The family of my ggg-grandmother, Elise Faiver and her sister, Josephine presented a bit of challenge. The Stark County Story by Heald states that a Joseph Faiver had "five daughters and one son". One daughter is mentioned by name and the other is said to have belonged to the Ursuline order. The obituary of Sophie Faiver says that her parent’s family consisted of three daughters and two sons. All children are mentioned by name except one son who died early. There is a fourth daughter listed in the St. Louis Church Records as Margaret, daughter of Joseph and Rosalie.

A search of the 1850 census for Stark Co., Ohio came up with two families of Faiver’s: The family of Sebastian Faiver and the family of Joseph Faiver. It was at first thought that Sebastian Faiver might be the father of Josephine Faiver. The family is found on a passenger list, in the census records and in the records of St. Louis Catholic church in Louisville, Ohio, but there is no indication of a connection with Joseph Faiver. A passenger ship listing for the ship Ann that arrived in New York from Le Havre in 1833 lists the family of Sebastian Faiver, a potter from France traveling from "Upper Saxon" [Haut-Saone] to Cincinnati.

While in France, his occupation was listed as day laborer ("journalier") from 1810 to 1812. From 1818 to 1821, his occupation was listed as farmer ("cultivateur").  He immigrated to America after 1821. There is a record of a Joseph Faivre, age 52, having arrived in New York on May 19, 1834. His point of departure was Havre, France and arrived on board the SS Barque Turbo.  He and Louis Jeanin-Gaume appeared as neighbors on the census of 1840 in Nimishillen Township, Stark Co., Ohio.  He appeared on the census of 1840 in Nimishillen Township, Stark Co., Ohio.  He died circa 1860 in Stark Co., Ohio.  He married Jeanne Angelique Voisard, daughter of Jean Germain Voisard and Marie Angelique Lachat after 1809.

For the family of Joseph Faiver, other than the mention in The Stark County Story and an entry in the 1850 census, there was very little information to go on. The 1850 census gives his occupation as Merchant and shows that he had a real estate value of $3,300. Living with him was his son Louis, also a merchant, and his daughter Maryann (age 28). There were four boarders also living with him at that time. The census page says only that this in Nimishillen Township, but this is thought to be the community of Belfort.

A number of years after starting research into the family of Elise Favier, I was contacted by a man in France whose wife, it turns out, is a distant cousin of mine. Mr. Schuft was able to provide me with with information regarding the ancestors of Joseph Favier and Jeanne Angelique Voisard. With this information and other information published on Geneanet I was able to piece together a family history for Elise Favier going back ten generations to one Nicolas Cuvier who lived in the Jura Alps region along the Franco-Swiss border in the early 16^th century.

Below is the obituary of Elise Faiver Gaume:

Mrs. Eliza Gaume died Monday afternoon at the residence of her son-in-law, Paul Rebillot, aged 81 years. Mrs. was one of the early settlers, having come to this community nearly sixty years since. Her maiden name was Faiver and she was the mother of twelve children, eight of whom are living, as follows:

Mrs. Paul Rebillot, Mrs. Louis Menegay and Mrs. August Chevaraux of Louisville; Mrs. Frank Voisard, of Canton; Mrs. Saunier of St. Mary’s, Kansas; Mrs. Constine Saunier of Denver, Colorado; Louis Gaume of California and Frank Gaume of Topeka, Kansas. She leaves sixty-one grand children and sixteen great grand children. The funeral took place Wednesday at the Catholic Church.