Steeped in family history, and clams too
07/11/2003
By KATE BRAMSON
Journal Staff Writer
SCITUATE -- Brothers Michael and Peter Denomme speak quickly
when they start sharing their family history, talking about the New
England clambakes they've held over the years and reminiscing about
growing up in a family with eight children.
Ten generations before them, their ancestor Claude Delaunay was 1 of the
first 800 settlers in Canada when he moved there from his native France
in 1666, according to genealogical research they've done with some
distant cousins in Arizona and Montreal.
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Peter, left, and his brother Michael Denomme haul a can of hot dogs, clams, onions, cod, lobster, potatoes and sausages ready to be baked over a fire. Michael's grandson, Zachary Gouin, 3, pulls up the rear.
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"We had no idea what our history was, and it just piqued our interest,"
Michael Denomme said.
They visited cemeteries and discovered that Delaunay's descendants
helped establish the French-Canadian presence in West Warwick. (Over the
years, Claude's last name took several variations, including the Denomme
name that has passed from generation to generation since at least the
late 1600s.)
They learned their ancestor Delaunay was a rope maker for the French
Army, after the French settled in Montreal. And they learned that Claude
married 1 of about 1,000 women known as the "King's Daughters."
They've got a copy of Claude Delaunay's and Denyse Leclerc's 1669
marriage contract. She was 1 of about 1,000 women who agreed to travel
to the French settlements in North America and marry a settler there in
exchange for a 50-pound dowry from French King Louis XIV, according to
genealogical research the Denomme family has found.
About 800 of the women made it to Canada, where the eligible men and
women would often come together at a town meeting and then pair up.
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Nelson Carreiro, of East Greenwich, takes a photo of the Denomme clan gathered for a reunion last week.
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As fascinated by all this as Michael and Peter are, no one spoke of this
history when the eight siblings were growing up, Michael says.
"And that really shocked me," he said. "We had these family clambakes at
Goddard Park for as long as I can remember, when I was 2. The last one I
went to was probably 15 years ago."
He suspects no one knew the family history.
Across from the Centreville Bank in West Warwick used to be buildings
known as "Denomme's block," Michael says. The building housed a drug
store downstairs and apartments upstairs.
"Any of the old people know the Denomme block," Michael says. "It was
used as a transition for the French-Canadians. It was like a
clearinghouse, like an underground railroad."
New French-Canadian settlers would stay there for a couple days to a
week or so while they found a new place to live in America, he has
learned.
Long gone, the buildings were torn down in December 1961 after fire
destroyed much of the block.
The Denomme family's yearly clambakes had tapered off, but Peter and
Michael decided this was the year to resurrect the tradition. Their dad
had died on Christmas Day in 2000, and that was really the last time so
many of Rita and Eugene Denomme's eight children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren had gathered.
So last week, the family that Michael proudly calls "just a traditional
New England family with some real deep roots" held a good-old Fourth of
July clambake.
Rita Denomme, the matriarch of the family that has maintained a presence
in the Pawtuxet Valley for generations, sat quietly in the backyard of
Michael and Jeanne Denomme's Scituate home. She talked with relatives
and marveled that all four of her sons and all four of her daughters
traveled from around the country for the clambake.
They came from Texas, Georgia, Virginia, and Rhode Island and
Massachusetts communities.
In all, Rita's 8 children, 17 of her 21 grandchildren, 5 of her 7
great-grandchildren, and one of the three expectant moms who are due
with three more great-grandchildren were there.
"I don't know if this will ever happen again -- that everybody will get
here again," Rita Denomme said. "It's really wonderful."
Peter has taken on the role as chef, serving up clamcakes and chowder
made from the recipes passed down from his father. He was the mastermind
behind the real clambake that cooked for a couple hours before the
steamers, mussels, potatoes, onions, sausage, cod and lobster were ready
to be eaten.
Rita says her husband's chowder was always better than any restaurant
could make. And Peter says he's mastered his dad's formula.
"I don't care, whatever restaurant you go to to buy chowder, I can do it
better," Peter proudly says.
It's a secret family recipe that he's happy for everyone at the clambake
to savor.
"It doesn't beat Dad's," says his sister, Arlene Denomme of West Warwick.
"It's close," Rita says quietly to her children.
Then Peter talks about his dream to run a chowder-and-clamcakes stand
some day. He'd serve fish and chips, and, of course, the family chowder.
And maybe even a little family history.
Reporter Kate Bramson can be reached by e-mail at kbramsonxprojo.com
