Albert ( Sam ) Nault was born in Quebec Canada. There were five boys and three girls that I knew of. The boys names were Napoleon, Albert, Peter, George, and Fred. The girls were Anna, Minnie, and Georgena.

The girls lived around Iron River, as did Fred, George and Albert, where the latter picked up the nickname of Sam. When he was a youngster he developed a fascination to a town personality by the name of Samuel, following him everywhere he could. They thus became known as Sam and "Little Sam". I believe Albert legally changed his given name to Samuel.

The family ran a boarding house and bar business situated on the corner of 9th and Cayuga. Mrs. Nault did the laundry and provided meals for the boarders. Sam worked in the woods as a teamster, and brother Fred, better known by the nickname of "Bum", was a house mover. I don't know what George did, but thinking about it, someone had to tend the bar.

During this period is probably when Sam met Leon Goodbeau with whom, as partners, bought and homesteaded the Nault farm on what was known as the Trout Lake Road in the Nash District about three miles from Iron River.

Sam then married Rosanna Ducharme. She was born in a logging community of Atkinson, later known as Gibb's City. Her father's name was Louis Ducharme and he worked in the lumber mill there. Rose had three sisters, Eva, Edith, and Margaret and a brother Harry who was killed in World War I.

They moved from Atkinson around the turn of the century when the mill shut down. They settled in a mining community between old Caspian and Gaastra called Spring Valley. The children attended the Palatka School which was located near by in the Berkshire Location.

Rose's mother died shortly after Margaret was born and Rose, being the oldest, was taken out of school at the fourth grade level to cook and clean for the family. She mentioned many times that her father was a mean person and used a heavy hand with his siblings. It was a shame that she was forced to stop her schooling, as she was a very bright, level-headed lady. Sister Margaret was adopted out when a baby and had a better chance to get an education, as she went on to become a nurse.

When Sam age 45 married Rose age 25, they moved into the house that Sam built. His mother lived with them from day one, along with Goodbeau and later Rose's father when he lost his small farm on the corner of Kofmehl Road and the Bates Gaastra Road, which had to be forfeited to the state when he applied for old age pension.

Rose discovered that she could not bear children, so when they learned, through their Priest Fr. Lenhart, of my case they applied and were given permission to adopt me. Being brought into this family was a blessing and a chance for a loving and stable environment.

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