Celeste Anne Burke

Celeste Anne Burke was born in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, on February 3, 1900. She was the second child of Eugenie Landry and Damien Burke. Celeste Anne's only sibling was Abraham Alfred Damien Burke. She and her family are descended fom Antoine Bourg and Antoinette Landry, and are historically Acadian.

From the transcribed River Bourgeois church records...

Born : Bourke, Abraham Alfred, Feb 14, 1884, to Damien Bourke & Eugenie Landry

Born : Burke, Celeste Anne, Feb 3, 1900, to Damien Burke & Eugenie Landry

Note : a somewhat common name in Acadian records was "Celestin", from which the name "Celeste Anne" may have evolved.

On January 15, 1917, young Celeste Anne married Peter Abraham Landry (born October 14, 1892, son of Lamond (Armand) Landry and Sarah Richard). Follow this link to see more details on the ancestry of Peter Landry.

Celeste Anne and Peter had nine childen: Clarence, Arthur, Leo, Mary, Helen, Jean, Lorraine, Stephen, and Edmond.

Peter worked as a carpenter in Boston when his children were young, and on the famous Keltic Lodge in the highlands of Cape Breton. Peter was a fisherman in the 1940's and 1960's, with son Leo, until Peter retired (perhaps when first eligible for Canada's Old Age Pension, in 1962).

Anne Landry remembers... "I have memories of watching him (Peter) and Dad (Leo) at the fish filleting table and being amazed at how fast and accurate he could fillet hundreds of mackerel without cutting his fingers."

Peter decided to invest in the River Bourgeois Mutual Telephone Company. He became a shareholder and supplied the wood for the telephone poles along the south side so they could get the phones connected. His was one of the first families in River Bourgeois to have a phone.

Theresa (Celeste Anne's neice) remembers... "Uncle Peter had a boat and would give her and brother Lou rides in it when they were young (even though their mother forbid it)."

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Celeste Anne Burke

born February, 3, 1900, in River Burgeois
married on January 15, 1917, to Pierre (Peter) Landry
son Edmond Earl Landry writes about Celeste Anne... "Celeste Anne was an avid card player. She was always ready and able to play a game of cribbage or auction forty-five and did so until her death at age 97."
granddaughter Anne writes... "(Celeste Anne) never missed a card-playing event unless she was ill. They used to tease her about having the ace of hearts up her sleeve - she always seemed to have it in her hand when she needed it."
From Celeste Anne's journal (see below regarding its origin):  "I was born and brought up in Nova Scotia in the year 1900. My name is Celeste Ann Landry. We stayed at the Pond, as we used to call it, then moved to River Bourgeois when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I remember that day so well. It was like moving to the big city for me, as at the Pond there was only three houses and I was the only small one around, so I had nobody to play with. That day they moved two houses - ours, and my uncle's. It was a big wedding going on they had to make food for around 30 or 40 men as the men were very hungry when they got there for dinner. And I can remember so well when my uncle came to get me to stay with (his family) for the day as mother was helping them their dinner. They moved two houses on the same day so I imagine they were all so tired and hungry. It was a treat for me to visit at my aunts for the day. I thought I was going to New York. I wasn't very old, maybe 4 or 5, out there at the pond where we lived, there was nobody my age, they were mostly all grownups, so I was happy to be going out for the day. Nobody had cars then - it was the horse and sleighs."
From the journal... "I remember when I started school. I really liked that lots of kids were my age. Sometimes in the wintertime we used to follow the shore, especially in the spring, and get on the "clampers" (icebergs), get our feet wet, many times."
Celeste Anne's favourite saint was Saint Anne - she had a Saint Anne prayer book "with the pages frazzled from so much use".
children :
Clarence Alfred Landry
born December 23, 1917

Arthur Joseph Landry
born November 20, 1918
died October 28, 1919

Leo Landry
born October 28, 1921
served in the Merchant Navy
married Theresa Mary Burke (different from the Theresa Mary Burke, wife of Alfred Longhurst who is in this picture from the Longhurst's visit to River Bourgeois in 1998)

children:
Daniel Lewis Landry
born June 21st, 1951
married on May 19, 1973 to Patricia Anne Bona (from L'Ardoise)
in 2007, resides next door to Daniel's parents, in River Bourgeois
children:
Genevieve Edna (Genny) Landry
born Feb 22, 1974
married on October 7, 2000, to Jason Ramsay
children:
Lydia Anne Ramsay
born July 22, 2004

Laurie Lynn Landry
born Oct. 6, 1976
married on May 19, 2001, to Paul Zinck
in 2007, residing in "Peter and Celeste's house next door to Leo and Theresa"
children:
Mila Celeste Zinck
born March 12, 2004

Janice Marie Landry
born June 1st, 1978
married on June 2, 2002, to Mike Pelly
children:
Abigail Rose Pelly
born Sept 23, 2001

Amelia Grace Pelly
born Nov 8, 2004

Vincent John Landry
born May 23, 1953
married on October 8, 1983, to Mary (Frances) Moriarty
children:
Maura Celeste Landry
born May 28th, 1985

Alicia Clare Landry
born August 12, 1986

Kevin John Landry
born July 30, 1987

James Francis Landry
born January 30, 1989

Peter Leo Landry
born November 4, 1990

Anne Landry
born November 26, 1954
not married, no children
in 1994, Anne bought a journal for "Grandma Celeste" and "encouraged her to write down stories about her life". Entries from this journal appear nearby in this site.

Rose Marina Landry
born October 13, 1957
married on December 20, 1981, to Robert (Bob) Kelly
children:
Bradford Howard (Brad) Kelly
born November 29, 1985

Elise Lauren Kelly
born May 30, 1988

Leonard Andrew Landry
born May 2, 1965
married on June 16, 1990, to Heather Daley
children:
Evan Andrew Landry
born Jan 23, 1995

Emma Margaret Landry
born Aug 15, 1997

Mary Cecilia Landry
born April 24, 1920
died October 28, 1973

Helen Genevieve Landry
born October 7, 1923

Mary Eugenie (Jean) Landry
born September 24, 1926

Lorraine Frances Landry
born October 4, 1929

Stephen Joseph Landry
born November 15, 1931

Edmond Earl Landry
born November 29, 1933
served in Canadian military for 32 years (fifteen as a technician, and seventeen as a commissioned officer
married on September 27, 1933, to Marie Louise Deveau
in 2007, resides in Ottawa, Ontario