| Notes |
- The following was written by Marie Pattison for her son:
March 17, 1952
To my son Frank Paul Mouchet who asked for it.
I have to go out but before I do I am going to write a few words here and start doing what I have wanted to do for years, jot down a few things that have happened to me and which may make either entertaining reading for my children and grandchildren after I am gone, or lull them to sleep which after all is very useful too.
I will start by trying to remember as well as I can what I have been told about our ancestors. My grandparents (paternal) had a family tree, but I do not know what happened to it after they died. (I have just remembered. Some member of the family was coming to America and had been fascinated by the family tree. He found the house where my great-grandparents had lived, at Philadelphia and where my grandmother had been born and lived. Afterwards my grandmother discovered the family tree had disappeared forever.) When Frank was here last fall, he suggested that I do so and I had the impression that he would be interested.
On my mother's side
Scene Assembleé Nationale, Paris, France - French Revolution:
To this assembly all the titled nobles were not convened, but ordered to go; they were given the choice to either renounce their titles or to be beheaded. Some proudly refused and were guillotined. Others preferred to live as plain citizens. An ancestor of mother's, on my mother's side was a count and chose to keep his head. 'Till I grew up and became more practical I despised him and to me it was a blot, a skeleton in the family's cupboard; but after all if he had not kept he head (physically as well as mentally) I would not be writing this.
The only proofs I have of this are the following:
As a child I heard my mother and her sister talk about it several times. My second cousin Anna Desjardins had all the proofs and family papers and had loaned them to my mother to apply for a "Bureau de tabac" which the French government gave as a pension to reward officer's widows or others whose husband or family had either rendered some important service or shown proof of unusual loyalty to the French Republic. They really were tobacco shops, some smaller some worth a fortune on the Grands Boulevards in Paris; they could be leased or the recipient could run it herself. Your grandmother Mouchet had one in Brittany; I believe and leased it as they lived in Paris. The government has full supervision over tobacco in all shapes and it was said that if you planted one plant, it must be reported to the authorities and was under surveillance all the time. There was a heavy tax on tobacco, salt, matches and I believe sugar. It was a current joke to say that was the reason the quality of those above mentioned commodities was so poor, the government was overseer.
To come back to "nos moutons." My mother did not obtain a "bureau de tabac" and returned the papers to her first cousin Anna Desjardins.
As a small child and as long as I lived in Paris I saw part of the china set on the walls of our dining room. It was ivory, with lovely blue designs and in the middle of each plate was a crown of count. My mother told me that the whole set had come down to her mother and on the death of their parents the three surviving daughters had divided the table china set and silverware. The latter supposed to be pure silver was so heavy and impractical that each girl had sold her share and so many pieces of the table chinaware had been broken or sold that my mother was the only one who had a few pieces left. I have written to my sister to know what had become of them but never received any answer to this question.
By the way, after that memorable session of the National Assembly, our ancestors took the name of Lecomte; no one seemed to object. My mother's maiden name was Lecomte. That was your great-grandmother and George's children's great-great-grandmother.
Note, on June 20, 1789, after the French people's revolt asking for suppressions of all abuses, abolition of feudal rights and privileges and requesting political freedom, the elected representatives which met on the above date. The representatives declared themselves the "Assembleé Nationale" and sat in constant sessions. At one of those your noble (?) ancestor was summoned with many other nobles. Either he was an enlightened man or a very cowardly one; take your choice. He kept his head and lived without a title of plain citizen and so we were born and lived too. When I was a little girl, about 6 years old, as far as I can remember, my father and mother and myself went to visit my mother's "soeur de lait" milk sister whose mother had nursed both babies her own and my mother till the latter was weaned. I remember that she and her husband lived on a farm. It was either at Brie or Brie Comte Robert I am not sure of the name, but it was not far from Paris. I stayed awake all night because it was so quiet. I could not sleep and I heard a rooster crow and suddenly I did not want to sleep because I loved it and did not wish to miss any of it. I heard heavenly church bells early the first morning. My mother's "soeur de lait" took me for walks and she told me that my grandfather (he really was my mother's and my own great-grandfather) was or rather had been a doctor and that as long as I lived I must never forget that I had every reason to be proud of him; he was a saint and no one had ever called on him in vain. At all hours, day and night, he was ready to get in his carriage through all kinds of weather to go and take care of people as long as he lived.
Odd as it may seem, I have never forgotten and for the first time I notice that she did not mention his wife of whom I know nothing.
A few years afterwards my mother gave me his seals and weights and told me he used them to mix his own medicines or rather prescriptions. Some were tiny, as thin as paper, small squares of copper of different sizes to weigh poison, she told me, and explained that a doctor had some to treat and cure his patients.
Another time Maman told me that when she was born the grandfather Docteur was there and she was so tiny that he placed her in a shoebox.
My mother was born in Lousaine where the purest of French was spoken with the purest accent and she had an old book she gave me; it was most fascinating, all about the castles of Lousaine. Her father was very well educated and had been tutor of some counts' sons and my mother knew the castle like she did her own home, but I have forgotten the name. She showed it to me in that book. Her parents who received an excellent education had three daughters also well educated and later in life opened a boarding school for young women of good families and young foreigners ditto. My grandparents on my father's side lived in London at the time and sent their daughter, tante Marthe, to France to "be finished" as well as to learn the best French. She loved and admired Mr. and Mrs. Labbé and their oldest daughter Marie. The two girls, by some strange quirk of nature were fair with blue eyes, had a pretty complexion and looked enough alike to be sisters.
My mother who was very kind hated parrots with a fierce and to me incomprehensible hatred. When we passed a pet shop and saw one, she became quite upset. One day I asked her the reason and she told me that when she was a girl at that boarding school of her parents, they had bought one. She was fond of it and one day while she was talking to it, she put her face close to the cage and the bird nearly bit her nose off. In my childish imagination I saw the scene. This must be why I always thought their eyes and beak looked cruel and malevolent.
When my grandparents Labbé died, the three daughters became heads of the boarding school, but they were young, close to Paris and on holidays would go to the city to buy their new clothes, of which the town gossips did not approve. Once they went to Paris to buy their Easter hats and veils. One Sunday the priest of the parish preached about young girls going to wicked Paris and coming back the next day not only with fashionable new hats, but veils! The three sisters decided to sell the school and separate. My mother went to Paris, opened another boarding school in the suburbs to which the Misses Marthe and Lucie Pattison went. Their brother came from London to visit them, was introduced to pretty Marie Labbé, fell in love with her, would not take her numerous no's for an answer and to her great surprise, my pretty little mother married my good-looking father. One of her sisters decided to marry a lawyer and both were married the same day at a double wedding ceremony.
My parents had four children:
William Thomas born in 1875 or 1876. As far as I can remember he was a year or 13 months older than I.
Marie Anna Emilie Honorine, your mother (myself).
Marthe Marie 2 or 3 years younger than I.
Jeanne Marie Louise about 5 years younger than me.
William and myself looked remarkably alike. He was a big healthy baby. He caught croup which I believe was diphtheria and died at between 18 to 22 months.
Little Marthe was a smaller baby; there was an epidemic of meningitis which she caught and died of.
After their marriage my parents settled in Paris, another Pattison girl, the oldest, Sarah, came to Paris and married a well to do lawyer.
The war of 1870 caught them in Paris which they could not leave and were there during the terrible siege de Paris by the Germans. The invasion was followed by the most awful and bloody civil war. People lived behind shutters not daring to show themselves. My mother was not married at the time and never mentioned those horrible days. My grandparents Pattison sent hampers of food by balloons to their daughters who lived at the lawyer's, their son-in-law. My aunt Lucy told me that he was very shrewd, had seen what was coming and filled up his cellars with foods of all kind. I believe I told you about Aunt Lucy's encounter with the German Army when they entered Paris. I may write about it later. Everything comes to an end and peace came and my father's parents decided to leave London and make a new home in Paris where by now all their children lived.
My grandmother Isabelle Greene was an American born Quaker. Her parents lived in Philadelphia and I am very sorry I never inquired about the dates of their birth. (inserted text: Grandfather Thomas Pattison born in 1802, Grandmother Isabella Green born in 1821-your great great grandparents.)
My great grandfather was a wealthy cloth merchant. He and his wife lived in a large house there and were sincere Quakers. I think my grandmother told me that her mother died when she was fourteen and she kept house for her father until she was about 24 or more when he died. Every year he went to England and Ireland to buy cloth, the very best, and when his daughter was old enough she shared those trips by sailboats. Great grandpa Greene relaxed en route and Grandma packed trunks with worldly clothes, even ball dresses. She told me that one trip was especially rough and tough and they were shipwrecked not far from an island (I forget the name). They were saved and luckily there was a British Consul there. The luggage of course was lost but Isabel went back to the beach to find a trunk of hers dancing merrily on the waves and while she watched breathlessly a huge wave cast it up on the sand. It was waterproof and when the Counsul gave a ball for them before their departure, she was the only one wearing her own ball dress and was easily the belle of the ball. I was quite startled when Granny told me it was the best trip of all! Young and a pretty new dress! No, people have not changed much at heart.
My grandmother, after her father's death, became his wealthy heiress. Unfortunately, being a Quaker, he had made a will in her favor but a trusty friend, also a Quaker, disappeared with all cash of which he alone knew of and could not be traced, so Isabel Greene inherited the house and all furnishings and the money left in the house for current expenses. She wrote a very well to do relation cousin who lived in Ireland and following her advice sold everything and went to live with her. She met Thomas Stanus Pattison who was a civil engineer at the time and they were married. T.S. Pattison was outstanding in his profession and later on had an offer to manage the enormous estate of a wealthy landowner. Of this marriage several children were born. Those who lived and which I knew were:
Sarah (oldest) married the lawyer Mr. Hurel.
Marthe - never married.
Lucie - never married
Isabelle married Paul d' Hennin
Thomas Stanus, my father, married Marie Anna Labbé.
When my grandfather retired with a handsome pension he took his family to London where they made their home till they moved to Paris. I was quite small, but I remember that they had a large corner apartment with a balcony. Avenue de al Grande Armie which at that time was very fashionable. I remember visiting them and as I had not brought my doll with me she made one with the little fireside broom. She used to bounce me on her knee saying "Ride a cock horse to Brandbury Cross." I remember that on one occasion we went to wish them good-bye. We were going to the seaside. As we reached the street, waiting for the fiacre (cab) we looked up and waved at them. I felt "funny"; we got in the cab and I became violently sick to my father's great disgust. He asked Maman if I always had to do that to which she replied that I was very sensitive and became upset. (Tableau de famille.)
One day one bell rang and Maman opened the door to a cousin who was crying and saying that grandfather was dying. Then I remember the day of the funeral and someone lifting me to place a bunch of violets, his favorite flowers, near his hands. The place was dark and I had to keep quiet because grandfather was sleeping. I was five years of age and he was eighty. He must have been born in 1802. It is very odd that I do not remember him at all nor ever seeing him alive. I remember the others at that time. My mother loved him and he was very fond of her. He was peaceful and gentle, but once or twice he had become very angry. My mother said it was a "sainte colire" holy anger. They were both poets. He had a small book of verse published and when I was grownup my aunts showed it to me and one was "to my granddaughter." I was to have it but I came to America and forgot about it. I guess I am very sorry.
Previous known addresses:
185 Faubourg Poisonnniére
Lived in Spokane from Sept. 1907 - Aug 13, 1911 at:
1023 Heroy St.
1625 Water St.
1404 Helena St.
Libby Montana from Aug 13, 1911 - 1913
Kellogg Idaho from 1913 - June 1916
Clarkston Washington from July 1916 - June 1921
25 Cottage Grove, Wallace, Idaho from June 1921 - October 1926
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Our Family History
1877 - 1964 (86 years)
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