Ann O'Kane, a business woman 150 years before her time

I am Yves Trepanier, descendant of a young couple Ann O'Kane and Dominick McGowan who migrated from Ireland to Montreal, Canada in 1830.. Obviously, my maternal ancestors.

The story of this young couple is even more touching. After two years in Montreal, they decided to settle in rural Quebec, in a predominantly French speaking village of Sainte-Martine. Ann had started to import from Montreal cloth that she would resell to the ladies of the village, Then in1839, only seven years after arriving, Dominick dies, leaving Ann with five young children. Not only did she give a good education to her five children, she repaid all the debts of her husband and expanded her little trade which became the general store of the village during the second half of the 19th century. She died in 1897 survived only by one son, who took over the business. A story of a business woman 150 years ahead of her time. It was not an easy chore to go to Montreal in a horse buggy on dirt roads, a distance of 40 kms. None of the bridges crossing the St-Lawrence River existed in the 1830's and 1840's. Add to this rainy days and winter snow storms, and you can just imagine the difficulty.