When a museum in Deerfield, Mass., offered these daylilies for sale years ago, I knew right away that I had to have them. A brief history lesson will explain why, if you have patience. Trust me. All will be made clear.
In 1691, John and Dorothy Stebbins of Deerfield had a daughter, whom they named Thankful. Thirteen years later, Thankful Stebbins, her five siblings and their parents were among many Deerfield residents who were captured in a predawn French and Indian raid on their tiny settlement. They were marched to New France (Canada) in the dead of winter.
Amazingly, the entire Stebbins family survived that journey. John, Dorothy, and their son John were later “redeemed,” and returned to Deerfield. The other five children remained in Canada, although one of them, Samuel, eventually returned to Deerfield as well.
The Stebbins children who stayed behind in New France included Thankful, who was ransomed from her Indian captors by the Canadian-born Joseph François Hertel. Raised in a Puritan family on the New England frontier, Thankful became a Catholic and a French citizen as a teenager. Renamed Louise Thérèse, she married a French Canadian, Charles Adrien Legrain dit Lavallée, in 1711. Over time, she may well have forgotten how to speak English. Thankful (Marie Thérèse) had 11 children during her short life, which came to a tragic end when she died during childbirth in 1729. She was 37 years old.
"Hey," you ask. "What does all this have to do with the flowers in the photo?"
The bulbs were marketed by the Historic Deerfield museum as Thankful Stebbins daylilies. Thanks to her marriage into a Canadian family, Thankful Stebbins is my 8th generation grandmother. And the man who ransomed Thankful after she arrived in New France, Joseph François Hertel? His son, Jean Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, is my 9th generation cousin. It was Jean Baptiste Hertel de Rouville who led the 1704 French and Indian raid in which Thankful and her family were taken captive.
So, my Frecnh-speaking cousin kidnapped the English-speaking child who would later become my direct ancestor. Soap operas predate television.
Every summer for many years, the Thankful Stebbins daylilies bloomed in our backyard. They are gone now, but they live on in my mind, a reminder of my tangled roots in Puritan New England and Catholic New France.
In 1691, John and Dorothy Stebbins of Deerfield had a daughter, whom they named Thankful. Thirteen years later, Thankful Stebbins, her five siblings and their parents were among many Deerfield residents who were captured in a predawn French and Indian raid on their tiny settlement. They were marched to New France (Canada) in the dead of winter.
Amazingly, the entire Stebbins family survived that journey. John, Dorothy, and their son John were later “redeemed,” and returned to Deerfield. The other five children remained in Canada, although one of them, Samuel, eventually returned to Deerfield as well.
The Stebbins children who stayed behind in New France included Thankful, who was ransomed from her Indian captors by the Canadian-born Joseph François Hertel. Raised in a Puritan family on the New England frontier, Thankful became a Catholic and a French citizen as a teenager. Renamed Louise Thérèse, she married a French Canadian, Charles Adrien Legrain dit Lavallée, in 1711. Over time, she may well have forgotten how to speak English. Thankful (Marie Thérèse) had 11 children during her short life, which came to a tragic end when she died during childbirth in 1729. She was 37 years old.
"Hey," you ask. "What does all this have to do with the flowers in the photo?"
The bulbs were marketed by the Historic Deerfield museum as Thankful Stebbins daylilies. Thanks to her marriage into a Canadian family, Thankful Stebbins is my 8th generation grandmother. And the man who ransomed Thankful after she arrived in New France, Joseph François Hertel? His son, Jean Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, is my 9th generation cousin. It was Jean Baptiste Hertel de Rouville who led the 1704 French and Indian raid in which Thankful and her family were taken captive.
So, my Frecnh-speaking cousin kidnapped the English-speaking child who would later become my direct ancestor. Soap operas predate television.
Every summer for many years, the Thankful Stebbins daylilies bloomed in our backyard. They are gone now, but they live on in my mind, a reminder of my tangled roots in Puritan New England and Catholic New France.
Very interesting! Just reading The Deerfield Massacre— fascinating since some of my relatives were Deerfield residents.
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