My Beothuk & French Ancestors
My Beothuk Nana and french Grandad
This story was told to my mother by my great grandfather (Who died when I was a late teenager). Since the events take place during the 1848 french revolution my mother originally didnt take the story seriously because as a young child she knew that the French revolution was in 1789 so the story didnt fit with history. It was only later after learning about the 1848 revolution that she started piecing the information together with history. My great grandfather was not a particularly well educated man (He was working by the age of thirteen) and would have no way of knowing information (like the fact that some of the land taken from rich families in 1789 was given back in 1848) unless his grandfather told him. He said that his grandfather looked like an Indian (He was in fact half Beothuk). He was in his late 20s when his grandfather died so would have known him well.
Story starts in Paris in the 1780s. My family is a bunch of rich land owners from somewhere called the “Blue Hills”. My 3x Great grandfather used that name when he told my Great Grandfather (A WW1 veteran Who died when I was a teenager) but we havent been able to identify exactly where The BLUE HILLS is located.
But in the 1700s French people were not happy. Marie Antoinette may not have actually said “Let them eat cake” but that was a battle cry and in 1789 bad things happened to rich people. My family had all their land taken from them and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them ended up losing their heads like Marie Antoinette.
But there must have been some Family money left somewhere because two generations later in 1848 a student named Andre is going to medical school – an expensive endeavor paid for with family money. Andre also owned a horse. So he may not be rich but he was no pauper. The February revolution of 1848 and subsequent election on April 23rd created uprisings and Paris got boarded up and conflicts erupted between the government and many citizens – especially students. In June an uprising of tens of thousands of students created what can only be described as a civil war with thousands of people killed. Andre was in the thick of things. Unfortunately being from a wealthy well known family Andre was recognized and as the government started taking control and rounding up people Andre effectively had a warrant out for his arrest. He couldn’t just go home as claim that he was not involved. Having a horse probably allowed him to escape (The Benefits of being wealthy). But he had to get away. His game plan was to go to the port and get on the first ship that he could get on going to anywhere. A fishing boat to Newfoundland was late leaving because at the time it was illegal to leave without having a doctor on board. Being desperate to leave, the captain hires Andre the student as the ships doctor and off they go to the French Shore in Northern Newfoundland. Andre is safe (At least until the boat returns in the fall).
After the summer is over the boat is getting ready to return to France. Apparently the Indians have some medical emergency and needs a doctor and Andre goes to check it out. Off into the wilderness to treat the Indians when he returns the ship has already left and he is stuck in Newfoundland living out the winter in the wilderness with the Indians.
MY OWN COMMENT HERE: It is illegal for French people to stay over the winter in Newfoundland – as per treaty with the British). The british fishermen are very unhappy with the French being there at all using the best fishing grounds – a war could break out if the French stayed illegally over the winter. Now its not that I am calling my 4x Great grandfather a liar but Andre has a pretty iron clad legitimate excuse as to why he stayed – And may I add convenient, given that as far as he knows the guillotine might be waiting for him if he returned to Paris. So he lives with the Beothuks in the Newfoundland winter. Probably one of the few white guys who lived in the wilderness with the Indians.
The next march (Or thereabouts) Baby Henry is born to Andre and a Beothuk named Nancy (We dont know her Indian name). Technically (Given incubation periods for babies) Henry could have been born in 1850 but that would mean that Andre never actually met the baby and we believe (From my Great Grandfathers memories) that he did meet the baby. In the 1923 Newfoundland census Henry gave his birth date as March 1851 (Actually gave his age – not year of birth) but thats probably not possible. Its also not unusual as lots of people without birth certificates get their age mixed up later in life. I would expect that he got his birthday right though as thats celebrated every year so he was probably born in March – which means as soon as he arrived in Newfoundland he met the Beothuk girl and made her pregnant. It had to be a Beothuk rather than a Eskimo as Eskimos wouldent have stayed over the winter and when Henry told the story to his grandson (My great grandfather) he would have said Eskimo if it wasnt one of the Beothuks. But my Great Grandfather said Indian.
The next summer the Fishing boat and all of Andre’s buddies return and inform him that all is well in france, his family has been given back land that was taken from them 60 years earlier and that it was safe to go back. In the fall Andre leaves and returns back to France (Having to deal with the new found family finances) promising to return – but he never did. He did for years though send back care packages every season with the fishing boat and Henry told my Great Grandfather that he would always be excited when the fishing boats came. My great grandfather said that he looked like an Indian.
My great grandfather was a direct bridge between myself and Henry as he knew the both of us. He would have been pushing 30 when Henry died and he died when I was a late teenager.
We have all of this story confirmed through church and family records so we were well aware of the family lineage to the Beothuks and French Doctor. But to confirm my mother did a DNA test. She came back 3% Beothuk. DNA confirms both the Family story and church or government records. My mothers Indian DNA can only be 3% for the stories to work. Proof that Beothuk DNA still exists in modern day populations.
We know that my 4x Great grandmother (The pure Beothuk Nancy) later moved to Labrador (We dont know when or why but she might have gotten Married – or maybe got a job). We know this because around 1911 or 1912 a friend of my great grandfather was in Labrador and met her. After saying his name Nancy got excited and requested him to ask my Great Grandfather to come visit her so that she could meet him. Being thirteen he never made it and never did get to meet his pure Beothuk great grand mother. Thats the last that we ever herd about Nancy and we cant figure out where she is buried. But she is one of the last – if not the very last pure Beothuk that ever lived.