M. 2 Aug 1784 in Vincennes, Virginia Territory
Husband: Louis Favel Ravellette
D. about 1835 in Vincennes, Indiana
Two of the most important life events for a Catholic are their baptism and their marriage, but what happens when there’s no priest around to administer them? For Françoise-Agnes Godere, both ceremonies were improvised by her family, friends and a notary until a priest could be present.
Françoise-Agnes was born just after the English took control of New France following the French and Indian War. Her parents, Louis Godere and Barbe-Elizabeth Levron, lived in Post Vincennes, one of the most remote places in the colony. The British takeover caused the parish priest to leave and the people carried on as best they could. Young couples didn’t have much choice but to live together without a formal marriage, and that’s what Françoise-Agnes’ parents did, making their vows before their friends.
Sometime after that, about the beginning of November 1766, Françoise-Agnes was born, and a baptism was arranged that was documented by notary, Étienne Phillibert. (A baptism that wasn’t officiated by an ordained priest was forgivable since it was often necessary in cases when a newborn infant was about to die.) The notary kept a ledger for all of the events he was overseeing during this time, and he carefully noted Françoise-Agnes’ baptism. The event took place November 4th and her godparents were her maternal grandfather, Joseph Levron, and her great-grandmother, Marie-Anne You.
Françoise-Agnes’s parents had two more children before a priest came to Post Vincennes in 1770. Father Pierre Gibault had previously served there, and was heading the parish in Kaskaksia. When he returned to Vincennes that year, the people were glad to see him. He later wrote, “When I arrived, everybody came in a crowd to meet me at the banks of the River Wabash. Some threw themselves on their knees and were quite unable to speak; others spoke only by their sobs; some cried out, ‘Father, save us, we are nearly in hell.’” He stayed in Vincennes for two months, repairing the little log church, St. Francis Xavier, and sanctifying the sacraments that had been administered by the notary. On February 8, 1770, Father Gibault legitimized the birth of Françoise-Agnes and her siblings by recognizing her parents’ marriage.
The next decade of Françoise-Agnes’s childhood was eventful, as the American Revolution unfolded to the east. Father Gibault went back to his parish at Kaskaskia, but visited Post Vincennes in 1778 encouraging the people to join the American cause. By now, the English took a serious interest in manning Fort Vincennes, and the French people hated them. The men of the town, including Françoise-Agnes’ father and grandfather, signed an oath of allegiance to the Americans. The following year, George Rogers Clark, helped by the people of Vincennes, won control away from the British. But the war went on several more years, and when Françoise-Agnes came of age, there was still no permanent priest in Vincennes.
At age 16, Françoise-Agnes got involved with a young man, Louis Favel Ravellette, and she became pregnant. The couple couldn’t wait for a priest to marry them, so once again, the family turned to the notary Philibert. On September 1, 1783, a contract was drawn up, not just as a promise to marry, but also as a document defining their joint property as being 300 livres, and if one should die, the other would receive half. The contract signing was witnessed by Françoise-Agnes’ parents, step-grandfather and several others. The following January, she gave birth to a baby girl they named Marguerite.
Françoise-Agnes and Louis had to wait nearly a year to have their wedding performed by Father Gibault, who now returned for good to St. Francis Xavier church in Vincennes. On August 2, 1784, the young couple celebrated their marriage before family, friends, and likely, all of the French people of Vincennes. A Creole-style wedding typically took place at the bride’s house with a huge feast, and dancing to music that lasted all night. It’s not known if Françoise-Agnes’ wedding was any different, given that she had already been with her husband.
Over the next 20 years, Françoise-Agnes had another eleven children. She enjoyed a long marriage with her husband Louis; both are believed to have died around 1835, having spent their entire lives in Vincennes.
Children:
1. Marguerite Ravellette — B. 25 Jan 1784, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; M. Jean Mominy, 16 Aug 1802, Vincennes, Indiana Territory
2. Louis Ravellette — B. 20 Feb 1786, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; M. Helene Campeau, 1 Oct 1810, Vincennes, Indiana
3. Pierre Ravellette — B. 24 Jan 1788, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
4. Antoine Ravellette — B. about Oct 1790, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Adelaide Cabassier, 6 Jul 1818, Vincennes, Indiana
5. François Ravellette — B. 9 Nov 1791, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. 7 Dec 1857, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Elizabeth Turpin (1798-1835)
6. Andre Ravellette — B. 4 Feb 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. 17 Oct 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
7. Françoise Ravellette — B. 19 Aug 1795, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. François Bono, 16 May 1816, Vincennes, Indiana
8. Marie-Theotiste Ravellette — B. 19 Aug 1795, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. Pierre Renaud dit Deslauriers, 12 Nov 1813, Vincennes, Indiana
9. Agnes Ravellette — B. 30 Sep 1797, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
10. Helene Ravellette — B. 25 Feb 1799, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
11. Marie-Amable Ravellette — B. 13 Jun 1802, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Pierre Meteyer, 2 Oct 1820, Vincennes, Indiana
12. Elizabeth Ravellette — B. 26 Mar 1804, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Pierre Cabassier, 24 Jul 1820, Vincennes, Indiana
Sources:
History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana, 1886
“Records of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier,” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 12, 1901
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Baptisms 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Marriages and Deaths 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
Creole Pioneers at Old Post Vincennes, Joyce Doyle, Loy Followell, Elizabeth Kargacos, Bernice Mutchmore, and Paul R. King, 1930s
