True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: March 2013
Reg.#497, Constable Archilles Rouleau
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
It is widely accepted by most people around the world that dignity and respect be offered to the deceased and to care for their grave. Care of gravesites is a social norm which crosses custom, time and history. And it is particularly sad when a person dies and then is laid to rest in an unmarked grave.
I am very proud to acknowledge that it is becoming more and more common for RCMP Vets to locate, carefully tend to and identify the gravesites of deceased members of the Force. Sometimes the care of a grave also must include the purchase of a stone to identify the final resting place of a long forgotten member.
Such was the case with our Vet of the Month -- a stone was purchased and a special ceremony was held to commemorate the life of Constable Archilles Rouleau.
Archilles Rouleau was born in Quebec and he joined the NWMP in 1880. His police service was relatively short. Records show that he served at Fort Walsh and at Fort MacLeod before leaving the Force in 1885 for a life of farming in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Archilles Rouleau died in 1936.
History does not reveal the reason that Archilles Rouleau's grave was not properly marked by a stone. But, this deficit was corrected after the Royal Canadian Legion and friends worked cooperatively with Eden's Funeral Home who donated a stone to mark his burial place.
I wish to sincerely acknowledge that the following notes which describe the Memorial Service for Constable Rouleau were taken from an article written by Chris Davis of the Pincher Creek Voice with Curator Farley S. Wuth, Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village.
The article was sent to me by Edmonton Vet. AJH 'Joe' Collinson and I thank him.
Ceremony held to dedicate headstone for NWMP officer Archilles Rouleau : December 18, 2012 at Fairview Cemetery, Pincher Creek, AB
'Rouleau served with the NWMP in Fort Walsh and Fort Macleod during the pioneer era and retired in 1885. Upon his retirement he homesteaded in the Fishburn District east of Pincher Creek. Rouleau passed away in 1936 but a headstone was never placed on his grave. The efforts of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and local historians have worked to correct this situation. His burial place was identified and a headstone was donated by Eden's Funeral Home to mark it.
Legion Padre Reverend Dave Goff performed a dedication service at the gravesite as local Legion members and law enforcement officers stood by as an honour guard. Chris Bohnet of Eden's Funeral Home was also in attendance. Local Curator Farley S. Wuth read a history of Archilles Rouleau, which appears below.'
Archilles Rouleau. Updated by Farley Wuth
'Archilles Rouleau was born in St. Romauld, Quebec to parents of French-Canadian ancestry. His birthdate, according to the 1901 Dominion of Canada Census, was listed as January 16th, 1859. However, his 1936 obituary claims that he was 79 years of age when he passed away which concurs with his NWMP personnel file of placing his birth in 1857. Rouleau’s religious affiliation was listed as Roman Catholic.
An ex-Northwest Mounted Police Constable, Regimental Number 497, from Quebec, Mr. Rouleau served as a Constable with the Mounties at Fort Macleod (G Division). He enlisted on September 22nd 1880, and took his discharge five years later. When he joined up, he was listed as being five feet ten inches in height and weighed 164 pounds. His previous occupation was identified as being a farmer. He served the Force with distinction and upon retirement, returned a cloth cloak as part of his official uniform.
Rouleau’s wages for 22 days of work in September 1885 came to $15.40, a per diem rate of pay of seventy cents. While the Force was happy with Rouleau’s work, his personnel files indicate that it failed to immediately pay him an allotment of three hundred dollars for his role in keeping the peace during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. This he had wanted instead of accepting script. It was only when he officially applied for the allotment as a senior in poor health in 1931—32 that it was awarded to him.
Upon his 1885 retirement, Archilles Rouleau went into a homestead partnership with William H. Metzler on the N.E. ¼ of Section 27 Township 5 Range 28 West of the 4th. When Mr. Metzler and he dissolved their business arrangement, Rouleau carried on and homesteaded this quarter.
Mr. Rouleau never married but he did have a nephew, Charles, reside on the homestead with him as of the early 1900's. Charles was born on July 29th, 1879. He too was listed as a rancher in the 1901 Census. Judge Rouleau, who served during the 1930's, was a brother of Achilles. He resided back home in Quebec.
An eighty acre lake on the west of Rouleau’s property bears his name. During the early part of the First World War, picnics were held on his property and some of the sportsmen had a trap and clay-pigeons installed. This proved to be a great attraction and many from Pincher Creek came to test their skills.
When Mr. Rouleau retired, he rented his homestead for a time and it was later bought by John McGlynn. As of the early 1970s, Henry McGlynn owned this property. Moving to Pincher Creek in the 1920s, Rouleau boarded with Mrs. Marie Rose Smith for a good many years. At one time, he had a room in the Scott Block.
He passed away on Thursday, June 11th, 1936 at St. Vincent’s Hospital. His funeral was held from St. Michael’s Church the following Saturday.
His passing was picked up as a news item in both the Pincher Creek Echo and as a Canadian Press story for the dailies.'
Updated by Farley Wuth, Pincher Creek, January 2010.
Source: Adapted from “Archilles Rouleau”, Prairie Grass To Mountain Pass, Pincher Creek: Pincher Creek & District Historical Society, Published 1974, Third Printing 1981, pp. 450 – 451; Death Of A. Rouleau[:] North West Mounted Police Veteran Passes”, The Pincher Creek Echo, Vol. XXXVI, No. 47, Thursday, 18th June 1936.
Library and Archives Canada, North West Mounted Police Personnel Records 1873 – 1904, Record Group 18, re Achille Rouleau; Provincial Archives of Alberta, Homestead File for Achille C. Rouleau, Accession Number 1970.313, Film 180614, File 2011; and Census of Canada for 1901, Historical Data re Archilles and Charles Rouleau.
*Once again, I wish to thank and I am appreciative to Chris Davis of the Pincher Creek Voice and Curator Farley S. Wuth, Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village for the excellent article which described the Memorial Service for Constable Rouleau. The article provides a rich source of research and it contributes highly to the RCMP graves website.
The actual link for the Chris Davis & Farley S. Wuth article is:
http://www.pinchercreekvoice.com/2012/12/ceremony-held-to-dedicate-headstone-for.html?pfstyle=wp
The photos of Constable Rouleau's grave and Memorial Service were sent to me by Contributor Edmonton Vet AJH 'Joe' Collinson. Thank you Joe!
The photos were also included in the Chris Davis & Farley S. Wuth article.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy,
March 23, 2013
