Dropping Her Crepe — Marie-Madeleine Bordeleau

B. 23 Oct 1761 in Post Vincennes, New France
M. 9 Jul 1779 in Vincennes, Virginia Territory
Husband: Jean-Baptiste Renaud dit Deslauriers
D. 21 Feb 1819 in Vincennes, Indiana

Marie-Madeleine Bordeleau lived during an era when Creole culture dominated her community, and she was mentioned in a folk story handed down over the generations.

Marie-Madeleine was born in the French fur trading outpost at Fort Vincennes on October 23, 1761. Her parents were Antoine Bordeleau and Marie-Catherine Caron, and she was one of ten children, only four of whom are known to have survived to adulthood.

Vincennes was a lively place when Marie-Madeleine was a girl, and the people there often gathered for traditional celebrations centered around holidays. As in New Orleans, the Tuesday before Lent was a time for wild behavior, and one of the events was a competition between marriageable girls that involved cooking skills. It was a contest to see who could flip the most crepes without dropping one, and the winner would have the honor of choosing which man she would like to marry.

The story was told to a writer who was compiling a book about Vincennes culture in the 1930s, and it was prefaced that it may not be “historically accurate,” but it was said that at the crepe-flipping contest in 1778, the girl who won beat out her “pretty” rival, Marie Bordeleau. Supposedly a woman who was a friend of the winning girl distracted Marie-Madeleine with conversation until she dropped one of her crepes, causing her to lose. 

Flipping a crepe. (AI-generated image)

Whether or not the story is true, Marie-Madeleine did find a husband the following year. It was an eventful time in Vincennes because the Americans under George Rogers Clark had attacked the fort in February, freeing the French settlers from British rule. Later that year, on July 9th, Marie-Madeleine married Jean-Baptiste Renaud dit Deslauriers at St. Francis Xavier Parish. Attending the service were her parents, her godfather, two uncles, and presumably many of the people in town. The wedding was conducted by Father Gibault, who served as priest for the entire Illinois Territory at that time. The priest hadn't visited Vincennes in many months, so it was the very first American wedding to be held there.

The date of Marie-Madeleine’s marriage and birth of her first child suggests that she was pregnant before she got married. Her first child, Genevieve, was born October 11, 1779, and was followed by eleven more, the youngest born in 1803.

Marie-Madeleine died on February 21, 1819 in Vincennes. Her husband survived her, and he died in 1834.

Children:
1. Genevieve Deslauriers — B. 11 Oct 1779, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. before Feb 1819, (probably) Vincennes, Indiana; M. Joseph Marion Edeline (1774-1819), 18 Feb 1799, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

2. Marie Desanges Deslauriers — B. 11 Jan 1782, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; M. Guillaume Tougas (1779-?), 6 Jul 1801, Vincennes, Indiana Territory

3. Archange Deslauriers — B. 22 Apr 1784, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

4. Jean-Baptiste Deslauriers — B. Feb 1786, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. Jul 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

5. Pierre Deslauriers — B. 13 Sep 1787, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. 2 Mar 1860, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Marie-Theotiste Ravellette (1795-?), 12 Nov 1813, Vincennes, Indiana Territory

6. Barbe Deslauriers — B. 2 Oct 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

7. Victoire Deslauriers — B. 11 Jul 1791, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory

8. Marie Anne Deslauriers — B. 1 Feb 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. François Mallet (1790-?), 14 Aug 1818, Vincennes, Indiana

9. Françoise Deslauriers — B. 1 Feb 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. Jun 1835, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Louis Lacoste dit Languedoc (1790-1838), 11 May 1816, Vincennes, Indiana

10. François Xavier Deslauriers — B. 13 Feb 1798, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. 8 May 1837, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Cecile Racine, 7 Aug 1820, Vincennes, Indiana

11. Adélaide Deslauriers — B. 20 Jan 1800, Vincennes, Northwest Territory, D. Jul 1829; M. François Racine, 26 Jul 1824, Vincennes, Indiana

12. Catherine Deslauriers — B. 22 Jul 1803, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; D. 2 Mar 1865, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Joseph Cardinal (1799-?), 14 Jul 1823, Vincennes, Indiana

Sources:
“Records of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier,” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 12, 1901
Creole (French) Pioneers at Old Post Vincennes, Joyce Doyle, Loy Followell, Elizabeth Kargacos, Bernice Mutchmore, and Paul R. King, 1930s
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Records: Baptisms 1749-1838, Barbara Schull Wolfe, 1999
A complete survey of cemetery records, Knox County, Indiana, collected and compiled by Mrs. Alta Amsler Bernice Mutchmore, and Paul R. King, 1930s
Indiana Births and Christenings, 1773-1933, FamilySearch.orgIndiana Church Marriages, 1780-1993, FamilySearch.org

Maid Servant in Colonial Massachusetts — Mary Blott

B. before 24 Dec 1609 in Harrold, Bedfordshire, England¹
M. 4 Mar 1635 in Roxbury, Massachusetts²
Husband: Thomas Woodford
D. before 27 May 1662 in (probably) Hartford, Connecticut³

During the Great Migration of the 1630s, thousands of Puritans left England to make a new life in the Massachusetts colony. Most of these people came as families, or were men traveling alone. But a few were single women, and such was the case with Mary Blott.

Mary came from the heart of England, baptized in the village of Harrold in Bedfordshire on December 24, 1609.¹ Her parents were Robert Blott and Susanna Selbee, and she was the oldest of their ten known children. The three who were boys all died young,⁴ so it was a female-dominated household. Mary’s youngest sister was still a baby when she left home.

Mary belonged to a Puritan family during a time when many were migrating to America. Most traveled over together, but Mary preceded her parents by a couple of years.³ We know this because her name turned up in the early records of Roxbury, Massachusetts as the “63rd member” of the church.³ She was described as “a maid servant,”³ which means she must have signed a contract committing to a length of service in the colony. Typically these contracts were for three years, which perfectly fits the timeline for when she arrived until she got married. While male servants would often receive land at the end of their service, women were only given food, clothing and lodging for the time they were servants. 

Working as a servant. (AI-generated image)

Mary’s new husband was Thomas Woodford, and their marriage took place on March 4, 1635 in Roxbury.² Thomas had also come over from England in 1632,⁴ and perhaps they were on the same ship. Mary’s parents and siblings migrated to the colony in about 1634,³ but while they stayed in the Boston area, Mary and her husband moved away to Hartford, Connecticut sometime before 1639.³ Mary gave birth to three known children, all daughters.

The Woodford family moved up the Connecticut River to Northampton, Massachusetts in about 1656,³ but it isn’t certain that Mary was still living. She was never mentioned in Northampton records or her husband’s will dated May 27, 1662,³ and it’s thought that she died in Hartford during the 1650s. Mary had some very notable descendants, including Princess Diana, Prince William, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Bess Truman, Humphrey Bogart, John Lithgow, Glenn Close, Katharine Hepburn, Helen Hunt, Matt Damon, Ethan Allen, Nathan Hale and J.P Morgan.⁵

Children:
1. Mary Woodford — B. about 1636, Roxbury, Massachusetts;⁴ D. 17 Apr 1684, Northampton, Massachusetts;⁶ M. Isaac Sheldon (1629-1708), about 1653, Hartford, Connecticut⁷

2. Hannah Woodford — B. about 1642, Hartford, Connecticut;⁴ M. Samuel Allen (1634-1719), 29 Nov 1659, Northampton, Massachusetts⁴

3. Sarah Woodford — B. before 2 Sep 1649, Hartford, Connecticut;⁴ M.(1) Nehemiah Allen (~1636-1684), 21 Sept 1664, Northampton, Massachusetts;⁴ (2) Richard Burke (1649-1689), 1 Sep 1687, Northampton, Massachusetts;⁸ (3) Judah Wright (1642-1725), 11 Jul 1706, Northampton, Massachusetts⁹

Sources:
1    Christening record of Mary Blott, England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, FamilySearch.org
2    Marriage record of Thomas Woodford and Mary Blott, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Ancestry.com
3    Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Robert Charles Anderson, 1995
4    The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Robert Charles Anderson, 1999
5    FamousKin.com listing of Thomas Woodford
6    Sheldons in America (website)
7    “Isaac Sheldon of Windsor, Conn.,” NEHGR, V. 117, Charlotte Alling Hunt, Apr 1963
8    Marriage record of Richard Burke and Sarah Allen, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
9    Marriage record of Judah Wright and Sarah Burke, M., T. C., V. & T. R.

Mariner in Early 18th Century Boston — David Franklin

B. 6 May 1692 in Haverhill, Massachusetts¹
M. 18 Jun 1713 in Boston Massachusetts²
Wife: Elizabeth Ayers
D. before 11 Sep 1739 in (probably) Boston, Massachusetts³

During the first few decades of the 18th century, Boston was one of the most important ports in the English colonies. And its location made it a base of supplies for military efforts against the French in and around Maine, as well as an entry point to New England for goods in general. For David Franklin, this was an opportunity to make a living for himself and his family.

David was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on May 6, 1692 to Jonathan and Sarah Franklin,¹ the youngest of three sons. Haverhill was on the border with New Hampshire, then considered a frontier, and sometimes a dangerous place. When David was a baby, an Indian raid took the life of his father.⁴ His mother remarried a year later on August 30, 1694 to a man named John Field of Boston.⁵ From there, the records don’t say if the family remained in Haverhill or moved south to the Boston area, but it seems likely they relocated to the safer location, and David did end up in Boston as an adult.

A document dated June 8, 1708 reveals a few details of David’s circumstances at age 16.⁶ It’s a letter of guardianship, signed by David saying that he chose his “honored uncle, John Smith of Roxbury” as the person who would look after him until he reached a legal age. Roxbury was just south of Boston, so this places David at least in the area. And the fact this was a guardianship meant that his mother was deceased. 

Document showing John Smith of Roxbury as David's uncle.

But who was John Smith? Besides having the most common name in Anglo-America, he was also living in a densely populated area. It’s been assumed that he was the brother of David’s mother Sarah (making her last name Smith), but this is far from a proven fact. John Smith of Roxbury did write a will dated November 21, 1728 which names David and his brothers as heirs.⁷ This might mean he was indeed the brother of their mother, and in looking at family records, we find that he had a sister named Sarah.⁸ But at the time of John and Sarah’s father’s will in 1695, she was clearly not married to anyone named Franklin,⁸ so the mystery remains

What is certain is that on June 18, 1713, David got married.² His bride was Elizabeth Ayers of Boston, and the wedding was officiated by Reverend Benjamin Colman. Reverend Colman was a prominent minister in Boston, said to be greatly influenced by “Cotton Mather and Ezekiel Cheever.”⁹ He was associated with the Brattle Street Church at the time David got married, so this may be where the wedding took place. We know that David later had a pew at the Old South Meeting House,³ and one source says that “in 1711, when the Old South Church meeting-house was destroyed in the Great Fire of Boston, it was with Brattle Street Church that they gathered for worship until May 1713.”¹⁰ The church was a “plain unpainted meeting-house” at the time David and Elizabeth would have been married there.

Where did David live during this time? Several sources say he was a sailor from Hull,¹¹ a small town located at the tip of a narrow peninsula marking the entrance to Boston Harbor. The main reason for anyone to live there was to use it as a place for boats to land, and people made a living by fishing, transporting goods, and repairing ships. David’s connection to this place makes a lot of sense — it would seem he may have lived here (or kept his boat here) until he could acquire property in Boston. Meanwhile, he and Elizabeth started a family in 1714, with a total of 8 children born to them by 1735. All were recorded as being born in Boston, so perhaps he kept his boat in Hull and had a house in Boston at the same time.

During these years, Boston harbor was a busy place, and one of the main activities was to run supplies up the coast for English military forces dealing with the French.¹² A series of wars took place in the first couple of decades of the 18th century, with French using Indian allies to harass and raid any English settlers they felt were encroaching on their territory. The English in turn felt the French were making false claims on Maine, which was then part of Massachusetts. The conflict flared up from 1722 to 1725 in what became known as “Dummer’s War,” named for the governor of Massachusetts. As troops from England and New England carried out military activities in Maine, small ships based in Boston delivered basic supplies to the men — food, ammunition, and other goods.

David was known to have been a part of this effort. A record dated November 15, 1725 shows that he was the captain of a sloop called George, and commanded four seamen who worked for him.¹³ A sloop was a single-masted sailboat, generally with one sail in front of the mast and one behind. The simple design meant that it took fewer sailors to handle, but the size was limited, and David’s sloop weighed 60 tons. George was also said to be was armed with four guns;¹³ whether or not this was used during David’s ownership isn’t known, though he was sailing into a war zone. 

Operating a sloop in Boston. (AI-generated image)

Around this time, David had both his home and boat in Boston. On June 26, 1726, he purchased property on the waterfront that included “beach and flats,” plus a small wharf that was shared with someone else.¹⁴ The lot was described as being on “Sea Street,” which is an archaic designation believed to be Federal Street. The exact location is today no longer at water’s edge because Boston’s coastline has been completely transformed by landfill over the years. The records also show he deeded the property to another man less than two years later,¹⁴ but later records show him with the same or similar property.¹⁴

Boston newspapers offer a glimpse into David’s travels as a mariner. Each day the paper would report on the comings and goings in the Boston customs house, and David was mentioned at least 19 times.¹⁵ Between the years 1729 and 1733, he took his ship to such places as North Carolina, Virginia, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland; there was even a trip to Antigua in the Caribbean. In 1734, David seems to also have acquired a license to operate a tavern.¹⁴ Whether he put this to use or not isn’t known. It’s easy to imagine that he used the location of his residence to start this sort of business. 

Map showing places David traveled.

One of the dangers of raising a family on a busy waterfront was shown on May 11, 1739 when one of David’s children died in the harbor. The May 14th edition of the Boston Post reported it this way, “Last Friday, a little boy, son of Capt. David Franklin, was drowned near a wharf at the South End.”¹⁶ It isn’t certain if this was one of David’s known children, which would have to be William age 12. The death notice seems to suggest it was a much younger child; perhaps it’s one that’s missing from records.

David didn’t live very long after that event. Sometime before September 11th, he passed away of an unknown cause.³ He died intestate and this produced an extensive probate file. His estate inventory included his pew at Old South Meeting House valued at £12, as well as “a house, land, old wharf and barn.”³ David’s wife Elizabeth remarried in 1742.¹⁴ Information about David’s children is incomplete. We do know that his son John followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a mariner. By virtue of working on ships, he would wind up in Virginia and North Carolina,¹¹ bringing a massive amount of descendants into a different part of the American story.

Children:
1. Elizabeth Franklin — B. 15 Jun 1714, Boston Massachusetts;¹⁷ M. Samuel Wiswell (1700-?), 17 Oct 1733, Dorchester, Massachusetts¹⁸

2. Anna Franklin — B. 18 Sep 1715, Boston Massachusetts;¹⁹ M. Benjamin Hart (1715-?), 18 Sep 1735, Boston, Massachusetts²⁰

3. David Franklin — B. 24 May 1719, Boston Massachusetts²¹

4. Jonathan Franklin — B. 21 Jan 1721, Boston Massachusetts;²² D. before 24 Oct 1734, (probably) Boston Massachusetts²³

5. John Franklin — B. 6 May 1725, Boston Massachusetts;²⁴ D. before 2 Jun 1729, (probably) Boston Massachusetts²⁶

6. William Franklin — B. 7 Feb 1727, Boston Massachusetts¹¹

7. John Franklin — B. 2 Jun 1729, Boston Massachusetts;²⁵ D. about 1818, Burke County, North Carolina;¹¹ M. Phoebe ______ (~1735-1820), about 1759, (probably) Hardy County, (West) Virginia¹¹

8. Jonathan Franklin — B. 24 Oct 1734, Boston Massachusetts²³

Sources:
1    Birth record of David Franklin, Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, FamilySearch.org
2    Marriage record of David Franklin and Elizabeth Ayers, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
3    Probate file of David Franklin, Massachusetts, Probate Records, 1636-1899, FamilySearch.org
4    The History of Haverhill From Its First Settlement in 1640 To The Year 1860, George Wingate Chase, 1861, p. 165
5    Marriage record of John Field and Sarah Franklin, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
6    David Franklin guardian bond, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Probate and Family Court Records, FamilySearch.org
7    Probate file of John Smith of Roxbury, M., P. R.
8    WikiTree listing of John Smith (bef. 1623 - bef. 1695)
9    Benjamin Colman Papers, 1641-1806, Massachusetts Historical Society
10  “This House which I have built: The Foundation of the Brattle Street Church in Boston and Transformations in Colonial Congregationalism,” Cara Elliot, The Gettysburg Historical Journal, V. 10, 2011
11  “A Mystery Story: The Case Of the Origins of John Franklin, Sr. (1729-1819) of Burke County, North Carolina,” Franklin Family Researchers, V. 6, 1993, p. 18
12  “Genealogical: Published Every Monday and Wednesday,” Boston Evening Transcript, 5 Jun 1905
13  Muster roll of ship George, Massachusetts Archive, V. 91, pp.199-200
14  Inhabitants and estates of the town of Boston, 1630-1800, Annie Haven Thwing, 2001
15  Various editions of The Boston Gazette and The Boston Weekly Newsletter, 1729-1733
16  Death notice in The Boston Post, 14 May 1739
17  Birth record of Elizabeth Franklin, M., B. & C.
18  Marriage record of Samuel Wiswell and Elizabeth Franklin, Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850, Ancestry.com
19  Birth record of Anna Franklin, M., B. & C.
20  Marriage record of Benjamin Hart and Anna Franklin, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
21  Birth record of David Franklin (younger), M., B. & C.
22  Birth record of Jonathan Franklin (older), M., B. & C.
23  Birth record of Jonathan Franklin (younger), M., B. & C.
24  Birth record of John Franklin (older), M., T. C., V. & T. R.
25  Birth record of John Franklin (younger), M., T. C., V. & T. R.