in down town St Paul. Her article, displayed below, describes growing up around the capitol and her father's participation in building the scaffolding for the construction of the building. (Tower Views, Vol. XI, No. 134, March 3, 1978)