Carroll LeValley and his two brothers were separated at the Coldwater Michigan Orphanage and sent to separate families. He spent much of his life trying to locate his relatives. He found one brother. Descendants of the Peter LeValley family (originally from Rhode Island) and the Prosper LeValley family (originally from New Jersey) remember being contacted by him. This letter to Beatrice LeValley Hajet (a descendant of Peter) survives:
[Postmarked August 7, 1974]
Mrs Hajet
Dear Madame,
In response to your request, Through contact with
my Daughter In Law, Mrs. Fred LeValley in Detroit, Am rather reluctant
as I find only a Miracle of a long waited period of Time would solve
the
intrinsic Truths, an facts I've pursued an sought for, due too the
limited
Authenticy an knowledge of Our Family Tree. How ever I can only
convey
my personal attempts as follows. I possess a Birth-certificate
from
a Town in Ontongon Co. registered Choate, Mich. 1896 12 day, 6
mos.
My Parents: Fathers name Pony, and Mothers name Anna, which after
period
of yrs of search an inquiring I rec'd a letter from the Dr who states
only
Briefly he Delivered 3 Sons to the above LeValley Family
mentioned.
But as They later moved too the lower pennsulas he lost trace of the
Family.
But any way from the Orphanage at Coldwater Mich I was placed in a
Foster
home in Gratiot Co. where I was rasied Through an by a redemption
procedures
of two respective Homes relatively close together. In a
Photostate
of my past experience from 1900 too 1919, fortunately I found a Bro in
1916 by Coincidence which we both excepted [accepted?] a very Loyal
devotion
due to our resemeblance, an nature, which blended in Both our past Life
and corralated with the concrete information of our past But Thus far
have
no definite authority of the Intrinsic Familys original
existance.
My Daughter in Law Mentioned if memorie serves me you had some
contact
with a Family or about too from Cairo Mich. Well I wrote a Family
at Cairo also some time ago But with a Blunt response from
Them.
Tho I had a photo an editorial announcement of his expiration [probably
the widely publicized death of Orlando LeValley in 1948] He had a close
resemblance of Both of us Boys. Well hoping this will be
favorable
an fruitful in your request an search of Fact's Truths you so hope an
desires
May be so granted as Ive also long to learn the Truth myself. Im
hopeful its Gods will to answer Prayer in near future for All most
conserned.
Yours Respectful
C LeValley
417 1/2 4th st. N.W.
Grand Rapids
Michigan 49504
I appreciate any favorable response or contacts you so choose to Grant
me.
Two letters written to Paul LeValley (descended from Peter) by Carroll's daughter, Elsie Van Dam, shed more light on the family's history:
Jan. 14, 1991
Colon, Mi.
Dear Mr. LeValley:
I have at hand two letters you wrote my brother
Fred LeValley, who lives at Union City, Mi. I am the oldest of
the
family. My name is Elsie E. (LeValley) Van Dam. I live in
Colon,
Mi. fourteen miles west of Union City.
Fred ask me about the letters, and I like him are
far from finding anything about the LeValley Family.
Our Father did find a brother by accident, and when
they met would have pasted for twin's. This was back in
1918.
Both of them had been adopted from the Michigan State Public School in
Coldwater. At this time they were living 50 or 60 mile's apart.
Dad passed away in Apr. 1978 and my uncle Fred
[Woods]
in Sept of the same year. We were very close to my uncle &
aunt.
They had no children.
Dad was always looking and writing, but could never
find out any thing about his family....
I feel like, in the back of our minds we have all
wondered where we fit in this puzzle.
We want to thank you for writing, and if in the
future we can be of any help, will be happy to talk to you.
Sincerely.
Elsie (LeValley) Van Dam
Colon, Mi. 49040
Feb. 25, 1991
Dear Mr. LeValley:
Sorry for the delay of this letter.
I do want to thank you for answering my
letter.
This Frederick LeValley is the one you talked to some twenty yr's ago,
and those names you have are his son's. I ask his wife Ruth to
give
me the correct Birth dates & addresses, but I don't have them as
yet.
They are away visiting and won't be back for a month or six
weeks.
I will remind her when they get home. They have four daughter's
also.
You mentioned in your letter my Dad's Father's name
being Pony and his Mother Anna LeValley. Dad didn't know where he
was born, only as adopted parents told him, when they got him from the
Coldwater orphanage. Dad must have written the orphanage in 1909
for his correct Birth date. this was over the Thanksgiving
vacation.
He got a letter from the State School Sup't John S. Montgomery.
He
sent a short letter wishing him well in his home & also in
school.
The birth date was June 17, 1896, no birth place or parents. Back
in 1942 Dad had to have a Certified Copy of Birth Record for a Social
Security
No. Now on this Birth Record the day of birth June 12, 1896, the
birth place was Choate Mich. The Father's name Pony--Mother's
name,
Ida Orn LeValley. I wonder if Orn is a maiden name?
I have another letter written to Dad 1917 from a
county ag't. who had a M.D. after his name on the envelope. He
said
he wasn't sure but thought his father died before they were sent to the
Coldwater orphanage, and the mother had died several year's later in
lower
Mich. But he gave no parents names. He also said there were
three boy's, but at that time didn't know where the other two
were.
I think it was 1918 when Dad found Uncle Fred (LeValley) Woods.
He
had been over sea's in world War I in France until 1918. The man
told Dad one of the boys was born June 13, 1896.
Since Dad passed away Apr. 1978 his second wife
gave me these letters and papers (all the poor man had to his name that
ment nothing to him) She just passed away in 1989 at the age of
94,
her name was Bernice LeValley. She did live for a while in
Greenville,
Mi. with her grandson.
Our Mother was Izettia P. (Fry) LeValley, born Aug.
2 1894 - died Oct. 1966. Mother & Dad were married Apr. 5,
1919.
Yes some of the names you sent are of our
family.
My Brother Amos his children of the Grand Rapids area.
Me being the oldest, Elsie LeValley born Aug. 1,
1920 I married Henry L. Van Dam in Sept. 9, 1947. We have
two
daughters and twin son's. Henry died in July 1976.
Sister - Ruby Arlene LeValley born Feb. 9th 1923
died July, 1946, not married.
Brother Amos Orbra LeValley Born Feb. 18,
1924.
Married Ruth G. Hoyt 1942. (Ruth died 1966.) [Much
additional
information on living descendants is not posted.]
[There is no mention here of her next younger
brother
Frederick 1926-95, who married Ruth Grant.]
My sister is in Victorville Ca. Harriet Almina
(LeValley) Kunkel Kossler. there were eight children [of
Harriet's].
Her first two were twins - my twins were my last. her 4th child
died
in Vietnam War 1967 - Her husband died & she remarried a Frank
Kossler.
All of her family live in and around the Los Angeles area.
Harriet
was born May 11, 1928, in Lansing Mi. But we four were born in
Gratiot
Co. Ithaca, Mi. My Mother was born in Ithaca too -
Im sending you the address of this Lady from
Detroit,
who wrote to me back in 1983 about the LeValley name. Laurie
Sharoian
[address deleted].
Hope this information will be of help to you, trust
you'll be able to sort it out.
Sincerely
Elsie Van Dam
Carroll's great grandson, Jamie LeValley, sent this e-mail to Paul LeValley:
May 15, 2004
i dont
know if i am mailing this to the right place
but i am the grandson of carroll levalley
for months i have been trying to figure out who "pony levalley" was
after many many hours on
the net by both my wife and i we found out pony was joseph lavalle!!
son of prosper born 1859
in qubec canada.josephs wife was ida orn from kent county mi i have
more info please write
back ty jamie
Paul LeValley then contacted the separate LaValley group at RootsWeb--most of whom trace their ancestry to Quebec:
August 21, 2004
One of
the lingering mysteries in LeValley research has been the large family
descended from
Carroll LeValley (b. 1896 Choate Michigan) who was separated from one
or
two brothers at the Coldwater Michigan Orphanage around 1900. One
brother Fred (b. 1894) went by his adopted name of Woods, but had no
children.
Carroll located the family doctor, who identified his parents as Pony
LeValley
and Ida Orn. Every researcher since has been suspicious of that
name,
Pony.
A few months ago, I received a brief message from
Carroll's great grandson, saying he had discovered that Ida Orn married
Joseph LaValle (b. 1859 Quebec), the son of Prosper. My requests
for documentation have gone unanswered. Does anyone on this list
recognize those names?
Let me also note that there is equal mystery about
a different Dr. Prosper "Pete" LeValley of St. Simon, Quebec, who
traveled
to Africa before settling at Vincentown, New Jersey by 1853. He
also
has many descendants.
That group's co-ordinator, Jann LaValley, responded:
August 21, 2004
Hi Paul,
That is very interesting new information.
The only information I can offer is for a Prosper
Lavallé(e) son of Michel Amable [Lavallee] and Judith Falardeau.
He was born Feb 19, 1823 and baptized the next day in
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier,
Québec. Do you think that he might be a good prospect?
He was one of 14 children and I have further
information
for most of them but nothing for Prosper. I have often found in
the
past that it turns out that the individual left the area of the family
home and usually went south or west.
There is another Prosper François Lavalle
who was born around 1823 but I have no son Joseph for him and he stayed
in the Sainte Victoire area so I don't think he could be a prospect.
Regards,
Jann
The first-named Prosper
had a brother named Joseph. Both can be
found in Jann's database:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jellylava&id=I5349
This Prosper's ancestry is known for several generations back.
But no solid connection to the orphanage family has been made yet.
By 2021, Diane Lavallee had posted on Geneanet a family tree that
indeed goes back to the well-documented Lavallee family of Sorel,
Quebec:
Therese Lavallee 1704-42
Jeremi Pierre Lavalle dit Menon 1731-97 of Sorel m. Elizabeth
Desrosiers Dutremble
Marc Antoine Lavallee 1758-1819 of Sorel m. (2) Marie Celeste Bibeau
Pierre LaVallee 1794-1859 m. (2) Victoire Chamailard
Joseph Hermenegilde "Herman" Lavallee 1829-1911 m. Louise Cere
"Morin Merry Murray" 1834-1918
Joseph Lavallee 1856-1943 m. Ida Mae Orn 1869-1935
Carroll Obra LeValley 1896-1978
If this is accurate, Carroll and his brothers had two parents and at least two grandparents still living long after they were placed in the orphanage.
A little more research shows that Jeremi was a nickname for Germaine, son of Jean-Baptiste Lavallee 1706-54 and Therese