 Lajoie was born in Woonsocket , Rhode Island , to Jean Baptiste and Celina Guertin Lajoie . The elder Lajoie was French Canadian and had emigrated to the United States . Upon arrival to the U.S. he first settled in Rutland , Vermont , but then moved to Woonsocket , where Lajoie , the youngest of eight surviving children , was born . Throughout his childhood Lajoie received little formal education . 
