Magdalena Henry Thibodeau – two of two

Bon Jour. Today is that last time you will hear from me, Julie Marie Hebert Delaune. Over the past weeks, I told you my life story, my mère’s, Marie-Victoire Thibadeau Hebert; and now I will complete the story of my grand-mère, Magdalena Henry Thibadeau. Magdalena is the Velma Carrow Provost’s fourth great-grandmother on her father’s side. 

Last week I told you Magdalena was an unfortunate Acadian who was forced from her home on Ile St. Jean (today’s Prince Edward Island) by the British. After a horrific crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, she spent twenty-six years in the Saint-Malo area of France before immigrating, by choice, to Louisiana. And so, we begin this ending with her time in France. 

After arriving in the Saint-Malo area in 1759, my grand-mère’s family crossed the Rance River and resided in Pleurtuit, about twenty-five miles away. They were in Pleurtuit between 1759 and 1764 with other family members who lived nearby: Charles Pitre and Anne Henry; Pierre Henry and Anne Thibodeau; Charles Henry and Francoise Hebert; Pierre Henry and Anne Margurite-Josephe Bourg; and Jean Henry, and Marie Pitre.^[1]Rieder, Milton P., The Acadians in France, 1762-1776; Rolls of the Acadians living in France distributed by towns for the years 1762 to 1776 (Metaire, Louisiana, 1967), p. … Continue reading Her widowed mother, Marie Hebert, also lived in Pleurtuit until she died in 1764.^[2]10 NUM 35228 648 – Pleurtuit – 1764 – Sépultures – Commune, … Continue reading So many family members and friends had died in the five years since they left Isle St. Jean. If you recall, her two young daughters died during the crossing, her father died a few months after arriving in France, and her first son born in France died at age three. ^[3]Jean Henry’s death recorded in Saint-Servan – 1759 Sépultures – Greffe, Archvies et patrimonie d’ille-et-Vilaine (https://archives-en-ligne.ille-et-vilaine.fr/ : accessed … Continue reading

Credit: Google Maps – Pleurtuit. Zoom out to see Saint-Malo.

How strange it must have been to return to the land of your ancestors but speak a different dialect of French. King Louis XV gave aid to the Acadians who had been exiled when they arrived. It is likely the townspeople were resentful of the three to six sol per day that each Acadian was to receive, even though it was not always forthcoming as expected.  

Did Magdalena tell her children stories of L’Acadie and sing songs given to her by her parents? Did she long to return to L’Acadie? Did she mourn in secret the loss of her three children? Though a mother never gets over the death of her children, she must have found a way to leave the sad past and to focus on a better tomorrow. 

Magdelena and her husband Charles Thibodeau lived in Saint-Servan from 1764 to 1765 and then went back to Pleurtuit from 1765 to 1772. Why did they leave Pleurtuit for a year?  Did work opportunities make them move? 

Google Maps – Saint-Servan. Zoom out to see Saint-Malo, Saint-Servan and Pleurtuit.

In 1772, my grand-père Charles, was working as a laborer and carpenter. Because the Acadians thought they would be returning to L’Acadie one day, many worked as day laborers. Carpenters in the Saint-Malo area usually worked in maritime construction.^[4]Jean-François Mouhot, translated by Russell Desmond, The Acadian Refugees in France 1758-1785: The Impossible Reintegration?, (Lafayette, Louisiana: University of Louisiana at … Continue reading Acadian women found work spinning wool and cotton, cutting, weaving, and sewing. Magdelana spun and cut cloth.^[5]Rieder, Milton P., The Acadians in France, 1762-1776; Rolls of the Acadians living in France distributed by towns for the years 1762 to 1776 (Metaire, Louisiana, 1967), p. 39-79; digital … Continue reading Did my grand-mère find work because she had brought the necessary tools with her from Isle St. Jean? Maybe grand-père made her spinning wheel using his carpentry skills. Where did the women work? Did they leave their homes to work, or did they work from their kitchens? Can you not imagine several of the women trading childcare while spinning and weaving? Since Magdelena’s five children were from three to ten years old, surely, she needed someone to help with childcare. Did she work to make ends meet or were her earnings used to save for a better future?  

Acadians in St. Malo wanted to return to L’Acadie. There were so many schemes that were discussed to find land and employment for the Acadians by the French government but none of these plans were successful. Then my grandparents heard the Spanish government was recruiting families to move to their colony in Louisiana. Spain promised to pay for passage to Louisiana and provide the tools to work the land and my family could continue to follow that Catholic faith. If my family wanted to go back to the land of L’Acadie, they would have had to provide the passage themselves. Many Acadians did not have the money to do so and were in debt, so Spain’s plan was very tempting. 

What made my grand-mère’s family decide to go to Louisiana? Was it a group decision with all the related families weighing in? Was it the opportunity to join other Acadians in Louisiana? There were many reasons to stay in France and there were many reasons to go to Louisiana. 

On the ship were several Henry families, including her brother Charles Henry and his wife Francois Hebert and her sister Anne Henry and her husband Charles Pitre. Magdelena was about fifty-eight years old when the Thibodaux family boarded the ship La Ville d’Archangel in Saint-Malo on 12 August 1785. Similarly, her mother was sixty-two when she was expelled from Isle St. Jean and had to cross the Atlantic. My grand-père was at sixty-three and was among the oldest on the ship. There were three others in their sixties and one man was seventy-five. Magdalena’s children Marguerite, Pierre-Charles, Jeanne-Tarssile, Helene and my mère, Marie-Victoire all boarded the ship.^[6]Tim Hebert, “Passenger List for La Ville d’Archangle,” Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History (http://www.acadian-cajun.com/ship6.htm : viewed 28 November 2019). 

Which memories of her first crossing resurfaced as Magdalena prepared to board the ship to Louisiana? Was she scared? What items did she pack to take? Was there anything from Ile St. Jean that she would still have to take to Louisiana? Maybe she sold everything she had and brought only clothes. The first time she crossed the Atlantic, it was against her will. This time, it was because she could choose where she would go. Though the ship left Saint-Malo in August, it was not until December that the family stepped off La Ville d’Archangel. The journey had its troubles. The ship had ran aground upon arrival at La Balize on the Mississippi River, and they had run out of food. Many people were sick. Surely, Magdalena and the others who had sailed in 1759 had flashbacks and worried about if they would live another day? The ship finally arrived in New Orleans after 113 days, arriving 3 December 1785.

I do not know if my grand-mère and grand-père survived the overseas journey to Louisiana. Fifteen people who had been on La Ville d’Archangel died soon after arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is possible that Magdalena was one of those who died upon arrival. If she did survive, she would have traveled to Bayou des Ècores with family and lived there for a few years. I hope she witnessed the wedding of her youngest child, my mère, Marie-Victoire to Joseph-Yves Hebert in Pointe Coupeé three years after arriving in Louisiana.  

For our family, life in the 18^th century was not easy! My grand-mère endured such hardships and losses in her lifetime. But we have all been blessed by her final journey back to North America with her husband and children. After all, the deadly French Revolution started just four years after their departure from France in 1789.  And so, this ends my telling you the stories of my life, my mère’s life and my grand-mère’s life.

Next week you will learn about Marie Hebert, my grand-mère’s mère, the last story to be told in this family line.