This letter is courtesy of Fran and Phil Amoureux, and the transcription courtesy of Betty O'Bryan and Carol Rogers - thank you all!  Please click on the thumbnails for larger versions.

France 1826  - Mathurin Michel Amoureux letter to cousin

Mathurin Michel Amoureux was born in 1747in Bourgneuf, France.  In November 1782 he married Perrine Janvier.  By 1785 he was a prominent merchant in L’Orient and a member of the mercantile firm of Amoureux & Champigny.  In 1792 during the event of the revolution he came to America, with his 14 year old daughter.  Arriving in Philadelphia, he began seeking a permanent residence.  For a time he toyed with the idea of establishing a vineyard near Washington, and communicated with Ferdinand Fairfax regarding a proper location.  Two years later, his wife and two sons ages 9 and 10 joined them.  From Philadelphia the family moved to Kentucky, where another son, Benjamin was born in 1797.  Here they farmed 24 acres near Frankfort, through 1802.  In May 1803 in route toward New Orleans he stopped at New Madrid, Mo., due to illness; here he farmed 240 acres until 1812.  In 1813 the family relocated in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.  This letter was written in early 1826 by Mathurin Michel Amoureux age 79, to his cousin Jean Cormier IV, in Nantes, France.  It was the last letter he wrote to his cousin.  He died 6 years later in April of 1832 at the age of 84, leaving Perriene a widow at the age of 64.  The original letter, was copied and sent to Salt Lake City Utah to Dennis & Marilyn Fleming, late summer of 1998 by Xavier Vilman, 5th Great Grandson of Jean Cormier.

Feb. 1826, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

My dear friend,

            I received your letter with great pleasure by way of Mr. Rosier.  I learned from you’re friendly letter for the 30^th of last August, that you have become a grandfather, and that you are in good health, a t least reasonably enough to hope for in this life.  I believe that Mr. Rosier did say to his Uncle and to others that we are living honorable and though we are poor, are living a life of honest people.  Yes, poor, my friend… that is what we truly are.  If we cease from work for one day we will fall into distress and need.  People of comfort can easily talk about being at ease and relaxing, but if we were comfortable my aging and unhealthy wife,, subject to rheumatism would be a domestic wife.  But due to our situation we’re not permitted to do this because of our needs.  I am basically obligated to do all of the housework.  To cook, to clean, to wash our clothes, in fact to work from morning until night.  If we were people of comfort and ease my two sons, Joseph and Benjamin wouldn’t be obligated to work as constantly and as diligently, and could participate in other occupations and things toward their liking.  If we were people of ease, my daughter, Mary Virginia would not have to teach school 150 miles away from us and would be able to help and console her mother.  If we were people of comfort at my age and with my infirmities I would not be obligated to employ my positive time to working, doing things I didn’t enjoy to support the family.  My two sons, Joseph and Benjamin are occupied at this moment in precarious employment, which they’re dependent upon momentary needs of _____ ______, and these needs could cease at any moment.

            I no longer am afforded peace.  I miss it, and this just doesn’t stop here, given the pain and disagreement of employment.  There you have it my friend, the true picture of the situation of family, that which could suddenly become much worse.  It just so happens that our way of life allows us pride and confidence in being honest people.  That which is something of great satisfaction and somewhat of a consolation.  People who live in fertile countries in production and different occupations, people who are laborers can not imagine the distress that we suffer from in this country, in relation to what is necessary, even to an animals existence.  Seven-eights of the people are more at ease, and live sometimes on bread and corn. Sometimes they don’t even have that.  People more at ease consume a lot of the meat and other things and in doing so take it in large portions, not only for themselves but also for their slaves.

            In relation to us, we rarely eat any meat, only when we have to make shoes of the pieces of the goat or other wild animals.  Our food is ordinary bread and milk, and other fruits and vegetables of the season that come from our garden, that which we cultivate.  Joseph and Benjamin are obligated to cultivate the garden and work from morning till the sun goes down, and the night after without sleeping.  It is necessary to cover ones body and my childrens.

            I am convinced that with half of what we are obligated to spend and half of the work that we do, we could live in France and have an average life, with more satisfaction and a lot more comfort, than our lives here.  In relation to where we are living here, the people are ignorant of the arts and things that are agreeable to me.  Even their agriculture, their recreation, their way of life and that which they drink.  How they spend the majority of the night, playing cards, being their preference.  It is a game of chance.  In relation to when I came here 14 years ago, they could lose each night anywhere from $100.00 to $400.00, and that among friends and parents.  I became leery of this manner of amusement and now play with them only moderately.  I do not amuse myself with them.  Never the less they still spend the night playing this game of chance, even thought it’s obvious to both their health and their business affairs.  Iron workers, carpenters, etc., mix together and become like rats of the church.  From time to time they’re at the balls, where the youngest people dance and they joke and drink as much as they can.  They put on a semblance of wealth at these balls, especially the women.  There are about 100 families in this community and there’s about 12 who could say they are at ease, and even less who could pay their debts.

            You see my friend, this must be our situation.  In France we calculated more or less what was going to happen.  Here one cannot count on anything being probable or likely.  I’ve encouraged your son to go and live in the country.  I hope that he’ll become a farmer.  Farming is a science, a long and demanding study, but is the source of a constant occupation, agreeable and dependable.  To succeed, it is necessary to embrace an enjoyable occupation.  My friend _______ ________, took the same path in life and he is already very old.  But he is content and is lacking nothing.  It is true that he has more than he is able to use, and to his pleasure.  He is a metal worker, neurologist, musician and painter.  Unfortunate, he doesn’t have any children!  It is necessary also to say he’s found himself in happy and unique circumstances which would never meet or find a life living in the city of Nantes.

            In my opinion each father who has the ability to give his son a sensible education, in the occupations that are agreeable and which would lead to a life of comfort that would be useful in relation to providing ones need.  Vigorous calculations, that is to say mathematics, which are the principle of all sciences, must first be taught.  That includes the theories and the correct principles behind it, which would contribute to giving the strength and health in body.  That’s how a farmer, or a real man could use such methods to improve his situation from being a poor father.

            There’s also been here in this country a drought, an extraordinary drought.  The vegetables have suffered a lot.  The fields were attacked with insects which return from time to time to this country.  The grain is no longer suitable for wheat or feeding to animals.  So the animals have to forge for themselves, which causes a lot of stress.

            It has been 40 years the people have lived on the sides of this river the Mississippi, on the coast of the Missouri.   They were hunters and voyagers, that is to say skin traders, on the great rivers of the Missouri, Mississippi and the Ohio.  Since the establishment of the steam boat on these rivers the hunters and traders were obligated to start farming the earth and raise animals or become iron workers or miners.  They started mining iron which can be a real gamble.  You could come across and abundant vein, and those who run the lease risk are the iron workers, who put in their time and money, and the iron varies substantially in price.

            I wish you my friend, to enjoy your family, health and happiness, as much happiness as possible.  I ask you to think about your poor friend and his family from time to time.  Give me your news.

                                                Your friend
                                                          M. Amoureux