Strong Roots: Felicite Constant

 

This is my (our) great, great, great grandmother, Felicite Constant Motier, who was born in 1783 in the Louisiana Territory and died in 1873 in Davenport, Iowa.  

This is a photo taken of her in 1871 when she was almost 90 and gave an interview about her early life as a settler in the Louisiana Territory. 

At the time of the photo, she was living in Davenport with her son, Joseph and his wife Mary, as well as several of their children, including my dad’s grandmother, Eleanor Motier Keating (who was 2 years old in 1871).  

Here is the text that goes with the photograph: 

“An economic depression in the East had caused heavy immigration into

the former territor of Haute-Louisiane (Missouri), newly acquired from

France. The new settlements had pushed farther and farther into the

ancestral bunting grounds of the Indians, thus provoking their uprisings

and retaliatory raids. At Portage des Sioux, the Indians told the French

men and women that their lives would be spared if they identified them-

selves by tying a bandana around their heads. When she posed for her

photograph in 1871 at 91 years of age Felicité Motier wanted to wear the

bandana which saved her life and that of the other members of her

family.”

 

The photo and narrative can be found in a calendar about the French in America, Felicite was featured in a calendar from 1990. http://www.johnfishersr.net/images_fia/fia1990mar.jpg. 

(I am guessing the photo was originally from a historical society in Davenport, but I cannot find out exactly where it originated–although I am trying!)

This is an amazing photo on many levels.  First of all, it’s unusual to have a photograph of an ancestor from 1871.  Photography was invented in 1839, but its use was restricted to wealthy people or officials.  

It’s quite special that we have a photo of a female ancestor from this time period.  Second, Felicite was almost 90 when the photo was taken.  That is old by today’s standards, but for her time, it was extraordinary.  

When she was born in 1783, the average life expectancy was about 40.  She was approaching 90 and functioning well enough to be able to tell a narrative–she must have been a colorful character in Davenport! 

Felicite must have been viewed as special for living to such an old age and, from the sounds of it, she told stories of her youth that people found fascinating.  One of her grandsons, Joseph Hebert, who lived in Chicago in 1919 

documented stories of her life including a one-page write up that I have a copy of and can post later. (I can find Hebert on our family tree, he is the grandson of one of Joseph’s younger sisters.)

 

I wanted to delve a little deeper into Felicite’s early life to have more context around her tale. For the historical background, I am using three history books that my dad acquired over the years. 

They are included at the end of this entry. but they all focus on the French settlements around the Mississippi river in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Felicite was born in a small agricultural town called Carondolet, located on the West side of the Mississippi River outside of St. Louis.  This area surrounding the Mississippi was rich in agricultural potential and French settlers 

had been farming there for several decades. Felicite’s family was part of the groups of French settlers who farmed throughout the Louisiana Territory (also sometimes called the Illinois Country).  When Felicite was born, 

this area of the Louisiana Territory (land west of the MIssissippi) was under Spanish control; the British had the section East of the Mississippi.  Around 1800, Napoleon re-claimed the Spanish area for France and it was bought 

by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Felicite almost surely spoke French and she and her family were Catholic.  As far as their loyalties to a nation or awareness of these political shifts,

I am guessing those kinds of abstract ideas were not terribly important to their day-to-day life and existence as farmers.

 

The French farmed in a French style that used long lots of arable lands divided into communal and individual lots.  Felicite’s family would most likely have grown corn, wheat, and oats.  They would have also had livestock and their 

own kitchen garden for vegetables.  According to historian Carl Ekberg in his book French Roots in the Illinois Country, Carondolet was given the nickname "Vide Poche (Empty pocket)" ( p. 156) because of the poverty of its inhabitants.  

I think we can all agree it's not great to be from an agricultural community known as the empty pocket! Felicite and her family worked hard to farm and make enough food to support their family and community.

At some point, Felicite moved to Portage de Sioux, another farming community slightly north of Carondolet.  That is where the bandanna incident took place and also where she likely met her husband and raised her family (she had about 8 children,

It's hard to be more precise because records are hard to locate and a few babies died as infants and sometimes names were re-used).

Here is a map showing where Felicite moved in her life, she really moved along the Mississippi River, as my dad said, the river was the road:

 

 

There is no way to pinpoint a specific incident that Felicite was remembering.  In general, French settlers got along better with the indigenous peoples than the British settlers did.  So, her family being warned in advance of a conflict makes sense.  

Felicite’s experience reflects the deep tensions involved with European settlers encroaching on the land of the native inhabitants.  Stories like hers happened throughout North America as the United States expanded.

Felicite married another French settler named Francois Motier dit Mocquet sometime around 1805.  Their first child, Mary Elizabeth "Marie" was born in 1807.  Felicite and Francois had many children, our direct ancestor, Joseph Francis, was born in 1818.

Around 1840, Felicite and many of her children moved north up the Mississippi to the Davenport, Iowa area. Her husband, Francois, had died in 1828, but it seems the rest of the family stayed in Portage de Sioux for a decade or so after his death.  

Using census records, we can start seeing Joseph in Iowa by the 1830s.  In her older years, Felicite is living with Joseph and his family in Davenport and giving colorful interviews from the sounds of it! 

(Once the family is in Iowa, they seem to be using the last name Motie, not Motier. We are not sure why that is, perhaps because the letter r was never pronounced).

In addition to the photograph taken of Felicite, she was painted by a portraitist of the time named Homer Henderson (he also did a famous painting of Black Hawk).  There are copies of the painting on ancestry.com, but I do not know where the actual 

painting is today or if it still exists.  My dad thought some Motier cousins had it, but we do not know.

 

Felicite died in 1873, here is her obituary from the Daily Davenport Democrat on May 21, 1873.

 *My sister noted that the obituary states Felicite lived with her daughter at the time of her death, but I'd earlier said she lived with her son, Joseph. 

I also noticed that inconsistency in the obituary, but had a few thoughts. First, in the 1870 Census, Felicite is listed as living with Joseph and his wife Mary. But, Felicite did have other children in the area, including a daughter. Did she move to the daughter's house or did she move back and forth between the two houses? I don't know. Another possibility is that the writer mistakenly called her daughter-in-law, Mary, her daughter.

 

In any case, that is a quick overview of our ancestor Felicite Constant Motier (or Motie).  I think we all are a bit stronger and spunkier thanks to the small bits of her DNA we have inherited.

_***

Sources:

Ekberg, Carl J. Colonial Ste. Genevieve: An Adventure on the Mississippi Frontier. The Patrice Press: 1985.

Ekberg, Carl J. French Roots in the Illinois Country: The Mississippi Frontier in Colonial Times. University of Illinois Press: 1998.

Stepenoff, Bonnie. From French Community to MIssouri Town: Ste. Genevieve in the Nineteenth Century. University of Missouri Press: 2006.