Private John Chookomolin
Original Family Research On John Chookomolin
Here is the original family research which was conducted by George Hookimaw (great-grandson to John Chookomolin) in the fall of 1994. This was the first instance of official documentation that our family saw concerning the life and death of John Chookomolin. One of the difficulties in the research was concerning the spelling of his name – which was documented in 1917 as ‘Jakomolin’. Since John and the other recruits from Attawapiskat only spoke and understood Cree, their last names were recorded in the English language as the recruitment officer heard it being pronounced. Generations later, the family name along the James Bay coast is now recognized as Chookomolin and Chokomolin.
According to War Records
 My Great-Grandfather John Chookomolin 1917 |
Private John Jakomolin died on September 20, 1917 at the age of 22. He is buried at the Egham (St. Jude’s) Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom.According to cemetery registers: Egham (St. Jude’s) Cemetary at Englefield Green, belongs to the Urban District Council. It covers 15 acres, and it contains 64 scattered War Graves, including 32 Canadian; a War Cross is erected at the entrance. The Canadian Forestry Corps had a hospital at Beech Hill; and the Princess Christian Military Hospital was at Englefeld Green, in huts. His name is recorded in the register as: JAKOMOLIN, Pte. J., 2497978. Canadian Forestry Corps. 20th Sept., 1917. Age 22. B. B. 597. |
War Record Documents
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Genealogy
Louise Paulmartin, daughter of John Chookomolin
When our family rediscovered John Chookomolin in the early 1990s, it was easy to make connections to our ancestor. John Chookomolin’s daughter is Louise Chookomolin, who he saw for a few months after her birth before leaving James Bay in 1917. Louise became an orphan after losing her mother Maggie Chookomolin a few years later. Louise never knew her parents and was raised by her extended family, friends and mainly the Catholic Church and early residential schools. At 16, she married Xavier Paulmartin and they had a large extended family of Paulmartin sons and daughters. Many of the boys from the Paulmartin family share a resemblance to their grandfather and great grandfather.
John Chookomolin - 1917  John Paulmartin (1970s), John Chookomlin's grandson  Paul Kataquapit (2002), John Chookomolin's great grandson |