Born: February 19, 1815 in St. Marc, Quebec, Canada.
Married: March 2, 1835 in Quebec, Canada to Hermine Dutilly-Guyon (1819 - 1889)
Died: March 12, 1892 in Floyd County, Iowa, USA.
Joseph LaBounty, Sr. and his wife Hermine (whose name is spelled 99 different ways once they get to the U.S.A.) migrated from Quebec, Canada to Addison County, Vermont sometime in the 1840s. Along with other French-Canadian families, they migrated west to Dodge County, Wisconsin about 1855. About 1865 they moved again, to Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa. Joseph hauled groceries between Charles City and Waverly in Bremer County, Iowa. They eventually purchased 80 acres in Ulster Township on the Rockford-Charles City road.
Specific mentions of Joseph LaBounty, Sr. in newspapers, directories and records:
1850
September 10, 1850: Listed in the United States Census in Goshen, Addison County, Vermont as 38 years old, and a farmer with 300 dollars in assets. Joseph "Labounta" is listed as being born in Canada, as are his wife (Herm? 36 years old), and daughters Armenia (12 years old) and Maria (9 years old). His younger children, Andrew (7 years old), Felix (5 years old), Philomine (4 years old), Margaret (3 years old), and Clarissa (2 years old), are all listed as being born in Vermont. His father, Augustin, is listed a couple of residences over: a laborer 66 years old born in Canada.
1859
Joseph and Hermine brought in a passel of their children to be baptized at St. Mary's Parish in Portage, Wisconsin. Listed as Joseph Labontai and Amelia Deturnai (these are folks who probably couldn't read or write and the priest wrote phonetically), the children baptized were Amelia (5 years old), Josephine (2 years, 6 mos.), and Lucy (2 months).
1860
June 18, 1860: Listed in the United States Census in Scott, Columbia County, Wisconsin as "Joseph Labounty": 45 years old, a farm laborer with a personal estate worth $250, born in Canada East. His wife is listed as "Ermina" (35 years old, also born in Canada East). Children living with him included Andrew (19 years old, farm laborer born in Vermont), Felix (17 years old, farm laborer born in Vermont), Michael (12 years old, born in Vermont), Clarissa (11 years old, born in Vermont), Louisa (8 years old, born in Vermont), Amelia (6 years old, born in Vermont), Josephine (3 years old, born in Wisconsin), and Melvina (8 months old, born in Wisconsin).
1882
September 26, 1882: Joseph Labounta, Sr. of Polk County, Minnesota purchases 160 acres in Pennington County, Minnesota for $200. Land is adjacent to 160 acres son Andrew purchases the same day.
1883
October 8, 1883: Joseph Labonnta, Sr. of Polk County, Minnesota purchases 160 adjacent acres in Pennington County, Minnesota for $200.
1887
September 10, 1887: Joseph Labounta Sr. of Polk County, Minnesota (wife listed as Armena Labounta) defaults on his mortage and loses the 160 acres purchased in Pennington County, Minnesota in 1882.
1891
April 24, 1891: Joseph Labounta of Polk County, Minnesota (wife listed as Armenia Labounta) defaults on his mortage and loses the 160 acres purchased in Pennington County, Minnesota in 1883.